Alex Gaskarth says Harry Styles "nailed it" on comment about young women as music fans

April 19, 2017

A new Rolling Stone interview with Harry Styles chronicles the singer's course over the past year after his famed boy band, One Direction, announced an indefinite hiatus.

Styles just announced his debut solo album, Harry Styles, and dropped the lead single, “Sign Of The Times,” an announcement he commemorated with a performance on Saturday Night Live.

At one point in the article, the writer asks Styles' about his younger fan base, to which he replies, “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?”

Here's the full excerpt:

“Styles is aware that his largest audience so far has been young—often teenage—women. Asked if he spends pressure-filled evenings worried about proving credibility to an older crowd, Styles grows animated. “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? That's not up to you to say. Music is something that's always changing. There's no goal posts. Young girls like the Beatles. You gonna tell me they're not serious? How can you say young girls don't get it? They're our future. Our future doctors, lawyers, mothers, presidents, they kind of keep the world going. Teenage-girl fans—they don't lie. If they like you, they're there. They don't act 'too cool.' They like you, and they tell you. Which is sick.”

Katherine Speller‏ took a screenshot of the excerpt and tweeted it, saying, “My kink is Harry Styles respecting teen girls and their pure unironic enjoyment of things, thank you.”

My kink is Harry Styles respecting teen girls and their pure unironic enjoyment of things, thank u. pic.twitter.com/pY9GZYQWeQ

— katherine speller (@Kathriller) April 18, 2017

All Time Low's Alex Gaskarth joined the conversation, retweeting the post with the caption, “He nailed it.”

He nailed it. https://t.co/xf6x9Ii3gx

— Alexander William (@AlexAllTimeLow) April 18, 2017

He elaborated in another tweet, “Been asked questions like this before: Do we worry that some of our fanbase is young, etc. as if it carries some kind of negative connotation.”

Been asked questions like this before:Do we worry that some of our fanbase is young, etc. as if it carries some kind of negative connotation

— Alexander William (@AlexAllTimeLow) April 18, 2017

Fans continued the conversation with Gaskarth:

@AlexAllTimeLow Young or old, fans are fans!
Just shows that we all enjoy the same sound. Kudos to young people who have good taste in music! ��

— Crazy Beautiful (@KindaCrazyIcy) April 18, 2017

100% — All about enjoying a tune. Nothing else matters. 🙂 https://t.co/Iua3PHbHk6

— Alexander William (@AlexAllTimeLow) April 18, 2017

@AlexAllTimeLow I'm 33 and a fan. Saw you in Manchester with my son. We both loved it. Great music has no bias.

— Carla Nelson (@carlalouisenel) April 18, 2017