Watermelon Sugar


"Watermelon Sugar" is a song by English singer Harry Styles from his second studio album Fine Line, included as the album's second track. Styles wrote the song with Mitch Rowland and its producers Tyler Johnson and Kid Harpoon. They were inspired by the American novel In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan. "Watermelon Sugar" is a horn and guitar-driven rock, funk-pop, and indie pop song.
Originally released as a promotional single from Fine Line on 16 November 2019, "Watermelon Sugar" was later released as the album's fourth single on 15 May 2020. The song was positively received by critics, with many praising its concept and Styles' vocals. The single also performed well commercially, reaching the top-ten in 16 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.
The music video for "Watermelon Sugar" was released on 18 May 2020 to positive reviews. Directed by Bradley & Pablo and filmed in Malibu, California, it features Styles alongside a plethora of bikini-clad women dancing on the beach and eating watermelon. Styles has promoted the single with many live televised performances including on Saturday Night Live, Later... with Jools Holland and Today.

Background and release

"Watermelon Sugar" was written by Styles, Mitch Rowland and its producers Tyler Johnson and Kid Harpoon. It was originally written in September 2017 while Styles was on a day off from. They went into The Cave Studio in Nashville, Tennessee and started the session by just playing around. They eventually started throwing around some ideas and came up with the repetitive chorus melody. They had the book, In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan and thought it would sound cool as the hook. The song is rumored to be about Styles' ex-girlfriend Camille Rowe, who happens to be a fan of In Watermelon Sugar. At first, Styles liked the song but then hated it for a while. It took about a year for Styles to finish the song, where he actually liked it again. The song is the longest it's taken for Styles to finish a song and the hardest to finish.
The song was first teased by Styles in a 22 October 2019 tweet writing "Kiwi walked so Watermelon Sugar could run." Shortly after, it was revealed by iTunes to be the second track on Fine Line. "Watermelon Sugar" premiered at 23:30 ET on 16 November 2019 as the first promotional single from Fine Line, without any prior notice. It was accompanied by an audio video, showing the cover art for Fine Line, except, with a watermelon in the hand. The song later impacted contemporary hit radio in Australia on 15 May 2020, as the album's fourth official single and was also sent to radio in Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. Styles promoted it with a meme generator on his website that has various lyrics from the song over a watermelon inspired background.

Music and lyrics

"Watermelon Sugar" is a rock, funk-pop, and indie pop song with 1970s and soul elements. It is composed in time and the key of A minor, with a tempo of 96 beats per minute and a chord progression of Dm7–Am7–C–G. The track has a structure of verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, post-chorus, bridge, chorus, post-chorus and runs for two minutes and fifty-three seconds. Driven by guitars and horns, the song also contains brass lines, summer-inflected sonics and a simple melody, reminiscent of jazz. It opens with a strummed guitar intro where electric guitar and drum beats soon join in. Trumpets are added in the second chorus, that builds up to the bridge, featuring ecstatic horns and high notes. The song closes with a brass-led outro.
Styles' vocals, which were described as "raspy", span from D4 to A5. The song uses the metaphor a fruit and summer to describe a sexual encounter. According to Styles, the song is about the initial euphoria and excitement when one first starts seeing someone. He uses long notes to get this message across and the last chorus showcases Styles' higher vocal register. The song's lyrics use rhetoric and imagery. Savannah Walsh of Elle wrote about the song's meaning asking the question " hankering for a refreshing summer treat or talking about cunnilingus," while USA Todays Patrick Ryan interpreted it as "Styles evocatively a past fling and its sweet aftertaste." It is rumored that the song is about oral sex, which Styles has neither confirmed nor denied when asked.

Critical reception

"Watermelon Sugar" received positive reviews from music critics. Libby Torres, Callie Ahlgrim, Paige DiFiore, Courteney Larocca and Kirsten Acuna of Insider wrote a positive review, giving the song an 8.2/10 and calling it Styles' fourth best song, praising his vocal performance and the song's concept. Ana Clara Ribeiro of Medium complimented Styles' vocals and the song's production, as well as praising its differences from everyday pop songs. Its guitar hook was praised by Charu Sinha of Vulture. In a positive review from USA Today, Patrick Ryan called it a "intoxicating standout" on Fine Line, writing that it " the sultry, funky spirit of the project." Writing for Idolator, Mike Nied commented on its lyrics, writing "references to sex are cleverly embedded in the lyrics so readers are able to fill in the blanks on their own." David Levesley, writing for British GQ, called it "the perfect for the winter cold" while describing it as "a lusty bop with a chorus perfectly designed for chanting in a stadium" and "bigger, brassier, and more romantic" than Styles' previous release, "Lights Up".
NMEs Hannah Mylrea called the song "bombastic" while the staff at DIY called it "exciting" and "sizzling." Kim Wong-Shing of StyleCaster called "Watermelon Sugar," "fun" and "sensual" as well as naming it the "summer anthem of ." Mike Wass, in another Idolator review, described the song as "a flashy with one foot in the distant past" while stating that the "anthem really soars on the chorus". In Digital Journal, Markos Papadatos wrote "the song is mid-tempo, refreshing, and radio-friendly". In her review for Rolling Stone, Brittany Spanos wrote "the track has the singer nostalgic for 'that summer feeling,' yearning for berries and the taste of watermelon sugar". Savannah Walsh of Elle wrote the song " us craving a tropical getaway and sultry summer fling". Also of Vulture, Zoe Haylock wrote that "the upbeat, windows-down track melted frozen hearts."
Alicia Adejobi of Metro wrote "Styles has stirred all kinds of nostalgia for the summer with his sweet new track." In his review for Variety, Chris Willman compared the song to Maroon 5 while Tim Sendra of AllMusic compared it to "Awaken, My Love!" by Childish Gambino. Writing for Now, Rea McNamara compared it to Jeanette Winterson calling it "sexual, grown-ass and tender" as well as comparing the vocal melody to "Sing It Back" by Moloko. Pastes Ellen Johnson called it Fine Line 's most "traditional" song as well as comparing its bassline to Prince. Susan Hansen of Clash wrote that it has a "satisfying vibe" with its sonics. In a negative review from Consequence of Sound, Bryan Rolli called the song "plodding", while also writing it "commits the cardinal sin of being far less interesting than its title." Owen Richards of The Arts Desk also gave a negative review, calling its imagery "nonsensical," writing that it "misses the mark."

Commercial performance

In November 2019, "Watermelon Sugar" debuted at number thirty-five on the UK Singles Chart, giving Styles' his third UK top 40 single at the time. In January 2020, it reached number seventeen on the chart before departing it the following month. On 14 February 2020, the song was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry. After its official single release in May 2020, "Watermelon Sugar" re-entered the chart at number thirty-five; later ascending to a new peak of five in July 2020, becoming second best charting single of the album. In Ireland, "Watermelon Sugar" debuted at number twenty-four on the Irish Singles Chart in November 2019, before reaching number four on the chart in June 2020. In Scotland, the single re-entered the chart at number seventy-eight in May 2020 and later peaked at number nine the following month.
After the release of Fine Line, "Watermelon Sugar" debuted at number thirty-eight on the ARIA singles chart in Australia; later reaching a new peak of twelve in its fifth week. After being released as an official single in May 2020, the track re-entered the chart; reaching a new peak of number six in June 2020, Harry's highest charting single from the album. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number thirty-three and has so far peaked at number four. It has been certified platinum in both countries.
On the Canadian Hot 100, "Watermelon Sugar" debuted at number forty-six and later reached number ten on the chart, becoming his second top-ten hit from the album in Canada. In the United States, "Watermelon Sugar" debuted at number sixty on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated 30 November 2019. It peaked at number fifty-four after the release of Fine Line and officially left the chart the following month. On 8 May 2020, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. After being released as a single, "Watermelon Sugar" re-entered the chart in May at number sixty-four and has so far reached a new peak of seven; giving Styles' his third top-ten single, as well as his fourth top-twenty single in the US, and third from Fine Line.

Music video

Background and production

The song's accompanying music video premiered on YouTube at 12:00 ET on 18 May 2020. Styles announced the video's premiere a day prior with a teaser video showing a table on a beach, which was in a scene in the music video. It was directed by Bradley & Pablo and filmed in Malibu, California on 30 January 2020. They had tried to work with Styles for other songs on Fine Line and they eventually began working on "Watermelon Sugar" a week before they began filming. The video was inspired by Paul McCartney's 1960s Gucci style and was partly filmed using a 35 and 16 mm Arri SR3 camera to make some shots look vintage.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was revealed that the video had been delayed from its original release. Bradley & Pablo were worried that Columbia Records wouldn't release the video due to it looking insensitive, so they added a message at the beginning writing "this video is dedicated to touching." While filming, Styles was praised for asking the models in the video for consent to touch them.

Synopsis

The video opens with a message on a black background writing "this video is dedicated to touching." Styles is then seen walking up to a table with a watermelon slice on a plate, where he sits down. He wears an orange crochet tank, oversized blue sunglasses, bubblegum pink nail polish and his signature "HS" rings. The table cloth on the table is the same material as a boat sail in the "Adore You" video and the sunglasses are the same ones he wore in his 2019 Rolling Stone cover. He puts the plate on the table and begins singing the opening lyrics of the song. Styles is seen running his fingers on the watermelon before taking a bite. This shot was inspired by a picture of Jack Nicholson doing the same pose.
The video then cuts to Styles being surrounded by models that feed him various fruits as well as them enjoying a picnic. The models are seen wearing 1970s floppy hats and high-waisted bikinis. Styles is seen wearing a low-cut floral Hawaiian shirt with pearls and in other shots a sweater vest with a retro collared shirt. The former outfit was inspired by a picture of Paul McCartney at a party. He is also seen laying in the sand, watching the models. Later on, they take a picture, as a group, with all of them holding a watermelon slice each. Styles wears a cropped striped sweater, a skinny fringe scarf and a pair of vintage-inspired ripped jeans, all of which come from Gucci's fall 2020 collection.

Reception

Michele Amabile Angermiller of Variety compared the video to Elton John's "I'm Still Standing" while Harper's Bazaars Chelsey Sanchez compared it to Mamma Mia!. In her review for Evening Standard, Sara Feigin noticed a similarity to Styles' previous video "Lights Up" with the models surrounding him, while The Independent 's Ellie Harrison thought the beach was the same beach used by Styles' former band One Direction's video "What Makes You Beautiful". Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone and Savannah Walsh of Elle both called the video "colorful" and "beachy". Writing for Us Weekly, Nicholas Hautman called it "ultrasexy" and "retro-filtered." In her review for Entertainment Weekly, Rosy Cordero wrote "Harry Styles is wishing he was back on the beach surrounded by beautiful people, deliciously colorful fruits, and no coronavirus."
Carolyn Droke of Uproxx called the video "a celebration fo summer" while Morgan Smith of People called it "dreamy." Writing for NME, Will Lavin described the video as "Styles a beach party with a group of women, who can all be seen eating watermelon throughout." Flares Katherine Singh wrote "we'll never be able to look at a watermelon the same again" and " is pretty much poised to be the video of summer 2020." Alisha Pawa of Lifestyle Asia called the video "light-hearted" and wrote that it "evokes the nostalgia of better summer days." The music video has received over 60 million views on YouTube.

Live performances

Styles first performed "Watermelon Sugar" on Saturday Night Live, shortly after its release and on 21 November 2019, he performed it on Later... with Jools Holland. Both performances were performed alongside "Lights Up". He performed it at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball on 7 December 2019. On 13 December 2019, Styles performed the song as part of his one night only concert at The Forum in Los Angeles to celebrate the release of Fine Line. He also performed the song at a secret show at the Electric Ballroom in London on 19 December 2019. On 14 February 2020, he gave a live radio performance on BBC Radio 2's The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show and on 25 February 2020, he performed it as part of his NPR Tiny Desk Concert. It was performed by Styles on Today at Rockefeller Center on 26 February 2020. Styles performed the song on 28 February 2020 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn as part of a secret session with Sirius XM and Pandora. The following day, he performed it in another secret session, this time with iHeartRadio at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City.

Track listing

  1. "Watermelon Sugar" – 2:53
  2. "Watermelon Sugar" – 2:53

    Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Fine Line.

Recording

Chart Peak
position

Certifications

Release history