The music stops playing and lights flash. Thousands of screaming girls run closer to the stage, making everyone pack in closer together than we previously were, if that is even possible. The people beside me are as close to my body as the clothes I am wearing, or at least the clothes I still have on. My sweater was removed a long time ago due to the insane temperature in the room, one I didn't even think New York City was capable of producing in late October. This is the moment I had been dreaming about since I heard a song called "Ghost" on Tumblr a few years ago.
Halsey, a 21-year-old local New York music artist whose music career is going in all directions but down, is back performing in her hometown for the first time in months. This time she's coming back with the number two album in the country, a worldwide tour, and news about her closing her first headlining tour in Madison Square Garden next August under her belt; something way bigger than herself, and something not many record labels thought she could accomplish.
The energy in the air is undeniable. Blue lights are cast over the stage and throughout the crowd -- Halsey appears singing the starting lines of her her album track "Gasoline." She has only been on stage for a mere 39 seconds, and already I am convinced that it is one of the best shows I have ever been to. It's hard to actually see her from where I am standing, and being 5'5 in a crowd of girls with their phones held up as high as they can get them in the air doesn't exactly help the situation. But every few minutes I get lucky enough to sneak a peek at her.
She's wearing a black crop top with long black shorts that are unzipped and riding low on her torso with matte white Doc Martens, a bad-girl look everyone longs to be able to rock. Her bleach blonde pixie stays in perfect form, regardless of how many times she runs her hand through it or throws her head around to the beat of her songs. It is almost impossible to look away from the direction of the stage, whether it is because of the light show that I'm sure is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, or her ridiculously cool dance moves that I am more than jealous of.
The show goes on, and she stops several times to thank us all for making all this possible for her. It's because of her big news releasing earlier that morning that she is so emotional during the show. She even takes a second to throw some shade at the record labels in the audience that didn't sign her a few years back, and this is my favorite part of the entire show.
She holds out her microphone and asks us to "show them what they have missed out on," and the crowd joins in singing the lyrics of the song that they let her slip by with. That is the coolest part of the entire show, because everyone in there is proving so many people wrong about how they thought of Halsey. Record labels didn't think she would be able make it in the industry, and here she is announcing Madison Square Garden as the final location of her first headlining tour as she performs the first of her two sold out nights at Webster Hall.
The show goes on, and she performs each song like it's her last. Even after the show is well finished you can still feel the energy. Her encore performance is almost more powerful than the rest of the show, as if it's even possible to be topped. My trip to the Badlands was one I will never forget, and it was well worth the $80 StubHub ticket price I had to pay for. If the chance ever permits itself, give Halsey the chance to captivate you for an hour and a half. It's an experience that won't be regretted.
