By Meg Trubia

On April 1, Harry Styles’  (“Watermelon Sugar”) “As It Was” became Spotify’s most-streamed song in a single day and the most-streamed song in the U.S. in a single day in Spotify history. “As it Was” is Styles’ first single and music video from his third highly anticipated album “Harry’s House.” With the album due on May 20, this is the first music he has released since his 2019 blockbuster, “Fine Line.” 

“Harry’s House” is a 13-track album and is what fans say to be “nakedly vulnerable” and unlike anything he has done before. Fans went straight to Twitter after the song was released to share their opinions on what they thought of Harry’s new style of music. Many were very happy to see that he is finally making music for himself unlike when he was in One Direction (“Kiss You”) or in previous years. This new song gives listeners an ‘80s-inspired earworm of synth lines inspired by many new wave classics such as “Take on Me.” 

The music video starts out with Styles walking in the direction of everyone else symbolizing him going through the motions of depression and feeling trapped within himself. It then shows him getting pulled back into a new direction by gravity, telling the audience he is about to go through a transformation which is foreshadowing to later in the video where he represents a butterfly coming out of its cocoon. He then gets dragged into another room with a woman. 

Styles is now wearing a red jumpsuit and the woman is wearing a blue one. They are on a turntable and no matter how close they try to stay together they find it difficult to stay close. Many fans have speculated that the woman represents his sister, Gemma Styles. During the lyrics, “when everything gets in the way” he is referring to his parents’ divorce, happening when he was just seven, pulling his family apart and how it was not the same after that. 

She then leaves and Styles is all alone again. The video transitions to him standing outside on a platform with other people fully clothed above a pool. They then begin to undress, and Styles follows.

Styles sings “Harry, you’re no good alone/Why are you sitting at home on the floor?/What kind of pills are you on?” Fans say the red and blue outfits he and the women are wearing represent the red and blue pills from the scene in “The Matrix.” In the movie, the red pill symbolizes the choice to make an uncomfortable change in your life to become better, and the blue pill symbolizes remaining consistent and not making that change even though you know you should. Styles is wearing red as he is now making that change in his life to become better and is starting to write music that is for him. 

He is then left in his underwear with the woman again spinning into another scene where they are both seen being pinned to the ground like butterflies. Like before when he had his clothes on, he was in his cocoon but when he takes them off, he can show his true colors. Styles has gotten a lot of backlash from the public with his choice of clothing as he does not always wear “traditional” male presenting clothes, yet he does not care and wants to express himself as he is. 

 The woman and he get separated again and he is seen running on the turntable to try and catch her but no matter how fast he runs he is still unable to. This leads him into the bridge of the song which is a great part.

He said, “Go home, get ahead, light-speed internet/I don’t wanna talk about the way that it was/Leave America, two kids follow her/I don’t wanna talk about who’s doin’ it first.” It is such a catchy part of the song. This right here explains the whole meaning of the song in just a few lines. He is saying he does not want to talk about the way things used to be before when his parents were getting divorced and before he made the change to believe in himself. His mom left England and traveled to America because of it and now he and his sister also live in America, hence why he said, “two kids follow her.”

Running into the next scene, Styles is now alone again with himself and his thoughts, it is a close-up on his face and he looks nervous like he knows that running away from the changes he needs to make is not going to help. The beat drops and you can see Styles’ facial expressions change. He is seen running around, dancing in his own way and feeling himself being chaotic. This is where he feels most comfortable when he can express himself for himself the way he wants to in the form of singing and dancing. At the end of the video, he smiles at the camera and then runs off into the distance to go and start his new adventures with his new mindset. 

Styles’ message begins with this video showing fans it does not matter how you get there; you must pick yourself up and try to make positive changes no matter what challenges come your way. Styles is showing us how he has faced his demons and depression and came out on the other side feeling free. 

After listening to the song, the first time, listeners may be given coming of age movie vibes. It would fit perfectly in a scene where the main character just found out all the answers to their problems and it is now a montage of them making those changes to end up being happy at the end of the movie.

Styles is giving off a very heartwarming and welcoming environment. He is teaching his audience life lessons as they grow up with him as an artist. It is beyond exciting to see what other songs he has in store for us. His next performance is in only a few weeks with him headlining Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 15. Fans speculate we will get another song sometime before then, fingers crossed. 

Image from Harry Styles via YouTube