Harry Styles “loved [his] time” in One Direction.
Harry Styles
The 26-year-old singer rocketed to fame after competing on ‘The X Factor’ as a member of the ‘History’ hitmakers - which also included Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik - and achieved career success with the group before they went on indefinite hiatus in 2015 following the departure of Zayn.
Harry has since embarked on a successful solo career, and whilst he thinks there’s an expectation for him to “apologise” for being in the boy band, he doesn’t regret starting his career with the group.
He said: "I think the typical thing is to come out of a band like that and almost feel like you have to apologise for being in it. But I loved my time in it. It was all new to me, and I was trying to learn as much as I could.
"I wanted to soak it in. ... I think that’s probably why I like traveling now - soaking stuff up.”
When the ‘Watermelon Sugar’ singer went solo, he spent a lot of time “finding out what [his] sound was”, but found the process “really joyous and really free” after spending five years in One Direction.
He added: "I was very much finding out what my sound was as a solo artist. I can see all the places where it almost felt like I was bowling with the bumpers up. I think with the second album I let go of the fear of getting it wrong and … it was really joyous and really free."
And Harry doesn’t mind making mistakes in his musical journey, as he believes being an artist is always about “evolving”.
Speaking to Vogue magazine, he said: "With music, it’s so important to evolve - and that extends to clothes and videos and all that stuff. That’s why you look back at David Bowie with Ziggy Stardust or the Beatles and their different eras - that fearlessness is super inspiring."
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