Ahead of her upcoming third studio album, Halsey has released a new single and music video for “You Should Be Sad.” The “Without Me” chart-topper has channeled many iconic females in the music video, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by her fans. The song has a country twang to it and is a different sound compared to her previous work.
The first reference the singer embodied was Carrie Underwood. Halsey wore a black cowboy hat paired with hot pants and a studded bra. The look she was channeling was her own interpretation of Underwood’s “Cry Pretty” video. In the same outfit, Halsey performed choreography with a group of male and female dancers. Fans noted that this was a nod to Christina Aguilera’s legendary video, “Dirrty.”
In another look, the “Now or Never” hitmaker stunned in a black mini strapless dress with thigh-boots and long gloves that matched. She sported short black hair and completely rocked Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” look from head-to-toe.
However, Halsey wasn’t done with Twain’s previous looks. She also nailed her “That Don’t Impress Me Much” video outfit which was known for its leopard ensemble.
The final powerful female the “Bad at Love” songstress embodied was Lady Gaga’s Bianca Jagger character from American Horror Story . She sported a long blond wig and arched her body forward while naked on a huge white horse.
Halsey took to Twitter to confirm the references as her followers were discussing it online.
“Xtina, Gaga, Carrie, and of course Shania, this was one loaded with nods to bada** idols of mine. Had the vision to do a “Before He Cheats” but instead about after he does haha,” she tweeted .
In the span of seven hours, the music video has been watched over 750,000 times on her official YouTube channel.
“So perfect! Literally perfect! Listened to it 10 times in a row. I love Halsey but I wasn’t expecting to be so in love with the video,” one user wrote.
“As soon as I listened to this song during the premiere, I automatically loved it. Halsey’s vocals are so good with country music,” another shared.
“Seeing her in that leopard print just brought back memories of my childhood crush, Shania Twain,” a third fan remarked.
Halsey will release her third studio album, Manic , on January 17. The record will contain her previous singles — “Without Me” and Graveyard” — as well as her latest release, “You Should Be Sad.” Alanis Morissette, BTS’ Suga, and Dominic Fike all feature on interludes named after them.
