Harry Styles staged the live TV debut of his two new songs, “Watermelon Sugar” and “Lights Up,” on Saturday Night Live. Both tracks appear on the singer’s upcoming second LP, Fine Line, out December 13th.
For the soulful “Watermelon Sugar,” Styles crooned over warm keys, horn blasts and eruptions of distorted wah-wah guitar. “Breathe me in, breathe me out/I don’t know if I could ever go without,” he sang. “I’m just thinking out loud/I don’t know if I could ever go without.”
Styles, who also hosted the episode, slipped into ballad mode for “Lights Up,” showcasing a raspy tone and smooth vibrato. The band built from oceanic piano chords and fingerpicked acoustic guitar to a gently swaying groove, as the frontman played call-and-response with a lonely trumpet and trio of backing vocalists. “All the lights couldn’t put out the dark/Running through my heart,” he belted. “Lights up and they know who you are/Do you know who you are?”
In a recent Rolling Stone cover story, Styles detailed the creative process for Fine Line, which follows his self-titled solo debut in 2017. He noted the new LP is “all about having sex and feeling sad.”
The pop star will promote the record on a massive 2020 world tour. The trek, featuring Jenny Lewis as opener, kicks off in April with a string of dates in the U.K. and Europe before a North American leg that launches June 26th in Philadelphia and runs through early September.