The Art of Letting Light in: Exploring Connection and Openness in Harry Styles’ New Single “Aperture”
by Savannah Bowie | February 1st, 2026
“Aperture lets the light in.”
This isn’t just a lyric in a song. To me, a photographer, it’s simply a camera setting. To some listeners, it’s a word they probably had to Google. But to Harry? It’s a statement–almost a thesis that solidifies what this single and his forthcoming album Kiss all the Time. Disco, Occasionally, mean to him.
Harry Styles’ new single Aperture (released January 23rd) is euphoric at first listen. It’s roughly five minutes long with a 128 beats-per-minute tempo purposefully crafted for movement. Upbeat and techno in nature, it evokes the feeling of dancing in a packed nightclub with your friends on a Saturday night–sweat-covered bodies, multicolored strobe lights, the music loud enough to drown out everything else, good or bad. Aperture is liveliness in motion. But if you stop and really sit with it, the song reveals something deeper and more intentional beneath the pulsing beat.
The word aperture comes from photography and film. It's a setting that controls how much light a camera allows in. Open it wider and light floods the frame, softening the background. Close it down, and everything comes into focus, but the image darkens. Harry, who’s dabbled in photography himself, uses this concept as a metaphor throughout the song, Letting light in becomes about letting people in. Letting love in. Letting vulnerability, new experiences, and things he once almost forgot about back into his life.
That idea is clear in the lyrics, “I won’t stray from it / I don’t know these spaces / time won’t wait for me / I wanna know what safe is.” There’s a sense of honesty in admitting that, despite being in an unfamiliar space or around unfamiliar people, he’s choosing not to turn away from it. Time won’t stop while we decide if we’re ready for something, and being closed off means missing out on what could have been. In a way, Aperture isn’t just about openness, but about intention. Staying present and opening yourself up despite uncertainty, because waiting for “safe” might mean never letting the light in at all.
That intention is also built into the way the song moves. Aperture never really slows down; it builds, mirroring the lyric “time won’t wait for me,” as if the song itself refuses to stand still.
In recent interviews, Styles has shared that Aperture was inspired by remembering what it felt like to experience music purely as a fan again. During his three-year break, we saw Harry attending festivals and concerts from the crowd, experiencing music from the listener’s perspective for the first time in a while–something he’s said he nearly forgot about after years of touring. Being in the pit and dancing among strangers, there's an unspoken connection you feel that you know they feel too. Fans experienced that same connection during his last tour–bootscooting in the back of the pit during Treat People With Kindness, and embracing each other during Sign of the Times. This is where the idea of “We belong together” comes from–not necessarily in a romantic sense, but as a community. A feeling that only exists when you let yourself be present, open yourself up, and let the light in. Because of that, Aperture feels like a love letter to his fans who have helped create such a captivating sense of community over the years.
Styles has also said that Aperture was the last song made for the album, which in its own way made it the perfect start to this new era. With Aperture, everything clicked. Both this song and the album, to him, are about allowing more into your life. As Harry put it, it's about “being with people and sharing moments, and when you open up more in your life, you allow more positivity and more positive things into your life.” That connection to the meaning of aperture couldn't be more fitting. A higher aperture means a wider opening. More exposure. More light. More risk–but also, more beauty.
As a photographer myself, I was excited when I heard what this single would be titled. The connection hits close to home and made me view something as simple as a camera setting in a way I never had before. To me, that's the beauty of music and art: they encourage us to open ourselves up to new ideas, new connections, and perspectives we may not have considered otherwise. There's something especially satisfying about watching two forms of art I love overlap so seamlessly. Both music and photography rely on timing, feeling, and knowing when to fully open yourself up. If you're too closed off, you'll miss the moment. Aperture captures that feeling perfectly.
As always, Harry Styles pairs songs that make you want to dance with lyrics that ask you to feel. Much like As It Was from his last album, Harry's House, Aperture disguises its emotional depth beneath movement and momentum that builds as the song progresses. It lets you have fun first, then later it stays with you. In the end, this song invites listeners to open up. To let light in. And to trust that whatever comes with it–whether it's love, community, or even uncertainty–it'll be worth it.
If you loved Aperture as much as I did, Styles’ fourth studio album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, releases on March 6th.
