On March 31, Harry Styles took the world by storm and released his new single “As It Was,” with the music video and lyrics immediately sparking questions and theories from fans on TikTok and Twitter (Styles’ fans are quick, y’all). The song offers a sneak peek at his upcoming 13-track album Harry’s House, set to debut next month on May 20 (RIP Fine Line era, you will be missed).
On April 2, the song officially broke the Spotify record of being the most-streamed song in the United States in a single day, with 8.3 million streams. The music video “As It Was,” which is currently number one on trending for music on YouTube and boasts over 30 million views, holds a plethora of Easter eggs, and fans still have many unanswered questions as to what it all means for Styles’ next musical era. However, given the stark change in tone of Styles’ music and his deeper, self-reflective lyrics, it is safe to say that his third album won’t be “the same as it was.”
Here is everything you need to know about the “As It Was” music video.
The “As It Was” Music Video Is a Work Of Art
The music video, directed by Tanu Muino, features a moody Styles wearing red and singing against an addictive synth-pop beat, the sound nostalgic of popular ‘80s hits and even reminiscent of indie pop music similar to the work of Dayglow, COIN, and Wallows.
The video begins with Styles walking amid a sea of people, wearing a long red trench coat and skinny black scarf. He then enters through a door, magically changed into a red jumpsuit, and meets a woman wearing a similar jumpsuit, but in royal blue. The two walk in a circle on a spinning circular platform, alternating between walking together, walking separately, and holding each other, until the woman falls off the platform with Styles left standing alone. He then points up and the camera pans to Styles now wearing the same trench coat over the jumpsuit standing on a curved structure above a swimming pool.
The scene abruptly switches back to the woman and Styles laying against a drawn backdrop, with Styles wearing his boxers with his butterfly tattoo on his chest exposed. Metal rods are placed over the two as they hold hands and lay splayed out. The last 25 seconds of the video shows Styles alone, dancing, smiling, and singing eccentrically before it cuts to blackness.
“AS It Was” And Its Music Video Are About Embracing Change
Styles usually stays quiet in terms of explaining the concept behind his songs and music videos, leaving fans to interpret themselves (and Styles’ fans are real sleuths). However, on April 1, Styles spoke exclusively to BBC Radio One, telling host Greg James that the song was “written in the countryside in England” and is about “embracing change, losing oneself, finding oneself, a shift in perspective — lots of different things.”
These themes of “embracing change” and “finding oneself” are clearly evident in the music video, as many scenes are filmed with Styles alone, either wearily contemplating his past or optimistically focusing on his present. Throughout Styles’ career of transforming from a boy band pop phenomenon to a solo artist, he experienced a lot of change in terms of his brand, music, and even identity. The last 25 seconds of the music video in particular reveal a happy Styles singing and dancing, evoking a sense of self-acceptance and even self-love that he has perhaps grown to embrace.
What’s Up With All The Butterfly Imagery?
In several scenes, the “As It Was” singer’s chest is exposed, revealing his large butterfly tattoo spanned across his skin. One user on TikTok explained that the metal rods placed over Styles and the mysterious woman in blue are the same types of rods used to pin down butterflies when they are under observation. Relating to her theory, in the scene, another woman peers down closely at Styles’ face, as if inspecting him like one would a butterfly.
Butterflies are representative of change and transformation, as they morph from caterpillars into small, beautifully winged creatures. Once again, the butterfly imagery could allude to Styles’ transformation from a teenage boy band star to a serious solo artist, or could perhaps relate to his own self-transformation as he comes to terms with his own identity.
Is “As It Was” About Styles’ Girlfriend, Olivia Wilde?
Many fans speculate that the song is about actress Olivia Wilde, Styles’ girlfriend, specifically evident in the lines “Leave America / Two kids / Follow her,” as Wilde has two children with her ex-husband Jason Sudeikis. As these lines are sung in the music video, Styles runs on the spinning platform with a stoic, melancholic face — however, it is unclear whether he is trying to catch up to the woman in blue (who could signify Wilde) and save their relationship or trying to run away from his relationship with her. The sound of wedding bells in the background also supports this theory.
OR IS THE VIDEO ABOUT STYLES’ CHILDHOOD?
Other fans theorize that the song and music video are closely related to Styles’ childhood, with the woman in blue being Gemma, his younger sister. In a now-viral TikTok video, user @michaela811 explains that “As It Was” could be about Styles “reflecting on his childhood and how his life now will never be the same as it was back then.” She explains that the video shows two versions of Styles: him as a child (when he is wearing the red jumpsuit) and him as an adult now (when he is wearing the red trench coat).
When he sings, “In this world / It’s just us,” the user shares that it could be about how Styles feels as though it is just him and Gemma in this world. This also relates to Styles’ complicated relationship with his father, as revealed in the line, “Your daddy lives by himself / He just wants to know that you’re well.” As he sings this in the music video, he undresses himself, perhaps alluding to the vulnerability of his relationships both in his childhood and present.