Harry's House debuts with over 97M streams on Global Spotify

[The Z 17,852]

He has a new album out?

[Meat 18,960]

4 hours ago, TylerBR97 said:

I will be shocked if Adele dominates again. 30 was not that great. Not even close to her previous 3 albums

I mean we all know how the Grammys work. If they like an artist they will vote for them despite all the odds. Not to mention 30 is Adele’s most acclaimed album till date.

[Teletubby 117,797]

2nd day (May 21st)
Global — 68 641 919

US — 24 413 725


UK — 5 722 423

[Hebi 13,928]

[lavender blonde 512]

This album is weird imho. Some songs are really cool, but some are just noisy. I prefer debut and Fine Line

[KORG 4,756]

On 5/21/2022 at 4:18 PM, tmo13 said:

i'm sorry but can you please point out what's boring about this album

especially compared to other male artists 

Sure.

The overall sound (except for a mild variation on 2 tracks) is very much "sleepy Fleetwood mac). The lyrics for some tracks are great but his voice is very "just woke up" in all of them.

It's a weird juxtaposition to his on stage persona. When he performs, he's full of energy & gives the STAR iconography without it feeling forced. Almost like a cult leader, a preacher or a reality show candidate. 

Can you really hear this album played in full with this sound... and not fall asleep?

An album like this should get you in the heart, or steer away from this mid-slow tempo to stay away from being mediocre.

When we've seen him in his element doing amazing covers (Juice, sledgehammer) and his own tracks which aren't too mild (Watermelon sugar).. and even his slower tempo tracks when given the right stadium sound (sign of the times).. this album falls completely flat.

It's all one-note & isn't emotional enough to justify it. It's neither gritty, sad, amusing or fun. 

There's nothing about this album.

I really wanted him to come out with material that was clearly inspired by the music I grew up with - which is the stuff he references ALL the time. I was waiting for an album of Peter Gabriel, Bowie, even a pared down Prince, some Fleetwood etc... 

Unfortunately he's come out with an album that's nothing more than muted musings of a stoned Phil Collins tribute. It's dull.

As for "especially compared to others" first of all we don't pit artists against eachother, secondly.. Lil Nas x, The weeknd & Ed Sheeran have put out far better albums recently. And I loathe Ed, don't care for Weeknd much & think Nas is only mildly amusing.

[tyler k 3,012]

10 hours ago, KORG said:

Sure.

The overall sound (except for a mild variation on 2 tracks) is very much "sleepy Fleetwood mac). The lyrics for some tracks are great but his voice is very "just woke up" in all of them.

It's a weird juxtaposition to his on stage persona. When he performs, he's full of energy & gives the STAR iconography without it feeling forced. Almost like a cult leader, a preacher or a reality show candidate. 

Can you really hear this album played in full with this sound... and not fall asleep?

An album like this should get you in the heart, or steer away from this mid-slow tempo to stay away from being mediocre.

When we've seen him in his element doing amazing covers (Juice, sledgehammer) and his own tracks which aren't too mild (Watermelon sugar).. and even his slower tempo tracks when given the right stadium sound (sign of the times).. this album falls completely flat.

It's all one-note & isn't emotional enough to justify it. It's neither gritty, sad, amusing or fun. 

There's nothing about this album.

I really wanted him to come out with material that was clearly inspired by the music I grew up with - which is the stuff he references ALL the time. I was waiting for an album of Peter Gabriel, Bowie, even a pared down Prince, some Fleetwood etc... 

Unfortunately he's come out with an album that's nothing more than muted musings of a stoned Phil Collins tribute. It's dull.

As for "especially compared to others" first of all we don't pit artists against eachother, secondly.. Lil Nas x, The weeknd & Ed Sheeran have put out far better albums recently. And I loathe Ed, don't care for Weeknd much & think Nas is only mildly amusing.

I disagree with your points, but thank you for engaging and offering up a few reasons as to why it's not for you.

personally, this album got me in the heart, I found myself really affected by a the last few songs in the back half of the album. I don't find it dull or it to sound like stone Phil Collins at all, but that's the beauty of music and how we receive it. 

[SevenWonder 3,074]

I'm barely a casual fan of HS over all, but I keep listening to Matilda and Boyfriends. Both have an almost Paul Simon thing going for them. Which is a very good thing to me. 

[jimmytimestep 2,157]

11 hours ago, KORG said:

Sure.

The overall sound (except for a mild variation on 2 tracks) is very much "sleepy Fleetwood mac). The lyrics for some tracks are great but his voice is very "just woke up" in all of them.

It's a weird juxtaposition to his on stage persona. When he performs, he's full of energy & gives the STAR iconography without it feeling forced. Almost like a cult leader, a preacher or a reality show candidate. 

Can you really hear this album played in full with this sound... and not fall asleep?

An album like this should get you in the heart, or steer away from this mid-slow tempo to stay away from being mediocre.

When we've seen him in his element doing amazing covers (Juice, sledgehammer) and his own tracks which aren't too mild (Watermelon sugar).. and even his slower tempo tracks when given the right stadium sound (sign of the times).. this album falls completely flat.

It's all one-note & isn't emotional enough to justify it. It's neither gritty, sad, amusing or fun. 

There's nothing about this album.

I really wanted him to come out with material that was clearly inspired by the music I grew up with - which is the stuff he references ALL the time. I was waiting for an album of Peter Gabriel, Bowie, even a pared down Prince, some Fleetwood etc... 

Unfortunately he's come out with an album that's nothing more than muted musings of a stoned Phil Collins tribute. It's dull.

As for "especially compared to others" first of all we don't pit artists against eachother, secondly.. Lil Nas x, The weeknd & Ed Sheeran have put out far better albums recently. And I loathe Ed, don't care for Weeknd much & think Nas is only mildly amusing.

I think you make some excellent points here, but at the end of the day, I don’t think he was going for a bold “this is me and how i am different” statement with this album. As popular as he is, I think he was going for a “living room” album, in the vein of Carole King’s Tapestry…hence the album’s title. Something that you can put on at a dinner party, that everyone has something to like on it, that they can dance to when they want and tune out when they want, and with nothing to despise. That said, I don’t think he fully succeeded in that regard either, but it is a pleasant album with some jams.

It seems to me the labels are eager for the next Tapestry. I think 30 and folklore were pushes towards this as well. 

[KORG 4,756]

11 hours ago, jimmytimestep said:

I think you make some excellent points here, but at the end of the day, I don’t think he was going for a bold “this is me and how i am different” statement with this album. As popular as he is, I think he was going for a “living room” album, in the vein of Carole King’s Tapestry…hence the album’s title. Something that you can put on at a dinner party, that everyone has something to like on it, that they can dance to when they want and tune out when they want, and with nothing to despise. That said, I don’t think he fully succeeded in that regard either, but it is a pleasant album with some jams.

It seems to me the labels are eager for the next Tapestry. I think 30 and folklore were pushes towards this as well. 

Yeah I can see that comparison, I agree with it actually, but I feel like it missed the mark. The lyrics are really great in parts but... without sounding too flippant.. it drones on. You hit the nail on the head with background music. Nothing to dance to.. just.. sound.

[StrawberryBlond 13,287]

I've just listened to it and while I liked it more than Fine Line, I'm just mystified what critics and fans are seeing in this. Over half the tracks are mediocre, bland, dull, I don't know what to do with this. It doesn't make me feel anything, I can't dance to it. I could maybe relax to it, but it would put me to sleep more than anything. His lyrics are simple and yet so nonsensical in places, which I wonder how that is possible. His metaphor for a bottle of red wine on Grapejuice is bizarre and the random nonsense words he throws out on Keep Driving is just calculated attempts to seem artistic. The whole album is an example of someone trying to be "un artiste" and ticking every box as to what they think that this. Very pretentious and when music is this pretentious, I can't get anything out of it, it doesn't seem to be made for the average human who doesn't think such obscure ramblings. The best tracks are tracks 6-9 in the middle (so weird) and the final one but even they're just ok.

It's just typical that the top 3 most popular streams are for the 3 worst tracks. I still don't get why As It Was got released as a single, least of all the lead single. Even more shocked it went to #1 for as long as it has. But then, why should I be surprised? Harry is a young, attractive man who used to be in a boyband. Of course he sells well based on these factors alone. Trust me, if he simply wasn't even that good-looking, nobody would care. What gets me is, he has so many young fans, yet the type of music he makes is so adult (in a mature way) and high-faluting. It is not what young people want to listen to, based on what else is filling the charts. They buy his music because they think he's hot and convince themselves they like it. Story as old as time. I'm a straight woman and even I still don't understand why so many women will happily buy a guy's music because they think he's hot. Men have never done that for women. They put a poster of her on their wall and watch her videos on mute. They certainly wouldn't pay for her music, it practically goes against their principles. Thing is, I want to like Harry, I really do. He does have talent and seems sweet and yes, he's handsome. But there are artists I find talented who don't actually provide music I like and he's one of them.

On 5/21/2022 at 4:18 PM, tmo13 said:

i'm sorry but can you please point out what's boring about this album

especially compared to other male artists 

To add another take on things, I'd say what gets me is that the entire album just sounds so pretentious and high faluting, two concepts I can't bear. I define pretentious as "deliberately creating off-the-wall art with little rhyme or reason in places, mostly devoid of real emotion, purely to come off as edgy, artistic and weird, sometimes for the sheer hell of it." And I know, some people would immediately point me to my stanning of Lana and call me a hypocrite and while Lana has her moments, she still creates understandable music with understandable metaphors, her voice is gorgeous, her lyrics take me somewhere else and are of the highest standard. But what is all too common now is these artists thinking that saying random words, weird phrases,  strange song titles and odd cover art is the definition of good music. Harry seems to have fallen big time for this movement. He was onto something with his debut, took a hard left down Pretentious Avenue with his second and is still on that road, thinking this is the way to artistic acclaim. And sadly, it is. Critics are going crazy for it. Makes me wonder if there's money changing hands, but that's all I'll say.

As for comparing him to other male artists - most male artists bore me, always have. They stay too generic and won't move out their comfort zones, which is why I've mostly found solace in the music of women. Harry is one of a long line of very popular male artists right now who, in my opinion, just doesn't live up to the hype. Male artists have been letting me down for the last few years, I've not found one halfway decent album from a male artist this year. Contrary to what most people would say, all male artists need to start stepping up. Problem is, the critics and fans love them, so they think they're providing quality and don't change.

On 5/21/2022 at 9:36 PM, Meat said:

I mean we all know how the Grammys work. If they like an artist they will vote for them despite all the odds. Not to mention 30 is Adele’s most acclaimed album till date.

I'd normally agree but I think there could be riots afoot if Adele or god forbid, Taylor (also working on a new album) wins again next year. These women have just won too many times now and I think the academy know we're bored of it. Kendrick is my front-runner. I've not even listened to his album but the critic reaction and the fan reaction tell me this is going to be seen as one of those landmark releases. And so many people have wanted Kendrick to win from day one and are outraged every time he's denied. This is his big comeback and I think the academy know how much the people want this. Also remember that Silk Sonic got a lot of love from the academy at this year's ceremony, they'll have an AOTY nom in the bag. Harry will definitely be there but I doubt he'll win.

[EGOT2027 9,947]

i think what makes harry so special is he is the only male pop/music star who TRIES in the way that the main pop girls try. i love bruno and ed for example, but in many ways they have had the same vibe since the beginning. (i know ed tried that one album and bruno is doing silk sonic now, but i think you all still get the point.) it's so refreshing to see a male pop star who is making interesting videos and wearing interesting things and such. we need lots more it!