After a global speculation build-up which can only be termed masterclass, with a flash teaser commercial during the U.K.’s X Factor on March 25 and the title and cover art reveal on March 31, Harry Styles has finally rolled out his debut single Sign of the Times today. Releasing the song on his pal Nick Grimshaw’s radio show only to be followed online, Harry formally ended his music hiatus. And as expected for the half of the world population and unexpectedly for the rest, this is an absolute killer from the One Direction frontman.
Things can be pretty easy if you are Harry Styles. Keep holding to your safe zone, bring out something sweet and cheesy, and you can well expect a chartbuster.
But Harry Styles does not like it easy. With this new ballad, in what can be seen as a major departure from the “boyband culture”, Harry has justifiably taken the musical fraternity on fire.
“If we never learn, we been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from..The bullets?”
A meticulous lyrics, penned down in the span of months by Jeff Bhaskar and Harry himself, combined with an electrifying background piano sequences in the opening seconds, leading to the slow rock crescendo in something similar to the 90’s music, all in a brilliant sync with Harry’s heartthrob of a voice, relatively soft in the opening lines with awe-inspiring thundering high notes progressively; Sign of the Times is easily the best rock ballad we have heard this year.
Later in the day amid music critics related Harry’s latest vocal lament venture to David Bowie, the single debuted #1 on US Billboard.
“Just stop crying
Have the time of your life
Breaking through the atmosphere
And things are pretty good from here
Remember everything will be alright
We can meet again somewhere
Somewhere far away from here”
Nikhil Kumar
Image credits- nme.com
