Halsey and the brutal reckoning of mortality
album review of 'The Great Impersonator'
What happens when you feel like death is imminent?
Some are inspired to savor their final moments, while others simply resign in defeat. For Halsey, it was an invitation to make the one album she had never dared to before.
The American singer-songwriter’s fifth studio album The Great Impersonator is exactly what this is: a collection of songs created amidst a frightening health scare. On the brink of death, I suppose there’s truly nothing left to lose. The result is an honest confrontation of one’s deepest fears stretched across 18 songs, and perhaps the most vulnerable album of the year.
THE END OF BEGINNING
After carving out a niche on Tumblr in the mid-2010s, Halsey was on the incline and achieved her first solo number one hit in 2019 with “Without Me.” Her 2020 album Manic, marked a career high in sales, but the pandemic cut the era short.
In 2021, Halsey released If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, an experimental album produced by Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, though it saw only minimal success. She then became a mother and stepped away from the public eye, before finally returning with “The End” in June this year.
“Every couple of years now, a doctor says I'm sick / Pulls out a brand new bag of tricks, and then they lay it on me,” she confesses. The song’s release coincided with the announcement of her arduous battle with lupus and T-cell disorder, thus shedding light on her absence.
Lupus is also known as ‘the great imitator’ because its symptoms may come across as those of other illnesses, hence leading to misdiagnoses. Halsey alludes to this in “The End,” singing about a “doctor who didn’t listen to [her] claim.” In sickness, she took time to reflect on her life and career, sparking a deeper cross-examination between her self, her public persona, and who she actually aspires to be.
“What if I debuted in the early 2000s? The ‘90s? The ‘80s? The ‘70s? Am I still Halsey every time? In every timeline, do I still get sick? Do I become a mom? Am I happy? Lonely? Have I done enough? Have I told the truth?" she asks in the album trailer.
This premise forms the conceptual backbone of The Great Impersonator, as Halsey traverses across various eras of music. In the lead-up to the album release, she began posting daily images of her impersonating music icons from Dolly Parton to David Bowie, one for each track on the album. The marketing campaign went semi-viral, and I too was intrigued by the novelty of it and wondered how she was going to pull off an album that hinges on imitating other artists.
LIFE IN DEATH
As I listened to the album on its release day, it became clear to me that it isn’t meant to be a direct imitation of these icons, but merely a loose reference point for each track. Of course, some songs take more obvious cues from their inspirations, such as the Stevie Nicks-inspired “Panic Attack.” I recognize those Fleetwood Mac-esque twangy guitars from a mile away.
Nonetheless, the album remains unmistakably Halsey from start to end, thanks to her trademark vocal stylings and the unifying theme of existentialism. Sonically, the album is cohesive too, adhering to a timeless alternative sound that complements the album’s solemn narrative, with hints of country on more intimate songs.
The six-minute opener, “Only Living Girl in LA,” is melodically sparse but carries heavy lyrical weight. While it won me over instantly, I suspect it might lead casual listeners to tune out right from the start of the album, almost like a filter allowing only the most well-intentioned audience to access Halsey’s deepest thoughts.
“My special talent isn't writing, it's not singing / It's feeling everything that everyone alive feels every day,” she sings. It’s true that her songwriting style is often steeped in dramatic elements, even cluelessly overbearing for some. However, Halsey demonstrates self-awareness here, to the extent of mocking herself later in the song: “I think I'm special cause I cut myself wide open as if it’s honorable to bleed.” I am intrigued by the tension here—she understands she’s a victim of harm, but also wonders if this harm stems from self-sabotage.
In my opinion, the aesthetic homage is less an imitation, but more an artistic representation of Halsey’s exact ability to feel everything at once. It’s this deeply empathetic trait that destroys her over and over again in life, but it now helps her make sense of her identity as she confronts death.
Impersonator is a testament to what artists do best—turn their suffering into art. But make no mistake here, this is no self-indulgent exercise. Halsey fearlessly explores themes of identity, existentialism, and the burdens of celebrity at great length, sometimes with startling rawness. In the face of death, her unfiltered honesty feels not only understandable but essential, inviting listeners to accompany her at her most vulnerable.
These intense feelings almost become a morbid blessing of sorts. Rather than to not feel anything and depart unceremoniously, her feelings become her source of strength that urges her to live life to the fullest.
LOOKING INWARD
Halsey’s dissection of self is further explored in “Ego,” a ‘90s pop-rock track with a soaring chorus that goes: “I think that I should try to kill my ego / cause if I don’t, my ego might kill me.” As she looks back in life, she’s consumed with regret. However, more than any nemesis, she realizes that she’s always been her biggest obstacle.
On “I Never Loved You,” Halsey opens up about her ex-partner’s absence during her health struggles. “And you're running in slow-mo to the hospital room / If you only knew how bad it hurt me too,” she sings.
Later, on the Fiona Apple-inspired “Arsonist,” she delivers scathing blows to the same man in soft, cutting whispers: “Arsonist, burning down the world to feel its heat / The arsonist doesn't feel the embers on his feet.”
Once again, a silver lining emerges in her healing process. At her lowest, Halsey recognizes her worth and becomes empowered to leave her past behind. It’s in this vulnerability that fuels her unforgiving attitude, and she’s ready to burn any bridge that threatens her well-being.
Another album standout is “Lonely is the Muse,” where she subverts the notion of a muse being a shining force of creative inspiration for the artist. In this rock anthem of stinging one-liners, Halsey likens herself to a lonely muse, one who will “always reassemble to fit perfectly in view for anybody that decides that [she’s] of use.”
Halsey isn’t quite a muse; she’s an accomplished songwriter in her own right. “I mined a couple diamonds from the stories in my head,” she boasts. Yet, in this relationship, she’s “reduced to just a body here in someone else’s bed,” only existing in service of the artist, perhaps a nod to the father of her baby, screenwriter Alev Aydin.
THE EVOLUTION OF HALSEY
“Does a story die with its narrator?” Halsey asks on the album’s closing song and title track. As a popular artist, concerns over one’s legacy are given.
As her debut album Badlands turns 10 next year, Halsey has certainly come a long way. I remember when she was often mocked online—whether for her notorious cover of blink-182’s “I Miss You” in a mall or her rendition of Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself,” where she changed the lyrics to “You should go and fuck yourself.”
Halsey’s self-seriousness is both her greatest strength and weakness. It fuels her ability to write deeply, though it may come across as cringe for irony-loving Gen Zs. As she refines her artistry with each release, I’m glad she’s earning praise for her steady evolution.
Be it racking up contemporary pop classics like “Closer” and “Without Me,” her indie girl persona, or her signature cursive singing, Halsey has certainly left her mark on the scene. While Impersonator isn’t lighting up the charts like Halsey’s earlier work did, I’d say she has moved past chasing chart success. Not everyone is meant to be a main pop girl, and after a near-death experience, it’s clear where her priorities lie now.
As long as Halsey keeps making good music, I’m certain her core audience will continue to show up for her. And for an artist, that’s all that matters.
Stream The Great Impersonator now!
this album wasn't really on my radar throughout its rollout, but those impersonations really wowed me. so, i checked out the album and i cannot stop streaming it like its just so good. definitely one of my favorites of the year.