Harry Styles Says He's 'Lucky' to Have Toured with One Direction Bandmates: 'We Always Had Each Other'

Harry Styles revealed that there will always be respect between the members of One Direction.

The Grammy winner, 28, recalled the bond he shared with his bandmates Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik — who left the group in March 2015 — during an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, released on Monday.

"I feel really lucky that we always had each other to be this unit that felt like you could keep each other in check and you could just have someone else who gets it," he shared. "Because it's impossible to not, at times I think everyone experiences this, feel like, 'Oh, everyone else is on the other side of the glass and I'm on this side of the glass, and no one really gets it.'"

Apple Music

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"And I think having that is kind of priceless. There is very much a respect between all of us, if we did something together," he added. "And that is something that you can't really undo. And you know, it's like a very deep love for each other, I think."

Styles — who joined One Direction at 16 years old — opened up about how he found it easier to "emotionally coast" when was in the pop group.

"I didn't really feel anything. And we'd go through real highs in the band and stuff, and it would always just feel like a relief," he explained. "Like, 'Oh, we didn't fail. That feels like a massive relief.' I never really felt like I celebrated anything. And I had a great time. Like, truly."

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In the Better Homes & Gardens June cover story, Styles addressed his feelings about leaving One Direction.

"In lockdown, I started processing a lot of stuff that happened when I was in the band," he said, noting that he was encouraged to give much of himself away in order "to get people to engage with you, to like you."

Apple Music

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The "As It Was" singer — who is set to release his third album Harry's House on Friday — also revealed during his Apple Music 1 interview that the pandemic helped to realize that he is more than just a performer.

"For a really long time, I was terrified of what my life was if I wasn't up here doing music, on a show, doing something," he said. "And then you're faced with a time when you can't do that. And the great leveler of doesn't matter how much money you have, doesn't matter where you lived, doesn't matter this, doesn't matter that. You can't travel, you can't do this, you can't go outside your house."

"Suddenly you're forced to not be this musician guy, you're forced to be a friend and a brother and a son, and all of those things," he continued. "And actually feel like I kind of had a little bit of a chance to focus on that at least for a moment and just stop and take in a lot of stuff and remember things. And you're gifted this stolen time."

Apple Music

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Styles also shared that he no longer wants to be defined solely by his career.

"You miss so many birthdays and stuff like that. And then eventually, it's just assumed that you're unable to be at stuff," he admitted. "And I think that was one of the things where I was like, 'Oh, I want to take a second to invest some more time into balancing my life out a little bit.' This working is not everything about who I am, it's something I do. And I don't want to be defined as a person necessarily by what I do all the time."

Harry Styles' 'ONE NIGHT ONLY IN NEW YORK' performance at UBS Arena at Belmont Park this Friday, May 20 will be available to stream exclusively to Apple Music subscribers in 167 countries around the world. The special show will celebrate his highly anticipated new album Harry's House, available that day, and will see Styles performing his new album for the first time ever.

The show will be available to stream live on Apple Music at 9:00p EST / 6p PST on Friday, May 20th here and will encore on May 22 at 12:00p EST / 9:00a PT / 6:00p CET and on May 26 at 4pm BST / 5pm SGT / 7pm AEST.