It’s been 12 years since a young Harry Styles was filmed queueing for The X Factor, wearing a plain white T-shirt, a grey cardigan and baggy jeans. “I’m Harry Styles. I’m 16 and I’m from Holmes Chapel in Cheshire. It’s a bit boring. Nothing much happens. It’s picturesque,” he said. While his cheeky chappy charm appealed to viewers, few could have predicted that this teenager – advised by Simon Cowell to get some vocal coaching – would go on to become Britain’s biggest cultural export.
Fast forward to 2022 and the cult of Harry has exploded. Pick up a magazine, put on a playlist or even walk past a London bus and you’ll see his face staring back at you. From the fans camping at dawn to catch a glimpse of him on the red carpet at the Venice film festival to his 15-night residency at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the former One Directioner’s star has never been brighter.
That became indisputable this week, when Styles’ As It Was became the longest-running No 1 on the US singles chart by a British artist – scoring a 15th week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 and breaking the record previously held by Mark Ronson and Sir Elton John. He is also a strong contender for the Mercury prize, with his album Harry’s House, which debuted at No 1 and stayed there for six weeks, becoming the longest-running chart leader of the decade. So why is he so appealing?
“Firstly, Gen Z have grown up with Harry,” said Alex Goat, the chief executive of youth culture specialists Livity. “Not only were they on X Factor at such a young age, but One Direction were also the first pop band to really show ‘themselves’ through what was the social media explosion. Far from waiting a week to see them in print, fans saw everything on social, from waking up to breaking up. That immediately puts all those boys into a different league of relatability than artists before them.”
This army of fans who have matured with Styles over the years have also passionately supported him in other creative ventures, including his quest for movie stardom. What began with a small turn in Christopher Nolan’s 2017 wartime epic Dunkirk (which went on to become the most successful second world war film of all time) culminated in back-to-back bookings including the suburban sci-fi thriller Don’t Worry Darling.
The Olivia Wilde-directed film, which has been the subject of endless reports of behind-the-scenes drama and gossip surrounding Styles and Wilde’s relationship, became the UK and Ireland’s widest-ever opener by a female director (grossing £2.77m in its first weekend) and is No 1 at the US box office. Though it’s hard to gauge quite how many were drawn to the cinema by Styles, the level of global media coverage, TikToks and memes afforded to a single unfounded rumour that he spat on co-star Chris Pines during the film’s premiere is telling.
“It’s fascinating to see Styles being positioned as a new kind of cross-media poly-talent,” said the chart analyst James Masterton. “2022 is the year of Harry the actor as well as Harry the pop star. That’s what you might call the Justin Timberlake template, but nobody has ever done it with a British star before. Former pop stars turned adult superstars such as George Michael and Robbie Williams stuck resolutely to music.”
And it seems to matter little that reviews doubted Styles’ acting ability; that his comments about his next film, the prestige gay romance My Policeman, sparked ridicule for “downplaying the film’s queerness”; or that he’s been accused of “queerbaiting”. Styles appears to have hit the sweet spot of pop culture, seemingly critic-proof.
“Harry never seems to do anything in half measures; his good deeds are plentiful and always seem organic,” Styles superfan Hannah Condon, 21, explained. “His entire brand is based around treating people with kindness. The fact that he is able to offer even the smallest glimmer of hope and joy to people, be it through his music or photoshoots, magazine articles or intimate interviews, makes everyday life for them that bit more enjoyable – one pink cowboy hat and feather boa at a time.”
And this speaks to the core of Styles’ appeal. To large swathes of Gen Z, he is a renaissance man devoid of toxic masculinity. They applaud his involvement in Black Lives Matter protests, speaking out in support of the LGBTQI+ community, and bold fashion choices that have made him the face of gender neutrality. In 2020 he became the first man to appear solo on the cover of Vogue, wearing a sky-blue lace Gucci ballgown and black tuxedo jacket. This image and others like it, such as Timothée Chalamet’s backless red halterneck top are what adorn the modern teenager’s bedroom walls.
“The way he presents himself is a brilliant example of the more fluid approach to gender identity that is so important to Gen Z,” said Goat. “I have no doubt he’s given others the confidence to express who they are and who they want to be. In an industry that says it welcomes all, but still puts people into genres and boxes based on who they are, Harry has chosen to show up, authentically as himself. And that authenticity is something which connects deeply with his audience.”
In his forthcoming book Harry Styles: the Making of a Modern Man, the celebrity biographer Sean Smith said music was now just one aspect of Harry Styles, the artist and fashion icon. “It is entirely justified to look at David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Prince, Marc Bolan or Freddie Mercury and decide that Harry is following their example. It’s easy to imagine him coming on stage at Hyde Park in 1969 – as Mick did – wearing his famous white dress over white flared trousers and white boots.
“But, quite frankly, what these greatest of stars wore 50 years ago is of no consequence to a generation born since the turn of the century. Yes, fashion trends come and go, but for anyone under 20, under 30 – or maybe even under 40 – Harry is a trendsetter and a breath of fresh air. It’s all new to this current young generation; it’s exciting and relevant to who they are and aspire to be now – blurring the lines of gender and breaking down the barriers of toxic masculinity.”
