Harry Styles has mastered one of the most exquisite transitions from a sensational boyband to a solo artist. On March 31, he released his newest single “As It was” from his new album, Harry’s House coming in late May.
“As It Was” is a high-tempo song with an 80s-style melody. Spotify announced on April 1 on Twitter that “As It Was” became “Spotify’s most-streamed song in a single day in 2022 so far, and the most-streamed song in the US in a single day in Spotify history.”
In 2017 Styles released his debut album, Harry Styles, followed by 2019’s Fine Line album which fans all around the world danced to “Watermelon Sugar.” This won Styles the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance and earned him a nomination for the Best Pop Vocal Album (“Fine Line”), and Best Music Video for “Adore You.” Since completing two world tours, Styles has appeared on the cover of Vogue Magazine and launched Pleasing his own beauty brand.
Styles broke the record for most streams from a male artist on Spotify with his debut song “As It Was.” In just 24 hours, “As It Was” became the most-streamed track with 16,103,849 streams worldwide on Spotify. As fans anticipate Harry’s House, the newest release “As It Was” resembles a spring day and makes you just wanna dance. The song begins with Ruby Winston, Styles’ goddaughter saying “Come on Harry, we want to say goodnight to you.”
The music video for “As It Was” is currently trending number one on Youtube. It showcases Styles with a red sequin jumpsuit running on a circle treadmill but never catching up with the actress Mathilde Lin- maybe it’s because Styles is on a completely different track, creating a disconnection. There is a sense of freedom throughout this video while Harry smiles and dances. It felt as though he was content with never being on the same track as everyone else.
With the upbeat 80s sound, Styles has mastered the lyrics in “As It Was.” He muses on the delicate nature of inevitable change, and how certain parts of life will never truly be the same. In the middle of the song, Styles gets vulnerable when he sings, “gravity holdin’ me back, I want you to hold out the palm of your hand.” He continues, “Ringin’ the bell, and nobody’s coming to help, your daddy lives by himself, he just wants to know that you’re well.”
Styles shared with Planet Radio about where he wrote the song and the process. “It was written in my friend’s front room in the English countryside, and it started off much slower, as it was being written it was a lot slower…It didn’t originally have the 80s vibe.”
Harry said: “The piano line was being played on a piano and then turned into that synth and it kind of took on a new life. I’m a fan of it, it’s one of my favorite songs on the album.”
He shared with Planet Radio his idea for the upcoming album and ultimately what it meant for him, “during the process of the album it became much more of an internal journey of finding home and peace with oneself. It kind of went through a lot of different meanings.”
Ava Watkins, a sophomore at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, said she loves “As It Was.”
“I watched the music video the minute it came out…I’d say I’m a super fan. Watching and listening to his song for the first time, I caught onto the theme that life is constantly changing, and getting stuck in the past and still holding onto it is scary. Reminiscing and holding onto past memories sometimes doesn’t allow you to have peace or grow, you have to keep moving.”
Styles headlined the 2022 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and in the spring, Style’s will go on tour in the UK for his new album Harry’s House, which is set to be released on May 20.
