On July 27, I was one of 5,000 people who attended Halsey's sold out show at the beautiful Masonic Temple in midtown Detroit. It was undoubtedly one of the most amazing shows I have ever been to. Halsey has incredible stage presence, a uniquely powerful singing voice, and an overall awe-inspiring aura around her show. Though I was sweatier than I have ever been before and had pink and blue confetti sticking to me, I walked out feeling better than I did going in knowing I just experienced a live show from one of my favorite artists.
In these last few days, I've been listening to her "Badlands" album and "Room 93" EP on a loop and thinking of all the reasons why I love Halsey (otherwise known as Ashley Frangipane). For a little look into her background and the hardships she's faced and exactly how humble she is, Rolling Stone wrote an amazing article/interview with her--give it a read! To sum it up, the article talks about her troubled past of having to move around a lot as a kid, getting involved in drugs due to a "junkie" boyfriend, dropping out of community college, living on a borderline negative bank account, being discovered by a music producer completely by chance and how she had a miscarriage last year while on tour (a story that has caught the attention of major entertainment news outlets this week). She also talks about how nothing goes through until she approves it--and that she doesn't belong to anyone (cue "don't belong to no city, don't belong to no man" "Hurricane" lyric). I'm a sucker for rags to riches stories, and after seeing her live, I've fallen so much more in love with her character these last two days.
However, pre-concert and pre-Rolling Stone article, I loved Halsey for the feminist icon that she is. If you scroll through her Twitter account, she preaches feminist ideas of equality, tolerance and self love. During her show, she made it a point during her performance of "Hurricane" that each and every single one of us in the crowd we're our own person--that we didn't belong to anyone. I believe that that's a very important concept, to be who you want to be and to love yourself. A little bit after, before her performance of "New Americana," she told us about how the final installment of the Badlands Tour started in Orlando, and that she gave a speech addressing the massacre that happened some time before. She said she never wanted to give that speech ever again. Her next stop was Dallas, where she gave that speech again. She said that after that, she realized that she will never stop giving that speech, that she will give it at each place she visits. What she said next was gold: she told us that her shows are meant to be a safe space. That anyone can be who they want to be and not feel judged, prejudiced or anything in between. She then went on to sing "New Americana," a song that I believe is the anthem for the progressive movement. Someone who preaches such love, tolerance and acceptance for everyone deserves all the admiration in the world. She uses her fame to speak for things that matter, things that society needs, and things that help others.
One last thing that really made my heart grow for her was how she addressed the crowd after a member of the audience had a seizure. She said to us, "If everyone could please take a step back, give each other some space. It's hard to enjoy the show when I'm watching my fans being carried out. It's hard for others to enjoy the show when they're watching their friends being carried out next to them. And it's hard to enjoy the show when you're the one being carried out." Paramore, my favorite band of all time, didn't even say this at any of their shows I've attended. I have so much respect for her saying this; it truly shows how much she cares about the well-being of her fans.
Seeing an artist live gives a person a whole new perspective of that artist. They share things with the crowd that they normally wouldn't in an interview or random YouTube video. They talk to their fans directly, tell them things tailored to that specific audience because they know that the people who are hearing them speak are fans who know them and have a deep affection for their art; deep enough to make them want to buy a ticket, stand outside the venue for hours on end, and squeeze themselves in between fellow sweaty fans. Halsey really does appreciate others; her heart is full of love, and her voice is loud enough and influential enough to move our society forward.
