A case of mistaken identity? Stevie Nicks flubbed what was intended to be a compliment toward Harry Styles by suggesting that the former boy bander was a member of ‘NSync, rather than One Direction.
The “Sign of the Times” crooner, 25, presented the Fleetwood Mac songstress, 70, with her honor at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Friday, March 29. She later was asked to explain her bond with the young singer. “What I really loved about Harry was that when he decided to make a solo record from ‘NSync … he chose to make ‘NSync,” she began before correcting herself. “Sorry, not ‘NSync.”
She quipped: “Sorry. I’m never going to live that one down, I know it. One Direction. Well, I liked One Direction too.”
Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Niall Horan made up One Direction before the band went on hiatus in 2016 to pursue solo projects. They formed during season 7 of The X Factor in 2010.
Meanwhile, ‘NSync’s members included Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick. The boy band was highly successful during their late ‘90s to early ‘00s run.
After the slipup, Nicks went on to laud Styles. “He will still be around in 30 or 40 years. He’ll still be doing [music] just like I have continued to do it,” she told reporters. “He’ll still be rocking it across the country when he’s, you know, 60, 70, 50, 40.”
The Dunkirk actor proved he’s even more of a fan of his counterpart while presenting to her. “She is forever current. She is forever Stevie, but what exactly does that mean?” he said to the audience. “In my family, we listened at home, we listened in the car, we listened wherever we could. ‘Dreams’ was the first song that I knew all the words to, before I really knew what all the words meant.”
He added: “She is so much more than a role model. She’s a beacon to all of us. Whenever you hear her voice, life gets just a little bit better. When she sings, the world is hers, and it is yours. She is everything you’ve ever wanted in a lady, in a lover, in a friend. Stephanie Nicks, I love you. We all do. And that is true, Stevie.”
With reporting by Leanne Aciz-Stanton and Lexi Ciccone
