Halsey‘s path to chart-topping success began in the most unexpected of places: the New Jersey hardcore scene.

In a recently surfaced TikTok video, the Grammy-nominated artist, whose real name is Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, reflected on her early days organizing shows for hardcore and metal bands.

“I used to promote hardcore shows in Jersey before I started making music,” Halsey in the clip during a meet-and-greet event at Ulta for her About-Face beauty line. “I did a lot of hardcore but then also some of the more commercial hardcore. The biggest show I ever booked, I was 16, was like August Burns Red and The Devil Wears Prada.”

Halsey also shared that her senior yearbook quote was inspired by the hardcore band Defeater, adding, “I’ve said before that I might have quoted Hundredth, too, so who knows.”

The singer’s roots in hardcore may seem worlds away from her current pop dominance, but certainly add context to the genre-blending ethos that has defined her career. Her 2015 debut album, Badlands, entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2, a position she has since matched with Manic in 2020 and If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power in 2021. Halsey earned her first solo Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 with the 2018 smash hit “Without Me,” while her latest album, The Great Impersonator (2024), debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Alternative Albums charts, selling 93,000 equivalent album units in its first week, including 81,000 in traditional album sales, according to Luminate.

The Great Impersonator marked her third leader on the latter following If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power (2021) and Badlands (2015). It also entered Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart at No. 2, driven by strong vinyl sales, which accounted for 26,000 of the total.

The album features tracks like “Panic Attack” and “Ego,” which debuted on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart at No. 25 and No. 30, respectively. “Ego” made notable progress on radio, peaking at No. 25 on Adult Pop Airplay and reaching No. 28 on Pop Airplay.

Halsey’s foray into rock and metal began long before her chart-topping success. Her 2021 album, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, featured collaborations with rock icons like Dave Grohl and Lindsey Buckingham. With The Great Impersonator, Halsey continued her rock-inspired exploration, even recreating iconic looks of artists like David Bowie, Cher, and Bruce Springsteen in the lead-up to the album’s October 2024 release.