ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Halsey’s ‘Without Me’ Joins the YouTube Billions Club

The 2018 chart-topper becomes Ashley Frangipane’s first video as a lead artist with one billion views on the platform.

Published on

Cover: Courtesy of Capitol Records

“Without Me” is one of the biggest hits of Halsey’s career, and now there’s another stat to certify it. The music video for the 2018 chart-topping single has surpassed one billion views on YouTube, the artist born Ashley Frangipane’s first video as a lead artist to surpass that milestone. (The lyric video for her 2016 Chainsmokers collaboration “Closer” previously topped the 1 billion mark.)

Women of Rock and Jazz
Women of Rock and Jazz
Women of Rock and Jazz

”Without Me” eventually ended up on Halsey’s 2020 album Manic. But it first appeared in October 2018 as a standalone single, building up momentum throughout the fall and winter and reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in January. It was Halsey’s first song as a lead artist to reach No. 1 following the chart-topping run of “Closer” in 2016. When Billboard ranked the biggest hits of the 2010s, “Without Me” came in at No. 12. Halsey promoted the single with performances on several TV shows including Saturday Night Live, The Voice, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and the 2018 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

The song was produced by Louis Bell and co-written by Halsey with Bell, Delacey, and Amy Allen, with writing credits doled out to Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, and Scott Storch thanks to an interpolation of Timberlake’s “Cry Me A River.” The “Without Me” music video was directed by Colin Tilley, one of the most acclaimed and prolific music video directors of his era. Tilley later directed Halsey’s “You Should Be Sad” video and her 2021 film If I Can’t Have Love I Want Power. He also directed the videos for tracks including Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright,” Future’s “Mask Off,” and Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” in addition to work with many more stars.

Halsey has said “Without Me” was inspired by several past relationships, including her dissolved romance with fellow musical artist G-Eazy. “The biggest lesson I learned was to make art, not headlines,” she told Glamour. “Because it can become quite easy, in the social media generation, to go from being a musician to becoming a personality.”

Shop for Halsey’s music on the uDiscover store.

Click to comment
Comments are temporarily disabled and will return shortly.
Paul McCartney & Wings - Venus and Mars (50th Anniversary Half-Speed Master) LP
Paul McCartney & Wings
Venus and Mars (50th Anniversary Half-Speed Master) LP
ORDER NOW
Rush - 50th Super Deluxe Edition Box Set
Rush
50th Super Deluxe Edition Box Set
ORDER NOW
Sex Pistols - Live In The U.S.A 1978, Atlanta 5th Jan, 1978 Atlanta, South East Music Hall, USA Limited Edition Red LP
Sex Pistols
Live In The U.S.A 1978, Atlanta 5th Jan, South East Music Hall, Limited Edition Red LP
ORDER NOW
Queen I Collector’s Edition
Queen
Queen I (Collector’s Edition Box Set)
ORDER NOW
Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet Picture Disc (Limited Edition)
Bon Jovi
Slippery When Wet Picture Disc
(Limited Edition)
ORDER NOW
The Beatles US Albums In Mono
The Beatles
The US Albums In Mono (Vinyl Box Set)
ORDER NOW
uDiscover Music - Back To Top
uDiscover Music - Back To Top