46 BILLBOARD | SEPTEMBER 2, 2017
popular [in the ’70s].
CHARLI See, I don’t know. Back then, you
could get away with so much more. You
weren’t being scrutinized for every tweet.
How has the past year of politics
affected both of you?
CHARLI I never got into music to be a role
model or held responsible for anything. But
I’m proud to be fighting for LGBT rights
and discussing feminism and the political
landscape at the moment. There’s so much
more of a direct connection between artists
and fans now.
HALSEY It’s cool that they demand that
of us — wokeness. There’s no curtain
anymore, it’s not 1999. But I think pop
culture in general is a really competitive
space for females. If there’s anything I
want to ensure, it’s that we’re both helping
each other win.
Who is the most unexpected person
you’ve bonded with in your career?
HALSEY I met John Mayer at a bar.
We’re like platonic mates now. If I think
something is funny, I run it by him first,
because he’s a comedic genius. He’ll tell
me if it’s funny, but he’ll tell me if it’s not.
I started answering people on Twitter by
their first names. Someone will be like,
“Halsey fucking sucks,” and I’ll be like,
“Stacy, wow, calm down.” He loved that.
CHARLI I’m going to use that.
HALSEY But I think the weirdest
relationship is with Jared Leto. He’s
stupidly smart. We met at Coachella. I
direct my own videos, and I’ve learned so
much from him about directing and acting.
CHARLI You act? Dahhhling.
HALSEY I have a movie coming out next
year — I can’t talk about it.
Charli, you tweeted on your birthday
that you’re planning what your coffin
will look like. What’s it going to be?
CHARLI I want a pink marble coffin and
pink rose petals to fall from the sky whilst I
get carried down the aisle. And then I want
LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” to play.
HALSEY I want Leonardo DiCaprio,
wearing a Hawaiian shirt like in Romeo +
Juliet, to speak. And I want to die in some
crazy way — like skydiving.
CHARLI Have you ever done skydiving?
HALSEY You want to do it with me? Say yes!
CHARLI No. I’ll push you out the plane. But
I’m not fucking jumping with you.
Maybe there’s an easier way to bond.
HALSEY I’ve always had this dream of
starting a band called Expensive Juice.
CHARLI I have a dream of starting a band
called The Tampon Girls.
HALSEY I’m in!
CHARLI Cancel your tour. We’re doing this.
HALSEY PartyNextDoor: You’re off unless
you want to be in the band.
CHARLI He can be a Tampon Girl.
(Both laugh.)
Halsey wears a Versace
top and Lana Jewelry.
Charli wears vintage
pajamas and Alessandra
Rich jewelry. Watch the
episode of How It Went
Down about the making of
H a l s ey ’s “ B a d a t L ove ” o n
Billboard.com.