Harry Styles Reveals Why He's 'Incredibly Grateful' For Billie Eilish

Ahead of the release of his highly anticipated third album, Harry Styles opened up about his career in the music industry and how Billie Eilish was a guiding light for him. In a recent interview, Styles discussed how he dealt with transitioning from a teen star in the boyband One Direction to paving his own path as a solo artist. As it turns out, Eilish's rise to fame in her late teens inspired some reflection for the singer.

"I definitely had a really big moment, I think, when Billie Eilish kind of first blew up. I think being in the band, I’d always felt like … it was fun and exciting because we were young. And I had a moment, seeing her do this at such a young age, where I felt like, ‘I’m not that young anymore,'" he said. “For a while, it was like, ‘How do you play that game, of like, remaining exciting?’ And I just had a moment where I felt like, ‘OK, we’re not the same thing.’ And in the same vein of, like, ‘You’re not always going to be the kind of young thing,’ I was like, ‘OK, I would really like to think about who I would like to be as a musician.’”

He continued to credit Eilish for his breakthrough moment, “It felt like [she] came in in a way that was like, ‘You’re not… Like, don’t worry about being this thing, ever.’ Because, you know, she’s a lot younger than me, and there’s no point in me going, like, ‘OK, how do I get back in? How do I like, get back to like… She just totally broke spell for me, in a way that I’m very grateful for.”

Styles' third studio album Harry's House on Friday, May 20, & he's celebrating with an intimate iHeartRadio Album Release Party. Click here to find out how to tune in.