Harry Styles Review – Netflix Concert Is Collective Love With Some Big Pop Moments | Harry Styles

AThe first big pop moment of 2026, it’s all about Harry Styles’ new album Kiss All the Time. Disco, at times feels appropriately hip. At last weekend’s Brit Awards, Styles premiered the lead single, Aperture, alongside a troupe of dancers and an extravagant chorus, while the actual album launch party for “One Night Only” on Friday takes place in a 20,000-capacity arena.

This is a “heartwarming” affair for Styles, who is taking to the courts this summer – and the show is being recorded for posterity by Netflix. A streaming Goliath means that all phones will be placed in a recyclable bag eliminating the use of recording equipment; It’s a nice way to stay in the moment, sure, but it’s basically a fail-safe against spoiling your next TV special.

Worryingly, the least successful part of the entire campaign is the music itself. Lyrically ambiguous, melodically hazy, and strangely devoid of inevitable hooks a la Adore You or As It Was, the new album, dubbed “Kissco” by fans, seems too weak to bear the mark of success. However, in the live scenario, stripped of the album’s hermetic sheen, Styles wrestles the songs into more interesting forms. Styles wears a (relatively) short blue jacket and light yellow puffy pants, and spends most of the intro to Aperture hunched over a rack of vintage synths. Playing on tour, with huge screens draped overhead, it’s an interesting start, with Styles rattling off electronic textures like a pinned-up Thom Yorke after one too many Autechre bouts. Once the song opens — one of the album’s true big pop moments — the song’s blasting chorus — Styles greets the frenetic crowd, leading them through “We Belong Together.”

From there, Styles and his band, which variously includes a flutist, string section and choir, launch into the LCD Soundsystem-esque American Girls, which, despite only being on for about nine hours, roars by the audience like a standard. Ready, ready to go! Are you listening yet? Both feel more powerful, with the former’s punk and funk experiments sounding like a sleeker version of Rapture, while the latter’s fluid groove brings out some crab-like movements from Styles, who seems to be relishing returning to the stage after a three-year absence. “You have one simple mission: to have as much fun as possible,” he says between songs, his face beaming. “If you can’t have fun, pretend you can and you might end up on Netflix.”

The mid-tempo Taste Back brings out more smiles, its beautiful simplicity creating the perfect palate cleanser as Styles moves around the stage and its two short stands. Not everything works: Season 2 of Weight Loss is essentially an interesting polyrhythmic drum pattern in search of a song, while the aptly titled Paint By Numbers, peppered with sweet string arrangements, lacks emotional heft. These emotional moments arrive through Styles’ interactions with the audience; He’s on the verge of tears as he thanks his fans for changing his life, and his impassioned plea to “lead with love” in a world that “feels chaotic” manages to transcend the cynicism and land somewhere close to real action. This feeling is supported by Carla’s sparkling ballad, which closes the main set.

This song’s recurring mantra – “I know what you’re really going to like” – comes through, and Styles eventually gives the audience what they really like: hits. Golden pogoing followed by sparkling watermelon sugar, before running as it were threatening to blow the roof off. The needed keyboard riff, melodic catch and hard-hitting chorus highlight what’s missing from “Kissco,” while also emphasizing why Styles is such an engaging performer. He opens his arms wide, absorbs the energy of the crowd, and creates a collective love that is undeniable, even if the songs are average, sometimes.