Halsey speaks her truth with ‘Nightmare’

“I’m tired and angry, but somebody should be.” are just some of the truly powerful lyrics coming from the alternative artist these days. Most recently, Halsey played two sold out shows at the newly reopened Webster Hall, through which she promoted the artwork and name for the single. Throughout her career, Halsey has never been afraid to challenge her fans thoughts on social, political, and or cultural issues, nor has she ever strayed from speaking her mind. With her new hit single ‘Nightmare’ she does exactly that. 

Nightmare is dedicated to women and young girls, and draws attention to the microaggressions women deal with on a daily basis. It’s even been labeled by PopSugar as ‘The empowering hit we truly needed’. Like many other songs of Halsey’s, she draws from personal experiences she has faced, more specifically derogatory comments from men. 

The lyrics “ Come on, little lady, give us a smile, No I ain’t got nothin’ to smile about. I got no one to smile for, I waited a while for a moment to say I don’t own you a goddamn thing. “, describe how even something as little as telling a woman she should smile more, or anything along those lines are uncalled for. She expresses how she doesn’t owe anything to anyone, which is true 100% of the time, no matter who you are. 

Halsey’s actions in both her storytelling through video and her confrontational lyrics, give us a glimpse of her frustration with people who try to control her. Although she is faced with these occurrences, she overcomes them and chooses to encourage independence and not let other people control her thoughts and actions. The stories she is telling are incredibly important, in a time where women’s rights, and reproductive rights are being questioned. With over 9 million views and counting, Halsey is getting quite a powerful message out there, that we all need to hear.