When Hannah Britt heard she had a plus one for Harry’s sold-out show in London, there was one person she knew she had to take. And Harry proved once again why his star has gone stratospheric
Harry Styles delights 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium on night three of his 12-night Together Together residency (Image: Anthony Pham)
There is something special about Harry Styles. From the moment he stepped onto the stage as a 16-year-old boy The X Factor in 2010, a twinkle in his eye told us he was going to be a star. And 16 years on, that star has gone stratospheric. Currently in the midst of a historic 12-night stint at London’s iconic Wembley station, I was there on night three – along with 90,000 devoted fans.
“My sister took me to that audition right across the road from here,” the 32-year-old told the crowd. They screamed in response. One of the loudest of them came right next to me, my Harry Styles superfan friend Charlotte. When I heard that I had a plus to see her hero, I knew I had to take her. And I’m very glad I did…
“He’s otherworldly,” she thought as Harry started his 23-song setlist with Are You Listening Yet, from new album Kiss All The Time. Disco, occasionally. This then gave way to Golden. Harry looked like a smart geography teacher in shirt, blazer and pink jumper, a small appliqué kiss placed artfully on the collar.
“Please be who you’ve always wanted to be tonight,” Harry told the crowd, causing the audience to hold hands with those next to them. It set the tone for the night as one of kindness and acceptance — and good PR for the moms in the room.
“Respect your mother,” Harry sang in Dance No More as I made a mental note to play it for my kids. To my right, American comedian Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi spun to the next numbers: Music For A Sushi Restaurant, followed by Take Back, which he comically mixed with Soccer’s Coming Home, mirroring England’s World Cup match taking place elsewhere.
When Harry performed his first shows in Amsterdam, fans complained of a limited view due to the staging, which formed a huge walkway around the arena floor with several high bridges. Yet Harry represents a new era of fan collaboration, as most of those bridges had been removed by the time the residency hit London.
“His bone structure is ridiculous,” Charlotte remarked as Harry sat down to play the piano with a string part to the beautiful ballad, Coming Up Roses.
When his new album came out in March, it was met with mixed reviews. Many loved it, some wanted more classic pop bangers. But Disco is an album made for dancing.
And actually, when Aperture came out, it was by far my evening song. Wembley Stadium was transformed into a giant disco ball as Harry took us all to Berghain for the evening. Ready, Steady, Go and Pop, performed on the X stage was also a blast.
Without many visuals, dance troupes or tricks, there was a lot of pressure on Harry as one man to hold the audience’s attention. But that’s the thing about Harry, you really can’t take your eyes off him. He’s the best in the game right now. “I honestly feel like I could sit here for three days and not be bored,” Charlotte said. And I couldn’t help but agree.
As the show drew to a close with the Sign of the Times and As It Was fireworks lighting up the London sky, Harry put his marathon training into practice and ran around the stadium to say goodbye. “My face hurts from smiling,” Charlotte said as we sang our way back to the tube. Together Together was great fun and just the party we all need right now.
