While One Direction are ‘on hiatus’, Harry Styles‘ debut solo album is said to be ‘close to release’ and shows him as an ‘authentic’ artist.
As well as making his acting debut in the upcoming World War Two epic Dunkirk, Styles has spent much of his time away from 1D working on a record of his own.
“We’re close and we’re very excited,” Columbia Records CEO Rob Stringer told Billboard about progress on the album. “We have a record we’re incredibly excited about and it’s not far away from being ready. We obviously want everything to be beautifully done, because we think he’s here to stay. Harry has stepped up with the vision of someone who’s authentic.”
Speaking about the recent solo work of fellow One Direction members Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, Stringer continued: “They didn’t box themselves into a corner singing and dancing.
“It didn’t have all the rules of the boy bands of the past where they’re too boy-next-door, too sickly sweet. They weren’t caricatures. And today, they’re making smart choices. It doesn’t surprise me that there’s is a different path and they’re doing pretty well. With One Direction, they became so big everywhere and from day one that their spread is much wider than other previous boy bands.”
Styles stars alongside Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance and Kenneth Branagh in the upcoming movie Dunkirk – set to hit cinemas on 21 July.
“Harry Styles is great,” Murphy told the Radio Times. “I had very few scenes with Harry but we got to hang out and I’ve got to say he’s a great, great kid, and really, really funny. Above all, Chris knows talent and would have cast Harry for a reason.”
“Theres a long history of musicians moving over into acting and I come from that world myself,” added Murphy, formerly a member of Beatles-inspired ’90s band The Sons of Mr. Greengenes. “So I’m sure he’ll be terrific in the role. I trust Chris implicitly in that.”