As It Was

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For the Hozier song, see Wasteland, Baby!
"As It Was"
Single by {{{Artist}}}

"As It Was" is a song by English singer Harry Styles, released through Erskine and Columbia on 1 April 2022 as the lead single from his third studio album, Harry's House (2022). The song was written by Styles alongside the song's producers Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson. It was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year.

"As It Was" received positive reviews, and entered at the top of the UK Singles Chart, becoming Styles's second number-one single on the chart after "Sign of the Times" in April 2017 and spent ten weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart, becoming the longest-running number-one single on the chart since Ed Sheeran's "Bad Habits" spent 11 weeks at the summit in July–September 2021. Also his second number one single in the US, the song spent 15 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the third longest running number-one in the charts history. "As It Was" reached number one in 33 other countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore and Sweden.

Background

Harry Styles announced the title of his third studio album as Harry's House on 23 March 2022, unveiling its artwork, a 40-second trailer and the album's release date as 20 May 2022.[1][2] Five days later, he announced the title of its lead single as "As It Was", along with pictures of him in a "sequined, sleeveless red outfit" and its release date as 1 April 2022.[3][4][5] Simultaneously, posters bearing the lyrics "It's not the same as it was" and a picture of Styles sitting on a big ball appeared in various cities.[6] He released a teaser of the music video on 30 March, which included an "energetic drum beat" and a "sunny electric guitar riff", and depicted him in a red jumpsuit spinning in circles atop a motorised turntable.[7]

Lyrics and composition

"As It Was" opens with Styles's goddaughter saying, "Come on Harry, we wanna say goodnight to you."[8] Music critics described the song as a guitar-driven synth-pop track, a noticeable shift from Styles's rock-oriented sounds.[9][10] Chris Willman of Variety noted that it takes heavy inspiration from Depeche Mode and A-ha, while also suggesting that it adopted a style similar to the Weeknd's 2019 single "Blinding Lights".[9] Lyrically, "As It Was" is rooted in personal transitions and depicts a feeling of loss and loneliness.[11]

Critical reception

Template:Single ratings "As It Was" received critical acclaim. NME's Rhian Daly gave the song five out of five stars, describing it as "not a million miles away from where Fine Line left off, but hardly retreading old ground." According to Daly, the track suggests Harry's House will solidify Styles "as one of the current pop landscapes' greats".[12] Beau Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian also rated the song five stars and called it "one of his very best", writing, "Many will pore over the gossipy, self-referential lyrics, but Styles's song is for everyone: an effervescent, high-tempo hit to have you clicking your heels."[13] In his review for Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield regarded "As It Was" as one of Styles's most "emotionally powerful" songs, calling it a "daring change-up" and a "straight-from-the-heart cry that's also an irresistible dance-floor challenge."[14] Sahar Ghadirian of Clash magazine deemed it a "powerhouse" and Styles "at his most vulnerable". Ghadirian appreciated the "dream fusion" of synth-pop with electro rock and commented that the bells end the song on "a euphoric high".[15] Thania Garcia of Variety magazine described the song as being "new wave-inspired".[16]

Evening Standard reviewer Jochan Embley meanwhile found the track inferior to the singer's previous singles "Watermelon Sugar" and "Adore You", but wrote that Styles and his collaborators "still know how to make an instantly enjoyable tune".[17] Olivia Horn of Pitchfork was less impressed and bemoaned that the song "winds down without any real payoff", citing the circuitousness of the lyrics as "a frequent shortcoming in Styles' songwriting."[18]

Commercial performance

"As It Was" was an immediate success; it earned the Guinness World Records title for the most streamed track on Spotify within 24 hours by a male artist, and broke the Apple Music streaming record for most first-day streams for a 2022 release.[19][20] The song also opened atop the Billboard Global 200 with the greatest global streaming week of 2022, becoming Styles's first number-one on the tally.[21]

In the United Kingdom, "As It Was" entered at the top of the UK Singles Chart on 8 April 2022 – for the week ending dated 14 April 2022 – with the biggest sales and streaming weeks of any single in 2022 and becoming Styles's second solo number one on the chart after "Sign of the Times" in April 2017.[22] The song garnered the most single-day streams on Spotify in the United States, ever, surpassing Olivia Rodrigo's "Drivers License" (2021).[23] It entered at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the first song of 2022 to debut atop, and became Styles's second number-one after "Watermelon Sugar" (2019), simultaneously charting atop Streaming Songs. With this achievement, One Direction became the first group to debut two members at number one on the Hot 100 with solo songs, as Styles joined Zayn Malik.[24] The track became the second longest running number one single when it peaked at number one for 18 nonconsecutive weeks on the Canadian Hot 100[25]

"As It Was" charted at number one in Australia.[26] The song debuted at number one in New Zealand.[27] Elsewhere, it peaked at number one in Austria,[28] Belgium,[29] Croatia,[30] Denmark,[31] Germany,[32] Greece,[33] Ireland,[34] Israel,[35] Lithuania,[36] the Netherlands,[37] Slovakia,[38] Sweden,[39] and Switzerland.[40] The song was in the number one position at the death of music historian Joel Whitburn, whose long career tracked the chart history of the Billboard Hot 100 as well as other music charts.

On the Billboard Hot 100, after the single's debut at No. 1, "As It Was" fell out of the No. 1 position and returned multiple times between April and September 2022; when it returned to No. 1 for the week ending 3 September 2022 chart, it became the first song ever to have five separate runs in the top position.[41]

Music video

The music video for "As It Was" was released alongside the song.[42] In the clip, Styles joins dancer Mathilde Lin on a turning platform and performs choreography in the Barbican to release negative emotions.[10] The video was filmed in London: apart from the Barbican Centre, it was also filmed at Lindley Hall near the Houses of Parliament, and the penguin pool at London Zoo.[43] It was directed by Tanu Muino, who stated that directing for Styles was "a bucket list dream come true" but, on the second day of shooting, Muino's home country of Ukraine was invaded by Russia, rendering the process a "bittersweet" experience; nevertheless, Muino and her team from Ukraine "poured so much love into this video and you can see it on screen. It will be a music video I will never forget and now I can happily retire."[42] On YouTube, the video has received over 287 million views and 5.8 million likes as of August 2022.[44]

Accolades

Year Organization Award Result Ref
2022 MTV Millennial Awards Global Hit of the Year Nominated [45]
MTV Millennial Awards Brazil Global Hit Nominated [46]
MTV Video Music Awards Video of the Year Nominated [47]
Best Pop Won
Best Direction Nominated
Best Choreography Nominated
Best Cinematography Won

Live performance

Styles performed "As It Was" for the first time at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on 15 April and 22 April.[48]

Credits and personnel

  • Harry Styles – vocals, songwriting, bells
  • Kid Harpoon – songwriting, production, bass, guitar, drum machine, drums, electric guitar, synthesizer
  • Tyler Johnson – songwriting, production, drum machine, piano, synthesizer
  • Doug Showalter – electric guitar, percussion
  • Mitch Rowland – drums
  • Jeremy Hatcher – programming, recording
  • Randy Merrill – mastering
  • Spike Stent – mixing
  • Katie May – assistant engineering
  • Luke Gibbs – assistant engineering
  • Adele Phillips – assistant engineering
  • Josh Caulder – assistant engineering
  • Joe Dougherty – assistant engineering
  • Matt Wolach – assistant engineering

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "As It Was"
Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[111] 4× Platinum 280,000
Austria (IFPI Austria)[112] Platinum 30,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[113] Platinum 0
France (SNEP)[114] Diamond 400,000
Germany (BVMI)[115] Gold 150,000
Italy (FIMI)[116] 2× Platinum 0
Mexico (AMPROFON)[117] 2× Platinum 120,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[118] 2× Platinum 30,000
Portugal (AFP)[119] 2× Platinum 40,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[120] 2× Platinum 80,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[121] 2× Platinum 60,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[122] 2× Platinum 1,200,000
United States (RIAA)[123] 2× Platinum 2,000,000
Streaming
Greece (IFPI Greece)[124] Platinum 6,000

xunspecified figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales/streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

Release dates and formats for "As It Was"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Various 1 April 2022
[125]
Italy Radio airplay Sony Italy [126]
United States 4 April 2022 Adult contemporary radio Columbia [127]
5 April 2022 Contemporary hit radio [128]
United Kingdom 15 April 2022 CD single
  • Erskine
  • Columbia
 [129]

See also

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References

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  112. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Harry Styles in the field Interpret. Enter As It Was in the field Titel. Select single in the field Format. Click Suchen
  113. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Click on næste to go to page 11515 if certification from official website
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  116. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Select Online in the field Sezione. Select 2022 in the field Anno. The certification will load automatically
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  122. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter As It Was in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
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