Harry Styles has revealed he has struggled to live up to the expectations his fans have of him, admitting it can often feel ‘impossible’ not to feel like he’s falling short.
Harry Styles says he felt it was ‘impossible’ to maintain the ‘perfect’ image people had of him(Image: Vianney Le Caer/Dave Benett/Getty Images for The Ivors)
Despite his millions of fans, Harry Styles admits it may be “impossible” to live up to the expectations they have of him. The global hitmaker can have his eyes peeled world following his every move, but away from his colorful career, life couldn’t be more different for the 32-year-old.
The superstar found fame as one-fifth of One Directiona boy band produced on The The X Factorcreated by Nicole Scherzinger. Styles and his bandmates, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and the late Liam Payne all auditioning for the former ITV show as a solo artist, but their dream was almost cut short in 2010.
When all five failed to make it to Judges’ Houses as soloists, Wet hitmaker Nicole discovered something her co-stars didn’t: a unique mix of talent. Despite not winning the show and finishing in third place, Harry and his bandmates became one of the biggest boy groups of all time.
Now, ten years after the band went on indefinite hiatus and pursued solo careers, Harry admits he feels the pressure to be perfect. Despite three of his solo records, including his latest, Kiss All The Time. Disco, an occasional chart-topper, the singer says he struggles with how his fans perceive him.
“I had this relationship with my own image where people had this projected version of me that was perfect,” he said on the Q With Tom Power podcast. Harry went on to add, “And when the standard you hold yourself to is this perfect person, it’s impossible not to feel like you’re falling short.”
And despite his adoring fans, like most, Harry is prone to trolling on social media, which affects him. He said: “If you don’t feel good about yourself and someone says you’re terrible, it’s like the claw is in and it’s tearing you apart.
“But if you have a more solid sense of yourself, you can hear those things and it doesn’t destroy you in the same way.” While Harry undoubtedly has the world at his feet with a successful music and acting career, his fame comes with some negativity.
This includes growing up like his friends from home and missing out on aspects of everyday life. Instead, the moment he steps out into north London, whether to visit a pub or coffee shop, he is met with people waving their smartphones in his face to take a picture.
Despite his north London complex, it’s safe to say that Harry feels more relaxed in Italy, which he describes as a “quiet place” that allows him to isolate himself from the outside world. He spoke about isolating himself away, commenting: “You can sit at home and think it’s hard for me to do these things – people look at me, take pictures. But when you shut out the things that can be negative, you also shut out a lot of positive things.
“If you think it’s hard to go to a bar and hang out with friends because people might act a certain way, there are also incredible people you can meet in that bar that you shut out.”
But while he did in fact isolate himself, this time allowed Harry to explore his own feelings in depth and lean into his feelings instead of putting up a wall against them after a hectic few years. Harry was on the road for 22 months, from September 2021 to July 2023, for his Love On Tour, performing a staggering 169 shows.
Now, though, he says he’s in a “much healthier place” with the release of his fourth record. And he’s also changed his entire tour plans.
Instead of a mammoth tour, Harry will perform residencies across the globe, including a historic 12-night stint at Wembley Stadium and 20 shows at Madison Square Garden in New York. So much so that his current tour, Together Together, features only 68 dates with long distances between countries.
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