Set in a dystopian city, “Badlands” by Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, known professionally as Halsey, was released on August 18th, 2015. Halsey, a 20-year-old New Jersey Native, released this album at the beginning of her career, characterized by her neon blue hair and prodigious vocal range. Released during the peak of the “Tumblr era”, this piece took over the then-popular platform. The album examines mental health struggles and toxic relationships, all with a backdrop of dystopian escapism
The album kicks off with “Castle,” setting the scene of the booming metropolis central to Halsey’s storytelling throughout. In this song, she is defying the patriarchal systems of the music industry. The “old man on the throne” represents a male figure in the industry, telling her to be quiet and subservient, which she rejects.
“Hold Me Down” follows, another song about rebelling against influential figures. During a live show in June of 2015, Halsey explained the meaning and inspiration behind the song, “I was meeting a bunch of mean, old men who thought they knew better than I. And I met this one guy in particular, a certain a****** who inspired this song,” said Halsey. “ This song is a reminder that no matter how small you are or how small people may make you seem, you should never let anything hold you down.”
My favorite song on the album is “Drive.” It touches on a love that lives within boundaries. The lovers keep their relationship special—careful not to make the first move, yet like it or not, enjoying each other’s presence and silently yearning for more.
Halsey told Popjustice that this was the first happy song she ever wrote:
“It’s a sweet song, it’s about being in a relationship, being in love with someone, and not knowing how to tell them. […] It’s so ironic that it’s called ‘Drive’ because it symbolizes this departure from the Badlands—this point where I drive away. I leave.”
To me, the most important song on BADLANDS is “Hurricane.” The song follows an inexperienced, young girl who gets hurt during a rocky relationship. She ignores her friends’ constant warnings not to stay in the relationship and to avoid getting herself hurt. . She says, “I’m a wanderess, I’m a one-night stand, don’t belong to no city, don’t belong to no man.” No one can mess with her, not even the boy she loves. She’s reminded to keep this boy away from her, which inherently starts a storm.
The most popular song on BADLANDS, which went 3x Platinum, “Gasoline,” is centered on Halsey’s mental state. With the pressure of holding a music career while struggling with mental health problems—bipolar disorder, namely—Halsey went down a dark path.
In a manic outbreak that she couldn’t quite control, she splurged on expensive alcohol. The lyrics portray self-destructive, impulsive, and manic tendencies, with the singer depicting herself as a “hurricane” and a “machine” that runs on artificial energy rather than feelings.
A song that has been on repeat for a long time for me—and I’ve heavily related to—is “Ghost”. Originally released as a single from debut EP Room 93, “Ghost” was the first song Halsey ever wrote and recorded. Following its sensation, it then appeared to close off her debut album, BADLANDS.From an interview with Metrolyrics:
“‘Ghost,’ for me, is a song about being in a relationship with someone who is not emotionally invested and then finally making up your mind to leave that situation and decide that you deserve better. And I did.”
Marking the start of Halsey’s career, BADLANDS stands out as an incredibly personal yet universally enjoyed album. This album helps break mental health stigmas and misogynistic remarks, and frees the mind for forty minutes of listening. It’s a promising debut album that only marked the start of Halsey’s pop-star career.
Ten years after the release of the original BADLANDS album, on August 29th, 2025, Halsey released a special edition of the beloved debut. Titled BADLANDS (Decade Edition Anthology), this new rendition included a 3-LP/2-CD set featuring the original album, demos, rarities, remixes, and new orchestral versions.
