Halle Bailey was the IT girl of 2023. With her spectacular performance as Ariel in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, the debut of her solo music career and her becoming GLAMOUR’s Woman of the Year, Halle has taken the world by storm. Despite this, she has still managed to maintain a high level of privacy in her personal life. Most recently concealing her pregnancy and the birth of her son. She finally revealed this, after much speculation online, in January 2024.
Halle Bailey emerged onto the scene in 2015 with her sister in the RnB duo Chloe X Halle. This was when Beyoncé took notice of them covering her hit, “Pretty Hurts.” They then signed a record deal with Beyoncé’s label, Parkwood Entertainment. Under Beyoncé’s mentorship, Halle and Chloe released their debut album, “The Kids Are Alright” in 2018. The album was nominated for the Best Urban Contemporary Album category at the Grammy’s. This introduced to Halle the sort of world she would later experience in 2023.
Halle’s Career
In 2019, Disney announced Halle as Ariel in their live-action The Little Mermaid. While being met with some skepticism, Halle proved her critics wrong when the movie was released in May 2023. Alongside her co-stars, Halle received worldwide praise for her performance. According to Forbes, the movie made $118 million at it’s Memorial Day debut at the Box Office in the US. In the upcoming People’s Choice Awards, Halle is nominated for the Favourite Movie Actress award. Also nominated is Margot Robbie for Barbie and Viola Davis for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
In the whirlwind that followed The Little Mermaid, Halle proved how she was here and she was staying. Not only was she taking over the world as an actress but she wanted to remind people that she is first and foremost a musician.
In August, Halle released her first solo single, ‘Angel’. Her return to the music scene was met with praise and enthusiasm. Many found the lyrics of her song empowering and uplifting. ‘Angel’ was announced as a Grammy nominee in the Best RnB Song category at the 66th Awards, which will be held later this year. She is recognised alongside the likes of SZA for ‘Snooze’ and Victoria Monet ‘On My Mama’.
Halle’s Personal Achievements
In October, GLAMOUR Magazine honored Halle as their Woman of the Year. She appeared at the ceremony with her long-term boyfriend, rapper DDG. In her acceptance speech, she commented that she was “humbled” to be selected for this award while also feeling that she “pale[s] in comparison to more deserving women”. She finished her speech by stating that she accepts the award for the women who will work to build a better future for all humankind.
Despite all the attention Halle Bailey has received, she has still managed to maintain a high level of privacy. Following in the footsteps of Kylie Jenner, Halle was able to conceal her pregnancy from the media. Despite some speculation from fans online, it wasn’t until January 2024 that Halle announced on her social media that she had welcomed a son, Halo, with her boyfriend, DDG.
What’s to Come
2024 looks like it’s set to be another big year for Halle, with the release of her latest movie, The Colour Purple, already hitting the cinemas. The movie was released on Christmas Day in the US and is set to be released in the UK on the 26th January. This reimagined classic will showcase Halle as young Nettie Harris, the protagonist’s sister.
With the release of her single, ‘Angel’, there is lots of hype surrounding when Halle’s debut solo album will be announced. Billboard reported in September 2023 that the album would be coming “by the end of the year”. Clearly, fans are still waiting. But Halle will likely hint about the highly anticipated album soon, as she recently shared a clip of an unheard song on an Instagram post of her in an underwater maternity shoot she did.
To round off “The Year of Halle Bailey”, 2024 can look forward to many appearances of Halle at award shows. Most notably, the Grammy’s and The People’s Choice Awards. At these ceremonies, fans can hope Halle will gain the recognition she deserves, taking home the awards for the categories she has been nominated in. It will be unsurprising when many more nominations will come for Halle in the future.
Sam Beresford-Kay
February 1, 2024 at 10:39 pm
Very interesting and well written piece