2024 Music So Far: Featuring Halsey

Harlequin by Lady Gaga

Songs From a Thousand Frames of Mind by Kate Bollinger

The Great Impersonator by Halsey

    Explicit Language

There is a term out there these days, "main character syndrome."  You probably get the idea without me having to lay it out. I would argue that most artists these days live in the main character world with their music, but Halsey is an artist who is especially tied to this phenomenon I believe.  

Usually the term is used in a negative way, but I'm not so sure it applies these days to musicians, since like I said most of them live in that world.  Halsey is an artist I have found interesting since I first discovered her for how she can look at her own life, choices, relationships, etc. and analyze them in a way that I find very relatable and honest.  

Since her last album, which was mostly about her dealing with becoming a mom, she has been through cancer treatment and facing the reality that she may not survive very long.  For someone who has always been so self reflective, this has had an almost magnifying effect.  

If you've listened to Halsey over these past few albums you would understand then that her move would be to see herself as nothing more than a fraud an impersonator you might say.  Not only in her art but in her life.  

There is a slight concept here to the album.  Each song is representative of a musical artist she believes she tends to imitate.  In some cases it works better than others, but at the end of the day it's another solid album from Halsey who continues to look at herself with such a critical eye.  

Personally I can connect with Halsey in this because I tend to do the same, as I believe most of us do.  It's just that most of us don't share those deep insights with total strangers.  

Here is the list of tracks and who they relate to.  One thing to note not all the songs are made to sound like the artist in question, but rather to be about the artist in question and how her life tends to mimic theirs.  The first song is a good example of this. 

1. The Only Living Girl in LA, Marilyn Monroe

2. Ego, Delores O'Riordan

3. Dog Years, PJ Harvey

4. Letter to God (1974), Cher

5. Panic Attack, Stevie Nicks

6. The End, Joni Mitchell

7. I Believe in Magic, Linda Rondstadt

8. Letter to God (1983), Bruce Springsteen

9. Hometown, Dolly Parton

10. I Never Loved You, Kate Bush

11. Darwinism, David Bowie

12. Lonely is the Muse, Amy Lee

13. Arsonist, Fiona Apple

14. Life of the Spider, Tori Amos

15. Hurt Feelings, Halsey

16. Lucky, Britney Spears

17. Letter to God (1998), Aaliyah

18. The Great Impersonator, Bjork

To promote the album she made a picture of her impersonating each one of the artists.  They are pretty good if you have Instagram check them out.  I'll link one of them below.  If you like Halsey then I would say give this a listen I think you'll like it. 

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