Harry Styles

Harry Styles is the debut studio album by English singer and songwriter Harry Styles. The album was released on 12 May 2017, through Columbia Records and Erskine. For the album, Styles worked with producers Jeff Bhasker, Alex Salibian, Tyler Johnson and Kid Harpoon. Lyrically, Harry Styles' themes is dominated by focus on women and relationships. The record has been described by various publications as influenced by music from the 1960s and 1970s, including classic rock and singer-songwriter ballads. It was preceded by the release of its lead single, "Sign of the Times", while "Two Ghosts" and "Kiwi" served as the second and third worldwide singles, respectively. In support of the album, Styles embarked on his first headlining concert tour, Harry Styles: Live on Tour. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics and debuted atop the charts in several countries, including Australia, Canada, the UK and the US. It has been certified platinum in the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, Italy, Brazil, Denmark, Poland, and Mexico. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Harry Styles was the ninth global best-selling album of 2017 with sales of one million copies. Background In August 2015, One Direction announced that an extended hiatus would take place following the release of their fifth studio album. In January 2016, Us Weekly published a report claiming that the group's hiatus would, in fact, become a permanent split, noting that each of the four remaining group members did not renew their contracts following the completion of the On the Road Again Tour in October 2015. Representatives for the group denied the report in a statement to Billboard, stating, "nothing has changed regarding hiatus plans for the group, and all will be revealed in due time from the band members' own mouths."