The first official song off Halsey’s upcoming fifth studio album has been released, and we’re feeling it a lot. The song “Lucky” samples the popular 2000 Britney Spears song of the same name, making us feel nostalgic and sad all at once.
In the weeks leading up to the release of Lucky, Halsey was dropping tons of 2000s-era pop culture. She took us on a journey of a pop star’s rise and fall from grace, including parodies of Disney-esque promos, those infamous “Got Milk” ads we saw in every magazine, and various tabloid covers. As we’ve said before, Halsey does a fantastic job of creating new worlds and concepts when bringing us into a new album cycle, and this is no different.
Like the teases Halsey gave us, the song and music video for “Lucky” also paints a vivid story of a pop star experiencing some amazing highs and then some lows. The music video, directed by Gia Coppola (Palo Alto), can be interpreted in many ways, and I think that is one of the really cool things about art—it’s subjective. On the one hand, the video that features Coppola’s cousin Pascale could be about a young version of Halsey before reaching stardom. On the other hand, it could be about a young girl who is a fan of pop star Halsey, who is watching them and growing with them as their career grows.
However you see it, The most important thing is that the message is still received. And that message is that you should never make assumptions about another person’s life. Just because it may seem on the outside that they have everything they want in life and are happy, that may not be the case. As the young girl watches Halsey and mimics some of their actions, we see that Halsey, the pop star, is having a not-so-glamorous life. They are dealing with loneliness on the road and having arguments with their significant other. Throughout the video, Halsey reveals their vulnerability in various ways. We see them in a nude suit similar to the one Spears wore in her music video for “Toxic,” but what’s interesting is that for me, I saw it as a symbolic nakedness with Halsey revealing the truth about all that she has been enduring for the last two years. Halsey has always been vocal about things, but there are also things that she has kept hidden.
That vulnerability is even further revealed as Halsey sings, “I shaved my head four times because I wanted to. And then I did it one more time ’cause I got sick.” We see them sitting in their dressing room, removing their makeup and then their pink wig to reveal a shaved head. As the scenes play out, we then see Halsey in a chair receiving an IV infusion. The singer recently revealed in 2022, they had been diagnosed with Lupus SLE and a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder. Halsey also mentions becoming a single mother.
The video culminates with the young girl and Halsey walking in the same park, where they ultimately meet on a swing set. Now, the question is, did Halsey meet the young girl who was a fan? Or was the young girl a representation of them wanting to go back to that place of childhood innocence again before fame? That’s the question we ask ourselves when we return to the swings again and notice that the one with the young girl is now empty, and only Halsey remains. As we said, the video can be interpreted in many ways. One thing is certain: Halsey and Coppola did a great job with this one, and tears were shed as we watched. Also, this now has us wondering what else we’re in store for with this new album, and hopefully, we’ll have a release date soon.
Watch the music video for “Lucky” below:
