Originally published 10/25/21
Since Harry Styles: Love on Tour kicked off on September 4, social media has been swamped with clips from his concerts. No, we’re not talking about the typical clips we see of an artist’s incredible vocals or dance moves. We’re talking about videos of him responding to and engaging with fans, and their homemade signs, during the show - sometimes even in the middle of a song. No matter what social media platform you spend most of your time on, you’re sure to have seen at least a few of these clips.
For many artists, tour is one of the times they (or their team) are most active on social media. Think the Jonas Brothers posting photos on Instagram after each stop of their Remember This tour asking who’s coming to the next show and regularly posting TikToks of moments that happen while they’re on stage.
So for an artist who is famously inactive on social media, it might not be surprising that he’s also mostly inactive while on tour. Harry posts the requisite thank you tweet after stand-out shows and a photo from his tour photographer at times, but that’s it.
So why are videos and photos of him on tour still found everywhere you look?
Because of the fans.
These are not moments that are professionally shot on thousand-dollar cameras with state-of-the-art audio. These are raw moments, captured directly from the eyes (or the phone camera) of the fans. They’re shaky, sometimes cutting him out of frame, with often imperfect audio masterpieces.
And these videos - often posted on TikTok - are not few or far between or unpopular. These imperfectly captured, unscripted fan moments have been picked up by publications ranging from MuchMusic and E! News to Grazia and the New York Post. Every single stop on this tour, there are multiple TikToks created by fans capturing moments during the show that easily reach millions of views, millions of likes, and thousands of comments.
So what makes Harry so special, anyway?
For one, I have always felt that most artists feel untouchable when they’re on stage. The house lights are off and the stage is in the spotlight. As a fan, you know that the artist can’t see anyone’s face unless they are in the first 2-3 rows. But Harry has always been unique in that regard. Even dating back to One Direction days, it was common to hear him ask “Can we turn the house lights on?” so that he could make personal connections with wide-eyed fans in the audience. Every single show, there would be a few instances where he commented on what fans were wearing, if they were there with their parents, or what drink might be in their cup.
While the extent of other artists’ engagement with their fans onstage might consist of waving to a few particular fans and sharing their thanks with a scripted speech they give more or less verbatim every night, Harry goes further. Yes, he does those things too. But he also goes out of his way to engage personally with numerous fans during the show. You’ll often see him calling people out for texting, playfully imitating someone’s dance moves, or telling someone he wants to kiss them, but he can’t. When it comes to fan signs, he’s no different. He often exaggerates his reactions to shocking or funny signs. If they pose a question, he’ll answer it. If they ask him to play a game like rock paper scissors or have a staring contest, he’ll do it. He’ll even take on the job of doing a gender reveal for a pregnant fan (while courteously on the phone with the fan’s significant other).
And the best part for all of us at home - whether we’re stuck in parts of the world that are still without concerts, can’t afford tickets to a show, or unable to make it for any other reason - is that we get to see it, through our phone screen, as if we were experiencing it ourselves. And we get to do it every single night.
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