Halsey‘s music video for her Britney Spears-interpolated new song “Lucky” takes inspiration from more than Spears’ song of the same name. Halsey channels the highs and lows of Spears’ time in the spotlight in a Y2K-inspired video directed by Gia Coppola (“Palo Alto,” “Mainstream”), with cinematography by Alexis Zabe (“The Florida Project”).
The video stars Halsey — and features a cameo from actor Simon Rex as her love interest — with scenes reminiscent of Spears’ original music video for “Lucky” from 2000. The plot follows the duality of a young girl idolizing Halsey, who, behind the scenes, is struggling with her relationship and health.
Paramount+ Biggest Challenge: Boosting Subscriber Engagement
Norah O'Donnell to Exit as 'CBS Evening News' Anchor to Become Senior Correspondent
“I shaved my head four times because I wanted to and then I did it one more time cause I got sick,” Halsey sings. “I thought I changed so much nobody would notice shit, and no one did. Then I left the doctor’s office full of tears / Became a single mom at my premiere / I told everybody I was fine for a whole damn year, and that’s the biggest lie of my career.”
In the lead up to the single, Halsey revealed via X that Spears had been involved or heard of the song in some capacity. Representatives for Halsey confirm “Spears heard the song early in the process, and gave her blessing to Halsey.”
Ahead of the song’s announcement, the 29-year-old singer-songwriter revealed she was diagnosed with Lupus SLE, an autoimmune disease that can affect the skin, joints, kidneys, brain and other organs, per theNational Library of Medicine. “Both of which are currently being managed or in remission; and both of which I will likely have for the duration of my life,” Halsey said in a statement.
She started teasing “Lucky” in a June with a series of social media posts that involved staged paparazzi photos, along with fake tabloids and headlines that teased the song’s lyrics. Halsey’s “Lucky” was produced by Michael Uzowuru (Frank Ocean, SZA, Rosalia), and features an interpolation of Spears’ “Lucky” in the chorus topline. The instrumental also interpolates “Angel of Mine,” a song originally performed by British R&B group Eternal in 1997 and popularized by Monica the following year.
“Lucky” is expected to be a part of Halsey’s upcoming, fifth studio album — her first since 2021’s Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross-produced “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power.”
