Harry Styles is a popular British singer and songwriter whose music career began 13 years ago when he auditioned for The X Factor (UK) on season seven as a solo contestant.

During his time on the show, Styles joined a boy band with Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, known as One Direction.  

Styles is currently touring across 16 countries and is taking his “Love on Tour” show to Australia on Feb. 20, according to his ​​official Instagram HQ.

The 29-year-old pop star also starred in two movies last year, “My Policeman” and “Don’t Worry Darling.” It is a testament to Styles’ success following his third studio album, “Harry’s House,” released on May 20, 2022. 

The pop-funk album “pulled off the neat trick of making his music at once elegant and more refined but also warmer and more intimate,” according to a May 2022 Rolling Stone article. 

“Throughout the album, Styles’ singing is as conversational as his lyrics, making romance feel like a hopeful, at times fragile, dialogue between equals,” according to the article. 

On its debut, “Harry’s House” received the most first-day streams in its genre on Apple Music, per Forbes in May 2022.

It is no surprise that on Sunday, Styles was nominated for six different categories at the 65th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. 

However, it came as a huge shock to many when he won Album of the Year and even Styles looked in awe of winning the most prestigious award of the night. 

Styles received Best Pop Vocal Album for “Harry’s House” earlier that night and went on to compete against many acts in the industry including Beyonce’s “RENAISSANCE” for Album of the Year.

After earning four Grammy awards that night, Beyonce became the most decorated artist with 32 awards in total. 

Styles won his first Grammy in 2021 for Best Pop Solo Performance of his song “Watermelon Sugar” and he took home two more Grammys within two years. 

Right on cue, Beyonce superfans, or “The BeyHive”, heckled Styles as he accepted his Album of the Year award, chanting “Beyonce should’ve won!” in the audience. Honestly, how many more Grammys does an artist of her stature need?  

As if Styles defeating Beyonce wasn’t enough, his acceptance speech for the award proved to be the cherry on top as the biggest controversy of the night.

“This doesn’t happen to people like me very often and this is so, so nice,” Styles said in the closing sentence of his speech. “Thank you very, very much.”

Styles’ speech caused an uproar on social media because it was deemed as tone-deaf and a public display of white privilege. It comes across as a desperate grab to cancel the pop singer over his Grammy win, considering the outcry over Beyonce losing to him.

“Harry styles said “this doesn’t happen to people like me very often” and I gotta be honest I can’t think of a type of people this happens for more,”,” one Twitter user said.

Styles has gained popularity over the last few years and his net worth reflects that, standing at a whopping $120 million. 

Fans today know him as a performer with great stage presence who makes bold statements in his attire, but Styles actually comes from humble beginnings. 

By the age of 7, Styles and his older sister Gemma were raised in the village of Holmes Chapel in Cheshire only by their mother Anne when Styles auditioned for The X Factor, a British talent TV show.

He was only a 16-year-old working at a bakery.

“My mum’s always told me that I’m a good singer,” Styles said to X Factor judge Simon Cowell  on why he came to audition in 2010. “I wanted to come and ask from the people [the judges] who know.”

“Those in positions of influence within the arts, however, tended to be from privileged backgrounds, and to favor those who were the same,” according to a Jan. 25 article by Vice. “8% of actors, musicians, and writers were from working-class backgrounds [in the UK].” 

The statistics were not promising for someone like Styles to enter this industry, which he seems to allude to in the speech. 

In fact, Styles did not have enough star power to continue through the reality show as a solo contestant alongside his castmates. 

He was brought back to be a part of One Direction but still finished in third place, receiving worldwide recognition only after the show.

One Direction announced a hiatus in 2015 after releasing five record-breaking studio albums in six years. 

Oftentimes, it is difficult for previous members of boy bands to make a name for themselves while launching solo careers. Like, where did members of The Wanted even go? 

Styles is an exception to this and arguably the most successful among his former bandmates, since he is the first among the five to win a Grammy for his solo album.

We shouldn’t consider ourselves experts on celebrities and their personal lives before fame and fortune. For Styles’ case, doing so undermines years of hard work for the sake of wildly false accusations. I personally find it refreshing to see Styles keep Beyonce on her toes.

“Harry’s House” is an outward expression of his creative freedom post-One Direction and it’s time for artists like Styles to take the stage. Sorry “BeyHive,” better luck next year!