DISCLAIMER: This post is not meant to demean Harry’s relationship with Camille (let’s be real, it is). It is instead meant to point out all the ways in which Harry undercuts and demeans his own relationships (probably unwittingly) with everyone he dates outside of Zayn.
The logic behind this post is simple really.
First, please read this post which will explain the difference between the way Harry referenced Zayn in his album and the way he referenced Camille. This Venn Diagram shows the most surface level interpretation of that disparity.
The Cherry Voice-note:
We all do realize that if Harry could’ve used a voice-note of Zayn in Fine Line he would have, right? That’s very obvious. So he copied his identical track titles, responded to his lyrics, and wrote about his brown skin and his sunflower tattoos instead, which are far more powerful than an unrelated voice-note slapped onto the end of a song admittedly as an afterthought in post-production.
And as planned, that stupid voice-note became the focal point of the album for the general public and the media, which is tragic. The mere notion that this earth-shattering (sales) and historic (as far as Harry’s career and self-acceptance) album was written for Camille is so fraudulent and egregious it makes my brain short circuit. I hate Harry just as much as I hate Zayn for engaging in subterfuge and PR bullspit regarding their music. But here’s the thing: it’s clear Harry did this as a cover for Zayn, because Zayn is scared that Harry is too “open.” And at the end of the day, “Golden” came first on the album and told us who Fine Line was really for.
The Zayn elements in Fine Line seem far more authentic and truly heartfelt than the “Cherry” voice-note or the pineapple, especially Sunflower Vol 6. Oh gee, it’s almost like they were thought on for a long time and meticulously crafted, not just added at the last minute in post-production which the voice-note and the little pineapple were. And tbh, I would even wager that the “Cherry” voice-note was staged and agreed upon from a PR perspective when we suddenly saw Harry having lunch with Camille for one day when the album was being wrapped up. (April 2019)
Also, it helps clarify things when you consider that of all the details Harry could’ve written about Camille in “Cherry,” the most specific references he chose to write about were all generic things that could easily and reasonably be applied to Zayn too (which makes me think he did that on purpose.)
Now again, the concept regarding Zarry vs Hamille is simple: If Harry loves Zayn more than Camille, which is proven here: Camille vs Zayn, (because he loves Zayn more than everyone: proven here) and if he felt any of the sentiments in “Cherry” towards Camille, then how much more does he feel those same sentiments towards Zayn and to a higher degree? Much much more! That is the answer.
“Cherry” in a nutshell.
- Accent and friends.
- Parent’s gallery.
- Don’t call them what you used to call me. (“Baby”)
- Jealousy.
- A piece of you in how I dress.
- The voice-note.
1 – The accent. Obviously Zayn has a distinctive and incredibly strong Yorkshire accent that everyone adores, and which Harry often tried to mimic. Do you think for a second that he doesn’t miss Zayn’s accent when he isn’t around? Of course he does, particularly since he admitted he missed even his eyes when he was gone for just a few days in 2012.
Now, the idea behind Camille’s Frenchness is that she has a sexy French accent I suppose, but in reality that’s not the case. She grew up in America, and therefore her accent is diluted at best. And when you listen to her speak, her French accent is inconsistent and sometimes nonexistent. And you can tell she plays it up when she wants to sound more French. It’s weird lol. And I don’t think Harry cares about American accents all that much (at least not enough to write about them lol.) But let’s say Harry does miss her tiny, inconsistent French accent. Ok. The same logic applies. Imagine how much more he misses Zayn’s heavy, far more consistent accent when he isn’t around.
2 – The gallery. The idea here is that Camille went on to date a wealthy guy whose parents are affluent art dealers who own galleries. Harry knew this would be the most PR-relevant and accessible information about Camille’s new beau, so the media and fans would easily draw the connection. This is what I call a PR-anvil coming crashing down in the middle of the album to draw your attention to some specific matter in an obnoxiously obvious way. It’s the complete opposite of clever writing or discretion, which we know Harry usually employs. The lyric is clumsy and out of place and is even sonically dissonant from the remainder of the song. Some people thought that’s because it may have been added later in post-production, (like they took a song that was originally about zayn and dressed it up externally and superficially to make it about Camille) and I agree. But the point is, Harry wanted that lyric to stand out because it was the giant Camille flag he intended for people to pick up on. It was as painfully conspicuous and as clumsy a road-flare as the voice-note. Tbh, the entire song was a road flare in general, because it’s existence only served the purpose of diverting the media in her direction.
What’s interesting is that if you do a tiny bit of research, it turns out Gigi’s dad Mohamed Hadid is an artist who also owns a gallery as well. This is another one of those things that made me think Harry meticulously picked lyrics that could serve as a double entendre for Zayn. Why only choose lyrics that refer to things that she happens to have in common with Zayn?? Instead of talking about her long blonde hair, or her modeling, or her blue eyes (like he did with Taylor) or some other aspect of her boyfriend’s life that was not obvious to the media and which could not also be applied to Gigi?
3 – Don’t call them what you used to call me. “Don’t you call him baby…” Sounds familiar right? This is a stipulation Harry laid out in “To Be So Lonely” in a similar fashion, by telling his lover “Don’t call me baby again…” which seems to purposefully link “Cherry” and “To Be So Lonely.” And we all know TBSL can’t be about Camille at all, based on the lyric “Don’t blame me for falling, I was just a little boy…” Harry was a grown man when he met and dated Camille briefly (while also being on tour the entire time.)
Whereas with Zayn, they grew up together, Harry was a little boy when he met him, and we know Zayn likes to call his lover “baby.” Zayn also tried to “friend-zone” Harry which seemed to upset Harry (“Don’t call me baby again…I know you’re trying to be friends…”) in a song called “You Wish You Knew” (“you can be the best friend, or you can be the one…”) where he taunts Harry about how they’re not close and how they don’t really know each other (“I’m the one the one the one that, you wish you knew…I don’t know you like that…”) and leaves Harry begging in “Sunflower Vol 6” and “Fine Line” (the song) to be let inside so he can get to know him.
4 – Jealousy. Jealous Harry needs no introduction. We have seen him rear his head time and time again over the years to express disdain over Zayn’s public partners and PR antics, such as the 2013 Zerrie Engagement. So these lyrics in “Cherry” which speak to his notorious jealous streak come as no surprise. And these lyrics apply directly to Zayn as well. The “selfish” lyrics ring true to the sentiments Harry expressed in “Woman,” a song written long before Camille. “I can tell that you are at your best. I’m selfish so I’m hating it…” vs “Selfish I know, but I don’t ever want to see you with him…”
Harry described his behavior in the lyrics of “Cherry” as petty, and I think we all can agree nothing was more petty than jealous Harry interrupting questions about Zayn’s engagement to repeatedly claim “Niall is pregnant!”
“Do you think it’s easy, being of the jealous kind?” This lyric speaks to the torment Harry endures daily as a result of his natural-born disposition. He’s the jealous type, and it kills him. As do his insecurities over his lover’s other partners (Hello, Girl Crush?) This extremely jealous disposition that he references in TBSL is something he again expressed in “Woman” (“This thing upon me howls like a beast…you flower you feast…”) and many other songs. Watch Jealous Harry here!
Ever wonder why, if Harry was dating Camille and “happy” with her, why oh why did he sing “Girl Crush” with such palpable pain?? It makes zero sense for the PR narrative we are fed about Hamille.
The emotion in Harry’s voice and face are undeniable during this performance. He had also just begun dating Camille in July 2017, so why on earth was he singing this particular song in such a heartbreaking way at the start of his relationship with Camille? Shouldn’t he have been giddy with butterflies over her? Not clearly pained and pouring his heart out to someone who was in a relationship with a girl he was jealous of. And why choose this song of all the songs on the planet he could’ve chosen to cover??? Why not one about new love or the high he felt having just started dating Camille? Similar logic can be applied to him choosing to sing Still The One about a long-term love he experienced while overcoming tribulations with someone. Why on earth would he sing this about his fairly new relationship with Camille (during which he was on tour the entire time???) Hamille was fake.
5 – Piece of you in how I dress. “There’s a piece of you in how I dress…take it as a compliment.” So remember when I said that everything Harry writes about Camille in this song, it can be applied to Zayn too, but to a much higher degree? Well…
Theoretically Harry is referring to this sweater in regards to Camille, or maybe even picking up one of her favorite fashion lines? Idk.
Hmm…unfortunately Harry tends to play this little superficial game with all of his public girlfriends, or as I like to call them, beards. So if he does it for everyone, how on earth can it be special?
So now do you see why I said in this post about Mitch that Harry tends to deal with people in a very superficial way? And he has certain patterns of behavior with regard to his beards that lets you know their relationships are just that: bearding (for him) and PR-driven (for them.) Same as Zigi. Although Zayn goes to extremes with his bearding that are just plain hurtful. (Engagement and baby.)
I showed all this to point out how the lyric about Camille was yet another generic one that could be applied to any of his relationships. Whereas with Zayn, he takes things to such a degree that NO ONE COMPARES TO HIM. For instance, the Zarry headband connection is far more compelling than the clothes swapping (for the obvious purpose of being caught by the paparazzi with them on.) But again, with Zayn, the concept goes far beyond that. In “Golden,” Harry let us know in no uncertain terms just how deeply Zayn impacted his life. Far more than just the way he dresses.
Essentially, Harry is admitting there is a piece of Zayn in EVERYTHING he does and in everything he is. Soulmate shit. And he’s right. Proven here!
6 – The voice-note. We already covered this, but here’s just a few more points. Yes, she got a voice-note on “Cherry.” But you know what? That was a painfully obvious last minute PR anvil admittedly added by Harry and his team in post production. The voice-note is entirely unrelated to the song. It is a recording of Camille on the phone with someone else having a random conversation. It was added by Harry and his team to divert the PR storm for the album Fine Line in her direction, thereby sparing Zayn, who in spite of having no voice-note still features rather prominently on the album. That’s because Zayn is still struggling to be “open” as Harry notes in “Golden,” even on occasion changing the lyric while he preforms “Golden” to: “I’m hoping someday you’re open….I know that you’re scared because I’m so open.”
Ultimately, it’s safe to conclude that if Harry feels anything in “Cherry” for Camille, he feels that sentiment 10x more where Zayn is concerned. (In my opinion of course.)
Hallo everyone, i would like to share some minor thought on the line „there is a piece of you in how i dress“. I believe that Zayn spoke about the same thing in outside „T-shirt that you’re wearing, that’s my favorite. First time that I touched you, you could save it“. Harry refers to A piece, could be the one T-Shirt he borrowed from Zayn and is now allowed to save … but i don‘t believe that Zayn directly responds to Harry, it seems more like an issue they argued about, when they broke up. Harry‘s „take it as a compliment“ would speak for it. normally you wouldn‘t have to tell someone you borrow a piece of clothes from, that it is meant as a compliment.
There is also the line in FTDT, “I see you gave him my old t-shirt more of what was once mine” which could mean Zayn borrowed the t-shirt from Harry and then gave it back? Who knows with these two!
it’s so obvious tho… this whole ‘relationship’ literally seems like a contract, nothing genuine about it nor were their interactions romantic in any way but hey who knows right. Another line that not only can be tied to Z as well but is also more powerful since it dates back way longer than the same situation with Camille, would be the ‘…missing your friends did you know I still talk to them’ line; could be a reference to that close friend of Z with whom he got the matching ‘a pirates life for me’ tat who tweeted stuff like ‘you could be the harry to my zayn’ or something like that aaand tweeted in support and anticipation of H’s solo album (not sure which HS era) adressing/tagging H… seemed friendly to me and if H knew him personally (through Z in the old days, there were pictures together but I don’t have twitter so I don’t have any of this at hand) he would definitely respond/reach out when he saw; good old ties over contrasted to Camille’s friends he met in that 1 year of them being together of which he was on tour of most of the time, plus I can’t even fathom how many people he must meet on the daily anyway… so still talking to someone you met 10 years ago through Z would be so much more significant (I wish I had a link to the info or something, will post if I come across it!)
@ Incognito Commenting Great points! Thanks for sharing!
Ah there he is: Alexander DeLeon.
Here we have him fangirling over ‘lights up’ (he’s also a LGBTQ activist if I’m not wrong and a singer in a band himself too I think): https://mobile.twitter.com/bohnes/status/1182775615046467584
And over zarry lol: https://mobile.twitter.com/bohnes/status/262296612624297985
Aucun journaliste n’a jamais osé demander à Zayn ce qu’il ressentait pour Harry, cela reste un mystère, il est vrai que harry a toujours dit à travers ses chansons qu’il était amoureux de quelqu’un depuis toujours. S’il n’étaient pas aussi connu je suis sur qu’ils vivraient ensemble.
I think pineapples are a symbol for swingers and open relationships.
I agree with your observation of Cherry. Is it that he tries to get over him by trying to date women in hopes of that happening? And in the end can’t sustain the relationship because he realizes he can’t make his feelings about him go away. Is Fine Line an attempt to purge these feelings?
Im just wandering whats in it for his girlfriends? Dont they know you think? And if they know, why do they do it? They have to take so much hate from stupid fans that I just dont understand how they can put themselfs through it. Or maby he is really trying to find someone else but can only go through with it for shorter period of time.
It’s Harry Styles!!! I think most people would date him given the opportunity. I think that the situation is the second one you mention, he meets people, dates and they don’t end up going beyond however long they last but I don’t think it is all planned out ahead of time although “their people” probably work out the details if there is interest. I have heard other celebrities say that is how they met and dated,. hairstylists, agents etc. have set them up or been the go between if they liked someone. I don’t think that H is waiting around for Z or probably ever has. When/if they are together, they are together. When they are not, all is fair…, etc. etc.
Yes of course you’re right! Harry is a sweethart so who woudn’t want to date him and try to win his heart. Poor girls…
“I don’t think that H is waiting around for Z or probably ever has.” He wrote about “waiting” in Someday, Maybe (the song that has connection with I Won’t Mind), put the poem “The Wait” in his BODE pants, and tweeted “1950” lyrics, the song has a lyric “So, I’ll wait For you I’ll pray I will keep on waiting for your love” I don’t think the “Wait” is literal but a commitment to their love “Years may pass but in the end i will always choose you”. I think you all forget H is a hopeless romantic, he’s the same guy that kiss his heart tattoos for Zayn.
Hi Tati. I see all that and think like you that those are all messages telling Z that he is there. But poor H, what is he supposed to do while Z is doing whatever he is doing? As they say “life happens while you are busy making other plans” and while Z may always be in his heart, H meets people and they might be interesting and people he ends up dating. I wouldn’t blame him one bit. Speaking from personal experience, it is hard to wait around while someone else tries to get the sh-t together. It is hard and depressing and eventually, if it takes too long, even the most ardent romantic will lose heart. Having said that, I hope I am completely wrong because if all that we are saying is true that means either 1) Zayn is having serious mental health issues that hold him back from being with H, which is horrible for both of them but especially Zayn or 2) the whole “coming out” thing is a problem and in 2021, that just makes me sad.
exactly, it’s just so pr driven/’clear’ bearding that I can only imagine the negative/non beneficiary press they would get if/when H comes out… which makes me wonder about Gigi so much. We obviously don’t know what she knows and all but their whole relationship is played up so so much (by her pushing zigi in your face whenever) that when you would look back in hindsight – if zarry ever went public – people would definitely make note of Z’s absent behavior towards even after a weirdly timed baby and him dropping an album in which he contemplates making a life altering choice and reminiscing about pre-zigi days… I’d imagine her getting so much negative press that wouldn’t count up against the prime spotlight she’s in now whenever with Z
I think Harry does a great deal to boost their public profiles from a PR standpoint. Being linked to Harry makes one super super relevant, and even afterwards you will be among the names speculated as “who” his album is written about. Sure there is hate, but I’m certain most of these women are used to the hate from other sources by that point.