Harry Styles announced the title of his third studio album as Harry's House on 23 March 2022, unveiling its artwork, a 40-second trailer and the album's release date as 20 May 2022.[2]
In an interview with Zane Lowe after the album's release, Styles spoke about the title and why he wrote the song:
"I had an experience with someone where, in getting to know them better, they revealed some stuff to me that was very much like 'Oh, that's not normal, like I think you should maybe get some help or something.'This song was inspired by that experience and person, who I kind of disguised as Matilda from the Roald Dahlbook. I played it to a couple of friends and all of them cried. So I was like, 'Okay, I think this is something to pay attention to.' It's a weird one, because with something like this, it's like, 'I want to give you something, I want to support you in some way, but it's not necessarily my place to make it about me because it's not my experience.' Sometimes it's just about listening. I hope that's what I did here. If nothing else, it just says, 'I was listening to you'".[3]
Critical reception
The song received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise being given to its lyrical content.[4] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone described it as the "centerpiece of the album".[5]
Commercial performance
Following the release of its parent album Harry's House, "Matilda" entered at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 dated 4 June 2022, becoming one of the four top-ten entries; the others being "As It Was", "Late Night Talking" and "Music for a Sushi Restaurant" which peaked at numbers one, three and eight, respectively.[6][7]
