"Lucky"- Halsey Single Review

Halsey's new single, "Lucky," is a brilliant burst of nostalgia for the early 2000s pop era. She samples Britney Spears' "Lucky" for the chorus of this song to tie to a nostalgic element while using the context of the meaning behind Britney's song to amplify the meaning of her song. Halsey is Ashley Frangipane's stage name, and this track feels like Ashley is pulling back the curtain to show her fans a little more of who Ashley is. 

The song starts with echoes of laughter. Ashley has said on the app “X”: "The laughs & voices were sorta supposed to represent people laughing at me/making fun of me." However, since the song's release, "… they feel a lot more like we're laughing together." 

This gives a glimpse into the role the public and the media have within this song. They are laughing at Ashley living her day-to-day life and making claims about her for the sake of a magazine headline. 

By starting the song by saying she's so lucky and immediately following up by referencing the Greek myth of Icarus, "Everybody, get in line to meet the girl who flew too high," Ashley is equating her fame to when Icarus flew too close to the sun and melted his wings, leading to his death. Later in the verse, Ashley says, "Did it all to be included? My self-loathing is so deep-rooted / my inner child is unrecruited, and the truth is I'm not suited for it." She feels she's not suited to be at the level of fame and scrutiny that comes with it. The constant backlash makes her self-loathing grow more profound, and her inner child feels more disappointed in herself for her dreams not being how she imagined. 

In sampling the iconic 2000 hit, Lucky, she draws a parallel between her life and career and Britney's at the time of the song's release. Ashley spoke about what the song Lucky means to her: "When I was 5, it always felt like Britney was singing directly to me. 24 years later, these words hit different." This is also echoed by her music video for the song in which Halsey is the pop star on a teenager's wall. The music video has themes of 90s nostalgia, and Halsey is in costumes that resemble iconic outfits Britney Spears wore in music videos in the early 2000s. Drawing the apparent reference that while Halsey is the pop star smiling wide in posters, she also is a person living her life under a microscope and battling constant scrutiny and severe illness. Giving a meta feeling of nostalgia while knowing the reality of what Britney Spears was going through at the time of her original Lucky release and being shown what Ashley was going through at the time of writing her song Lucky. 

In her second verse, Ashley addresses some of the scrutiny she's received in the media, echoing the laughter & humiliation she portrayed with the intro of her song. "And why she losin' so much weight? I heard it's from the drugs she ate / A girl like that is a mother, must be tough". Ashley also used these lines within the marketing of the song to take back the media's power over her. She used these lines as fake headlines for fake gossip magazine covers with fake paparazzi photos that portray Halsey in the aesthetic she has for her new album. She is honing in on the early 2000s and commenting on the toxicity the media had back then and still has now. With these media brigades being the trigger for countless public mental breakdowns from celebrities, she is shedding light on the despicable way the public either points a blind eye or hungrily consumes this form of media for entertainment. 

In her pre-chorus, Halsey says, "When I die, I won't have time to spend my money / But I hope that you still love me." Potentially addressing the legacy she leaves behind in her child and her fans. She recognizes her fans' role in her success and making her dreams a reality, and she doesn't want to lose them for choosing her health and safety. Nor does she want to seem ungrateful for their work in helping her experience her dream and being lucky enough to reach new heights in fame that she never imagined. 

Going into the bridge, Ashley explains the catalyst for her writing the song and Halsey's new era and comeback after taking a hiatus to treat T-cell lymphoma and lupus. "I shaved my head four times because I wanted to / And then I did it one more time 'cause I got sick (I am so lucky)/And I thought I changed so much, nobody would notice it, and no one did" The bridge reflects that her aesthetic change was not intended to usher in a new era for her project, but rather a consequence of the battle she was fighting and ultimately won. 

Ashley closes her song with "She's so lucky, Haven't you heard?" Referencing how the media constantly writes articles & think pieces on her life. At this moment in the music video, she is singing to the camera while on set for a music video shoot in full Britney Spears-style costume, crying and then quickly shifting into a wide smile while pulling back tears. This song is a direct response to the think pieces giving false assumptions about her life; she is giving Halsey fans Ashley's side of the story. 

Review by: Juliana Nicholls