- But what's been the most random inspiration
for a song that you've written.
- Ooh.
There's a song on my second album called Bad at Love,
and the song is about me failing miserably
at like, a bunch of relationships that's what it's about.
But the inspiration for writing it
was I've always wanted a motorcycle
and I'm way too scared to ride one,
and I'll never have one.
I just always picture myself getting to.
And so, when I was making the album,
I was like, I want a music video where I'm on a motorcycle.
I was like, and I want the song
to sound like a song who'd be like,
cruising down the road,
like on your motorcycle, like listening to.
And just with your hands in the air, just like.
And somehow, that turned into Bad at Love.
I don't know, it doesn't make any sense at all, but.
- It does.
- It was the inspiration for the sound of it.
Yeah. - No, I'm like that
almost whenever I write a song as well.
I have to have imagery.
Like I must have a video playing,
like while I'm writing in my head.
How do you deal,
like when you're writing,
how do you deal with writer's block?
If you're like needing to cut,
like you're working on an album for whatever reason,
you're just like blocked.
How do you do that?
- Oh, usually, it's by doing something
like super regrettable,
like cutting bangs or like piercing my nose.
(Kelly laughing)
- Super regrettable.
(both laughing)
- Usually that's what I do. It's like,
there's three things I do.
It's I dye my hair or cut bangs,
I get a tattoo, or I call an ex for closure and.
(Kelly laughing)
- Only two work out well. So, you know.
(crowd clapping)
- I love her so much.
She's so cool.
Halsey and I talked a lot about
her New York times bestselling book,
I Would Leave Me If I Could,
which is I still say one of the best titles
I've ever heard in my life.
She had some really powerful reasons for writing it.
Take a look at this previously unseen conversation
about her influences in the writing process.
What you actually, you,
you said that you're close with your mom
and you dedicated your book to your mom.
So, you said you used to sneak in and this is,
I have a problem with this,
you used to read her journal?
- Okay. So, it wasn't like her personal journal.
It was like her poetry journal.
- Oh, okay. 'Cause I was like,
"We should talk about that."
(Kelly laughing)
- No, it wasn't like I have been beating
her personal space kinda thing.
Even though there's probably nothing in it
that she wouldn't have already told me
'cause she used to tell me everything like too much, okay?
My mom used to tell me too much.
Like there's some things that I would be like,
"Mom, okay. Like, still your kid.
Don't need to know that."
'Cause we really are best friends.
But it was her poetry journal
and she wrote some of the most beautiful poetry ever.
And then just always wanted to write as wonderful as her.
And it was really cool 'cause it showed me,
when we're growing up,
I think we get to know our parents as just our parents
and we forget that they're like really complex people
who have had like their heartbroken before.
And like they wonder about other relationships
and how their life would have gone
if things had been different,
like regret, sadness.
And it's so much more than just like,
"That's my mom. That's all she is, is just my mom."
And so I, it made me understand her
as like more complex of a person,
and I think it made us closer.
So, I'm definitely super grateful for that.
- Yeah. That's, we do forget that.
And then when you get, as we get older,
you start to realize,
especially that they do,
they had their own lives and you start to wonder like,
"What would they have been like at like 20."
But how, how would you describe the feeling
of needing to write something?
'Cause that's the only way I write.
Like I, usually, all my songs
are when I have to get something out.
- I think I sit on things for a really long time
and then I start to feel like really anxious,
and I can't figure out why.
And then usually, it's 'cause I need to like,
dig up some feeling that's deep down inside me.
I mean, Kelly, you are one of the greatest songwriters
like ever to ever live.
- You're lying.
- I'm a huge, I'm serious.
I'm a huge fan of your writing.
I'm massively inspired by it.
It's so rare in this industry that there are women
who are performers and entertainers,
who actually write their own words
and like are determined to get on the stage,
and sing words that they wrote themselves
from their own experiences.
And be open about things that aren't pretty
or complimentary of themselves,
or the experiences they've had that are like,
you know, sometimes really tough.
And like you've always been that person and that's huge,
huge inspiration for me.
So, like definitely wanting to make sure I got the chance
to say that while I'm in front of you.
- No, I, actually,
that's a good segue question
because I, it's so funny
'cause people have said that to me like,
"Oh, is it that hard how honest you are?"
It's not. Like, I think I came out.
I think, it's not hard for me to say,
"Oh, this happened to me and it sucked.
And this happened to me and whatever."
Like, cause I feel like we all go through experiences, like.
And nobody's got it, but you know,
everybody's life is different.
Everything is valid, every situation.
We all get hurt, we all get shunned.
You know, we all get happy about things.
Like, do you, do you have a problem?
Like when you write such personal things,
does it come naturally for you to release it?
Like or does it make kinda make you scared?
'Cause you're like, "Oh, I don't know
if I should have been that open."
- Oh, I think it's always natural,
but then there's always that kind of moment of like,
"Oh my gosh, what have I just done?"
'Cause I'll always get really confident and I'll be like,
"Yeah, I need to share this with the world.
And there's other people who've been through this experience
and like, they need to know
that we're all in this together."
And then I'll put it out and be like,
"Oh, my God. What did I just do?"
And then usually it ends up being okay
'cause my fans are wonderful and they're,
they love me so unconditionally.
And they're so good at this point
about receiving personal information
because I've always been very honest
and I'm always been like really avid about sharing,
you know, intimate experiences with them
and they're forgiving and gentle about it.
But you know, if I've ever had experiences
where I've had, you know,
I've worried about regret,
I always remember, for all the people who
their voices seem negative,
there's so many more people out there
who are sharing with me that they've been helped by.
You know, my, by me sharing my experience
and that makes it worth it always, every time.
You know? I'm sure you feel the same.
- Yeah, no, and I.
It's so funny that my first song
that was like super personal,
I remember putting it out and I was kind of nervous about it
'cause I was like, "Oh, it's pretty personal."
And then after that experience,
I think like you said,
like even if you like connect with one random person
that could be and like,
you know, Thailand or whatever
that really needed that song that you were a vessel for,
like that's the coolest thing ever as an artist.
And I just wondered if it was,
it's not always easy for everybody to be so open
and it actually ended up becoming very natural for me
'cause I think I'm naturally like that and in general.
And I've seen you in interviews
and that's what I love about you.
You're kind of an open book,
whether it's your poetry,
whether it's painting,
with just how you are.
You're just like, "This is me and it's cool if you like it.
And if you don't, that's cool too."
And I think that that's admirable.
Like you don't have your card,
you can actually wrote all this in a card too
that I write to every guest that comes to the show
because I love that.
It's, we need strong, powerful women,
especially for little girls
and for little boys to see powerful women
in those positions, you know?
And, and to create that norm.