A new Harry Styles era is officially upon us. The pop singer has shared “As It Was,” the first single from his forthcoming album, Harry’s House.
Styles goes new wave for “As It Was,” where he grieves a broken relationship over a gentle, reverberating synth line. “Nothing to say/ And everything gets in the way/ Seems you cannot be replaced,” he sings in an understated croon, before repeating, “You know it’s not the same as it was.”
In keeping with the song’s shimmering aesthetic, in the song’s accompanying music video, Styles does a moody interpretative dance in a red sequin jumpsuit, while his heartsick love interest dances in a blue costume of her own. Check out the clip, helmed by Ukrainian GRAMMY Award-nominated director Tanu Muino, below.
“Directing a Harry Styles video was a bucket list dream come true for me as he’s my favorite performer,” Muino said in a statement. “Shooting him was bittersweet as it was one of the happiest days of my life, but on the second day of the shoot, my country Ukraine was invaded so you can imagine the insane emotions we had while shooting. Me and my team from Ukraine poured so much love into this video and you can see it on screen. It will be a music video I will never forget and now I can happily retire.”
Harry’s House arrives in full on May 20th. The 13-track album marks Styles’ third solo LP, following 2019’s Fine Line. Since his One Direction days, Styles has shown an appreciation for the rock and folk of decades past. The new record grabs its name from the Joni Mitchell song “Harry’s House,” from her 1975 album The Hissing of Summer Lawns — an unsurprising homage, since Styles previously said he “was in a pretty big Joni hole” when recording Fine Line. At least Mitchell approves.
Ahead of Harry’s House, Styles is set to perform at Coachella this April and tour the UK and Europe this summer, including dates with Mitski and Wolf Alice. Grab tickets to all of his upcoming dates at Ticketmaster.
