Just a few short years ago, Halsey was writing poems and uploading artworks to her Tumblr, interacting with people online just like the rest of us, and now the 24-year-old New Jersey native graces the biggest festival stages in the world, has songs like Without Me in the top 10 and this weekend, has starred on comedy sketch show SNL not only as a performer but a host too.
Only the biggest of big characters have been asked to pull double duty on SNL, so Halsey is in impeccable company - other host/performers on the show have included Paul Simon, Bruno Mars, Britney Spears, MC Hammer and Taylor Swift.
And Halsey killed it too - she took part in sketches spoofing Riverdale, Donald Trump and Valentine's Day, which we sadly can't (legally) watch in Australia yet.
Performance-wise, Halsey went the stripped back route. Her performance of Eastside was personable and endearing, as she donned overalls and sat on the floor to paint a portrait upside down while she sang. On Twitter, Halsey explained she wanted to paint on SNL as it was her favourite emotional outlet after music.
Painting a 10 ft canvas upsidedown while singing into a headset mic for the 1st time while hosting SNL,
takes the cake for biggest
“dumb ass shit I took onto my plate for no mf reason (bc I thought it was cool) that actually worked out considerably well.”-type moment of my life— h (@halsey) February 10, 2019
I painted on SNL bc it’s my favorite artistic medium 2nd only to music. I wish I could have done more with the 3 minutes I had. but, if you’re *interested*, here’s some examples of my other styles of art the way I draw/paint is always changing. I love it so much. pic.twitter.com/itEcEedPiY
— h (@halsey) February 10, 2019
the cast is A+, the crew and staff as well. I learned so much about myself and my craft this week! double duty is hard but i smiled literally the whole time. still totally wired.
— h (@halsey) February 10, 2019
Without Me took life as a stirring piano ballad, which also seemed to call out her ex G-Eazy for cheating on her while on tour.
Check out both performances below - and don't be surprised if you see Halsey in more acting roles in future!
