Since going solo, Harry Styles has managed to craft his legacy with two chart-topping albums and
has recently made some rather big waves with his style that some rushed to tag as controversial.
With the release of his second album, many have noticed that the subject matter is a lot darker
than in his first album. Many wonder what has landed the singer in such a dark space.
It would seem as though it was the ending of one relationship in particular
that left quite a mark on Harry. A mark that led to the inspiration for almost every song
on the album. The album that received a whole lot of praise and recognition. But what exactly
happened before and during its recording that left Harry to experience such extreme highs and lows?
Stick around as we uncover Harry’s journey to his first Grammy nomination
and how he has been pushing boundaries despite backlash from the media and public figures.
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Harry Styles has been in the public eye for years and was labeled a heartthrob the moment the world
saw him for the first time. Since then, no matter how hard the media have been trying to figure out
his romantic life, it has always appeared to be something that cannot be easily explained.
One of Harry’s most famous romances was the complicated on-again, off-again relationship
with Kendall Jenner. The first phase of their romance was reported to only last a few months,
but the two couldn’t seem to stay away from each other for too long. A year later Jenner’s sister
Khloé Kardashian confirmed dating rumors. "Do I think they're dating? Yes…I don't know if they're
like boyfriend-girlfriend. Nowadays I don't know. People are weird with stuff. So, I don't
know their title." Fans couldn’t help but wonder why Harry would refuse to give his relationship
with Kendall a title. Until his devoted fans started doing some digging and it wasn’t long
until they started speculating that the entire relationship could in fact be a publicity stunt.
It was rumoured that Jenner and Styles were set up by their management and public relations teams
to drum up PR for One Direction's latest album and Jenner's modelling career. If you recall,
when Styles was romantically involved with singer Taylor Swift, there was a similar allegation
because of the timing of their relationship ... Although given how bitter Swift felt about their
split, it is hard to think it was not a real thing! Either way Styles has explained how
being in the public eye makes it really hard to find love the traditional “non-famous” way.
Harry has said that having that normal experience is something he really wants but he realises he
is in a not so normal situation. “...You want to date normally but then, you also want to
protect it so it can be normal...you wanna be able to spend enough time with each other
where you can get to know each other before you have to deal with the extra stuff.”
It could be the reason for Harry trying to keep his most recent relationship with French model
Camille Rowe as private as possible. It is believed that things got so serious between
the two that Harry even reportedly introduced her to his family. When the two called it quits after
a year of dating, Harry was left devastated. And like a true artist Harry laid his heart out on
the table with his latest studio album ‘Fine Line’. In one of his songs Harry says, “I’m in
my bed / And you’re not here / And there’s no one to blame but the drink and my wandering hands.”
Listening to the heart-breaking lyrics of his songs, the singer's fans could feel the
pain that he was going through - probably, the pain Harry himself found too hard to deal with.
With his deep and powerful songs, Harry has confidently proved his carefree public
image is just an image. And it looks like he has been dancing with internal demons over
the past few years. One of his songs on his latest album details his self-indulgent and
self-loathing tendencies. Harry sings, “What am I now? Am I someone I don’t want around?”.
Styles explains in an interview with Zayn Lowe that the album has a lot to do with
the extreme highs and extreme lows he had experienced during the recording. Fans
have speculated that this obviously had a lot to do with his devastating break-up with Camille...
Coming out of One Direction Harry said that he wanted to shift away from the band’s fun-pop
genre and cultivate a sound of his own. But this was easier said than done as Harry faced
the troubling task of wanting to either create music that he likes and feels passionate about
or write what people expected of him and what he knew would sell. And those who know Harry,
know that he always stays true to himself. So he made the shift and wrote an album that
he explained to be about (quote) “having sex and feeling sad”. However, not everyone was
ready for how sad the subject matter would be. Styles has released several videos for singles
from the album and at the time, it seemed as though Harry had lost his smile as his world was
growing darker and darker. In the music video for his single Adore You, we see an extremely
upset Styles wandering around on his own on an Island. Harry has explained that the song is about
the initial stages of love and the attraction you feel towards someone. But of course, fans couldn’t
help but wonder if the music video was actually an ode to how Harry has struggled to find love…
wondering if he might seem too different for some. As the narrator in the music video says "No one
ever meant to be mean towards him, but in a town grown used to ways things were, no one knew what
to do with something... different,". Could the visuals and narration elude to Harry struggling to
find a balance between his life in the spotlight and wanting to live a normal life as well?
During the time of One Direction, members were presented a certain way to fit the image of a
boy band. But since leaving the band Harry has clearly been experimenting with his own style
as he attempts to create one that is unique to his sense of self.
And it looks like he has been doing a pretty good job so far!
However, being in such a bright spotlight has its challenges, especially when you are playing at
Harry’s level of fame. During his quest to find his sense of self the media would continue to
create speculation around his sexuality. This was heightened after the release of the music video
for the single, Lights Up. The video features a sweaty, slicked-up Styles standing shirtless in
the middle of a pulsing group of semi-nude women and men. The media was quick to raise questions,
expecting straightforward answers from Harry, which they never received. Instead,
the singer has been trying to explain how he finds sexual ambiguity a lot more interesting
than making it a label. “I just think sexuality’s something that’s fun. Honestly? I can’t say I’ve
given it any more thought than that.” It’s clear that Harry is not a fan of black or white labels,
which is another reason why he inspires so many people around the world who are
still searching for their sense of self. On his journey to self-discovery, Harry was given
the opportunity to further explore his sense of individuality with his 2020 Vogue cover shoot and
made history as Vogue’s first-ever solo male cover star. For this momentous moment Harry rocked a
number of looks and he did as Harry does by mixing both men's and women's fashion creating unique
and iconic looks. Fans of Harry have known that he has been very outspoken about clothes and how they
should not have a gender. He further reiterated just that by saying “Once you remove any barriers,
obviously you open the arena for which you can play.” Further adding “What’s really exciting
is that all of these lines are crumbling away”. Of course, not everyone was praising the singer
including the conservative author Candace Owens. Famous for sharing controversial
thoughts on social media Owens went for Harry by tweeting “There is no society
that can survive without strong men…Bring back manly men”. A few other public figures
followed suit. And while fans were quick to call out Candace for her ignorant remarks,
other celebrities were quick to have Harry’s back as well, including Olivia Wild and Zach Braff.
Elijah Wood even went so far as to tweet “I think you’ve missed the definition of what a man is.
Masculinity alone does not make you a man.” The Vogue cover wasn’t the only time Harry broke
history this year . The boundary breaking pop star also earned 3 nominations for the
63rd annual Grammy awards. This makes Harry the first One Direction member to receive
a Grammy nomination. Will he also be the first member to win the coveted award? Let us know what
you think in the comments down below! That’s all for today!