Harry Styles Sang Britney Spears’ “Toxic” During His Harryween Show

Baby, can’t you see? A guy like Harry Styles should be a warning — except he gave no warning for the Halloween surprise he had in store for his fans. The “Adore You” singer covered Britney Spears’ hit “Toxic” for his second “Harryween” Fancy Dress Party concert at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Oct. 31, and fans were not prepared for the epic crossover.

Rather than speak about Spears or the song itself, Styles kicked off the performance with a surprise song of his own. The singer played “Medicine,” an unreleased song that he played often on his 2018 tour. The band then smoothly transitioned into “Toxic,” which caught fans off-guard, judging by the loud applause as they finally realized what he was performing (at the 3:15 mark in the video below). While some of his vocals were strained, Styles performed the cover with all of his energy, running across the stage and gyrating for the audience as the song slowed down.

Leading up to the second night of Harryween, Styles’ stylist Harry Lambert changed his Twitter header to a vintage photo of Spears carrying tons of shopping bags at Disney World. Fans believed this was a hint that Styles would wear a Spears costume, after dressing as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz for his first Halloween show. Instead, he showed up onstage in a glam clown costume, which made some fans feel like clowns themselves. However, the Spears hint was not in vain.

Styles covering Spears at Madison Square Garden is actually serendipitous. As pointed out by fans on Twitter, the singer was asked what his favorite Spears song was during a Q&A with fans at the Garden during his 2018 solo tour. Initially, he refused to answer, saying “there’s just too many good ones to choose from” before declaring “Toxic, probably.” Three years later, he performed “Toxic” at the same venue.