Pop singer Halsey knows what it’s like to go viral.
In January 2014, Ashley Nicolette Frangipane self-released her first single under the stage name Halsey — a skittering, wistful track called “Ghost” — on iTunes. On Friday, the 20-year-old’s debut full-length album, “Badlands,” dropped on Astralwerks, an electronic imprint of Capitol Music.
In that year and eight months between Point A and Point B, Halsey’s ascent has been nearly feverish.
(Rich Fury/Invision/AP)
Just days after she released “Ghost,” five notable labels were courting her; Astralwerks snapped her up. In October 2014, she released her debut EP, “Room 93.” This summer, she opened for Imagine Dragons. This fall, she will headline a tour in support of “Badlands.”
It sold out almost immediately.
This isn’t a complete surprise; Halsey’s social media following is already immense. Currently, she has over half a million Twitter followers, plus another two-thirds of a million on Instagram. This year, Twitter deemed her the most-tweeted-about artist at South by Southwest.
She beat out Miley Cyrus.
Clearly, the Internet speaks her language — and it’s no coincidence that she speaks the language of the Internet, too.
“I come from a generation where these huge follower counts are normal,” she told The New York Times. “But my interaction levels” — retweets, replies, click-throughs — “are incredibly high.”
Now, the burning question is this: Does “Badlands” live up to the post-able, tweet-able, Instagram-able hype?
One hundred percent.
(Rich Fury/Invision/AP)
Halsey has already earned comparisons to other Internet-driven artists — she evokes the wise-beyond-her-years lyricism of Lorde, the nostalgia-pop of Lana Del Rey — but what separates her on “Badlands” is her willingness to explore different parts of herself.
Halsey’s public persona is both mysterious and candid. Her Instagram biography leaves much to the imagination: “I write songs about sex and being sad. I will never be anything but honest.” However, in interviews, she does not shy away from personal topics, such as being biracial, bisexual and living with bipolar disorder.
On “Badlands,” we see the singer in many head-spaces. But on each track, Halsey is the unapologetic authority on whoever she is at that particular moment.
On the lighter end of the spectrum, she proves she can deliver a pop anthem. The breezy “Roman Holiday” is reminiscent of Ellie Goulding’s “Goodness Gracious.” The pulsing chorus of “Colors” could almost — almost — fit in on Taylor Swift’s “1989.” The longing “Drive” zeroes in on hidden moments: “All we do is drive / All we do is think about the feelings that we hide / All we do is sit in silence waiting for a sign / Sick and full of pride / All we do is drive.”
Still, she is unafraid to get serious. On “Castle,” the album’s slinking opener, she confronts sexism: “I’m headed straight for the castle / They’ve got the kingdom locked up / And there’s an old man sitting on the throne there saying I should probably keep my pretty mouth shut.” On the chilling “Control,” she peers into her own darkness, snarling, “God damn right / You should be scared of me.”
Halsey’s biggest challenge on “Badlands” is to avoid cliche, and she is largely successful. “New Americana” is a sweeping, lyrically less-than-subtle anthem, but a tongue-in-cheek chorus makes it work: “We are the new Americana / High on legal marijuana / Raised on Biggie and Nirvana.”
“Badlands” is sharp yet vulnerable, ethereal yet human and overall, solid proof that Halsey is much more than viral — she’s here to stay.
You should download: “Hold Me Down,” “Castle,” “Roman Holiday,” and her cover of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk The Line” (Deluxe Version Only).
