| Ego | |
| Cover: | Halsey - Ego.jpeg |
| Alt: | Halsey as a woman staring into a mirror to see her as a man. |
| Border: | yes |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Halsey |
| Album: | The Great Impersonator |
| Genre: |
|
| Length: | 3:18 |
| Label: | Columbia |
| Producer: |
|
| Prev Title: | Lonely Is the Muse |
| Prev Year: | 2024 |
| Next Title: | I Never Loved You |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
"Ego" is a song by American singer Halsey from her fifth studio album, The Great Impersonator (2024). It was released through Columbia Records on September 6, 2024, as the album's third single. Halsey wrote the song along with Gregory Aldae Hein and Greg Kurstin, while Kurstin, Wyatt Bernard, Michael Uzowuru, and Austin Corona handled its production. "Ego" is a 1990s-inspired alternative rock, pop rock, and pop-punk track driven by guitar and drums, with an anthemic energy and lyrics about Halsey's personal struggles and insecurities with her public persona.
"Ego" was influenced by the Cranberries' Dolores O'Riordan, whom Halsey impersonated as part of the album's promotion. It was met with a positive reception from music critics, who noted similarities with the works of O'Riordan and bands Garbage and No Doubt. An accompanying self-written and self-directed music video for "Ego" was released to Halsey's official Vevo channel; it sees the singer playing two gender roles representing two versions of herself. Halsey performed "Ego" at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, joined by a garage rock band that included Måneskin bassist Victoria De Angelis.
At the beginnings of September 2024, Halsey revealed the cover art and release date for her fifth studio album titled The Great Impersonator.[1] She also shared a trailer with the song "Ego" playing in selected videos in the background, in which she says: "I really thought this album might be the last one I ever made". "Ego" was released as the album's fourth single through Columbia Records on September 6, 2024. A week after, Sony Music Italy sent the song to Italian radio.[2]
"Ego" is three minutes and 18 seconds long. It was written by Halsey, Gregory Aldae Hein, and Greg Kurstin, while Kurstin, Wyatt Bernard, Michael Uzowuru, and Austin Corona handled its production. They played various instruments, accompanied by Alex G on guitar and Dylan Wiggins on drums. The song was engineered by Kurstin, Matt Tuggle, and Julian Burg; they were followed by Kieran Beardmore and Matt Wolach as assistant engineers, Sean Matsukawa as recording engineer, Randy Merrill as mastering engineer, and Spike Stent as mixing engineer.[3]
"Ego" was inspired by the Cranberries' Dolores O'Riordan,[4] and Halsey impersonated her as part of the album's promotion.[5] It has been labeled by music journalists as an alternative rock,[6] pop rock,[7] and pop-punk track,[8] with elements of 1990s rock.[9] The lyrics of the song are vulnerable and confessional, describing an inner battle with herself and her public persona,[10] as she sings, "And I'm nervous what you'll think of me now".[11] Containing powerful drums and guitar lines, it has been described by critics as anthemic,[12] with Exclaim! Karlie Rogers comparing it to other Halsey songs like Manic "3AM" and If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power "Easier than Lying".
The song continues Halsey "exploration of different musical eras", as stated by Jessica Lynch from Billboard.[13] Rolling Stone Emily Zemler compared the propulsive chorus of "Ego" to the works of Scottish-American band Garbage and American band No Doubt,[14] while Beats Per Minute John Amen found it reminiscent to Canadian-American musician Alanis Morissette on her album Jagged Little Pill (1995).[15] Stereoboard Katie Macbeth agreed with Zemler and added O'Riordan to the list of similarities, describing the chorus as a "punchier" moment in the album in comparison to other tracks.[16]
At the end of "Ego" bridge, Halsey reflects on how she "disguised [her] illness", a lupus and rare T cell disorder that she revealed while releasing her promotional single "The End": "Who am I kidding? / I'm doing way worse than I'm admitting".[17] An internal battle with herself, the song ends with the lyric, "I'm really not that happy being me".
Halsey wrote and directed the music video for "Ego". Similar to the 2005 American film Mr. & Mrs. Smith, it depicts Halsey playing two characters representing two versions of herself.[18] One has long red hair with makeup and a black dress, while the other has short hair of the same color, wearing no makeup and a tuxedo. As the video progresses, they are seen eating dinner and chasing and trying to kill one another around a house.[19]
Before its release, Halsey debuted "Ego" during an intimate live show at London Koko in August 2024. She told the crowd: "I've been teasing a new song for the past couple of days [...] You guys are the first people in the world to hear it".[20]
On September 11, 2024, Halsey performed "Ego" at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards alongside a band formed by her "dream '90s garage rock band", with Måneskin Victoria De Angelis on bass, Jazzelle Zanaughtti on synthesizers, and Maya Stepansky on drums.[21] It started with Halsey riding across the stage on a bicycle; then she opened the garage door of a house to reveal the special guests and perform the song.[22] Megan Armstrong from Uproxx drew comparisons to the 2003 American film Freaky Friday.[23] After the performance, Halsey captioned an Instagram post with: "I'm so proud of this whole performance and I built every detail of it myself because I was determined to go up there and have FUN". In an interview with Alexandra Cooper on Call Her Daddy, the singer said that she experienced a lupus flare brought on by the stress of the rehearsals for the performance.[24]
For the live debut of The Great Impersonator, Halsey performed "Ego" as part of a live-streamed Halloween show for Amazon Music Live.[25]
| Peak position | |
| Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan)[26] | 20 |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[27] | 16 |