Harry Styles 'felt very alone' as a solo artist following One Direction's hiatus
Harry Styles felt isolated during "the first couple of times on stage" as a solo artist after One Direction’s indefinite hiatus in January 2016.
Harry Styles "felt very alone" the first few times he performed on stage without One Direction.
The 32-year-old singer initially piled heaps of pressure on himself when he became a solo artist after the boy band - formed of Louis Tomlinson, 34, Zayn Malik, 33, Niall Horan, 32, the late Liam Payne, 31, and Harry - went on an indefinite hiatus in January 2016, because he did not want to disappoint his fans.
Harry explained to The Sunday Times Magazine: "When you’re in a band with four other people, there’s so much room to hide.
"There’s only ever so much weight that’s on your shoulders. The first couple of times on stage [without One Direction], I’d think, 'What do I do with my hands?'
"But I also felt very alone all of a sudden. I was lucky to have the opportunity where people were interested in what I was going to make, but I put a lot of that pressure on myself, wanting it to be correct.
"With that first album [Harry Styles in 2017] I was trying to explore what music I would make by myself, but in that moment I felt there were a lot of people who had put faith in me, and I didn’t want to disappoint people or let them down."
Harry went on to achieve extraordinary success - his eponymous debut solo LP was one of the world's top 10 best-selling albums of 2017, he became the first man to appear solo on the cover of Vogue magazine in 2020, and bagged the 2022 Album of the Year Grammy gong for his third album, Harry's House.
Amid the fast-paced success, Harry questioned himself whether he was "enjoying this enough?"
But a special moment during his Love on Tour gig at London's Wembley Stadium in 2022 made him want to thrive even more in music.
Asked if there is an "iconic image" that fans want to remember Harry for, he replied: "For me, it was the jumpsuit with the red hearts and the white T-shirt underneath that I wore at Wembley Stadium.
"When you move at such a fast pace, there’s always the question of, 'Am I enjoying this enough?'
"During that show, that fear left my body, and there was a sense of calm. I could see my parents dancing together, and in the encore, when we played Sign of the Times, it started raining, and it was as though we’d paid for the rain. It was perfect timing.
"I remember having a massive smile on my face. I thought, 'How can I ask for any more joy?' I felt so full in that moment. I felt like I was flying."
