Halsey revealed how she came to sample Britney Spears’ iconic hit Lucky, a choice that sparked some controversy.
The 29-year-old singer, who recently slammed her “mean fans,” revealed the 2000 song “got stuck in my head” while she was receiving treatment for her diagnosis of T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder.
“I have this weird coping mechanism where if I’m not dealing with something internally, I’ll surprise myself by singing a song that relates to it,” she began in her Paper Interview published on Thursday.
‘I’d just lie there, hooked up to a pump, like, “I’m so lucky, I’m a star.” It was a joke, and then I’d be in the studio, and I’d just sing it quietly, and I’d be like, “Wait, let’s do this. Has anybody done this? This has been done, right? Why hasn’t it been done? There’s no way I’m going to interpolate this Britney Spears song in this big of a way.”
After confirming that no version of Lucky matched her vision, Halsey said that “the verses just came to me, and the bridge was the last thing that came.”
Halsey opened up about how she came to sample Britney Spears’ iconic hit Lucky, a choice that sparked some controversy
The 29-year-old singer, who recently slammed her “mean fans,” revealed the 2000 song got “stuck in my head” while she was receiving treatment for her diagnosis of T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder.
The actress also noted that she saw many similarities between her career and Britney’s.
“Obviously, I’ll never know what it’s like to reach the magnitude and monolith of fame, exposure and lack of autonomy that she’s experienced in her career,” she said.
“I’ll never know, but in some ways there are some parallels. She was the first pop star I fell in love with and I knew everything about her, I was in love with her and I adored her.
“I was jealous of her. I thought she had the perfect life, as most of us did at the time, and I was always, throughout every stage of her career, really supportive.”
When Halsey released the music video inspired by Spears’ song Lucky, she appeared almost naked.
By sharing the YouTube link on X without any caption, the post sparked a heated reaction on the singer’s account.
Spears’ account commented on the post, writing: “For obvious reasons I am very upset about Halsey’s video. I feel harassed, violated and stalked,” despite the 29-year-old previously saying she received Britney’s “blessing” for the reference.
‘I didn’t know an artist like her and someone I admired and respected would enlighten me in such an ignorant way by presenting me as a superficial pop star with no heart or concern.
“I have this weird coping mechanism where if I’m not dealing with something internally, I’ll surprise myself by singing a song that relates to it,” she began in her interview with Paper published Thursday.
Confirming that no version of Lucky matched her vision, Halsey said that “the verses just came to me, and the bridge was the last thing that came”; (Spears in 2021)
The actress also noted that she saw many similarities between her career and Britney’s; (Spears in the 2000 Lucky video)
“I’m speaking to my lawyers today to see what can be done about this. I find this illegal and absolutely cruel,” the message said.
A few hours later, a new message appeared on the Toxic singer’s account, clarifying that the previous comments “were not mine.”
“Fake news!! I didn’t do it on my phone!!! I love Halsey and that’s why I deleted it!!!” Britney said online.
Halsey reposted the note, adding, “I love Britney! Always have and always will. You were the first person who made me realize what it means to be inspired. And you continue to inspire me every day.”
Amid initial confusion, Britney later expressed her support for the song and shared her love for Halsey.
In a recent interview, Halsey revealed that she and Britney kept in touch before the song’s release, even exchanging gifts.
“I shared everything with her every step of the way, you know what I mean? From the first demo of the song,” Halsey said during an interview on BBC Radio 1.
Halsey mentioned that their conversations also touched on the topic of the music video.
Spears’ account commented on the post, writing, “For obvious reasons, I am very upset by Halsey’s video. I feel harassed, violated, and stalked.”
‘Fake news! It wasn’t me who did it on my phone! I love Halsey and that’s why I deleted it!’ Britney said online
“I sent him a shot-by-shot treatment of the music video just because I wanted to make sure I was totally nailing it,” Halsey revealed.
“We also exchanged products, she sent me Lucky products for Lucky’s anniversary, and I sent her some products and stuff like that,” he said, adding that “it was definitely like a pinch-me thing.”
Halsey added: “Like I didn’t even know that she knew who I was.”
“So every day I look around and think, ‘There’s a six-year-old girl in my heart who’s going crazy,’ you know?”
