Harry Styles is in the midst of promoting his new album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, occasionally, the former One Direction member’s return to music. With this album, the artist pays homage to himself, addressing the demons that drove him away from music, as well as how his pursuit of positivity helped him believe in himself enough to make a comeback. The single Aperture reveals the pop star’s deepest inner self after years of darkness.

Amid his hectic schedule promoting his new album, Harry Styles also made an appearance at the BBC Radio 1 Auditorium. He performed four of his new songs and covered a massive hit by Tears for Fears from the 1980s: Everybody Wants to Rule the World. His cover of this legendary song immediately won over the audience: over 700,000 views on YouTube in just a few hours and dozens of enthusiastic comments on social media.

The meaning of Everybody Wants to Rule the World

A timeless track that garnered significant acclaim and success in the 1980s, Tears For Fears’ most iconic song is now enjoying a new lease of life thanks to Harry Styles’ cover during his session on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World is a song written during the Cold War. At the time, the British new wave band wanted to send a powerful message against warlords and the kind of power that wears people down and kills them. They could never have imagined that song would still be relevant today.

It will be 41 years old in a few days; Everybody Wants to Rule the World was released on 22 March 1985, and the song is enjoying a musical renaissance thanks to Harry Styles’ cover: a version that remains very faithful to the original but is enhanced by brass riffs, electric guitar, and saxophone. The British artist’s voice is perfect for bringing out the best in this track, even though it is not an easy song to sing.

The song came about by chance: Tears for Fears needed one last track to round off the album Song From The Big Chair. There was some debate within the band about whether to release it – some members weren’t convinced – but it went on to become a worldwide hit.

Curt Smith, lead singer of Tears For Fears, has explained in several interviews how the song’s meaning symbolises the thirst for power: once you’ve entered a sort of tunnel, there’s no turning back. It speaks of the consequences of an obsession with power, of war, and of the severe forms of poverty it leaves in its wake amongst the affected populations. The lyrics are timeless, too. The song is sadly relevant today, with a geopolitical situation that has deteriorated and is worse than in the 1980s.

Great covers of Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Tears for Fears’ iconic track is among the most-covered songs of all time. Harry Styles’ version has his fans buzzing with excitement, and they can’t wait to sing along at the many concerts the artist will be performing around the world this year.

Among the most notable renditions of Everybody Wants to Rule the World is Lorde’s; the New Zealand singer’s version appears on the soundtrack to The Hunger Games. And then there’s Patti Smith and Weezer; there’s even a sublime version by Gloria Gaynor. The queen of disco performed it in her own style live in 1988 at an international music festival.

Harry Styles, his new songs featured on BBC Radio 1

These are very special days marking the global release of the album Kiss All the Time, Disco. Occasionally, Harry Styles’s grand comeback. On 7 March 2026, a concert in Manchester featured the artist performing and presenting 12 tracks from his new album to his fans.

Yesterday, 12 March, the pop star performed four of the main tracks from the newly released album. In the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, Styles sang Aperture, American Girls, Dance No More and Carla’s Song. He then treated fans to a surprise cover of the Tears for Fears hit, which they are hoping to hear at the concerts scheduled for this summer. 

As for upcoming live dates: Styles will be touring the world, from Amsterdam to London, Mexico City, São Paulo, New York, and Sydney.