Nightmare (Halsey song)
"Nightmare" is a song by American singer Halsey. It was released as a single on May 17, 2019 and was sent to top 40 radio on May 21, 2019 through Capitol Records.[1] The song was written by Halsey along with its producers Benny Blanco, Cashmere Cat, and Happy Perez. The music video, directed by Hannah Lux Davis, accompanied its release the same day.[2] The song was added as a bonus track on the extended version of Halsey's fourth studio album If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power.
"Nightmare"
May 17, 2019
2019
3:52
- Benjamin Levin
- Elena Kiper
- Magnus Høiberg
- Ivan Shapovalov
- Martin Kierszenbaum
- Nathan Perez
- Sergio Galoyan
- Trevor Horn
- Valerij Polienko
- Benny Blanco
- Cashmere Cat
- Happy Perez
Composition[edit]
"Nightmare" is described as an alternative rock,[3] punk rock,[4] emo,[5] electro-metal,[6] industrial[7] and trap[3] song by critics. It is written in the key A minor with 146 beats per minute.[8] The song contains an interpolation of "All the Things She Said" by Russian duo t.A.T.u. Elena Kiper, one of the songwriters of t.A.T.u's song, posted on her Instagram that an initial version of Halsey's track "contained an extensive interpolation of the original work" but later the sample was changed by G-Eazy,[9] although the latter isn't credited on the work.
Promotion[edit]
In May 2019, Halsey posted a link on her social media, directing users to the website "nightma.re" to sign up for email alerts and prompting them to share what their worst nightmare is. The site gave a series of options, and upon clicking one of the options, users would be shown an explanation as to the meaning of that specific nightmare.[10] Fans also believed that the time tickets for her recent intimate concerts went on sale, 5:17 PM, was a hint towards the date new music would be released,[11] although Halsey claimed no knowledge of this and only said new music would be coming "sooner than you think".[10] She then announced the single's release date on Twitter on May 9, 2019, posting a video of her revealing the title at one of her concerts, and captioning it "new single. NIGHTMARE. may 17th".[1] Several days later, Halsey announced she had hidden lyrics of the song in five US cities: Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, and New York City.[12]
On May 20, 2019, Halsey performed a free show for fans in Minneapolis, where she performed the single live for the first time, along with "Castle", "Gasoline", "Without Me" and "Don't Play". She uploaded a video of some of the performances on YouTube following the show.[13]
Music video[edit]
The music video for "Nightmare" premiered on YouTube on May 16, 2019.[14] Directed by Hannah Lux Davis, the video features appearances by Cara Delevingne, Debbie Harry,[15] Ryan Destiny, and Suki Waterhouse.[16]
Critical reception[edit]
The song has received positive reviews. Billboard magazine said the song is musically "unorthodox" containing "stylistic curveballs" and "killer lines" that "exalt autonomy, sexual freedom and self-acceptance".[17] The line "I've been polite, but I won't be caught dead/ Letting a man tell me what I should do in my bed" was noted as a "barbed assault on patriarchal expectation" by Billboard and "a necessary gesture of rage and empowerment" by Rolling Stone.[18] Billboard named it the 17th best song of 2019.[19]