Wild about Harry

Harry Styles will never have cause for worry about how he will earn a living should his music career falter. This is because American television and maybe the British, too, will be on its knees begging him to please, please host a talk show and everybody is sure that he will be fantastic.

All those who saw Harry as a singing guest in Saturday Night Live were so impressed with him. More so those who caught him subbing for James Corden in The Late Show. The 25-year-old ex-One Direction did the mandatory monologue, interviewed guests, acted in skits and of course, sang and danced.  He also looked great, very handsome in his high-fashion outfits.

However, judging from ecstatic reaction to his new album, Fine Line, it will be a long time in the future before Harry starts considering hosting or other careers. No sophomore slump for this guy. In fact, he cleared the hurdle of the dreaded curse by leaps and bounds and he is now off and running with the Best Album of the Year.

Of course, there were already signs that he was maturing into a daring, intelligent and sensitive musician in his solo debut Harry Styles. But he really surpassed all expectations with Fine Line. His writing and singing are all in excellent form. The album is a gorgeous package of 12 original songs all co-written by Harry that are hip and pop but do not sound like other releases. 

You know how musicians like to jump into bandwagons and take advantage of selling trends. Not Harry. He is retro rock but also himself in every cut. The ’70s, the era he seems to enjoy going back to, prevails. He has even brought out popular instruments of the period like the clavinet, the organ and the sitar. He uses gospel choruses and lots of brasses and the rock guitar. One cut, She, is six minutes long and has a rocking guitar solo.   

The result is a fully-loaded album with a wonderful surprise in each song. I love Golden, the mellow rocker opener. I imagine Harry strutting with all his youthful bravado in the R&B single Adore You. And oh, those horns are used to excellent advantage in Watermelon Sugar. He has a dulcimer in the folksy Canyon Moon and does a sexy slow jam in To Be So Lonely.

There are no doubts about it anymore. The X-Factor and One Direction have produced a true star and it is Harry Styles. Now, check out the rest of Fine Line. I am sure you will also love Lights Up, Cherry, Into the Light, Sunflower Vol. 6, Treat People With Kindness and Fine Line.

As the year 2019 nears its end, here is how the US charts look like as per the Billboard Magazine tabulations. Note the fast ascent of past Christmas releases. Mariah Carey is now the Queen of Christmas with her All I Want for Christmas Is You. Nat King Cole, Michael Bublé, Pentatonix, Brenda Lee, Burl Ives and Andy Williams are among the top holiday sellers. 

First, the Top 20 of the Hot 100 Singles: All I Want For Christmas is You by Mariah Carey; Circles by Post Malone; Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee; Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi; Good As Hell by Lizzo; Roxanne by Arizona Zervas; Memories by Maroon 5; Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD; Dance Monkey by Tones And I; It’s A Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives.

BOP by DaBaby; Bandit by Juice WRLD & Young Boy Never Broke Again; Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez; 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber; Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms; Señorita by Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello; Heartless by The Weeknd; Ballin’ by Mustard featuring Roddy Rich; No Guidance by Chris Brown featuring Drake; It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Andy Williams.

The albums lording it over the Top 200 Albums listing are: Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial by Roddy Ricch; The Who by The Who; Romance by Camila Cabello; Hollywood’s Bleeding by Post Malone; Bad Vibes Forever by XXXTentacion; Goodbye and Good Riddance by Juice WRLD; Frozen II, the motion picture soundtrack by Various Artists; Christmas by Michael Bublé; The Best of Pentatonix Christmas by Pentatonix; Death Race for Love by Juice WRLD.

When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? by Billie Eilish; Merry Christmas by Mariah Carey; Lover by Taylor Swift; A Love Letter To You 4 by Tripple Road; The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole; Over It by Summer Walker; What You See Is What You Get by Luke Combs; KIRK by DaBaby; AI Youngboy 2 by Youngboy Never Broke Again; Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.