Ashton Kutcher once told Harry Styles that he was “really good” at karaoke – not realizing that he was already a famous singer.
The actor, 44, revealed the embarrassing story in a new interview with Esquire, sharing that he and his wife, Mila Kunis, were with “an extraordinarily well-known singer, that is maybe the best singer today” at a party hosted by their neighbor.
While there, Styles, 29, got up to sing an ABBA song.
“I’m like, ‘Oh my God. It’s bananas,’” Kutcher remembered. “So this kid gets off stage, and Mila and I go up to him. And we’re like, ‘Man, I got to tell you something, you’re a ringer. You’re like a karaoke ringer. You’re really good … like, really good.’”
The “As It Was” singer graciously ignored the social gaffe.
“He’s like, ‘Thanks, man. Thank you, I really appreciate that.’ So we go to our friend and we go, ‘God, that guy was really good, huh?’ And they’re like, ‘It’s Harry Styles,’” Kutcher recalled.
“And I was like, ‘Who’s that?’ Mila’s like, ‘It’s the guy from the boy band. He’s a professional singer,’” the “That ’70s Show” alum added, admitting he felt like “a jerk” after the fact.
“He’s a professional singer. And we’re trying to tell him he’s a good singer. And I feel so dumb. So I just really want to say, I’m sorry Harry Styles, but you’re really good at karaoke, man. Seriously, like really good.”
As Kutcher very well knows now, Styles eventually graduated from performing at Hollywood karaoke shindigs and with his One Direction bandmates to launch an extraordinarily successful solo singing career.
The “Watermelon Sugar” singer is nominated for six 2023 Grammy Awards and is set to perform at the annual awards show in Los Angeles this weekend.