Halsey References Carrie Underwood, Shania Twain in Steamy New Video

Pop star revisits 'Before He Cheats,' 'That Don't Impress Me Much' and more.

Written by Chris Parton
Halsey References Carrie Underwood, Shania Twain in Steamy New Video
Halsey on the Red Carpet at “The 53rd Annual CMA Awards,” on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 at Bridgestone Arena in Downtown Nashville. Photo courtesy of CMA

Pop superstar Halsey takes a few pages from the country playbook in her new video for “You Should Be Sad,” referencing famous clips by none other than Carrie Underwood and Shania Twain.

The R-rated music video finds the songstress donning a cowboy hat (and little else) while she shimmies and shakes in an underground dance club, rides a white horse and more. And according to the star, it was inspired by “badasses” like Underwood and Twain, plus Christina Aguilera’s “Dirrty” and Lady Gaga in American Horror Story: Hotel.

The video starts off with a muscle car parked in a dark alley (similar to Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” clip) with Halsey’s mascara running down her cheek just like Underwood’s makeup in “Cry Pretty.” Later on, she revives the iconic leopard robe from Twain’s “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and recreates the black outfit from Twain’s “Man, I Feel Like a Woman,” admitting on Twitter it was all part of a plan.

https://twitter.com/halsey/status/1215513596261568512

For their part, Underwood and Twain expressed how honored they felt to get the visual shout out, with Halsey responding to Twain in disbelief and Underwood inviting the star to visit for a Nashville co-write.

https://twitter.com/halsey/status/1215788120345579520
https://twitter.com/carrieunderwood/status/1216070860710334464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1216070860710334464&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftasteofcountry.com%2Fcarrie-underwood-tweets-halsey-you-should-be-sad%2F

That co-write might actually be possible, judging by Halsey’s publicly-expressed respect for the country genre. Explaining her belief that “the most petty [sic] and heartbreaking songs all come from country,” the singer said she wrote “You Should Be Sad” just like a country song — and also said she spends plenty of time in Music City. “You Should Be Sad” arrives as part of the Maniac album this Friday (January 17).

https://twitter.com/halsey/status/1215506670551330816