Harry Styles: From Boy Band Icon to Pop Star

Isn’t it crazy to think that it was 13 years ago that 16-year-old Harry Styles made his appearance on X Factor? Now here he is, at 29, having won two Grammys and four Brits in the past few months alone. On top of these awards, he’s starred in two films in the past year and is touring non-stop, managing to sell out 15 straight shows in Madison Square Gardens. How the hell is he still going? And how did he manage to shift from boy band icon to one of the biggest modern pop-stars?

After The X-Factor, One Direction absolutely blew up. They became ridiculously famous in a very short amount of time, with crowds of teenagers bawling their eyes out over their mere existence. And from the moment Harry sang his solo part of ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ at the camera during the first One Direction music video, THOUSANDS were smitten. Ever since, I’d say it’s safe to say he’s been everyone’s favourite member. To all those who claim you prefer Zayn or Niall, stop lying to yourselves.

Once One Direction broke up after six years (to the despair of many), Harry, like the other members, pursued a solo music career. Who could have guessed the success he would achieve? Compared to the other members, he didn’t have a particular advantage over the others; they’re all attractive and talented with the same pre-existing fan base. In fact, Zayn Malik had a head start over the others, having left the band earlier. But by the time Styles’ second album Fine Line was released, his music was getting a lot more attention than all of the other members combined.

His debut album was equally successful, but that was the beginning of his solo career. His concerts were good, and he surprised people with his sense of style (no pun intended), swapping the T-shirts and jeans from his boy band days for patterned suits and statement pieces; but he didn’t become a pop sensation straight away. It was once Fine Line was released (which has been added to Rolling Stones’ “500 Greatest Albums Of All Time”) that his fan base really intensified.

His tour “Love on Tour” ended up combining this album and his latest record, Harry’s House once the concerts were back on after lockdown. The tour boasted an intensified Harry Styles, of sorts. His outfits were more extravagant, his energetic concerts were being raved about, and clips of his performances continue to trend on social media ever since the tour started.

Harry Styles’ charisma and popularity seem to have protected him from any attempts of cancel culture and negative media coverage. When you see clips of his shows or interviews, he’s always charming; and for a person of his fame and recognition, he comes across pretty modest. He’s won over the media with his celebration of diversity during concerts and has received praise for his “unique and bold” sense of fashion. It’s interesting though, because his outfits aren’t nearly as extravagant as Elton John’s for example, or as expressive as David Bowie, to whom his fashion sense has been compared to. Yet the media often acts like his stylistic choices are revolutionary. I know these two artists’ impressive outfits went hand in hand with the 70s/ 80s, and clothes are less showy nowadays, but personally, I still feel like the hype Styles is getting for his outfits is outdated. They’re cool, but he’s hardly the only person in the industry making statements through clothing.

However, I do think that his outfits add to his stage presence, which is undeniably great. In addition to the tracks from his albums, he also sings unreleased music and covers, which people go feral for. Often, these clips are the ones that trend most. Equally, the energy he seems to emit when performing is impressive and it’s clear that one of the reasons his concerts are so popular is because of how good he is at entertaining, as well as just performing. He’s been compared to Mick Jagger for his stage presence, which, whilst very flattering, seems a bit like an overstatement. It’s like the comparison to David Bowie’s style; complementary but seems exaggerated.

Critics seem very eager to find replacements or copies of beloved older artists, almost like a way of categorising modern singers into different types of wannabes. It also doesn’t make sense to compare them because the perception of a celebrity is unique to the social and temporal context they belong to. The reasons why a singer’s performance was glorified in the 70s won’t always be the same reason another’s dancing is loved today, though audience reactions might be the same.

I think the fact that all these big names are being thrown around to compare Harry Styles to other people has had an obvious impact on his image and would absolutely contribute to his success. If critics want to find “a new Mick Jagger” then they’ll find one. In fact, maybe the reason Harry Styles has done so well is because the critics/the media/whoever wanted him to. The music industry was missing a male “musical sweetheart” of sorts to fawn over, and he ticked every box.

This isn’t to say his music is irrelevant to his success, it’s not. Reactions to “Harry’s House” when it was released can attest to the fact that people really connect with his music, and clearly it isn’t a mediocre record if it won Album of the Year. I personally really enjoy a lot of his music, but I don’t think it’s good enough to solely explain his success. The US particularly seem enamoured with Harry Styles, so I’d put his success down to his America’s sweetheart image, and social media platforms like TikTok absolutely blowing up his popularity, spreading the hype internationally.

It’s important to note that throughout this article, I’m trying to turn down the fangirl in me so that if/when Harry Styles stumbles across this blog, I seem chill.

By Alice Charlton

Image Credit: Ralph_PH