Tuesday 17 May 2022 09:07 AM Harry Styles admits he was 'so concerned with people liking him' trends now
Harry Styles has opened up about his struggles with public perception during the early days of his career when he joined One Direction.
The singer, 28, who has gone on to garner huge solo success, admitted he was desperate to be liked and felt the need for positive reinforcement from his fans, often going on social media to 'remind people I'm alive'.
The former boyband star also touched on how he 'never celebrated' the big wins during his time in the band and 'only felt relief' when they did well, summerising that he felt like he was 'emotionally coasting' and 'not really feeling anything'.
Candid: Harry Styles has opened up about his struggles with public perception during the early days of his career when he joined One Direction
Speaking to "DJ Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, Harry revealed he is now in a much healthier headspace regarding his relationships with other people and how he feels like he is 'okay with protecting his boundaries'.
Circling back to the start of his career in the band, Harry said: 'I kind of emotionally coasted. I didn't really feel anything. And we'd go through real highs in the band and stuff, and it would always just feel like a relief. Like, "Oh, we didn't fail. That feels like a massive relief."
Harry said he has now broken away from coasting and credits therapy for helping him to 'open doors' into rooms he was yet to explore.
Early days: The singer, 28, who has gone on to garner huge solo success, admitted he was desperate to be liked and felt the need for positive reinforcement from his fans, often going on social media to 'remind people I'm alive' (pictured in 2013)
He said: 'I never really felt like I celebrated anything. And I had a great time. Like, truly. And I think sometimes, with therapy as an example, is you open a bunch of doors in your house that you didn't know existed, you find all these rooms and you get to explore them.
'And then in a time when it would be easier to emotionally coast, you can no longer do that.'
Harry said that another thing he felt while in the band was the need to be 'liked', telling Zane that 'everyone in this industry just wants to be loved'.
He said: 'I think it was maybe the Emmys or something and Michaela Coel won, and she said, "Don't confuse visibility with success." And I think it's so... It can't be put better than that, I think.
Deep thoughts: The former boyband star also touched on how he 'never celebrated' the big wins during his time in the band and 'only felt relief' when they did well, summerising that he felt like he was 'emotionally coasting' and 'not really feeling anything'
'And it's not an easy place to get to, because it's a world where we all just want to be loved, and then inside that, music is an industry where everyone just really wants to be loved really bad. And everyone's just kind of gagging for it in that kind of positive reinforcement.
'Yeah, and I think what is so exciting and dangerous about it is that you put so much love into an industry that's so fickle in that, it loves you back when you're doing well. And if you're not, you're just out.
'And it's understandable, that it's really scary to go away and be like, "No one's talking about me," or, "No one cares," all of that stuff, get into that kind of place. And I have to get onto social media and remind people I'm alive or all of that stuff. And I just kind of feel like I did a lot of that constant thing when I was in the band.'
