From famous boy band member to solo artist, Harry Styles has started releasing music for his second album “Fine Line,” to be released on Dec. 13.
So far, Styles’s new singles include “Lights Up,” which was released on Oct. 11 and “Watermelon Sugar,” which was launched on Nov. 16. Styles has just announced that his next single, titled “Adore You,” will drop on Dec. 6.
Before the song’s release date dropped, there was an influx of advertising across social media for “Eroda”. Eroda, a fictional island of what appears to be a modern utopia, is the setting for Styles’ upcoming single, “Adore You.”
In the trailer for the single, Styles is the protagonist and appears to be an outlier in a society ruled by superstition and superficial rules, including never leaving the island on an odd-numbered day.
Fans have speculated on Styles’s relation to the utopian island and have even mentioned possible cult-like activity despite the island only existing days before the trailer was released.
The new album puts endeda two-year hiatus between the two albums, along with differences in advertising and media presence.
His previous album, an introductory album titled “Harry Styles,” carried a more alternative sound — definitely not like his work with One Direction.
His most streamed song from that album, “Sign of the Times,” has almost 600 million streams and describes the end of an era. The era could be tied to the splitting of One Direction, but it is actually about a mother dying shortly after childbirth.
This is most apparent in lyrics that most blatantly describe the separation of the mother and child.
“Remember everything will be alright / We can meet again somewhere / Somewhere far away from here,” Styles sings.
Styles described the song to Rolling Stone as the mother telling the child as quickly as possible to go and conquer life despite her life ending. In the interview, Styles puts an emphasis on how politics affected his music along with the lack of rights for everyone.
“‘Sign of the Times’ came from (the concept) ‘This isn’t the first time we’ve been in a hard time, and it’s not going to be the last time,’” Styles said.
Though this message is not outlined within the lyrics, the message of boldness along with looming demise is more prevalent than the exact scenario of the tragedy outlined in the interview.
In his new singles leading up to his second solo album, while the style is the same, Styles’s tone varies.
“Lights Up” is a sultry song about not dimming who you are. While the music video relays a topical version of the message, the lyrics let listeners take a look into Styles’s mind with fame being considered.
In his latest and more popular release, “Watermelon Sugar,” Styles sings more about what sounds like summer love and not the kind in One Direction’s “Take Me Home.” The sound is not vastly different from “Lights Up,” but it features different content that is closer to a song from his first album, “From the Dining Table.”
While Styles functions as a solo artist, his work still offers a reflection into his past with his boy band past. His music has matured into something that those of all ages can listen to.
