Harry Styles Performs 'Songbird' In Touching Tribute To Late Christine McVie

Former One Direction member Harry Styles joins the growing list of celebrities to pay tribute to the late Fleetwood Mac music icon, Christine McVie. According to her family, the artist passed away on Wednesday after struggling with a brief undisclosed illness. Since then, fellow celebrities, including her former band members, have taken to social media to share their condolences.

McVie was particularly famous in the 1970s and '80s as a member of Fleetwood Mac. She was the writer/co-writer of half the band's "Greatest Hits" anthology released in 1988 with eight million copies sold. Some of her most popular songs include "Songbird," "You Make Loving Fun," "Say You Love Me," "Hold Me," "Little Lies," "Don't Stop," and several others.

Read on to learn more.

During his Thursday night show in Chile, Styles delivered a song tribute to McVie. The "Watermelon Sugar" singer performed "Songbird" in her honor, one of her known songs from Fleetwood Mac's 1977 album "Rumors." The piano ballad is one of McVie's tracks where she assumed vocal and songwriting duties.

Via a video taken by the audience, Styles was seen playing an acoustic guitar in his soulful rendering of the song. At the end of his performance, he blew a kiss to the sky and said, "Thank you, Christine." The Santiago, Chile show is the actor's latest stop in his "Love on Tour."

Styles is known to be a huge fan of Fleetwood Mac and, over the years has mentioned his love and lifelong admiration for the group. He revealed that as a child, one of the first tracks he learned was Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams."

Styles previously cited Fleetwood Mac as his inspiration for past solo musical efforts like his 2017 self-titled album. One Direction also covered the band's "The Chain" that same year for the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge. The performance went viral online and currently has over 32 million views on the platform.

The "As It Was" singer has also performed with Steve Nicks, the lead singer of Fleetwood Mac, on several occasions. They sang titles like "Stop Draggin' My Heart" and "Landslide." Styles was also the one who inducted the lead singer into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

Besides his recent song tribute, the artist honored McVie shortly after she passed by sharing a picture of her. The photo was posted on November 30 with the caption "RIP Christine McVie" with a black heart and a white dove emoji.

On Wednesday, the family of McVie announced that the keyboardist had passed on aged 79. The news was revealed on social media; however, her cause of death was not mentioned. The family stated that the singer passed on in the hospital after a "short illness" but did not indicate what hospital she was in.

In an earlier interview with Rolling Stone, McVie talked about her "quite bad health" and revealed that she suffered debilitating issues with her back. After her passing, a number of celebrities posted tributes to her online, including Mick Fleetwood.

In an Instagram post, he wrote, "Part of my heart has flown away today," the drummer wrote on Instagram. "This is a day where my dear sweet Friend Christine McVie has taken to flight… and left us, earthbound folks, to listen with bated breath to the sounds of that 'songbird,' reminding one and all that love is all around us to reach for and touch in this precious life that is gifted to us."

Due to how closely associated with McVie the song "Songbird" is, Styles' song of choice to honor the late singer is no surprise. The music is known for its moving lyrics and McVie's tender vocal performance on it. While explaining the experience of writing "Songbird," the artist revealed that it felt "spiritual."

According to McVie, she woke up in the middle of the night and began playing the song from front to back on her piano. At the time, no prior conceptualization or writing was laid out for the track. "Songbird" was recorded in the studio the very next day.

Styles recently concluded a short residency at the Los Angeles Kia Forum. Three shows were, however, postponed and will take place towards the end of January. The artist is currently in the middle of a short run of shows in South America and will be in Argentina and Brazil in the coming weeks.