Harry Styles: Love On Tour has resumed, and naturally it’s resulted in plenty of fan-generated social media content. The first leg of the 2022 tour began in Europe, so there’s no doubt that there is that sense of home that Harry isn’t able to find anywhere else. But as the shows have gone on, some fans have been sending signs about what they think about his time living in America…
@osnapitzzgigi The harsh stares & rudeness did not take away from having the time of our lives!#harrystyles#harryshouse#loveontour#lotmanchester#fyp#asitwas#leaveamerica
♬ As It Was - Harry Styles
The first single off of the album, “As It Was”, features a lyric in the bridge that says“Leave America”. Fans have now made it an inside joke of sorts to scream that line at the top of their lungs to jokingly-but-not-really let Harry know that they want him around a little more than he is now. At first it seemed like a situation that happened at one concert. But like many things that happen on social media, it has only gotten bigger and bigger. Every couple days I see a new TikTok of that moment getting louder. Here are some examples from the shows in England:
@isthatcarly whos ready to see all the videos of me sobbing ?!?#harrystylesloveontour2022#hslot2022#wembleynight1#leaveamerica
♬ As It Was - Harry Styles
@lisawithoutacoolusername ✨ leave America ✨#harrystyles#wembleystadium
♬ original sound - Lisa
@rosiekrr Harry styles fans that "leave America" tonight was PERSONAL in Manchester - crying laughing#harrystyles#hslot#hs#asitwas#leaveamerica#manchester
♬ original sound - Rosie Kerr
There’s no surprise that this has snowballed into what it is now. The power of fandom and word of mouth on social media has been happening for years and years. While this specific situation is unique in the content, I remember similar things happening while I was a devout Directioner at 12-years-old. There were ALWAYS fan projects going around on social media right before a concert. At the first One Direction concert I went to, I picked out a red top and white shorts because there was an online campaign encouraging people going to the Toronto shows to wear Canadian colours so everyone in the audience would be coordinated. There were also signs being assigned to certain sections of the venue so a big picture would appear once everyone held theirs up. These projects had no affiliation with the band and were completely put together by fans using social media. Even though it's been years since the peak of One Direction, there’s no doubt that a lot of those fans followed Harry’s solo career, and group coordination at that level is never 100% lost. This one requires less effort than convincing people what to wear, but it still has the same energy of coming together to share a message that fans have a deep connection with.
因为我显然不喜欢英国人,我是kind of surprised to see this go around. Yes, Harry has been spending a lot of his time in America, but he’s not the first or last celebrity who isn’t American to live in America. Not only is he touring constantly, but he also now has a thriving movie career. The man is booked and busy! I’ve also seen fans say it started because he does more tour stops in America than in Europe. While that may be the case, that’s just a population numbers situation that is a logistical thing more than anything else. All that being said, I don’t think this is singularly malicious. It’s pretty funny that the lyric is in his own song, so why not tease him a little bit?
I’ve tried to figure out what the reaction has been at the concert through TikTok comments, but like many things on social media, it’s hard to come to a conclusion because people’s interpretations are all over the place. Some say he has laughed when it happens, and others say he’s starting to look annoyed. At the end of the day, I don’t think it’s that deep. He might even start playing into it himself which would add a whole other dimension to this campaign. And what we do know for sure is that he definitely got the message:
@enricalatorre I forgot I had this 🥹 LEAVE AMERICA!#harrystyles#loveontour2022#loveontourmanchester#harrystylesloveontour
♬ original sound - Enrica Latorre
