NEED TO KNOW
Harry Styles fans have new music to dance to.
The English singer-songwriter dropped “Aperture,” an ethereal, electronic dance track, on Jan. 22, announcing its release on Instagram with a picture of him wearing under-eye patches and sipping a Big Gulp. It’s the first track off of his upcoming fourth album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. — set to come out on March 6 — and the first single he’s put out in three years.
In addition to the long-awaited new music, the former One Direction star also announced a seven-city residency titled Together, Together. Starting in May 2026, Styles will perform at 50 cities across the globe, including 30 shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City. “Aperture” reflects the experience he hopes fans will have with his upcoming album and tour.
“I just want them to come ready to dance,” he told Capital Breakfast in January 2026. “I want them to come ready to be with their friends, close their eyes, open their eyes, dance, let it go and be whatever and whoever they are in that moment. And I think it’s going to be fun and I’ll be right there with them.”
So what does “Aperture” mean? Here’s everything to know about the inspiration behind Harry Styles’ latest single.
What does aperture mean?
Kevin Mazur/Getty
For those unfamiliar with the word Styles used to title the first track from Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally., it’s a term borrowed from photography. Aperture refers to a camera setting that controls how much light enters the lens, affecting an image’s brightness and depth of field.
The singer references the setting in both the title and the song’s lyrics, singing, “It’s best you know what you don’t/aperture lets the light in,” in the prechorus.
Aperture can also mean “an opening, hole, or gap,” according to the Oxford dictionary, which has become a joke among fans.
What are Harry Styles’ song, “Aperture,” lyrics about?
Kevin Mazur/Getty
In his interview with Capital Breakfast, Styles revealed that “Aperture” was inspired by the adventures he had while taking a much-needed break from touring.
“I’d got really used to saying no to things because I just wasn’t able to go,” he explained. “Last year, I just had a real start of the year where I was like, ‘I’m going to say yes to everything this year.’ ”
During that time, Styles traveled to places like Ibiza, Italy and Berlin, where he experienced “being on the other side of the audience experience.” That feeling of “going out” influenced the sound behind the track.
“It’s just been like a massive reminder of how special it is to be in a crowd experiencing live music, be in like a dark pit with people dancing,” he said, adding that the new music he was hearing started influencing the music he was making. “The goal was to make an album that I could enjoy playing as much as I enjoyed making it.”
Styles continued, “Just being able to be in a crowd … and be in spaces feeling safe enough to get a little loose and dance.”
