CREATIVE RESEARCH

Manic by Halsey

The album cover I chose to talk about is the cover of Halsey’s (Ashley Frangipane) third studio album Manic. Manic was released on January 17th 2020 with the big hits “Without Me”, “You Should Be Sad” and “Graveyard”, three songs that are catchy, brilliant and hold a strong message. The cover is a portrait, it seems basic to someone who is not a dedicated fan the way I am, but every detail is there for a reason with a not so hidden message.

If we take a look at her makeup, she has blue makeup all over her left eye, it is shiny, glittery and it even looks trendy. Halsey always shows up to award shows with artistic makeup, extravagant dresses so one would think that it is just her new style, but it’s way more than that. In her second hit single Graveyard from this album, she talks about being in an abusive relationship and how that regardless of how bad it gets, she was willing to follow her partner to the graveyard. “You think again, when the hand you want to hold is a weapon and you’re nothing but skin” (Graveyard, Manic) the makeup around her eye represents a bruise. She made a makeup tutorial with Vogue, recreating the makeup she had on the cover of Manic. “When I was coming up with the concept behind the album cover the ‘black eye’ was a really important part of it. I think the black eye is a universally recognized sign of pain or trauma or abuse.”(Vogue) She said that hopefully her eye will turn yellow in a year and it did, in her Clementine music video.

Now when we look at her hair, it is natural: curly and short. Halsey usually has colorful wigs on, different colors and hairstyles. She wanted to be vulnerable for the album cover and be herself. She does have color in her hair, but they are there for a reason: the color represents the lgbtq+ flag. Halsey has been open with her sexuality and sings about being bisexual often. In her two previous albums she talks about her female and male lovers, sometimes in one song or separate ones. In Manic, she collaborated with Alanis Morissette in her song Alanis’ Interlude. She talks about having a sexual relationship with women, stating that her girl’s pussy is a wonderland. Alanis Morissette sings in the pre-chorus: “Cause he is she is her, and her and he are love, and I have never felt the difference, tired of all these labels”. (Alanis’ Interlude, Manic) When Halsey dates a guy, they say she is straight. If she dates a girl, they say she is a lesbian. She is tired of all the labels and simply wants to love whoever her heart sings for. In 2017, she wrong on twitter that to be a “#true bisexual is to date 2 people at once” (Halsey’s twitter)

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Manic tells a story, from talking about her fertility problems (More), learning to love herself (still learning), realizing that she is okay with being alone (Clementine) and so on. We can’t perceive all those things without truly knowing her. Welcome to Halsey’s world perceived through my eyes and knowledge.

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Sources:

vogue.com/article/halsey-manic-album-cover-beauty-tutorial-blue-eyeshadow

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https://twitter.com/halsey/status/942856004047376386?lang=en

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Manic, Halsey

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