With his “Fine Line” era coming to an end, Harry Styles finally made his highly-anticipated comeback with his newest single, “As It Was,” released on April 1. Although fans were skeptical of the single’s announcement since its premiere day coincided with April Fools’ Day, they were more than thrilled to welcome back the lovable Styles and spend their days religiously streaming his new single. Since its release, “As It Was” has set a new Spotify record as the most-streamed song in the United States in a single day in 2022, beating previous record-holder Olivia Rodrigo’s “driver’s license.” It’s also currently the most-streamed song globally on Spotify with over 60 million streams, yet it only contextualizes Styles’ upcoming third album, “Harry’s House,” scheduled to release May 20.
Fans began to expect Styles’ album announcement after he caused a frenzy online by posting a series of teasing promo pics for his “As It Was” music video on Instagram last month. Styles and his team created a website, YouAreHome.co, that intends to visually promote his new album, reminiscent of the stunt they pulled for his previous single “Adore You” in 2019. Currently, the website shows an ivory-colored door with a gold handle that is left ajar to show a glimpse of puzzling red, blue, black and white lines, a stark contrast from the previous images featured behind the mysterious door like Haruki Murakami’s “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.” Styles also playfully teased the new album during his two-night ‘Harryween’ Halloween weekend at Madison Square Garden last year during his “Love On Tour,” wearing a billowing harlequin clown costume to hint at his single’s premiere day on April Fools’ Day and dressing up as Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz” for Halloween, who tries to return to her house while she recites the phrase “there’s no place like home.”
“As It Was” makes a complete 180 from this melancholic motif. By taking a fearless leap into a new direction, Styles’ new single embraces a main-character-type developmental growth that confronts their own baggage and releases all suppressed emotions to accept the bittersweet nature of change. Swerving into 80s style synth-pop, fans were quick to point out musical influences that potentially inspired Styles for this single, such as A-Ha’s “Take On Me” and James Bay’s “Pink Lemonade.”
Starting with an adorable audio clip of his goddaughter, Ruby Winston, saying “C’mon Harry, we want to say goodnight to you,” the single begins with a poignant tone that sees Styles yearning for someone from his past with hard-hitting lyrics like “When everything gets in the way / Seems you cannot be replaced / And I’m the one who will stay.” Struggling to battle with change, Styles admits that “In this world, it’s just us / You know it’s not the same as it was,” repeatedly throughout the song and shuts down attempts of reminiscing on the past. His lyrics depict an isolating scene of one emotionally detached from reality and loved ones as he admits to not being good alone and wonders why he is sitting alone at home and questions the pills he has taken to heal himself with. This internal monologue helps Styles acknowledge his downfall and begin to pick himself back up. These desolating lines soon transition into an uplifting and confident melody coupled with warped steel drums and tolling chimes, with Styles playing tubular bells. Following the lyrics, “Ringin’ the bell / And nobody’s coming to help,” Styles dials up the cheery nature of the song by giving it a happier musical ending that resembles a Christmas jingle with a euphoric connotation of hope for the future.
Styles also blessed the eyes and ears of his fans by releasing a music video for “As It Was” directed by Tanu Muino. We see Styles dressed in a glittery red jumpsuit alongside a female companion wearing a blue counterpart as they meet for a pas de deux on top of an endlessly spinning platform inspired by a piece from the video’s choreographer, Yoann Bourgeois, “Celui Qui Tombe.” Despite Styles’ efforts to pull her close to his chest, she drifts apart from him, as though pulled apart by forces outside of their control. During the song’s bridge, there is a shift in Styles’ eyes when he realizes he can end this useless chase. By stepping down from the platform and racing out, he finally moves on. As Styles runs through short gates to begin his new journey, he opens them wide enough for others to follow suit, encouraging them to move forward too.
Styles underwent one of the most challenging transitions in music, going from being a member of “One Direction” to becoming a solo artist. His deviation away from the pop music genre was performed in an elegant manner that not only retained the loyalty of his “directioner” fans, but also captured the interest of other music listeners who have come to know and love him as Harry Styles instead of “that one guy from that famous boy band.” However, his reputation as a teen heartthrob and sex symbol continues to find itself meddling with his success, with the internet speculating who “As It Was” is about, with the lines “Leave America, two kids follow her / I don’t wanna talk about who’s doing it first,” as the main debate for the song being about his relationship with actress Olivia Wilde. While his previous albums centered around physical intimacy and lustfulness, “As It Was” shines light upon a different type of intimacy — an emotional connection that is not enveloped between two bodies, but rather in the embrace of one body and one mind rooted in self-love and self-mediation.
Although Styles has yet to provide any explanation for the song’s true meaning, it is clear that this is a song for everyone. Whether it’s about overcoming trauma or accepting change, this single has surely further cemented Styles’ image as one of the best icons and musicians of our generation.
Annabella Johan is an Entertainment Staff Writer. She can be reached at ajohan@uci.edu.