On October 30th and 31st of 2021, there were 20,789 fewer people out on the streets trick or treating and were instead inside of Madison Square Garden, for one man and one man only: Harry Styles. These two special shows, known as Harryween, were Harry’s 29th and 30th shows of “Love On Tour,” his second tour as a solo artist. “Love on Tour” was a celebration of his 2019 hit album “Fine Line” but had to be delayed for two years due to COVID. Still in the midst of the pandemic, Styles had only released his US dates and planned to perform 40 shows across the country.
But what makes Harryween so special? Was it the special merch? The special opening act? The iconic costumes he wore on stage? Or the covers he performed of legendary songs? It's all of it. For starters, there was Orville Peck instead of Jenny Lewis, who had opened for the rest of the LOT shows. Wearing cowboy hats, boots, and holsters, Peck and his band sported western looks for both nights.
Before the show, many fans excitedly purchased the limited edition Harryween merch, which pictured an open-mouthed, grinning Styles holding a stick with false eyeballs at the end over his own eyes. The shirt reads, “Harryween, Fancy Dress Party With Special Guests.” When Harry said “Fancy Dress Party,” he meant it.
Not only did Harry go all out for Harryween but also his fans. Cowboy hats, sparkly tops and pants, leather and, of course, boas, are just the typical fashion choices for a Harry Styles crowd, so if Harry was going to be dressing in a costume for Harryween, so were his fans. My TikTok for you page, usually flooded with Harry Styles fans doing a “fit check” before his shows, was now flooded with costume “fit checks” for Harryween. One girl famously dressed as Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz” on night one, ultimately inadvertently twinning with Styles.
Harry and the band wowed the crowd with his night-one costume. His Dorothy look consisted of a light blue gingham dress with bedazzled strawberries on it, a matching bow, red tights, heavy blush, a wicker basket with a fake Toto in it and, of course, the ruby red slippers. The rest of his band were outfitted in other Oz characters, with Mitch–my favorite band member– dressed as the cowardly lion.
Styles loves interacting with his audience, and just a few songs into the show he stopped to tell the crowd, “We look absolutely incredible!” To complete night one, Styles performed a cover of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” as he frolicked about the stage in his bright red shoes. Before leaving the stage for the night, Styles clicked his heels, waved and blew kisses to the crowd, and, soon enough, Harryween night one had concluded.
Both nights of Harry Styles’s Harryween are to go down in Harry history, but night two is never to be forgotten. Harry’s clown look was iconic. A two-piece, white ruffle outfit with a black crescent moon in the middle of the shirt and jewels on his face to complete the look. The rest of the band wore various metallic-colored baggy shirts and pants. What I think makes night two absolutely unforgettable is that he not only sang “Medicine” but also did a cover of Brittany Spears’s “Toxic.”
You might be asking: “What is ‘Medicine?’” If you have been fortunate enough to experience a “Medicine” performance in person, you are lucky. It’s an unreleased song that Styles sings at only a few of his many concerts. What makes this “Medicine” performance even more special was the fact that at the end of it, he transitioned into singing “Toxic.” The crowd went ballistic. No one knew what was happening. In the blink of an eye, Harryween night two was over.
Harryween 2022 is just eight nights away at the Los Angeles Kia Forum. It is going to be hard for Styles to top his two amazing costumes from the year before. I, like the other 47.7 million of Harry Styles’s followers, cannot wait to see what this year's Harryween at Harry’s House will hold.
[Image via Twitter]