Halsey reveals she booked hardcore shows in New Jersey as a teenager

Halsey’s road to chart success began in the most unexpected of places: New Jersey’s hardcore scene.

In a recently released TikTok video, the Grammy-nominated artist (real name Ashley Nicolette Frangipane) reflects on her early days organizing gigs for hardcore and metal bands.

“Before I started making music, I was promoting hardcore shows in Jersey,” Halsey said at an Ulta meet-and-greet event for her About-Face beauty line. “I did a lot of hardcore, but also some more commercial hardcore. The biggest gigs I ever booked were when I was 16, like August Burns Red and The Devil Wears Prada Same.

Halsey also shared that her senior yearbook quote was inspired by hardcore band Defeater, adding, “I’ve said before that I might have quoted Hundredth as well, so who knows.”

The singer’s hardcore roots may seem a far cry from her current pop dominance, but certainly add context to the genre-bending ethos that has defined her career. Her 2015 debut album, wastelandEntering the Billboard 200 at number two, her position has been matched ever since. mania 2020 and If I can’t have love, I want power 2021. great imitator (2024), debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and topped the Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Alternative Albums charts, with first-week sales of the equivalent of 93,000 albums, including traditional albums, according to Luminate Sales were 81,000 copies.

great imitator marks her third leader on the latter If I can’t have love, I want power (2021) and wasteland (2015). Driven by strong vinyl sales, it also entered Billboard’s top album sales chart at No. 2, accounting for 26,000 units sold.

The album included songs such as “Panic Attack” and “Ego,” which debuted on the Hot Rock and Alternative Songs charts at No. 25 and No. 30, respectively. “Ego” made significant progress at radio, peaking at #25 on the Adult Pop Airplay chart and #28 on the Pop Airplay chart.

Halsey was involved in rock and metal music long before she was topping the charts. Her 2021 album, If I can’t have love, I want powerProduced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, working with rock icons such as Dave Grohl and Lindsey Buckingham. and great imitatorHalsey continues her exploration of rock inspiration, even recreating iconic looks from artists like David Bowie, Cher and Bruce Springsteen ahead of the album’s October 2024 release.