The Halsey Episode

Summary

Friends Keep Secrets – The Halsey Episode

Podcast: Friends Keep Secrets
Hosts: Benny Blanco, Lil Dicky (Dave Burd), Kristin Batalucco
Guest: Ashley Frangipane (Halsey)
Date: May 26, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode is an intimate, lively hangout with multi-talented singer-songwriter Halsey (Ashley Frangipane), who joins best friends Benny Blanco, Lil Dicky (Dave Burd), and Kristin Batalucco in their LA home. Set in a relaxed, informal environment, the conversation meanders through personal stories, creative processes, and reflections on fame, chronic illness, and authenticity—all while painting, reminiscing about wild parties, and trading banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Names, Identity, and Early Connections

• Halsey's Preferred Name:
  • Ash (not Ashley), as "Ashley" feels like getting called out by her mom.
  • [02:00] Halsey: “I call you Ash… I like Ash. I prefer it. Really? Yeah… Ashley makes me feel like I’m in trouble.”
• History with the Hosts:
  • Met Benny around 11 years ago at the “Friends Keep Secrets” party, which became legendary for its chaos and celebrity guest list.
  • The police shut the party down, and Halsey impressively defended herself (“We’re operating within the legal sound decibel limit…”) before Miley Cyrus snuck out with Postmates.
  • [04:54] Police: "The law of common sense." Halsey: "That's not a real law. See you later, officers."

2. Fame, Parties, and Loneliness

• Parties as Social Performance:
  • Halsey used to throw Gatsby-esque parties mostly out of a desire for acceptance, not actual enjoyment or romantic prospects.
  • [07:26] Halsey: "I used to throw parties and then I’d go hide."
• Loneliness Behind the Scenes:
  • While perceived as the life of the party, Halsey often hid away, feeling miserable and misunderstood.
  • [08:06] Halsey: "Yeah, I was miserable."
• Career Pressures and Artistic Control:
  • Felt like an employee of her own career, acting to please others until realizing her own agency.
  • [08:50] Halsey: “Eventually it occurred to me… I’m in control of this whole thing.”

3. Chronic Illness and Resilience

• Delayed Lupus Diagnosis:
  • Halsey went undiagnosed for lupus for 8 years, despite suffering regularly, which shaped her experience.
  • [09:58] “If someone was paying attention, we could have figured this out like, eight years ago.”
• Current Health Routine:
  • Now undergoes chemotherapy treatments twice a year for both lupus and a chronic blood cancer.
  • [16:40] “I did chemo, which I do twice a year now…it helps with lupus.”
• Intersectional Medical Bias:
  • Doctors overlooked lupus due to her appearance; only later considered it after learning she’s biracial.
  • [17:57] “A lot of my doctors were like, that sucks. You look so white. Because we probably would have found this a lot sooner if we knew.”

4. Halsey’s Creative Process

• Artistry Beyond Music:
  • Halsey is a trained visual artist who finds drawing and painting deeply rewarding—she even painted live on SNL.
  • [21:14] Benny: “She’s drawn overalls for me that are, like, my prized possessions.”
  • [41:28] Benny: "She live painted on SNL or something."
• Music Writing:
  • Themes and stories come before music; always writes words first, finding melodies in natural cadences.
  • [45:22] Halsey: “I pretty much always write the words first...the music sort of, like, reveals itself.”
• Painting as Release:
  • Painting is less about technique and more about emotional expression, requiring conscious unlearning from her “straight A” student days.
  • [26:43] “I just had to do a lot of unlearning in that regard…It was very straight A student vibes.”

5. Dealing with Internet Culture and Public Perception

• Platform Preferences & Social Media Shifts:
  • Uses Tumblr for genuine, low-pressure updates (“sad poems, life updates”) missed by mainstream media.
  • [11:59] “I could post, like, a really sad poem on there or…a life update, and then it never makes its way to the regular press.”
• Online Feedback and Identity:
  • Struggles with being stereotyped as “intense” or “political,” though she sees herself as chill.
  • [50:56] “I think people think I’m really intense…But I’m really a very chill person.”
• Fame, Intensity, and Change:
  • Acknowledges the burden of growing up publicly; stakes were high as she supported her whole family through her career.
  • [52:38] “The lack of financial security, the lack of safety like that I had at that time…I was still in fight or flight from my life before. I’m just like, I’m more chill now.”

6. Collaboration, Song Choices & Gut Instinct

• Songwriting Dynamics:
  • Benny trusted to curate, kill ideas quickly, and stick to gut feelings; Halsey, in turn, trusts her own instincts now.
  • [47:16] “You can’t be…thin skinned.”
  • [48:03] Halsey: “I would say your best skill set is that you are an excellent curator…You can curate friends, artwork, interior design, an outfit, a song, a sound.”
• Audience Perception:
  • People’s connection to her depends on how they first heard her (“Closer,” “Badlands,” “Nine Inch Nails record”), so every show attracts a spectrum of fans.
  • [49:33] "There’s a version of me that I think I am and then there’s the reality of the way that the zeitgeist or the audience or culture interacts with me."

7. On Performance and Touring

• Why Halsey Loves the Stage:
  • Performing is her “happy place”; describes her shows as “way more like rock” than pop, drawing comparisons to Travis Scott.
  • [43:10] “I perform like a psychopath…jumping around like fire.”
• Wildest Stage Moments:
  • Almost performed under a precariously-hanging 2,000lb truss in Istanbul—waited until safety was confirmed.
  • [43:58] “It was like hanging…and I was like, oh my God, am I gonna die?...I wouldn’t go out unless I knew it was safe.”

8. Signature Style & "Baby Voice" Meme

• Vocal Identity:
  • Known for her distinctive, meme-worthy “baby voice” on songs like “East Side.”
  • [41:04] Halsey: “I invented a style of singing…became like a meme…and then I got made fun of for it.”

9. Authenticity, Growth, and the Risks of Art

• Quote on Art & Integrity:
  • [55:24] Halsey: "There is no way to make art or make material that challenges people and be liked by everyone. The more time you spend trying to appease others or to avoid confrontation…every single time you do that, you pull a thread from your work in order to do so, and then you’re left with a piece that’s completely unraveled."
• Being Misunderstood:
  • Humor and sincerity can be lost in internet soundbites; better to be disliked for being yourself than to waste life seeking approval.
  • [59:01] Halsey: “I would so much rather people dislike me for being myself than to miss out on so many years of my life being who I am.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On her beginnings:
  • “Ashley makes me feel like I’m in trouble.” (Halsey, 02:04)
• On wild parties:
  • “The law of common sense.”
    “That's not a real law. See you later, officers.” (Halsey, recounting police story, 04:54)
• On wanting to be liked:
  • “I used to throw parties and then I’d go hide.” (07:26)
• On chronic illness:
  • “If someone was paying attention, we could have figured this out, like, eight years ago.” (09:58)
• On being biracial and misdiagnosed:
  • “…That sucks. You look so white. Because we probably would have found this a lot sooner if we knew.” (17:57)
• On authenticity:
  • “I think sometimes when you’re deep in with your family and your friends, it’s hard to see always the other person’s opinion. Like for me, when I’m in therapy, sometimes I get checked…” (Benny, 54:48)
  • “There is no way to make art or make material that challenges people and be liked by everyone…” (Halsey, 55:24)
• On public misunderstanding:
  • “I think people think I’m really intense…And I’m really a very chill person.” (50:56)
• On growing up famous and under pressure:
  • “Of course I was panicking all the time. I was like, you know, I support my mom…If I fuck this up and this goes the wrong way, everybody’s life’s different.” (52:38)
• On creativity:
  • “I just had to do a lot of unlearning in that regard because…It was very straight A student vibes. I wasn’t like, a cool artist who was like, look what I have to say. I was like, look how good I can do it.” (26:43)
• On ‘baby voice’ and pop innovation:
  • “I invented a style of singing…became like a meme…and then I got made fun of for it.” (41:04)
• On the risks of sincerity in music:
  • “I think in music, I have more fear of being serious than I do on film.” (57:49)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:00] – Halsey on her real name and childhood dynamic
• [03:29] – The wild Friends Keep Secrets party story
• [08:06] – Admitting misery behind party façade
• [09:58] – Eight years undiagnosed with lupus
• [16:40] – Handling chemo and chronic illness
• [21:14] – Halsey's visual artistry, Benny’s praise
• [26:43] – Unlearning perfectionist art habits
• [41:04] – The “baby voice” phenomenon
• [43:10] – What a Halsey show looks like now
• [43:58] – The terrifying Istanbul show
• [45:22] – Halsey’s step-by-step songwriting method
• [49:33] – Fans’ differing perceptions of "who Halsey is"
• [52:38] – The stakes of family survival and public mistakes
• [55:24] – Halsey’s view on art, confrontation, and integrity
• [59:01] – The real-life vs. online reputation divide

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Tone & Flow

The episode radiates relaxed camaraderie, teasing, warmth, and honest introspection, while never sacrificing the hosts' goofy, loving energy. The stylistic zig-zags from deep revelations to art banter and party stories are organic, offering dimensions of Halsey rarely seen in formal interviews.

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Takeaways

• Halsey’s authenticity and artistic depth go far beyond her pop image; she juggles chronic illness, creative pressures, and past traumas while fiercely maintaining personal agency.
• Fame brings unique loneliness and scrutiny; public perception often lags behind personal growth.
• True artistry, whether in music or painting, is as much about unlearning societal expectations as it is about technical skill.
• Vulnerability, honesty, and embracing one’s internal compass—despite criticism—are key to Halsey’s continued evolution as an artist and a person.

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This episode is an unfiltered look at what it’s really like to be Halsey: vulnerable, funny, deeply creative, and in some ways, still just one of the gang.

Transcript

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Hi.

[Benny]

Her views are ballsy.

[Kristen]

She's more than you might think.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

She's Picasso and her name is Ashley.

[Dave (Chuck)]

We love our friend Halsey. Kind of tired today. Not gonna lie.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Why?

[Benny]

I'll step up whenever anyone talks about.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Oh, boy.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Is that real or real? Real. That's not real.

[Kristen]

Do you want.

[Benny]

I swear.

[Kristen]

You want some caffeine from my strawberry watermelon refresher?

[Benny]

No. You got anything non caffeinated?

[Kristen]

Well, you're in luck. This is a Sprite Berry Blast.

[Benny]

Well, why don't you hand it over to your boy? Because you know what?

[Kristen]

But I do think you should.

[Benny]

I think everything's gonna work out great after we drink these.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I'm just gonna put all these to the side.

[Benny]

You're gonna do what?

[Dave (Chuck)]

I'm just gonna put them to the side. We can offer her one or something, but I'm not gonna force all of them.

[Benny]

Offer her the Sprite Berry Blast.

[Dave (Chuck)]

They're just. These are big. These are big bevs. Okay, let's put them together.

[Benny]

I know you like a tidy kitchen. When people come over, I just like me.

[Kristen]

I do.

[Benny]

Yeah, I know.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Chuck, you prepare that way too. I've seen you.

[Benny]

I know I do. That's why I'm not getting upset.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I don't do it.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I'm the one that closes.

[Benny]

She's here. We're not opening.

[Kristen]

Do a cartwheel.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Hey. Hi.

[Benny]

Hi. She invented a style of singing that was so characteristic that it became like a meme.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

And then I got made fun of for it.

[Dave (Chuck)]

She entered very young on this, like mega pop star trajectory.

[Benny]

And then it was like she could draw you perfectly.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Man.

[Dave (Chuck)]

This is a brand new skate for me. And it might be my sunset piece.

[Benny]

This is the best song.

[Dave (Chuck)]

People say this to me all the time. They say, should I call you Dickie or Dave? And I always.

[Benny]

So should we call you Dick, Halsey or Ashley?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Ash.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Ash.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

That's what you call me.

[Benny]

I call you Ash.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. I like Ash. I prefer it. Really? Yeah.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Ash.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah.

[Kristen]

Does Ashley make you feel like you're in trouble?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yes. Yeah, that's exactly right. Yeah. I always feel like my mom was being like Ashley. Nicole, get downstairs.

[Kristen]

Do you have sisters?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No. Two little brothers. Oh, yeah. I'm the oldest.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Ash, I was gonna offer you a drink, but you're holding this. What is that? A tea.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

We can still offer if you want.

[Dave (Chuck)]

We got drinks from the McCafe. From McDonald's.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No, I'm okay. If I drink more than this, then I'm gonna spend the whole time.

[Dave (Chuck)]

You can spend as long as you want.

[Benny]

Do you pee a lot?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Benny]

Big time pee.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah.

[Dave (Chuck)]

How long have you known ash?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

What, like 11 years?

[Dave (Chuck)]

They're like old friends. I met you through Benny back in the day.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah, it was the friends keep secrets party. Oh, it was Benny. It was after the iHeartRadio awards and the place you guys were gonna do it fell through. And I was at Benny's first session and he was like, we're gonna do this party. And he was on the phone. He was like, venue filter, blah, blah, blah. I was like, oh, that's crazy. I just got the keys today.

[Benny]

Oh, my God.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

To, like, my new house in Beechwood Canyon. I was like, I have this. A huge.

[Benny]

I remember this now.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I remember it was your house completely empty.

[Benny]

Oh, my God. We threw that massive party.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

There's no furniture, like, nothing.

[Benny]

It was unbelievable. It got broken up by.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

The police came also. I was really stressed out because I got like, I'm about to dox everybody right now.

[Benny]

Yeah, dude.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Like Katy Perry there. Charlie was there. Wes was DJing. Like, Charli XCX was there. And Fifth Harmony, Shawn Mendes were. Everyone from the award show.

[Dave (Chuck)]

LG. I wasn't at the award show. I still was there.

[Kristen]

You were there.

[Benny]

I only remember two things about that night. And I can tell you the two things I remember.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

There were a lot of things.

[Benny]

I remember number one.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Oh, I know what you're gonna say.

[Benny]

No, you don't.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I think I do.

[Benny]

Say it.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Bathroom. Nevermind.

[Benny]

That wasn't.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

That was a different part.

[Benny]

That was a different. Nope, Chuck. Different party. I know what you're talking about. I'll say that one right after. First thing, Chuck, we're sitting by the DJ booth and, like, it's like the party's, like, rocking. And it was the first time I ever saw someone famous. Acknowledge your music publicly. Me. In person, with me. And it was Shawn Mendes.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I was really stressed out because the police come and they're like. And I'm drunk. And they're like, we wanna talk to the owner of the house. And I'm like, well, I guess that's me. Cause I just bought a house. So I go outside to talk to the police and they're like, we gotta shut this down. I'm like, no, you don't. Yeah, yeah, we do. And I was like, why? I was like. They were like, well. Cause you're breaking the law. I was like, what law am I breaking? And they were like, you're breaking the law. I was like, no, we're not. I Don't know what happened to me. I switched on. I was like, we're operating within the legal sound decibel limit. I was like, we're not exceeding fire code. There's no cars parked on the street. I was like. And I haven't exceeded the amount of people that I should have on the premises.

[Benny]

Wow.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Smart. And they were like, well, you're. Well. And I was like, so what law am I breaking? And they were like, the law of common sense.

[Benny]

Wow.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

And I was like, that's not a real law. See you later, officers. I started walking away. Miley Cyrus is running out the door. She had, like, a bag of Postmates in her hand. She's like, gotta go, girl.

[Benny]

Gotta go.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

She's, like, running away.

[Benny]

Okay, you were talking. I think you're talking about this one. One time we were at a party, and I really had to shit. And I said, dave, will you come, like, keep me company? Like, I don't want to, like, walk through. And was, like, some, like, huge bathroom. And we were. I think we were in, like, the primary, like, room or something.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah. And the good room.

[Benny]

We're. We're taking shit. And it's taking, like, a long time.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Well, not we, Benny.

[Benny]

Well, I am.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I am.

[Benny]

What do you mean, the royal we?

[Dave (Chuck)]

The royal we. I'm just hanging out.

[Benny]

I'm taking a. And Dave goes, there's someone in here. And I said, yeah. And I said, what? And he said, I think there's someone in here. And I said.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Cause we were in the bathroom of a bedroom.

[Benny]

Of a bedroom. Of, like, the big bedroom. And I was like, really? And we, like, look out. And we basically decide to walk out. And as we're walking out, we cross paths with you and a person you were dating at the time.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I don't remember this at all.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It wasn't like, you weren't hooking.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It was not even dramatically dirty.

[Benny]

You were going into the bedroom as we were leaving. I, I, it was just. It happened to be a person you were dating at a time.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I don't remember this at all. I think I do remember this. Was it that party that was at Michael Jackson's old house? I don't know.

[Dave (Chuck)]

They all blend together.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

This is a different life.

[Benny]

The whole point, though, is me and Dave just blew up a bath. I blew up a bathroom. We're walking out. We think someone's in there.

[Kristen]

Do you guys know each other at the time? I wish I was around for those. I really would have enjoyed that.

[Benny]

Selena will always be like, she'll Be like, don't you miss, like, the party life? And I'm like, no. And then she's like, why? And I was like, the point. She's like, don't you want to throw more parties? And I said, no. I said, the point of the party is to find you the love of my life. I said, the party's over. Like, I won the party.

[Kristen]

That's not the only reason you guys were having him, was it? Like, you guys were doing it for fun, everyone. Right.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I felt my entire happiness was totally predicated around, like, the romantic opportunity of, like, the night.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

That's so not why I was doing it. I used to throw a lot of parties. It was not because I was looking for love.

[Kristen]

You were just trying to party?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No, I just was like, this will make people like me.

[Benny]

Oh, we all love you.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Different time.

[Kristen]

That's different, though.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I did only meet you because of the party.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

It's true.

[Benny]

It worked.

[Kristen]

But are you a social person in real life, or were you doing this thing?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No, not really. I was like, fucking Gatsby. I used to throw parties and then I'd go hide.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

And then I'd go out and people come up to me on the street and they'd be like, had an amazing time at your house? You throw the best parties. And I'd be like, hell, yeah. I don't remember any of that. Don't know who that person was. I used to basically just go. Like, I would throw a party. I'd hang out in my bedroom most of the time, and then everyone would leave, and I would be like, I did it. I socialized, and now everybody is gonna like me.

[Benny]

Oh, my God. Really?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I stopped doing that.

[Benny]

Were you sad when you were like. Bit like, really?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah, I was miserable.

[Benny]

Really?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Oh, my God. Yeah.

[Kristen]

What do you think was the driving force of misery?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

That's a great question. I think. Okay, the fun answer is, like, it just sucks. Like, in the.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It's not very fun.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

The serious answer.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I know what you're saying.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

The lighthearted answer.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I think the serious answer is, like, I just kept. I never. I didn't stop for a while to think about what I like and want and what brings me joy in my life. You know, I was so young when I put out my first record that I think that for so much of my career, I felt like. I felt like I worked for someone. Does that make sense?

[Benny]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I felt like an employee.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Eventually it occurred to me. I was like, I'm in control of this whole thing. Like, I Don't have to. You know, I think I still felt like a kid where I felt like all the grownups in the room were gonna be disappointed in me if I said no or if I didn't want to do something or I couldn't do something. And then eventually I was like, that's not how this works at all. You know, you can.

[Dave (Chuck)]

You call the shots.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah, for sure.

[Kristen]

But you like making music. Like, you like singing.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Love it.

[Kristen]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah.

[Kristen]

You want to do it on your own terms.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Definitely.

[Benny]

The only time I remembered you where I. The only time. Cause I didn't know you were sad during that. The only time I remember.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yes, you did. I wrote so many songs with you.

[Benny]

I know, but it's so go to

[Ashley (Halsey)]

your house and be like, I'm so miserable and lonely. No, no, no, no.

[Benny]

I knew you were angsty. I knew you were, like.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I didn't know yet, you know? So I felt like garbage all the time and didn't understand why, you know? So, like, that was, like, a big part of it, too. I think you really felt.

[Kristen]

Probably felt like shit a lot.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Oh, my God.

[Benny]

Wait, how long did you feel like shit without knowing you were sick for?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Oh, like, eight years.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Oh, wow.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

My first, like, blood test in my chart, like, when I got diagnosed with lupus, they were like, we could have called. Like, if someone was paying attention, we could have figured this out, like, eight years ago.

[Benny]

How did it take them so long?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Cause I just.

[Benny]

Did you not go to the doctor?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I never complained.

[Benny]

Did you go to the doctor?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No.

[Benny]

Oh, that's.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I just also, like, you know, I grew up, like.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Where are you from?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Jersey.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Oh, Philly.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah.

[Benny]

Yeah.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Where are you from?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Michigan.

[Benny]

Where are you from? You're a ride curse.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Why do you do that? When you think about. Do you not love the. Where you live?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Oh, no. He's asking where in Jersey I'm from. It's hard to say. I moved a lot.

[Benny]

Do you have any friends?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Did I have any friends?

[Dave (Chuck)]

No.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I mean, no, not really.

[Benny]

Yeah.

[Kristen]

Really?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I would say, like, the way my parents raised me accidentally made me, like, really well equipped for your career. My career? Yeah. I'm, like, used to move race. Like, I don't have, like, I'm not attached to, like, one place, you know?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Did you experience, like, a high school in one sitting?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I did, yeah.

[Dave (Chuck)]

How was your high school experience?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

What do you guys think? It was like, were you cool?

[Kristen]

Did you sit on the couch?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No, I wasn't cool.

[Benny]

You wanna sit on the couch?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. You weren't cool?

[Kristen]

I know you don't want.

[Benny]

No, she's nerdy. She's, like, unbelievably intelligent.

[Dave (Chuck)]

That doesn't matter. I wasn't hot, but I was still smart and cool.

[Benny]

You said you weren't cool.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Cool guy, just ugly.

[Benny]

Wait, you got big off, like, Tumblr, right?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah, I never. I never had a Tumblr experience.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Really?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah.

[Benny]

I do remember when I was younger, they had, like, the best, like, pictures. It was really cool.

[Kristen]

It was really well curated. It's for, like, art.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Is it? You know, I also never had experience with my stor. Are they similar in just.

[Benny]

No, no, it's very different. MySpace is like Gerber baby food. This is like. This is like Tumblr's. Like, tumblers. Like your mother making you perfect. Like, organic food. Like, it's so curious.

[Kristen]

I actually don't. I haven't thought about Tumblr in a long time, but I did used to have one. I thought that they.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No, I still have one.

[Benny]

Are you still active on it? No.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah, but I have, like, a very small. But it used to be, like, following there. It's like where I go to post stuff that I don't want everybody else to make a big deal out of.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

You know, like, I could post, like, a really sad poem on there or, like, a life update, and then it never makes its way to, like, the regular press.

[Kristen]

It's a respectful community.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah, if I do.

[Kristen]

Yes, it is.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

But if I. It's like, if I posted the same thing on, like, Instagram or something like that, the next day. Yeah, the next day it'd be like all these post troubling fucking, like, all right.

[Kristen]

You know, do you think I feel this way and maybe I'm wrong. Cause I'm like. I don't. I'm basing this off of nothing, but I feel like each little, like, Internet thing has a different personality. There's, like, people, the way they speak on Instagram, the way they speak. Speak on YouTube, the way they speak on Reddit.

[Benny]

I post certain things on TikTok that I would never post on my Instagram ever.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I think that also one thing that I had a hard time with was Tumblr took itself so seriously. But also, you could really joke around, and it didn't matter. It was also faceless. You know what I mean? You could post poetry, photos, art. It was more about what you were making and what you were into, and it was about what you looked like or what you. So that was really important. And if you did have an aesthetic of the way you look, looked that was helpful. Like, you know, I did. Obviously. I had like the hair colors and like all that stuff.

[Benny]

The hair, the hair. I totally just forgot her hair was like the whole thing.

[Dave (Chuck)]

What do you mean?

[Kristen]

What, did you have pink hair at one time?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I had every color hair.

[Benny]

She had two extremely famous hairs.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah, the blues.

[Benny]

Blue. Blue was like.

[Kristen]

How long did you have blue hair for?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Long enough.

[Benny]

Have you long enough?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Are you going to say it?

[Benny]

No. Easily.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

What are you going to say?

[Benny]

I was going to say, have you. Have you, like, do you ever bring it back for fun? Didn't you just do it?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I just did it.

[Benny]

You just did it. And I remember when you brought it back, it was like, do you ever bring it back outside of that or.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No, No. I mean, it was the 10 year anniversary of Badlands and I did like an anniversary tour, so I brought the blue hair back for that. My debut album. Yeah. I did have my hair like every couple weeks. Really? Yeah. I got tough hair.

[Kristen]

You must.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I got tough hair.

[Dave (Chuck)]

You like going on tour?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Love it. Yeah, I love it.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Is that your happy place on the stage?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. I love performing. Is it kind of the only reason I still.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Make music.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It's your favorite part of the whole thing is performing.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. I like making the records too. I like it a lot better now.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Like, it used to be really stressful. Labels were like, really involved.

[Kristen]

Did that change though, or was it just like labels changed?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah, no, I think that. I don't know, I think I just. I got less famous so people stopped caring as much.

[Benny]

What do you mean?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

You know what I mean. Like when you're making pop records and like, it was like all. Lots of pressure and it was like, it was kind of nice that everyone was like, just like, let me do my thing, you know?

[Benny]

You think you're less famous now than

[Ashley (Halsey)]

before, but what is.

[Kristen]

Like, how do you measure that nowadays? Is it just like you feel like it's. You just can sense it?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah.

[Kristen]

I'm truly asking how to get what you said.

[Benny]

I think measure that you're less famed, I think.

[Kristen]

Out of curiosity.

[Dave (Chuck)]

No.

[Benny]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I don't know. I guess, like, I think it'll swing. It's all cyclical.

[Kristen]

Totally.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

You know, I'm just like really enjoying this time right now.

[Dave (Chuck)]

You had a.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

What's it called?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Like a.

[Benny]

You're saying, like, when you go outside, like, nobody knows who you are?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No, that's not what I'm saying.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I'm like. No, she's saying. She was like Entered. She entered very young on this, like, mega pop star trajectory.

[Benny]

It was really crazy.

[Kristen]

You're being pulled in every direction now. You feel like you're like, I can breathe.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. And for you, that's like, I must also. My life just looks different, you know, Like, I'm not just. I'm not dealing with.

[Dave (Chuck)]

She was living every step being like, bigger, bigger. How can I.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Like, she's like, yeah. I was like, every award show you're doing a performance, you're flying to this, you're doing.

[Benny]

You know, I remember it was like this. It was like she put out and it was like this. And people were like, oh, this is like. This is like a thing. And then it just went, like, literally, it went like from here. It was like angling up. You're like, oh, this could be good. And then it was like. And like. And, like, hit through the thing.

[Kristen]

But then when you said that you realized you were unhappy. When you first realized that you were, like, taking off, were you, like, riding a high or.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Oh, my God, ecstatic.

[Benny]

Which one was your first number one closer song? Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. My first solo number one was without.

[Benny]

Are you excited to make a new album?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah.

[Benny]

Have you started?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No. God, no. Hip hop album one day? No, definitely not.

[Kristen]

Do you push it off? Like, do you get anxiety about where you start?

[Benny]

Never.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I always want to be doing it now, but I actually, like. I feel like the way it happens for me is I always kind of like. I always, like, find a. I don't say like a vibe, but there's always like a story or like a, you know, something like that.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Like a theme.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. And I stumble upon that. And then it's like, when that feels right, I'm like, okay, go off and.

[Benny]

So what do you do now? Like, what'd you do last week?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Last week I went to Vancouver with Abin. Went to go visit his parents. Brought Ender. Then I flew home. I did treatment.

[Benny]

Oh, my God.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Which was. What's treatment? Oh, treatment. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did chemo, which I do twice a year now.

[Kristen]

You're still doing okay.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Twice a year for.

[Kristen]

That's tough.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

The foreseeable future, I guess. Way better, though, than it used to be. Like once a month.

[Benny]

It's so scary. Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

It's like I'm used to it now.

[Dave (Chuck)]

What does it make you feel, like,

[Ashley (Halsey)]

horrible for, like, a couple days.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Like, just nauseous.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

If you feel like. Okay. The way I explain it to people is like, you're being poisoned. Cause, like, you are. So like, imagine the worst. The Gnarliest hangover you've ever had in your life. You also did, like, a ton of drugs. You didn't drink any water. It's like my best friend got breast

[Kristen]

cancer, like, when she was 25, and so she did the.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

She did all of it.

[Kristen]

It's like your entire body is being poisoned.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Kristen]

So you got.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Is it breast cancer? No, no, I didn't have breast cancer. I had a blood cancer. Oh, I have a blood cancer.

[Kristen]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Okay. I have. It's chronic, so I'm gonna have.

[Kristen]

Is that why you have to keep getting chemo? Yeah. Okay.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

But I also do it to treat my lupus.

[Kristen]

Oh, it helps with that?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah.

[Benny]

Is it. Can you get. I might be wrong with this, but, like, it's very hard to have lupus if you're white. Correct. It's like, mostly.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

It's predominant.

[Benny]

It's mostly like, people of color.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

African American women, Latin women. Latin women, yeah.

[Benny]

That's what I thought. That's what I thought.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

And I'm halfway black, so. Yes. That was another thing too, is like, a lot of my doctors were like, that sucks. You look so white. Because we probably would have found this

[Benny]

a lot sooner if we knew.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

And I was like, I told you guys. They were like, yeah. We didn't really take it seriously.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Didn't really consider it.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I was like, the genes are the same, brother.

[Dave (Chuck)]

McDonald's has a subdivision. I don't know if they call it a subdivision, but it's called the McCafe. And what this subdivision of McDonald's does is it pumps out beverages that are so high end, starting with the strawberry watermelon refresher.

[Benny]

Why can't you speak? Because you're so excited about the watermelon

[Kristen]

refresher, and he's feeling really good. And when you have a little bit of caffeine in you, you can.

[Benny]

You gotta look at this like a reset, almost like a reward. Those little strawberries bouncing around. I mean, it's a way to get through the day for me. Honestly.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Honestly. You don't have to use this type of language.

[Kristen]

I love it. It is a way to get it.

[Benny]

Yeah. Honestly, it's a reason to hang with.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Try all the new McCafe drinks now at McDonald's. Guys, we gotta figure out our outdoor patio areas furniture wise. And I think Wayfair would be a valuable player in that.

[Kristen]

There are a lot of options. I think I sent you a few. If you could just go through.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I've gone through.

[Benny]

Check.

[Kristen]

Yeah, you did.

[Benny]

You mind buying me something? I really could use a nice cooler to put all of our.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I'm never gonna buy you anything.

[Benny]

Why?

[Dave (Chuck)]

You have more money than me. Get prepped for patio season. For way less. Head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home.

[Benny]

That's W A Y-F-A I R.com Wayfarer

[Dave (Chuck)]

Every style, every home. You know when you say that you stumble upon a theme.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Do you mean like a story vibe of like, kind of, or do you mean like a sonic vibe that's like, oh, either.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Okay, one or the other, and then eventually both.

[Dave (Chuck)]

And does it like, is it like, based on what you're going through in life at the time?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Could be, yeah. My life is way less dramatic than it was.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Do you find that, like, as an artist, it's, like, harder to pull from the more mundane parts of your life, or do you think it's just not even thinking about it?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I don't know. I think so. I think it's interesting because I think that. I think as a society, we've gotten so used to receiving really mundane information. You know, like, everyone loves, like, influencers and podcasts and YouTubers where everyone's just kind of being like, this is my day to day, blah, blah, blah.

[Kristen]

Like, this show.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

This is hard hitting journalism. That's right. Okay.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I am a product of my experiences. And, like, I'm so responsible about, like, if I didn't have my notes, so many jokes in my show wouldn't exist.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Sure.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Because I'm just so, like, when something funny happens, I really do. I'm like, oh, my God, I have to write that down. It's like, so specific. I don't, like, go out to gain material. I really, like, try to live life and then whatever happens, happens.

[Benny]

Yeah, I'm just getting something from the fridge.

[Dave (Chuck)]

But you're like, aren't you like a. You're like an artist in so many. Don't you, like, do so many different types of art beyond, like, aren't you like, a. Can't you draw really well?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah, I paint.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I. Yeah, I'm definitely like a physical artist. Like, but I like that I have that for myself, though.

[Benny]

She's the best drawer I've ever seen. She can. She could right now draw you perfectly in seconds.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

You put me on the spot. I used to do Benny doodles when we were in school all the time.

[Benny]

She's drawn overalls for me that are, like, my prized possessions.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I love those overalls.

[Dave (Chuck)]

So I. When I like, I really.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

You can draw, can't you?

[Dave (Chuck)]

No, listen. So I.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

It's funny. You give big. I can draw energy.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I'm the worst drawer to the point.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Really?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah. Like where I had to like. I had to take an art course in college. So I was like. And I was. And I was getting great grades and all the other things. And I was so bad at drawing that I was like. You couldn't grade me? Well, like I was gonna fail the class. Cause the drawings were so bad and I couldn't really show improvement. So drawing is actually my biggest weakness now. I have just for relaxation purposes. Started to like, paint in kind of an abstract way.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

That's great.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Where I have no idea what I'm. And it's. Because with my art, sometimes I really. I mean, all the time I'm like so analyzing everything, which is kind of the antithesis of art of like free flowing. Let it. But with painting, I'm so bad that I really don't hold myself accountable. And I just. Free flow.

[Kristen]

When we did the. You.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It was appraised.

[Kristen]

Simon. The person who.

[Benny]

It is.

[Dave (Chuck)]

My art was appraised.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Oh, no.

[Kristen]

But he said. I said it sometimes. Because he's famous.

[Benny]

No, that one was great. You had one painting.

[Dave (Chuck)]

You're talking about American farce?

[Benny]

Yes. You have one painting that's a stroke of genius. Everything else is terrible.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I have three or four that are strokes of genius.

[Benny]

No, you have one.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I can stroke genius every now and then.

[Benny]

Okay, go stroke genius right now.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I believe it. I believe that. Do you have supplies you can stroke genius?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Can I attempt to strike genius as a painter and you doodle? Maybe Benny or Chris. Or we could all doodle and paint. I don't know.

[Benny]

Yeah, we should all doodle.

[Kristen]

I'm terrible. I need a lot of time and quiet time and to focus.

[Benny]

Go get the stuff.

[Kristen]

But you're good at drawing though, right?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Okay, we'll go set it on.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah, you can draw anything. But it's like the one thing I objectively can't be like.

[Benny]

She's incredible. She live painted on like SNL or something.

[Kristen]

Do you do it for fun? Oh, wait. East side. Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Well, truly number one.

[Kristen]

Before I even knew who Benny was. One of my favorite songs ever. I think I listened to it.

[Benny]

She thought I was Khalid.

[Dave (Chuck)]

She thought Benny was Khalid.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Well, I didn't know, honey.

[Kristen]

I didn't know.

[Benny]

I just said, ben, we're all a little Khalid.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I'm gonna have the production team bring out and set up the paint supplies. Too much for one man.

[Kristen]

You're gonna actually paint.

[Dave (Chuck)]

But before we Paint.

[Kristen]

Did you just pull that from under the table?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah. We should have a white claw. I pulled it from the seat. The reason that we should have this white claw first is because we're living in the moment. And I know that's something that white claw values. And they value camaraderie and friendship. And I think us doing art as a team, even though I will probably stand out as an individual, is something that is something to be. Cheers.

[Benny]

Hey, since we're in the moment, you mind grabbing me and Kristen a few white claws?

[Dave (Chuck)]

How about you share this one? Okay. And I'll make sure we get all set up with the art supplies.

[Benny]

Okay.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Cause I'm a really great artist.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Oh, my God.

[Kristen]

You have a fucking esau.

[Dave (Chuck)]

We got a lot of shit.

[Benny]

I think I'm gonna blow you out of the water.

[Dave (Chuck)]

You don't understand my style as a painter.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Oh, my God.

[Benny]

You guys draw me and Dave. Okay, well, we're the same person, so just draw me. Chuck, you're aware she's gonna make something better than that in under five minutes.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Nothing's gonna be better than what I'm doing.

[Benny]

It's unbelievable.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. I was gonna say, you guys like being married.

[Benny]

Oh, my God. Yeah, it helped. Oh, you guys go first.

[Kristen]

I love it, but it feels no different than it looks.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Feels no different to me. Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah.

[Kristen]

But I do like that. It feels like you have family for life.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Aw. I've been engaged for two years.

[Kristen]

Oh, you have? Yes.

[Benny]

Are you gonna get married?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yes, we're gonna. We're just really fucking busy, you know? Also went to Benny's wedding, and we were like, Jesus. Like, is this what a wedding is supposed to be? Like we're doing everything wrong.

[Kristen]

Oh, my God.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I forget. Do I have water that I'm supposed to dunk the brush in?

[Kristen]

It depends.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Are you using acrylics?

[Dave (Chuck)]

I don't know.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

What does it say on the bottle?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Acrylic paint?

[Kristen]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Well, then you can. If you want the paint to be thinner and more watery, then you can.

[Dave (Chuck)]

But I need a big brush in the wall. You need a big brush?

[Kristen]

I think there's more brushes.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So I just gotta. You know, you should do a drawing. Me?

[Benny]

That one in the corner. Kristen. Kristen, is that me?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Where?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Here.

[Benny]

Is that a Christmas tree?

[Kristen]

I was just getting warmed up.

[Benny]

Okay.

[Kristen]

I'm trying to get my hand.

[Benny]

Look at mine. Look at this.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It'll take me a second to get situated, guys.

[Kristen]

You do it so light.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Well, I like this light.

[Kristen]

Light.

[Benny]

Wait till you See where my. I might wow you.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I'm gonna draw, Benny.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I can't even tell you what I'm gonna draw. Cause my spirit's gonna take over.

[Benny]

Don't they say drawing a hand is the hardest thing or fingers? Right.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I don't know. Can I explain to you how I operate when I paint?

[Benny]

Yes.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I have no idea what I'm doing. I can't. Like, if you said, like, draw a person, I can't do that. Impressively, all I can do is randomly do stuff. And sometimes in my randomness, I will all of a sudden see a person. And then once I see what the thing is that I'm painting without realizing what it is to begin with, once I see it, it's about, how fast can I get out?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

You're already ahead of the curve.

[Dave (Chuck)]

The longer I stay in, the more I can fuck it up.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I think a lot of realism.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Oh, yeah, I can.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

When I started painting, I started painting again after my son was born, and I got, like, an art studio, and I would go there when he was, like, asleep at night, and I would go and I would paint. And I had a really hard time because so much of what I learned about art was about technique, and it was about proving how good you can be instead of proving, like, how emotionally meaningful of a piece you can make. So I had to really. It was really hard for me to unlearn. Like, nobody cares how well I can draw something in front of me and make it look like a picture. Someone will care.

[Kristen]

Yeah, I care.

[Benny]

I care about that a lot.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I just had to do a lot of unlearning in that regard because I was like. It was very straight A student vibes. I wasn't, like, a cool artist who was like, look what I have to say. I was like, look how good I can do it.

[Kristen]

When did you know you could draw?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Oh, when I was really little.

[Kristen]

Was that, like, your, like, number one thing for a long time until music, or were you doing both at the same time?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah, no, I thought I was gonna be. And I was like, an art major. Yeah.

[Kristen]

Oh, wow.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah.

[Kristen]

No wonder you're on Tumblr.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. I was like, you know what will be the best career is. Is being a painter. That will make me a lot of money. And then when I realized that that wasn't a real career option for me. It is for some people. I was like, I should do something that's more financially responsible, like try to be a pop star.

[Benny]

Well, I think I can't believe you just that you just Decided.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I think I just created a really good color and I'm gonna. I'm gonna.

[Kristen]

I get performance anxiety where I've already taken. I've already gotten like four new pieces of paper. My hand is cramping up.

[Benny]

You can't mess up. There's no mess up.

[Kristen]

I can't even draw a circle.

[Benny]

I'm not even messing up. I'm just drawing.

[Kristen]

So I can just do abstract then.

[Benny]

No, it's impossible to mess up. It's art.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah, I might have just made an error.

[Benny]

There's no such thing as errors.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah, but I tried to infuse the green and I might have just ruined everything.

[Benny]

No, don't worry, Chuck. It's gonna be good.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I think I gotta inject some pink. Oh, I got a good base here, though, I gotta tell you.

[Benny]

Wow.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I've never been in this hue before. This is a brand new scape.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Are you discovering the new style, man?

[Dave (Chuck)]

This is a brand new scape for me and it might be my sunset piece.

[Benny]

He's been discovering the new style for

[Dave (Chuck)]

this, honestly, might be my first career

[Benny]

for the last 11 years.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Drawing people is so uncomfortable. Cause you're like staring at them and they're like, stop fucking looking at me.

[Kristen]

I feel like I draw the same thing my whole life. Like, I draw like ears the same way.

[Benny]

Yeah.

[Dave (Chuck)]

You know what I just realized?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

What?

[Dave (Chuck)]

This thing is upside down.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

That's okay. Oh, you're. Oh, I see what you mean. You found that it was upside down.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Wait a minute. No, that's not true.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Is it perhaps maybe horizontal?

[Dave (Chuck)]

No, it's just I'm still figuring it out. I'm still in the figure out process. I don't know.

[Kristen]

How do you feel about it, Dave? Are you excited to show it?

[Dave (Chuck)]

No, I haven't even started. I'm serious.

[Benny]

Well, you better get started soon.

[Dave (Chuck)]

All I've been doing is laying a base.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

It's called activating the canvas.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Ooh, is that what it's called?

[Benny]

Do you know in Finland there's a bread you can buy and it's called Juicy Pussy. And that's the real bread. It's just a normal bread company.

[Dave (Chuck)]

What the fuck are you talking about?

[Benny]

There's a normal bread company?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Is it just spelled something similar? And you're just childish and you just childish.

[Benny]

Here, you tell me what you think I'm combining. How would you pronounce this, Chuck?

[Dave (Chuck)]

I don't know, but it's Kristen. Giuseppe. Giuseppe.

[Benny]

How would you pronounce Giuseppe?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Giussippussy. That's how I Pronounce it Giuseppecy.

[Kristen]

Yeah. Juicy.

[Dave (Chuck)]

You don't know that. It's not Jessippissy.

[Benny]

It's literally juicy pussy.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Juicy pussy here.

[Benny]

You don't know.

[Dave (Chuck)]

You don't know how they say it's called. You're just Beavis and Butthead.

[Benny]

When you were the biggest, did you feel the worst? You think, like, was there ever a time where you were like, holy shit, this is sick. Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No, I had times like that, like.

[Kristen]

You mean, like, where you were able to be like, this is what a cool experience.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. Where I'd be like, this is dope. And, like, younger me would have flipped the hell out, you know, to see my life be this way. The coolest was probably. I made an album with Trent Reznor.

[Kristen]

Oh, yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

And I have, like, a. We were filming, like, the process, and we were filming when I had my, like, initial zoom call with him where we were talking about if we were gonna do the record or not. And he was very complimentary of me as, like, a songwriter. And that was kind of like a moment for me where I was like, cool.

[Benny]

Yeah, that's cool.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Nobody can ever make me feel like shit about myself ever again. I call y' all opinions.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It's so true.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Just said I was a good songwriter. And we're gonna make an album together.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Get fucked.

[Benny]

Did you read comments?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Me?

[Benny]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I used to. I do sometimes still.

[Kristen]

Because if you were to remove yourself from the Internet and just look at all of your success, wouldn't you be like, man, I'm like a. Yeah, I

[Ashley (Halsey)]

would definitely be like, I'm so dope.

[Kristen]

But it's just because you probably. Yeah. Get the Internet.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Wol.

[Kristen]

They have power only if you give it to them. Well, don't kill anything. As in life.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I think we're also from a generation where, since we grew up on the cusp of social media, we didn't grow up with it all the time, like some of these younger kids have, but we grew up where it mattered. What the kids from our high school or college or whatever we're saying on there, where we have a really weird relationship with it, where we can't ignore it the way that they do.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I mean, imagine being a kid today. Like a true kid.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No, but they don't know.

[Kristen]

Yeah. I actually don't understand how they do that.

[Benny]

Imagine us like YouTube came out when I was. I was a senior in high school.

[Kristen]

Oh, really?

[Benny]

2006.

[Kristen]

Oh, yeah, check.

[Benny]

How's your thing going?

[Dave (Chuck)]

The imagery is dark, and it's about. It's About? I think it's about war.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

It's about war.

[Kristen]

Well, that's relevant.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I wish it wasn't so. Yeah.

[Kristen]

Maybe you're feeling internal stress about what's going on.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Maybe you'll become one of the most important, like, political artists of our time.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I hope not. Cause I don't know enough about it.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Or maybe, like, when we're all dead, people will, like, discover the art that you made. And it'll end up in your biography that you were a really important.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I'm scared to make anyone.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Aggressive political commentary.

[Kristen]

I like this sound. I wonder if anybody else does.

[Benny]

How come you switch paintings?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Me?

[Benny]

Yeah.

[Kristen]

Well, I didn't love what I did

[Benny]

in my last work, but I liked your last one.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Ben, you have so much hair.

[Benny]

Are you getting close to mine?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I think so.

[Benny]

You think Dave's getting close to his masterpiece?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

He's probably edging.

[Benny]

Are you edging, Jack?

[Dave (Chuck)]

It's a war zone. Looks like a bloodbath.

[Kristen]

Is it a lot of red?

[Benny]

No.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It's not what you expect, but it's definitely about war. America and war and the state of our world. Yeah. It's dark, but it's light at the same time. There's some hope, too.

[Kristen]

There's optimism within it, kind of.

[Dave (Chuck)]

But it's a tragedy of a piece.

[Kristen]

What do you want to call it?

[Dave (Chuck)]

I think it's called American War.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Is it a companion piece to American farce?

[Dave (Chuck)]

It might be. It actually might be.

[Benny]

Are you disappointed?

[Dave (Chuck)]

No, it's just. It's a lot to take in. It's jarring. It's like, I didn't think that this is what it would be at all.

[Kristen]

You seem like you like it, though.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I mean, like you can't help but both be shocked by it and in awe of it. I think. I don't like that. I like it. I think that's Kristen.

[Benny]

Do you think you're gonna like mine?

[Kristen]

I think I will like yours. I think I like everyone's. Do you guys think you'll like mine? I don't think you'll like mine. But I think you'll see that there is talent deep, deep within.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I see yours. I like yours. Is that a cockroach?

[Benny]

My guy kind of looks like Tupac.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Who are you drawing?

[Benny]

I was just, like, drawing whatever came to your head. I was drawing Chris.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Sorry. You started saying it looks like Tupac. I was like, who the fuck here?

[Benny]

I'm drawing Chris.

[Kristen]

I can't believe Dave said mine looks like a cockroach.

[Benny]

Chuck, don't make a decision like that

[Kristen]

part of art is having the control to believe in yourself and knowing when to stop.

[Benny]

Don't do it.

[Kristen]

Knowing when to stop and trusting that you're done.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I just love it.

[Kristen]

And trusting that it's time to put it out.

[Benny]

Now.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It's done.

[Kristen]

You guys, I've been using Canva. You know Canva?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Oh, yeah.

[Kristen]

I've been taking pictures of places in our house. And I ask it to, I prompt it, and I say, can you redesign the space for me? And I have a lot to show the two of you.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Oh, really? Like what part of the home?

[Kristen]

Well, our bedroom. Oh, and the upstairs studio. Oh, and the downstairs. I think we could do something different with like the shelves.

[Dave (Chuck)]

So you. So Canva is telling you options?

[Kristen]

I guess it's helping us.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Is it telling you prices?

[Kristen]

Not yet.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Canva makes design easy for anyone with built in AI that lets you remove, generate, and animate content in just a click. Start Designing [e-mail]. white Claw.

[Benny]

Remember that one time when we hung out and then we never stopped hanging out for 15 years in a row, we really grabbed life by the claw.

[Kristen]

Am I in that group chat?

[Benny]

No, but you're in it now. You're our new Say yes.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Say yes to being in for the rest of our lives.

[Kristen]

I'll say yes. Yes.

[Benny]

Guys, you know, I will tell you, there's nothing better than spontaneous. Hangs with white cloth. I got a little. I'm having some issues.

[Kristen]

Please drink responsibly. Hard seltzer with flavors. White cloth. White Claw Seltzer Works.

[Benny]

Okay.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Chicago, Illinois.

[Benny]

Okay. You ready? Ready. Ready.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yes.

[Kristen]

Please drink responsibly. Hard seltzer with flavors. White Claw Seltzer Works.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Chicago, Illinois.

[Benny]

Say yes. Okay. Where are you at?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Oh, are we done? I can be done.

[Kristen]

No, you can.

[Dave (Chuck)]

No, keep going. This is fun. I'm relaxed.

[Benny]

I don't have to be done.

[Kristen]

I'm so excited to see the.

[Benny]

Who's going first?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Not me.

[Kristen]

Well, I'll go first. I'll go first.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Okay.

[Benny]

Chris and Joel, because Dave already said

[Kristen]

it looked like a cowboy.

[Benny]

All four of your paintings.

[Kristen]

Now pretend that I. Here's what I want you to pretend before I show it. Pretend that I have made money off of making art and pretend that people love my art.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Okay, I understand.

[Kristen]

And like, this is like. She's done another one.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah.

[Kristen]

Okay. Ready?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yep.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Oh, wow.

[Dave (Chuck)]

The roach.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I really like the. The point of view.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Is it a penguin?

[Kristen]

You know what's crazy about it is I've drawn the same thing since I've been five.

[Benny]

That You've drawn that.

[Kristen]

Do trees and a face that looks like this.

[Benny]

That's crazy.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Is it good?

[Benny]

You've drawn that multiple times.

[Dave (Chuck)]

That one disturbs me.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. I think I might have sent you to a therapist if you were, like, getting through that.

[Benny]

That's crazy. Oh, okay.

[Dave (Chuck)]

That's even more disturbing.

[Benny]

That's worse.

[Kristen]

That's a heart.

[Benny]

I don't like that one. It's kind of like.

[Dave (Chuck)]

That's a crazed chimp.

[Benny]

Yours are like dolly.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Like.

[Benny]

Yeah, no, that's my least favorite.

[Kristen]

All right. Why don't you show yours, hot shot?

[Benny]

Oh, I wouldn't say mine was great.

[Kristen]

Let's see what you got, big boy.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Let's see what you got, thick guy. Hey, Chef. Pretty painting, huh? Friends. Isn't Tykey tricky? Who is that supposed to be?

[Benny]

I don't know. It was just a man.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I'm surprised.

[Benny]

Kinda looks like Tupac.

[Dave (Chuck)]

That is a lot better than I thought you'd be able to do.

[Kristen]

That is good.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I'm surprised you'd be able to do something that good.

[Kristen]

I'm almost upset.

[Benny]

Why?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Can I see it again?

[Kristen]

I thought that you could do that. I like that a lot.

[Dave (Chuck)]

That's incredible. I'm shocked that you can do that.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I really like the details in the forehead right now.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I ha. You ruined the dialogue. Like, if you did the. Wrote the perfect thing there, I would have, you know.

[Benny]

Okay, ask. Is it your turn or. No, Dave's turn first.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I don't think. I think once you see mine, you're not going to want to do much of anything else.

[Benny]

That's fine. Let's do.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I can go next if you want to go last.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Mine's just depressing. It's about.

[Kristen]

We'll keep.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I know.

[Kristen]

Yours is going to be incredible. I can tell.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Oh, my God, it's Benny. I'm shocked. I did not think that's what it was gonna be like. That's cool.

[Benny]

I like it. It's beautiful.

[Kristen]

Can you draw anything?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Probably. Look at that. It looks like a fucking fly.

[Benny]

Will you draw a fast doodle of Kristin? Just a fast doodle.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

But are you gonna be a good sport about it?

[Benny]

Yeah, she'll be a good sport. Just like a fast doodle.

[Kristen]

Can I look at this? This is the best thing I've ever seen in my life. I mean, this is. Does the world know that you can do this?

[Benny]

Yes.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

They don't care.

[Benny]

She did it literally on SNL while singing.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Nobody cares.

[Dave (Chuck)]

You know, I'm gonna have to. Don't look at this. I Have to set it up and then you.

[Benny]

Okay. No one else. I'm gonna look, but nobody else.

[Dave (Chuck)]

No, don't, don't, don't.

[Benny]

We're not looking. Just look towards me. Dave, are you looking?

[Dave (Chuck)]

No, not yet. I'm almost done. Don't look, don't look. Okay, don't look.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Okay, hold on, hold on. We have to wait.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah, you guys can look.

[Kristen]

Wow.

[Benny]

It doesn't feel depressing at all.

[Kristen]

No.

[Dave (Chuck)]

And that's the saddest part of it.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No, I think it feels gross.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It feels like just another day. I know.

[Kristen]

That's really good.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

The palette is really nice. It's like, it's very floral. It's giving, like, water lilies.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Crosshairs over there.

[Kristen]

I really like those colors over there.

[Dave (Chuck)]

This is Aurora Borealis. This is a planned attack. Oh, those are the fighter jets.

[Benny]

Check. I just don't like the splatter part.

[Kristen]

No, I love the splatter.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Who wants.

[Kristen]

I like how the splatter matches the egg.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

The texture is great. USA the blend is a different color because. What is it?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Just happenstance.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Okay. For sure. I actually really like this.

[Kristen]

I do too.

[Benny]

I think you can take it home.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I think I might have.

[Kristen]

Only if we can have this. Can I have this?

[Benny]

Yeah, that's me.

[Kristen]

We'll put it on the wall.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I just think if I'm gonna draw. You have to stand still. Kristen, if I'm two, three. No, hold on.

[Benny]

Set alarm. You want me to cut around the doodle this stuff, right?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Whoa, Chuck, what are you doing? Just leave it. I like it just how it is. I like the idea that we were gonna edit it, but we chose not to, and that's just how we have to. No, no, no.

[Benny]

Okay, now, but I can cut off this part, right? Well, this wasn't showing.

[Dave (Chuck)]

No, leave it folded. Just leave it. Just put it in the thing and leave it.

[Benny]

Check it. You like it?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Actually take it with you and frame it. Take good care of it. Bring it back to me framed.

[Benny]

Nope. Check.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Bring it back to me framed. Actually, keep it on the clipboard and frame the clipboard. Okay. Bring it back, framed. Thank you. Chuck, have you ever sung the national anthem?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Fuck, no. Oh, I don't have that kind of voice.

[Kristen]

Can you just sing at any. Like, if we were like. I'm not saying that you have to do this, but if we were just like, yes, sing the national anthem. You would just be able to sing it, and you would feel good about it, and everybody. We'd be like, this is like, she did it.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No, I don't know.

[Kristen]

If you're a singer, you have to.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Oh, no. No way.

[Benny]

She invented a style of singing that was so characteristic that it became like a meme. And everyone in the world started pretending to sing like her.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. And then I got made fun of for it.

[Kristen]

No, really? Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Everybody else was eating off my fucking plate.

[Kristen]

Cause you were the first to do it. You think that you.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

There's a couple years where, like, if you put on the radio, I would go, is that me? No, that's not me. That one's not me. When I record with Benny, I call it baby voice.

[Dave (Chuck)]

What's that mean?

[Benny]

It's. I like her baby voice. My favorite.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

It's like more like high pitched. Like, sassy.

[Benny]

Like, all the songs we did, like east side. They all have baby voices.

[Kristen]

Yeah, I like east side, but what was your big.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Without me?

[Kristen]

Yes.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Was that.

[Kristen]

That's not the baby voice.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

There's a little bit of baby voice in that song.

[Kristen]

I was, like, empowered.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Like. Like, Nightmare's not baby voice. It's a different.

[Dave (Chuck)]

But you also kind of like east side. Don't you have, like, kind of like a. Kind of like a rapper's cadence almost in the way that.

[Benny]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

You know what's funny? That's why I love doing songs that Ed starts so much.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Oh, yeah, true.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

He's the only writer that I really.

[Benny]

But you also do a rapper's cadence a lot in your.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I was gonna say because we write so similarly. It's like, syncopated. It's very.

[Benny]

She's so lyrical. Like, the lyrics come to her.

[Kristen]

Like, what's rapper's cadence? It just means, like, instead of a

[Benny]

single, it's, like, rhythmic. It's like, da, da da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da da.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It's more syllables than you know.

[Kristen]

Yeah.

[Benny]

I don't even think you remember, like, how many songs of hers that you know.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Oh, my God.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Oh. Do you need a napkin or something?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No, I'll wash my hands. It does.

[Kristen]

You get a lot of the pen or the pencil.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Oh, wow.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

It's just a little cutie. I made you like a Bratz doll.

[Benny]

Oh, wow. Let me see.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I need to like a Bratz doll.

[Benny]

Let me see. Oh, my God.

[Kristen]

Can we keep it? You can do so much.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I just spilled wine all over my microphone.

[Kristen]

You have to stay all day.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I'm sorry.

[Kristen]

At night.

[Dave (Chuck)]

What's your favorite of your own songs ever?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I think Nightmare is one. Cause it's such a unique song. I've never heard another song that sounds like that ever, like. It's such a unique song. I play it every night. I've never. I haven't done a show since that song came out where I don't play that song.

[Benny]

We made. We made hella songs. We went on tour together.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

So much music. Really?

[Benny]

Yeah, we went on tour.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Are they, like jumping around at your shows and getting wild?

[Benny]

Yeah, they're like losing their mind.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It's like a rock show like it is now.

[Benny]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

My show's way more like rock.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It's like, not pop. It's like not going to a pop.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No, it, like, looks Travis Scott.

[Benny]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I perform like a psychopath. People come to the shows and they're like, I know that song. And then I get out there, I'm like screaming and jumping around like fire. They're like, what the fuck? It's fun.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Have you ever gotten hit by a pyrotechnic where it blows? One time I was on stage and I got blown in the face and it was jarring.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I have a few times. Yeah. Nothing like I was injured, but definitely a few times where I've been like, that could have been horrible.

[Kristen]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Like, if you. I had, like, a really scary experience once. I was in Turkey. I was in Istanbul and I was gonna do a show and I. There was like a 2,000 pound truss that was like broken on top of the stage. And they were trying to decide if they were gonna let me go out or not. It was like hanging.

[Dave (Chuck)]

And I was like, oh, my God,

[Ashley (Halsey)]

am I gonna die? Yeah.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Did you perform?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I did, yeah.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Oh, my God.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Everything was okay.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Were you on edge the whole time?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I was. I wouldn't go out unless I knew that someone could tell me for sure that it was safe. But they weren't sure for like an hour. And then finally they, like, got it in a place where it was good or whatever. I am a mess right now.

[Kristen]

I have a question about making music. Before you make an album, do you think, like, ooh. Cause are you gearing up to make an album?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yes and no. Yeah, I am. I'm like, I'm getting ready to go. I like to go, okay, this is so stupid. I usually like to go away for like a little bit and just write stuff. So not necessarily music, but I have to go, like, I have to go play, like, pretend for a little. I like that.

[Kristen]

Like, you have to change your mindset. Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I gotta go become someone for, like

[Dave (Chuck)]

a little bit of self expression.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. Like, I have to go, like, live a different life for a little bit. Get out of your own head, you

[Kristen]

think for a while and, like, touch to something.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah, yeah. Like, I'll go. Like, I'll be like, okay, I'm gonna go get an Airbnb in Japan and, like, go to this little market and, like, hang out with the kids in the park and cook. And I'm like, I'm someone else for, like, a little bit. And then I kind of see the world through that perspective. Or, like, I'll be like, you know, I'm gonna go live in a cabin in the forest.

[Dave (Chuck)]

And when you're doing this and you're writing phrases and whatnot, is there even music involved? Or you just write the words and then, like, later the music comes and you remember the few phrases?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I pretty much always write the words first.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Interesting.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. And, like, because I am really wordy, percussive.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I feel like the music sort of, like, reveals itself. Like, there's certain cadences that the rhymes or, like, the words have to fit in, and so that really helps with.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Interesting.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

The melodies are just kind of already there. You know what I mean?

[Dave (Chuck)]

I've never written any lyrics without the beat.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Really?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Ever? Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Never?

[Dave (Chuck)]

No. Cause. But it's my own. I'm so trying to make, like, the best version of itself. This is probably my flaw as an artist that I'm always trying to, like,

[Ashley (Halsey)]

does the beat have to be, like, almost printable, or do you just need, like, a base?

[Dave (Chuck)]

I know. I want the beat because you know how, like, beats have, like, different turns. And, like, I want to, like, optimize every moment and be like, this is the best way that I could go from this. But at the end of the day, it's kind of my downfall as an artist because I'm trying to optimize every moment instead of, like, the raw.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

And you're trapped to that container of the song. Yeah. I used to make Benny pull up all his, like, rapper beats.

[Benny]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Like, I'd be. He'd, like, sit down, and when we first started working, like, he'd be like, all right, cool. I have these, like, you know, starts. These, like, pop song starts. And I'd be like, mm, mm.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Like, I'd be like, go and give me the folder that you like.

[Dave (Chuck)]

The Juice World folder.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah, yeah, 100%. And then I'd write, and then we'd have to, like, de. Rapify them. Cause I always sounded, like, weird.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Do you like working with Benny?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I love working with Benny. Benny's also. We're, like, the most efficient people ever. We can get like three songs done in a day.

[Dave (Chuck)]

I feel like one of your strengths is that you don't waste time. You pretty much know what's good and what's not and you really, once. You don't waste time.

[Benny]

I would never bring anything to the table that's not worthy or let it

[Dave (Chuck)]

go down a path that was.

[Benny]

Oh, yeah, yeah, I'd rather just quit.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It really has a kill of a path that's like brutal.

[Benny]

Yeah, I rather.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

He'll be like, let's try something else. And I'll be like, no, but I was almost there.

[Benny]

He's like, nah, I got the idea so quick.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

You can't be like thin skinned.

[Benny]

I think I've gotten this far just by trusting my gut. So if I feel something that doesn't feel right, like, it's like I'm not really that good at anything. I just think I have pretty good instincts.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Good gut.

[Benny]

Yeah, I think I have a good gut.

[Kristen]

Do you think your instincts are right 100% of the time?

[Benny]

No, but I think they're right there.

[Kristen]

Instincts out there that might be forgotten, I'm sure.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I think that you actually. I actually don't agree with you fully. I think there's things you're objectively very talented at that you have a lot that you bring to the table. But I would say your best skill set is that you are an excellent curator. You can curate friends, artwork, interior design, an outfit, a song, a sound. Like you understand all the different parts of a thing that have to come together to make it its best thing and its most unique experience.

[Dave (Chuck)]

There's never a time where I feel like you would say something was a big song and it wouldn't be or I've been wrong.

[Benny]

Sometimes degrees of big.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Like.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah, but usually it's beyond your control. Usually if you're wrong about that, it's because of something weird that happened with like the market or the way it was released or like the way the label promoted it or whatever, you know?

[Kristen]

Do you think you'll always be able to just guarantee big songs?

[Benny]

I think what I know is. I think I know what people want. What people want. Like, I think if.

[Dave (Chuck)]

What women want.

[Benny]

If there's a full. I think there's a full. Like, I think if we have this thing right here, I think I'll know what clips to make of this thing that will make people wanna watch it.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I don't have that skill set.

[Benny]

Well, see, that's a lot of artists don't.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No, I don't have that. A lot of that Skill set.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Do you know like when you make a song, I know you know and you love it, but do you also. Are you like, I think this could be a big song. Do you have those thoughts?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I think so, yeah. And I've also learned to listen to myself in that regard. Cause I've had other people bet on records and I've been like, no, it's this one. And also like, I think the. That perspective always proves victorious in the end where it's like, you know, you

[Benny]

gotta believe in yourself. Yeah.

[Kristen]

But I feel like that's a hard thing as an artist to be able to like hone in and trust your instinct.

[Benny]

Like so many artists pick the wrong song.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah.

[Kristen]

But it's also cause you're putting yourself on such like you're putting yourself out there. So at the same time to have the self belief to be like, I'm gonna trust my instinct, while you're also being so vulnerable is a. That's how you become.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Sometimes you can be too close to it. That's the other thing. You could be too afraid or too like. You need to know when also to take the opinions of others who are able to see you in a way that's like unbiase. And like, you also need to be able to be really honest with yourself, you know, Like, I know that there's a version of me that I think I am and then there's the reality of the way that the zeitgeist or the audience or culture interacts with me. And like, I'm a product of like every artistic experience I've ever had. But most people perceive me based on the entry point of how they met me. So like, if they heard Closer for the first time and that's when they decided to their opinion of me. They're like, she's this type of artist, you know. So it's like I noticed that my shows a lot because you'll get so many different types of people in a room. And there's like dudes in there that are like, I love Nine Inch Nails. And this girl fucks like she rips like she made this rock album. That's awesome. And then there's some girls in there that were like, we loved her in college and she makes pop music that we love. And it's all like, everyone has a different perspective. So I need to know like when I'm like, okay, I'm a. I'm perceiving myself as like a product of all those things. And I need to know when someone is going to their Interaction or entry point to me is different than that. And that's what's helpful about having someone like Benny, who. We've talked about this for years.

[Dave (Chuck)]

What do you think the public perception of you is?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I think people think I'm really intense. Like really like political and opinionated and intense. And I'm really a very chill person.

[Kristen]

Do you feel like that gets in your way? What if you just didn't ever go online again and you just never went online?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I don't really. Cause like I don't really right now. But I think that they've. Because of. I was 19. Yeah. I thought everything was my responsibility, you know, I thought that my job was to fix, comment on, care about, speak up for, advocate for.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Which is a good spirit.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

It was so well meaning.

[Kristen]

I wish I had to exist.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Overwhelming.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It's a shame that, that the world beat you down to think where that was annoying.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah. You know, sometimes you get it wrong a couple times though, that's the problem. It's like, you know, it's like, it's like the idea of like when you, when you. What is it? When you speak for everything, you stand for nothing kind of thing. You know where it's like I did get it wrong a couple times cuz I was really young and like, you know, it was growing up in front of the entire world. But also like I. Yeah, I was just young. I was just young. I was just like. Even to this day there's like videos that go around and people are like, oh my God, like da da. I'm like, I was 20 in that video. I'm 31 right now. You know what I mean? Everybody has to grow and change. And also not for nothing, not to get really not to prove everybody's point about why I was annoying right now. But my life is so different than it was back then. The socioeconomic background that I come from, the amount of just panic, the lack of financial security, the lack of safety like that I had at that time. That I was still, I was still in fight or flight from my life before. I'm just like, I'm more chill now. Of course I was panicking all the time. I was like, you know, I support my mom, I support my dad, I support my brother, I support my grandmother. Like if I fuck this up and this goes the wrong way, everybody's lives different. I gotta get this right. And that was. Those were stakes that most of my peers didn't have. Yeah. I think everybody is really attached to like. And also because those moments for me make the most noise.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

So like, I could do literally nothing for a year and like, lay low. And then if I do one thing, that becomes like Halsey claps back at the media, then that becomes the thing

[Benny]

for the next year.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

The thing for the year. You know what I mean? So it's like I think I'm really, I'm a pretty chill person, but people generally, generally assumes that I take myself way more seriously than I do. So that's where it becomes a problem for me. Because sometimes I'll make a joke or I'll do something that's meant to be light hearted or funny, and then the immediate assumption is that I'm being really serious or I'm taking it really seriously.

[Kristen]

I'm not saying you are, but what's the big deal if you take yourself seriously?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

But if I'm not, then it sucks because I don't necessarily want that being translated as my main cause.

[Dave (Chuck)]

FanDuel finals it's already that time. It's that time.

[Kristen]

It's that time. It's an exciting time for a of lot.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

A lot of sports fans.

[Benny]

It's so stressful.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Well, not when you know what's what and you're ready to predict the future.

[Kristen]

Are you guys really excited to start predicting?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Look, I don't wake up thinking I'm gonna call my shot. I just have an intuitive nature to me where I kind of see what's gonna happen.

[Kristen]

I have a real thing to say. Yeah, it must be a little bit more exciting to kind of when you

[Benny]

have real stakes involved.

[Kristen]

Yeah. On your prediction.

[Benny]

Well, I'll tell you one thing. I wake up in the morning and I predict.

[Dave (Chuck)]

You can predict the outcome of the pro basketball finals games all the way to the end of the championship with FanDuel Predicts.

[Benny]

Sign up and grab your $25 bonus

[Dave (Chuck)]

on FanDuel Predicts and ride this playoff journey with me.

[Kristen]

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Penny, how has therapy made you a better person?

[Benny]

I think sometimes when you're deep in with your family and your friends, it's hard to see always the other person's opinion. Like for me, when I'm in therapy, sometimes I get checked by my therapist and they're giving me an unbiased opinion of the situation and what's going on.

[Kristen]

It truly gives you a toolbox of tools that you'll use for the rest of your life.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Well said.

[Kristen]

Therapy has helped me and it can help you and the others in your life.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.comfks that's betterhelp.comfks there's a quote that

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I think you'll really love that I saw the other day. There is no way to make art or make material that challenges people and be liked by everyone.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

And the more time you spend trying to appease others or to avoid confrontation or avoid conflict, it's like every single time you do that, you pull a thread from your work in order to do so, and then you're left with a piece that's completely unraveled by the end, and you've given those threads away, so you can never put it back with the integrity of where you started. And I think especially in what you do, you have a whole other layer to the kind of art that you make. Because. Because comedy is a factor, and comedy is challenging and it's disruptive and it's provocative and it's controversial, and that's the nature of it. Is it supposed to make people feel that way? And I would not survive that at all. I just simply wouldn't survive that. I feel like it's hard enough having to have a point of view about what I do and wanting it to be cool or sexy or emotional or meaningful or to perform well. If I had to add the layer of comedy onto it and I had to worry about navigating that, that's gotta be really. I just can't imagine how I could argue that.

[Dave (Chuck)]

It makes it easier. I could argue that. Yeah. Kind of, like, it allows for things to be softened and, like, you can say something without, like. I wrote a song the other day that was, like, from. It was called I'm Worried.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Sure.

[Dave (Chuck)]

And it was about, like, worries. And then it was also, like, every now and then, I would sprinkle in things about the state of the world that were true, that were like. That I would feel kind of lame being like.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

But also you're worried that the barista. You're feeling. Favorite coffee shop, like, fucking secretly dislikes you kind of worries.

[Benny]

Yeah.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Yeah, for sure. But I just think I'm worried I'll never finish this song.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Basically, like, if I. If I made a song that was really about, like, that was trying to, like, be political and be like, I'm worried about everything that's going on in the world. Like, I would have so much more trouble doing that version of the song than the song where I get to, like, be like, say that. And then the next line is like, I'm worried that I'm gonna want to the robot, like, in 10 years. When the like. And then I get to make that joke that I catch.

[Benny]

I don't even think you're worried that you want to fuck.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Is it more than, I don't want the robot to fuck me.

[Kristen]

Oh, are you scared to be sincere? Like, are you not sincere?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Are you scared to be sincere?

[Benny]

You want the robot to fuck you?

[Dave (Chuck)]

I think in music, I have more fear of being serious than I do on film. You know what I mean?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Honestly, I have other mediums, though. Not.

[Benny]

Did you just say you want the robot to fuck you?

[Dave (Chuck)]

Because I'm also rapping. It's like, it's hard for me to take myself seriously.

[Benny]

We're just going over that line you said where you wanted a robot.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Well, look, I just think we're at a place in the world where it's like, will we get fucked by the robots or no? Are we gonna fuck the robots or are the robots gonna fuck us?

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I know. I feel the same way. Like, I feel like I could sit here right now and I could be like, you know, like, you could be like.

[Kristen]

Like earlier.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Like, you'd be like, were you having fun when you had, like, the number one song? Like, no, I fucking hated my life. I'm joking. And then it's like, ha, ha. And you can see me in person. I'll be like, no, I fucking hated my life now. It was cool. And then the quote is like, halsey hated her life.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Well, that's the problem with Internet culture. Like, they can take, like. They can be like, lil Dicky jokes about war and makes painting about the jokes of war.

[Kristen]

But it's like, yeah, but I think that's the downfall of human connection. Because so much of it is not any of that being around you. It's like, even when you said that thing over there, I wasn't as dramatic as it would sound in print. In print, I'd be like, oh, wow. But in real life, I was like, yeah, she's relatable. She experienced life, and she didn't like that life.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I would so much rather people dislike me. And you're being you because there's a lawnmower outside.

[Benny]

I didn't know there was someone coming through Texas Chainsaw.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

No, I'd rather people dislike me for being myself than to miss out on so many years of my life being who I am. Because I was worried that they weren't gonna like me. Cause they're not going to anyway.

[Kristen]

Social media and the Internet is such a presence of, admire me, look at me. And I feel real life is really Let me connect with you. And because everything gets translated to Internet culture, it, like, misses like we all. We lose the, like, sweetness of just being yourself and being able to say whatever you want, like, connecting and not judging people.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Because in real life, we perceive people. We accept them as we are, as they are. And we. Or maybe we don't, but we receive people and we experience people. We don't judge or categorize people. In real life, you know, there's more room for nuance, I think.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Totally. I mean, look, even though I went to a party you threw and you didn't even live in the house, I feel like obviously I didn't. I feel like today, having spent this time with you, I can't even wrap my head around how anyone could ever perceive you as annoying. You're the least annoying.

[Kristen]

I really can't believe it.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

I don't even know. I used to be really annoying. Oh, I did.

[Benny]

I gotta take a. All right.

[Dave (Chuck)]

Thank you so much for coming.

[Benny]

We love you. We love you.

[Ashley (Halsey)]

Thank you for having me over.

[Dave (Chuck)]

You hugged our friend.

[Kristen]

Pure talent.

[Benny]

Thank you, McDonald's, for sponsoring this episode. Thank you for sponsoring this episode.