There’s a poignant kind of irony in Harry explicitly writing and performing Season 2 Weight Loss — a song about being brave enough to step away from the limelight to grapple deeply with his reason for being/creating, in hopes of coming back a better, truer, more authentic artist despite the risk, the probability, of the world’s wholesale rejection of his this newer (truer) version of himself — and people still genuinely thinking his current lack of virality is actually a skills issue. That he’s lost his aura, or whatever.
No guys. That’s the point. He’s culling the fanbase. He saw through you, not the other way around.
Hey, Gina! I haven’t seen this discussed yet (forgive me if I’ve missed it), nor have I noticed this while watching the livestreams. But this is gut wrenching. I love this song so much! And the way Harry gets completely lost in trying to convey the message to us 😭 https://www(.)tiktok(.)com/t/ZTBRA42He/
Jesus. No, I missed this on the livestreams. That song hurts just listening to it, but seeing him perform it is so painful.
And yet so many “fans” don’t get it and just keep shitting on him.
Hello Hello...so wonderful to see you active a little more again 😊
You were my first blog I came to lurk upon after entering the fandom 2 years ago!! Thankyou for your tags and info and just the love for the boys!!
Anyhoo lol..I noticed Louis has Dark to light and now Nial mentioning "End of an Era" being and ode to Liam on the albums quite possibly. I was wondering if you felt any of the the songs on KISSCO were for Liam? I thought although PBN is clearly a song about Harry's experience in the band and growing up in the limelight.. I've wondered if it was actually for Liam also? He mentioned in the Zane Lowe interview that one of the hardest things about losing Liam and I'm paraphrasing here.. is that they were so much alike in so many ways which was interesting. I suppose the song could relate to the all the boys in some ways? Anyway just wondered your thoughts or if you didn't feel any of the songs were for Liam?
Much love to you💚💙
Hi, anon!! Aww, that’s super sweet, I love that 💙 Thank you!
This is going to be LONG, so I’m sorry in advance, I really can’t shut up once I start talking about lyrics, apparently.
I think Harry’s songwriting tends to be less about songs being for someone or tied to very specific situations, and more about his overall feelings, things that are deeper, and expressed through broader ideas and metaphors. So while Louis goes for something like “this happened to you and this is how I feel about it” I think Harry usually takes a step back and looks at the bigger picture, like why things happened in the first place, especially in relation to fame and everything they went through together. So I definitely agree with you on that!
I actually think the entire album could be shaped by what happened with Liam. Harry was already taking some time off, which probably made him reflect on fame as a whole, and then losing Liam could have deepened that even more and became part of the emotional core of the album. I think it's such a turning point... something happening to someone who lived such a similar life.
There are two songs in particular where I see that deeper reflection, and I personally connect a lot of it to what happened to Liam, but also to Harry processing it himself:
Paint By Numbers
I definitely agree with you on this one, anon! I think Paint By Numbers is one of the songs that leans the most into this core reflection about fame. It has this very melancholic tone, so it naturally gets connected to Liam.
Essentially it feels like a reflection on celebrity vs. real self. Being put into a box, having to fit the “right colors” in the “right places” but eventually those colors run out, things get messy, and you can’t keep up with that structure forever.
I think it also touches the pressure of fame, the constant feeling of disappointing people, and trying to meet expectations that are impossible to sustain. And when you think about everything that led up to Liam’s passing, it’s hard not to connect it—especially the way he seemed to be struggling to be seen, to be loved, while facing so much criticism in the months prior. That quote from Harry “I saw someone with the kindest heart who just wanted to be great”, sums it up so well. That’s the tragedy of it. Wanting to be good, to be loved, and still being torn apart by people.
The “not even 33” line feels very loaded to me. If you connect it to the age Jesus died (if you believe that), it carries this idea of sacrifice, pressure, and being judged by the public. There’s that sense of being “crucified” by expectations. There's a saying “You can’t please everyone, Jesus couldn’t”.
I also love the “kids with water guns” line. I’ve seen people connect it to One Direction and their stage moments, which is a really sweet interpretation. But it also works as a metaphor, something that looks harmless on the surface, but still causes damage. Like judgment. Comments, jokes, opinions—things people think are harmless, but when they’re constant, they hurt. Being surrounded by that kind of “playful” targeting still leaves a mark over time.
Season 2 Weight Loss
I also think this song carries a strong meaning. It feels very much about expectations, and what people want from him, what he’s supposed to be, and the pressure to just keep going.
It's being turned into a product. Doing the same thing over and over, following what people expect, and losing yourself in that cycle. The questioning "if I don’t meet your expectations, will you still love me?" is so fucking deep and heartbreaking.
Everything they do gets judged, overanalyzed (yes the irony!!) picked apart. It really connected into parasocial relationships, how people feel entitled to an artist, but don’t accept their flaws or humanity.
And that connects deeply to what happened with Liam. The pressure, the expectations, the need to be liked… and how damaging that can become.
So for me, it’s less about “this song is about Liam” and more about how his presence, what they went through together, and what happened shaped the emotional core of the whole album. If that makes sense at all!!
i wanna talk about how the lasers for S2WL are red and blue and how that could symbolize the choice between remaining in a state of blissful ignorance (blue pill) or accepting a painful reality (red pill)
…but it’s way past my bedtime so imma just leave it at that and maybe some of you can add some more in-depth thoughts while i sleep
All this Taste Back analysis just makes me wonder if you are still doing lyrical analysis? Because "Season Two, Weight Loss" please.
Ask and you shall receive. My favorite song of his <3
Aptly named the album’s thesis by Harry, Season 2 Weight Loss (S2) marks kissco’s turning point. Following his frustrations and lack of fulfillment on preceding tracks, S2 holds the epiphany that sparks a necessary change in him—and grapples with how this change will affect his fame & success, if this is worth it.
Note: the use of “you” in this song can get confusing. In the verses, he tends to use it primarily in reference to “Harry Styles the Popstar” but there’s a second layer that’s making audience commentary. In the chorus/bridge, “you” typically means his audience, but has a secondary layer that’s based in his own self reflection. “I” “me” and first-person usage typically speaks to himself as a regular person in his own private life.
Verse 1:
Aren’t you for sale if you’re cashing in cold?
About Harry Styles The Brand™️, and one of the most scathing lines Harry’s written about himself. Essentially saying: if you’re profiting off the commodification of your own personality & attractiveness, aren’t you endorsing your own objectification? Because you are selling yourself as a product to the masses…
You’ve got to sit yourself down sometimes
Self-reflection is necessary for growth & sometimes you
needs to take a step back and ask the hard questions to evaluate who you are vs. who you want to be, what you want from life and fame and making art. And why thus far you’re feeling empty, and what changes need to happen as a result.
It’s hard to tell when the thoughts are my own / and the old hat gets harder to hold
I’m losing my sense of self because my identity has been tied externally to who I am to my audience, the media, the world, and after a while I don’t know if “the thoughts” I’m having about myself are genuine, or just an echo of who everyone else is telling me I am. Also note the “my” here—referring to how his public persona is invading his private sense of self
“The old hat” is a ref to the English idiom ‘wearing many hats’ which means a person is taking on a lot of roles or duties simultaneously. In this context, the “old hat” is his role as Harry Styles The Popstar (separated from Harry the regular human), aka the branded version of himself that he’s having harder and harder time maintaining.
Chorus:
Holding—holding out. Hoping you will love me now.
“Holding out” in this context means not accepting a current circumstances in the hopes of securing something better. (If I’m “holding out” in a game of poker for example, I’m refusing to fold because I’m hoping for winning hand).
Within S2? He’s refusing to bend his behaviors and branded identity towards what it’s always been & what he knows would go over well, because he’s hoping that his fans will still love him without the bells and whistles. That if he shows up as his changed but authentic self, you’ll love him now the as you did when he was in a dress on Vogue or had painted nails.
Do you love me now? Do you? Do I let you down?
I adore the heavy undercurrent of anxiety that seeps through this line. He’s holding out….but he is not confident that he’ll be proven right.
He’s questioning, to reiterate: if I come back changed for me, will I let you down? But on another level, he’s also asking himself: if I change back just to keep the masses happy, will I let myself down? & would that be worth it for their love?
Holding—holding out. Hoping love will come around.
“Hoping love will come around” …..on the initial release, I took this as a pretty straightforward “I hope the answer to all of this is yes I still love you, no you don’t let me down.” But watching the fandom reaction unfold in the way it has….
I wonder if he knew the backlash to his change would be inevitable, in some ways? And the “hoping love will come around” is less ‘I hope you’re willing to love me immediately and not feel let down at all’ and more of a ‘I hope that once the dust settles and you’ve got the inevitable disappointment out of the way, you (and by extension your love) will start to come around again to this current iteration of me as you witness it more and more.” Because “come around” has this connotation of people eventually getting on board that’s quite different than if he were to say “hoping you still love me now.” Hm.
….and if it’s the second reading, we’re watching this happen in real time as he performs more and more on tour, which is insane.
Verse 2:
It’s kind of sad but there’s something I know: too many things for you to analyze
In a self-reflection sense: too much has changed, it’s a sad fact of life, there’s too much for me to unpack about it.
In an audience reflection sense: I realize this is a sad fact of my life, that coming back means I’m about to be put under a microscope and compared to my former self. And there’s too much there for you to find, to analyze.
You’re steaming in, swinging with your eyes closed
Steaming in -> you’re coming in hot, impulsive, and emotional
Swinging with your eyes closed -> you’re lashing out, taking swings blindly without seeing who or what you might hit. Reminiscent of “this world is screaming so you start to scream right back” in AYLY.
I’ve always seen these lines as his self-reflection & his state of mind he’s unpacking, but writing it out as I am….I also think there’s a case for audience commentary, and people coming in looking for reasons to get mad.
Let light come in once and a while
Aperture call-back.
But also…a little hopeful while sad note in a brutal song. You only let light—aka joy and love and all beautiful things—come in here and there. But that’s still something. At least. It’s not completely shut out. There remains hope. Keep letting it in.
Bridge:
You could have been here in my arms / but we’re nothing at all
and if I said parasocial commentary? You could have known me, we could have cared for each other. But we’re nothing. You’re living with a fantasy that’s not real.
You want a piece or nothing at all
You want to own a part of me, my image, my identity, my grief, or you want nothing to do with me. You want possession of me, you don’t actually want me.
Or something like that.
……brutal fucking lyrics but I love it. There’s something so alive about this song that’s so incredibly special. Season 2 weight loss I’ll love you forever.
