EXCLUSIVE: After his BRITS performance earlier this year, ticketholders for Harry Style’s Together, Together tour should ‘expect the unexpected’ when hit kicks off at Wembley Stadium
Harry Styles delivered one of the most exciting and surprising performances of his career earlier this year when he debuted his new single – and new sound – at the Brit Awards in Manchester. Unveiling Aperture from his fourth studio album, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, Harry strutted, hip-popped and head-jerked his way through his performance, signalling the start of his much-awaited comeback.
“It was crucial the performance went well,” says Peter Hart, former editor of Top Of The Pops magazine. “There was a lot riding on it and considerable pressure on his shoulders. It was the official launch for his new album campaign after his time off, and his first major live performance in more than three years. First impressions count enormously and he needed to make a huge impact – it wasn’t just a long-awaited return, it was showcasing the beginning of a totally new era in his career. Thankfully, the whole package came together perfectly.”
Dressed in head-to-toe couture Chanel, a suave and stylish-looking Harry managed to stand out from his 25 dancers to deliver some impressively fancy footwork.
The man responsible for the routine was California-based choreographer Ryan Heffington, who Dance Magazine describes as “flamboyant, luxuriantly moustachioed… the toast of the commercial dance industry.” The two-time Grammy Award nominee is also the creative brain behind Sia’s Chandelier, and has worked with Britney Spears, Arcade Fire and FKA Twigs.
The key to Harry’s iconic set, says Ryan, was “to physicalise the music” and to push the former boyband star “out of his comfort zone”.
“He would sing a word and the melody of that word was expressed through the body,” he said. “He loved it. What I like about Harry is that he’s not fearful. He’s not cemented into being one genre of person.”
Ryan also worked with Harry on the music video for Aperture, and says his ability extends beyond singing and dancing, adding, “Sure, he’s a dancer, but I think that his talent is bigger than that. Dance is one thing he can master in seconds, and that’s really inspiring.”
Of course, it wouldn’t have been a Harry Styles performance without him strutting down a walkway – which he did with purpose and the odd cheeky grin – to interact with a few lucky crowd members.
According to talent manager Dermot McNamara, it was Harry at his best. “It worked because it felt effortless, but had energy right at the heart of it,” he says. “The interaction with the band and the crowd, the movement across the stage, and the slightly loose feel. It created a sense of togetherness that audiences really respond to.”
It was a definite break from his usual routines but no doubt an intentional one given his new musical direction, which The Guardian described as “a real stylistic outlier in pop right now”.
Speaking about Aperture earlier this year, Harry said, “The reason it’s called Aperture is because you control how much light you let into your life.
“At the start of this year I decided I was just going to say yes to everything and the momentum of that has brought so many positive things in a lot of different ways into my life, it’s been a really beautiful time. That’s why this song was the one I wanted to start with, because it was a big time of change for me.”
According to music author Michael Cragg, if his Brits performance is any indication of where Harry’s “change” will take him, it points to good things.
“One Direction were famously not dancers, and there’s nowhere to hide in a live performance like that,” he tells us. “It wasn’t the same as Justin Timberlake coming out of NSYNC. Harry and One Direction didn’t do those sorts of routines, so to have a line-up of dancers, do choreography, and perform a dance song was surprising.
“It was more David Byrne of Talking Heads than it was Justin Timberlake, but I’m sure Harry meant it to look a bit stilted and a bit ironic. It was that fun element that people enjoyed most because it’s not necessarily something that always comes with his performances. People enjoyed the goofiness, and seeing him dance around and looking great in high fashion. The whole routine suggests he’s really pushing himself forward in terms of his live performance.”
The choreography didn’t overshadow the sound of the performance, Michael adds, particularly due to the effective addition of the London-based House Gospel Choir.
“The dancers looked really good in their matching sunglasses and outfits, but the choir and band meant you still had a sense of real musicians playing real music, which people care about,” he says.
Harry’s most recent Brits appearance followed his 2023 success, where he won four awards, including Best Album and Artist of the Year. He marked those wins with a performance of As It Was on a rotating stage, wearing a sparkling cropped leather jacket.
Previously, he debuted as a solo artist on the coveted stage back in 2020, when he sang a stripped-back version of Falling while wearing a white lace jumpsuit and standing in a pool of water.
But according to Michael, it was this year’s performance – and the enigmatic nature of Aperture – that has left fans eager for what’s next.
“No one expected him to come out on the stage and do full choreography and have all those backing dancers as well as the choir and band. So, now we’re all thinking ‘What’s next for the tour?’ – and there’s nothing more exciting for a fan than expecting the unexpected.”
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