Harry Styles has recreated his original X Factor audition, performing Stevie Wonder‘s ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ while dressed as his 16-year-old self – watch footage below.
The singer was performing the first of two ‘Harryween’ concerts at Madison Square Garden last night (October 30), marking the penultimate date of his mammoth 30-night residency at the venue.
For the occasion, Styles initially appeared dressed as Elvis Presley, wearing the King’s signature white jumpsuit, complete with a cape and gold sunglasses. His backing band and dancers also embraced the Halloween theme, dressing as various versions of Styles from throughout his career, including looks inspired by his appearances at Coachella, the Grammys and the Met Gala.
Later in the show, however, Styles changed into an altogether different costume, recreating the clothes he wore for his original audition on The X Factor in 2010.
He went on to perform ‘Isn’t She Lovely’, the Stevie Wonder classic that helped launch his career when he sang it for judges Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh at the age of 16. Styles also jokingly recreated one of his memorable comments from the audition, telling the Madison Square Garden audience: “I work in a bakery.”
Watch footage of the performance below:
Full version of Harry singing Isn’t She Lovely as his 16 year old self on stage at Madison Square Garden in New York City – October 30 (via @idkallyne) pic.twitter.com/zPJfd31h3C
— HSD Together On Tour (@hsdtogethertour) October 31, 2026
The original audition saw Styles arrive as a teenager from Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, where he had been working part-time at a bakery.
Although viewers initially saw him perform Wonder’s 1976 hit a cappella, extended footage released by The X Factor in 2022 revealed that he had first attempted Train’s ‘Hey, Soul Sister’.
Cowell interrupted that performance and asked: “I don’t know whether it’s the track that’s throwing you, but can I hear something just you, without any music?”
Styles then sang ‘Isn’t She Lovely’, advancing to the next stage of the competition before eventually being brought together with Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson to form One Direction.
Revisit the original audition below:
The costume changes were part of Styles’ revived ‘Harryween’ tradition, which first saw him hold two special Halloween concerts at Madison Square Garden in 2021.
On the opening night that year, he dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard Of Oz and performed ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’, with his band dressed as other characters from the 1939 film.
The following evening, he wore an elaborate clown costume and covered Britney Spears‘ ‘Toxic’.
Styles continued the tradition in Los Angeles in 2022, when he dressed as Danny Zuko from Grease and covered Olivia Newton-John‘s ‘Hopelessly Devoted To You’.
The latest concert comes towards the end of Styles’ 30-night Madison Square Garden residency, which began in August as part of his ongoing ‘Together, Together’ world tour.
Earlier this week, he performed ‘Ever Since New York’ for the first time in four years, while the residency has also seen him pay tribute to his late One Direction bandmate Liam Payne with the new song ‘What Is Enough’.
The New York run concludes tonight (October 31) with a second ‘Harryween’ show, before Styles heads to Australia for concerts in Melbourne and Sydney in November and December.
The tour comes in support of his fourth solo album ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally’, which was released in March and received a four-star review from NME.
Reviewing the ‘Together, Together’ tour in Amsterdam in May, NME awarded the performance five stars, praising its sense of community and describing it as “a hopeful celebration of community and connection”.
Styles has also announced further tour dates for 2027, including additional Wembley Stadium concerts and support from Kylie Minogue, LCD Soundsystem and more.
