Hopeless Fountain Kingdom
Hopeless Fountain Kingdom (stylized in all lowercase) is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Halsey. It was released on June 2, 2017, through Astralwerks. The album features guest appearances from Quavo, Lauren Jauregui and Cashmere Cat. Halsey co-wrote every song on the album, while production was handled by Lido and Benny Blanco, among others. Following its release, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States and the Canadian Albums Chart. The album was also certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the US. In support of the album, Halsey embarked on the Hopeless Fountain Kingdom Tour (2017–2018). The album was described by Halsey as having more "radio friendly music" when compared to her previous releases. As a result, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom is primarily a pop and R&B record and features synth-pop and electropop.
Hopeless Fountain Kingdom
June 2, 2017
August 2016 – January 2017
38:32
The album's lead single, "Now or Never", was released on April 4, 2017. It peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100, marking Halsey's first top-twenty entry on the chart as a lead artist. It also became Halsey's first track as a lead artist to earn multi-Platinum status; it was certified double Platinum by the RIAA. The second single, "Bad at Love", peaked at number five on the Hot 100, making it Halsey's highest peak as a lead artist on the chart at the time. It was certified quintuple Platinum by the RIAA. The third and final single, "Alone", reached number 66 on the Hot 100, was certified Platinum by the RIAA and reached number one on the US Dance Club Songs chart.
Background and musical style[edit]
Hopeless Fountain Kingdom is a concept album that connects with their previous album Badlands,[1] and Halsey has explained various parallels between lyrics on songs from both albums.[2][3][4] Halsey also hinted that something on the album was inspired by the song "Empty Gold" from her 2014 debut EP Room 93.[5] Hopeless Fountain Kingdom's story and characters are mostly inspired by William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, with the opening track "The Prologue" featuring the play's prologue spoken by Halsey. Inspiration for the album has also come from Halsey removing themself from a toxic relationship.[6]
The album is noted for swapping the genders of Romeo and Juliet[7] and including same sex relationships. The main character is a bisexual[8] female named Luna Aureum (Luna meaning "moon"), and her main love interest is male character Solis Angelus (Solis meaning "sun"),[9][2] with references to female love interests in the songs "Bad at Love"[10] and "Strangers",[11] featuring Lauren Jauregui who is bisexual herself.[12]
Billboard has pointed out that the album title might be named after a real fountain built by Halsey's ex-boyfriend off the L train's Halsey Street stop in Brooklyn.[13][14]
In the behind-the-scenes video for the first single, "Now or Never", Halsey revealed that the Hopeless Fountain Kingdom is a sort of purgatory for people who are too bad for heaven, but too good for hell. Luna and Solis are rumored to be the only two people born inside the Kingdom. The music video for "Now or Never" was heavily influenced by Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film adaptation of the play, Romeo + Juliet.[15]
Musically, Halsey stated that she didn't want her first album to be a radio album and that although this album has a more radio-friendly sound she still sees herself as an alternative artist; Halsey also said that she is "more than capable of writing radio music". For this album, Halsey worked with several producers, including Greg Kurstin, Benny Blanco and Ricky Reed.[16] The record is mainly rooted in pop music and R&B,[17][18][19] specifically synth-pop[20] and electropop,[21] with "trap-pop vibes".[22]
Promotion[edit]
Halsey referenced the album as early as 2014, posting "(and the Kingdom)" on Twitter,[23] and in 2016 when playing in Madison Square Garden she displayed the words "you can find me in the Kingdom" on a screen.[14] In February 2017, she invited 100 fans in London to a church to hear four new songs from the album.[24]
In March, multiple Twitter accounts connected to Halsey began hinting at a storyline present in the album, seemingly involving two characters named Luna and Solis belonging to two different houses called the House of Aureum and the House of Angelus. Soon after the tweets were released, Halsey began mailing out quotes from Romeo and Juliet to fans.[14] In the first song on the album titled "The Prologue," Halsey recites the beginning lines of the play. The story of Luna and Solis in Hopeless Fountain Kingdom takes significant influence from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, in particular the Baz Luhrmann directed adaptation Romeo + Juliet. Halsey and Luhrmann would later be interviewed by Beats 1's Zane Lowe about their respective adaptation processes.[25]
The album was announced on March 7, 2017, via Halsey's Twitter account, along with a photograph of her holding a rose, and on March 23, announced the release date of June 2, 2017.[26][27][28][29] To release the album cover, she had a global scavenger hunt, where miniature gun shaped USB's were hidden in 9 cities around the world with pieces of the cover. When all the pieces were found, they revealed the album cover art along with the announcement of the first single, "Now or Never". On May 16, 2017, Halsey hinted via her Twitter account that the album would be accompanied by a series of connected music videos.
Commercial performance[edit]
Hopeless Fountain Kingdom debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 106,000 album-equivalent units, of which 76,000 were pure album sales.[47] This feat made Halsey the first female act in 2017 to open atop the chart. In Australia, the album debuted at number two with first-week sales of 4,300 copies.[48] The album debuted at number 12 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 7,123 copies in its first week.[49]
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes[50]
Notes
Sample credits