![]() ![]() Last November, Halsey addressed the latest perceived snub (when the Grammy nominations did not include Manic or its singles) on Instagram, with words both measured and unfiltered. Halsey has earned 7.5 million equivalent album units in the United States, according to MRC Data (for the Billboard 200 No. 1 Hopeless Fountain Kingdom and three No. 2 releases on the chart), and 21 Hot 100 entries, among them six top 10s and a solo No. 1, “Without Me.” In 2019, the Songwriters Hall of Fame honored Halsey with its Hal David Starlight Award, recognizing “gifted songwriters … making a significant impact” with their original work. ![]() Thus far, voters have seldom recognized Halsey, and only for their work on other artists’ releases - in 2017, Halsey’s feature on The Chainsmokers’ Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 smash, “Closer,” was up for best pop duo/group performance, and their contribution to Justin Bieber’s Purpose album meant they were up for album of the year - despite the fact that over the past six years, she has proved to be one of pop’s most reliable (and commercially viable) vanguards. Halsey’s team at Capitol is hoping this album will make fans of the Recording Academy, too. It has been invigorating and inspiring, and I can tell you we both needed it, just with what the world has been like the last couple of years.” “We came out the other end changed, in a good way, and revitalized. “We’re always looking for things that make us feel inspired and less cynical,” adds Reznor. I can listen to the album and get lost on an emotional level.” “The one thing that we didn’t change was any lyrics or melody. Making this album with Halsey is the latest step in their creative evolution, and one that both say has made them true fans of the 27-year-old singer-songwriter. (With the band, Reznor has won an additional two Grammys for best metal performance, in 19.) Amid all that, they entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of Nine Inch Nails. Since their surprise best original score Academy Award win for The Social Network in 2011, the duo has won a Grammy (best score soundtrack for visual media) for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in 2013, nabbed a primetime Emmy in 2020 with harrowing music for HBO’s Watchmen and just this year netted another Oscar (alongside Jon Batiste) for scoring Pixar’s Soul. Over the last 11 years, that work ethic has proved transformative for Reznor and Ross, who’ve built a parallel career as prolific composers for TV and film, and in the process made the unlikely leap from enigmatic alt-rock icons to awards darlings. “It really comforted me to know that I can be a good parent and still do the thing that I love and do it with involvement and dedication as they do.” “They gave me a lot of advice that I needed when I was pregnant,” says Halsey. ![]() Reznor and Ross are now the producers of Halsey’s fourth album, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, though as they sit together in a Los Angeles warehouse studio, it’s clear they’ve also become mentors who can offer creative input as well as a road map to what life as a successful musician and parent can look like. “So I wrote them a letter and just kissed their asses as much as I possibly could… and crossed my fingers that they would even respond.” “I was thinking, ‘Ugh, I don’t want it to be some corporate, ‘Hello, would you please be interested in working with our young pop star?’ ” recalls Halsey, adopting a bland affect. When a staffer at Capitol Records pointed out the two acts were labelmates and offered to make introductions, however, it provided the push Halsey needed. Although Halsey has drawn on Nine Inch Nails’ throbbing, disquieting industrial-electronic sonic palette since her 2015 debut, Badlands (and more recently on the blatant NIN pastiche “Nightmare,” a stand-alone single from 2019), she waited years before approaching active NIN band members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross with a pitch to work together. When it came to one lifelong goal, however, Halsey (whose pronouns are “she” and “they”) took their time. Quick to share how, as a kid, she had to pay for school lunches with dollar bills so worn out they felt like “old T-shirts.” And amid all this, Halsey is quick to soothe infant son Ender Ridley Aydin when he makes his presence known from the next room, bouncing him up and down and cooing him back to sleep, whether decked out in spiky Mad Max leather or David Bowie glam effulgence for today’s photo shoot. Quick to flip into scholar mode, explaining that one of their new songs is named after Biblical Adam’s forgotten first wife, Lilith, who was jettisoned from Eden for daring to enjoy sex. Quick to joke about their New Jersey accent slipping out after a few drinks. This story leads Billboard ’s 2022 Grammy Preview issue, highlighting the artists, issues and trends that will define awards season. ![]()
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