English singer
Harry Styles has made a significant impact on
popular culture with his music, artistry, fashion, identity, tours, and commercial achievements worldwide. He is regarded as one of the most influential men in music and fashion and a subject of widespread public interest with a vast fanbase. He is considered to be among the most successful solo artists who have emerged from a band.
His musical career began in 2010 as part of
One Direction, a boy band formed on the British music competition series The X Factor after each member of the band had been eliminated from the solo contest.[1] They became one of the
best-selling boy bands of all time before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.[2] After releasing his
self-titled debut solo album in 2017, Styles steadily amassed fame, success, and public interest throughout his career, becoming a
pop icon, a
fashion icon, and a
global icon and one of the most successful artists of the 21st century.
Harry Styles has been labelled one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 21st century.[3][4][5][6] He is one the richest musicians in the
United Kingdom, with an estimated net worth of £175 million as of 2024 through music and his film appearances.[7] Styles has released
three studio albums, supported by fourteen
singles and one
promotional single.[8] All of his three albums were commercial success and well-received by music critics, with all of them debuting atop the U.S.
Billboard 200 chart and reaching the top two on the
UK Albums Chart.[9][10][11]
You'd be hard pressed to find an article about Styles that doesn't mention his fans. They've sold out shows in minutes, taken over
TikTok trends and camped outside venues. They're also a highly creative bunch of young people, using their
fandom to learn new skills that will carry them forward in many aspects of their lives.
Styles' fan base is known as "Harries", including fans of all ages, ethnicities, and genders around the world.[35][36] Known for their creativity, they have made
fan edits of him with their
video editing skills, customised
fan sites with their
coding and
web designing skills, and organised
marketing campaigns to promote his music and help him win awards. In a survey of 63 fans done by Kate Pattison from The Conversation, the skills the fans have learnt through their
fandom included
graphic design,
sewing,
writing,
close reading, and
digital literacy. On the
fan fiction website
Wattpad, there are over 270,000 stories about Styles, with some of them attracting millions of readers.[34] Throughout the years, his fans has raised over £30,000 for charitable causes, including over £11,000 in 2021 alone in honour of his 27th birthday.[37] Due to his popularity, the singer has often fallen a victim of
bottling,[38] frequently hitting him in the
groin.[39][40][41][42]
He has inspired his fans to dress up for his concerts, leading Fashionista to call the shows "his fans'
Met Gala". Outfits often include sequins, pink cowboy hats, and
feather boas[43][44] and have been featured in Vogue,[45]The New York Times,[46] and The New Yorker.[47] His 15-night
residency at the Madison Square Garden caused a shortage of the feathery accessories. The feather boas at the
Party City in New York City were completely sold out within the first two or three days of his residency.[48]
Styles has always given a small speech at the beginning of each show encouraging the fans to be whoever they want to be and to have "the best time of their lives" at the show.[49][50] He has also been known for his protective relationship with his fans, stalwartly defending them in his interviews.[51] When asked in an interview with Rolling Stone about his young female fanbase and if he is worried about proving credibility to an older crowd, Styles stated, "They're our future. Our future doctors, lawyers, mothers, presidents, they kind of keep the world going. Teenage-girl fans – they don't lie. If they like you, they're there. They don't act 'too cool'. They like you, and they tell you".[52] Respectively, fans often credit Styles with feeling safe, free, and comfortable at his concerts and their own lives. He has helped several people at his concerts to
come out to their families or
propose to their lovers and
counsels them through their break-ups.[35][53]
Since One Direction's early years, a group of
shippingconspiracy theorist fans, often called "
Larries", has been dedicated to proving that Styles and Louis Tomlinson,
name blended as "Larry Stylinson", are secretly a couple that has been
closeted by a
homophobic music industry.[54][55][56] Academics Clare Southerton and Hannah McCann connect the fan group to phenomena like
queer reading and
slash fiction.[55][57] In 2016, the ship was labeled "one of the largest elements of the One Direction fandom, which itself is one of the largest fandoms on the internet".[54] The theory, mainly proliferated on social media, has led to
online bullying and harassment of Styles' and Tomlinson's friends, family, and girlfriends.[58][54]
Social media presence
Styles is one of the
most-followed Twitter users, with over 38 million followers as of 2022,[59] and has one of the most-followed
Instagram accounts in the UK, with over 48 million followers as of 2024.[60][61] He has often used his
social media accounts to interact with his fans, reply to their posts, or answer their
private messages.[62][63][64][65] When a fan jokingly
tweeted on
World Mental Health Day that Styles' second album and tour are more important than therapy, he answered, "Go to therapy, it's important. I'll wait for you".[66] Styles was named the most influential person on
Twitter by The Independent in 2015 and ranked as the tenth most famous contemporary music artist by
YouGov in 2024.[67][68] According to a report released by Twitter called "The Styles Report", Styles is the most-talked-about "Harry" of the
2020s, beating out
Harry Potter and
Prince Harry. His fans tweeted about Harry's House over 10 million tweets from its announcement date to its release date, with a five times increase in tweets about feather boas during the week of the
63rd Annual Grammy Awards. Additionally, Twitter painted murals of popular tweets about Styles in Los Angeles and New York City, with Kevin O'Donnell, Twitter's head of music partnerships, speaking about Styles' influence in a press release.[69]
Styles has been revered by critics and journalists for his unique performing style and sense of inclusivity while touring. According to Billboard, tickets for the
Harry Styles: Live on Tour shows in 2017 sold out in seconds across 29 markets.[81] The tour grossed over $63 million and raised a total of $1.2 million in charity donations from ticket and merchandise sales for 62 charities around the world, and registered hundreds of new voters in the US via the non-profit organisation
HeadCount.[82] The second of the two final shows at the
Kia Forum tallied more than 17,000 paid tickets and beat the record for the most paid tickets for a single show since the venue reopened in 2014. Additionally, record amounts of merchandise were sold in over 50 venues in North and South America, Australia, and Europe, according to
Live Nation.[82]
Styles'
Love On Tour grossed $617.3 million and sold more than 5 million tickets over 173 dates.[83] It ended as the
fifth-highest-grossing tour and eighth-most attended tour of all time, and raised more than $6.5 million for various charities including
Planned Parenthood,
Choose Love, and Physicians for Reproductive Health.[84][83] The tour eclipsed the entire career gross of
One Direction's tours combined.[84] The tour was also credited by Hugh McIntyre of Forbes as "one of the first major ventures by a top-tier musician following the global pandemic" where most artists held back to see how the market would respond following the outbreak.[85]
Residencies
As part of Styles' Love On Tour in 2021, Styles announced a 15-night residency at both
Madison Square Garden and the Kia Forum, with additional 6-night residencies in
Austin and
Chicago. Multiple publications cited Styles as the leader in a new trend of live entertainment for performers in a post-
COVID-19 landscape and a method to reduce touring costs.
Ben Sisario of The New York Times named Styles "the most prominent example of a bubbling trend", with Eamonn Forde of The Guardian agreeing that Styles led the pack due to his large scale success. Former chief executive of
Ticketmaster,
Nathan Hubbard called Styles' strategy "the future of live [entertainment]".[86][87]
Styles' shows at Madison Square Garden were the highest grossing engagement for a British artist, for a male artist, the biggest for any artist at the venue, and the highest grossing headline engagement in Billboard boxscore's history.[88] The Garden raised a permanent banner to the rafters in the venue, commemorating his record-setting run of 15 consecutive sold-out shows, making Styles the third artist in history to receive the accolade.[89] Jim Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of
MSG Entertainment, named Styles one of the most impactful artists of his generation.[90] Styles also received a commemorative banner for his 15 sold-out shows at the Kia Forum that was raised to the rafters of the venue.[91]
Sustainability
Styles is considered one of the leading contemporary artists promoting sustainability in live entertainment.[92][93] Styles launched a partnership with the non-profit organization
Reverb in 2018 for his Harry Styles: Live on Tour.[94] On his first tour, 6,700 gallons of waste were diverted from landfills backstage by band/crew.[95] As part of Styles' Love On Tour, "Harry Styles Eco-Village" were set up at every show, where 33,900+ single-use bottles were eliminated. Styles also supported The Kenya Clean Water Project, The Sky Wind Project, and Solar Powered Streetlights in
Michigan to address the greenhouse gas emissions from the tour.[96] In 2022, the partnership was highlighted by Billboard as one of the major contributors to the "green movement" in live music.[97] Publications such as The Washington Post credited Styles alongside
Coldplay and
Billie Eilish for being the first major artists to make climate pledges on their tours.[98]
Styles also invested in the sustainable arena venue
Co-Op Live, the UK's first and only 100% electric arena, powered by a combination of renewably sourced electricity and on-site solar panels.[99] The venue's roof harvests rainfall, which is used to water its plants and flush its toilets. The venue also pledges zero waste to landfill and the intention to be the most sustainable arena in Europe.[99] In 2024, representatives for Styles joined the Music Climate Advisory Committee for a study at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s Environmental Solutions Initiative, proposing sustainable solutions for events across the entire live music industry.[100]
Commercial success
As a result of the anticipation for his albums, Styles has impacted the music industry's economy on several occasions. After the release of Harry's House and "As It Was" in 2022, the United Kingdom saw its highest annual export level since 2000. It led to a double-digit percentage increase in
physical sales,
digital sales,
streaming, and other consumption of British music in every region globally.[101]Sony Music Group considered Harry's House a major seller for their third fiscal quarter of 2022, when the company experienced record earnings and a 42.9% year-on-year growth in music publishing revenue.[102] In 2022, Harry's House was listed among the key contributors to an increase of
cassette sales in the UK, the highest level since 2003.[103] Styles has also been credited for
the rise in vinyl sales in both the UK and the US, for a 20% year on year industry increase.[104][105] His album Fine Line was the best-selling
vinyl album in the US in 2020.[106]
Charts and accolades
The
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has credited Styles' global success with boosting music exports to the United Kingdom multiple times.[107][108][109] Media outlets such as The Guardian have claimed Styles is "Britain's most lucrative export" with his broad international appeal, and The Telegraph labelled him "Britain’s premier contemporary pop star" who is "single-handedly keeping Britain relevant on the world stage".[110][111][112][113] During Harry's House's release week, Styles occupied the top spot of the album and singles charts in over ten countries, including the UK and US, with Harry's House and "As It Was", respectively.[114] Styles' debut album, Harry Styles, earned the biggest sales week for a debut album by a British male in the
SoundScan era and Harry's House moved more copies on vinyl than any other artist since SoundScan tracking began.[115][116] In the US, "As It Was" is the longest running number one song by a British act in the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100 chart's history, and Harry's House's first week on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart was the biggest debut for any British male artist. Styles also holds the record as the first UK male artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 with his first three albums.[117] Styles has also broken a variety of records in Asia, Europe, and Latin America with his tours.[118][119]
Styles has been particularly praised for "breaking the
boyband mould" as a solo artist and "cracking America". James Masterton of The Guardian labeled Styles as "a new kind of cross-media poly-talent" across generations, calling him a "renaissance man" for expression and fluidity in British stars.[111] Styles was the first British male soloist to win
Album of the Year at the
Grammys since
Eric Clapton and was the first to win the award after originating from
reality television.[120]
Marketing strategies
They're incredibly smart, they're brilliant in the way they pieced it all together. [...] In this day and age when there is so much out there, getting people to pay attention to one thing is really satisfying.
Manos Xanthogeorgis,
Columbia Records' senior vice president of digital marketing and media, on Styles' fans and the Eroda campaign, Billboard (2019)[121]
Styles' brand is considered "a professional, consistent and emotional presence" with "elaborate" and "lavish" marketing campaigns.[122][123] To promote Fine Line and its lead single "
Lights Up" before their release, Styles launched the "Do You Know Who You Are?" campaign, in which a website was created and several billboards were displayed around the world with the caption, which turned out to be a lyric from the single. His fans traveled around the world just to see the billboard signs and the website
crashed multiple times. He later launched the "Eroda campaign" to promote the album's release and the second single, "
Adore You". Styles and his team came up with a fictional island called Eroda and started marketing for a tourism agency there, a website, fake reviews on social media apps, travel tips, and short history lessons about the island. He later collaborated with
Spotify to organize a fan-exclusive event held at an undisclosed location in Los Angeles for a private listening party, where fans were taken to experience Eroda.[124][125] Gil Kaufman of Billboard called the Eroda campaign the most viral marketing campaign of 2019.[121]
To celebrate Fine Line's and maximize the album's sales, Styles held a one-night-only show at the Kia Forum on the album's release day. He allowed fans to pre-order his album and rewarded them with a code to have a chance to buy tickets for the show for only $25.[124][126] Styles has also done several shows during
Halloween throughout the years, calling the shows "Harryween", and encouraging the fans to dress up in costumes for the occasion. Tickets for his Halloween shows sell out in seconds, with fans spending hundreds of dollars on resale tickets.[124]
In 2020, Styles won the Silver
Clio Award for "Adore You" (2019) in the "Music Marketing" category for his
Eroda campaign.[127] Moreover, in 2024, Styles and
Columbia Records won the Clio Grand in the "Album Launch/Artist Promotion Integrated Campaign" category for their achievement with Harry's House.[128] Amanda O'Shaughnessy, an associate marketing director at
Mediacom, said Styles "knows who he is and what he stands for but most importantly he understands his audience and what they want. [...] He embraces and shows unending respect to his fans, audiences, and generations, ensuring they're represented. He's even on several occasions shut down the pigeon-holing of his fans by journalists – truly appreciating how his audiences continue to evolve. That takes humility which marketers can all learn from".[129]
It's hard to go anywhere without encountering Harry Styles' unparalleled, experimental, and often '70's-inspired fashion sense. Whether someone is most familiar with Styles' boy-band-cutie era or as an innovator in modern menswear, one can definitively say that the musician often lives up to his surname.
Styles has been labelled a
fashion icon and as one of the most influential males in fashion by journalists and other sectors of the entertainment industry.[15][16][17] His influence on fashion has been examined by critics and designers.[130][131][132][133] Styles has had several ventures into the fashion industry, including owning lifestyle and fashion brand
Pleasing,[134] creating his own collection for
Gucci,[135] investing in brands like S.S. Daley,[136] and appearing at
events such as the
Met Gala and
the Fashion Awards.[137][138] He has set various fashion trends throughout his career, and aspects of his looks and clothing have influenced the public, designers, and other entertainers.[139][140][31] Styles is credited for creating trends in fashion with pearl necklaces,[141]Hawaiian shirts, crochet garments,[142]Chelsea boots,[143] and wide-leg trousers.[144] Jacob Gallagher of The Wall Street Journal called him the "popularizer of the manly pearl necklace" and Tom Lamont of The Guardian noted that some of Styles' fashion choices have contributed to "an important political discussion about gendered fashion".[145][146] Elements of Styles' personal belongings and famous looks have been displayed in museums and other exhibitions around the world, including the
Design Museum,[147] the
Grammy Museum at L.A. Live,[148] the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,[149] and the Victoria and Albert Museum.[150] He has also received
various awards for his fashion, including the British Style Award at the
2013 Fashion Awards.[151]
In 2020, Styles became the first man to appear solo on the cover of Vogue, selling 40,000 subscriptions after the cover was launched so they had to order a second print run with a waitlist.[152]The blue Gucci dress he wore on the cover was incorporated in 2022 into a
Victoria and Albert Museum exhibit called 'Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear'.[150]Nashville-based singer Charlotte Sands wrote a song called "Dress", inspired by Styles' cover look. The song went viral on
TikTok and has been added to over 37,000 Spotify playlists as of 2021.[153]
During the
COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, a
JW Anderson knitted cardigan that Styles wore in a rehearsal for The Today Show went viral on
TikTok as Anderson provided the pattern for free online. The Victoria and Albert Museum acquired the cardigan for its permanent collection in November 2020, calling the viral craze a "cultural phenomenon that speaks to the power of creativity and social media in bringing people together in times of extreme adversity".[154] Following the internet challenge to recreate the cardigan on TikTok, searches for knitted clothes increased by 166% during the last week of June, according to
fashion technology company and
search engine Lyst.[155]
Lyst named Styles the most influential man in fashion in 2020 and a "trendsetter" of the year. Lyst pointed out that after the release of the music video for Styles' single "
Golden" in 2020, internet searches for yellow bucket hats increased by 92%, for turquoise blue blazers by 52%, and for
Bode, the fashion brand of Styles' shirt, by 31%. During the first 24 hours after the release of the music video for "
Watermelon Sugar, searches for
watermelons increased by 11% and Hawaiian shirts by 16%. After wearing a custom sparkling Gucci suit for the music video for "
Treat People with Kindness", the demand for Gucci increased by 23% at the week of the release with a 426% surge in searches for sequins, while searches for white wide-leg trousers increased 40%.[155][142] Following the release of the music video for "As It Was", searches for jumpsuits increased by a massive 212% during its release week.[156] In September 2022, when Styles started his Love On Tour, online styling service
Stitch Fix saw a 160% year-over-year spike in requests related to the tour and Styles' looks. The week after the
63rd Annual Grammy Awards,
fintech company
Klarna reported a 29% increase of purchases of leather suits.[157] After debuting a new buzzcut look in November 2023, the buzzcut-related searches on
Google increased more than 130%.[158]
Several artists have voiced their desires to work with Styles, including those pictured above.
Many musicians have expressed getting inspiration from Styles and their desire to work with him. Singer-songwriter
Stevie Nicks likened Fine Line to
Fleetwood Mac's album Rumours (1977), saying that she was inspired by him to write new music and poetry.[159] Other acts who cited Styles as an influence and voiced their desires to work him include:
Several actors and filmmakers stated their desires to work with Styles, including
Christopher Nolan (left) and
Jean Smart (right)
American actress Jean Smart praised Styles' stage performance and personality, stating her desire to work with him.[193] American actress
Jennifer Grey also stated that she would love to work with Styles on the sequel of her romantic drama dance film Dirty Dancing (1987).[194] Academy Award-winning director Christopher Nolan admitted his desire to work with Styles again, having worked together on the historical war thriller film Dunkirk (2017).[195] When asked about working with Styles on Dunkirk, the Academy Award-winning actor
Cillian Murphy stated, "He is a sweet kid, he wears [his fame] lightly. I admire how he comports himself".[196]
Styles has been the subject of various tribute projects around the world.
Vitamin String Quartet released a cover of "As It Was" commemorating the song through
classical music.[218] Classical musician Steve Horner also gave tribute to Styles' 2017 single "
Sign of The Times" as part of the soundtrack of the second season of the Bridgerton series.[219] Styles also inspired a
jazz-funk cover of "As It Was" by Prep that went viral on
TikTok, and an additional experimental jazz cover album entitled A Visit to Harry's House by musicians Spencer Zahn,
Dave Harrington, and Jeremy Gustin.[220][221]
Styles has also been the subject of many tribute concerts across the United Kingdom, including the Candlelight Concerts series and a tour entitled the "Harry's House of Gospel".[222][223] Styles-themed events like
dragbrunches and themed bars have also been utilized to pay tribute to the artist.[224][225]
Scholarly interest
Styles is a subject of academic research. His artistry, fame, societal impact, and sexuality are broadly the topics of scholarly
media studies. Some higher educational institutions offer
undergraduate and elective courses focusing on Styles. The courses focus on the dissection of Styles' persona and work on how modern celebrity spawns "questions of gender and sexuality, race, class, nation and globalism, media, fashion, fan culture, internet culture, and consumerism".[226] Universities such as
Texas State University have courses dedicated to researching topics of Styles' impact.