By Bella Coulter

American singer and songwriter Halsey has released two new songs off her upcoming album, Manic. The album isn’t set to be released until February 2020, but these two songs mark the fourth and fifth songs she has already released. 

The first song is “Finally // beautiful stranger,” the 10th track on the album. This song is different from her usual pop style, beginning with simple guitar strums and soft vocals. Halsey sings about a tentative new love. After several past releases telling tales of woeful lovers who have played her, this song is a happy change. She expresses the beginning of falling in love, describing her new love interest as a “sour apple, baby, but you taste so sweet.”

Throughout the song, she shows off her impressive vocal range with powerful notes in the pre-chorus, before a dramatic shift back down to soft and controlled ones, as she comes to a wonderful realization: “It’s finally safe for me to fall.”

The second song, “SUGA’s Interlude,” is the thirteenth song on the album, and features widely-known BTS member, Suga. Halsey and BTS have been known for their close relationship, both professionally and personally. They have already collaborated on a song together, so it is no surprise that she chose to have one of the members featured on her new album.

The song begins with Halsey’s sweet voice, before transitioning into Suga’s deep, rapping voice. This song is particularly different because Suga raps in his first language, Korean, instead of rapping in English, which would typically be expected for an American pop song.

His immaculately timed raps combine with the chill beat, making it seem almost like the listener is floating through the song. 

The lyrics are surprisingly depressing, as the singing-rap duo talk about the hardships of finding balance in life. Halsey sings, “I’ve been trying all my life to separate the time in between the having it all and giving it up,” before Suga raps about facing his own self-hatred and internal demons, despite achieving his dreams. 

Once again, Halsey shows her versatility and diverse sound on these two new songs, getting fans even more excited for the complete album release in February.