Styles admitted he still struggles to talk about the death of Payne, who he described as a “super special person”.
He also said he found it challenging to acknowledge how other people “kind of own part of your grief” and he was aware of a “desire” for his feelings to be conveyed otherwise they would be questioned.
In January, the singer ended the nearly four year wait for new music when he released Aperture – the lead single of his upcoming fourth album.
Up until then, he had been taking a break from the spotlight after wrapping his Love On Tour shows in summer 2023.
The well-earned rest came after Styles spent over a decade touring and releasing music, first with One Direction and later as a solo artist when he launched his own career in 2017.
Reflecting on his musical influences, he told Lowe some of his favourite musical moments are when you’re listening to an artist “discover themselves”.
“I think the thing that makes someone like an artist, is letting them watch you be an ordinary person,” he said.
“It’s not about being ‘I am this mystic thing’.
“I think the difference is we’re all ordinary people and there’s some people who let other people watch you be an ordinary person.
“And I think that is kind of the key in a lot of ways – for me anyway.”
