For Harry Styles, teenage girls don’t lie

Harry Styles

Harry Styles is well aware that a huge chunk of his fan base is made up of teenage girls. And he’s also well aware that teenage girls are dismissed as being uncool.

So, when asked if he feels the pressure of having to capture a more mature crowd with his new music—“for credibility”— the former One Direction member felt the need to defend his young supporters.

“Who’s to say that young girls who like pop music—short for popular, right?—have worse musical taste than a 30-year-old hipster guy,” Styles told Rolling Stone magazine in an interview. “That’s not up to you to say… [Some] young girls like the Beatles. Are you going to tell me they aren’t serious?”

Calling young girls “our future doctors, lawyers, mothers and presidents,” the British artist added: “Teenage fans don’t lie. If they like you, they’re there. They don’t act ‘too cool.’”

Show of force from Prince

Which artist do you think sold the most number of albums and songs last year?

Most people would probably guess it was Adele, and they wouldn’t be too far-off—the British singer came in second.

But the top spot actually belongs to late music icon Prince, who died on April 21, 2016.

According to Billboard, citing Nielsen Music, Prince’s albums and songs sold 7.7 million copies in the United States—2.3 million of which were traditional album sales; the remaining 5.4 million, from digital song downloads.

His best-selling album was the compilation, “The Very Best of Prince,” while his most downloaded song was “Purple Rain.”

New lease on life for Paramore

American rock band Paramore recently announced that it was going to release a new album, “After Laughter.”

This is a sweet piece of news for fans of the group that has been beset by internal turmoil since 2010.

In 2010, brothers Josh (guitarist) and Zac Farro (drummer) quit (Zac would rejoin in 2017). In 2015, bassist Jeremy Davis followed suit and sued lead singer Hayley Williams for royalties the following year.

At one point, Hayley admitted she almost gave up. She told Beats 1 Radio in an interview, “I was kind of flatlined. If it weren’t for (guitarist) Taylor York, the band would be over,” she added.

“That’s the truth. Yeah, I had enough. I’m tired of losing friends, or I’m tired of doubting myself. Maybe if I’m just not doing it all I won’t have anything to doubt [about]. I can see what else I can do.” —ALLAN POLICARPIO