Harry Styles‘ new single, “Lights Up,” has once again sparked speculation about his sexuality. In addition to the song’s release on National Coming Out Day, the singer appears shirtless in the music video while surrounded by scantily clad men and women. Fans connected these two things to lyrics from the song, leading them to believe Styles may have come out as bisexual.
On the bridge, Styles sings:
Shine, step into the light
Shine, so bright sometimes
Shine, I’m not ever going back
Fans are interpreting these lyrics as meaning Styles is bi:
Styles has been questioned about his sexual orientation in the past, but has consistently rejected labels while openly talking about a variety of experiences. In 2013, the pop singer said in an interview with British GQ, “Bisexual? Me? I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure I’m not.”
In a 2017 interview with The Sun, Styles was asked for his take on Miley Cyrus being open about her pansexuality, and said he “never felt the need to” label his sexuality:
Everyone should just be who they want to be. It’s tough to justify somebody having to answer to someone else about stuff like that… I don’t feel like it’s something I’ve ever felt like I have to explain about myself.
In addition, Styles responded to rumors in May 2017 about whether his song, “Sweet Creature,” is written about One Direction member Louis Tomlinson by stating his lyrics are open to the listener’s interpretation:
I mean, I think people are always gonna speculate what songs are about, and I don’t think I’d ever want to tell anyone but they’re wrong for feeling what they feel about a song. Even when they’re not necessarily right. But I think if you really listen to the lyrics, I think you can work out if it’s really about that or not, and I would lean towards no.
Back in March 2018, Styles similarly fueled speculation about his sexuality with his unreleased song, “Medicine.” On the track, he teases being with men and women:
The boys and the girls are in
I mess around with him
And I’m okay with it
This year, Styles spoke to Rolling Stone about flying pride, bi, and trans flags during his first solo tour. “I want to make people feel comfortable being whatever they want to be,” he explained. “Maybe at a show you can have a moment of knowing that you’re not alone. I’m aware that as a white male, I don’t go through the same things as a lot of the people that come to the shows. I can’t claim that I know what it’s like, because I don’t… I’m just trying to make people feel included and seen.”
In the interview, Styles also said he prefers to address relationships in his music rather than talking about them. “It’s not like I’ve ever sat and done an interview and said, ‘So I was in a relationship, and this is what happened,’” he says. “Because, for me, music is where I let that cross over. It’s the only place, strangely, where it feels right to let that cross over.”
Watch the music video above, and read all the lyrics to Harry Styles' “Lights Up” on Genius now.
