2019 has already been a big year for pop music, but some stars are only just warming up.
One of those names in Halsey. The enigmatic pop siren has her third studio album in the oven, releasing lead single ‘Nightmare’ in May this year. Teasing a record far different from 2015’s Badlands and 2017’s hopeless fountain kingdom, fans are on tenterhooks waiting for a confirmed announcement.
Here’s everything we know for now.
Halsey’s third studio album COULD be coming as soon as October.
A singer who loves hiding details right in front of fans’ eyes, Halsey is sneaky with her golden nuggets. In March the ‘Without Me’ singer confirmed it would be dropping sometime in 2019 and some fans picked out the singer’s jail sign in her ‘Nightmare’ music video with the date of 10-2019. Whenever the date is confirmed, Halsey has promised that fans will be the first to know.
*release date? I guess lol https://t.co/7pZ40vFLX0
— h (@halsey) June 19, 2019
The record’s name looks to be Manic.
On the same sign as the date, an anagram from Manic is placed at the bottom, which is the title of the newspaper she pursues. It’s believable too. If ‘Nightmare’ is anything to go by, Halsey has a lot to say in this record and won’t be holding back, “I’ve got to recognize the weapon in my mind” she sings.
So this says H3 A1 and I think it means it's Halseys 3rd album but Ashley's 1st. Also it says 10-19 so October?? Also the letters on the bottom spell Manic which is also the title of the newspaper so is it called Manic?? pic.twitter.com/OTgSAscjUv
— Giovanna (@Giovann41658548) May 18, 2019
The album WON’T be a concept album.
Whilst speaking to Zach Sang, Halsey spoke of her move away from the concept record. “It’s very candid, a bit more like my poetry […] straightford and confessional” (see her performance at New York Women’s March and the Glamour 2018 Women of the Year Summit).
What’s more, one fan picked up on the code ‘H3 / A1’ written on that same sign in the ‘Nightmare’ music video, potentially implying it’s Halsey’s third album but the first time we hear Ashley directly. It’s not to say previous concepts of post-apocalyptic Badlands and Romeo & Juliet-inspired hopeless fountain kingdom were not the singer’s authentic voice – it was just told through a story. Halsey III looks set to remove that format as Halsey lets fans in like never before.
It’s not all dark and angry. There’s ‘bubblegum pop’ too.
Also one of the worst celebrities at containing her excitement over new music, Halsey took to Twitter on Wednesday to drop a few more crumbs. “I usually favor the darkest of the dark songs on the record but my favorite song right now actually has a hint of bubblegum”, she wrote. “Whatever you’re expecting it to be, it’s not gonna be that”, she followed.
I usually favor the darkest of the dark songs on the record but my favorite song right now actually has a hint of bubblegum. It’s amazing how all these genres appear on the album but it still somehow manages to sound authentically and earnestly like *me*.
— h (@halsey) July 31, 2019
We know a few of the producers and writers Halsey has been working with.
A recent post on social media showed Halsey in the studio recording with Jordan Fish and Oliver Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon. There’s a chance it could be Halsey featuring on the band’s track, or simply lending a hand in writing, but the team-up would follow the singer’s more rock-influenced sound as she promises more songs like ‘Gasoline’.
Close friends with Benny Blanco, the name behind previous collaboration ‘Eastside’, he’s also the producer who played a large role on hopeless fountain kingdom. With cuts on all types of tracks from Anne-Marie to Cashmere Cat to Katy Perry to Ed Sheeran, his producing skills leave the sound of any link-up between the two impossible to guess, although his involvement is to be expected.
Are you excited for a third Halsey album? Have you got any predictions? Let us know @CelebMix on Twitter.
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