Harry Styles has revealed his profound struggle to discuss the death of his former One Direction bandmate, Liam Payne, as he prepares to release his highly anticipated fourth studio album.
The 32-year-old singer’s new record, Kiss All The Time, Disco, Occasionally, due out on Friday, is said to be inspired by moments when artists are compelled to "discover themselves" and embrace vulnerability.
Speaking to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Styles admitted his difficulty in addressing the tragedy. "Full transparency, it’s like something that I, even the idea of talking about it, I struggle with that a little bit even," he confessed.
He elaborated on the complexities of public grief following Payne’s passing. "I think there was a period when he passed away, where I really struggled with kind of like acknowledging how strange it is to have people kind of like own part of your grief in a way," Styles explained. "I have such strong feelings around my friend passing away, and then suddenly being, you know, like aware of there’s maybe like a desire from other people of you to convey that in some way, or it means you’re not feeling what you’re feeling or something, you know?"
Styles reflected on the personal impact of the loss: "It’s so difficult to lose a friend. It’s difficult to lose any friend, but it’s so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways. It’s like, I saw someone with the kindest heart who just wanted to be great." He added that the event served as a pivotal moment for self-reflection. "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?’"
He concluded his thoughts on Payne by stating: "And I think the greatest way you can honour your friends who pass away is by living your life to the fullest. Like super special person and really sad."
Liam Payne died at 31 in October 2024 after a fall from a hotel balcony in Argentina. His funeral in November saw a reunion of the surviving One Direction members – Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik – alongside former manager Simon Cowell.
Styles also shared that the gap between his new album and his previous record, Harry’s House (2022), allowed him to reflect on his career as he turned 30. He revealed a personal promise: "I’ve always had the conversation with myself about if I ever checked in with myself and was like, ‘I don’t love it, it’s not fun anymore’, then I kind of just made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t do it."
He believes it would be unfair to both himself and his fanbase to continue performing without genuine passion. "I don’t think it’s fair in a lot of ways, I don’t think it’s fair to me, I really don’t think it’s fair to the fans for me to not do it, (not) really be there anymore, but doing it because it’s just what I’ve always done," he said. "And I think what has been interesting is kind of allowing myself to even have that thought process. I think for a long time even having that conversation with myself, I thought like, ‘oh you’re so ungrateful like how can you ever think about deciding not to do it’, and stuff like that."
The full interview is available on Apple Music’s The Zane Lowe Show.
