Harry Styles is a British singer, songwriter and actor from Redditch, England, born in 1994. He first performs in music with the school band White Eskimo before appearing on the seventh series of The X Factor in 2010, where he joins One Direction alongside Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne. One Direction releases five albums between 2011 and 2015, reaches number one in many countries and becomes one of the biggest-selling pop acts of the decade. Styles then begins a solo career in 2016.

Solo career

After One Direction enters an indefinite hiatus, Styles signs a solo deal and releases music through Columbia Records as well as his own label, Erskine Records. His first solo single, “Sign of the Times”, appears in 2017 and leads into his debut album Harry Styles, which reaches number one on the Billboard 200. His solo sound draws on pop, rock, funk, new wave, soft rock and soul, and the input from his childhood favourites gives the music a more rock-led direction while still keeping pop elements.

His second album, Fine Line, includes the singles “Lights Up”, “Watermelon Sugar” and “Adore You”. The album is released in 2019 with Columbia and Erskine Records. “Watermelon Sugar” later wins the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, while “Adore You” receives a Grammy nomination for Best Music Video and Fine Line is nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album. Styles also wins the Brit Award for British Single for “Watermelon Sugar”.

In 2022, Styles releases his third studio album, Harry’s House. Its promotional single “As It Was” becomes a major streaming hit and sets a record as the most-streamed track by a male artist on Spotify in 24 hours.

Background and recognition

Styles is raised in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire. His early recording experience comes through White Eskimo, and his career develops from boy-band success into a solo catalogue that combines pop with rock-influenced songwriting. He is a three-time Grammy Award winner.