Who can light up the world with his smile? Harry Styles, that’s who, especially in the new video for “Adore You.” A week before releasing his second solo album, Fine Line, Harry, 25, gifted his fans with a whimsical video. In the music video, Harry befriends a fish. Yes, a fish. It’s actually kind of adorable. Harry and the fish spend all their time together, but in the end, Harry sets his fish friend free.
To get his fans hyped for his music video, Harry released a whimsical, two-minute-long trailer for “Adore You” on Dec. 2. In the clip, we’re introduced to the Isle of Eroda (“Adore” spelled backward) which is “shaped unmistakably like a frown.” On this island is an “all but forgotten fishing village that has had perpetual cloud cover for as long as anyone can remember.” From there, viewers are introduced to Eorda’s odd customs – it’s bad luck to mention a pig in a pub, seeing a minister in the morning is a bad omen, it’s bad luck if you get caught whistling in the wind – and “Resting Fish Face,” an affliction affecting those of Eroda.
Well – not all. “The Boy” – aka Harry – is born with an electric smile. Literally, a shining beam of light radiates from his mouth whenever he smiles. Sadly, he was shunned by the perpetually-frowning folk, causing him to grow isolated and despondent. “He had lost his smile and without it the world grew darker, the wind colder, and the ocean more violent,” says the narrator as The Boy fills his pockets with rocks in preparation to do the unthinkable. Yet, finding a similarly depressed fish inspires The Boy to reconsider ending it all, and to find his place in the world.
In the leadup to the song and video’s release, the island of Eroda rolled out a tourism campaign that included a Google Drive folder of materials. Postcards (“Wish You Were Here” “No Land Like It”), phone backgrounds, and banners. If someone could book a trip on Hopper, some fans would have done it but — spoiler alert! — it’s not real.
Harry’s album is real, though. “It’s all about having sex and feeling sad,” he told Rolling Stone when describing Fine Line. Harry also hinted that some of the heartbreak he felt following his split from French model Camille Rowe may have bled into Fine Line. “It’s not like I’ve ever sat and done an interview and said, ‘So I was in a relationship, and this is what happened,’” he said. “Because, for me, music is where I let that cross over. It’s the only place, strangely, where it feels right to let that cross over.” Some fans are also holding out for another song about Taylor Swift, who Harry dated from Nov. 2012 to Jan. 2013.
“Adore You” will be the third single from the upcoming Fine Line, following the previously released “Lights Up” and “Watermelon Sugar.” The 12-track album is due out on Dec. 13, just in time for the holidays. A worldwide tour will kick off on April 15, with Harry traversing around Europe before bringing the show stateside in June.