Should Australians be proud Harry Styles did a shoey?

Harry Styles began his sold-out national tour in Perth on Monday by following in the beer-sodden footsteps of other touring artists and drinking a beer from his shoes, AKA “doing a shoey”.

For the uninitiated, a shoey involves pouring alcohol – typically beer – into your shoe and then sculling it, before putting the shoe back on your foot.

The act has become an increasingly popular crowd demand placed upon visiting musicians, whether they like it or not. But as well as being popular, the shoey is polarising.

For some Australians, it is a lighthearted experience to share with an artist, but for others it is uncomfortable or cringy, a kind of secret shame we’d prefer the rest of the world didn’t find out about. Or, in the words of Camp Cope lead singer George Maq, “It makes me embarrassed to be Australian”.

But it appears the secret is out.

Earlier this month, Post Malone did a shoey on every tour date around the country as the opening act for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Meanwhile, artists including Stormzy, Machine Gun Kelly, Aminé, Luke Bryan and Kacey Musgraves have all previously taken part when touring Australia.

The actual origins of the shoey are as murky as the liquid that pools in the bottom of one’s shoe.

There are multiple investigations into the history of the shoey, but the consensus seems to be that the act took off in the 2000s.

According to reports by both The New York Times and Junkee, one of the first shoeys on record was captured in 2006 as part of a surfing video for the brand Rusty. A few years later, in 2010, Tasmanian punk band Luca Brasi would regularly perform shoeys as part of their set.

From there, the shoey found its way into motor sports, with Australian MotoGP rider Jack Miller and F1 star Daniel Ricciardo regularly celebrating grid wins by doing a shoey. The celebration became so popular in the F1 that the organisation trademarked the word in 2018, while other drivers including Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have embraced the custom.

Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton celebrate with a shoey on the podium.Credit: Getty Images

But Styles is undoubtedly the highest-profile celebrity to do a shoey. Because everything he does is endlessly dissected on the internet, a whole new audience is currently being introduced to this uniquely Australian tradition.

On Tuesday morning, the words “HE DID A SHOEY” were trending on Twitter, with fans either celebrating Styles’ willingness to play along or bemoaning that he’d stooped to this level.

Now that the shoey has officially set foot on the global stage, it’s time to examine whether we’re happy with how it makes us look.

In some ways, it does paint a worrying picture of the Australian cultural conversation. Styles is one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, performing songs from his Grammy Award-winning album Harry’s House, yet it seems all anyone wants to discuss is the fact he slurped beer from his shoe.

Sculling drinks has long been seen as a shortcut to “icon status” in this country, with everyone from prime ministers to sports stars taking part in the tradition.

The jury is out on whether this is a reflection of our problematic drinking culture or proof that we don’t take ourselves too seriously as a country. But the issue with the shoey specifically is that it’s just a bit gross.

“This is one of the most disgusting traditions ever,” said Styles before downing his shoe beer.

Interestingly, his decision to drink up comes four years after he refused to sip from his shoe while touring Australia for his 2019 album Fine Line.

Given the viral nature of Styles’ first shoey, fans can probably expect more of the same at his remaining five shows. The bar has been set, and even the great Harry Styles can’t risk getting Australian audiences offside by refusing to play along.

A pop star begrudgingly drinking beer from his own shoe to keep his fans happy?

It’s a sign of the times.

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