It’s been almost a year since Harry Styles released his sophomore album, but that hasn’t stopped the 26-year-old singer from putting out singles and sizzling music videos. Not that his fans are complaining, mind you. The latest from Harry arrived on Monday (Oct. 26.) Fresh on the heels of his No. 1 song (and, until the release of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP,” the most innuendo-laden video by an A-level pop star) “Watermelon Sugar,” Harry gifted his fans a music video for “Golden.” In the visual, a half-dressed Harry starts off running down a hilly road. From there, the stylish Mr. Styles appears behind the wheel of a classic car, on the side of the road in a blue suit, and then splash! Harry dives into some crystal clear waters, giving fans a glimpse of his heavily inked, bare chest. It’s a sweet and flirty video, one that perfectly captures this energetic pop bop.
The opening track to Fine Line captures the thrills and fears that come with a new relationship. “Golden, golden, golden as I open my eyes / Hold it, focus, hoping, take me back to the light / I know you were way too bright for me / I’m hopeless, broken, so you wait for me in the sky / Brown my skin just right / You’re so golden,” sings Harry, before kicking into the chorus. “You’re so golden / I’m out of my head, and I know that you’re scared / Because hearts get broken.”
“My favorite memory from making this album was the day we wrote ‘Golden,’ Harry said to Zane Lowe during a November 2019 interview for Apple Music. “We were all sat in the kitchen at [Rick Rubin’s recording studio] Shangri-La, having dinner, and we played it on one guitar while everyone sang around the table. It just felt really good. Part of the thing with the mushrooms for me is that I never do anything when I’m working. I don’t even drink when I’m working. I don’t drink really at all. And when I was in the band [One Diretion], to me, it felt like it was so much bigger than any of us. I felt like, I’m not going to be the one who messes it up. So, I thought, now is the time in my life when you go out and experiment. You take this, and you do that.”
“Making this record just felt…joyous,” added Harry. “I was with my friends, and we were in Malibu, and I felt so safe. Now’s the time to have fun—we’re 24, and I’m in music. I’m not a politician. We wrote it on day two of being at Shangri-La, and immediately, as soon as we’d done it, it was like, ‘Oh, this is track one.’ I used to drive to the studio, and it’s the perfect PCH song. It’s like driving down the coast is what the song is for.”