Variety has awarded the “Golden” singer, Harry Styles Hitmaker of the Year. The singer had been chosen by Variety in their fourth annual list of honorees for their Hitmakers issue for having two of the biggest hit songs of 2020 which consisted of  “Adore You” and “Watermelon Sugar” from his acclaimed album “Fine Line”.

          Styles was recognized as Hitmaker of the year for producing his popular hit singles in the entertainment industry which consisted of his songs “Adore You,” which was the second-most-played song on radio in 2020, and “Watermelon Sugar,” as well as his song “Golden,” have already crested the top 20 on the pop format. With his album “Fine Line,” he’s proven himself to be a skilled lyricist with a  tremendous ear for harmony and melody. I was ecstatic hearing him get this much recognition since he deserved it in my opinion. I loved the album so much, it just connected with me and all the songs were so good and just gave me so much serotonin listening to it. I’ve been a fan of Styles ever since he was in One Direction so seeing him being able to make music the way he wanted to and grow with his work, just makes me feel so happy and proud of him for getting this far in his solo career.

          Although Styles did gets nominated for the Grammys, he and his album were left out of the major categories. But Variety held their first-ever live-streamed virtual event for the Hitmakers gala, with the big winner of the evening being Harry Styles, who was awarded the magazine’s Hitmaker of the Year. Once the time came for Styles to accept the award he began,“Hi, I’m Harry. I just wanted to say a massive thank you to Variety for making me the Hitmaker of the Year,” he continued. “It’s very strange, and a very proud moment for me and for everyone with whom I made the record. I don’t think any of us ever walked into the studio intending to make hits. I think we try and make good music that we like, and sometimes that connects, and sometimes that doesn’t,” he continued. “It’s very cool to think that people liked some of the songs on the last album,” he added. At the end of his acceptance speech during the Hitmakers gala he concluded with “I will get back into the studio… yeah, this is cool.” 

          Just hearing him talk about coming out with more music soon has me so pumped for his comeback! It’s nice to hear that he’s happy with so many people enjoying his music when he had no intention of it going viral. Valentina Herrera, a sophomore also had a positive reaction towards his nomination and speech in which she said “I mean honestly I’ve been a Harry fan since One Direction and I’m just really proud that he’s getting awards to show that he is in fact, a great soloist and is still making great music outside the group so I’m really happy for him in that sense.”

 “I noticed during the acceptance speech he just looked really tired, I know he’s working on a movie right now but I think it was a nice speech, he thanked his fans, his managers, and his record company for letting him take control and letting him create the album on his own,” she added. During his interview with Variety, when asked how he felt about being recognized both critically and with Grammy nominations Styles said “It’s always nice to know that people like what you’re doing, but ultimately – and especially working in a subjective field – I don’t put too much weight on that stuff. I think it’s important when making any kind of art to remove the ego from it.” 

When asked about his hope for the future of live music he answered with, “There will be a time we dance again.” On the topic of taking time for himself during the pandemic Styles stated, “It’s been a pause that I don’t know if I would have otherwise taken. I think it’s been pretty good for me to have a kind of stop, to look and think about what it means to be an artist, what it means to do what we do and why we do it. I lean into moments like this – moments of uncertainty.” When asked about her thoughts on his interview, Herrera stated, “He’s very kind to thank his fans and everyone liking the music he’s put out so far, and I think people should continue to support him because he is a musical genius and I think, I really just think his latest album just showed it, everyone and their grandma was listening to Watermelon Sugar.” “I mean you can’t get away from Harry Styles,” Herrera concluded. 

          You can check out the rest of the interview on Variety’s December issue about Harry Styles where he talks about other topics like his take on race and the music industry, his time in One Direction, and his music-making process. This year has been tough for everyone but in a way, we all got the most needed break, albeit a very long break. As long as everyone continues following the covid health regulations we can only hope for everything to go back to normal. Well, like Harry said, “There will be a time we dance again.”