1978's Bruised Orange was a low-key return to the tone of his debut, and 1979's Pink Cadillac was a tribute to his love of rockabilly and first-generation rock & roll. Prine's self-titled debut album, released in 1971, was widely regarded as an instant classic and featured some his best-known songs, including 'Sam Stone,' 'Hello in There,' 'Paradise,' and 'Illegal Smile,' while 1972's Diamonds in the Rough was considered nearly as strong. Prine never scored a major hit of his own, but his songs were recorded by a long list of well-respected artists, many of them celebrated songwriters themselves, including Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, George Strait, Bette Midler, Paul Westerberg, and Dwight Yoakam.

While Prine's songs were most often rooted in folk and country flavors, he was no stranger to rock & roll, R&B, and rockabilly, and could readily adapt his rough but expressive voice to his musical surroundings. Styles and Winston are good friends and frequent collaborators who met during the singer’s One Direction days.One of the most celebrated singer/songwriters of his generation, John Prine was a master storyteller whose work was often witty and always heartfelt, frequently offering a sly but sincere reflection of his Midwestern roots, writing about the lives of ordinary people in a remarkable and perceptive way. I loved it.'Īccording to E!, the singer’s goddaughter is British filmmaker and producer Ben Winston’s five-year-old girl Ruby. “I dug up in the studio one day and added it to the start of the song, and it just kind of stuck. “She wanted to let me know that she was quite angry with me about it,” Styles explained. After he missed her call one night, she sent him a cute voicemail that was used in the song. Styles explained that his goddaughter often calls him before bed to say goodnight to him. “It’s my goddaughter at the start of the song,” he said.

Styles identified the mysterious voice in an April 1 interview with the British radio station Heart. As it turns out, the kid featured on “As It Was” has a close connection with the singer. Thankfully, Styles isn’t leaving this question unanswered. Whose voice is that kicking off the track? The song begins with what sounds like a child saying, “Come on, Harry. There are many secrets to Styles’ new sound he’s yet to fully reveal, and the few opening seconds of “As It Was” pose yet another question. It’s the first track to be released off his upcoming third solo album Harry’s House, which drops in full on May 20.

On April 1, the star dropped his new single “As It Was,” along with its music video. Harry Styles’ new era has officially begun.

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