Singer Harry Styles has dropped his fourth album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, this past Friday, and the world is reeling from yet another interesting release. The 32-year-old’s tracklist, comprising 12 songs, led by Aperture, has made fans dig deep into their meanings and possible relations to his personal life. Hidden in the 42 minutes of emotions is Paint By Numbers, which fans have linked to his romance with Olivia Wilde.
Harry Styles likens new song to his relationship with Olivia Wilde
Paint By Numbers is the 8th song on the record and is a slower approach to his new release. In it, the lyrics, “Holding the weight of the American children whose hearts you break / Was it a tragedy when you told her “I’m not even thirty-three”?” are being linked to his former lady love when she would go to his American shows of Harry’s Love On Tour with her kids, as well as his 10-year age-gap with her.
The American actress and filmmaker, and the English star, were in an on-again, off-again relationship for nearly two years from January 2021 to November 2022 after crossing paths on the set of the film, Don’t Worry Darling, which Wilde directed and in which Styles starred.
Fans have also connected more of his lyrics on the song to his personal life, like the words on the bridge, “It’s a lifetime of picking from one or the other/ Kids with water guns, watch them run.” Directioners think it’s a nod to his late bandmate Liam Payne, with whom he used to often unleash a water gun fight alongside fellow One Direction members.
Meanwhile, Harry Styles spoke up for the first time about his feelings following the passing of his dear friend and 1D mate. He recalled it being a very difficult feeling to fathom back when it happened, as well as how others’ expectations of his grief weighed heavily on his shoulders.