Halsey

Halsey is the alias of New York-based pop singer Ashley Frangipane. The New Jersey native took her moniker from a New York L train subway stop. She is noted for her distinctive singing voice. Halsey has also been involved in social activism including suicide prevention awareness.

Earlier, she started playing violin, viola, and cello. She then decided to take up the guitar, at the age of 14. She had gained support from both her parents as an electro pop musician. Kanye West, Amy Winehouse, Brand New and Bright Eyes influenced her. She was also influenced by film stars like Qunetin Tarantino, and Larry Clark. Halsey began her career on YouTube, uploading cover songs online. In 2012, she released a single entitled 'The Haylor Song' which was a spoof of 'I Knew You were Trouble' by Taylor Swift. The single was a success, gaining much attention for Halsey. Due to her incredible performance, several record labels came forward and invited her to sign with them. She eventually signed with the record label Astralwerks. Halsey's debut studio album 'Badlands' released by Astralwerks and Capitol on 28 August 2015, which was a major success on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at No. 2. Within the first week of its release, the album had sold 97,000 copies. She released ‘Now or Never’ as the first single from her sophomore album. Hopeless Fountain Kingdom topped the Billboard 200. The album features collaborations with Sia, Greg Krustin and Benny Blanco. Halsey started 2019 with a series of high-profile collaborative singles including '11 Minutes' with Travis Barker and Yungblud and 'Boy with Luv' with K-pop superstars BTS. Singles 'Nightmare' and 'Graveyard' marked a darker, more introspective direction. Third single 'Without Me' became her first number one-charting single as a main artist.