Essential Halsey Songs

10. "More" (Manic)
This song is basically Halsey a capella and shows off the strength of her voice with minimal accompaniment. It's hard to resist being drawn in.

9. "New Americana" (Badlands)
Hard to get that chorus out of my head - "we are the new americana, high on legal marijuana; we are the new americana, raised on Biggie and Nirvana". And I've been high on Halsey's music for awhile.

8. "Alone" (Hopeless Fountain Kingdom)
When I first heard this song from Halsey's second album, it reminded me of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind." Not to say they are alike, but this just showed me that Halsey can pull off multiple styles throughout her albums and nothing seems out of place.

"Alone" and the previous song on hopeless fountain kingdom, "Heaven in Hiding", are songs that show different sides of a romance. "Heaven In Hiding" shows the female perspective while "Alone" is from the perspective of a mysterious Great Gatsby-type who hosts parties.

7. "Finally/Beautiful Stranger" (Manic)
I like the lyric - "stuck between my teeth like a candy bar."

6. "Haunting" (Badlands)
I absolutely love this song from Halsey's first album, which talks about a relationship that has ended yet she refuses to move on. "I tried to wash you away but you just won't leave" and "I came here so you'd come for me" are some of the lyrics, while the music pulls me into a trance, and I end up losing track of how many times I can listen to this on repeat.

5. "Colors" (Badlands)
Another Halsey song that always seems to pull me into some trance-like state and I lose track of how many times I've listened to this on repeat. I like the use of colors- one is red and one is blue, and they thought they'd be together in a lilac sky... yet it wasn't to be.

4. "Gasoline" (Badlands)
This is a track from her first album, and although she's three albums deep into her career, these are still her strongest lyrics. Apparently this didn't make the actual album, but was included as part of the deluxe version, and Halsey encouraged fans to buy this version instead for this song.

3. "Sorry" (Hopeless Fountain Kingdom)
Such a depressing ballad written as a warning to a future ex-lover. "Sorry to my unknown lover, sorry that I can't believe that anybody starts to fall in love with me." Ouch... but I've been there too, Halsey.

2. "Graveyard" (Manic)
While her first album, Badlands, may be the best musically, I feel like Manic's strength is in her vocal performances such as this song. Either the songs are written in a softer style to make her vocals the centerpiece or she's just more confident in her singing with her third album... or both.

1. "Without Me" (Manic)
I was somewhat familiar with Halsey because of a single she recorded with The Chainsmokers, and "Him and I" with G-Eazy, through music I'd been exposed to by working for events with our local pop music station, KISS FM. Unfortunately, most of the pop music becomes background music after a certain point, as it's hard to tell who each artist is as most songs just blend together. It wasn't until a few years later when I caught Halsey by chance on a rerun of SNL, performing "Eastside" and "Without Me.", and pulling double duty as the host, too. She sang her latest single, "Without Me", with only a piano accompanying her, and the walls behind her appeared to be painted in lies told to her by an ex lover. It was captivating and set her apart from her peers as the stripped-down setting let her voice take over. I was instantly a fan. I'm glad her recent album Manic has a deluxe version with an extra stripped down take on that song as well.