As a member of the British boy band
One Direction, singer, songwriter, and actor
Harry Styles topped the charts in impressive fashion, toured the world to play for millions of screaming fans, and sold albums by the bucketload. Branching out on his own in 2016, his solo material took a more serious, rock-based approach -- reflecting the influence of childhood favorites
Queen,
Elton John, and
the Beatles -- while still delivering the pop sound his faithful fans desired. His debut album,
Harry Styles, reached number one across the globe and he soared to greater heights in 2019 with his multi-platinum follow-up
Fine Line, home to the Grammy- and Brit-winning smash "Watermelon Sugar." In 2022,
Styles released his third set,
Harry's House.
Born in Redditch, England, in 1994,
Styles was raised in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, and he made his first foray into music with a high school band named White Eskimo. In 2010, he left home and joined the seventh season of The X Factor, where fate (and
Simon Cowell) would eventually lead him toward a life-changing opportunity with four other young men. As
One Direction,
Styles and his bandmates
Zayn Malik,
Louis Tomlinson,
Niall Horan, and
Liam Payne would release five albums from 2011 to 2015, hitting number one across the globe and selling millions of records to an adoring and rabid fan base that drew comparisons to the fervor at the height of Beatlemania. In early 2016, after
Malik had already parted ways with
1D, the remaining foursome announced an indefinite hiatus.
Months later,
Styles signed a solo deal with
Columbia. Reflecting the influence of childhood favorites like
Queen,
Elton John, and
the Beatles,
Styles' solo material took a more serious and rock-based approach, while still delivering the pop sound his faithful
1D fans desired. With the help of Grammy-winning producer
Jeff Bhasker (who had worked with
Kanye West and
Bruno Mars),
Styles put together a small band and, after rehearsing the songs, headed to Jamaica for two months to record an album. The plaintive "Sign of the Times" was released as its first single in April 2017 and quickly rose to the top of the charts across Europe. The self-titled full-length followed in May and debuted at the top of the charts in Australia, the U.S., and across Europe. Later that summer, he made his movie debut as a soldier in
Christopher Nolan's Oscar-winning epic Dunkirk, which was the top film in the U.S. the week of its release, making
Styles the first British artist to secure a number one debut single, album, and film in the same year. He set off on a lengthy worldwide tour that lasted from September 2017 through July 2018, then began recording his second album with producers
Kid Harpoon and
Tyler Johnson, both of whom worked on his debut.
Taking time off from the sessions -- which took place at various studios in California, England, and Nashville -- in 2019,
Styles inducted
Stevie Nicks into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, co-hosted the Met Gala, and modeled for Gucci. The finished album,
Fine Line, was released in December and found the singer adding influences as varied as
Childish Gambino-styled funk and
Bon Iver-esque Baroque folk to his repertoire. While hit single "Adore You" made a splash around the world, the multi-platinum, international Top Five smash "Watermelon Sugar" was ubiquitous in 2020, taking home a Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance and winning a Brit Award for British Single of the Year in 2021. He also added additional acting credits to his résumé that year, joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Eros in the film Eternals and the casts of Don't Worry Darling and My Policeman.
When his Love on Tour kicked off in late 2021,
Styles added a headlining slot at 2022's installment of Coachella to his schedule. He also released the driving synth-forward single "As It Was," which topped charts in over two dozen countries across the globe. That song landed on his third full-length,
Harry's House, which arrived in May. Produced yet again by
Kid Harpoon and
Tyler Johnson, the '70s-inspired pop LP also featured guests
John Mayer,
Pino Palladino,
Blood Orange, and
Ben Harper. ~ Neil Z. Yeung