For the past six years, One Direction has been one of the biggest boy bands on Earth. When members Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Harry Styles announced they would be taking a hiatus in late 2015, fans had mixed emotions. On March 25, 2016, officially one year after leaving the band, Zayn Malik released his debut solo album Mind Of Mine. On September 29, 2016, Niall Horan released his debut solo single “This Town.” On December 10, 2016, Louis Tomlinson released his debut solo single “Just Hold On” feat. Steve Aoki. Liam Payne has been hinting on social media that he was also working on his solo career in the studio.

Perhaps the most awaited solo work from One Direction’s mombers is Harry Styles’ music. The last the world has seen from Styles on Instagram was September 25, 2016 when he posted three totally white photos to serve as a theme divider. The next day, he posted three photos from a photoshoot with Another Man Magazine where he showed his hair short for the first time since he started growing it out in 2013. On March 25, 2017, he again posted three white photos. This sparked fans’ interest in the future of Harry Styles. Less than a week later, Styles announced his first solo single. “Sign Of The Times” came out on April 7, 2017 and went straight to number one on the iTunes charts. On April 13, 2017, Styles announced via Instagram that his debut album will be released on May 12, 2017.

On Friday, April 7, Styles showed the world his new song on Radio 1’s breakfast show with host Nick Grimshaw. “Sign Of The Times” is a 1970’s rock influenced indie-pop ballad about death and the sadness and certainty of it. Styles said the song tells a story about a woman who dies during childbirth. The song strays from the style of his previous music with One Direction. With influences of David Bowie and Queen, the single features a falsetto chorus and building drums throughout. Styles calls the single his favorite that he’s written for the upcoming album. According to HITS Daily Double, the rest of the album is in a similar genre as “70s British Rock.” The upcoming album is also produced entirely by Jeff Bhasker who has worked with both Kanye West and The Rolling Stones.