Halsey Spills On Why It's Important To Play A Bad Show: Tour Book

Tour Book is a reoccurring feature, where we talk to your favorite stars about all there is to their on the road lifestyle. We touch on their first performance, tour rider, dream collaborators and everything in between. Throw in some film from Instax, markers and you have an inside pass into what it would be like to be the road manager of some of your favorite acts!

When Halsey comes back to her tri-state stomping grounds of New York City and New Jersey, the pop star has a lengthy list of must-visit pit stops. She has to hit Russ & Daughters for some grub. Flight Club has a fair share of shoe options. Oh, and a trip to Kith seems appropriate since she’s basking in the success as one of the premiere pop stars of her generation. 

Days after her pair of hometown shows, the 23-year-old singer/songwriter stopped by iHeartRadio HQ in New York City to talk about returning to her turf, her current trek in support of her latest album, hopeless fountain kingdom, and what it means to have her shows turn into a family-filled affair. Take a look below at our very first installment of Tour Book. 

You're back home. You're in your hood. Are there any places in particular that you have to go when you have a moment?

I've been here a bit the last month or so cause I was spending a lot of my off days on the tour here. It's really exciting for me because I've been living in LA for the last two years and I get to come home. It's like going to Russ & Daughters, going to Kith, going to Flight Club, going to the Box, Flower Shop, like all my favorite bars. We did Barclays Center a couple of days ago, which was amazing, but afterward, we went to this dive bar called Black & White that I used to sneak into all the time. It's one of our favorite places in the city and so low key. It was really cool to be there with all my friends instead of at some afterparty production kind of thing like it would be in LA. It was just so New York and what my adolescence was and my early adulthood was. It was really special to be there.

Do you miss it here?

Yeah, totally I do. I miss it right now, and then this morning it was cold and I was like, "Alright cool, [I'm] happy I'm leaving! I'll come back when it's warm again."

After playing New Jersey's Prudential Center and Brookyn's Barclays Center, what makes those shows special? I'm sure you had family come out.

I have like a big Italian family from New Jersey, so its like "Angelina just had her dance recital and she wants to tell you all about it." I'm like, "That's awesome but I have to be on stage in 10 minutes." You know what I mean? It's like trying to multi-task the cousin and the person that's about to go play a concert. It's kind of a crazy thing but it's also really exciting. I guess it's just a unique part of my life that I've become accustomed to. It's just really fun. 

Prudential Center was really crazy being on stage. It was one of the first times in the tour that I really got emotional. I was just talking to the crowd and just talking about the hospital I was born at. My parents met at Fairleigh Dickinson College in New Jersey, and the mall I used to hang out at, and where I graduated from high school, and hoping that someone in the crowd will hear that and be like, "That sounds like me, and that means I can do whatever I want to do, too." It's just reminding everyone in that room [that] Jersey was that thing. It was like looking at all those people and being like, "You know being on the radio, being on TV, being on whatever is so cool, but don't ever forget that I am you. I'm not far away from you. I'm not that distant. We are not separate. You can do whatever you set your mind, too." I was sitting in the same seat as you watching my favorite artists two, three, years ago. You know? I was just looking around the room desperately hoping that someone would just connect.

Speaking of your shows, I found this photo of your debut and I wanted to know your thoughts about it.

Oh my God. Yeah, [that's] my first show ever. I was opening up for Tove Lo. It was a one-off show. I opened up for her first show in America, ever. She did this showcase and I wore a jersey I stole from my dad's closet as a dress, and I played guitar. I was terrible. I was so fu**ing awful.

I think that's kind of part of it, you know what I mean? There's this documentary called Dying Laughing. It's about comedians and they talk about how a huge part of being a comedian is bombing because it makes you a better comedian. [It's about] learning what to do when the crowd is just like, "We don't think you're funny at all." Playing a bad show is like so part it for a musician. Because then you learn what can happen or learn what to do rather if something goes wrong, or if you're not really feeling it. Being an opening act [or] playing bad shows, like learning the ropes, and kind of like cutting your teeth is part of it and I'm glad I have those experiences.

You're also gonna play Jingle Ball later this year. As somebody that's from this area and heard about it growing up, what does that legacy mean to you?

I mean, I begged my mom for years to take me to Jingle Ball, and she never did, so screw you, mom. I'm taking myself to Jingle Ball this year. I have this really funny story that I tell Elvis sometimes. I stayed home from school one day and pretended to be sick. We moved around a lot when I was a kid and at this time I was living with my grandmother. My parents felt kind of bad that I moved in with my grandma. . . .One of the things they did to kind of make me feel better about it was they got me a phone in my room. Having your own phone in your room in 2002 was like ... You were the coolest kid. You had your own phone line because then your mom's not listening to you talk to your friends.

It wasn't even connected to the living room?

Oh no! It was like my own phone. I'm pretty sure it was like an office phone they just repurposed to put in my bedroom. It had like a curly wire and everything. I stayed at home from school "sick" and I just spent the whole day calling in trying to win Jingle Ball tickets. I got through, and I was eight, so I didn't know what to do when I got through, and something happened. I don't remember what happened. Someone got on the line or something and they just disconnected. I remember being so upset. I was crying and my mom was like, "What's wrong?" So I just spilled. I was like, "I'm not really sick! I'm pretending to be sick and I got Jingle Ball tickets and they lost them!" Then my mom felt so bad, she kept trying to call the radio station back trying to be like, "My daughter just got through." They were like, "Sure, lady." 

You're full circle now!

This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Photo: Rachel Kaplan for iHeartRadio