STORY WEETEE NEUspent $1,000 at the merchandise line. I couldn’t help
but wonder how much of that grand went to Harry. It
was then that a minder from Harry’s label reminded
us — for the third time — not to use our phones
to snap pics of Harry. Maybe he thought there were
Stylers (what Harry’s fans are called) lurking among
us journos, which also incuded reporters from Hong
Kong, South Korea, and Thailand.
While we may not have been Stylers, at least not
yet, we were all eager to meet him. When he finally
made his appearance, looking, um, stylish in an all-
black outfit (black tee and pants with black Vans and
a pair of black wayfarers perched on his head), my
heart was racing. He was standing just two metres
away from me. I thought I could smell him but it
turned out to be my own cologne. I realised that at
that moment, there was little difference between
myself and the fans a few floors down.
When asked what local food he had tried on this
trip (the only other time he was here was in 2015
with 1D), Harry, looking mighty pleased with himself,
said: “A Dosa.” This led to some confusion until a
reporter said out loud (remember, no speaking directly
to Harry) that ‘thosai’ could also be pronounced as
‘dosa’.
’Cos I’ve only seen interviews of Harry online,
the ones where his wit and candour were in full
display, it was hard not to ignore how monotonous he
sounded. Not tired, not bored, but a low, gravelly voice
interrupted by rare moments of excitement. Like,
when he was asked to describe his best experience
as a singer, his eyes lit up for the first time as he
recounted the time he performed with ’70s rock
legend Stevie Nicks. "It's something I'll never forget.
When we soundchecked, that was my actual highlight
’cos it was an empty room with just me and her.”
We guess Harry, like so many teen idols before him,
craves credibility. And the road to that credibility
would easily be sidetracked if he were to pander to
questions about his personal life.
Soon the 30 minutes we had with him was up. He
got up to leave as we applauded, getting as much eye
contact with us as he could.
We then took a lift back down to the entrance of
the theatre and when the door opened, I realised I
had missed the point about Harry Styles. The floor
was swarming with hundreds of restless teenage
girls — the mere dozens I saw prior to the press
con were just the tip of an iceberg. Remember being
overwhelmed with young hormonal women? This was
that on steroids. It made me realise that Harry Styles
doesn’t just make these girls happy. He makes a lot
of people happy. It’s that simple. But while I haven’t
developed a man-crush on Harry Styles, I might just
get a ticket to his concert here next May.