The “As It Was” singer ended his historic 15-night run of sellouts at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, and the iconic entertainment venue raised a banner to the rafters commemorating Styles’ “Love on Tour” residency that began on Aug. 20, Variety reported.
Styles took days off in between performances in New York to appear at film festivals in Toronto and Venice, Rolling Stone reported. For the final show in the Big Apple, Madison Square Garden left feather boas in every seat.
CBS host Gayle King presented Styles with his banner in a surprise ceremony during the encore, right after he sang “Sign of the Times,” Rolling Stone reported.
“Harry, we don’t want to say good night to you,” King said as the banner was hoisted to the rafters.
Styles, overcome with emotion, told the crowd, “Any time that you come to Madison Square Garden and you see that, remember it’s because of you. That is ours.”
The 28-year-old singer joins Billy Joel and Phish in the rafters of MSG, which seats more than 18,000, Variety reported. Joel has two banners -- one for his 129 shows there, and another for the 83 shows of his monthly residency, according to Rolling Stone. He played the Garden on Aug. 24 when Styles was away and told the audience, “I’d like to thank Harry Styles for taking a night off.”
Phish received its banner in 2017 after playing 13 consecutive sold-out shows, according to the magazine.
Most of the banners at the Garden recognize sporting legends who have competed there, such as Walt Frazier, Patrick Ewing, Bill Bradley and Mark Messier.
“Selling out 15 consecutive nights at Madison Square Garden is a massive accomplishment and reinforces Harry Styles as one of the most impactful artists of his generation,” Jim Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of MSG Entertainment, said in a statement. “It is a testament to Harry and his fans that a banner celebrating this remarkable achievement will hang from the rafters alongside some of the most legendary artists and athletes in history. Harry has already headlined The World’s Most Famous Arena several times in his skyrocketing career, and we’re honored that MSG was Harry’s House for these 15 incredible nights.”
Styles’ smash single, “As It Was,” just finished its 14th consecutive week at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 chart. It is the fourth-longest run at No. 1 in Billboard pop singles’ history. Lil Nas X holds the record with “Old Town Road,” which topped the charts for 19 weeks, according to Rolling Stone.