Here’s why you should be listening to Halsey
Halsey: Remember this name because you will soon fall in love with it and with its owner. Sorry, it’s unavoidable. Now, you probably want to know who this “Halsey” is.
Well, Halsey is a 20-year-old singer/songwriter from New Jersey. Halsey writes songs about sex, love, and sadness that have a pop/alternative sound. She describes herself as edgy, honest, and mainly a writer, and first released songs through Soundcloud under her true name, Ashley Frangipane.
Halsey’s first song that gained attention was a parody of Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble When You Walked In,” which she put on YouTube in 2012:
In this parody, she re-wrote the lyrics so the song would be about Haylor (which is the ship name of Taylor Swift + Harry Styles). After this, she began to write and record more and more, gaining a much larger fanbase and beginning the “Halsey” project. Then, in 2014, Halsey was signed to Capitol Records, and it all began.
After being signed, she put out an EP; Room 93. Room 93 was a beautifully written EP, with songs about her life in hotel rooms and the relationships that were formed in them. It featured the 5 songs: “Trouble” (stripped), “Ghost,” “Empty Gold,” “Hurricane,” and (my personal favorite) “Is There Somewhere”; all written and recorded by Halsey. Suddenly, in just a few months, she went from releasing an EP to selling out a headlining tour, and being one of the most talked about artists at SWSX 2015. All this might make it a little, or very, hard to believe that all she has out is an EP! But don’t worry; in a recent interview, Halsey said that she hasn’t “quite said all she wanted to” and plans to release her debut album Badlands in August of this year, along with a tour!
And if her music wasn’t enough for you to fall in love, wait until you check out her style/personality/boyfriend. I mean, she is truly the definition of #goals. Her style is very, very ’90s! And by ’90s, I mean overalls, scrunchies, glitter, and snapbacks (the real deal). Oh, and have I mentioned the hair: THE HAIR IS EVERYTHING! She’s had pink, purple, silver, brown, black, blonde, and currently has blue with a bit of yellow in it.
When asked what her favorite color was she said, “Blue. I love blue everything!” She even started a hashtag on twitter, #blueforHalsey, where fans showed their Halsey-inspired hair.
Halsey shares a beautiful bond with her fans and is always connecting with them through social media, meet and greets, or just through her lyrics. She is truly grateful and loving towards them, and it’s truly a great thing to see. One of her fans is her very own boyfriend, Lido. Lido is also an amazingly talented artist, and they work in the studio together quite a bit. She posts quite a bit about him, and when asked what’s the definition of love, she responded, “It’s like I have a shaken up bottle of soda inside my stomach and I’m constantly on the verge of exploding all the time.” Um, relationship goals!
So, down to business: Why do people love Halsey? It’s simple, really — what’s not to love? She’s never afraid of being herself, and her music and reason for fame (a Haylor tribute!) are a big “F*** you” to gender barriers and stereotypes in the music industry. Like us, she struggles with image, and everyday life. Like us, she cries every once in a while and that’s real. Also, she throws, quite possibly, the greatest show you will ever see. A show that guarantees bright lights, goosebumps, and an amazing time! I absolutely cannot wait to see what lies ahead in her career, and feel blessed to have been able to follow the journey so far. After learning more about her, you, like me, will be singing, “I’m sorry but I fell in love tonight. I didn’t mean to fall in love tonight.”
Want to see more of Halsey? Follow her social media accounts: Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter. Keep up with her tour and future releases on her official website. We love everything she’s done so far, and are so excited for her new album, out today.
Marisa Gomez is from Anaheim, California aka where No Doubt was formed and where Disneyland is. She enjoys concerts, baseball, candid pictures, vintage style, and anything Disney. Most of all, she loves writing and boys in baseball uniforms.
