Harry Styles' Solo Career

I am a Larry Shipper, a Larry believer if you will.

Watermelon Sugar is another cute song.

He's kind of a Pop Princey kind of artist, but I kinda like it.

He's the Fisher Price version of a rock star.

At least he has a career, R3.

All the other 1D guys just fizzled out.

He's an asshole.

Every site that has "who is the worst celebrity you've ever met" type question, usually has a James Cordon story. A lot of them include replies where Harry Styles was with James cordon, when James was acting like a dick. Harry acted like nothing happened. That says a lot about him

i fucking love Adore You (listened to the vid so many times) and i also like Watermelon Sugar. i think he's got it. Pearls and all, i'm paying attention. i think he's going places.

Never listened to the band he was in before.

Harry's young and a nice guy, R5.

He probably didn't know what to do about Corden the Cunt Face, so he just kept his mouth shut.

Like a polite person would.

Btw, Harry looks GORGEOUS in this "Golden" video.

He has such long, luscious locks of hair.

Watermelon Sugar at R2 is such a cute video.

I love how everyone is slobbering all over the watermelon.

Is it a metaphor for sex?

If so, I love how there are 20 girls in the video at the beginning.

But then towards the end, they include a cute shirtless guy as well.

I think that's a pretty clear indication that Harry is bi.

The 20 girls + 1 guy means that for all the girls he has slept with, there has been at least one guy.

I love that song. And he is damn handsome.

He's wearing an Aegean Teal jacket in r7 video.

He seems like a really good person in any interview i've seen.

The troll lives.

I agree OP. I only know the watermelon song. Had no clue it was him until looking it up on youtube

His fans tried to tell everybody that he was the biggest male artist in the world and yet he failed to make the official IFPI list of the Top 10 biggest artists in the world for 2020. Even Justin Bieber made the list at #10, but not Harry.

Hmmm. I guess his sales don't match the hype.

Justin Bieber? LOL i don't even know or can sing one of his recent "hits."

what is IFPI, btw? oh wait nobody cares. about Justin Beaver.

Nobody with any taste in music thinks Harry Fucking Styles is anything but a lameass imitation of a musician for teenage girls.

[quote] I guess his sales don't match the hype

Music sales never mattered to me.

It was always about the music.

And I like what Harry is putting out.

It's good music.

Ok r15. lay down now and take a nap.

i have a very evocative taste in music and think he's pretty good. interesting lyrics and song composition, good singing.

what's your damage? that he came from a boy band? who the fuck cares? he has talent and his songs are ear honey.

He's just as manufactured as Britney Spears.

r18 Britney has a SHIT voice. Harry has a great voice. they are not comparable at all.

If you're a grown man and you're really into Harry Styles, do society a favor and remove yourself from the gene pool.

I'd rather listen to Harry Styles, than be an old grumpy cunt like you R20.

Agreed r21. r20 is the "get off my lawn!" old man in this thread.

Harry managed to pull a Timberlake.

I knew that Harry would be compared to JT, but they could not be more different.

Harry is a very nice guy.

Justin Timberlake is a phony creep.

^agreed r24, he seems to be a pretty decent person from all that i've seen.

r24 I meant in terms of being the breakout solo from his original boyband, not in terms of personality or quality of character.

Why didn't Nick Carter, Joey McIntyre, or Jordan Knight ever have breakout solo careers?

honestly, no one could actually compare to Harry besides Justin in terms of breakout careers.

But, put it this way: Harry is doing pretty well fairly early on and he's not dissing anyone or exposing a tit. he just has a great voice and is performing really great songs/appearing on talk shows and being a pretty great human.

Quit being down on Harry because he sports pearls or some female type clothing. i think that's your real prob. He's clearly talented.

Harry always looks greasy.

No he doesn't, r29. why are you all on about him?

Harry IS Greasy.

I wouldn't mind a nude photo leak.

Whatever happened to....

r33 Is he out yet?

I don't really care for this song, but the video is definitely hot.

[quote]Why didn't Nick Carter, Joey McIntyre, or Jordan Knight ever have breakout solo careers?

In the case of McIntyre and Knight, it was still an era where teen pop garbage music was separate from actual adult musicians. Nobody took New Kids on the Block seriously, they were strictly for kids.

[quote] why are you all on about him?

Because we're grown men who don't care for artists that are aimed at teen girls.

Anyone who thinks that Harry doesn't have a good voice, is sadly mistaken.

He truly has talent.

Harry got his start 11 years ago, as an adorable 16 year old.

Even then he seemed sweet, and very laid back.

And VERY talented.

He's been a very successful solo artist for 4 YEARS. Where ya been, hon? To be honest, his voice and his songs do nothing for me. I gave his current album one listen but he isn't a very involving singer.

[quote] He's been a very successful solo artist for 4 YEARS

I know that.

But it has taken those four years for him to become a mainstream solo artist.

Four years ago, people only knew him as "one of those guys from 1D." He really had to prove himself.

Right now, I think he has proven that he has staying power. His songs are being played everywhere, and people actually LIKE his songs, which is the important part.

So get over yourself, R41.

You all sound like teenage girls. Pathetic.

The thing is every once in a while one band member manages to get a decent solo career while all the other fail. Justin Timberlake is a good example for that.

It's not about talent, but who manages to get VIPs on his side to push for his success.

Love this

R17 evocative doesn’t mean what you think it means. Pick up a dictionary dear.

Louis T.- Has a weak singing voice and smokes a lot which will further have an impact on his voice and his songs aren't that good.

Zayn- Doesn't want to put in the effort to promote his music(I.e. do radio/tv interviews,tour,etc...) and a number of his songs are just terrible.

Liam- Has a good singing voice but his songs choices just aren't that good.

Niall- Has admitted that he knows his solo career will never be as big as it was when he was in 1D and he has nice singing voice but nothing spectacular.

r46 i know exactly what evocative means, douchebag. go to sleep.

R48 then why are you using it improperly dimwit? Can’t you afford a device that creates capital letters either?

R46 what is your musical taste evocative of then? The fevered dreams of a teenage girl with basic taste?

r49 and r50 - someone needs a hug. I love you. Have a great day.

[quote] Harry's young and a nice guy, [R5]. He probably didn't know what to do about Corden the Cunt Face, so he just kept his mouth shut. Like a polite person would.

One time, Yes, maybe two times at the most. Any more than that means Harry is okay with people treating wait staff, secretaries, assistants, and the public, like shit

He's totally cool with that and he likes it so much, he hangs out with james as often as he can

Harry styles is a piece of shit

[quote] But it has taken those four years for him to become a mainstream solo artist. Four years ago, people only knew him as "one of those guys from 1D." He really had to prove himself. Right now, I think he has proven that he has staying power. His songs are being played everywhere, and people actually LIKE his songs, which is the important part. So get over yourself, [R41].

R42 Like I said I'm not a fan of him (or 1D). So maybe you know more than I do, but his first album debuted at #1 in the US and a few other countries, he had top 10 singles from that album - in 2017 - his second album in 2019 also debuted at #1 (in many countries) broke some records, and had six singles that were popular. Was certified double platinum. Just seems like you're saying he's finally breaking through, in 2021. Which he isn't.

He’s genuinely talented. I never listed to 1D at all. I hope he has a long and successful career. His first solo album was also great.

Sorry, R53 here again. I want to add, people dissing him for being a teen heart throb or saying grown men can't listen to him, or whatever - are you kidding? Saying for the third time, I'm not a fan, but I don't want to come across as "thou protest too much". I'm not personally in love with his music or singing style, but he's undeniably a serious artist with an objectively good voice, good songs, and good production. If you're dissing him for being a teen idol, so were Elvis, The Beatles, and Sinatra. Personally I'm more a fan of 5sos (once upon a time, 1D's opener, though not a boy band), and their voices, esp lead Luke Hemmings.

[quote]what is IFPI, btw? oh wait nobody cares. about Justin Beaver.

IFPI represents the recording industry worldwide. They announce the list of the year's biggest-selling artists worldwide every year and include pure sales and streaming from every country. Harry failed to make the list this year(in his peak) and has, in fact, never made the list as a solo artist and probably never will.

Only true global superstars make the Top 10.

I was working out yesterday and a "Watermelon Sugar" remix came on.

I thought, "God, that a fucking stupid song."

It's a cute song, R57. I love it.

I admit it's a bit of a "baby" song, but it fits Harry's personality.

I hear Watermelon Sugar and that Adore You song at my gym and all I can say is that they're marginally better than most of what's out there now. Of course, the bar is pretty low these days.

I will say I can listen to those songs without wanting to tear out my eardrums, as I do with any song by the Jonas Bros.

Can someone explain the "Adore You" fish video at op's link?

Some people in the comments section are saying it's a video about Harry's love life.

To the idiot who keeps insisting that Harry is a bad person?

Harry started the "Treat People with Kindness" campaign:

[quote] "Treat People with Kindness", also abbreviated to "TPWK", is a slogan used by Styles to promote his message of love, acceptance and kindness to people. Styles started using the slogan on his debut concert tour in 2017, on a badge on his guitar and on tour merchandise, including Pride t-shirts sold to raise funds for GLSEN.

[quote] In a December 2019 interview he said, "It was a pin I had on my guitar strap and we made t-shirts for it, then I saw a lot of t-shirts around. I'd be driving or something and see someone in one and I started feeling like, 'Oh this is a bit of a thing'". This gave Styles the idea of writing a song to go with the slogan titled "Treat People with Kindness", which is the penultimate track on his second studio album, Fine Line.

[quote] In October 2019, teaser posters including the phrase "Do you know who you are?" and the acronym "TPWK" were spotted in London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York and Australia, which fans were able to connect to Styles and his new album release due to the reference to his "Treat People with Kindness" motto. At the same time to mark World Mental Health Day, Styles launched a website bot called "Do You Know Who You Are?" that gives users positive randomised messages using words such as bright, determined, loving and wonderful, and ending with "TPWK. LOVE, H".

He's so cute.

He's going bald.

[quote] He's going bald.

But you'll always be ugly, R62.

Harry has all the ingredients to be the real deal - he's handsome, talented, lovely voice, seems to be a really nice guy. He's also hugely successfuly right now with Fine Line and just won a Grammy too. And still the way his career is going right now seems to be more into generation z idol and pop star of the moment, than really doing something with all that talent and that good voice. As R41 said, I feel in a lot of songs from his current album his voice isn't that involving. It's his biggest asset and it gets often hidden in harmonies, head voice or vocal effects. Or the production makes it sound a bit tinny. It's why I like the production of his first album better. The musical arrangements might not have been as diverse, but his voice is front and center on that album.

Apart from that it feels to me like over the years he has become more and more automatic in his pop star routine - less charismatic and witty in interviews, always giving the same robotic answers, less engaging on stage, more doing always the same moves at the same time, more tired looking etc. It's like his natural personality gets more and more replaced by the star persona and of course his usually pretty ugly fashion. It might look not that bad on someone else, but he has such a talent of choosing outfits that really don't fit his body type or his energy or that make moving on stage difficult. Apart from getting him headlines, his stylist is a hack, sorry.

r64 = cradling her Live Laugh Love mug in one hand and fingering her cunt over Harry Styles with the other hand.

[quote] It's like his natural personality gets more and more replaced by the star persona and of course his usually pretty ugly fashion

Such an interesting observation.

You always wonder how people like Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Michael Jackson, U2, Madonna, Johnny Depp, etc. became big stars, especially when you look at them today and see some reclusive, stuck up weirdo.

The thing is that back in the day, they were fresh, engaging, and fun which is what attracted people to them.

Same thing goes for Harry. He used to be very fresh and natural. But as you pointed out, his "handlers" are turning him into something else - for the sake of becoming a "star" and making lots of money.

In the end, he'll have gained all of that, but lost who he was. The real Harry Styles.

[quote]You always wonder how people like Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Michael Jackson, U2, Madonna, Johnny Depp, etc. became big stars,

Because they all were unique and had something different to offer, as well as that X factor that makes one a star you stupid frau cunt.

If you don't think Harry Styles has the same thing, then you're the stupid cunt R67.

Oh, what am i saying? You ARE a stupid cunt!

He's a product, with no organic talent.

I would still fuck his hole one time.

Congrats on that Grammy, Harry!

I can imagine the Larries are furiously writing fanfic about hate sex between their heroes tonight.

He was always the most talented member of One Direction.

Good for Harry!

[quote]He was always the most talented member of One Direction.

But not best looking.

He is ugly but sexy.

Niall is the superstar of 1D.

R61 someone who goes out of their way to commercialise and evangelise how good they are is hiding, either how damaged they are or how despicable. The true kind philanthropic souls in our world never advertise and never speak a word of thee intentions or their credo; they just act accordingly.

R57 when I first heard it, I assumed he was shilling a new Victoria’s Secret body splash. Because that’s all such a name could describe.

R76 you really need to find a better translating app.

Because your post makes absolutely no sense.

Are you posting from Russia? China? Bangladesh?

Does Harry write his own songs?

He's successful because he's the only "normal" member of 1D.

Zayn is an anorexic, self-hating drug addict.

Niall just wants to drink.

And the other two can't sing. One even went so far as to beard with a female.

R78 from England, where I’ve lived all my life (well, discounting that lost year in Holland, but we don’t talk about that..). Check my post history and ask around, if you don’t believe me. I’ll venture I’m more English than even Styles.

The paranoia of some of you pod people is truly staggering.

Sorry R80, but it certainly doesn't speak well of the English educational system, then.

R81 my dear; just who is the one of us hotly defending a chavvy school-dropout (who, by all accounts, is rather dim), on a message-board thread full of PR interns with no credentials and a horde of low-INT teenage fangirls? Not I...

For the record, I have got a Master’s degree and went to a very good grammar school, which is more than I can say for dear Harry.

Sounds like you need a good hard fuck from a rough chav, to loosen up that stick out of your ass R82!

So does Harry

Harry performing "Watermelon Sugar" at last night's Grammy's.

Hmmm.

It wasn't the most exciting performance.

He should have had the girls in his video on-stage with him, eating watermelon. Plus a few guys.

That would have been fun.

I don't like his voice. Wheezy and strained, like he smokes too much weed.

R86 Of course such things are always a matter personal taste as they should be, but also Watermelon Sugar isn't really a song that showcases his voice much. Here he covered Kanye West's Ultralight Beam in mid 2017 and I think he sounds really good. The part from 0:30 on is great.

He’s stunningly average.

R66 I have to agree, also about the others. It's quite sad that show business seems to take away the magic from a lot of people. Although I'm not sure I really blame his "handlers" in that sense, he's a grown man, even though of course he grew up in the music industry, which might make it harder to develop a good foundation. But I don't think he's oppressed in that sense by his manager or something like that, clearly he's good friends with him. I just think that he puts a lot of pressure on himself to succeed and of course has people around him, that advise him about artistic and career questions according to their own tastes and he chooses to listen to them apparently. Their careers also very much depend on his success, which puts even more pressure on him. And in a way it works of course, he sells more than ever, but as you said, he lost something in the process.

R76 lol I usually agree, there's a truth to this. And who knows, maybe dear Harry has more bodies in his basement than Armie Hammer, ha.

But in all seriousness he was known for being a genuinely good and pleasant person way before it all turned into a brand - good, but like a normal human being with flaws too, of course. But flaws are really not very trendy especially with the younger fans, who always complained about his "womaniser" image, even though it was still pretty tame compared to the rockstars of old.

So his management did the impressive feat of erasing any womanising from his image and airbrushing him into Mother Teresa, complete with his protected trademark (! lol) "Treat People With Kindness", that also sells very well on merchandise. From a business perspective it's a really clever decision, if you ask me. But of course it didn't exactly help with the impression that he's turned a bit into a 2D image.

I wonder how long his music career will last. I just have a feeling he will end up just doing TV/film work or judging talent competitions or social media influencing like every other pop star who had a string of hits but eventually fell off. See: Kelly Clarkson, Brandy, Jennifer Lopez, Ciara, Nick Jonas, Gwen Stefani, Jason Derulo, etc. Harry's solo career is nowhere near as big as Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake or Robbie Williams debuts.

Robbie Williams was never successful in the US. Americans had no idea who he was.

[quote] Robbie Williams was never successful in the US. Americans had no idea who he was.

The US is not the entire world.

On the surface Harry is butt fucking ugly.

However he's a great singer, very charasmatic, and has a vibe that just makes you want to root for him. That's attractive.

r91 we're talking about America here, and all other singers you listed are American.

There are some great Harry remixes out there....

R95 I never said I was talking purely about The US. These are just Anglophone singers that I thought of. Also I mentioned Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake along with Robbie Williams because they all came from pop groups and they had huge debut eras with signature songs and a big media push. Robbie isn't known in The US and that's mainly because Take That wasn't but he is very famous internationally. I just don't think Harry had that big global success as they had.

[quote] Harry started the "Treat People with Kindness" campaign:

his best friend, james corden treats people like shit, right in front of harry. And harry doesn't say a single word. He just ignores it

That means he doesn't care. Cordon is really vile. I bet you think the people who hang around with trump are good people too

The slogan "Treat People with Kindness" is so pretentious but also quite juvenile. Harry doesn't say anything when his crazy stans are hostile to others on social media. I like George Michael and Prince's quiet activism and charity. When both died, their acts of kindness to strangers got revealed by many.

R99 "treat people with kindness" is almost like saying "breathe air" or "eat healthy food". It's just so asinine but his stans think it's a deep statement about the state of the world.

Ugh I can't stand James Corden. It seems The UK ships their annoying no-talents overseas to get rid of them. Look at the Osbourne family, Piers Morgan, Russell Brand and now James Corden.

I really don't think he has to reign in his crazy stans (who really does?), especially when it's a stan twitter thing with all the other crazy stans. It's all a big, vile mess anyway. But I'm not a big fan of the slogan as such either, mostly because it's a branded slogan. And yeah, a little bland. But I guess ultimately it's slighly annoying, but fairly harmless.

I think in terms of success he's good right now. He might not be as big as Justin Timberlake or Beyonce back in the day (or Robbie Williams internationally), but also the whole music industry changed, it's hard to compare to something many years ago. Compared to his contemporaries he's doing fine for what it's worth. It can all change quickly, we'll see how much longevity his current brand has. Personally I think Harry is really working on acting as his second option - if it works out it would also take away some pressure to write radio hits.

Oh, and Robbie was an X Factor judge in 2018 too, so it's not like a huge debut will "save" you from doing TV work. I think it just pays really well and maybe some enjoy it, not just as a last option for has beens. I think Robbie is still quite popular in Europe, as far as I can tell people would definitely buy tickets for his concerts here. But Robbie also kept his personality, humour and charm, despite his substance abuse problems and whatnot.

Where's the pretend girlfriend?

[quote] Nobody took New Kids on the Block seriously, they were strictly for kids.

The funny thing is Jordan Knight is actually an excellent singer but the way that NKOTB was marketed and the choice of songs they were given didn't provide a good platform. New Edition had a smoother transition to adult stardom because they were R&B and never targeted to kids. Knight waited too long to go solo too, he made his debut in the late 90s during the era of NSYNC, BSB, Britney and stood out like a sore thumb. The early to mid 90s was a better time to make an R&B debut.

New post-Grammy article in Music Week with soundbites from producer Kid Harpoon. I swear, he has said more about the actual music and making of Fine Line than Harry himself. It's mostly the usual stuff about how Harry does his own thing, but also acknowledgement of performance pressure - "when you come from something so commercially insane, you kind of have to deliver when you go solo".

Interesting how he always stresses that it's such an "album", when actually Fine Line might have a storyline lyrically, but musically it dips into a lot of different genres and sounds and isn't exactly sonically cohesive. It rather feels like a bunch of different songs, where everyone can find a little something to like - the equivalent of musical birdshot shells: all over the place, but you catch something.

About new music:

[quote]“We’ve been doing bits and bobs, we’ve been sending voice notes and working on bits here and there, just lyrics and bits and bobs. Hopefully there’ll be something (new) at some point, I don’t really know where we are, but we’ve definitely been getting into it, we’ll see.”

Very non-committal, doesn't seem like they're far into the process yet, so fans, who thought Harry already nearly finished his next album during 2020 lockdown will have to be more patient. It would have been interesting if Harry would have worked with different songwriters for his third album, but seems like he sticks to his group. Makes me think the next album will be similar to Fine Line.

He's always been so desperate to be seen as different and an "outsider", but he's a climber and a complete artificial construct of the industry.

'I like George Michael and Prince's quiet activism and charity. When both died, their acts of kindness to strangers got revealed by many.'

Goid forbid that Harry becomes a junkie recluse like those two and dies in his 50s.

The luckiest boyband member of all time is 1d's Louis Floplinson. He went from failing his a levels twice to a net worth of 33m in five years, and he can't sing at all. He tried to do a solo tour and by the second night had completely lost his voice and was coughing into the microphone and getting the crowd and his guitarists to sing the lyrics. Covid cancelled the rest of his tour so we never got to see how bad it would have got.