Just under a decade ago I was attending my first One Direction concert at 11 years old. Now, aged 20, comparing the pop-by-numbers singles from the ‘Up All Night’ album (which are ALL still bangers and no one can convince me otherwise) to the more mature and individual sounds from the five members, I truly feel as though their music has grown up with me. Harry Styles’ latest single, ‘Lights Up’, is no exception to this.
The star’s new release gives a taste of what’s to come in his long awaited second album, which Styles described as “all about having sex and feeling sad” in hisRolling Stone interview earlier this year.
A breath of fresh air from the sounds we’re used to from male artists and a step away from the 70s rock-and-roll inspired self-titled album released by Styles in 2017, ‘Lights Up’ combines a guitar and piano base with airy vocals about self-assurance and knowing yourself.
Since the boyband split in 2016, Harry Styles has been unapologetic for being himself and a champion of kindness, from openly supporting LGBTQ+ communities to wearing outfits created by gender-fluid British designer Harris Reed and becoming the face of Gucci’s latest eau de parfum, ‘Memoire D’Une Odeur’, the luxury brand’s “first universal fragrance”.
Many have even speculated the single as being a platform used by Harry Styles to ‘come out’, due to the lyrics about ensuring you “know who you are” paired with the imagery of him half naked with men and women in the music video, as well as the fact it was released on ‘National Coming Out Day’. Despite having never directly addressed his sexuality, stating that he “never felt the need to” label it, this is not the first time Styles has played with it through lyrics, with unreleased song ‘Medicine’ referencing ‘messing around’ with boys and girls.
In the lyrics, Styles asks listeners “do you know who you are?”, leaving them in a state of self reflection and questioning themselves. Teamed with the release and World Mental Health Day, Styles set up a website on which fans could enter their names to be greeted with a positive message about themselves, whilst reminding them to TPWK (treat people with kindness), Styles’ mantra.
‘Lights Up’ combines reflective and deep lyrics with a psychedelic vibe that I can only hope runs through the rest of his second album, as whatever Styles is doing, it seems to be working.
Words: Lollie Hancock