Fans of Harry Styles — or more specifically, fans of his voice — were left alarmed on May 11 when the star appeared at the 2021 Brit Awards. While accepting an honor for his song, "Watermelon Sugar," the star may have looked dapper. But those watching (and listening) noticed something surprising. 

Styles, who "has long been known for his thick northern English accent from the county of Chesire, where he grew up," according to Us Weekly, wasn't sounding very British during his speech. At least, not according to fans. "WHY has northern king Harry Styles just accepted his award in an American accent," one asked on Twitter. Another tweeted, "Harry Styles speaking with an American accent shocked me to the core." A third asked, "Has Harry Styles set his accent to 'shuffle'?" Meanwhile, some people were simply unimpressed. As a fourth tweeted, "harry styles losing his accent is tragic if he starts sounding any more American, I'm taking his poster off my wall."

While we can't quite confirm why Styles may be sounding different, Us Weekly noted that some people are "worried that an overzealous dialect coach could be to blame ... while others thought he might have been trying to sound 'American' on purpose." Perhaps it's for a new movie role? Perhaps he just had an off (or American-sounding) day? The mind reels. 

Styles hasn't yet addressed the accent issue, so we'll just have to wait to see (or rather, hear) what happens.

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