Harry Styles is the latest cover star of The Sunday Times, and the feature feels like a deep breath between eras rather than just another promo stop.

Interviewed by his longtime stylist and friend Harry Lambert while on a break, and photographed in Italy by the late Martin Parr, the piece captures him off-duty, quietly resetting his life before the next chapter truly begins.

Over the summer of 2024, Harry spent an extended time in Italy and realized how rare it was for him to simply exist without rushing to the next thing. He describes sitting alone in cafés with a coffee and suddenly clocking that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d done that, if ever.

For someone whose 20’s were a blur of touring, press, and constant movement, Italy became a turning point: a place where slowing down felt not just allowed, but essential. That pause clearly helped shape his new era.

Last week, he officially announced his fourth studio album titled “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.” The record will feature 12 tracks, including the lead single “Aperture,” which has already debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The title alone sounds like a wry summary of where he’s at now: still romantic, still playful, but with a quieter, self-aware edge.

The interview isn’t just about music, though; it’s about what he’s decided actually matters. Around the same time as that Italy reset, his sister Gemma had a baby, and getting to be present as an uncle helped snap his priorities into focus.

“To be there to get to know my niece as she’s growing up, it’s so obvious to me what’s real,” he says, adding that it became very clear that’s where he wanted to be.

That grounding in family runs alongside other conscious changes, like removing Instagram from his phone and stepping back from the constant noise of social media. He says that decision has left him feeling much healthier about “this world” he’s stepping back into as he gears up to release new music and tour again.

H also talks about his love of running, which he picked up in his early 20’s, but has leaned into more as he approached 30. He explains that, with 30 on the horizon, he knew starting again later would only be harder, so he committed to it as a kind of solo anchor: “It was healthy for me to have something as an outlet that gave me some structure in a moment where I was spending a lot of time by myself.”

Training for marathons and pushing himself physically taught him that he could do difficult things on his own, and he emphasizes that running was never about being perfect or the best, it was about the reward of showing up and seeing what he could do.

Taken together, The Sunday Times cover, the Italy reflections, the family focus, the social media boundaries, the marathons, and the new album all paint the same picture: Harry Styles is still very much a pop star, but he’s building a life that exists comfortably outside of the spotlight too.

Read the interview with Harry and The Sunday Times here!