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Harry Styles' dancers say their turntable went the wrong way during Grammys performance

Harry Styles' back-up dancers were dismayed to discover that the turntable they were meant to perform on top of during the Grammy Awards was suddenly not the same as it was.

Styles, who ultimately won Album of the Year for Harry's House, performed the hit single off that album, "As It Was," live on the Grammys stage Sunday night. But things did not go according to plan, say his dancers, who have started posting on social media about the turntable they were dancing on malfunctioning and spinning the wrong direction.

"What you don't know is that the moment the curtain opened and it was time to perform, our turntable started spinning in reverse," said dancer Brandon Mathis in an Instagram story. "Backwards. Freaking all of us out on live television, and there was nothing we could do to stop it. In real time, we had to troubleshoot and try to do a complete piece in reverse. Talk about professionalism."

Another dancer, Dexter, got more in-depth about the situation on TikTok, explaining that the dancers had rehearsed the number for 10 days to get the choreography on the moving turntable down to a precise art.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 05: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Harry Styles performs during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Timothy Norris/FilmMagic)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 05: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Harry Styles performs during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Timothy Norris/FilmMagic)

"We rehearsed for 10 days getting down these beautiful formations and sliding off the table in a roll-off and just making this incredible, morphing, cool artistic s--- and Harry did such a good job integrating into it," Dexter said. "This whole time were were practicing it with the turntable turning counterclockwise. It was difficult and it was frustrating making those patterns while something's moving and having all this spatial awareness. At dress rehearsal, it was gorgeous, it was amazing. We get on stage for the performance, the performance starts and the turntable starts going the wrong way."

Dexter added that the dancers tried to get the attention of the technician under their breath to inform them that the turnable was going the wrong direction, but their efforts were to no avail. "To switch all those patterns around on the spot, having not even walked in that direction, it sounds easy," the dancer said. "Since it's circular, it pulls you in different directions and is such a special type of balance. We got accustomed to one way, and it was the opposite way. So, luckily we worked together and did our best and got to one cool formation in time for the overhead shot but had to change the rest."

The performance was markedly low-key for Styles, with many on social media or reviewing the show commenting on his surprisingly low-energy performance. But it seems Styles and his dancers were just doing trying to make the best of a bad situation.

"Harry did his best to be able to walk and reverse everything while he was singing and reverse his entire duet," explained Dexter. "Unfortunately, news outlets didn't know what was happening so they called it lethargic or boring or whatever, but it really was that we're just trying to f--ing stay standing."

EW has reached out to Harry Styles' representatives for comment.

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