Halsey says acting isolated her from stage name

Actor-singer Halsey says acting helped her disconnect from her stage personality as it becomes lonely to be a “solo artist”.

Halsey, whose real name is Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, opened up about her experience of stepping away from her identity as a musician in an interview with magazine Paper.

The singer’s most feature film credits were 2023 crime thriller ‘Americana’ and horror film ‘MaXXXine’, which came out earlier this year.

“Acting gave me a chance to step out of (my singer persona), but also it gave me a chance to be a part of someone else’s vision. So much of what I make, the impetus is on me all the time to be in control of everything. It was nice showing up to someone else’s set, and my only job is to serve you in the best way that I can and you have the harder job,” Halsey said.

“Being a solo artist is a really lonely venture. I don’t think people realise how lonely it is. I would certainly take it over being in a band, because I think I would be a tyrant,” she added.

The 29-year-old singer also reflected on the way her stage name and persona evolved over time.

“I always compare Halsey to ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, where everybody who did ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, I’m sure they loved it, but after 25 seasons, they’re like, I can’t play Meredith (Grey) anymore,” the singer said.

“That’s kind of how I felt about Halsey, which brought up an even greater existential question: ‘Why do I feel like I’m playing Halsey?’ It’s meant to be just a stage name, not necessarily a persona. I realised at that point it has kind of grown into a persona, which I never really intended for it to,” Halsey said.