New York all the time, other fans occasionally: Harry Styles' recent tour controversy

Since his television debut on “The X Factor” nearly 16 years ago, everywhere British pop singer Harry Styles has gone, his fans have followed. But since the announcement of Styles’ third world tour with limited locations and grossly high prices, many fans have expressed annoyance and criticised Styles for not appealing to his wider fanbase. 

Harry Styles’ musical career began at age 16 when he auditioned as a solo artist on the British musical competition show, “The X Factor”, but was placed into a boy band alongside four other teenage boys. The five boys would build an impressive fanbase online and use the following to launch their career as “One Direction.”

One Direction released their first single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” in September 2011, which topped Billboard charts worldwide. One Direction continued to grow in popularity and success, releasing five studio albums within four years, and playing over 323 shows across four world tours. But the pop group burnt out just as quickly as they rose to fame, with one of the members, Zayn Malik, leaving the band in 2015, and One Direction going on an indefinite hiatus in early 2016. 

Each of the band members pursued careers as solo artists, and Styles, after cutting off his signature long hair, released his first single, “Sign of the Times,” in April 2017 and first album, “Harry Styles,” a month later.

In September 2017, Styles began his first world tour as a solo artist, “Harry Styles: Live On Tour,” which spanned 89 shows across 10 months.

Styles’ second world tour, “Harry Styles: Love On Tour,” was announced in November 2019 to accompany his second album, “Fine Line,” which includes “Watermelon Sugar,” Styles’ first song as a solo artist to reach Number 1 on the US Billboard Charts. 

However, “Love On Tour,” would be postponed due to COVID-19, and not begin until a little over a year later, in September 2021. 

The first leg of “Love On Tour,” ended in November 2021 after 42 shows across the United States, and started back up in Scotland in June 2022, with an all-new setlist following the release of his third studio album, “Harry’s House,” a month prior.

Styles’ second tour continued until July 2023, and included an impressive 15-night residency at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and 12 night residency at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California. Throughout this tour, Styles’ popularity grew substantially, due in part to the success of “As It Was,” the lead single off of “Harry’s House,” which spent 15 weeks at Number one on the US Billboard Chart, Styles’ performances as a headliner for the Coachella Music Festival in 2022, and the atmosphere and success of his tour.

Now, with the release of his newest chart-topping single, “Aperture,” Styles has amassed 63.9 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and is putting his fans at the forefront of the promotion for his fourth album, “Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally," and his third world tour, “Together, Together.”

In late December 2025, Styles released an 8-and-a-half minute YouTube video titled, “Forever, Forever,” featuring clips of his young female fans playing outside the venue before the final “Love On Tour,” show in Reggio Emilia, Italy, as well as a montage of fans in the crowd of the show while Styles performed a piano ballad written specifically for the final show. The next month, posters of cheering crowds with the slogan, “We Belong Together,” written across began appearing in cities around the world. 

Fans were positive a new world tour would accompany this promotion, but when the dates and locations of the tour were actually announced, fans began expressing shock and irritation at the lackluster schedule. “Together, Together,” Styles’ third world tour announced via an Instagram post Jan. 22, features 50 shows in Amsterdam, London, Mexico City, São Paulo, Sydney, Melbourne and New York City. With the New York City announcement being the most controversial among fans.

From August 2026 to October 2026, Styles is set to perform an unbelievable 30-night residency at Madison Square Garden, much to the dismay of American fans who don’t live in or around New York City. 

To add insult to injury, fans were shocked by the price of tickets and the amount of website traffic during both pre-sale and general ticket sales. Fans across social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram complained about having to wait in long queues to even gain access to purchase tickets, which were either already sold out or far too expensive.  

The tickets were sold through ticket distribution company, Ticketmaster, and as of Feb. 3, every one of Styles’ Madison Square Garden shows on Ticketmaster’s website is listed as being sold out. 

Other websites, such as StubHub, a ticket reselling company, offer second-hand tickets, but prices for Styles’ first night in New York on Aug. 26 range from $473 for upper bowl seats to $3,131 for standing pit tickets. Making it nearly impossible for even fans living in New York to be able to see the singer. 

Styles has yet to comment on the ticket prices or limited performance locations. Many fans are placing the blame on Ticketmaster, which has a history of controversy for dynamic pricing, outrageous fees, allegedly catering to ticket scalpers and having a monopoly over ticket distribution.

They were investigated by the United States Department of Justice in 2022, following a similar situation with significantly overpriced tickets for Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour.”

During a performance on Jan. 28 in Las Vegas, former One Direction member Zayn Malik poked fun at “Together, Together” prices, telling the audience, “Hopefully the ticket prices weren’t too high.”

“Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally" comes out March 6, and the “Together, Together” tour begins in Amsterdam May 16. Fans are appearing to remain both supportive of Styles’ upcoming projects and heartbroken that they may not be able to see their favorite singer perform in person.