Harry Styles reportedly checked in on the team surrounding his problem-filled performance at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.
Styles, who won the prestigious Album of the Year award for Harry’s House, performed his hit single “As It Was” during the show but was faced with technical difficulties.
The performance had Harry and his backup dancers moving around a spinning turntable, reminiscent of that seen in the “As It Was” music video.
However, the stage unfortunately began to spin in the wrong direction when the performance started. Styles and his dancers were forced to adapt their routine on the spot, resulting in a clumsier performance than had been meticulously rehearsed.
Grammys set designer Julio Himede has opened up about the incident on the BBC’s Eurovision podcast, revealing that Styles “called the team in charge to make sure they were OK.” Himede said the incident was “heartbreaking.“
He continued, “In rehearsals his performance was so polished. I was sitting there admiring how amazing Harry and his dancers were to just run with it and cope with it. To continue the performance live and all of a sudden think, ‘I have to just go in reverse now’, is quite incredible.“
Himede will be designing the sets for the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest and is keen to avoid any similar mishaps. The stage will have to be reset in 60 seconds after performances, with Himede calling it “organised chaos.“
Fans were quick to jump to Harry’s defence after his performance didn’t quite reach the standards he has set for himself as a performer. Fans responded to Brandon Mathis, one of the backup dancers, who revealed that the performance had to be reworked on the spot.
Do you guys know how big of a deal the stage spinning the wrong way is? The dancers and Harry had to do the performance backwards. They were all on the opposite of their marks etc no wonder Harry’s voice was shaking right away, he was freaking out
pic.twitter.com/f6171aqARZ— Erin ×͜× LTdefenseless28 (@tdefenseless28) February 6, 2023
One fan tweeted that they “would’ve just started to cry” had they been in Harry’s position.
Harry’s better than me because if my stage started spinning backwards I would’ve just started to cry — Julia (@WORLDLWT2) February 6, 2023
This was not the only problematic aspect of Harry’s Grammy attendance this year. Despite winning the most prized Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Harry faced backlash following his acceptance speech.
Controversially, Styles said “this doesn’t happen to people like me very often” and faced immediate criticism for his tone deaf comment. Twitter users were quick to fire back.
harry styles saying “this doesn’t happen to people like me very often” as a white, british man who has a history of dating only the most categorically stunning women in hollywood and whose biggest act of rebellion is wearing sequins and nail polish is extremely rich
— Emily (@emilybernay) February 6, 2023
Despite a bumpy evening, Styles has held onto his reputation as the friendliest man in pop, staying true to his “Treat People With Kindness” message by ensuring those around him were fine following the show’s mishaps.
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