Harry Styles Revives 'X Factor' Outfit for Harryween Stevie Wonder Cover

Harry Styles performed Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, wearing the same outfit he wore at his "X Factor" audition at age 16. The cover marked the return of Harryween, his costumed Halloween tradition, at the penultimate concert of his 30-night "Together, Together" residency at the venue.

Earlier in the night, Styles appeared in a full Elvis costume. His band and dancers dressed as various iterations of Styles from across his career. For the surprise cover — a fixture of his shows — he instead reached back to his own beginnings.

The song choice carried direct personal meaning. Styles auditioned for "The X Factor" with "Isn't She Lovely," and on Friday he performed it in the clothes he wore to that audition, nodding to his 16-year-old self.

Fans had spent days anticipating the first surprise song of the weekend. On Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the final non-Harryween concert of the residency, Styles played "Ever Since New York" for the first time in four years.

What does Harryween's history tell us?

Five years have passed since Styles last hosted Harryween in New York City. In 2021, he performed two Halloween shows at Madison Square Garden. For the first, he appeared as Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" while his band dressed as other characters from the film. He clicked his heels and covered "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

The second 2021 night took a Britney Spears turn. Styles stepped onstage in an elaborate white ruffle clown costume, with his band in colorful variations of the circus look. He then covered Spears's "Toxic" — a choice that brought MSG, as Billboard reported, to its knees, even if "Circus" seemed the more obvious fit.

In 2022, Styles brought Harryween to the West Coast. At the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, he dressed as Danny Zuko and performed Olivia Newton-John's Grease classic "Hopelessly Devoted To You," while his band transformed into the rest of the film's cast.

What comes next?

Harryween continues on Halloween night, which also serves as the grand finale of the "Together, Together" residency. Styles has kept the tradition of an unannounced cover alive through every edition, from Judy Garland to Newton-John to Spears to Stevie Wonder.

For an artist who has built his live reputation on theatrical reinvention, the question for Friday's closing night is not whether he will cover a song, but whose catalog he will borrow next — and what costume will carry the final bow.