Halsey’s fifth album “The Great Impersonator” released on Oct. 25, and the album teasing that occurred a few months leading up to the release date is some of the most creative work I’ve ever seen.
In June, the singer started out the album promotion by sending out letters to her fans talking about her single “The End.”
It stated, “Hello, it’s Halsey. It’s been a while. As some may have guessed, I have written a new album. But I needed some time to figure out how to say what I needed to say. You see, I’ve been holdin…and I need to let it out. There’s so much I’m going to reveal on this record, but you need to know some of the story first. So before the chaos and confetti of big singles and album releases, I just need to tell you, my friend, why it all matters this time. I’m releasing a new song on June 4. It’s just for us. Let’s start at THE END.”
“The End” revealed that Halsey had been struggling with a chronic illness. She made a post on Instagram where she tags The Lupus Research Alliance and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
It was quickly understood that this album is a meaningful one for Halsey, and we learn more about this when we find out the next single, “Lucky.”
I absolutely loved this part of the album promotion. Halsey released faux magazine headlines and paparazzi photos of her with dazzling pink hair rocking a Y2K aesthetic.
She then announces the single inspired by the iconic Britney Spears. She samples “Lucky” by Britney Spears, however Halsey’s “Lucky” is a completely different story.
Halsey said that Spears was “the first superstar who ever inspired me.”
In August, Halsey takes to Sziget Festival, where she surprises the audience with a snippet of the next single, “Lonely is the Muse.”
“I played a new song earlier right, a song called ‘Lucky’? Okay so…for every Halsey pop song…there’s a Halsey rock song to match, right? And you’ve already heard ‘Lucky’…let’s see what you think of this one.”
The rock vibe of the song seemed familiar, inspired maybe. We later find out that Halsey credits Evanescence singer Amy Lee as inspiration for “Lonely is the Muse.”
“I really thought this album might be the last one I ever made,” said Halsey.
In a video uploaded by Halsey, they explain how their illness changes her perspective on life. Halsey questions whether her life would be different or not depending on when her career took off: early 2000’s, 90’s, or 70’s. She asks: Do I get sick every time? Would I still be a mother? And most importantly, is she proud of the person she may leave behind? “The Great Impersonator” was then announced and set to release on Oct. 24.
The album teasing doesn’t end there. Shortly after the album was announced, and her fourth single “Ego” was released, Halsey set up a scavenger hunt for fans all around the world.
“My next trick isn’t mine at all, it’s yours,” Halsey said. Fans were encouraged to find time capsules that Halsey placed in special locations, and once all of the clues were figured out, all of the album cover variants were announced.
After an VMA performance and an insanely creative music video for “Ego,” Halsey fans were beyond excited for this album.
On Oct. 7, Halsey announced that she will be counting down the days until Oct. 25 with impersonations of different icons and snippets of songs that they’ve inspired. Day one being a Dolly Parton impersonation with a snippet from the song “Hometown.”
The impersonation list continued everyday, and photographer Sarah Prdini captured each impersonation almost flawlessly. The concept was for Halsey to impersonate an album cover from each icon, and this was executed impressively well.
The list consists of Dolly Parton, PJ Harvey, Kate Bush, Cher, David Bowie, Amy Lee, Dolores O’Riordan, Stevie Nicks, Bruce Springsteen, Linda Ronstadt, Britney Spears, Halsey(circa 2015) Aaliyah, Joni Mitchell, Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Bjork, and Marilyn Monroe.
You can hear every artist from Halsey’s perspective in each song, as well as the true feelings Halsey wanted the audience to encapsulate.
“The Great Impersonator” has been on repeat since its release date for me, and I find it to be an absolute masterpiece. Halsey never fails to reach the soul of her listeners and she touches my heart every time a song is released.