Long story short, I’m lucky to be alive. Short story long, I wrote an album. It begins with The End.
That is how Halsey announced their new single, ‘The End,’ off their upcoming fifth studio album. The track, which was written and produced by Halsey, is quite possibly one of the artists most vulnerable to date. That is not to say that the singer hasn’t written songs that revealed their vulnerability (See ‘More’ off their third album Manic) before, but this one is entirely different.
It is no surprise to Halsey fans that the singer has dealt with chronic illness for a very long time. She has been open and honest about all of the battles she’s faced. Including endometriosis. In May of 2022, she filled us all in on some testing she had gone through to try and nail down what was going on because after giving birth to their first child, they were in and out of the hospital. She was diagnosed with various things like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. All of this was just before they went on tour for their fourth album ‘If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power.’
Fast forward to June 2024, and now Halsey has revealed that they have been dealing with much more than we all knew. Obviously, nobody’s health is our business. That is something so personal that you reveal if you choose to. Fans did have their thoughts that she may have been going through something because of a photo dump done at the beginning of the year, which featured a quick shot of them holding a specimen cup with what appeared to be some tissue samples and then a photo of them hooked up to an IV. It appears now that they are ready to tell us their story.
‘The End’ opens with Halsey singing, “Every couple of years now, a doctor says I’m sick, pulls out a brand new bag of tricks, and then they lay it on me. And at first, it was my brain, then a skeleton in pain and I don’t like to complain, but I’m saying sorry.” From that point on, she takes us down a journey that gives a little bit of what life has been like for them. ‘The End’ is emotional and raw and it had us in tears. Still does. I personally do not know what it is like to live with a chronic illness, but I have friends who do. The strength it takes to just push through each and every single day is tremendous. I can’t begin to imagine what that is like, but the fact that Halsey felt safe enough to reveal this to their fans took courage. And that courage and strength can provide encouragement to anyone who may be dealing with the exact same thing.
In an Instagram post, they showed us just what their life has been like in a series of videos and pictures. As I have said before, nobody knows what anyone is going through in life. That is why it is so important to be kind to one another. We don’t have specific details as to Halsey’s exact diagnosis, and we will not speculate, but they did tag the Lupus Research Alliance and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, to which they will be making a donation according to a press release.
‘The End’ is available on all streaming platforms now.