Months following the release of The Little Mermaid, Halle Bailey is ready for her next big act. The musician is currently preparing for the impending arrival of her first solo EP and a lead role in Blitz Bazawule’s hotly anticipated version of The Color Purple.
Today (Sept. 5), she covered Cosmopolitan‘s latest issue and spoke about new music, relationships, and acting.
The journey from youthful phenom to established act isn’t always smooth, especially when the public feels like it owns a part of the artist’s story. Halle and her sister, Chlöe Bailey, rose to fame after a clip of the pair covering Beyoncé’s “Pretty Hurts” went viral in 2013.
The actress acknowledged, “People have watched me grow up. While it’s comforting to know you have that kind of support, it can also be stifling when everyone feels they can comment on your life.”
Relationships also fall under the public microscope, particularly Halle’s connection with rapper and boyfriend DDG. Rumors and speculation hounded the couple earlier this year after rumors of the former being pregnant surfaced.
In July, DDG released “Famous,” which was met with backlash due to it delving into the Michigan native’s dating anxieties. Although the track doesn’t directly mention her name, fans accused him of hindering Halle’s acting career.
“Love has been a really big one for me too because that’s something I’m experiencing for the first time, and it’s, like, ‘whoa’ in your brain. It’s just fireworks, a spark for creativity,” Halle told the publication. “You know, you have puppy love experiences, you think that’s love. But this is my first deep, deep, real love.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, she opened up about creating new music. The artist said, “I don’t really talk about my personal stuff, but I will tell you where I get my creativity from. This has been a really beautiful transformative time for me. I have all this new material to write about. It’s like, ‘What the heck did I just experience and go through?’ A whirlwind of amazingness.”
Halle continued, “You never know what you’re capable of until you’re put through it. I was very creatively inspired, and then from there, I fell in love. And so I really just played with those themes in my music. Sound-wise, it’s a little modern R&B-ish, with all the jazz elements and hints of pop that I love.”
When asked about her long-awaited solo debut EP, she responded, “Definitely before the end of the year.” In August, Halle released her first single as a lead artist titled “Angel.” The record’s accompanying music video garnered over 10 million views on YouTube.