Harry finds his style

There is no word yet if Harry Styles will be stopping by Manila later this year to do a show. He is set to go on a 29-city tour for his first solo album also titled Harry Styles. It is a major event for Harry and One Direction fans who cannot seem to have their fill of the members of this era’s most successful boy group will finally get to see him perform alone. They are very excited about the tour. News from abroad have it that all of the tickets to Harry’s concerts sold out in two minutes after they went on sale last month. 

I now say that there will be thousands or I should say millions of concertgoers who will be very surprised and I hope also delighted by what this young man has to offer. They doubtless remember his first solo release, the soft rock ballad Sign Of The Times that he sings in an emotional falsetto with piano accompaniment. That one was a complete surprise. Being a One Direction kid, fans were sort of expecting him to lean towards R&B-laced pop or even EDM dance. But not Harry. He chose instead a real song that could have been written for Coldplay and he did it very well.

Another sign that he was taking a different direction from today’s young artists came about with his second single, Sweet Creature. The recording featured Harry crooning softly against a Beatles-influenced melody. Very nice but nothing like Harry before. It was a confirmation. Harry has his own kind of music and it is indeed different. And horrors! His first solo album will be like those songs. So it was initially believed that he was taking an unnecessary risk with a market already used to his 1D music. The big question on everyone’s mind then was: Will his fans stay around for the new sound? Or will they go off in search of repetitive froth from the likes of the also ex-New Ds Zayn Malik or Niall Horan? Harry’s album dropped last May. And the verdict came in. The fans still loved Harry no matter the sound. They made the album No. 1.  

Not only that. Harry effortlessly widened his fan base with his solo album. There is now a new batch of fans that could not care less about his smile or the way his hair falls on the back of his neck or who he was dating. They just want good music and to their huge surprise, they found such in Harry. This guy loves rock and he has chosen to explore this music in his first solo effort. Mommys and Daddys can now also enjoy the songs of a 1D idol. It must have been quite a dream come true for Harry to be able to work on the rhythms he grew up with. And he is now able to do it on his own while riding on One Direction’s coattails off to success.

Harry takes on everything rock. Hard arena pounders like Carolina, Kiwi and Only Angel, said to be a song for his ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift; soft rock, Meet Me In The Hallway, Two Ghosts, Woman Blues; and bluesy, folk-tinged meditations like Ever Since New York and From The Dining Table. There are hints of The Rolling Stones everywhere.  Harry must love Mick and company. You can hear David Bowie in some cuts. And doesn’t he sound like Paul McCartney in From The Dining Table with an arrangement that could have been made for Wings. Okay, he did a lot of ripping and it is a truth that comparisons are odious. But despite that, the album is actually quite original in its entirety.

Harry is very young. He is only 23 years old. He is still learning the ropes. He is trying out styles. But he has taken a big step forward. It was a dangerous move. Fortunately in his case, rock’s many variations sit very well with him. He can growl his way through the big rockers or go husky and sexy with the ballads. Here is rock. Quite simple really but Harry has brought it back and it has a most exciting future.