David Bowie’s manager has reacted angrily to claims that Harry Styles is the new Bowie as many started to compare the former One Direction singer to the pop icon shortly after winning his Grammy for Album of the Year.

David Bowie’s Manager Disagrees

Harry Styles won Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year for Harry’s House on Sunday night in Los Angeles, defeating an impressive group of competitors. After some fans claimed that he was aiming to be the “new Bowie” with his success since departing from One Direction, Tony Visconti has dismissed the notion, claiming that Harry is “unworthy of shining Bowie’s shoes.”

Tony Visconti is a 78-year-old American record producer, musician, and vocalist. He used to work with Bowie numerous times, and he slammed Harry Styles on Facebook. Visconti co-produced Bowie’s acclaimed Berlin trilogy in the late 1970s and worked on some of his early songs in the 1960s. After 1980’s Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), Bowie worked with other producers with varying degrees of success, but the duo reunited for 2002’s Heathen, with Visconti also working on Bowie’s later albums, including his 2016 swansong “Blackstar”.

Harry Styles Compared to Other Major Figures

Styles’ popularity and androgynous fashion sense have prompted some to compare him to the British icon David Bowie. However, this is not the first time Harry Styles has been compared to big rock figures. The former boyband member was once considered to play Elvis Presley before the part went to Austin Butler, and he was also rumored to be in the running to play Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger in a biopic.

Harry Styles has previously stated that David Bowie’s era stars, as well as Bowie himself, are some of his musical influences. He has also specifically cited Prince, Mick Jagger, and Freddie Mercury as musical and fashion influences.

In 2019, Post Malone released his studio album, Hollywood’s Bleeding. One of the more memorable songs in it was “Die 4 Me”, which featured Halsey and Atlanta rapper Future. The best part of the song, fans said, was Halsey’s part. Ever since then, fans have been begging the singer to release a solo version of the track. And she did. Finally.

Halsey’s Single Version

Ever since the release of Post Malone’s album, many of Halsey’s fans speculated that there must have been a solo version featuring just the singer’s vocals. She confirmed the rumors just recently with a teaser of the video. That’s more than four years after the album was released. In 2022, Halsey performed the song while on tour.

The new solo version is even spicier than the Post Malone collab, as it has a new verse. It’s the first new song from Halsey for 2023. Last year, the singer released a single called “So Good”. In addition, rumor has it that fans can also expect a new radio show on Amp featuring the singer.

The last album of Halsey was released two years ago and is called If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, which reached number two in the US top charts. Coming up, the singer will go on tour in Europe, performing in Spain and Portugal.

Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding

American rapper and singer Post Malone released his third studio album, Hollywood’s Bleeding, four years ago. It features guest appearances from many singers, including Halsey. Some of the performers are Ozzy Osbourne, Brian Lee, Frank Dukes, Future, and SZA.

The album also features a collab with American rapper Swae Lee that later became the new Spider-Man movie soundtrack. Hollywood’s Bleeding received many positive reviews and was even featured on the US Billboard 200 as number one.