In an interview with Howard Stern on SiriusXM Monday morning (Mar. 2), Harry Styles discussed a variety of topics, including his songwriting practices.
When the host observes that Styles’ romantic songs are often followed by fans trying to figure out which famous love interest it’s about, the crooner agreed. “There’s not a lot of interviews where I talk a lot about personal stuff, but I’m fine doing it in music. And I feel like, doing it in music, that’s my version,” he explained.
Stern then brought up Styles’ former romance with Taylor Swift, whose songs “Out of the Woods” and “Style” are widely believed to be about the One Direction member. When asked if that upsets him, Styles said it doesn’t.
“I think about what it means to me to write a song about somebody else, and for someone else to do that, I think it’s flattering,” he replied. “Even if the song isn’t that flattering, you still spend time on it, and ultimately, using Taylor as an example, she’s a great songwriter.”
“The only time that you think, ‘Oh, is this song too personal?’ is if you think about, is this going to be really annoying for the other person,” he continued.
Watch the clip below.