Harry Styles fans chant 5 Seconds of Summer lyrics at Madison Square Garden shows
The viral trend started with a TikTok mashup and has grown louder each night of Styles' residency.
NEW YORK · Fans at Harry Styles' concerts in New York are chanting the lyrics to a song by a different artist, turning a viral TikTok trend into a roaring stadium chorus. Styles is 20 shows into a 30-show residency at Madison Square Garden as part of his Together, Together tour. During the instrumental break of his song "Ready, Steady, Go," audiences are increasingly singing the words to Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer's "Telephone Busy." Videos from earlier September shows captured a faint chant, but clips from this week show the lyrics have become a loud, collective shout.
The trend began with a fan remix posted on TikTok in March by user @millsberry75, which mashed up the two songs. The video featured 5 Seconds of Summer drummer Ashton Irwin talk-singing the intro of "Telephone Busy" over top of "Ready, Steady, Go." In August, 5 Seconds of Summer incorporated the remix into a popular DJ set they performed at Salt Shed Chicago during the Lollapalooza festival. Now, fans are bringing it to the physical stage of Styles' tour.
The connection between the artists dates back over a decade. In 2012, when One Direction was starting to take over the world, 5 Seconds of Summer were four teenage boys making YouTube videos in Sydney, Australia, with only one EP to their name. One Direction member Louis Tomlinson then shared one of their songs online, opening them up to a whole new audience. The band was tapped to serve as opener for One Direction's worldwide Take Me Home tour in 2013, and later joined the boyband as a supporting act on their 2014 Where We Are tour.
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The band has noticed the current chant trend, with drummer Ashton Irwin commenting "I appreciate yall lol" on a fan's TikTok in September, and the group has reposted multiple fan videos of the crowds in the last week. In an Oct. 6 TikTok, user @mariamontour called the development a "natural" trend emerging from fans celebrating a catchy tune. "This fan chant that just started happening and progressively started getting louder is proof that the internet really can translate things into real-life trends, especially within fandoms," she said.
Styles himself has not directly acknowledged the trend during his performances. With 10 shows remaining at Madison Square Garden and more than 50 dates left on the overall tour, the volume could continue to grow. Styles is scheduled to perform four shows at Rogers Stadium in May, prompting some fans to prepare. "Everyone pls memorize this for toronto n2," user @bethanyannne wrote in a TikTok lipsyncing to the remix.
With files from CBC News