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A trailblazer since she hit the charts in 2015, “Without You” singer Halsey fully embraces fluid gender expression while paying homage to some of the music legends who influenced her for the latest cover story of The Advocate.
It’s not the norm that the subject of a cover story shows up for a photo shoot with a fully realized concept that requires her to do her own makeup, but that’s just what Halsey did. The performer and writer, who’s been frank about the intersections of being bisexual, biracial, and bipolar since before she skyrocketed to fame, also arrived with stories to tell about the rock legends Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, and Mick Jagger, who’ve influenced her style and music since she can remember.
In The Advocate’s cover story, Halsey, who just released her third album, Manic, nods to women of rock who’ve influenced her, including Patti Smith and Alanis Morissette. But for the photo shoot, she longed to channel male rock-star energy.
“I don’t really see females dressing in real drag very often in editorial print. This is something I want to do,” she says of the concept. “As a performer, I have looked up to or looked into those men — looking for a form of identity building for so long. It never really occurred to me that I shouldn’t.”
“I’ve always really identified with being an androgynous performer,” she adds.
Enjoy the photos below and check out the cover story HERE.
Photographed by Luke Fontana.
“I admire the confidence of any person who can really put themselves out there in a way that is so unconventional, and in a way that is so unsafe.”
“Dylan was the reason that I picked up a guitar.... I felt, as a 16-year-old, I was equal parts Taylor Swift and equal parts Bob Dylan, which was a complete mindfuck.”
“Jimi was a really important figure in my life growing up. My dad’s Black and my dad loves rock music. As the face of rock music has changed over the course of the past couple of decades, there have been periods of time where rock-and-roll or punk rock or emo rock or whatever it is — areas of subcultures that haven’t been necessarily all-inclusive to people of color.”
“To this day, it blows my mind how unabashedly feminine [Jagger] was and still is.... If you look at Jagger and Bowie and Prince and even Elvis, it’s just crazy to me how backward we’ve gone. The issue of toxic masculinity affects everyone.”
