On August 28 2015, Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, also known as Halsey released her first full album named Badlands. Halsey started her youtube channel with a song made on Garage Band called, “Is There Somewhere”. This song ended up on her first EP, Room 93.

Sound wise, Badlands can be equated to listening to Lorde or Rihanna across a wide open field with nothing else around, with an indie vibe from the vocals. Lyrically, the album talks about today’s youth, past relationships (difficulties, or how they felt), and experiences she’s had. These may seem like typical topics for an album, however the words and phrases she uses make them sound brand new.

One of the most popular songs on the album is “New Americana”. Written about America’s youth, the song sounds like an anthem for those who feel like they don’t fit into our society.

Another popular song on the album is called, “Ghost”.  This song wrecks typical song structure, putting the bridge first, then goes to the verses and chorus. In “Ghost”, Halsey is talking about a relationship she had, where she begs for a man, and because of this begging, he believes that he is not good for her. She says in the song, “My ghost, where’d you go? I can’t find you in the body sleeping next to me. My ghost, where’d you go? What happened to the soul that you used to be?” To me, this means that the person is still there, but their soul has been lost.

When you hear about all the things she’s been through, it doesn’t seem like Halsey is 20 years old, but she is. Halsey is a mixed-race, bisexual woman in a male dominated industry. This can surprise some people based on her appearance. She also describes herself as not having a gender identity, not being really a male or a female. Having someone who identifies this way in the media is truly comforting to me, as I feel the same way about myself.