Harry Styles won album of the year at the recently concluded Grammy Awards on February 5 and has since been compared to the late singer-actor David Bowie. Bowie's former producing partner, Tony Visconti, however, isn't having it and refuted all of the claims.
Keep reading to find out more.
Since the 1960s, the 78-year-old American record producer, musician, and singer has collaborated with many artists, including the late great David Bowie.
Bowie was the artist he worked with for the longest, from 1968 until the release of his last album, Blackstar, in 2016. Bowie's win for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the Grammy Awards specifically cited his work on this album.
Since Harry achieved great success after leaving One Direction, some fans have suggested that he was trying to become the "new Bowie." Tony has shot down this notion by saying that Harry is "not worthy of shining [Bowie's] shoes."
“What’s the difference between the Grammys and Las Vegas?”
“Nothing!”
Tony wrote on his Facebook page while taking a hit at the Grammy award winner, and it didn't end there, as he criticized Harry's Live performance as well.
“Someone just told me that Harry Styles is the new Bowie?
“From what I saw tonight, he’s not worthy of shining his shoes.”
However, it may seem Tony isn't the only one that feels that way, as a good number of people agreed with his post.
The Redditch-born star's solo career has frequently been contrasted with that of the late glam rocker, particularly in his pop music arrangements and sense of fashion.
Along with Prince, Mick Jagger, and Freddie Mercury, Styles has also mentioned Bowie in interviews as an influence on his music and style.
The partnership between Visconti and Bowie lasted for nearly 50 years. They started working together on the 1969 album Space Oddity and continued to collaborate sporadically until the legendary musician's final album, Blackstar, was released two days before his passing in January 2016.
Visconti shared an untold tale about the "goosebumps" he experienced while recording Bowie's song Weeping Wall earlier this year.
Additionally, he went on a UK tour last year called Tony Visconti: The Best of Bowie, where his band played songs from Bowie's discography. Given that he is a fan of the late actor, it makes sense that he is not interested in the whole Harry talk.
Styles triumphed over an impressive field of competitors to win the Album of the Year.
It comes after music fans alleged that the Grammys were "rigged" due to news of Harry Styles' long-standing relationship with the show's producer, Ben Winston, surfaced online when the star won the night's top prize.
But after Styles beat out Beyonce and other top performers to claim the top spot, the producer Ben Winston's connection to Styles was brought to light, sending Twitter into a frenzy. The news caused outrage among music fans, especially after the Grammys revealed that the voice at the song's beginning belongs to Ben Winston's daughter.
Many people claimed that the award show was "rigged from the start," despite the producer having no involvement in choosing the winners.
However, the initial joy was short-lived when it was revealed on social media that Styles is, in fact, a close friend of Grammys producer, Ben Winston.
