Ashton Kutcher Didn't Recognize Harry Styles When They Met At A Karaoke Party

Harry Styles has rocketed to worldwide fame as a pop star. His music career took off after his 2010 appearance on "The X Factor" when he was just 16 and he became a part of the group "One Direction." These days, he's breaking records as a solo artist. Born in 1994, Styles is a millennial, but he has a massive Gen Z audience thanks to his charm, good looks, and gender-fluid fashion — Styles' on-stage fashion game is on point. All of that is to say that while Styles is a very big deal for a lot of people, he might be more instantly recognizable to a younger generation, and not necessarily so well known to someone from Gen X, such as Ashton Kutcher.

Kutcher, perhaps best known for starring in "That '70s Show," was born in that same decade — in 1978 to be exact. So, we might be able to forgive him for not knowing he was talking to Styles at a karaoke party. After Styles took the mic to showcase his vocal prowess, Kutcher even went so far as to congratulate Styles on his singing, completely oblivious to who he was talking to.

Ashton Kutcher told Esquire that he legitimately had no idea he was in the presence of pop royalty when they attended the same karaoke party. At one point, Styles got on stage to sing an ABBA song. Kutcher didn't reveal what song it was, but he did say that he was super impressed by the "Watermelon Sugar" star's rendition. After Styles got done with his song, Kutcher said that he and his wife Mila Kunis said to him, "Man, I got to tell you something, you're a ringer. You're like a karaoke ringer. You're really good."

It sounds like Styles took it in stride and was super polite, never correcting Kutcher about the fact that he's actually a professional singer. "He goes, 'Thanks, man, thank you. I really appreciate that,'" Kutcher recalled. Classy move by Styles. Kutcher was so impressed by Styles' singing that he kept talking about it at the party, and that's when someone finally clued him into who Styles was.

When Ashton Kutcher raved about Harry Styles' karaoke performance to a friend at the party, the friend pointed out that of course Styles put on a good show — he's a professional singer. Kutcher couldn't believe how badly he'd put his foot in his mouth by congratulating Styles on his vocal skills. "Oh my god, now I feel like a jerk," Kutcher told Esquire. "He's a professional singer. And we're trying to tell him he's a good singer. And I, like, feel so dumb. So I just really want to say, I'm sorry Harry Styles."

Kutcher talked about the incident again on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," noting that he was basically a karaoke aficionado, so he knew good singing when he heard it. And Styles was good! He truly thought that Styles was making the rounds to karaoke spots. But even when he found out that it was Styles, Kutcher told Fallon he still didn't really know who that was. Sounds like pop culture just isn't Kutcher's thing. However, he's unlikely to make the same mistake again!