20 Questions With Halsey, The Queen Of New Americana

With Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, the queen of New Americana is more outspoken than ever. Here, she talks about donating $100,000 to Planned Parenthood and the virtues of the dad bod

- Rebecca Haithcoat

Q1: Hopeless Fountain Kingdom hit number one on the Billboard 200. You’re the first woman to top that chart in 2017. How does it feel?

HALSEY: A lot of this accolade shit is super arbitrary: “Halsey is the first girl with blue hair from New Jersey to….” It’s exciting but also enraging, because I know a lot of women who put out better albums than me who deserve massive accolades, and I’m the one who had to break the seal.

Q2: Badlands, your 2015 debut studio album, made you a pop star. In less than a year you went from playing 400-capacity clubs to selling out Madison Square Garden. Then, last year, the Chainsmokers’ “Closer” blasted you to a whole new level. Has your ascent been as dizzying as it looks from here?

HALSEY: I got successful so quickly. I blinked, and a couple months later I was performing on national television. There was zero time to get adjusted. I was considered relevant and important enough to accept awards and perform, but some people were like, “Who the fuck is that?” It’s weird: The further I slip into the mainstream, I also maintain this kind of cult personality. And it’s weird to me that I’ve tried so hard to be transparent, and then after “Closer” it dawned on me that many people know only that about me.

Q3: Do you ever feel you’re underestimated?