Harry Styles – UBS Arena – Long Island, NY – May 20, 2022
Spending the Night at Harry’s House
On May 20th, 2022, Harry Styles released his third studio album titled Harry’s House. While fans had been anticipating the album ever since his second studio album Fine Line, they had even more of a reason to have the date marked on their calendars. Two weeks prior to the release, Harry announced that he would be performing the album live from start to finish at Long Island’s UBS arena, calling the evening “Harry Styles: One Night Only.” Not only would Styles be performing the entire album, but like his last “One Night Only” performance at the Forum in December 2019 celebrating the release of Fine Line every single ticket in the venue was priced at $25, assuring that fans of all means had a shot at attending.
As we arrived at the venue, the thing that stood out to us the most was the impeccable fashion choices made by the fans, also known as “Harries.” If we had no context about the event we were attending, I would have assumed it was a fashion show from all of the feathers, glitter, and vibrant colored outfits. Not only did the dazzling outfits strike us, but also the loving, kind, and accepting atmosphere that Harry has created through his character and morals that run deep through his performances and his words. We saw fans helping one another, making new friends, and when it came time for the show, singing the words to every single song together.
At around 9:20 PM, the lights in the arena went down and the fans went wild. The black curtain cloaking the stage dropped revealing a luminescent shape of a house and coming out of the door to the house was Harry, himself. The show was performed in the order of the album, explained by Harry, “We’re going to play this album for you as it was intended, from start to finish.”
Harry and his band kicked off the night with “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” followed by “Late Night Talking,” and “Grape Juice.” Both Styles’ infectious energy and the funky rhythm to these first songs got every single person in the arena out of their seats.
The next song to be performed was “As It Was,” the first single released from Harry’s House.
Before getting into the song, Harry related to the audience, “The next song I’m to play, I have to dedicate to each and every single one of you, because once again, once again, you have changed my life!” Not a single person in the crowd didn’t know the words to this song, bringing the already through-the-roof energy way up.
After “As It Was” came “Daylight,” where Harry played guitar, followed by “Little Freak.” Up next was “Matilda,” an emotional ballad that Styles explained that he had written for a dear friend of his who he felt needed to hear what he says in the song. Harry then went on to say, “If there is anyone in the audience who feels like this applies to them, it does. This is for you, as well.” The song is deeply important to fans, as some of the lyrics go as follows:
“Matilda, you talk of the pain like it's all alright / But I know that you feel like a piece of you's dead insidе / You showed me a power that is strong еnough to bring sun to the darkest days / It's none of my business, but it's just been on my mind”
After everyone in the arena wiped their tears, next came “Cinema,” “Daydream,” “Keep Driving” and “Satellite,” all of which had the audience non-stop dancing. After those upbeat tunes, came “Boyfriends,” an acoustic ballad in which Harry was accompanied at the front of the stage by band members Sarah Jones, Ny Oh, and Elin Sandberg to play guitar and sing backing vocals. Due to the song being performed at Coachella in April, most fans already knew all the words. The end of the song was performed acapella, which made the harmonious choir of fans’ voices stand out even more. After “Boyfriends” was the last song on the album, “Love of My Life.”
Whoever wasn’t on their feet for the last couple of songs, stood up to dance along to the last song prior to the encore, finishing off the album.
After exiting the stage for a few minutes, leaving fans shivering with anticipation, Harry returned to sing hits like “Adore You,” “Watermelon Sugar,” his first-ever solo single “Sign of the Times,” “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Kiwi,” and the final encore number – “As It Was,” once again.
Though fans were sad to see Harry go, they now have a once-in-a-lifetime concert experience forever in their memories. They’ll even have the chance to see him during his 10-show-long residency at Madison Square Garden this late summer/early fall. We have been loving Harry’s House, and if you haven’t listened yet, go stream it now! We had the most amazing night with Mr. Styles, and we can’t wait to see what he does next.
Kayla Marra
Copyright ©2022 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: May 23, 2022.
Photos by Kayla Marra © 2022