Halsey has revealed the moment Britney Spears gave her the green light to use one of her songs.
The 29-year-old pop star, whose new single Lucky is inspired by Britney’s 2000 hit of the same name, said it was a magical moment because she had been a fan of the star since she was a child.
Halsey, whose real name is Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, told Jordan North on the Capital Breakfast Show that she was “nervous” about asking Britney for her blessing.
The song is about her attempts to maintain a facade while secretly battling lupus and a rare T-cell disease.
She said, ‘You know, after going through all these possible samples and interpolations, I finally came up with one of the craziest samples of all time, which was Britney.
Halsey revealed on Thursday how she got Britney Spears’ blessing for her new single Lucky and spoke openly about her ‘serious illness’
The 29-year-old pop star, who released the song inspired by Britney’s 2000 tune of the same name, said she was “nervous” before asking for Britney’s blessing
‘I remember when we were doing it thinking, “How has this not been done before?” “Has this been done before? Is there a reason this hasn’t been done before? Am I going to walk up a tree of disappointment if I fall in love with this song and there’s a reason it hasn’t been sampled extensively yet?”
‘So I was really nervous and eventually, when I got the blessing of Britney and Max Martin, who was involved with the original version of the song, and had them on board, I was like, every day of the process I was waiting for someone to say, “I’m just kidding,” “You’re not getting it anymore,” every day I was getting closer to the release, and they liked it, they liked the song, and I’m talking to them.
‘The circle was complete. There is a six-year-old girl in my soul who used to dress up and perform for my grandparents in the living room to Britney Spears songs.
“To be in this situation now, in a bittersweet way because the song is obviously such a beautiful memory and it’s an honor to reimagine it in this way, especially because it’s already a perfect record. And to be able to relate to the perspective of the song is something I couldn’t have anticipated when I was that young. I had no idea.”
Halsey detailed how she coped with Lucky when she was diagnosed with a “serious illness” and spent hours in the hospital “attached to tubes and wires.”
Britney’s single Lucky was about a Hollywood starlet who seems to live a privileged life, while hiding the pain ‘in her lonely heart’.
Britney’s original song Lucky includes the chorus: ‘She’s so lucky, she’s a star, but she cries, cries, cries in her lonely heart and thinks, “If there’s nothing missing in my life, why do these tears come at night?”‘
Halsey transposed the lyrics for her own single into the first person, singing: ‘But I’m so lucky, I’m a star, but I cry, cry, cry in the lonely heart and think: “If there’s nothing missing in my life, why do these tears come at night?”‘
The song is about her attempts to maintain a glossy facade while secretly battling lupus and a rare T-cell disease.
She said: ‘I was very nervous and when I finally got Britney’s blessing, I thought, every day of the process I was waiting for someone to say, “I’m just kidding.”‘
She added: ‘It came full circle, there’s a six-year-old girl in my soul who used to dress up and perform for my grandparents in the living room to Britney Spears songs.’
She continued: ‘It was a time in my life when I was dealing with a serious illness and I had stopped making music for a while. Time that I didn’t expect to pass by. It just hit me out of nowhere.
“I found myself singing ‘lucky’ sarcastically because I’d be in the hospital, hooked up to tubes and wires, and I’d think, ‘I’m so lucky.’”
Although Halsey had previously said she had Britney’s “blessing” for the reference, Britney posted an angry message on social media in response to the new song, saying she felt “violated” and threatening to sue.
Britney later deleted the post, claiming it had been uploaded by someone else. “Fake news!!! That wasn’t me on my phone!!! I love Halsey that’s why I deleted it,” she tweeted.
Halsey was quick to respond to the singer’s second post, sharing on X: ‘and I love Britney!!!!’
Earlier this year, Halsey confirmed to her fans that she was struggling with her health.
In a post she shared on Instagram at the time, she explained: “In 2022 I was first diagnosed with Lupus SLE and then a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder.”
“Both conditions are currently being treated or are in remission. I will likely have both for the rest of my life.”
However, she added positively: ‘After a difficult start, thanks to the help of great doctors, I slowly got everything under control.
Halsey detailed her relationship with Lucky when she was faced with a ‘serious illness’ and spent hours in the ‘hospital, attached to tubes and wires’
Although Halsey previously said she had Britney’s “blessing” for the reference, Britney posted an angry message on social media in response to the new song, saying she felt “violated” and threatening a lawsuit (2018 photo)
Britney later deleted the post, claiming it had been uploaded by someone else. “Fake news!!! That wasn’t me on my phone!!! I love Halsey that’s why I deleted it,” she tweeted.
“After 2 years I feel better and more grateful than ever to have music to listen to,” the mother of one continued. “I can’t wait to get back where I belong, with all of you. Singing and screaming until I drop.”
In a separate post, she spoke openly about her health struggles. Several videos have emerged showing the singer receiving IVs and also breaking down in tears.
In 2022, Halsey shared on Instagram that she had been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Sjogre’s syndrome, mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).
The singer also suffers from endometriosis and gave her followers an update earlier this year in March after having surgery to reverse it.
The Bad At Love singer previously revealed that she has ADHD and bipolar disorder.