Harry Styles’ latest music video came from an unexpected source as the star teamed up with Late Late Show host James Corden to create a video for his new song ‘Daylight’ for a sketch on the late-night chat show. Their aim was to make a music video with a budget of only $300, so they took to the streets of New York to find an apartment to film in.
The four young women living in the apartment – some notable Harry fans – were roped in to help with the production. They sourced props and locations in the apartment and Harry was situated in baths, kitchens and on the roof for different scenes and shots. ‘Daylight’ comes from his latest album, Harry’s House, which he is currently promoting and touring.
Long friendship
Corden has known Harry and his One Direction bandmates since the early days of their journey to stardom and has frequently collaborated with them on projects such as Comic Relief and for previous segments of his popular late night comedy talk show, such as the ever-popular Carpool Karaoke. As James Corden gets set to leave the show to return to the UK, the segment from the long-term friends seemed nostalgic. As the two Brits live abroad in LA much of the time, the pairing brings a bit of England to the USA. The Gavin and Stacey star has been hosting The Late Late Show since 2015.
Following a long day of filming and costume changes, the filming ended with a house party which was incorporated into the video. The concept for the video sees Harry looking lost and alone whilst a crowd parties around him, as his mind wanders elsewhere. The song is upbeat and catchy, and will be popular in the summer. At one point, Styles teaches Corden how to film slow-motion whilst also singing in normal speed. Another moment sees Corden hide pictures of Styles that one of the residents has in their room, for fear they are a ‘psychofan’. Many fans online have suggested that their bedrooms would be even worse.
Thank you James
The YouTube clip of the 15 minutes of prepping and filming has been viewed over 4.2 million times since its release three days ago, with the separate video gaining over 2.2 million views in the same timeframe. The content has also been shared on Instagram and TikTok, ensuring the videos quickly went viral online, with many fans thanking James for providing them with more content of their favourite male pop star. The hashtag ‘#thankyoujames’ has been used thousands of times on Twitter over the weekend, a common hashtag used whenever Corden films anything with a member of the world-famous boyband.
While the music video might not be a professional attempt with a huge budget, much of it is well filmed and apart from a few odd moments of green screen, could fit in well with Styles’ other videos and the visual atmosphere they create. The roof scenes with the background of the New York skyline at sunset could very well have been part of a large-scale production, rather than a segment on a comedy show. The video is available to watch here:
