Manic is the third studio album by singer-songwriter Halsey that was released on January 17, 2020. It serves as a follow-up to 2017's Hopeless fountain kingdom. Originally, Manic was supposed to be an angry and rebellious album, but after writing the song "Nightmare", Halsey found herself wanting to make a very "calm and introspective" record instead.
Ashley
Ashley serves as the opening track for Manic. This is the first time that Halsey is showing us the real her without playing the role of any character.
The singer begins to take her fans on a different journey into a new era on the album singing:
Took my heart and sold it out to a vision that I wrote myself
And I don't wanna be somebody in America just fighting the hysteria
I only wanna die some days
On the chorus, Ashley refers to the day when she is no longer alive. And that the dust will be the only thing that her fans will remember by with the lyrics:
Someday, someday, when I burst into flames
I'll leave you the dust, my love
Before the song ends, you can hear an audio recording taken from the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as Kate Winslet speaks:
Too many guys think I'm a concept, or
I complete them, or I'm gonna make them alive
I'm just a fucked up girl who's lookin' for my own peace of mind
Don't assign me yours
clementine
On "clementine", Halsey is building her own personality and also channeling her vulnerable side as well. Ironically, the song title was inspired by the name of Winslet's character from the same movie that the singer played an audio recording of on the previous track "Ashley".
She sings on the first verse:
I'd like to tell you that my sky's not blue, it's violent rain
And in my world, the people on the street don't know my name
In my world, I'm seven feet tall
And the boys always call, and the girls do too
Then, Halsey makes mention of her bipolar disorder, which is something that she has been very open about, on the chorus with the lyrics:
'Cause I don't need anyone
I don't need anyone
I just need everyone and then some
I don't need anyone
I don't need anyone
I just need everyone and then some
Graveyard
Graveyard talks about loving someone who is in a bad place. And loving them so much without realizing that you're going into that same dark road with them.
Halsey starts things off slow on the first verse singing:
It's crazy when
The thing you love the most is the detriment
Let that sink in
Before the beat of the song changes into a very catchy chorus with the lyrics:
Oh, 'cause I keep diggin' myself down deeper
I won't stop 'til I get where you are
I keep running when both my feet hurt
I won't stop 'til I get where you are
Oh, when you go down all your darkest roads
I woulda followed all the way to the graveyard
You should be sad
You should be sad is a country inspired song that finds the singer throwing shade at her former lover. She sings:
No, you're not half the man you think that you are
And you can't fill the hole inside of you with money, drugs, and cars
I'm so glad I never ever had a baby with you
Halsey admits that she tried her best to help her ex-boyfriend. But in the end, she is also glad that she got out of that relationship on the chorus with the lyrics:
Oh, I feel so sorry, I feel so sad
I tried to help you, it just made you mad
And I had no warning about who you are
I'm just glad I made it out without breaking down
And then ran so f****** far
That you would never ever touch me again
Forever … (is a long time)
Forever ... (is a long time) showcases the journey of falling in love and then later sabotaging it with your own paranoia or insecurities.
The song begins with in a major key on the intro as Halsey sings:
I spent a long time watering a plant made out of plastic
And I cursed the ground for growing green
I spent a long time substituting honest with sarcastic
And I cursed my tongue for being mean
Before transitioning to minor where the singer paints a picture of what happens in her life once she starts getting in her head with the lyrics:
Would cower at this small brunette
To my surprise, not six feet high
Who'd reach and grab the moon if I
Should ask or just imply
That I wanted a bit more light
So I could look inside his eyes
And get the colors just right
Then the piano starts fading out a little bit towards the end while Halsey expresses her disbelief in love saying:
'Cause I could never hold a perfect thing and not demolish it
What am I thinking? What does this mean?
How could somebody ever love me?
Talk to your man, tell him he's got bad news comin'
Dominic's Interlude featuring Dominic Fike
Dominic's Interlude serves as one of the three interludes on Halsey's third studio album. It features vocal from Los Angeles singer Dominic Fike.
The song is about brotherly love and represents the different relationships that Halsey has been in as Dom sings on the first verse:
Your eyes are drawn to the wine list (Wine, baby, baby)
The usual, the towers in your world are sinkin'
And if you're lookin' for signs then, you should know (Ooh)
There's power in the words you're thinkin'
He also interpolates the outro lyrics from the previous track "Forever ... (is a long time) on the chorus with:
Talk to your man
Tell him he got bad news comin' (Yeah)
I HATE EVERYBODY
I HATE EVERYBODY is the singer's first track to be stylized in all uppercase. The song is about Halsey being young and letting her second thoughts get the best of her.
She sings:
I'm my own biggest enemy
Yeah, all my empathy's a disaster
Feelin' somethin' like a scaly thing
Wrapped too tightly 'round my own master
Then Halsey talks about how could she fall in love with somebody who doesn't love her back on the chorus with the lyrics:
So I'll just hate everybody
Well, then why can't I go home without somebody?
And really, I could fall in love with anybody who don't want me
So I just keep sayin' I hate everybody
3am
3am comes right after the preceding song "I HATE EVERYBODY". The singer talks about how drinking has affected with her mental health while also calling all of her friends early in the morning just to feel loved.
She sings on the first verse:
Think I took it way too far
And I'm stumblin' drunk, getting in a car
My insecurities are hurtin' me
Someone please come and flirt with me
Then, Halsey continues on the chorus about how she doesn't want to be alone after a long night out with the lyrics:
'Cause it's 3 AM
And I'm callin' everybody that I know
And here we go again
While I'm runnin' through the numbers in my phone
And yeah, I'll take fake moans and dial tones
Let 'em spill right down the microphone
I need it digital 'cause, baby, when it's physical
I end up alone
Halsey then closes out the track with a voicemail from singer John Mayer before it goes into the next song "Without Me". He talks about the song's success saying:
Your, your best song is a song that's currently on the radio
How many people can say that?
That their best song is the one that's currently about to be a massive hit?
It's already a hit, it's just gonna get more massive
How many people can say it? Not very many
Congratulations!
Without Me
On "Without Me", Halsey tackles on a breakup from a public relationship with her ex-boyfriend, possibly referring to G-Eazy, after she was cheated on in front of the entire world.
The singer begins to let it all of her feelings out on the pre-chorus with:
I said I'd catch you if you fall (Fall)
And if they laugh, then f*** 'em all (All)
And then I got you off your knees
Put you right back on your feet
Just so you could take advantage of me
On the heartbreaking chorus, Halsey sings:
Thinkin' you could live without me
Thinkin' you could live without me
Baby, I'm the one who put you up there
I don't know why (Yeah, I don't know why)
Finally // beautiful stranger
Finally // beautiful stranger is an acoustic love song that tells the story on how Halsey met her future boyfriend YUNGBLUD. The pair had split up in September 2019, three months before the song was released.
Halsey sings on the first verse:
Your eyes, so crisp, so green
Sour apple baby, but you taste so sweet
You got hips like Jagger and two left feet
And I wonder if you'd like to meet
Then later on the chorus, you can hear the singer falling in love with this handsome guy with the lyrics:
Beautiful stranger, here you are in my arms and I know
That beautiful strangers only come along to do me wrong
And I hope, beautiful stranger, here you are in my arms
But I think it's finally, finally, finally, finally, finally safe
For me to fall
Alanis' Interlude featuring Alanis Morissette
The singer taps Alanis Morissette for this bisexual anthem that talks about loving women and also representing sexual and professional empowerment.
On the chorus, the singers do a classic spin on John Mayer's 2002 hit song "Your Body Is A Wonderland" singing:
'Cause your p**** is a wonderland
And I could be a better man
It doesn't matter to me
Then, Halsey makes mention of hooking up with a female counselor when she was 16 years old at a summer camp with the lyrics:
And my girl, she always wore a skirt in the classroom
Eatin' my dessert in the bathroom
Can't get caught, so we stiller than a statue
With a little help from Alanis, Halsey is sick of all of the labels when it comes to her bisexuality on the post-chorus with:
'Cause he is she is her
And her and he are love
And I have never felt the difference
'Cause he is she is her
And her and he are love
Tirin' all these labels
killing boys
killing boys is about how a woman should be strong and independent after a breakup. The intro interpolates voices by Amanda Seyfried & Megan Fox from the 2009 horror film "Jennifer's Body" with them saying:
You're killing people
No, I'm killing boys
Boys are just placeholders, they come and they go
You're my best friend, and I wanna help you
But I won't let you kill again
That's a lose-lose
Then, Halsey comes in on the first verse singing:
Told me pick my battles and be pickin' 'em wise
But I wanna pick 'em all and I don't wanna decide
No more, no more, anymore
The singer can be heard on the chorus making it very clear that she wants nothing to do with her ex. While also, seeking for revenge in return on him with the lyrics:
And I won't ever try again
And all I want in return is revenge
'Cause I don't need you anymore, woah
So where do you go?
SUGA's Interlude featuring Suga of BTS
This dreamy like track tells the story from both Halsey and Suga's point of view about falling in and out of love with music.
Halsey begins to open up the intro singing:
I've been trying all my life
To separate the time
In between the having it all
And giving it up, yeah
Then, Suga discusses the challenges of being a musician on the English translation lyrics rapping:
Ayy, this wandering, with only blueness inside my head
Self-loathing and pride live in my heart
I was full of dreams, then I grew and made all of it come true
Yet keeping dreams as dreams would be better
I thought, while living at the same time
May my leap not be a fall
More
More has been described as the singer's most personal song with her talking about the loss of her unborn child.
Halsey sings:
Lyin' awake, and I stare at the door
I just can't take it no more
They told me it's useless, there's no hope in store
After confessing her trials and tribulations from having a miscarriage, the singer finds herself showing increased for her future child on the chorus with the lyrics:
I want you more
Somehow, I just want you more
I want you more
Somehow, I just want you more
Still Learning
On "Still Learning", the singer is having a hard time with loving herself despite achieving so much success with her music.
Halsey highlights her lack of self-esteem on the first verse singing:
I should be living the dream
But I'm livin' with a security team
And that ain't gonna change, no
I got a paranoia in me
Then, she continues to bare her vulnerable side on the chorus with the lyrics:
But I'm still learning to love myself
(To love my–, to love my–, to love my–)
I'm still learning to love myself
929
929 is the closing song on Manic. The title of the track takes its name from Halsey's birthday, which is September 29, 1994.
She starts off the track with a spoken intro saying:
I really was born at 9:29 AM on 9/29
You think I'm lying, but I'm, I'm being dead serious
Okay, I'll prove it
Then, Halsey begins to talk about her humble beginnings with the lyrics:
Well, who am I? I'm almost 25
Can't remember half the time that I've been alive
'Cause half was in a cheap apartment
And half was on the Eastside
It appears that the singer could be taking another dig at her ex G-Eazy by referring to a collaboration that was supposed to be on the rapper's "B-Sides" EP singing:
They said don't meet your heroes, they're all f*****' weirdos
And God knows that they were right
Because nobody loves you, they just try to f*** you
Then put you on a feature on the B-Side
I have been a huge fan of Halsey's music since May 2019. And yet, when I listened to the whole Manic album from beginning to end, I saw the singer's different perspective on things as Ashley and not as Halsey.
The way that the New Jersey superstar took on confessional pop for her third studio album without holding anything back is absolutely breathtaking. She definitely didn't disappoint fans with Manic along with its many genres like hip-hop, country and alternative rock music.
Buy and stream Manic on Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, Google Play, Apple Music, Pandora and more:
Purchase the Target Exclusive version of Manic to get one voice memo and bonus song from Halsey:
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