Halsey is the Most Authentic “Great Impersonator”

Halsey recently released her new album, “The Great Impersonator.” This is a concept album in which Halsey impersonates all of the artists who shaped her into the musician she is today. The list includes Stevie Nicks, Bruce Springsteen, Dolly Parton, David Bowie, and Britney Spears.

I absolutely love when singers create a concept album with an entire theme around it, rather than simply throwing a bunch of tracks together. I find it ironic that Halsey labels herself as “The Great Impersonator” when she is truly one of the most authentic artists of our generation. When Halsey sings, she articulates her words, proving that she wants her audience to deeply understand her lyrics, rather than just nodding along to the beat.

In the process of making this record, Halsey experienced a terrifying health battle. She had been diagnosed with Lupus and a rare T-cell disease, undergoing intensive treatment. On top of that, she gave birth to her son, and shortly afterwards split up her engagement with her then-fiance.

Opening track, “Only Girl in LA,” which is inspired by Marilyn Monroe, covers the feeling of absolute loneliness. It’s stark and sobering, confronting the brink of death and imagining how media outlets would exploit it. The next one, “Ego,” takes us into the ’90s. This song is about how your ego can destroy you – unless you destroy it first. In the music video, we see Halsey fighting against herself, as she struggles between authenticity and appearance.

“Dog Days” in inspired by PJ Harvey from the ’90s. This lyric strikes me the most: “They said I have a universal blood type, I can give to anyone in need, But only receive from someone exactly like me.” (I’m also type O, by the way!) Obviously, though, this lyric is more than literal blood – it’s a metaphor for being an over-giver when others rarely give back to you.

There is a lot more complexity to this song, revealing mixed feelings about one’s morality. Does being a ‘people pleaser’ actually make you a good person – or does it make you nothing but an impersonator?

“Letter to God (1974)” is the first of three in this series of live performance songs. Each version has different verses but a similar chorus. This is her begging to God to keep her alive. The 1974 version mimes Cher.

“Panic Attack” has that chilled out melody straight out of a Fleetwood Mac song, inspired by Stevie Nicks from the ’70s. It covers the anxiety of falling in love. It captures the feeling of jumping out of a plane yet trusting that your parachute will assure safe landing. Falling in love is so scary but the high is what keeps you having faith.

“The End” copies Joni Mitchell from the ’70s, and dives into the reality of getting sick, starting treatment, and questioning if this is the end. “I Believe in Magic” covers Linda Ronstadt from the ’60s, describing the birth of her son as a light at the end of the tunnel. During hardship, he reminds her to believe in magic, or at least try to.

In version #2, “Letter to God (1983)” is a tribute to Bruce Springsteen. Next, the Dolly Parton inspired “Hometown” speaks of a boy name Davey who she went to school with, who died at age seventeen. It makes you think about death and how it can happen to anyone at any moment. It’s painfully sobering.

“I Never Loved You” takes after Kate Bush of the ’80s. In this song, Halsey imagines her death, in which she goes into surgery and the doctors can’t save her. I believe that this song is written for her ex, who’s the father of her child. She sings, “I never loved you… in vain” – which shows that she did indeed love him. I think that this is her way of saying, “I want you to know that I loved you in spite of everything, even if it doesn’t seem that way.”

Mimicking David Bowie, “Darwinism” is about feeling like an outcast who doesn’t belong. It draws imagery to fishes swimming in the sea, the evolution of man, and the cosmic dust of outer space. “Lonely is the Muse” takes us to the 2000s – parallels to Amy Lee of the band Evanescence. I love this heavy metal sound.

The chilling and haunting “Arsonist” resembles Fiona Apple. It very much has the feel of ’90s grunge. This is both anger and fear towards the person who breaks your heart. “Life of the Spider (Draft)” is a stripped down track that channels Tori Amos. The lyrics are raw – and the underproduction makes it that much more raw. It’s about feeling like the spider who gets killed because somebody found it in their house.

I find the most interesting impersonation is Halsey impersonating herself in “Hurt Feelings.” Specifically, she is miming herself from her debut in 2015. She reveals the issues she had with her father growing up and how this affects her today.

“Lucky” is a direct reference to the 2000’s hit song, “Lucky,” by Britney Spears. Just like the original, this is a story about a beautiful, rich and famous pop star, who is secretly depressed. Except, in Halsey’s version, she gets much more personal. She confesses to a life-threatening illness, breaking up with the father of her child, and trying to convince the world that she’s just fine.

In the third and final version, “Letter to God (1998)” is a tribute to Aaliyah. If you’re not familiar, Aaliyah has a tragic backstory, in which she was forced into an illegal marriage with R.Kelly at age fifteen, passing away from a plane crash at the age of twenty-two. In her time as a successful singer, she was named Queen of R&B.

This record concludes with “The Great Impersonator” – after the legendary Björk. This is a great way to wrap up the album because it feels theatrical and actress-coded. It also has a timeless feel to it, bringing together the themes of the 1960’s through the 2010’s. A round of applause.

I find this to be an absolutely fantastic album. It’s vital to keep in mind that the goal of the album is not to copy each artist note for note. Rather, it’s about taking inspiration from someone, and making it into your own. For example, even though “Lucky” is heavily influenced by Britney Spears, it’s clearly a Halsey song, not a Britney song. It’s not supposed to be completely identical.

This is a dark, somber, and heavy record. It’s not very easy to listen to – and some people will feel completely repulsed by it. People don’t really like to think about death or sickness. Halsey didn’t write these songs in order to make people feel comfortable – she wrote it because it’s her experience – and illness is a harsh reality that many, many people face.

Critics have said that Halsey made a failed attempt at fitting into the shoes of big names that she will never live up to. But they don’t understand that she’s not claiming to be as legendary as someone like Marilyn Monroe or Stevie Nicks. What she’s doing is giving credit where it’s due. In that way, she is killing her ego, by adopting the identities of those who carved her path. Facing illness has taught her that no one is “special” enough to dodge death. We live in a society that worships celebrities as invincible. But Halsey is saying, “I’m not special.” She’s saying – she got famous because of luck – and she got sick because of bad luck.

And that makes Halsey the most authentic impersonator of all time.