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Harry Styles opens up about grief and life changes
Harry Styles has spoken about how the death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne prompted him to reassess his life and priorities.
The loss of a close friend
Payne, 31, died in October 2024 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina. Styles described the loss as profoundly difficult, particularly because Payne was someone who shared many similarities with him.
"I saw someone with the kindest heart who just wanted to be great," Styles told DJ Zane Lowe on his Apple Music show. "It was a really important moment for me, in terms of taking a look at my life and being able to say to myself: 'OK, what do I want to do with my life? How do I want to live my life?'"
The singer emphasized that honoring friends who have passed means living life to the fullest.
A shared journey to stardom
Styles and Payne rose to fame together as members of One Direction, the boy band formed on *The X Factor* in 2010. The group, which also included Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik, went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.
The band reunited at Payne's funeral to pay their respects, a moment Styles still finds difficult to discuss. He described Payne as a "super special person" and admitted to struggling with the public nature of his grief.
"It's hard to acknowledge how other people kind of own part of your grief," he said. "There's a desire for your feelings to be conveyed, otherwise they'll be questioned."
Return to music after a hiatus
In January 2026, Styles ended a nearly four-year hiatus from new music with the release of *Aperture*, the lead single from his upcoming fourth album, *Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally*.
The break followed the conclusion of his *Love On Tour* shows in summer 2023, marking the end of a decade-long stretch of touring and releasing music, first with One Direction and later as a solo artist after launching his career in 2017.
Artistic influences and authenticity
Reflecting on his musical influences, Styles shared that some of his favorite moments in music occur when an artist "discovers themselves."
"I think the thing that makes someone like an artist is letting them watch you be an ordinary person. It's not about being 'I am this mystic thing.' We're all ordinary people, and there are some who let others watch you be ordinary. And I think that is kind of the key-in a lot of ways, for me anyway."
Harry Styles
