Halsey was “really nervous” about clearing Britney Spears’ ‘Lucky’ sample, “shared everything” with her before release

2 August, 2024

two side by side pictures of Halsey (left) and Britney Spears (right)

Halsey has said she was “really nervous” about clearing the Britney Spears sample on her latest single, and revealed that she “shared everything” with the singer throughout the creative process.

Last Friday (July 26) saw Halsey release ‘Lucky’, which samples both Spears’ 2000 song of the same name and Monica’s hit ‘Angel Of Mine’ (1998). She confirmed earlier that she “wouldn’t even dream of doing it without [Spears’] blessing”.

Teasing the track on social media, Halsey explained: “When I was 5, it always felt like Britney was singing directly to me. 24 years later, these words hit different. Love you forever.”

During a recent interview with Capital, the star recalled “landing on one of the craziest [samples] of all time”.

“I remember thinking when we were doing it, ‘How has this not been done before? Has this been done before?’” she said in a clip of the conversation. “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?”

She 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 just waiting for someone to be like, ‘Just kidding, you don’t get to do it anymore’.”

Halsey went on to say that both Spears and Martin “liked the song”, adding: “And I’m talking to them… it was so full-circle, you know? There’s a six-year-old girl inside of my soul who used to dress up and do performances for my grandparents in the living room to Britney Spears songs.”

Later, the singer said it had been “bittersweet” for her to interact with Spears all these years later because the original version of ‘Lucky’ is “such a beautiful memory” from her childhood. “It’s such an honour to reimagine it in this way,” she told the station.

In a separate interview with BBC Radio 1 on Wednesday (July 31), Halsey explained that she “shared everything with [Spears] every step of the way” when she was making ‘Lucky’.

“From the first demo of the song, and I sent her a shot-for-shot treatment of the music video,” she told Jack Saunders. “Just because I wanted to make sure I was totally nailing it.”

She added: “We traded merch; she sent me ‘Lucky’ merch for the ‘Lucky anniversary, and I sent her some merch and stuff like that. I mean, it’s definitely like a ‘pinch me’ thing – I didn’t even know she knew who I was.”

Last week, Halsey responded after Spears appeared to claim that she felt “harassed, violated and bullied” by her new ‘Lucky’ video.

In a since-deleted post, Spears threatened legal action against Halsey and called her “downright cruel”, adding: “I didn’t know an artist like her and someone I looked up to and admired would illustrate me in such an ignorant way by tailoring me as a [superficial] pop star with no heart or concern at all.

“I have my own health problems which is why I took down my IG account yesterday. I will definitely be putting it back up to show I CARE.”

However, Spears later walked back her statement on X/Twitter, writing: “Fake news !!! That was not me on my phone !!! I love Halsey and that’s why I deleted it 🌹 !!!”

In response, Halsey said: “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.”

‘Lucky’ follows on from Halsey’s previous single ‘The End’, which came out in June. The singer told her fans at the time that she was “lucky to be alive” after experiencing difficulties with her health.

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