Halsey’s Song ‘Nightmare’ Almost Sounded Completely Different
Halsey released her single “Nightmare” in 2019. While the song was not included on their 2020 album Manic, “Nightmare” was a hit with fans. In a new TikTok, Halsey revealed that the song almost sounded completely different and featured a surprising sample of t.A.T.u’s “All The Things She Said.”
Halsey released ‘Nightmare’ in 2019
Halsey released “Nightmare” as a single in May 2019. The song features an interpolation of “All the Things She Said” by t.A.T.u, a Russian music duo.
In the song’s chorus, Halsey sings, “I, I keep a record of the wreckage of my life / I gotta recognize the weapon in my mind / They talk s***, but I love it every time / And I realize.”
When the song was released, Elena Kiper, a songwriter on “All the Things She Said” and “Nightmare,” published an Instagram post about “Nightmare.”
In the post, Kiper explained that “Halsey’s original version contained an extensive interpolation of the original work.”
The song almost featured a sample of ‘All the Things She Said’
On Jan. 21, Halsey posted a TikTok of the original version of “Nightmare.” The Tiktok shows Halsey leaning in front of a screen recording of an audio file.
The text on the TikTok reads, “did you know nightmare OG had a tatu sample?” and Halsey captioned the TikTok, “should I leak this version? #tatu.”
Halsey’s TikTok reveals that the chorus of “Nightmare” almost included a sample of “All the Things She Said” instead of the chorus fans now know.
In the chorus revealed on TikTok, Halsey sings the famous lyrics, “All the things she said / All the things she said / Running through my head / Running through my head / Running through my head / All the things she said / All the things she said.”
Halsey did not include ‘Nightmare’ on ‘Manic’
In January 2020, Halsey released their third studio album, Manic. In an interview with Billboard, the singer-songwriter brought up “Nightmare” and called it “angry dark music.”
Because of this, Halsey decided not to include the single on Manic.
“I sat there to make this album and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to make an angry album.’ And I wasn’t mad. It’s exciting,” they told Billboard. “I’m closing a chapter in this record that I feel very much like I needed to put the final word on, put the nail in the coffin, if you will. Graveyard, marry it.”
Halsey released a new version of ‘Nightmare’ in 2021
In August 2021, Halsey released an album called If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power. The album was produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and Halsey received a 2022 Grammy Award nomination for Best Alternative Music Album.
The extended version of If I Can’t Have Love, I Wanter Power includes “Nightmare” and a reprise of the song called “Nightmare (Reprise.)”
