Halsey, welcome to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
(laughs) Thank you for having me.
Um, you're an artist
who has truly experienced the full spectrum
of what it is like to be a musician.
You know, you-you created music on SoundCloud.
You worked hard to be noticed when nobody would notice you.
And now, you know,
people would look back on your story and go like,
"Oh, you're one of the most streamed artists in the world.
You have six billion streams. Over six billion streams."
It seems like it's overnight success,
but when you look at your journey, what does it feel like?
When you look at your own journey,
does it feel like it was overnight, or do you go like,
"Man, this has been a long time coming"?
Um, you know what? Thank you, by the way.
It is, uh... it's kind of a little bit of both.
Like, I, in some ways,
feel like I've been doing this for 20 years.
Um, I'm 26, and I wake up in the morning sometimes,
and I'm like, "Yeah, just, been a lon... it's been a long road.
I've... My life's almost over."
And then, other times, I kind of, you know...
I just... I put out my third album in January of this year.
And I remember putting it out and thinking to myself,
like, I feel like my first album just came out.
This is such a... this is such a rush to have that happen.
But, you know, I think that kind of...
That paradoxical perception of time is
probably exactly what I'm supposed to be feeling
when I'm living a type of life
that I long dreamed about having
-and didn't really think I was gonna get to have. -Right.
You are... you are one of the people I've seen who has...
never forgotten, not just the place you come from in life,
but also the fact that so many other people are still there.
You know? You... You're really outspoken
and fighting for... in fighting for, you know,
people's rights.
You're out in the streets marching
during the Black Lives Matter protests.
You know, you were at... you were at the women's march,
you know, right after, you know, Donald Trump became president.
You shared some of the most personal stories.
Um...
what-what is it about... the world you've left behind
that you never leave behind?
I witness a lot of that dichotomy living in L.A.,
because it has some of the, like, most successful,
comfortable, richest people,
and then some of the absolute most impoverished
and displaced and un-homed.
And watching those two walks of life coexist in this bubble
is a real eye-opener, because I've been on both sides of it.
Um, you know, I work at a resource center for...
um, un-homed young people in L.A. who...
The facility reminds me of one that I used to visit,
when I needed razors or I needed deodorant,
and I was, like, you know,
a "starving artist" in New York, and...
I think it's about keeping yourself...
immersed in your communities,
and interacting with those people,
instead of just kind of living...
only interacting with people who are of your class
or of your race or of your creed or of your...
You know, that's, like, broaden your horizons.
Get to understand other walks of life,
and that gives you perspective that I think is really valuable.
And I'm still learning stuff every day
that I don't know about people, you know?
That's probably one of the things that...
that draws people to you is, it stems from the music,
but they all have a different reason
for why they appreciate you.
Um, I mean, one of those has now been, you know,
your new book-- you know, a collection of poetry--
and I'll start by talking about the cover.
I was like, this is a beautiful piece of art,
and I was like, ah, this is cool--
I wonder what this was. I didn't know who...
And then I was like: Oh, you... you did the art as well.
So then I wondered, how much art do you do?
So, it's the music, and then you paint,
and then you do poetry as well.
And then, like, what else?
Juggling? Is... What else is there?
No. I, um... Well, gosh.
I... It's funny, it's, like, all of my hobbies
keep ending up becoming, uh, part of my job.
-Right. -'Cause originally...
originally, painting was kind of just the thing
that I did for me for fun,
and then I started incorporating into my work little by little,
and poetry was kind of just, like, I write all the time,
and I was, like... some things you can't sing.
You know? And I just wanted to put it out there
and let people... let people have it
and get to know me a little bit, in this time
where it's so difficult to connect with my fans
the way that I'm used to.
'Cause, you know, as a musician, I really don't know
when I'm gonna be allowed back on a stage again.
-Mm-hmm. -And that makes me very sad.
I-I love that you say that, because...
when people asked me why I wrote my book, I said,
"Well, there's some things I can't say in my stand-up.
"There's some things that don't really have a punch line.
There's some things that I just wanted to talk to people about."
And that's what I wondered when I was reading through this,
because some of it felt like it could have been lyrics.
There were some moments in-in... in these... in these poems
where I went, "Oh, this could have been a lyric to a song,"
but the poem itself is... is the poem.
When you share what you share in your stories,
you know, whether it's talking about, um,
going through a miscarriage,
whether it's talking about surviving sexual assault,
whether-whether it's talking about some of the things
that most people hide from...
even the closest human beings to them.
You've shared with the public en masse.
Yeah.
I know that it's therapeutic for you,
but what do you hope it will do
for others who hear your stories?
Well, I mean, I certainly initially feel
like I have a sense of responsibility,
because I do find that people in my position
very often only share the good.
You know? Um...
so I do feel responsible to share
kind of my transgressions and my traumas, in a way.
Obviously, I still keep some things to myself,
'cause I have to have some boundaries.
Um, but I was kind of an open book from the start,
so I wanted to keep being that way.
When I was growing up, I just...
I-I... I was born in 1994,
so, you know, the pop star generation that I grew up with
was very tailored and very sterile,
-Mm-hmm. -um, and they were...
everyone was incredibly talented.
It was one of the greatest crop of, you know, musicians
we've ever had in that era,
that kind of, like, late-MTV era.
But everyone was also very polished.
You know, we saw what the record label wanted us to see.
We saw images that were published in magazines.
And obviously, that stuff started changing
when the paparazzi era really evolved.
And then all the dark stuff was being shared
when the artist didn't want it to be.
-Right. Right. -You know... (audio drops out)
So I think now it's about kind of finding...
finding a nice balance between pulling back the curtain
in a way that I have control over.
-Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. -Um, and also, you know,
learning to keep some stuff to myself,
because it's healthy to do so.
But I think my fans just deserve it.
Um, and also, like, it's just... it's getting increasingly harder
to let people really get to know you,
with the way that social media is evolving.
Like, I think you kind of have to keep adapting
to let people... let people in in new ways
as the world changes, and this was one for me.
When... when you, um, talked about being bipolar,
it was really interesting,
because many people have shared the story;
not many people, I think, have created music,
or created art, whilst in a manic state.
I mean, you said, "I'm manic," and that's what...
that's what you called the album.
Walk me through what that's like.
Like, what would you hope people understand
about being bipolar that they don't get?
My main goal in talking about it
was to get people more comfortable
with the idea of talking about mental health.
Because I find often that the conversation
around mental health is very, um, supportive in theory,
and then when someone actually starts displaying symptoms
of, like, psychosis or anxiety or depression,
everyone kind of goes, like, "Ooh, that's a little...
"I don't know, that was a little too much.
"Could we go back to just talking
"about all the good parts, like, the things you've overcome
and how strong you are?"
And it's, like, I don't always want to talk
about how strong I am.
Sometimes I want to talk about weak I am
because of it, too-- it's not always about what I've overcome,
it's about what I'm still trying to overcome.
And I think that's really important.
'Cause I just, I find that happened a lot,
where people will say, like, you know,
"We need to be more accepting, we need to normalize this,
we need to make this part of the conversation."
Which sounds good in theory, but it's, like,
that's pretty performative,
if you're going to, you know, chastise or outcast a person
once they start displaying their symptoms.
And that makes it harder for people at home
who are struggling with mental health problems,
-Right. -watching you chastise people in the public eye,
'cause they go, "Wow, if that's how they're reacting to that,
I'm never telling them about what I'm going through."
So, I try to, you know, I guess make it digestible,
-Mm-hmm. -in a way, um...
And I... I'm still figuring it out.
I'm 26, so I have a long way to go for figuring out
what the exact science is for discussing mental health...
mental health in a palatable way.
And if I figure it out, you know, maybe...
maybe I'll... for a new career path.
-(laughs): Um... -Well, I'll tell you this,
whether it's Halsey or whether it's Ashley
or whether it's whatever other name,
the talent's gonna stay the same,
so I don't think you'll be stuck anyway.
Um, congratulations on your success.
Thank you for sharing everything with us.
And, um, we'll see you next time on the show.
-Thank you for joining us. -Thanks, Trevor.
Thanks so much, Halsey.