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Halsey: Catch Her Light
Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, popularly known as Halsey
is an American songwriter and singer whose honest angst about
authenticity and musings about life is palpable in every line of her
songs. In a heartbeat, she is both young and old telling stories of
where she was and will be in the future.
History
Born on
September 29, 1994 to an African American father and an Italian American
mother, her biracial roots tug and makes for an interesting individual.
Her early years in New Jersey, where she was born was spent learning
and being exposed to violin, viola and the cello. By the time she was
14, she was holding her first acoustic guitar and learning to play a
Taylor Swift’s song Fifteen.
The next
couple of years were a string of highs and lows for the singer who was
diagnosed to have bipolar disorder when she was between 16-17 years old.
At 18, with no money to pay rent, Halsey turned to music, playing at
various gigs in numerous cities, but with different professional names.
It was only when she lived on Halsey Street in Brooklyn that she decided
to use Halsey as a stage name, which is also an anagram of her moniker
Ashley.
Her struggles
with her bipolar disorder and family finances made her an unexpectedly
rare individual caught in the midst of unconventionality and mediocrity.
Her lifestyle was etched in wild bohemian fashion, and she lived the
life of drugs, sex and confusion before she even turned 18.
Early Career
Halsey’s
career started when she begun uploading her songs to YouTube under her
own name. In 2012, she got her much needed break with The Haylor Song, a parody of Taylor Swift’s video I Knew You Were Trouble. Two years later, Halsey recorded Ghost in 2012, which she posted in Soundcloud.
Described as
an electropop track, the song was received positively by the public. The
buzz generated by the song opened up a record deal with Astralwerks
record label, and led to the release of Room 93 EP on October 27, 2014.
Additional videos for Ghost and Hurricane were also added, along with 2
other videos for the album’s five songs.
The year 2014 saw Halsey
going on tour with the Kooks all around the cities across the USA.
Accompanied by her artist friends such as OLIVVER and Young Rising Sons,
she has been performing cuts from her Room 93 EP album with selections
that includes Control, Colors, Haunting, Castle and Roman Holiday.
Her
popularity continued to climb in 2015, being the most talked about
artist in Twitter during the South by Southwest; a musical festival,
interactive media and conferences held in Austin, Texas. The music fest
was the perfect venue for artists via their YouTube channel to showcase
their talent to a ready audience.
Halsey
continued performing through March-April 2015 that led to co-headlining
tour with Young Rising Sons. Supporting Imagine Dragons on their Smoke
and Mirrors Tour between June 3, 2015 and August 1, 2015, her star even
got brighter.
It was not
surprising that her debut album called Badlands, which was released on
August 28, 2015 by Astralwerks and Capitol garnered tremendous
interests. Getting the thumbs up from numerous critics who marveled at
the songs, the album was described by Halsey as a concept album.
Chart Hits
The Badlands,
which is Halsey’s full-length debut album, was released on August 28,
2015. The artist songwriter entered at No. 4 at the Artist 100 just
below Taylor Swift. Badlands had a stunning entry at No. 2 on the
Billboard 200 and Top Album Sales, which is also the second-biggest
debut for a female artist in 2015. A reported 97,000 in traditional
sales was reported and was pegged at No.1 on the Alternative Albums
Chart. The album was also the highest-ever chart busting hit for
Astralwerks.
The artist,
who considers herself as a bisexual described Badlands as an “angry
feminist record” but later on referred to the album as an “angry female
record”. The album was included under the Indie Pop genre and includes
hits such as New Americana, which is included in the Top 100 and other gems like Ghost, Hurricane, Roman Holiday, Colors, Strange Love, Haunting, and Coming Down, among others.
Halsey’s Imminent Fame
Being a
songwriter, Halsey’s need for authenticity in her music and unabashed
passion for strong, succinct lyrics make her a committed artist to her
craft. Most of her songs are admittedly autobiographical and tells of
complicated ties with people that listeners can easily relate to. She is
a smart artist, writing music that offered no excuses for where she has
been and who she is now, much like the rest of her fans who have
accepted the persons they had become.
Halsey’s
voice soothes, questions and is often laced with raw sadness and anger
beyond her years. Her completely sold-out tour and hit songs reek of
shining bright lights that may continue to grow even more blinding in
the offing.
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