The End

Album: The Great Impersonator (2024)
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Songfacts®:

  • Halsey has been through the mill with her health issues. She's been diagnosed with Endometriosis, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Sjogren's syndrome, Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and also has gluten intolerance and bipolar disorder.

    "The End" is an emotionally naked song about love and illness. When the song was released on June 4, 2024, Halsey revealed that she's also been battling lupus and leukemia.
  • Accompanied by an acoustic guitar, Halsey chronicles the physical and mental toll of her condition. But there's a light in the darkness - a special someone who offers unwavering love. She throws shade at doctors and embraces love as the true cure.

    The bridge gets dramatic - a flood metaphor washes away the world, including a doctor who failed Halsey. The song ends on a bittersweet note. Health struggles are a constant battle, but love offers strength to keep fighting.
  • Halsey wrote the song herself and co-produced it along with:

    Producer and songwriter Michael Uzowuru (Frank Ocean's "In My Room," Beyoncé's "Brown Skin Girl," SZA's "Open Arms").

    Philadelphia singer-songwriter Alex G, who worked with Frank Ocean on his Endless and Blonde albums, providing guitars and arrangements for several songs.
  • Several videos accompanied the release of "The End." The first video opens with Halsey on a couch, visibly uncomfortable. She talks about feeling like she's aged way beyond her years, battling constant pain. But then, a defiant statement: "At 30, I'm having a rebirth and I'm not gonna be sick and I'm gonna look super hot and have lots of energy and I'm just gonna get to re-do my 20s and my 30s."

    The videos that follow chronicle Halsey's journey. One shows her masked and receiving an infusion, a glimpse into "day one" of treatment. Another takes us to the studio, where "The End" comes to life. We also see montages of her ongoing medical battles.
  • The message accompanying the videos is simple and powerful: "I'm lucky to be alive. Short story long, I wrote an album. It begins with The End. out now." Hashtags for Lupus research and Leukemia & Lymphoma support highlight the cause Halsey's fighting for, with donations tied to the song's release.

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