Fans of One Direction were extremely excited when Greg James confirmed that Harry, Louis, Liam, and Niall would be performing their first ever BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge on November 12th, the day before their new album Made In The A.M was set to be released.
The boys of One Direction were excited too as they tweeted about the event – and before their performance began – talked to Greg about how they’d wanted to do a set for years but just never found the ability to carve out the time to do so.
The one voice that was missing from the conversation? Harry Styles.
Upon beginning their chat together Greg informed fans that Harry was on vocal rest and a bit unwell. Harry would be using an app on his phone that allowed him to type out things he wanted to say. Musicians go on vocal rest for many reasons and fans were hoping it was nothing too serious for Harry as he saved his voice for the performance part of their segment.
However, if you were watching the live feeds, you saw a side of Harry that we’ve seen before – perhaps too often. Harry was clearly a bit under the weather, and it was clear that it was causing him pain to sing. If you watched closely you could see Louis looking towards Harry a lot as if to check on him – to try to show that he was there in the best way that he could be, and during a particularly painful note in one song; it looked like Louis wanted to shut the whole thing down.
But Harry wouldn’t have allowed it.
In a fan base where we’re somehow used to seeing the boys a bit under the weather or with bandages and boots on – some situations seem a bit more hard to accept than others; for a lot of One Direction fans, this was one of those times.
Harry Styles has a heart made completely out of gold and we’re sure he hides angel wings under those half open sheer shirts of his too. He is happiness, love, and tranquility personified. He proves this in a lot of ways from the thanks he says every night One Direction takes a stage, to the tweets he sends out that show his gratitude, to the way he is a perfect gentlemen when he’s seen in public, even if the sentiment isn’t quite returned to him.
The biggest way he shows fans how important they are? Days like today, moments like the ones he sat through earlier where he puts his own wellbeing on pause to give everything he has and then some – even on days where he’s barely getting by. Luckily Harry is health conscious and for the most part the smoothies, juice, and meditation keep him healthy – but the times he’s lacking, he never wants to show it. Harry Styles never wants to have to say no – so he doesn’t – he just puts on that thousand watt smile, tells the fans how much they mean to him, and sings and dances through pain.
If that’s not a man dedicated to his career, his craft, and the people who support him; we don’t know what is.
It’s important to take note of days like this one and realize how truly important this break is, not just to the boys as a band; but to Harry, Louis, Niall, and Liam as individuals. They deserve time to rest, to relax, and to indulge a little bit into putting themselves first – something they haven’t done since they walked into their x-factor auditions 5 years ago.
Thank you Harry, for performing today with what looked like a painful throat, we hope you know, and if not we won’t ever tire of reminding you, just how important you are to us. You selflessly exist in a way that shows an example of what we should strive to be in our own lives. You wear yourself thin to make sure those around you, even those of us you don’t know, are taken care of and above that; you’ve taught us about love and how important it is to make sure that’s the root of all of our actions.
None of the kindness that you show us ever goes unnoticed – you are truly an angel on earth.