Harry Styles says new single Aperture is comeback’s ‘perfect little bow’

An almost four-year wait for Harry Styles’ new music is over, but he’s been far from elusive in that time.

Spotted running marathons in Berlin and Tokyo and watching on as a new pope is confirmed in the Vatican, there are few places one of the world’s biggest artists can go without drawing attention.

But speaking to the BBC about new single Aperture, Harry says he has no intention of locking himself away from “the human experience”.

“When I first started touring, we spent a lot of time in hotel rooms,” he told BBC Radio 2’s Scott Mills earlier.

“I think you can choose to shut yourself off from the world and it’s been so wonderful for me to stay in the universe.”

Harry’s set to go global again in 2026, announcing 50 shows across seven cities – including six at London’s Wembley Stadium and 30 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

His Together, Together tour will also visit Amsterdam, São Paulo, Mexico City, Melbourne and Sydney between May and December.

Harry’s hardly been out of the spotlight during his time away, and has been pictured running marathons and, apparently, witnessing the arrival of the new pope.

He told BBC Radio 1’s Greg James he was in a hairdressers in Rome when he heard people running down the street and shouting “Habemus Papam”, the Latin phrase for “we have a pope”.

“So the guy cutting my hair stopped cutting my hair, and he was like: ‘Habemus Papam, there’s a new pope, there’s a new pope’,” he said.

“So then we finished up, and then I was like: ‘Oh, I’m like, five minutes walk’, so I walked over there. It was wild.”

Harry said he’s also used his time away to take in plenty of gigs, and that being in and amongst live audiences “led to the music he’s making”.

“It’s been about getting on the other side of the audience experience,” he said, describing seeing American dance-punk band LCD Soundsystem live as “a reminder of why it’s special”.

“Having had so many years on-stage, the last couple of years allowed me to be a real audience member and be in the crowd.”

Harry will be supported at his London shows by Canadian singer Shania Twain, which he said is “a full circle” moment having listened to her music in his mum’s car as a child.

“(Shania) is someone who musically has been in my life for a really long time,” he told Radio 2.

Special guests in other cities will include Jamie XX, Jorja Smith and Robyn, with pre-sale and general tickets going on sale later this month.

Aperture is the first single from Harry’s fourth album, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.

But the song was the record’s finishing touch.

“We had most of the album done,” he told Radio 1.

“Getting this song at the end, it was when we were feeling freest and really having a lot of fun at that point.

“It felt like the mission statement of what the album was about, this perfect little bow on it, and it was like: ‘Oh, the record’s finished’.”

The NME said Aperture signalled an “exciting new direction” for the singer in a four-star review.

While the Independent, which awarded the same score, suggested he’d followed artists like Chappell Roan, Charli XCX and Rosalía, who’ve all released “songs that stray from traditional structure or form”.

The three-time Grammy Award-winner began teasing his comeback with the message “we belong together” in December, which it transpires is a prominent lyric in Aperture.

Having become a global star in One Direction, Harry launched his solo career in 2017.

His first album and single were both UK number ones, while his record Harry’s House won a Grammy and a Brit Award after its release in 2022.

Harry isn’t the only One Direction star putting out new material at the moment.

His former bandmate Louis Tomlinson released his third solo album, How Did I Get Here?, at exactly the same time as Aperture debuted.

While it’s been overshadowed by Harry’s latest, fans have been impressed with the album’s “edgy”, rockier sound.

One track, Dark To Light, said to be a tribute to former bandmate Liam Payne, has been getting a lot of attention for its heartfelt lyrics.

And this week Zayn Malik played the first night of a Las Vegas residency, debuting new music and teasing an upcoming record.

Reports said the star – who’s previously spoken about suffering with anxiety when performing live – delivered a strong vocal performance even though he was battling a sinus infection.

Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally is set for release on 6 March.

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