which decade are you from halsey’s “the great impersonator”?

By Destiny Nava
December 20th, 2024

“The Great Impersonator” is Halsey’s fifth studio album and was released on October 25th, 2024. “The Great Impersonator” is a concept album where Halsey explores what she may have sounded like if she debuted in different decades from the 1970s to the 2000s, drawing inspiration from her favorite artists from those time periods. While working on the album, the artist was diagnosed with lupus and lymphoproliferative (T-cell) disorder, fearing that the album would be their last, incorporating themes involving mortality, identity, and family. During its promotion, Halsey impersonated a different artist for each song that they inspired leading up to its release.

If you’re curious about which decade you might fit into on their album, take the quiz below! Keep track of how many of each letter (a, b, c, d) you chose.

1. 1. pick a halsey era:
      1. if i can’t have love i want power
      2. room 93 & badlands 
      3. hopeless fountain kingdom
      4. manic
   2. pick a color
      1. teal
      2. gold
      3. pink
      4. red
   3. pick a color again, but this time pretend you’re on tumblr reblogging the pantone color of the year:
      1. mocha mousse
      2. tangerine tango
      3. serenity
      4. ultra violet
   4. pick a line of poetry (“sort of” / “footnote” from halsey’s i would leave me if i could):
      1. “*the skin there is like a black hole. Indigo haze, cerulean glazed./Speckled aging yellow scars.”
      2. “**the skin there is an envelope, white as white and sealed shut at/the edges./Begging to be pried open.”
      3. “***the skin there is like a kindled flame, and threatens to crawl out off of my body and find its way back to you.”
      4. “****the skin there is a famished host, aching to be full filled fulfilled”
   5. what’s your favorite season?
      1. winter 
      2. autumn
      3. spring
      4. summer
   6. pick one of these space related things:
      1. black holes 
      2. sun 
      3. stars
      4. moon
   7. what’s your favorite place to be?
      1. concerts 
      2. chilling out at a coffee shop 
      3. in my bedroom 
      4. exploring the city
   8. which of these movies would you want to watch right now?
      1. romeo + juliet 
      2. the muppet movie
      3. eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
      4. the breakfast club
   9. pick an artist that halsey impersonated:
      1. fiona apple
      2. stevie nicks
      3. aaliyah 
      4. kate bush
   10. now pick a song from someone else halsey impersonated:
       1. linger by the cranberries
       2. jolene by dolly parton
       3. toxic by britney spears 
       4. under pressure by david bowie
   11. pick a song i like from each decade:
       1. hand in my pocket by alanis morissette
       2. vienna by billy joel
       3. by your side by sade
       4. everybody wants to rule the world by tears for fears
   12. pretend you’re on tumblr again, and pick some lyrics you’d reblog:
       1. “Until it’s time to see the light/I’ll make my own with you each night/I’ll kidnap all the stars and I will keep them in your eyes”
       2. “They’ll take my organs, and they’ll hang me from the bedpost/Sayin’ I was too soft for this world”
       3. “We know that we’re headstrong/And our heart’s gone/And the timing’s never right/So for now let’s get away/On a Roman holiday”
       4. “I’m no sweet dream, but I’m a hell of a night”

Tally up how many you chose for each letter to find your result below!

mostly a – 90s 

listen to: arsonist, dog years, life of the spider, ego

for this decade, halsey was inspired by: fiona apple, pj harvey, tori amos, and dolores o’riordan (the cranberries)

mostly b – 70s 

listen to: panic attack, the end, letter to god (1974)

for this decade, halsey was inspired by: stevie nicks (fleetwood mac), joni mitchell, and her

mostly c – 00s 

listen to: lucky, letter to god (1998), lonely is the muse

for this decade, halsey was inspired by: britney spears, aaliyah, and amy lee (evanescence)

mostly d – 80s

listen to: i never loved you, hometown, letter to god (1984), i believe in magic

for this decade, halsey was inspired by: kate bush, dolly parton, bruce springsteen

if you somehow tied – ? 

listen to: the great impersonator, hurt feelings, only living girl in LA, darwinism

these songs were inspired by: björk, halsey during the badlands era, marilyn monroe, and david bowie