Harry Styles and James Corden went “Harry’s House” hunting on the streets of New York to create a DIY music video for his hit single “Daylight.” In the “Late Late Show” segment, the longtime friends challenged themselves to scout a location, find props and costumes, and shoot the project in just three hours, on a measly $300 budget.
Known for his colorful, elaborately staged videos, Styles made up for limited circumstances with a rainbow striped shirt and matching necklace. Corden acted as the creative mastermind, despite having zero behind-the-camera experience.
“I’ve never directed a music video before, are you trusting me with this?” the late night host asked Styles, who replied with a dubious smile.
The duo took to knocking on the doors of Brooklyn homes, hoping a kind stranger would lend them a shooting location. After being turned down a few times by people who didn’t seem to recognize them, they found what they were looking for in an apartment belonging to four young women.
Finding James Corden on the other side of their door was one thing, but when Styles stepped out they dissolved into shocked laughter. “I mean, way bigger reaction than mine,” Corden jokingly said into the camera. “Way bigger. Way bigger reaction!”
After touring the apartment, they got to work assembling silly props and costumes, like an oversized bow and gold hats. Corden advised one of the women to hide her sizable collection of Harry Styles and One Direction merch.
For the first shot, Corden directed Styles to lay down in a bath tub and sing the chorus while different colors flashed across his face.
“I want this to be like, sexy as f–k, okay?” Corden instructed Styles, who could barely suppress his laughter.
“I can’t stress this enough: this was all James’ idea,” said Styles in a confessional-style shot. “Should we just scrap it? Is it too late to just do Carpool Karaoke?”
In another comical moment, Corden, Styles and the women broke their landlord’s rules and filmed on the roof of the apartment. Corden donned a full green-screen body suit so he could orchestrate some “special effects.”
“Is that a box?” Styles asked, gesturing towards Corden’s crotch. “Yes, you’re not allowed to show the outline of a phallus on CBS, okay?” Corden volleyed back without missing a beat.
Near the end of the video, Styles danced with a group of screaming fans (who Corden jokingly threatened to “taze” if they couldn’t calm down) and brought them all pizza.
At the very end of the segment, the “Daylight” music video aired in full. If Corden really was behind the camera, perhaps he has a future in music video direction after he leaves the “Late Late Show” – that is, if Harry will have him.
