MADISON SQUARE GARDEN IS HARRY'S HOUSE
- Halina Mroz
- Oct 2, 2022
- 4 min read
What happens when you combine the world's most famous arena with one of the world's biggest pop stars?! You get a 15 night residency and a feather boa shortage in NYC !!
If you were in Midtown, Manhattan between the dates of August 20, 2022- September 21, 2022, there is almost a 99% chance that you walked past over dozens of people dressed in sequins and feather boas. To a normal bystander, this may have been a bit confusing but to Harry Styles fans... this was completely normal.
Harry Styles is mostly known for his time in the world famous boyband, One Direction. Today though, Styles is a household name and is known for his hits such as Watermelon Sugar and his most recent one, As It Was. This past May, after releasing his third studio album titled Harry's House, Styles announced a 15 night residency at Madison Square Garden along with other cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin and Toronto.
I had the incredible opportunity to attend the final show of the MSG residency on September 21, 2022. Now you may be wondering how a boa shortage ties into the singer/songwriter's residency. Styles sported a feather boa in both his red carpet and his performance outfit at the 2021 Grammy's and since then, it has been a staple in every fan's outfit when attending the singer's show. Because of the overwhelming demand of feather boas, almost every Party City located in Manhattan during his residency was sold out of the accessory.
From the second you step off of a train on 34th street to the second that you step foot inside Madison Square Garden, you are (like stated previously,) surrounded by feather boas and sequins everywhere you look.
Before the show, dozens of fans wait outside of Madison Square Garden, taking pictures showing off their flashy outfits waiting for the billboard to change so that they have the Love On Tour logo as their background. Some fans even recreating Styles' iconic looks such as his infamous Coachella Weekend 2 outfit.
As you enter the infamous building, you are not only met with eager fans but Styles' music blasting on the speakers and mile long lines for photo ops set up by MSG staff such as a mock up subway station with "Madison Square Garden is Harry's House" and an NYC Street sign with the famous Kiwi lyrics "It's New York, Baby"
Upon arriving to your section, you were then greeted by an arena with colorful boas placed upon every seat of the lower bowl with thank you cards from arena staff in honor of celebrating the final night of residency.
At 8pm, the opening act known as Blood Orange took the stage and performed a medley of some of their songs such as Charcoal Baby and Time Will Tell. After stepping off stage and turning the lights back on, the arena was then filled with a wave of nostalgia and screaming fans as the beat of One Direction's hit single Best Song Ever starts and thus beginning the countdown until the singer arrives. With songs like Bohemian Rhapsody, September and Love on Top on the pre-show playlist, the energy at Madison Square Garden was never ending.
Soon enough, a large container was being rolled out onto the floor an under the stage by MSG staff. For those who have never been to a Harry Styles concert, they may think it is just equipment but for fans of the singer, they know that the container labeled "Soft Goods" is really him being rolled under only adding to the anticipation.
Fans started standing up and screaming as they were preparing for the superstar to take the stage. Once the final song on the playlist finished, the lights dimmed and the band took the stage. Briefly after, the opening notes to Styles' song Daydream begin and the singer rises from the bottom of the stage revealing a rainbow, sequined jumpsuit.
With this being the final night of his residency, you almost would not believe that Styles had done 14 other shows at this venue as the energy was nonstop from start to finish.
Throughout the show, Styles stopped his performances to engage with the crowd. One of these segments being "Golf Dad Cam" where cameras would search the crowd for what Styles and his fans refer to concert dads wearing polos as "golf dads". Another segment being one where he reads signs in the crowd. Some of which the singer identified as sad and that read "My family doesn't know I left the country" and "My cat has cancer".
During one part of the show, just when fans thought he was going to leave the stage and come back for Sign of the Times, Styles brought out his guitar and announced he would be singing "an old song" to which he began singing a song from his first studio album (Harry Styles), Ever Since New York. Due to the fan not performing this song in 4 years, you can only imagine what the response was to the opening notes of the song.
Before starting his encore performances of As It Was and Kiwi, a mysterious voice took over the speakers and we heard "Harry we DON'T WANT TO SAY GOODNIGHT TO YOU" and soon Gayle King showed up on stage in a feather boa. The TV personality then began giving a speech on Styles' history making 15th show, stating, "No artist has ever done that before... We think you are walking joy, walking happiness, walking love and we have a surprise for you, Harry" before revealing a banner honoring his record making 15th show/ MSG Residency.
Shortly after giving a thank you speech to the audience, Styles began his performance of As It Was where he stood in disbelief, in awe of the crowd of adorning fans and his now permanent MSG banner and ended the night with Kiwi before walking off the stage for the final time, this residency. From selling out 15 shows in mere minutes back in May to completing a record breaking residency.. there is no doubt that Madison Square Garden is in fact.. Harry's House.
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Lots of love,
Halina <3
living vicariously through you!!