Harry Styles says he sometimes felt ‘existential’ while touring

Harry Styles has said he sometimes felt “existential” while touring and that he did not want his new album to feel like he was delivering a “sermon” but recreate what he feels on a dancefloor.

The former One Direction singer will release his highly anticipated fourth studio album, Kiss All The Time, Disco, Occasionally, on Friday before heading off for a global tour in May.

Ahead of its release, the 33-year-old, who returned to the Brit stage this weekend to perform his new single Aperture, opened up about the intensity of touring and how his time out of the limelight has influenced his new album.

The singer, who ran the Tokyo and Berlin marathon in 2025 and completed the latter in sub-three hours, also shared how running has become his time to think, in an interview with Runner’s World.

Speaking to acclaimed Japanese novelist and fellow marathon runner Haruki Murakami, who is known for penning What I Talk About When I Talk About Running and Norwegian Wood, Styles said: “Something I’ve often struggled with, in the middle of a tour, is feeling like I’m not sure what I’m giving, not sure what I’m adding to the world.

“Especially when the reward system and the kind of … adulation that you can receive feels so loud.

“Like clearly I’m getting so much from this, I’m getting all this energy. People are giving me so much, which I deeply appreciate. But what am I contributing? At times, I felt quite existential about that.”

He added: “In some of those new experiences, there’s just so much stimulation.

“So many people, and it’s just so loud. So then running also became my processing place for all of that. Really being by myself.”

He continued: “One of the things that can be complicated is that, as an artist, say if you’re a novelist or a musician or a filmmaker, you’re an observer, but when you become a known person, you become the observed.

“You know you’re still the same, but other people can begin to view you as something different. So something I love so much about running is the simplicity of it. You are the observer once more, and you can go about your day in the most naked form. It’s just you, alone, moving through the world.

“That’s what I love about it: You don’t need anything, just a pair of shoes.”

Styles has kept a low profile since the end of his Love On Tour run of gigs came to an end in 2023 and during his break, discovered a love for the club scene, which heavily influenced his forthcoming album.

He said: “Good electronic music is so good, especially the melodic aspect.

“When you’re out at night, it’s such a community, but you’re also watching people have such individual experiences.

“I wanted to recreate (what) I had on the dance floor, being lost in instrumentation and the musicality. It was so immersive, like, this is how I want to feel when I’m on stage too.

“I don’t want it to feel like a sermon I’m delivering. I wanted it to feel like, oh, we’re in this music together. Like I’m in it with you.”

Earlier this year, Styles released Aperture, his first single in almost four years, and announced a global tour, Together, Together, which will kick off in May with dates scheduled in London, Sydney, Mexico City and Amsterdam.

The Worcestershire-born star launched his solo career after One Direction – made up of Styles and fellow members Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson – went on hiatus in 2016, almost a year after Zayn Malik left the group.

He released his self-titled debut solo album in 2017, followed by Fine Line in 2019, and Harry’s House in 2022 – with the first and third releases reaching number one in the UK charts.

The full interview can be found on the Runner’s World UK in the May issue, which goes on sale April 1.