Earlier last month, Halsey made a memorable return to the VMA stage with a performance of her new song “Ego.” Channeling major early 2000s nostalgia, the stage included band equipment in a cozy, suburban home garage and Y2K-inspired fashion. This marked Halsey’s first VMA performance since 2016, when they teamed up with The Chainsmokers on their chart-topping hit “Closer.”
“Ego,” one of the five latest singles released by Halsey, provides a glimpse into the singer’s 5th studio album, The Great Impersonator, set to be released on October 25th.
Ashley Frangipane, commonly known as Halsey, is a singer and songwriter known for their pop hits “Without Me” and “Bad at Love.” The 2024 album comes three years after her previous album If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, which included hits such as “I am not a woman, I’m a god” and “Nightmare.” The Great Impersonator, produced under her new label, Columbia Records, will consist of eighteen songs.
With five songs already released, award show performances, and social media teases, Halsey’s new album appears to be deeply personal while drawing inspiration from numerous artists.
Health Battles Reflected in Her Lyrics
“Every couple of years now, a doctor says I’m sick
Pulls out a brand-new bag of tricks and then they lay it on me.
So, I ran into the clinic and I asked to see the man
With his white coat and his stethoscope like a snake around his hand”
Halsey “The End”
Earlier this summer, after Halsey released “The End,” the first promotional track of the new album, she revealed that she was previously diagnosed with Lupus SLE and a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder.
In an Instagram post, Halsey wrote: “I realize everyone is catching up with news I’ve held in for a very long time, and I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to share. You’ve all been so kind, so I want to share a bit more.” Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that can affect many different parts of the human body. The illness occurs when the body’s immune system attacks healthy tissues. Many celebrities and fans left messages filled with love and support on the social media post.
Unfortunately, Lupus is not the first health challenge that the singer has faced. Following a miscarriage in 2016, Halsey was diagnosed with endometriosis, another painful chronic condition where tissue grows outside of the uterus. Halsey has also been candid about living with bipolar disorder, weaving her personal struggles into her music and storytelling.
Halsey shared raw, vulnerable footage of her undergoing hospital treatments, taking medication, and breaking down in tears, captioning it with, “Long story short, I’m Lucky to be alive. Short story long, I wrote an album. it begins with The End. out now.” In the song “The End,” Halsey describes themselves as “damaged goods” and sings that they have “poison” in their brain and blood.
Her health struggles also appear in a few other songs off the new album. In “I Never Loved You,” Halsey writes about a hospital, a track she revealed in an interview with PopCrush was inspired by the show Grey’s Anatomy. Her other song, “Lucky,” has a few lines about having to shave her head after getting sick and leaving the doctor’s office in tears. The “Lucky” music video also includes clips of Halsey receiving medical treatment.
The Britney Spears’ Song Halsey Sampled
While Halsey has inspired countless fans with her honest and catchy songwriting, The Great Impersonator draws heavily from some of the singer’s own biggest influences. Speaking of the song “Lucky,” the new track samples Britney Spears’ 2000s song of the same name. Spears’ song tells the story of a celebrity who has it all—fame, fortune, beauty—but in reality, she is quite unhappy and lonely. Halsey also expresses these feelings in another one of her songs, “Alone.” In July, Halsey wrote on X: “When I was 5, it always felt like Britney was singing directly to me. 24 years later, these words hit different. love you forever.”
The Celebrities and Songs That Have Inspired The Great Impersonator
But Britney is not the only famous artist that has inspired Halsey’s upcoming album. In the lead-up to the album’s release, Halsey has been sharing Instagram posts where she recreates iconic looks and photographs of legendary singers such as David Bowie, Dolly Parton, Cher, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Kate Bush, and many more.
She also shares audio clips from the new album that are influenced by these artists. It is impressive how accurate their photo recreations have been, with one fan even commenting, “My brain cannot comprehend how she’s able to look like every person she’s been impersonating.” This is evident in Halsey’s impersonation of David Bowie, in which she recreates his two different-colored eyes.
In an Instagram video, Halsey questions, “What if I debuted in the early 2000s? The ’90s? The ’80s? The ’70s?” This question encourages listeners to imagine how her music might have sounded in these different eras. It is clear that Halsey’s favorite singers and bands from her childhood will play a large part in the sound of her album. For fans who have been following the New Jersey-born singer for years, Halsey even revealed that they would be creating a song based on their first album, Badlands.
Thankfully, Halsey appears to be in better health as she starred in the horror flick MaXXXine earlier this summer and continues to release promo for The Great Impersonator. With influences spanning various artists, genres, and decades, combined with her honest storytelling, the album promises something for everyone. The Great Impersonator drops on October 25th. You can pre-save it now on Spotify.
