Harry Styles drank water out of his shoe at a live performance in Perth to honour a bizarre Australian drinking tradition.
On Monday, the singer kicked off the Australian leg of his Love on Tour world gigs in the country’s Western capital.
In between songs, Grammy-winner Styles brought a fan on stage and asked him if he had even done a “shoey” – a drinking tradition where a person drinks something out of their shoe. Fans at concerts in Australia sometimes chant “shoey, shoey!” at the artist in the hope they take part in the tradition.
According to Perth Now, the singer said if the man did a shoey, he would too.
Styles, 29, who won four gongs at the recent Brit Awards, stuck to his promise later in the evening – taking off his show and pouring water in it from a bottle.
Harry Styles does Australian tradition Shoey, drinking out of his shoe at his concert in Perth. pic.twitter.com/zmtPh28ZQ3
— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 20, 2023
Styles said it was one of the “most disgusting traditions I’ve ever heard of,” as he threw his head back and drank before pouring the rest of the water onto his face.
Numerous recordings of the event have been posted to Twitter.
And it seems it wasn’t just Styles who found the act disgusting, with scores of fans saying the move made them feel “nauseous.”
“Tradition or not, that s*** is nasty,” one wrote.
“No this actually made me nauseous, this is so vile,” said another.
Styles said post-shoey: “I feel like a different person. I feel ashamed of myself. It feels so personal. Such an intimate moment to be shared with so many people. I’ll be discussing this with my therapist at length.”
Earlier this month, Styles dominated the Brit Awards, winning all four of the awards he was nominated for.
Styles claimed the gongs for album of the year, song of the year for the chart-topping As It Was, artist of the year and best pop/R&B act.
The star used his speeches to acknowledge his “privilege” and namecheck the female artists who were absent from the best artist category this year.
The event faced a backlash this year, its second with gender-neutral categories, after the best artist list featured only male artists – Central Cee, Fred Again, George Ezra, Stormzy and Styles. This was despite an increase in female artists or all-women groups across the board.
While on stage, Styles namechecked Charli XCX, Rina Sawayama, Mabel, Florence + The Machine and Becky Hill – all female acts who might have been tapped for the award.
In an apparent reference to the online backlash to comments he made at the Grammys last weekend, he added that he was “very aware of my privilege up here tonight”. While accepting the Grammy for best album, he said onstage: “This doesn’t happen to people like me very often,” prompting some to comment that artists from diverse backgrounds such as Beyonce have faced more obstacles to success.
He also thanked his family and his former One Direction bandmates, saying: “I wouldn’t be here without you.”
