1188 Days Later — Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’ Still Rules the Charts and Fans Are Spiraling: ‘Is This Art or an Obsession?’

When Harry Styles released ‘As It Was’ on April 1st, 2022, few could have predicted the cultural and emotional storm that would follow. At first glance, the song appeared to be a crisp, synth-pop anthem—an upbeat melody paired with melancholic lyrics. But 1188 days later, its chart dominance, continued fan obsession, and the strange intimacy it maintains with its listeners suggest something far deeper than a hit song. It begs the question: is ‘As It Was’ merely pop brilliance, or has it transcended into the realm of emotional dependency, even obsession?

A Pop Song That Defied Time

‘As It Was’ wasn’t just a commercial success; it was a phenomenon. The song broke Spotify’s record for the most-streamed song in a single day by a male artist at the time of release. It dominated the Billboard Hot 100, spending 15 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1, and even now, it remains in the upper tiers of global charts.

The sheer longevity of the track defies the usual pop music life cycle, where songs often burn bright and disappear within a few months. Instead, ‘As It Was’ has sustained a near-religious level of relevance. It’s still played on radio stations daily, its sound bites dominate TikTok trends, and every live performance of it sends fans into a frenzy. Its presence has not dimmed. Rather, it’s taken root in the cultural soil, growing into something more organic and more permanent than the average chart-topper.

But why?

The answer doesn’t lie in just catchy hooks or clever production. It lies in the way Harry Styles crafted an emotional mirror—one that reflects the quiet despair of disconnection, the pain of change, and the haunting nostalgia of things left unsaid.

The Lyrics That Broke Everyone Quietly

The brilliance of ‘As It Was’ lies in its simplicity. “You know it’s not the same as it was,” Styles sings, over and over again. On the surface, the phrase is unassuming. But in repetition, it becomes an existential cry—one that hit home during a post-pandemic world struggling to redefine normalcy.

Fans have interpreted the song through countless lenses: as a metaphor for post-lockdown alienation, a reflection on Harry’s own fame and solitude, or even a deeply personal story of a relationship unraveling in silence. Each theory carries weight because the ambiguity of the lyrics allows the listener to imprint their own experience.

Lines like “Answer the phone / Harry, you’re no good alone” offer a rare window into Styles’ interiority, breaking down the pop-star persona and revealing someone vulnerable, even haunted. It’s not just a song; it’s a confession. And confessions—when delivered through soundwaves instead of sermons—have a way of sticking to the soul.

Fan Culture or Collective Therapy?

The Harry Styles fandom has never been quiet. From the early days of One Direction to the solo superstardom era, they’ve mobilized millions, crashed websites, and built global online communities. But the way they’ve gravitated around ‘As It Was’ feels uniquely intense.

On platforms like TikTok and Twitter, fans dissect not just the lyrics but also the music video’s color palette, Harry’s red coat, his childlike twirling, and the spinning platform that many interpret as a symbol of emotional cycles. The song’s connection to mental health, lost love, queerness, and personal growth is discussed in comment sections like sacred texts. The question arises: are fans celebrating a song, or clinging to it as a surrogate for healing?

Psychologists often note that during periods of collective trauma or instability, people turn to art as a stabilizer. In this sense, ‘As It Was’ may serve as more than a favorite track—it might be a shared psychological anchor, a musical therapy session repeating endlessly in car rides, bedrooms, and late-night walks.

Harry Styles: The Unlikely Prophet of Pop Melancholy

What makes Harry Styles such a compelling figure isn’t just his talent or fashion or smile—it’s the contradiction he embodies. He’s an arena-filling pop god who sings about loneliness. He’s a queer icon who refuses to define his labels. He’s playful on stage, but the lyrics he pens often shimmer with sadness.

‘As It Was’ encapsulates this contradiction beautifully. The sound is bright and nostalgic—pulling from 80s influences like A-ha and Depeche Mode—yet the message is emotionally heavy. It’s the sound of dancing while crying, of smiling through the ache, and of trying to move forward while staring in the rearview mirror.

This emotional duality is what fans connect with. It’s what makes Styles less of a celebrity and more of a cultural confidant. He doesn’t give answers; he offers reflection. He doesn’t save; he empathizes. And that’s powerful in an age where emotional availability is often treated as weakness.

Is This Still Art, or Has It Become an Obsession?

There’s a strange phenomenon in pop culture where the line between admiration and dependency blurs. With ‘As It Was’, that line seems to have evaporated entirely. The song isn’t just consumed—it’s lived. There are fans who listen to it daily, who have it tattooed on their bodies, who cite it as the soundtrack to their breakup, their coming out, their healing.

This intense relationship to one piece of music is rare, but not unheard of. Still, it raises questions about the nature of modern fandom. Have fans found comfort in the song’s emotional familiarity, or are they stuck in a cycle of romanticizing pain? Is Harry Styles providing therapy, or has he become the emotional scaffolding for a generation unmoored?

The obsession isn’t necessarily unhealthy—but it is fascinating. The repeated streaming, the viral content, the re-interpretations years after release—these aren’t just signs of a popular song. They’re signs of a collective emotional dependence on the feelings the song evokes.

The Legacy of ‘As It Was’ in Pop History

Few songs achieve what ‘As It Was’ has. It joined the ranks of pop legends—not just for sales or awards, but for emotional resonance. It’s been compared to Adele’s “Someone Like You,” Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” or even Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”—songs that hold up a mirror to our most vulnerable selves.

But Styles’ version is uniquely modern. It’s self-aware without being cynical. It’s global while feeling personal. And unlike many hits, it doesn’t seem interested in fading.

There’s also something to be said about how the song’s minimalism enhances its endurance. It doesn’t rely on a massive beat drop or over-production. It thrives in its emptiness, its space. It’s the song you hear in a quiet cab ride, during a 2AM scroll through memories, in the background of a goodbye.

This quiet brilliance ensures that ‘As It Was’ won’t age like a fad. It will live like a memory—constantly resurfacing, always slightly painful, and inexplicably beautiful.

Conclusion: 1188 Days and Still Spinning

So here we are, 1188 days later, still talking about Harry Styles and still listening to ‘As It Was’ like it just came out yesterday. And maybe that’s the point. Maybe some songs aren’t meant to pass. Maybe they exist in a loop, a comfort, a ghost that doesn’t haunt but accompanies us.

Fans aren’t just obsessed—they’re entranced, intertwined with the emotional DNA of the track. Whether it’s art or obsession, beauty or dependence, one thing is clear: Harry Styles has done something rare. He’s created not just a song, but a space. A space where we can all go, again and again, and say: “You know it’s not the same as it was”—and find comfort in the knowing.