The Great Impersonator is finally here and, with it, Halsey‘s final transformation. The New Jersey artist decided to close out her unforgettable album roll-out with a bang by becoming “the most impersonated woman in history” in a stunning homage to Marilyn Monroe.
Over the last 18 days, Halsey recreated an iconic look from all of the idols who inspired her in the making of this exceptional album, matching each to a specific song. Dolly Parton, PJ Harvey, Kate Bush, Cher, David Bowie, Evanescence’s Amy Lee, Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan, Stevie Nicks, Bruce Springsteen, Linda Ronstadt, Britney Spears, Aaliyah, Joni Mitchell, Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Björk, Marilyn, and even herself 10 years ago — day after day Halsey disappeared into a new identity, in the process revealing the tracklist to her fifth, and perhaps most important, studio album, and effectively becoming The Great Impersonator.
Marilyn’s song was “The Only Living Girl in LA,” but unlike previous posts, the singer decided not to include a snippet of the track, leaving the big reveal for release day. This may have been because Marilyn wasn’t a recording artist like every other subject chosen by Halsey (and so didn’t inspire the Great Impersonator musically, but thematically) or maybe it was because “The Only Living Girl in LA” summarizes the album’s concept perfectly, and the singer perhaps thought it best for listeners to approach it blindly and completely as its opening song.
Why Marilyn Monroe was the best possible impersonation to close out Halsey’s memorable album roll-out
As Halsey puts it, Marilyn was “a woman who eventually had to impersonate herself, day after day; asking the question ‘Want to see me become her?’.” This idea of a split identity was the guiding force behind The Great Impersonator, throughout which the 30-year-old explores the fabrication of her stage persona and, as a result, the evolution of her career thus far. And who’s a greater impersonator than Norma Jean as Marilyn Monroe?
As she battled a serious illness over the past two years, Halsey wrote the album with all these questions in mind, “What if I debuted in another timeline? Am I still Halsey every time? I spent half of my life being someone else, I never stopped to ask myself, ‘If it all ended right now, is this a person you’d be proud to leave behind? Is it even you?'”
No one expected Marilyn to be the last icon Halsey would impersonate, but we struggle to think of someone who could fit this existential crisis better. The actress was eventually consumed by this other identity that had come to define her and over which she struggled to gain power her whole life. What’s even more chilling about Halsey’s choice is the fact that, as she made The Great Impersonator, the Grammy-nominated musician was convinced it would be her last album, she was convinced she would die early, just like Marilyn.
“And if I ever try to leave behind my body / At least I know it was never mine, it was nеver mine,” Halsey sings in “The Only Living Girl in LA” — a striking, impactful reflection on the inherent objectification that comes with being an artist and being in the public eye. The Halsey persona is Ashley’s just as much as she is her audience’s and that process can, ultimately, blur the lines to a point where it becomes impossible to tell the difference between the two.
This promotional campaign for The Great Impersonator was already genius from a creative and cinematic perspective alone — watching Halsey become a new pop icon every day, knowing she did her own makeup, was the perfect visual representation of her album’s title. What we didn’t expect, however, was for the songstress to punch us in the stomach with a final impersonation that went way beyond a great costume or a perfect musical connection.
Marilyn Monroe is the epitome of The Great Impersonator, both because she has been infinitely impersonated by others, and because she spent her life impersonating someone, too. She also died a tragic death at a young age, something which almost became Halsey’s fate and was present with each step of this album’s production.
So, sure, we’ve been left absolutely floored by this brilliant album roll-out, but should we really be surprised that Halsey, one of the most inspired and criminally underrated multimedia artists of our time, had this in her?
Published: Oct 25, 2024 07:11 am