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Harry Styles journey from boy band to Winning Best Pop ”Solo” Performance 2021 GRAMMY Award

Harry Styles has recently won the best pop solo performance for “Watermelon Sugar” at the 2021 Grammy awards show. He is mostly known as the former member of One Direction, but he proves to be more day after day. We are going to discuss his journey in this article highlighting most of his works and achievements.  

Harry Styles is a very famous English solo singer, song writer and an actor, but he wasn’t always a solo artist. He was the lead singer at a band called White Eskimo where his music career began. He then auditioned for the UK television show The X Factor where  Harry and other four young boys: Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik were put together to form a band under the name of One direction. One direction had  an immense amount of success and became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. Their five albums Up all Night, Take me home, Midnight Memories, Four and  Made in the A.M  topped the charts in almost every major market. Further, most of their singles made a huge hit such as What makes you beautiful, Live While We’re Young,  Best Song Ever, Story Of My Life, and Drag Me Down. They made history as their four albums ranked as number one in the US Billboard 200 and they won nearly 200 awards including Brit Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and others. After the band’s hiatus in 2019, Styles completed on his own and began his solo career. 

Harry Styles First Album

Styles began his solo career in 2017 by releasing his singles  Sign of the Times, Kiwi, Two ghosts, and an album renamed after his own name. His album included songs as Meet Me in The Hallway, Carolina, Sweet creature, Only Angel, Ever Since New York, Woman and From the Dining Table. Generally speaking, themes such relationships were featured in this album with emphasis on the actions attributed to love whether romantic or platonic His album was described by several music publications as being an assembly of soft rock, rock, Britpop and pop. Critics have also noted some influence of British classic rock and singer-songwriter folk. This album is both enigmatic and simple. As not all its  videos reflect the message behind the lyrics. Take for example Kiwi. The lyrics and the music video have nothing in common.

 You will experience different emotions throughout this album,  from sadness, loneliness, confusion, serenity to finally enjoying yourself.  Moreover, this album received positive reviews generally. It was on the top of the charts in several countries such as Australia, Canada, the UK and the US and was validated as platinum in Canada, the US,Poland, Australia, Poland, and Mexico, and gold in nine countries counting the UK. His album, according to the IFPI was the ninth best-selling album around the world of 2017. 

Fine Line

In December, 2019 Harry Styles released his second album. It included six singles as Lights Up, Adore You,  Falling, Watermelon Sugar, Golden, and Treat People with Kindness. The album included other songs such as Cherry, Falling, To Be So Lonely, She, Sunflower, Canyon Moon, Fine Line and Treat People With Kindness. Generally speaking, this album include themes such as the excitement of meeting someone for the first time, break ups, and having sex and feeling sad. It was described as pop rock, folk, soul funk, and indie pop.  

Many people knew styles as the former member of One Direction, but in this album he has made his own print. This album is considered a bridge from what Styles was to what he wants to be, changing his fan base from mostly teenagers to young adults and adults. You would discover a new artistic side of Harry’s music including new sounds and sense of self. This albums’ music is nothing but straight forward or simple. There are several interpretations to every and each song and he has even left some easter eggs in them. It is worth mentioning that listening to his  music audios alone is a very different experience from  actually watching the music videos.

Personally, I  enjoy some of his audio videos more than their actual  music  videos. On the other side, I can rematch specific music videos on repeat. Such as Adore You where Harry’s artistic side shines. They show an island in a parallel word called Eroda which is Adore You inversed. It is portrayed as an island where people forgot to smile and were famous for their resting face. Here, Harry was portrayed as a person born with a set of shining white teeth which by time he had to hide to fit in. He hid his smile and literally bottled his pain in bottles until he met a fish. He met this fish while trying to end his life by drowning himself to death. The fish was thrown by the tides to some stones on the shore and when Harry threw it back to the water it came out again. So, he decided to take it home. They started sharing their life together and the protagonist grew fonder and fonder with this fish. The fish started to grow larger and larger by time and Harry started losing clues on where to hide it. His smile returned  and he started moving the fish with him wherever he went in a portable aquarium. Since all good things will eventually come to an end, their story did too as one time the fish got so scared after seeing another fish in the fish market being slaughtered away. The fish started to scream until it broke its container and almost died. Realizing that he can’t keep the fish for ever, the protagonist returned the fish to where it first belonged. He then left the island and started sailing alone using his bottled pain as wind fuel. In a sense, the fish saved him and he saved it. Furthermore, the album is full of similar things that will take on different journey’s experiencing different emotions. Now, we come to our guest of honors which is Watermelon Sugar. 

Harry Styles Grammy 2021

Watermelon Sugar is one of Harry Styles’ best songs so far. It is one of those songs that has a music video portraying a very different story than the lyrics. Harry has formerly stated that this song is about the initial extreme happiness when you start seeing someone for the first time. Or just the normal feelings of excitement when you are around them.  This song has earned Harry a Grammy in 2021, beating out Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, Billie Eilih, Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift. Winning this award proves what a series artist Harry has become. It adds more and more to his success and helps people to view him and his music in a different light. 

Harry Styles Grammy 2021 Harry is just a start. He is proving himself time after time as a serious multi-talented artist. He is one of those artists who really values music; he doesn’t see it as a means to becoming rich or having money, quite the opposite. So,  you should give his music a try to see it in a better light.

Swiss Army Man Explained

Swiss Army Man is an American movie directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schreier, starring Pal Dano and Daniel Radcliffe. It is set on a deserted island discussing different themes as alienation, loneliness and friendship. Swiss army man explained is considered a detailed movie review, just in case you haven’t watched it. 

Swiss Army Man Explained Part 1: The Beginning

The film opens with Hank Thompson, depicted by Paulo, in that deserted island trying to commit suicide, but failing miserably. On his second attempt, he saw a body suddenly appearing on the shore. He quickly runs to see if that creature has come to rescue him, only to find that he is dead. Ironically, the body’s only response to Hank’s words was by farting which he attributed to some excess gases in his dead body. On Losing hope again and completing his second attempt of ending his own life, he saw Manny, depicted by Daniel Kwan, farting heavily and an idea sparked in his head. He literally rides Manny’s body through the water to a different destination, as silly as that sounds.

When asking the directors about the idea behind the movie they said that they wanted to depict everything that people normally hate and depict a different angle of these things. In other words, they wanted to transfer something so disgusting, as a fart, into a more meaningful thing. When they finally reach shore, Hank starts dancing out of happiness. He couldn’t believe he was saved by a farting corpse. He starts discovering the island and takes Manny along in case he needs his powers again. After exploring the place he found different things indicating that other people were formerly present there and that normal life is near.  They soon hide in a cave waiting for the rain to end. There, Manny starts addressing the dead corpse out of his desperate need for company. Knowing very well that he won’t be judged, he talked with ease. Furthermore, He wakes up the next day to find Manny, enough, able to speak. Manny, the dead corpse, starts slowly as the film unravels, going back to life. He starts seeing the world through Hank’s eyes, revealing to us and to Hank himself how silly the world is and our coping mechanisms.

Swiss Army Man Explained Part 2 : Signs of Life

Manny finds it strange to hide his farts as Hank tells him, he finds it strange that people have to hide things all the time, although these things are normal and a part of us all; he finds it strange that people can’t normally be themselves around other people. Manny’s abilities start to unfold slowly and consequently Hank starts believing that Manny is there to guide him out. So, he starts by helping Manny regain his memories as a living human being and whenever he remembers something, whenever feelings ignite inside of  his chest, strangely enough, his organs start to work. Moreover, instead of remembering his own memories Manny remembers Hank’s memories. He starts explaining life from his eyes and it is beautiful in the start. All the colors and things a person sees throughout their lives, all the experience they accumulate and Manny starts imagining the world as a beautiful place. 

Sara, the girl Manny remembers is actually a person Hank never knew but wanted to. The more Hank tells Manny more about his relations with his friends, his father, and his mother; the less interested Manny becomes in the outside world. He tells him about his own father and how he is incapable of displaying affections. He narrates more about the fear his father inherently has. Also, he tells him about his inability of remembering his deceased mother without associating her with a specific memory, so he chooses not to. After every story, Manny starts growing less interested in life. He finds it absurd that people live in fear of almost everything even of themselves. How they let everything control them till they get completely drained and he starts questioning internally if he really wants to remember. Then, Manny experienced pain for the first time when Hank unraveled that all the memories implanted in Hank’s mind are actually his. 

Swiss Army Man Explained Part 3: The Ending

Hank explained that these memories are his, they are all things he couldn’t pursue, he didn’t have the courage to. After a while, they see a house and the first individual they run into is a little girl. Manny acts normally a he is used to and the girl couldn’t tolerate how queer he was and she stared crying. Seeing how the first other real human he meets can’t really handle how strange he is, Manny preferred  to return back to the way he originally was without all those feelings running through in his chest and he goes back to being just a lifeless corpse. Strangely enough, that house turns out to be Sara’s house and the girl is her daughter. 

Some interpretations say that Manny was just a hopeless hallucination from Hank’s lonely mind.  Hank started to finally get out of his bubble at the moment Manny preferred death. He started speaking up for himself and facing his fears. He confessed to Sara, who had no idea he existed before, that he never really liked her; she just seemed so happy and he was not. He started trying to take Manny’s corpse back and set it free once and for all. The film ends by Manny saving himself the way he first saved Hank.

Reviews and Opinions on The Film

the final part of swiss man explained depicts different reviews about the movie. Some express how ridiculous the film was, others stress how raw it is. But they all agree on how queer it was. When you ask actors about their opinion, you  would  notice a sense of possession  in their words. They talk about it as their queer little creation, something they had to depict and protect. They both knew playing a part in this movie was like gambling, but they did it anyway. The film was directed by two directors which is normally a difficult thing to maneuver. They stated that they spent an entire year preparing for this movie.  Reviews vary on this one, some believe it was absolutely a disaster, others think it was bizarrely beautiful; they just recommend watching it alone to avoid awkwardness. Those who love the film tend to watch it several times, as it allows them to enter a magical prejudice free bizarre world. Moreover, the film scored 72 on rotten tomato website, 4/5 common sense media ratings and 7.0 on IMDb. Personally, I find the film intriguing enough to watch. First it will disgust you and make you regret all your life choices, then just when you completely lose interest everything changes. It starts with a warm familiar feeling, and suddenly you will catch yourself laughing. This film will make you laugh, cry, question your sanity, but mostly it will leave you with a good tranquil feeling.