A year after One Direction took its hiatus in late 2016, Harry Styles did not focus on his long-rumored solo career. He instead was spotted filming the movie Dunkirk, and stayed mostly out of the public eye.
He shocked fans on March 31, 2o17 with an Instagram post announcing he was going to release a single. This single, “Sign of the Times,” was released on April 7, 2017. The single reached number one on the UK Singles Chart shortly after its release and debuted at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song is different than might have been expected from Styles with his boyband past. It is a haunting piano ballad. With lyrics like “We never learn/we’ve been here before/Why are we always stuck and running from/the bullets? the bullets?,” it reflects on the state of the world today.
“Most of the stuff that hurts me about what’s going on at the moment is not politics, it’s fundamentals. Equal rights. For everyone, all races, sexes, everything,” Styles said of the song in an interview with Rolling Stone. “‘Sign of the Times’ came from ‘this isn’t the first time we’ve been in a hard time, and it’s not going to be the last time.'”
Harry Styles also appeared as a musical guest on the April 15, 2017 episode of Saturday Night Live. He did not just perform but appeared in Jimmy Fallon’s opening monologue and a few skits- including a Family Feud one where he played Mick Jagger and one about singing Civil War soldiers.
Style’s performances in the skits were pretty funny. When he played Mick Jagger, he even poked fun at himself for his solo work while being a part of a successful band. He also chose comedy over showing off his performance talents in the Civil War sketch, instead choosing to sing in a funny high-pitched voice while doing a silly dance.
Besides the skits, he had his first live performance of “Sign of the Times” and premiered another new song from his upcoming album, “Ever Since New York.”
“Ever Since New York” is very catchy and has indie-rock vibes. Despite its catchiness, the lyrics are pretty sad. One of the verses says “Brooklyn saw me, empty avenues/there’s no water inside this swimming pool/almost over, that’s enough from you/I’ve been praying, I never did before/understand I’m talking to the walls/and I’ve been praying ever since New York.”
Harry Styles plans to release his solo album including these songs and eight others on May 12, 2017. Fans are excited to see more of this new side of Styles.
“He’s always been a great performer but I actually like seeing him on his own. His new music is really strong and moving. I feel like since this is his own music, it’s much more personal and you get a better feel for what he is trying to portray,” freshman psychology major Natalie Wharton said. “It’s interesting to see how much his music and performances have evolved since he started with One Direction.”
