Halsey Was ‘Really Nervous’ About Clearing Britney Spears ‘Lucky’ Sample: ‘How Has This Not Been Done Before?’

Halsey couldn’t believe her luck when the process of sampling Britney Spears‘ “Lucky” turned out to be an easy one, to the point where the “Closer” singer couldn’t help but worry that another shoe was about to drop.

While discussing their new single — which arrived last week, featuring a heavy interpolation of the Princess of Pop’s 2000 hit — in a Thursday morning (Aug. 1) interview with the U.K.’s Capital Breakfast, Halsey recalled feeling “really nervous” about borrowing such an iconic tune from Spears’ catalog, even though the icon had given her blessing from the start, as previously revealed. “I remember thinking when we were doing it, ‘How has this not been done before? Has this been done before?'” she says in a clip from the interview. “Is there a reason this hasn’t been done before?

“Am I about to bark up a tree of disappointment where I fall in love with this song and there’s a reason it hasn’t been sampled in a really big way yet?” the About-Face Beauty founder continued. “So I was really nervous, and ultimately, when I got the blessing from Britney and Max Martin — who was involved in the original version of the song — having them onboard, I was like, every single day of the process I was waiting for someone to be like, ‘Just kidding, you don’t get to do it anymore.'”

While the release of Halsey’s “Lucky” went off without a hitch, its Gia Coppola-directed music video was a slightly different story. After the video went live, a statement went up on Spears’ X profile claiming she felt “harassed, violated and bullied” by the visual’s portrayal of her as “a superficial pop star with no heart or concern at all.” The message also noted that Spears was planning to pursue legal action against the “Without Me” artist.

That same day, the “Toxic” singer deleted the post and tweeted, “Fake news !!! That was not me on my phone !!! I love Halsey and that’s why I deleted it !!!,” to which Halsey replied, “and I love Britney!!!! I always have and always will … you were the first person who ever made me realize what it means to feel inspired. And you continue to inspire me everyday.”

Halsey didn’t address the incident in the Capital Breakfast clip, but she does double down on her love for Spears. “It was so full-circle,” Halsey gushed. “There’s a 6-year-old girl inside my soul who used to dress up and do performances for my grandparents in the living room to Britney Spears songs. Obviously, the song is such a beautiful memory and it’s such an honor to reimagine it in this way, especially because it’s an already perfect record.”

Watch the clip below, and you can listen to Capital Breakfast With Jordan North, Chris and Sian weekdays from 6-10 a.m. across the U.K. and on Global Player.

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