An Evening with Halsey (Media Audiences)

Being 15 years old and finding an artist like Halsey – a young outspoken, queer woman and proud feminist – at the peak of my confusing adolescence, played a critical role in the formation of my identity. I’ve been lucky enough to dance, sing and scream my way through a lot of Halsey concerts since she started touring Australia in 2016 – each electric performance immersing me more into the dystopian, mystical world and tour she creates. I originally discovered the New Jersey singer in August of 2015 on Vevo Lift’s YouTube channel, when I was searching for new alternative/pop music. It was a live video from Halsey’s Chicago concert where she was performing ‘Hold Me Down’ – her song about experiencing the harsh reality, pressures and tribulations of the music industry as a young woman.

Immediately, I was drawn to her energy on stage. She was ferocious, angry, a force to be reckoned with and a powerhouse of feminine rage in pastel blue makeup. When she sang; she snarled and belted – it was exhilarating to witness. The venue in Chicago was small and intimate, and with the camera crew consistently cutting close to her face; we could see every emotion turn into expression as she sang the lyrics:

“I sold my soul to a three-piece
And he told me I was holy
He’s got me down on both knees
But it’s the devil that’s tryna
Hold me down, hold me down”

Halsey, 2015. ‘Hold Me Down’, On Badlands (CD)

It was my favourite performance I had seen of Halsey. Her Vevo Lift performance in Chicago was transcendent: worthy of worship. I loved every second, I loved her passion, I loved her fierceness and fearlessness, and I loved what she stood for: power to females in a male dominated industry. The unity of the fans, all sharing the same raw experience, singing along to every lyric was simply amazing.

Now in the digital age, young people are validating their experiences by documenting them. This is especially obvious at concerts where the main demographic of Halsey fans are aged from 12 to 24. SnapChatting, Instagram stories, recording long videos, watching through their screens, live tweeting, and even fans Face-Timing their friends who are fans – are all very common practises now at concerts.

The negative aspect of being a part of this young audience, is that my own concert experience feels disconnected to the reality of a live show. It’s disheartening, disappointing and can lead to an unsatisfying concert experience. I go to concerts and watch live videos to feel connected to the artist and fans, and I can’t feel connected when everyone is on their phones. Instead, I feel distracted, distanced and disenfranchised from the aesthetic world the artist creates. It’s unfortunate that with the Vevo Lift performance, my enjoyment of the recording would of infringed on someone’s experience who was in attendance in Chicago.

The most important realisation was that, I’m not sure young people are able to disconnect and enjoy live music without capturing their experience. There seems to be a complete inability for young people to go to a concert without using their phones, a certain FOMOOP (Fear of Missing Out of Posting). The post-millennial generation has hijacked the purity of live music and turned it into an instant online forum. When teens can’t resist their phones for 90 minutes, there’s an obvious overuse and abuse of technology. Nothing can be sacred to just the people in the room and everything is uploaded online. 30 years ago at Live Aid, 72,000 people could stand and sing in Wembley Stadium and no one was focused on anything but the music. What a time to be alive. Audiences are much different now.

Reference List:

Halsey – Hold Me Down (Vevo Lift Live). (2019). Chicago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sncDtok7LRE.

L-R: Gwilym Lee (Brian May), Ben Hardy (Roger Taylor), Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury), and Joe Mazzello (John Deacon) star in Twentieth Century Fox’s BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY. Photo Credit: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox.

‘Members of the audience hold up their cellphones’
Jim Dyson/Redferns via Getty Images