After what felt like forever, Harry Styles is finally back, and if you’ve been on TikTok, Instagram or even just listening to music, you already know.
For the past few years Harry Styles, who first became famous from the band One Direction, had basically disappeared from the music industry. He finished his “Love On Tour” shows and then just stopped. No new songs, no new tour announcements. Just random sightings of him running marathons, biking around Europe and posting for his brand. Fans even started joking that he was “everywhere but the studio.”
Then out of nowhere things changed. He announced a brand new album called “Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally” and dropped the lead single “Aperture.” Within hours, social media was going crazy. TikTok was full of reaction videos and Instagram comments began to flood. People were already predicting what the rest of the album would sound like. The song has a disco inspired sound that feels different from his past albums, more exciting, more energetic and the perfect song to blast in your car driving down Sunset with your windows rolled down.
What makes his comeback feel even more special is how long he was gone for. In today’s music industry artists are constantly dropping new songs and albums to stay relevant. Harry didn’t, he took a break and instead of fans losing interest and forgetting about him, they just waited. The anticipation built up so much that when “Aperture” finally dropped it didn’t feel like just a single release, but something all fans could connect with.
“I can’t pinpoint the exact date or year that I became a One Direction fan. All I remember growing up is that we had bed covers of all their faces. I listened to all his music, watched the “Story of My Life” music video over and over and had Harry Styles bed covers and posters,” said Michelle Paz, a junior here at LACES.
When Paz saw Harry Styles was releasing a song her reaction was immediate.
“I saw it on his story and immediately sent it to my friend. I was so excited, I feel like his tours are always so fire and I just love his music.” Paz says she felt more connected to his music after his long hiatus,“It definitely feels bigger because he was gone for so long and he didn’t post on Instagram. It was very low-key and much more dramatic.”
When asked what Paz’s reaction was to his new style of music she exclaimed, “At first I wasn’t sure, it wasn’t until the three minute mark when I started enjoying it. And now I’m excited to see what else he’s gonna release.”
Of course, the big question about Los Angeles is always about tour dates.
“If he announces an LA show I’m 100% going,” she said. “I’m so mad he’s only in New York for 30 days.”
As for ticket prices, “Outrageous. Literally outrageous. If I don’t get tickets I’ll be standing outside of Sofi or going to hop on TikTok live,” she says jokingly. “But the prices are really crazy and I don’t know how reasonable they’re going to be.”
In a city like Los Angeles, where pop culture feels closest and more real, a Harry Styles comeback isn’t just entertainment news. It’s something people genuinely talk about in class, at practice and all over the internet.
Whether you’re a day one fan or just someone who casually adds his songs to your playlist, it’s hard to ignore that a new era for Harry Styles has started. If “Aperture” is just the beginning we might want to start emotionally, and financially preparing now.