- British pop singer and songwriter born in 1994 in Redditch Worcestershire England.
- Styles’ grandfather gave him a karaoke machine, and his first recording was Styles singing Elvis Presley’s The Girl of My Best Friend while using the machine. At 14 years old, he joined a band named White Eskimo – he wanted to play bass guitar, but the band already had one, so he took on lead vocals. They won a Battle of the Bands contest, and they played their first show at a wedding. In 2010, his mother suggested that he audition for the British television singing competition The X Factor. He was eliminated in the boot camp phase of the show, and Simon Cowell placed him into a group that Cowell mentored with four other teen boys who also were eliminated from the show. Styles suggested the name One Direction for the vocal group. They performed as a group on The X Factor, and eventually finished in third place.
- In 2011, One Direction was signed to a recording contract with Cowell’s record label. They released five albums between 2011 and 2015. The first four were #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and the last peaked at #2. Four were mult-platinum in sales, and the fifth reached platinum status. They were the first recording act ever to have their first four albums all debut at #1 on the Billboard 200. Top five singles by the group included What Makes You Beautiful (peaking at #4 on the Hot 100), Live While You’re Young (#3), Best Song Ever (#2) and Drag Me Down (#2).
- By 2014, the boy band started to talk about life after One Direction, and in October 2015 they performed their last concert. Styles singed a recording contract in 2016 to begin his solo career. His self-titled debut studio album was released in 2017. It topped album charts in the U.S. and throughout the world, and its lead single Sign of the Times peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 chart and it reached #1 on six International charts including the UK. The album had a 70s soft rock sound to it.
- Styles began an acting career in 2017, performing in the historical war film Dunkirk. He also performed on Saturday Night Live that year – one of five appearances on the show. As part of One Direction, he performed three times on SNL. In 2019, he was both the musical guest and host of the show. Styles also had acting roles in three films in 2021 and 2022.
- Styles second album was released in 2019 – Fine Line. In 2020, Rolling Stone included it in their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time – the most recent album on the list. It topped the Billboard 200 and it was certified 3x platinum. The single Watermelon Sugar was his first to top the Hot 100 chart, and it won a Grammy award for Best Pop Solo Performance. Another single, Adore You, reached #6 on the chart and it topped the Adult Contemporary chart.
- His third studio album became his most acclaimed album. Harry’s House was released in 2022. It won two Grammy awards, including Album of the Year. Three singles from the album were top ten on the Hot 100 chart. As It Was was his second #1 song, and it remained #1 for 15 weeks. It topped charts in 35 countries, and it was the most popular song on Spotify for the entire year. Late Night Talking peaked at #3 on the Hot 100, and Music For A Sushi Restaurant peaked at #8.
- The UK edition of Rolling Stone has boldly announced that Styles is the “new king of pop.” He certainly is in the throne room. Here is the video to his mega-hit As It Was. I approve!