Why Harry Styles deserves all the fuss
There is something deliciously naughty and indulgent about the cultural phenomenon that is Harry Styles – and if you’re not a fan, you should be.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Going to see live music is an inherently religious experience.
There is mania, ecstasy, sobbing, adoration … at Nick Cave’s last Melbourne concert, I joined in on what can only be described as an altar call.
Is it any wonder, then, that singers inspire such fervent devotion from their fans?
Harry Styles is about to hit Melbourne and a raw current is crackling and fizzing through his fans. An electrical storm is about to strike.
People have spent months planning their outfits.
Hundreds were spent on tickets.
But there’s something different about Harry; he’s more than a popular singer, he is a cultural phenomenon.
There is something so deliciously naughty and indulgent about Harry, which is why he boasts fans of every age and gender – he’s not just a performance, he’s an experience.
The 28-year-old Brit makes everyone blush, mysteriously conjuring the sensation of being a teenager with an embarrassing crush.
His hold over women has been seldom seen since Elvis first crooned Love Me Tender.
They are different performers, of course, and these are different times – but I cannot think of any other young male performer whom Harry’s power and talent are comparable to.
Like Elvis, Harry is topping the charts, collecting awards, making movies, and winning hearts.
Russell Howcroft on 3AW Breakfast said Harry is this generations’ Frank Sinatra – another delightful comparison I cannot fault.
From his outrageous outfits to his cheeky banter, Harry leaves his fans hungry yet satiated, ecstatic yet calmed. He is a true performer.
Apart from his dizzying good looks, perhaps Harry’s appeal to women is his wildly pro-woman discography.
Songs like Woman, Adore You, and She sing about women the way few other male pop stars do: with awe, reverence and respect.
What could possibly be more attractive?
Yet, like all superstars, Harry is not immune from the bitter criticism that oozes from people less successful, rich and happy than he is.
Many try to denigrate his fame and talent by suggesting he writes “music for girls” – as though that were an insult at all.
It is a well-documented truth that fan behaviour from young girls is not treated equally to that of young boys.
If young boys yell, scream, cheer and cry at an AFL match, they are endearingly considered devoted and loyal – but if young girls display the same behaviour at a Harry Styles concert, they are called silly, immature and hysterical.
Music written with women as the target demographic is belittled and disparaged right until the fan base broadens to include men.
Take The Beatles as an example – Beatlemania was considered the height of foolishness, an embarrassing display of mad, frenzied women fangirling over boys.
Once men began to enjoy The Beatles, however, they became “cool” and “indie”. Huh.
Harry does not care for these petty politics, instead taking pride in how the driving force of his fanbase is young women.
He has proved himself a true ally of women, one who does not need to constantly remind the world he’s a “nice guy” – he does not need to say what is obvious.
From humble beginnings on the X Factor, Harry now brings to the stage a patchwork of pop stars before him that somehow weave into a tapestry entirely his own.
He is the gender-bending of David Bowie, sex appeal of Mick Jagger, charm of Elvis Presley, and magnetism of Michael Hutchence.
I don’t know how he does it, but Harry is once in a generation.
Don’t end up on the wrong side of Harry history, and trust me: don’t knock him ‘til you try him.
More Coverage
Originally published as Why Harry Styles deserves all the fuss
Deery: Libs can’t just rely on voters abandoning Labor
While some Liberals are revelling in the collapse of Labor’s vote in its heartland, the voter phenomenon known as “double haters” is a sobering reminder of the enormous challenge they still face.
Australia is waking up to the woke and I absolutely love it
People have finally had enough of the self-loathing from our inner-city elites and the usual whingers campaigning to “change the date”, writes Matt Canavan.