Harry Styles on ‘important’ changes he’s made to feel ‘free’ from intense fame

Harry Styles has opened up about his intense level of fame and the changes he’s made to feel free, reflecting on sitting down to have a coffee in a café by himself for the first time in his life.

The three-time Grammy-winning singer, 31, emerged on The X Factor, where he was placed in One Direction when he was just 16. The boyband became one of the most successful of all time, and Styles embarked on a solo career in 2017.

However, after two chart-topping albums and a worldwide tour, which he completed in 2023, Styles took a step back in order “to get away from the image” he had of himself.

“At the end of the tour, the idea of taking time out felt insane,” he admitted in a new interview. “I didn’t know if I could do it.

“But it was time for me to stop for a bit and pay some attention to other parts of my life.”

In summer 2024, Styles travelled to Italy. where he would often sit alone and relax with a cup of coffee – something he realised he had done rarely before, if ever.

“Italy became so important to me because I was so used to everything moving so quickly and being on the go, but then I remember going to a café and sitting and having a coffee and thinking, ‘I don’t remember the last time I sat down and had a coffee – if I’ve ever sat down and just had a coffee,’” the singer told The Times.

He described his time settled in Italy as “a big, important, transitional moment”. He added that he “always feared” missing his busy schedule if “it all went away”, but found that readjusting to a quieter life, which also allowed him to spend more time with his baby niece, “has been so powerful” for him.

“Without question, that has influenced the work I’m now making because it came from a place of pure freedom,” he said, revealing another “small” change that’s helped him: deleting Instagram from his phone.

Styles announced his fourth studio album last week after fans spotted cryptic billboards cropping up in major cities around the world to tease his new project.

Titled Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, the album will feature 12 songs, including his recently released single, “Aperture,” which The Independent’s Roisin O’Connor described as “a house and dance-influenced track that yearns for adventure.”

The Grammy-winning artist has since revealed he will embark on his global Together, Together tour in support of the album this May.