Halsey comes back strong after her last single “Without Me” became a global phenomenon by being a chart-topper in several countries around the world. Her new single “Nightmare” is poised to become an even bigger hit as the hitmaker screams for female empowerment.
“Nightmare” is a part of Halsey’s upcoming third studio album, following ‘hopeless fountain kingdom’ album released in June 2017. It is the first official single from the upcoming album, while “Without Me” acts as a stand-alone single for now.
On May 9th, Halsey teased a snippet of “Nightmare” from a live performance of it in New York. On May 10th, Halsey hinted at the new single on Twitter, sharing that billboards have been raised in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco and Chicago containing the lyrics of the song.
On May 16th, Halsey teased the upcoming music video for the single;
The music video for “Nightmare” is all-female-powered and is directed by Hannah Lux Davis. Halsey takes on different forms–rockstar, sexual deviant, prison inmate, 80’s model, female mobster, a nude girl tied in a spiders web–throughout the video–all to inspire and empower the listeners.
The entire song is a cry out loud about the nightmares faced by women in many fronts of the society. Being treated as second-class citizens, sexual harassments, equal rights, body shaming, equal opportunity, discrimination and social injustice towards women are some of the underlying concepts of this high-energy track.
Watch “Nightmare” Music Video by Halsey
Download “Nightmare” Single on iTunes and Amazon
The music video also features some star cast members such as supermodels Cara Delevingne, Suki Waterhouse, and Debbie Harry-the lead single of the ’70s rock band Blondie.
The intro to “Nightmare” by Halsey is a reproduction of a child’s prayer from England dating back to the 18th century. This prayer acts as a self-comforter against nightmares for children before they turn in for the night.
Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord, my soul to keep
If I shall die before I ‘wake
I pray the Lord, my soul to take
Halsey also opened up a new website ‘www.nightma.re‘ for fans who wish to share their stories of nightmares with the world.
The pre-chorus of the song takes on street sexual harassment endured by women on a daily basis. “Come on little lady, give us a smile” is a common cat-calling phrase used by men with a passing woman. Should the woman opt to smile, things could take drastic turns, as the smile being misinterpreted as a welcome for sexual advances.
And Halsey’s response to this? “No, I won’t smile, but I’ll show you my teeth.” Showing teeth is a sign of aggression as often portrayed by wild animals. She also hints about sexual empowerment when she says no man has the right to command a woman in bed. If kindness is being misunderstood as weakness, then you need to show aggression and defend yourself. If playing innocent doesn’t do it, you got to play the bully. This is all tiring work, but somebody has to do it. Somebody has to inspire the new generation. Halsey has done it.
Let us hear what you think about this badass new single and video “Nightmare” by Halsey in the comments below.
Complete Lyrics to “Nightmare” by Halsey