Harry Styles brings London to its knees for a second night in a row at the Apollo
As much as you brace yourself for the sheer excitement of 5000 young girls yearning for a glimpse of Harry Styles, nothing can prepare you for the caliber of high octane screams that occur when his figure appears anything but shyly from behind his eponymous pink curtain.
Outside the venue, the sight is awe-inducing. Thousands of girls had camped overnight – you can spot under the scaffoldings hundreds of mattresses and sleeping bags piled one on top of the other.
Harry’s seen as a safe haven by his millions of fans. In a way – he is a refuge. Inside the venue, thousands of people show up with rainbow flags and Black Lives Matter posters are spotted all across the front row of the venue. Hundreds of girls and boys alike proudly strut the hallways of the Apollo wearing his pink merchandise. Treat People With Kindness it says. If their idol wears his heart on his sleeve, then so should his fans.
You wonder whether Styles is an activist or an artist. Is this a concert or a rally? It’s a bit of both. Harry’s idols would not turn their concerts into safe places – but Harry’s carving his own path. His platform is our youth – our future doctors, future politicians and future parents. If this is his way of educating the masses, then it’s a way that we should all stand behind.
As the lights go down and Styles makes his appearance, there’s a secret yearning for earplugs as you shield yourself from the deafening screams. It’s all in good spirit though.
As he jumps from song to song with the flair of a performer with three decades under his belt, it’s obvious to the naked eye that Harry Styles was in his element in One Direction as much as he is on his own. It’s his versatility that’s catchy. He’s at ease and in good spirits. His vocals silence the room with the rendition of Ariana Grande’s Just A Little Bit Of Your Heart. Fan favourite Kiwi is clearly Styles’ favourite to perform though. His inner Mick Jagger shows up as Harry glides and kneels and prances, much to the joy and arousal of his audience. He’s a teaser.
“Feel free to be whatever you want and whoever you want in this room,” Harry chants to the audience. That’s what they’re here for, after all. “I wouldn’t get to do this if it hadn’t been for you” he carries on with the grateful innocence of a child. And a child he is – one that might not even be aware of what even greater of a journey lies ahead of him. “He’s a Bowie in the making,” I hear shyly from an eager fan sat behind me. He’s not – He’s Harry Styles in the making.