Halsey has shared a brand-new single called ‘Safeword’ – you can listen to it below, and see its NSFW video.
The track marks the first material from the singer-songwriter since her fifth and latest studio album ‘The Great Impersonator’, which was released last October. She had teased the tune earlier this week.
- READ MORE: Halsey – ‘The Great Impersonator’ review: a brutal but brilliant reckoning with chronic illness
Boasting gritty electric guitar and a pummelling drumbeat, the raucous, punk-rock-influenced song finds Halsey exploring her dominatrix fantasies.
The official ‘Safeword’ music video, directed by Lana Jay Lackey, begins with the leather-clad star putting her foot on the throat of a man who is wearing a submission mask. She is also seen walking a character donning black latex around on a chain. Later, Halsey is tied up as the roles are reversed.
“Yes, sir, no, sir, on all fours/Are you ready to get what you’ve been waiting for?/I’m not a criminal, I’m just a wild child/I’m not a bad girl, I just like it wild style/I’m tough, I’m mean, I’m rough/Just say the safe word when you’ve had enough,” Halsey yells, before making it clear who’s in charge: “I don’t gotta listen to you/ You’re not thе boss of me!”
In another verse, she shouts: “You’re going down, yeah, I’m taking you down/We’re going for a ride, I’m the queen of this town/I got a bad reputation from the fucking around/I got a standing ovation from the other on the playground.”
You can watch the video here:
10 minutes until safeword video
NOT SAFE FOR WORK. OR THE BUS. OR BRUNCH WITH YOUR PARENTS. OR YOUR JEALOUS BOYFRIEND. enjoy https://t.co/4rrx2edtQZ
— h (@halsey) February 27, 2025
When posting the visuals, Halsey warned: “NOT SAFE FOR WORK. OR THE BUS. OR BRUNCH WITH YOUR PARENTS. OR YOUR JEALOUS BOYFRIEND. enjoy.” See the update above.
In a recent exchange with a fan on X/Twitter, Halsey revealed that she’d be performing some new songs on her 2025 North American ‘For My Last Trick’ tour. Another user asked her to share one word to describe ‘Safeword’. Halsey responded: “Obedience.”
In a five-star review of ‘The Great Impersonator’, NME wrote: “Looking back through her recent catalogue, ‘Manic’ is more stylistically diverse, ‘If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power’ more musically ambitious, but ‘The Great Impersonator’ is Halsey’s most honest album – that is if you choose to believe her.”
The record also landed at Number 39 on NME‘s 50 best albums of 2024 list, with the single ‘Lonely Is The Muse’ earning a place in our 50 best songs of the year run-down.
The post Halsey shares S&M-themed video for new punk-rock single ‘Safeword’ appeared first on NME.
