HALSEY: THE BEAUTY OF BEING BAD

Since Astralwerks/Capitol's Halsey was featured as a New & Developing artist in HITS’ 2015 Q2 special, she’s made viral waves with generational anthem “New Americana” and released her critically acclaimed premiere full-length, Badlands, which debuted at #2 on the Album Sales Chart (behind only The Weeknd’s Beauty Behind the Madness). She’s featured on Justin Bieber’s “The Feeling”—a cut from potential Album of the Year contender Purpose, which had the second-biggest bow of 2015 (behind only Adele’s 25). And then there’s The Chainsmokers’ “Closer,” which went #1 at Pop radio, is approaching double-platinum status and has been #1 on Spotify’s global and U.S. charts for seven consecutive weeks at press time. The latter could very well be the Record of the Year, and it’s fair to say Halsey is having a record year, so why the hell is she talking to us?

Your rise over the last two years has been arguably meteoric. What have you learned along the way and how has your perception changed?
It’s been a quick year, and there were a lot of moments where I was incredibly overwhelmed. A lot of nights I thought to myself, “Can I really do this? Am I cut out for this?” I was filled with serious doubt. But every time I took a risk, it landed. I don’t know if the stars aligned or if I make smarter decisions than I realize, but, either way, it DID get easier. Like everyone told me it would. Just like any transitionary time in anyone’s life, it’s a matter of staying calm and believing in yourself. It helps that I have the coolest, most forgiving fans in the world as well.

Alex Morris delivered a moving and stark profile of you for Rolling Stone and reminded readers you are human, you have a past, you have uncertainties and deeply rooted feelings. What keeps you sane? And how do you stay motivated on the bad days?
I just remind myself that, despite the pressure to seem perfect, I am going to fail sometimes. It’s inevitable. And if I reconcile with my fans and my listeners, and show them that I am doing my very best to evolve and mature and grow, then the weight on my shoulders certainly becomes lighter. I like to remind myself how I felt about the bands I would die for in my adolescence; bands I would probably still die for today. I know what their art means to me and I like to think my fans feel the same about our relationship. It’s incredibly motivating.

When I reviewed your debut album, I called it an alternative electro-pop gem, a generational charter of sorts. What did you find most challenging and most invigorating about the Badlands recording/creative process
Thank you for your amazing words and your faith in something so new. The hardest thing about Badlands was trying to create my very first body of work. Trying to make something that was going to be the very best reflection of me. In my opinion, one of the hardest things about being an artist is the fear of being misunderstood when you’re leaving yourself so vulnerable. With Badlands I took on the very ambitious task of creating a concept album as my debut. I had to create a sonic landscape that accurately reflected my disintegrating mental state at the time of writing. Every sound was so carefully selected and crafted with almost scientific intensity to color in the world in which I lived, and it manifested itself as a wasteland, but one that I was capable of escaping. And that’s the win for me.

Which song are you most proud of and which song is your favorite to perform live?
I’m proud of every song in its own individual way. “Castle” is the most sonically visual song on the album—the opening scene to a post-apocalyptic adventure. “Colors” is a vulnerable cry for a lover, who’s fading to black and white. “Drive” is a virtual-reality experiment—the sound of seatbelt warning signs, the flash of the lights, the way the sound filters out and then launches back in, as we take you out of the car and then allow you to return to its claustrophobic space. “Roman Holiday” is a nostalgia-filled rush in the center of a meteor shower. And “New Americana” is the most complicated—a song about a generation that is the most self-aware and likely the most self-deprecating. Live, they all feel equally powerful. That’s the greatest thing about chasing an organic fan experience over radio play; my album is consumed as a whole more often than as individual singles, so every song is screamed by the crowd with the same intensity. It’s invigorating every night. But I will say this: As soon as I hear the first few notes of my opener, “Gasoline,” and I walk out to the crowd, I’m filled with an outrageous freedom as I shout my greatest insecurities and self-criticisms to a crowd that swears back that they will love me unconditionally.

A lot of your lyrics reflect a rebellious and self-governing nature. They can be quite empowering for young women. You shaved your head. You covered yourself in tattoos. You don’t really fit the “pop star” mold. What advice do you have for women trying to make it in your industry?
I think that’s the cool thing about the way music is progressing. Pop is taking a more alternative, intelligent shape. It’s dignified. Maybe it’s the nature of social media that compels us to bare our chest to the world, but whatever it is, it demands a greater amount of dignity from “pop stars.” Someone with a mission. With intent. I think, 99% of the time, when you read a success story from some massive star—be it a business person, an inventor, a scientist, a musician, a painter—they’ll always say that they “made it” because they followed their heart, despite what everyone told them. You rarely read, “Yeah, I followed my gut and, uh, I guess I was just super-wrong and should have just let everyone else control me.” And that’s because authenticity will always win. Hard work and authenticity, powered by a whole lot of passion, make for a nearly unbeatable formula. If you really believe in it, even when people who seem smarter than you, older than you, more experienced than you say, “Listen kid, I’ve done this before and it won’t work,” ignore them, because you could be the first to make it work. Trust yourself.

In the future, what direction do you see your music going in?
I’m writing my second album right now, and it’s taking a new form every day. I’m writing even more honest lyrics, if that’s even possible [laughs]. It’s very self-aware. I’ve had a lot of people try to tell me who they think I am this year. And I’ve taken their criticisms. Some of which I disagree with, and some that has made me self-reflect. I’m 22, so artist or not, I’m still evolving, and I further cement my identity every day. I’m experimenting with different influences and using my new perspective as a live performer. I wrote Badlands before I had really toured in front of my own fans. Now I think very carefully about the vibe I’m creating, because I want it to translate as intensely as possible in a live setting. I guess I just want to keep making people feel.

How important are the Grammys in your eyes? What would being recognized by the Grammys mean to you?
I’ve never really thought of it. I would love to be recognized by my peers in such a way. But really, it means just as much when I look into the audience performing at some fancy award show and I see an artist I love bopping their head to my song. Or when another performer tells me about the time my record soundtracked their latest road trip. I just want people to feel something. Plus, the first Grammy I ever held in my hand was at a songwriter’s house, and I dropped it and broke it on a wooden floor. So something tells me I might already be cursed. Let’s hope superstition is just that. In the meantime, I sleep at night knowing I made an album I will love for the rest of my life, Grammy or not. And that’s really something to be proud of.