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Last May, pop fans and papal fans united in a collective game of “Where’s Harry Styles?” when the singer was spotted outside St. Peter’s Basilica to witness the election of Pope Leo XIV. Now, with a new album in the promotional stages, Styles explains for the first time why he was actually there.
As he told BBC Radio 1 in a new interview on Friday, the reason was extremely simple: a visit to the hairdresser in Italy.
“I was getting my hair cut in Rome when I suddenly heard people shouting ‘Habemus papam, habemus papam’ and people running down the street.”
A spontaneous walk to St. Peter’s Basilica
The hairdresser stopped in the middle of cutting and said: “Habemus papam. There is a new pope.” Afterwards, Styles noticed that he was only about five minutes away, so he just went there. “It was crazy,” he said. He left it open as to why he wore a hat with the inscription “Techno is my boyfriend” – and why he wore a hat after getting his hair cut at all. But there was finally a new pope.
The album title and the famous comma
In the same interview, Styles also discussed the title of his upcoming fourth studio album, “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally,” as reported by The Independent. He joked that he almost called the album “Drink Water All the Time, but You Have to Pee Occasionally.”
In another interview on Friday, this time with John Mayer, Styles pedantically insisted on the correct punctuation of the actual title. “It’s a very important comma,” he said. He pronounced the words “Disco” and “Occasionally” with a noticeable pause between them and affirmed, “I think the comma is correct.”
More openness in the creation process
Styles also told Mayer that he received more feedback than ever before for the album, which is due out March 6. “With all the other records, I’ve always been very careful about who gets to hear them. Nobody hears them until they’re finished,” he said. This attitude made the music feel like a product – he wanted to change that.
Test songs before they’re finished
Wanting to try something new, he played demo versions to friends and asked for opinions. He found that he liked listening to the songs both out loud and through headphones. “I hope people try the album in different ways and notice how their listening experience changes,” he said.
Why “Aperture” became the first single
What emerged from this process was a clear realization: “Aperture,” released Thursday night, was the perfect first single for Styles. The song opens the album, but was the last one he recorded last summer. “That was the moment when we felt the most free,” he explained. It was the first song that he played to others to show what the new music sounds like – that’s why it was obvious as an advance release.
Residences around the globe
Speaking of the world, Styles will be based in numerous cities throughout the year, playing residencies from São Paulo to Sydney. He spends most of his time in New York City, where he plays 30 shows in 66 days at Madison Square Garden. So enough time for at least a few more haircuts.
