{"id":58665,"date":"2026-02-23T00:19:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T00:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/23\/how-harry-styles-created-a-new-kind-of-pop-star\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T00:19:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T00:19:27","slug":"how-harry-styles-created-a-new-kind-of-pop-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/23\/how-harry-styles-created-a-new-kind-of-pop-star\/","title":{"rendered":"How Harry Styles Created a New Kind of Pop Star"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve no more tricks up my sleeve,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/harry-styles\/\" id=\"auto-tag_harry-styles\" data-tag=\"harry-styles\">Harry Styles<\/a> sings on \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/aperture\/\" id=\"auto-tag_aperture\" data-tag=\"aperture\">Aperture<\/a>,\u201d but it\u2019s pretty hard to believe him. The song itself is a left turn towards pulsating dance music that is somehow both shocking and inevitable after the synths that crept in amidst the balladry on 2022\u2019s <em>Harry\u2019s House<\/em>.  Given the rest of his career so far, it seems safe to say that the rest of March 6\u2019s <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/kiss-all-the-time-disco-occasionally\/\" id=\"auto-tag_kiss-all-the-time-disco-occasionally\" data-tag=\"kiss-all-the-time-disco-occasionally\">Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally<\/a> <\/em>will be at least as fresh.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.megaphone.fm\/IMP5516388742\" frameborder=\"no\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tAs Rob Sheffield discusses with host Brian Hiatt on the new episode of <em>Rolling Stone Music Now<\/em>, Styles spent his first three solo albums opening up a new lane for pop stardom. At least since Justin Timberlake, or possibly since New Kids on the Block, white-boy pop singers\u2019 path to the charts has largely been paved with takes on current R&amp;B, at varying levels of authenticity and quality. But Styles, following the rock-inflected path of One Direction, has explored other influences entirely, from the Brit-pop, classic rock, and indie of his debut to the Laurel Canyon explorations of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/fine-line\/\" id=\"auto-tag_fine-line\" data-tag=\"fine-line\">Fine Line<\/a><\/em> and the Eighties feel and occasional funk of the uptempo tracks on <em>Harry\u2019s House<\/em>. (To hear the entire discussion, which goes through Styles\u2019 discography, touches on his upcoming live shows, and more, check out <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/rolling-stone-music-now\/id1855128495\" target=\"_blank\">Apple Podcasts<\/a> or <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/3DgY7bmg7DMPARR1JNtXpJ?si=LjIbVDzeS0mLIFj1KTcXSg\" target=\"_blank\">Spotify<\/a>, or just press play above.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tBy ignoring trends, Styles ended up creating new ones, and in his four-year absence, a few singers have followed in Styles\u2019 footsteps. Sheffield compares their situation to that of upstarts like Fabian and Bobby Vee when Elvis Presley returned to his recording career in 1960 after his stint in the U.S. army.\u00a0 \u200a\u201dThey all filled the void while Elvis was in the army,\u201d Sheffield says. \u201cAnd they knew once Elvis got his discharge papers, it was gonna separate the boys from the men, so to speak. We would see who was going to stay a pop star and who was just taking up Elvis\u2019s lane while Elvis was marching and drilling and getting addicted to speed pills.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ recirculation-modules trending-in-article lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ editors-pick-module lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThe episode also goes deep on \u201cAperture,\u201d with Sheffield hearing traces of\u00a0Talking Heads and Depeche Mode, along with Chicago house and Detroit techno. (Styles said he was listening to LCD Soundsystem, which tracks.) And in a shift in perspective for Styles, the lyrics are about a collective, with its dance-floor chant of \u201cwe belong together.\u201d Sheffield calls it a song about \u201ca multiplicity of voices gathering on the dance floor.\u201d Overall, the song could be read in part as a dare to Styles\u2019 imitators \u2014\u00a0just try to follow him this time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tSheffield notes what seems to be a deliberate echo of one of Leonard Cohen\u2019s most famous lines \u2014\u00a0\u201cthere is a crack, a crack in everything. That\u2019s how the light gets in\u201d \u2014 in the song\u2019s central image.\u00a0\u201cIt says a lot about Harry\u2019s musical ambition,\u201d Sheffield says, \u201cthat you can make people think of Leonard Cohen in this really electro song about hitting the dance floor.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify\">\n<p>\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: How Harry Styles Created a New Kind of Pop Star\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/1WUcsRMxysMeXbwOFyXYuA?si=UgaY40j7SiWeQKv3ViaFqA&amp;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tDownload and subscribe to\u00a0<em>Rolling Stone<\/em>\u2018s weekly podcast, <em>Rolling Stone Music Now,<\/em> hosted by Brian Hiatt, on<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/rolling-stone-music-now\/id1855128495\"> <\/a><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/rolling-stone-music-now\/id1855128495\" target=\"_blank\">Apple Podcasts<\/a> or<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/5T4fqngDvNsDM7y46W1S4l?si=dbd274a790804ec2\"> <\/a><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/3DgY7bmg7DMPARR1JNtXpJ?si=LjIbVDzeS0mLIFj1KTcXSg\" target=\"_blank\">Spotify<\/a>. Check out nine years\u2019 worth of episodes in the archive, including in-depth interviews with artists including Mariah Carey, Bruce Springsteen, Questlove, Halsey, Missy Elliott, Dua Lipa, Neil Young, Snoop Dogg, Brandi Carlile, Phoebe Bridgers, Yungblud, Rick Ross, Alicia Keys, the National, Brian May, Roger Taylor, Ice Cube, Taylor Hawkins, Willow, Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Killer Mike, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Scott Weiland, Liam Gallagher, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, John Legend, Donald Fagen, Charlie Puth, Phil Collins, Justin Townes Earle, Stephen Malkmus, Sebastian Bach, Tom Petty, Eddie Van Halen, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, the Zombies, and Gary Clark Jr. And look for dozens of episodes featuring genre-spanning discussions, debates, and explainers with <em>Rolling Stone\u2019<\/em>s critics and reporters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/harry-styles-new-kind-of-pop-star-aperture-podcast-1235520831\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI\u2019ve no more tricks up my sleeve,\u201d Harry Styles sings on \u201cAperture,\u201d but it\u2019s pretty hard to believe him. The song itself is a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":58666,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop","article","has-excerpt","has-avatar","has-author","has-date","has-comment-count","has-category-meta","has-read-more","thumbnail-"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}