The Tradition

The opening track of Halsey's fourth studio release, a concept album about the joys and horrors of pregnancy, finds the singer feeling angry about the historical mistreatment of women at the hands of men. The lyrics tell the story of a young woman who is bought and sold by several different men who can't deal with her unhappy demeanor. But the album covers a spectrum of emotions that ultimately ends with Halsey feeling at peace in a loving relationship and as a new mother. She told Capitol Records: "'The Tradition' starts very spiteful, kind of like boys will be boys, it's in the blood. This is tradition, talking about this historical treatment of women. And then by 'Ya'aburnee,' I'm so at peace and so at love, and I've found someone and found a life that defies that initial stigma."

Halsey was taking a risk in making a dark album about pregnancy, which is a rather unusual tone for the subject matter, but reflected the fear and anxiety the singer was feeling about impending motherhood. "I felt completely out of control in a time where I very much would have liked to feel in control, and the music kind of started absorbing that anxiety," she told Capitol Records. "You know, I started to think a lot about my parents and generational trauma and the way and the way that my body was changing, and all of these things were informing the music and informing the record." She continued: "And that scared me, because I knew that being pregnant and putting out an album, there's an expectation of what that would be like. And historically that content would be, you know, pastel. I feel like there's two options with pregnancy, right? You can either talk about it in a beautiful, glowing goddess, milk bath kind of way or there's this male voyeuristic view where pregnancy is this revolting, scary unknown thing. You know, it's often how it appears in media and horror. So I was kind of in this in-between space where I was aware of the horror that I was experiencing, but at the same time I'm very grateful and I'm very excited for my child and my life, and those things were informing this…nuanced record that approached pregnancy and female autonomy."

The album was produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, members of Nine Inch Nails who are also known for their work as TV/film composers. Halsey, who grew up idolizing Nine Inch Nails, felt they were the only ones who could capture the nuance she was going for with the album, while also making the singer feel like a rock star with an edgier sound. That was always Halsey's goal but after being promoted on alt stations early in their early career, they started being promoted as a pop singer against their will. "I went from touring with Imagine Dragons to touring with The Weeknd, and that was the start of this evolution that I didn't really have control over, and I was like, I want to make a record that makes me feel like a rock star."