Harry Styles has revealed he “never celebrated” his success in One Direction – as he was so desperate to be liked by people.
The singer said at the height of his boy band fame it felt more important to be popular due to the “fickle” nature of the music industry.
Now a successful solo star in his own right, the 28-year-old shared it took having therapy to finally feel happy in his career.
Opening up to DJ Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, Harry said: “It’s not an easy place to get to because it’s a world where we all just want to be loved. Inside that, the music industry is a place where everyone just really wants to be loved.”
Get all the biggest showbiz news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the free Mirror Showbiz newsletter.
He continued: “Everyone is gagging for it, that positive reinforcement.
“I think what is so exciting and dangerous about it is you put so much love into an industry that is so fickle. It loves you back when you’re doing well and if you’re not, you’re just out.
“It’s really scary to go away and be like no one’s talking about me, no one cares. I have to get on to social media and remind people I’m alive. I feel like I did a lot of that constant thing when I was in the band.”
The Watermelon Sugar singer said it was this constant pressure that led to him missing out on celebrating some of his biggest wins when he was in One Direction.
“I kind of emotionally coasted. I didn’t feel anything,” he said of his early career in the band.
“We’d go through real highs and it would always just feel like a relief. Like ‘Oh, we didn’t fail.’ I never felt like I celebrated anything – and I had a great time, like truly.”
Harry said having therapy “opened a bunch of doors” he didn’t know existed and he now no longer emotionally coasts.
Lockdown and not being able to be on stage or travel also played a part in helping him self-reflect.
He said: “For a really long time I was terrified of what my life was if I wasn’t up here and doing music or on a show or something.
“Then you’re faced with a time when you can’t do that – it doesn’t matter how much money you have, or where you live, you can’t travel.
“It’s like suddenly to not be this musician guy – you’re forced to be a friend and a brother and a son.
"I actually feel like I had a little bit of a chance to focus on that, at least for a moment, and just stop and take in a lot of stuff.”
He added: “The biggest thing that resonated for me – I think it was at the Emmys – Michaela Coel won and she said ‘don’t confuse visibility with success’, and it can’t be put better than that.”
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@trinitymirror.com or call us direct 0207 29 33033.
