Step right up and marvel at the magnificent wonders of Halsey. The musician brought the world of their upcoming album, The Great Impersonator, to life at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards with a performance of “Ego,” the latest single from the record.
Halsey rode onto the stage on a bike and strutted over to the garage on the house replica she had assembled for the set, bringing New Jersey to Long Island. Lifting up the door, they revealed a three-piece band waiting to rock out with them — which included Måneskin’s Victoria De Angelis on bass.
The musician arrived to the show with red hair cascading down her shoulders, but went for a fiery short cut for the performance, continuing to play around with the concept of her upcoming album. All of these different versions of Halsey represent a different piece of the unfolding puzzle.
“I can’t keep my feet on the ground/And I’m nervous what you’ll think of me now/I’m hoping that someone comes around/Helps me figure it out,” Halsey sings on “Ego,” before tapping into the rock sphere she always sounds completely at home in. “I think that I should try to kill my ego/’Cause if I don’t, my ego might kill me/I’m all grown up but somehow lately/I’m acting like a fucking baby/I’m really not as happy as I seem.”
Last week, Halsey announced The Great Impersonator with a scheduled release date of Oct. 25. “I made this record in the space between life and death. And it feels like I’ve waited an eternity for you to have it,” they wrote in a social media statement. “I’ll wait a bit longer. I’ve waited a decade, already.” The singer has described the album as a “confessional concept album,” one born from a period of intense illness and emotional transformation.
“I really thought this album might be the last one I ever made. When you get sick like that, you start thinking about ways it could’ve all been different,” Halsey said in an album trailer. “What if this isn’t how it all went down? 18-year-old Ashley becomes Halsey in 2014.” The album cycles through imaginings of Halsey across different decades. “Am I still Halsey every time? In every timeline?” they ask. “Do I still get sick? Do I become a mom? Am I happy? Lonely? Have I done enough? Have I told the truth?”
Halsey last performed at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2016 with the Chainsmokers when they performed their chart-topping single “Closer.” Since then, Halsey has released three studio albums, including Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, Manic, and If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power.
