Harry Styles is officially back. On Thursday (Jan. 23) the British pop star announced his Together, Together global residency tour, and shared new single “Aperture,” the first to be taken from his upcoming album Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.
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On Friday morning, Jan. 23, he followed the reveal with his first interview of the new era on BBC Radio 1’s breakfast show with Greg James. During the 10-minute conversation, Styles discussed the inspiration behind the new song, the album’s playful title and how ended up amongst the crowds in Rome to see the reveal of Pope Leo XIV back in May.
Speaking to James, Styles said that “Aperture,” a five-minute electronic-inspired banger, was influenced by his time away from performing. He said the song, produced with longtime collaborator Kid Harpoon, was the last track completed for the LP, due for release on March 6.
“It was amazing for me. We had most of the album done and a lot of it was exploring the themes that the song is exploring. Getting this song at the end of the process when we were feeling the freest and having a lot of fun… and it felt like the mission statement of what the album was about.”
“I’d had a couple years away from work stuff and a lot of big realizations about generally opening up more to the world and allowing some more positive things to come into my life. It was the culmination of all that was happening around me making this record. [“Aperture”] was like a perfect little bow, and once this song happened it was like ‘oh, the record’s finished.’”
He added that the song was influenced by “classic pop songwriting” but picked out LCD Soundsystem and English post-punk band The Durutti Column as additional inspirations for the sonic departure.
“I saw [LCD Soundsystem] at a festival in Madrid, then saw them again at Brixton [Academy, London]. It was so joyous watching them be immersed in it. The inspiration from watching [LCD Soundsystem] and realizing ‘that’s how I want to feel when I’m on stage,’ and it matched the music I was making.”
Styles last performed live in 2023 in Bologna, Italy after 169 dates on the Love On Tour run. Returning to being an audience member and “getting out into the world” is what inspired him during the recording process.
“The most important thing was about getting on the other side of the audience experience. Having so many years being on stage, the last couple years allowed me to be a real audience member and be in the crowd and have a reminder of ‘oh this is why this is special to people and this is why this feels so good.’”
When asked by James if going incognito at concerts was easy, Styles replied: “Yeah, when it’s dark enough and music is loud enough it’s quite easy actually.”
James then questioned Styles on the LP’s title – Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally – and the semantic implications. “You could say it’s like ‘drink water all the time. But you’re gonna have to pee occasionally,” Styles said. “You can have a break from kissing, but you could also drink water while you’re peeing. It’s kind of optional. The idea is that you can take a break from kissing to disco.”
Since the conclusion of his tour in 2023, Styles has been spotted by fans on a number of “side quests,” such as attending Glastonbury Festival, attempting to help a fan parallel park their Fiat 500, (“The space was too small. It wasn’t going in there”) and popping up in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City when Pope Leo XIV – the first pope to be born in North America – was revealed to the world in May 2025.
“I was getting a haircut in Rome and then I heard all these people start shouting ‘Habemus Papam!’ [‘We have a pope’] and people running down the street. The guy who was cutting my hair was like ‘Habemus Papam!,’ but then he finished up and then I was like ‘oh I’m like 5 minutes walk from there’ so I just walked over there. It was wild.’
Styles’ Together, Together tour kicks off on May 17 at Amsterdam’s Johan Cruyff Arena, before heading to London’s Wembley Stadium for six nights. Further stops will take him to São Paulo and Mexico City before a 30-night stint at NYC’s Madison Square Garden. The tour concludes with shows in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia on Dec. 13.
