The world was introduced to Harry Styles when he performed as a young teenager on the UK X Factor and was plopped into the sensational One Direction. Of course, no one knew how popular the group would be. Since the band’s split in 2015, each member has taken their own path to discover themselves as artists—Louis Tomlinson leaning towards electropop, Niall Horan staying true to his pop roots, and Liam Payne and Zayn Malik veering towards pop R&B.
If you’ve been anywhere near social media, I’m sure that you have seen that Harry Styles recently released the single “Lights Up.” While Styles’ first album radiated sadness from tracks such as “Meet Me in the Hallway” and “From the Dining Table,” “Lights Up” has a complete tonal shift from being apologetic to liberated. Lyric adjacents are already appearing between the single and his last album: “Even my phone misses your call by the way,” in “From the Dining Table” compared to “What do you mean?/I’m sorry by the way,” in “Lights Up.”
Since the release of “Sign of the Times” in 2017, it was evident that Harry Styles was dipping his toes into a mix of soft rock and pop. Two years later, the release of “Lights Up” follows the pop structure, but the song seems truer to Styles in both lyrics and sound in comparison to One Direction’s radio tunes.
It had been speculated since early One Direction days that Styles may have identified as more than just straight. He has always been an open proponent of the LGBTQ+ community, waving pride flags on stage with his bandmates, but Harry Styles has stated before that he never felt the need to address his own sexuality. In relation to “Lights Up,” the music video is filled with orgy-esque eroticism, with the naked bodies of not only Styles, but various people of all genders.
This is not to say that this video was a coming out by any means; but the video being released on October 11th– National Coming Out Day- does not seem to be a coincidence. However, even if the video isn’t in reference to Styles’ sexuality, it breaks the masculine gender norm related to the stigma of proximity to male bodies. Styles is no stranger to exploring his feminine side, specifically with his “flamboyant” clothing choices consisting of Gucci floral patterns and billowy blouses.
After being stuck in a teenage-heartthrob boy band during his transitional years from teen to adult, it’s very possible that he never had the chance the embark on his own personal exploration. Thematically, it seems like “Lights Up” is an introduction to an album where Harry Styles is beginning to explore who he is as both an artist and individual. He asks himself in the mirror, “Do you know who you are?”
I am curious to see what comes from HS2, and if this is, in fact, his inspection of the self while looking in the mirror.
