Ahead of the release of his highly anticipated third album, Harry Styles opened up about his career in the music industry and how Billie Eilish was a guiding light for him. In a recent interview, Styles discussed how he dealt with transitioning from a teen star in the boyband One Direction to paving his own path as a solo artist. As it turns out, Eilish's rise to fame in her late teens inspired some reflection for the singer.

"I definitely had a really big moment, I think, when Billie Eilish kind of first blew up. I think being in the band, I’d always felt like … it was fun and exciting because we were young. And I had a moment, seeing her do this at such a young age, where I felt like, ‘I’m not that young anymore,'" he said. “For a while, it was like, ‘How do you play that game, of like, remaining exciting?’ And I just had a moment where I felt like, ‘OK, we’re not the same thing.’ And in the same vein of, like, ‘You’re not always going to be the kind of young thing,’ I was like, ‘OK, I would really like to think about who I would like to be as a musician.’”

He continued to credit Eilish for his breakthrough moment, “It felt like [she] came in in a way that was like, ‘You’re not… Like, don’t worry about being this thing, ever.’ Because, you know, she’s a lot younger than me, and there’s no point in me going, like, ‘OK, how do I get back in? How do I like, get back to like… She just totally broke spell for me, in a way that I’m very grateful for.”

Styles' third studio album Harry's House on Friday, May 20, & he's celebrating with an intimate iHeartRadio Album Release Party. Click here to find out how to tune in.

Podcasts