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Colors (Halsey song)

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"Colors"
Single by Halsey
from the album Badlands
ReleasedFebruary 9, 2016 (2016-02-09)
GenreElectropop
Length4:09
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Dylan Bauld
Halsey singles chronology
"New Americana"
(2015) 		"Colors"
(2016) 		"Castle"
(2016)
Music video
”Colors" on YouTube

"Colors" is a song by American singer and songwriter Halsey from her debut studio album, Badlands (2015). It was released on February 9, 2016, through Astralwerks as the album's third single. The song was made available as a 7-inch single and a five-track remix EP titled "Complementary Colors". As of May 2024, the song has reached over 403 million streams on Spotify.[1]

Background

[edit]

An electropop song,[2] "Colors" was written by Halsey and producer Dylan Bauld (also known as Dylan William). She stated during a performance at the Grammy Museum that she wrote most of the song, as a poem, at age 17, and later adapted it into a song two years later. She also stated it was one of her favorite songs that she wrote.[3] Halsey expressed to Complex magazine; "[Blue is] just my creative color. It's like so many things at once. It's electric, and it's bright, but it's also calm. It's also ethereal. Blue is just an otherworldly color to me. Blue is the sky. Blue is the sea. Blue for me represents the unexplored territory".[4] In another interview, she stated:

"My song 'Colors' is about being in a relationship with someone and kind of watching the vibrancy slowly start to leak out of them, watch the colors start to fade, whether they're falling victim to drugs or falling victim to work or any sort of negative behavior that's kind of taking them away from the bright and lively person that they used to be. You can kind of see them start to fade to gray, and you wish you had them back the way that they used to be".[5]

On January 21, 2016, Halsey revealed the single's artwork via Twitter. The art had been painted on the side of a building located at the intersection of Franklin Street and Meserole Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.[6] The picture features a black human silhouette standing in front of a dark green background. Lilac paint splashes around the head of the figure, which is a reference to the song's bridge. Upon its release, MTV's contributor Madeline Roth compared the reveal to the advertising campaign preceding Justin Bieber's album Purpose.[7]

Music video

[edit]

A music video for the single was directed by Tim Mattia and released on February 25, 2016.[8] Prior to its release, Halsey unveiled two teasers of the music video on her Twitter and Facebook account. She also announced that the video would premiere on February 25, 2016, and would co-star actor Tyler Posey.[9]

The video received a positive reception upon release, with critics mainly focusing on the video's plot twist. Nylon contrasted the song's "dreamy nature" with the video's roller coaster storyline.[10]

The music video was filmed in 1120 Westchester Place and Westlake High School.[11] As of June 2022, the music video has received over 250 million views on YouTube. [12]

Live performances

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"Colors" was promoted by Halsey in a number of live appearances, including Jimmy Kimmel Live, Boston Calling Music Festival and at 02 Academy Islington, London.[13] She also performed the song at the Billboard Women in Music 2016 event.[14] In 2017, she performed the song at the ACLU benefit event.[15]

Track listing

[edit]
  • Digital EP – "Complementary Colors"[16]
  1. "Colors" (Stripped) – 4:26
  2. "Colors" (Audien Remix) – 4:30
  3. "Colors" (Sam Feldt Remix) – 4:46
  4. "Colors" (Blonde Remix) – 4:58
  5. "Colors" (Joel Fletcher & Nathan Thomson Remix) – 4:11
  • Limited-edition 7-inch single[17]
A. "Colors" – 4:09
B. "Colors" (Stripped) – 4:26
  • Exclusive signed CD for "Camp Badlands" VIP Package
  1. "Colors" (Radio Edit) – 3:30
  2. "Colors" (Stripped) – 2:57
  3. "Garden" (Demo) – 3:00

Charts

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Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[18] 99
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[19] 24
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[20] 58
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[21] 66
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[22] 8
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[23] 23
US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[24] 38

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[25] Gold 35,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[26] 2× Platinum 120,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[27] Platinum 50,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[29] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡
Streaming
Sweden (GLF)[30] Gold 4,000,000†

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Region Date Format Label Ref.
United States February 9, 2016 Adult album alternative radio
[31]
February 29, 2016 Hot adult contemporary radio [32]
March 1, 2016 Contemporary hit radio [33]
Various April 22, 2016 Digital EP – "Complementary Colors" Astralwerks [16]
United States June 17, 2016 7-inch single [34]
Various
(except United States) 		June 24, 2016 Virgin EMI [35]

References

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  1. ^ "Colors". Spotify. August 28, 2015.
  2. ^ Mike Wass (January 7, 2016). "Halsey Preps "Colors" As The Third Single From 'Badlands'". Idolator. Retrieved April 27, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Halsey: Colors — Live at the Grammy Museum". YouTube. September 23, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  4. ^ Morris, Jessie. "Halsey Talks Her New Album, 'Badlands'". Complex. Archived from the original on July 11, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  5. ^ Corrinston, Michele (May 3, 2016). "Halsey explains the meaning of her hit song 'Colors'". Sirius XM Holdings. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
  6. ^ "HALSEY ANNOUNCES NEW SINGLE "COLORS" VIA BROOKLYN GRAFFITI". fuse.tv. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  7. ^ "Halsey Announced Her New Single In A Very Bieber-esque Way". mtv.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  8. ^ Geffen,Sasha. "HALSEY HAS A CRUSH ON TYLER POSEY IN THE 'COLORS' VIDEO — OR DOES SHE?". MTV. Archived from the original on February 28, 2016.
  9. ^ Lauletta, Tyler. "HALSEY DROPS TEASER FOR "COLORS" VIDEO FEAT. TYLER POSEY". Fuse.
  10. ^ Hartounian, Nanor (February 25, 2016). "Halsey's New Music Video Will Take You On An Emotional Roller Coaster". Nylon.
  11. ^ "If You're A Halsey And American Horror Story Fan You Might Need To Sit Down..." PopBuzz. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  12. ^ "Halsey – Colors". February 25, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ "Live Review: Halsey @ O2 Academy Islington, London — Fortitude Magazine". fortitudemagazine.co.uk. September 17, 2015. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  14. ^ "the best live music performances — Halsey 'Colors' Live Performance | Billboard Women in Music 2016". Live Music Nation. December 18, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  15. ^ "Halsey, Machine Gun Kelly, Skrillex and more to play ACLU benefit show". Alternative Press. February 12, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Complementary Colors – EP by Halsey". iTunes Store (US). April 22, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  17. ^ "Halsey Releases Limited Edition "Colors" 7"". Astralwerks. May 30, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  18. ^ Ryan, Gavin (March 12, 2016). "ARIA Singles: Lukas Graham Spends 4th Week at No 1". Noise11. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  19. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 27. týden 2016 in the date selector. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  20. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 14. týden 2016 in the date selector. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  21. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201614 into search. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  22. ^ "Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  23. ^ "Halsey Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  24. ^ "Halsey Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  25. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2017 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  26. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Halsey – Colors" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  27. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2021 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  28. ^ "British single certifications – Halsey – Colors". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  29. ^ "American single certifications – Halsey – Colors". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  30. ^ "Halsey – Colors" (in Swedish). Grammofonleverantörernas förening. Archived from the original on April 14, 2024. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  31. ^ "Alternative > Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  32. ^ "Hot/Modern/AC > Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  33. ^ "Top 40/Mainstream > Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  34. ^ Lantinen, Chris (May 20, 2016). "Halsey's 'Colors' 7-inch up for pre-order". Modern Vinyl. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  35. ^ "Colors 7" Single". Virgin EMI Records. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
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