Nightmare (Halsey song)

"Nightmare" is a song by American singer Halsey. It was released as a single on May 17, 2019 and was sent to top 40 radio on May 21, 2019 through Capitol Records.[1] The song was written by Halsey along with its producers Benny Blanco, Cashmere Cat, and Happy Perez. The music video, directed by Hannah Lux Davis, accompanied its release the same day.[2]

"Nightmare"
Single by Halsey
ReleasedMay 17, 2019 (2019-05-17)
Length3:52
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Halsey singles chronology
"Boy with Luv"
(2019)		 "Nightmare"
(2019)		 "Graveyard"
(2019)
Music video
Nightmare on YouTube

Composition

Nightmare is written in the key A minor with 146 Beats Per Minute.[3]

The song contains an interpolation of "All the Things She Said" by Russian duo t.A.T.u. Elena Kiper, one of the songwriters of t.A.T.u's song, posted on her Instagram that an initial version of Halsey's track "contained an extensive interpolation of the original work" but later the sample was changed by G-Eazy,[4] although the latter isn't credited on the work.

Promotion

In May 2019, Halsey posted a link on her social media, directing users to the website "nightma.re" to sign up for email alerts and prompting them to share what their worst nightmare is. The site gave a series of options, and upon clicking one of the options, users would be shown an explanation as to the meaning of that specific nightmare.[5] Fans also believed that the time tickets for her recent intimate concerts went on sale, 5:17 PM, was a hint towards the date new music would be released,[6] although Halsey claimed no knowledge of this and only said new music would be coming "sooner than you think".[5] She then announced the single's release date on Twitter on May 9, 2019, posting a video of her revealing the title at one of her concerts, and captioning it "new single. NIGHTMARE. may 17th".[1] Several days later, Halsey announced she had hidden lyrics of the song in five US cities: Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, and New York City.[7]

On May 20, 2019, Halsey performed a free show for fans in Minneapolis, where she performed the single live for the first time, along with "Castle", "Gasoline", "Without Me" and "Don't Play". She uploaded a video of some of the performances on YouTube following the show.[8]

Music video

The music video for "Nightmare" premiered on YouTube on May 16, 2019.[9] Directed by Hannah Lux Davis, the video features appearances by Cara Delevingne, Debbie Harry,[10] Ryan Destiny, and Suki Waterhouse.[11] As of January 2021, the music video has received over 109 million views on YouTube.

Critical reception

The song has received positive reviews. Billboard magazine said the song is musically "unorthodox" containing "stylistic curveballs" and "killer lines" that "exalt autonomy, sexual freedom and self-acceptance".[12] The line "I've been polite, but I won't be caught dead/ Letting a man tell me what I should do in my bed" was noted as a "barbed assault on patriarchal expectation" by Billboard and "a necessary gesture of rage and empowerment" by Rolling Stone.[13] Billboard named it the 17th best song of 2019.[14]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[15]

Awards and nominations
Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2019 Teen Choice Awards Choice Song: Female Nominated [16][17]
2019 MTV Video Music Awards Video for Good Nominated [18]

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[56] Platinum 70,000
Canada (Music Canada)[57] Platinum 80,000
United States (RIAA)[58] Platinum 1,000,000

sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various May 17, 2019
Capitol [59]
United States May 21, 2019 Top 40 radio [60]
Italy May 24, 2019 Contemporary hit radio Universal [61]

References
  1. "new single. NIGHTMARE. may 17th". May 9, 2019. Retrieved May 10, 2019 – via Twitter.
  2. "Halsey – Nightmare". May 17, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2019 – via YouTube.
  3. "Key and BPM of Nightmare by Halsey". musicstax.com. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  4. "Elena Kiper Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  5. Shoemaker, Whitney (May 9, 2019). "Halsey reveals new music is coming 'sooner than you think'". Alternative Press. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  6. Daw, Stephen (May 2, 2019). "Halsey Announces Two Intimate NYC Shows, Hints at 'Nightmare' Project on Social Media". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  7. Smith-Engelhardt, Joe (May 11, 2019). "Halsey launches 'NIGHTMARE' lyrics scavenger hunt across US cities". Alternative Press. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  8. Campbell, Rachel (May 20, 2019). "Halsey Gives 'Nightmare' Live Debut at Free Pop-Up Show". Alternative Press. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
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  11. @etnow (May 17, 2019). "Oh, and did you catch the iconic superstar cameos from @Caradelevingne, @sukiwaterhouse, @RyanDestiny & Debbie Harry?! 👀" (Tweet). Retrieved May 24, 2019 – via Twitter.
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