Chris Hyde/WireImageBritish boy band One Direction seems carefully engineered for the iPhone era, when we want our teen heartthrobs to be as compact, cleanly designed and aesthetically pleasing as possible. Together, the four British lads are stronger than the sum of their pop parts, forming a unified charm machine that few mortals can resist.
But in spite of the group's holistic perfection, member Harry Styles is breaking out of the pack and making headlines of his own.
His deadly good looks, his formidable voice, the accent—there's plenty to love from the get-go. But the real key to Harry's divine singularity may be an uncanny knack for making women of all ages see just "what makes them beautiful."
It started with his now-legendary fling (at age 17) with British X Factor host Caroline Flack, who was 15 years his senior at the time. Their romance rankled the hearts of hormonal tweens everywhere, many of whom reportedly sent Flack death threats.
Harry's preternatural powers also have been shown to bring marriages back from the brink. His affair with married 32-year-old radio deejay Lucy Horobin allegedly resulted in her decision to give her marriage another shot.
Is this barely legal lothario out to stage his own real-life run of The Graduate, hunting down helpless cougars and turning them into his own flock of Mrs. Robinsons?
We say no.
With his elfish good looks and impressive array of skinny jeans, he's more millennial Mick Jagger than Dustin Hoffman redux. We think he's giving fans exactly what they ought to demand from an 18-year-old who sings passionately about the universal themes of heartache and heartbreak: a real-life romantic track record.
In other words, for anyone who's complained about Justin Bieber being too inexperienced, here's your man. Er, your boy.