Producer Tony Visconti Says Harry Styles Couldn’t Shine David Bowie’s Shoes

February 7, 2023

The 65th Grammy Awards took place in Los Angeles on 5th February, and as usual, there was a fair amount of controversy. Most notably, pop star Harry Styles took out the top gong of Album of the Year for his latest Harry’s House, beating out Beyoncé’s Renaissance.

To put it lightly, it wasn’t received well. Outside of Styles’ fans, most viewers were shocked at the decision. Renaissance had landed at the top of many publications’ end-of-year lists, and while Harry’s House was well-received, it wasn’t exactly lauded.

Harry Styles: ‘As It Was’

Styles also drew the ire of legendary producer and David Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti, who sounded off on his personal Facebook Page. In a since-deleted post, Visconti wrote of Styles’ Grammys performance of ‘As It Was’: “What’s the difference between the Grammys and Las Vegas? Nothing!”

In a comment below, he twisted the knife: “Someone just told me that Harry Styles is the new Bowie? From what I saw tonight he’s not worthy of shining his shoes.”

Quand Tony Visconti debriefe les #GRAMMYs et donne son avis sur « Harry Styles est-il le nouveau Bowie ? ».

« Someone just told me that Harry Styles is the new Bowie? From what I saw tonight he’s not worthy of shining his shoes. » #headshot pic.twitter.com/2B7NNX7P1g

— Steven Bellery (@StevenBellery) February 6, 2023

Harry’s House also took home the award for Best Pop Vocal Album, and missed out in four other categories.

Beyoncé didn’t exactly go home empty-handed: she won Best Dance/Electronic Album for Renaissance, Best Dance/Electronic Recording for ‘Break My Soul’, Best R&B Song for ‘Cuff It’, and Best Traditional R&B Performance for ‘Plastic off the Sofa’. Her wins made history, as she became the most decorated artist in Grammy Awards history with 32 trophies, surpassing the Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti.

Wet Leg, meanwhile, won Best Alternative Music Album and Best Alternative Music Performance for their debut album, Wet Leg and ‘Chaise Longue’. Wet Leg will support Styles on his tour of Australia that begins in Perth on Monday, 20th February.