Harry Styles is living the life—of Pablo. To celebrate the release of his first solo album, "Sign of the Times," the One Direction alum performed a secret concert In London and he “covered” a Kanye West song. Styles didn’t do a straight-up cover, according to Spin, but instead “riffed” on West’s “Life of Pablo” track, “Ultralight Beam.” Styles rearranged the lyrics in his version of the 2016 tune and gave it his own spin. You can hear Styles’ version of the song in the video below.
MTV describes Styles’ cover as a rock version of Kanye’s song, citing the placement of the “gospel vibes of Kanye West's original” with “cymbal crashes,” a guitar solo, and tons of “amped-up drama.” In fact, the song is almost unrecognizable from Kanye’s version, with Styles making it his own without the help of Chance The Rapper or the rest of Kanye’s collaborators.
Inside Harry’s first-ever solo gig
According to the Belfast Telegraph, the surprise concert was Harry’s “first ever show” as a solo artist and he included both One Direction and Kanye songs in his setlist. In addition to Yeezy’s “Ultralight Beam,” Harry covered 1D’s “Stockholm Syndrome.” Kanye West has not commented on Harry Styles’ surprising cover of his song
Harry Styles reportedly told fans that not only was this his first show in a long time, but it was his first full-fledged solo show ever. He also referenced his infamous stage dive at a secret gig at Rough Trade in New York earlier in the week, during which he landed on a fan. Harry admitted that stage diving isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
A limited number of tickets went on sale for Harry’s secret concert at The Garage in Islington and fans reportedly rushed to buy tickets after the singer tweeted details about the event at 8 a.m. on the morning of the show. All proceeds from Harry’s first solo show will go to the Little Princess Trust.
What is 'Sign of the Times' about?
Harry Styles recently confirmed that his album "Sign of the Times" is about today’s “difficult times.” Harry told the New York Times that he refers to Brexit, Donald Trump, and Black Lives Matter on the album, and says he was inspired by “the state of the world at the moment.”
Styles told the Times that while “it’s very easy to feel incredibly sad about a lot of things," he tries to remember that “there’s also a lot of amazing people doing amazing things in the world.”
Harry Styles' new album is available now, and he also has four upcoming UK tour dates lined up for this October and November.
