Halsey, Logic get real at Summerfest
After returning to the American Family Insurance Amphitheater stage for the third or fourth time Friday, pop star Halsey leveled with her fans at Summerfest.
She wasn’t leaving (strictly) for dramatic effect, nor was she taking a shot of tequila.
She has asthma and had to use her inhaler. That’s Halsey in a nutshell, the poster child for the new pop-star playbook.
Immortal songs, winning personalities, mindless escapism — they’re not enough anymore. In this climate, young pop fans crave authenticity and honesty. They want their stars to stand for something, to serve a greater purpose, to be a voice for the voiceless.
Halsey — like fellow rising stars of her generation such as Camilla Cabello and Chance The Rapper — checks all those boxes and is breaking down barriers.
She’s candid on social media about her struggles with being bipolar, which inform the lyrics of Friday highlights like “Alone” and “Gasoline,” songs that clearly struck a deeper chord with this crowd than your usual irresistible earworm.
And through the irresistible same-sex love song “Strangers,” Halsey (who’s bisexual) pledged her support to the LGBTQ community and their allies in the audience.
Halsey also showed she possesses the hallmarks of an unstoppable pop star. Crouching and running and jumping throughout the 75-minute set (no wonder she needed that inhaler), Halsey put extra energy into “Him & I,” her hit collaboration with rapper and boyfriend G-Eazy, flipping the sparkling microphone in her hand and striking a ballerina’s pose before dancing across the stage.
And Halsey proved she’s a powerhouse vocalist for a sparse and stirring rendition of the Chainsmokers’ “Closer” (which featured her vocals) and for her own hit “Bad at Love” (which again features same-sex couples).
She prefaced the latter with a question for the crowd: “How many of you believe in true love?” Thousands cheered. She replied, “You’re a (expletive) idiot.”
Halsey also shared a story for the first time, saying
that when she was in high school, she posted a picture she drew of “Star Wars” character Boba Fett on a fan Tumblr page and made a connection with a guy who asked for a copy.
That guy turned out to be Sir Robert Bryson Hall II — her Summerfest opener Friday, rapper Logic.
Logic literally gave a mission statement near the start of his set, performing on a platform of “peace, love and positivity.” He preached self-love on suicide prevention anthem “1-800-273-8255” with thousands of smartphone lights in the crowd glowing in solidarity — and rapped about the struggles of being biracial and of wanting to erase racism on “Everybody.”
But there was definitely a lighter side to Logic’s set, from the video introduction by cult cartoon heroes Rick and Morty, to Logic’s unabashedly geeky dancing to “Overnight.” He feigned anger that the crowd wasn’t more animated and stormed off the stage, prompting his DJ to encourage fans to boo and swear at him.
NF definitely didn’t have a funny side — the brooding rapper (highly reminiscent of Eminem) even had a cage on stage with him.
Nevertheless, NF brought the necessary urgency to make this melodrama work through a blistering halfhour set, culminating with his smash hit “Need You Now.”