Grammy-nominated singer Halsey has released multiple albums but when it comes to performing, she can be a bit picky about the venue. On Sept. 9, 2024, she appeared on SubwayTakes with Kareem Rahma while traveling in a subway.
When Rahma asked what her favorite song was, she mentioned Nightmare. However, when he requested her to sing it, she refused. She said she sang in public once about ten years ago, and people still teased her about it.
“I can’t do it here. I sang in public one time like ten years ago and everybody still makes fun of me for it. I was in a mall,” Halsey responded.
During the conversation, she sang a line from Bruce Springsteen's 1985 song I'm on Fire with Rahma. She reflected on how some people due to the ‘Americana caricature’ associated with Springsteen overlooked his talent as a songwriter. She shared that she had recently read some of his lyrics to someone in the form of poetry.
As the conversation with Rahma progressed, Halsey expressed her admiration for the TV show The Bear and its Emmy-winning actress Ayo Edebiri, who was nominated for another award at the Sept. 15 ceremony.
The singer humorously said she is named after the Brooklyn L train stop ‘Halsey Street’
When Kareem Rahma asked whether the singer was named after the Brooklyn L train stop, she replied yes and added that her name was an anagram which means a word formed after simply rearranging the letters of another. The Without Me singer’s real name is Ashley Nicolette Frangipane and she said her professional name is formed after rearranging the letters of Ashley. She said:
“My name is Ashley and if you rearrange the letters, you get Halsey. And I figured that out on the train. I was like sitting here drunk. I was like that was my f******g name.”
The singer and Rahma had several other humorous exchanges during the episode. In one particular segment, he asked if she had to choose between a runny nose and a stuffed nose for the rest of her life, which one she would pick.
After thinking for a few seconds, Halsey replied that she would choose a stuffed nose because it would be her problem and not others as she would not be ‘leaking all over the place.'
As they exited a subway station, Rahma asked Halsey about her last time in New York. She said she visited the place a few months ago to work and meet her family.
Towards the end of the episode, she said she had a lot of favorite movies however, her ‘insufferable’ answer would be the 1965 film Pierrot le Fou. She also said her "cool girl" pick is Portrait of a Lady on Fire, while her more straightforward choice is Goodfellas.
