Halsey Performed 'Nightmare' For The First Time And It Was 'Absolutely Chaos'

Earlier this year, Halsey described her impending third album as "a loud one," and she really wasn't kidding. "Nightmare," the initial taste of her new era, crash-landed last week with the force of a woman scorned. It's a sharp, irritated, and empowering anthem about what it's like to be a woman in the year 2019, and soon after illustrating that concept in its accompanying music video, Halsey has continued bringing the single to life with a pair of explosive performances.


This week, Halsey performed "Nightmare" for the opening time onstage at the Minneapolis Armory in Minnesota, where she hosted a complimentary pop-up gig. Prior to the show, Halsey asked her fans not to use their phones, explaining, "The whole point of this was to make build an once in a lifetime moment for us. I only get 1 chance to sing Nightmare for the 1st time." They obliged, to stunning results — it's special to be able to see a group this present and this energetic, screaming lyrics to a song they hadn't lived with for lots of days. As Halsey paced the four-sided, flame-filled stage, they were right there with her, for a moment that she accurately later described as "chaos."


The following day, Halsey brought "Nightmare" to the star-studded finale of The Voice, where Taylor Swift, Jonas Brothers, and BTS also hit the stage. She kicked it off by descending from the rafters in a harness, before joining a mob of dancers for some choreographed moshing and synchronized head-banging. (The efficiency isn't viewable on YouTube nevertheless, however it's accessible on NBC's website — visualize it in the entire episode around the 52:45 mark.)


Speaking about the urgent new single before its premiere, Halsey tweeted, "Imagine getting onstage every night and seeing young girls sweating mascara tears, lightning in their eyes, throwing elbows and raising fists, screaming till the veins in their necks raise under warm skin, and not being inspired by it. This song is about you, for you." Judging by her first two performances of "Nightmare," it's clear that she's taking that motive to heart by inspiring fans to rage right alongside her.