A coming-out party for Harry Styles and fans, at opening night at the Forum in Inglewood, California, on June 24 (Reebok and Twitter, Twitter @TheCinemaClub, Ri Ri). Photo: The Hollywood Reporter/Linda K. Ngan
While we’re here to celebrate the new music from Harry Styles—a British pop singer just 13 years old when his first major label record, “Style Council” dropped in 2017—let’s get something straight: he’s not “too big” now. Not only is he still the kid from Britain, growing up in Manchester, England, but his music isn’t only about him. He’s also singing about other people—including us, the audience members who gathered to watch his big debut show this June at the Forum in Los Angeles, California.
“We are the audience for this boy,” one member of the crowd said in a post-show Q&A afterward, to which Styles responded, “We’re all a part of this!”
Harry’s debut show at the Forum was a success. Although the Forum is less intimate than other music venues like the Fillmore West or The Troubadour, the space is more intimate than the venues that the average fan will encounter during Harry’s career. (A ticket to his sold-out show cost $300, at least $35 more than any concert ticket for Taylor Swift.) Harry’s show, like his music, was also not about him.
This was a show about the people watching, about how he could perform at the Forum (the venue can seat up to 8,000) with little preparation, because he was already in the crowd. His father, Tom, who’s played in a band together for more than a decade and has an estimated 100,000 Twitter followers, joined the crowd and watched from the side. (Other family members, including his mother, Jo, who sang along with Harry on the show’s opening night, also joined the audience.) The star was joined by his brothers and sisters from across the Atlantic, and, throughout the night, fans were given an opportunity to share their memories with the young star.
“I’m trying to get a picture of me and my family so I can post it to Instagram [