Halsey took the stage Thursday (November 21) for an intimate audience of about 1,400 fans at San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom as part of the Wells Fargo Autograph Card Exclusives music series. Launched in November 2023, the series brings fans close to some of the biggest names in music in smaller venues to feel the sonic power up close and personal.
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The global superstar Halsey talked via email to American Songwriter about the experience, how she prepares for smaller shows compared to larger arena concerts, and where she feels she is as an artist today. “I try to take the pressure off of myself, and just make things that speak to me and sit right with my soul,” she tells us.
Here below, read our Q&A with the pop star, who has amassed billions of streams for hit singles like “You Should Be Sad” and “Nightmare.” And check out a few photos from the show, too.
[RELATED: Halsey Channels Bruce Springsteen in Latest Album Teaser: “I’m a Jersey Girl”]
American Songwriter: How do you approach a smaller, intimate concert like this one as opposed to, say, one with tens of thousands of people in the audience?
Halsey: I just really focus on letting the show tell me what it is. I go into it with no expectations. When they are so small you are connecting with everyone on a more intimate level, so the show can change directions at the drop of a hat. It can be inspirational, it can be funny, it can be wild; it’s driven by what the audience is giving back to me. And that return shines through more in smaller numbers.
AS: It’s been said by many big-name artists that it can be easier playing to giant arenas compared to smaller theaters. Do you find this to be true in any way?
Halsey: Arenas are more dependable. The shows are often choreographed to the very second, from the first song to the last, so all the lights and music and visuals flow seamlessly. That means there is a great deal of comfort in what to expect moment to moment. The crowd in that size blends together in more of an abstract energy, though I still make an effort to connect on a personal level even in arenas. But with a smaller show, the sheer infrastructure of the thing is looser. It’s more run and gun, more spontaneous. I find that can be challenging at times, but really liberating as well.
AS: What do you enjoy most about performing in smaller rooms?
Halsey: There’s less pressure for things to be manicured. Arenas call for a tight and concise show that translates from very far away. In smaller rooms, the little details and private moments get more attention.
AS: Big arenas offer fans the chance to see big shows with big names. But most artists—and I assume this is true for you—come up playing smaller- or medium-sized venues early in their careers. Do you have a favorite memory of a smaller theater in the early Halsey days?
Halsey: My early tours were just absolute sweaty pandemonium. I miss being deafened by a crowd of 500 that feels like 50,000 because they are right in your face singing louder than you are. I also miss getting to meet a lot of the fans after the show. It was easier to do because it was a more relaxed experience when its a few hundred versus tens of thousands.
AS: If you could be an audience member at a smaller, more intimate show like this for any artist alive today, who would you want to go see?
Halsey: I would love to see Adele play to a tiny club! She’s an excellent storyteller onstage, and I bet it would feel like hanging with your friend.
AS: Creatively speaking, where do you find yourself these days? How are you approaching new work? Do you feel different as an artist today, say, compared to five, 10, or even 15 years ago?
Halsey: I have definitely evolved a lot in the past 10 or so years. I try to take the pressure off of myself, and just make things that speak to me and sit right with my soul. I appreciate the live element of music more and more every year, because it’s truly my favorite part.
AS: You have five songs that have hit one billion-plus streams on Spotify. Aside from the general marking of success that represents, what does this mean to you as a person?
Halsey: It’s a little scary to be honest. It’s not a margin of success I ever expected I would see, and it’s a challenge to not let having reached those peaks dictate where my art goes. I try very hard not to let those heights become standards or expectations of myself. I never planned for any of my songs to become “hits” when I wrote them. I just made what I felt, and then they connected with a lot of people. So, I try to keep that same mentality when I’m in the studio still. It’s something I’m exceptionally grateful for, but have learned to never expect.
AS: If someone said they wanted to be “the next Halsey,” what advice would you give?
Halsey: I would say, “God forbid.” I always tell aspiring artists to be undeniably themselves. It keeps you true and honest, and your work will benefit from that. Unique voices and points of view keep songwriting alive.
AS: As someone who was also born and raised in New Jersey, I have to ask: How did your upbringing in the Garden State prepare you for where you are now?
Halsey: It definitely made me appreciate people. New Jersey is so diverse in so many ways. There are so many pockets of life: city, suburban, rural, beachside all in one state. To some degree it also toughened me up. Jersey loves you back like a tough parent. It gave me a grit and a sense of humor that I think saves me a lot of the time. But I guess also gets me in trouble with people who can’t take a good old New Jersey joke.
AS: What was your first concert and what creative impact did it have on you?
Halsey: I went to a ton of boy-band shows as a young kid, but the first concert that I remember that truly impacted me was Green Day at Prudential Center [in Newark] when I was 10 years old. It put stars in my eyes and a love for rock music into my blood that never left. I was awestruck.
Photos by Adam Kudeimati
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