Harry Styles Channels 2010 'X Factor' Audition and Stevie Wonder Classic During Harryween Residency at Madison Square Garden
During the penultimate performance of his 30-night Madison Square Garden residency, Harry Styles staged an unexpected mid-show costume change to resurrect his 2010 X Factor audition outfit. Dressed in his teenage look, Styles delivered a rendition of Stevie Wonder's 'Isn't She Lovely,' the very track that launched his career more than a decade ago.
Harry Styles reached back to the very start of his music career on Friday night, transforming the stage at Madison Square Garden into a nostalgic time machine during his annual Harryween festivities. Performing on the 29th night of his 30-show Together, Together residency in New York, the British vocalist surprised concertgoers with an intentional mid-concert wardrobe switch that replicated the ensemble from his 2010 audition on The X Factor, according to reporting by Billboard.
Dressed in the garments reminiscent of his 16-year-old self, Styles performed Stevie Wonder's iconic 1976 hit 'Isn't She Lovely.' The performance was a direct nod to the televised moment that initially sent him through to the next stage of the British talent competition. According to Billboard, Styles even recycled an unscripted line from that initial audition tape, announcing to the arena crowd, 'I work in a bakery,' commemorating his teenage shift work in his hometown of Holmes Chapel in Cheshire.
The tribute to his teenage beginnings came following an equally theatrical opening sequence for the evening. Styles launched the Friday performance dressed as rock pioneer Elvis Presley, according to Billboard. His touring band and stage dancers joined in the retrospective concept, dressing up as various stylistic incarnations of Styles across different eras of his recording career. Billboard reported that the Presley reference tied back to Styles' earliest days in music, noting that the first track he ever recorded was a cover of Presley's 'The Girl of My Best Friend.'
While 'Isn't She Lovely' cemented his status on television, Billboard highlighted that the Wonder composition was not his original choice during his 2010 televised tryout. Archived footage made public by the program in 2022 showed that Styles first sang Train's 'Hey, Soul Sister' before judge Simon Cowell requested an a cappella selection, prompting the young singer to offer his take on Wonder's catalog. The audition ultimately led to Styles being grouped into the international pop phenomenon One Direction alongside bandmates Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and the late Liam Payne.
Honoring meaningful milestones has remained a notable theme throughout the residency run. Earlier in October, Styles debuted an unreleased tribute composition titled 'What Is Enough,' written in remembrance of Payne, on the second anniversary of his former bandmate's passing at the very same venue, Billboard noted.
Costume-driven cover performances have become an expected fixture of the singer's Harryween events. Billboard recounted that during the inaugural edition at Madison Square Garden in 2021, Styles appeared as Dorothy to sing 'Over the Rainbow' and subsequently dressed as a clown to cover Britney Spears' 'Toxic.' In 2022, he staged a performance as Danny Zuko from Grease to sing 'Hopelessly Devoted to You' at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.
The residency, which concludes on Saturday, set historic commercial marks, generating 11.5 million presale sign-ups through Ticketmaster, according to Billboard.