Halsey has made a habit of deftly bouncing between genres lately, and their latest song is no exception. The singer dropped the heartbreaking single “Lonely Is the Muse” on Thursday (August 15), a pointed, crashing rant against those who tried to put her in a box and profit from exploiting her body and soul.
“I always knew I was a witness and Jesus was too/But I was made of special pieces I learned how to unscrew/And I can always assemble to fit perfectly for you/Or whoever decides I'm useful,” he sings on his ominous chorus song written by Stuart Price (Madonna, Dua Lipa) and produced by Austin Corona, Wyatt Bernard and Brandon Buttner.
The song also seems to take aim at those who would belittle and resent the singer, as in the opening verse, which lays out a scenario of years spent “becoming cool,” only to have someone “wipe away a decade of my efforts » snapping a finger. The second verse takes just as harsh aim at those who would reduce her success and artistry to the sum of their body parts, while casually noting that others have derived success from Halsey's artistry. “So where do I go in the process when I'm just a device?/ I've inspired platinum records, I've earned platinum airline status,” Halsey screams over tumultuous guitars and funereal drums. “And I've mined some diamonds from the stories in my head/ But I've been reduced to a body here in someone else's bed,” he continues.
After dropping the Britney Spears-infused poppy “Lucky” last month, the third single from the singer's upcoming fifth album is a return to the slick, industrial-inspired sound of their collaborations with Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross in 2021. If I can't have love, I want power. Halsey released the first single, the confessional acoustic “The End,” which hints at her struggling with some of the serious medical issues she's faced in recent years.
According to a release, Halsey previewed the song during their headlining sets at Budapest's Sziget festival and Helsinki's Flow festival last week, as well as a secret show at Coco in London on Wednesday night (August 14). . At press time, a release date for the singer's upcoming album — their first under a new deal with Columbia Records after parting ways with longtime label Capitol — has yet to be announced.
Listen to “Lonely Is the Muse” below.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/halsey-rocking-lonely-is-the-muse-single-listen-1235753777/
