I'm writing this from the grave, because harry styles killed me.
Harry Styles has spent his whole young adulthood in the spotlight; I've spent my whole adolescence admiring him. I was only 11 years old when I first saw him in concert, but I didn't take full attention to the show; I just wanted to dance and sing along. I used to play the "Take Me Home" CD in my room, close the blinds, dance lightly so my parents couldn't tell, and whisper along in the mirror. Not a lot has changed since then.
Styles knows how to get a crowd going, and he does it well. He's had years of practice and charm that will get him anything. Every smirk got him a roar from the crowd and he absolutely relished in it. His moment of glory starts with a slow buildup to his rocky homage to an old crush "Only Angel" and ends with an abrupt roaring silence at "Kiwi". In his opening minute, sparks fly and voices crack as his silhouette floats in and out of vision. He kneels down as the guitar riffs and the crowd howls with excitement. In my daze, I tried to make sense of it all. Is he kneeling, as a master to this sold out arena, or as a servant to entertain his audience?
The mood was a slippery slope of wild angst and rocky pleasure. "Carolina" uplifted spirits from the slow mellow rock jams that were "Woman" and "Ever Since New York" as well as the One Direction throwback "Stockholm Syndrome" brought back memories of a simpler, yet less professional time for the rockstar.
Some iconic moments that blew my mind and made me love him even more:
- His B-stage performance of 1D's "If I Could Fly" where he sweetly shushed the crowd and politely asked, "Sing to me." What followed was a choir of an entire arena singing the song Harry wrote in 2015 for 1D's final album.
- Harry bringing back the iconic tour quote, "This is a family show! ......Or is it?"
- His encore cover of "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac. That's when I knew he was destined to be a rockstar. If anyone is meant to be on a stage, it's Harry Styles.
- His sweet conversation with a young girl, where he accidentally made fun of her name and accent all within a single sentence.
- All of Kiwi. He demanded the crowd to "dance like never before for the next 5 minutes, like you'll never see these people again. Dance your heart out," and gave the most riveting, unrestrained, out of control performance of the night.
- Waving a pride flag around for his altered rock version of "What Makes You Beautiful" and "Medicine" added fuel to the fire of the crowd.
Things have changed for Harry since I last saw him. He's matured, throwing out the bandannas and swapping for Gucci suits. His band's musicality was top notch with rock influence, a leap from the notoriously saturated pop One Direction put out.
His attitude and ambiance were different as well. A few things I learned in my time in Harry's new era: He is the most narcissistic sweetheart I've ever seen. He wants your attention, and will do anything to keep you wrapped around his finger, right above one of his clunky rings. He interacts with the crowd as old friends would, and jams out as if it's the first listen. He screams out his unreleased rock song, "Medicine" with no hesitiation. "The boys and the girls in / I mess around with him / and I'm okay with it" being the most remarkable lyric, hinting at Harry being bisexual.
As pride month comes to a close, the audience brought out their most lavish and colorful attire. Pride flags popped out like stars in the night sky; Harry's concerts notoriously accept any fan of any race, size, or identity. "Please have the time of your life tonight and be whoever you are to be," as Harry puts it.
Harry Styles is growing and going at warp speed, but he's not slowing down. His first solo world tour is almost at its close, but his experience and performance will never be matched. From the nosebleeds to the front row, Harry makes every single fan feel like they are in a huge house party, with hazy lights and dancing clouding all other senses.