Halsey performs at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco on Nov. 21, 2024. Photos: Adam Kudeimati.

SAN FRANCISCO — In the stately Regency Ballroom, Halsey delivered a special one-off performance that left attendees buzzing on Thursday. Over a two-hour set, she pulled from her stylistically wide-ranging repertoire while also leaving room to showcase songs from her latest album, The Great Impersonator. Fans belted out the lyrics with the fervor of longtime anthems.

The artist, born Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, made her entrance in a T-shirt, short pleated white skirt and white knee-high socks, looking like a punk cheerleader. Her dynamic stage presence and earnest ability to connect with the audience—the show was an exclusive for Wells Fargo cardholders—were both on full display, at times stirring the crowd into a frenzy. Beyond being a consummate performer who commanded the room with ease, she radiated joy.

Backed by a drummer and a guitarist, both shrouded in darkness, Halsey warmed up with an upbeat rendition of “Bad at Love,” from her second album, hopeless fountain kingdom. The ballad was followed by new song “Panic Attack” that, in turn, crescendoed to “100 Letters.” She effortlessly switched between eras, from the ’80s (“Roman Holiday”) to the ’90s (“Lonely is the Muse”) and 2000s (“Lucky”), with the latter finding Halsey channeling her inner Britney Spears, complete with sultry intensity and teasing delivery.

She warned the audience that she “talks a lot” and that was true, alternating between bravado (“I’m going to turn you all into Halsey fans”) and vulnerability (“I just really want you to like me”). She told one story about how meaningful it was performing in the Bay Area, that she literally has “hundreds and hundreds of pages of memories” she made here. The sweetness appeared to drew the audience in further, along with the unguarded openness with which she spoke about her and her family’s serious health problems that occurred during the writing of The Great Impersonator.

Halsey performs at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco on Nov. 21, 2024.

Though she used the personal disclosure to caveat the album as “very sad,” the songs she new played were decidedly not slower, stripped-down confessionals. Instead, she tackled “Ego,” an electrifying, verse-spitting single with a build-up to an explosive singalong chorus. For “Hometown,” she switched on a country-tinged inflection in her voice. And “Dog Years” unfolded with a wistful energy, pairing melancholic lyrics with a driving, atmospheric arrangement that balanced emotion with strength.

Halsey’s command of the stage was as much about her presence as it was her voice. Her movements were deliberate, shifting effortlessly between stomping rock-star bravado and softer charm. She exuded the charisma of a high school mean girl—intimidatingly cool but impossible to look away from. It was this larger-than-life persona that carried the show, despite the background mix often drowning out her vocals.

She wrapped up the evening with some older highlights. “Without Me” started an emotional singalong about heartbreak. She broke out her pop-punk rendition of the Chainsmokers’ “Closer,” a punchier version that added some levity to an otherwise heavy last run. And she finished with a crackling performance of “Gasoline,” her fiery delivery and unrelenting energy matching the song’s defiant lyrics.

Halsey’s ability to balance theatrical flair with personal authenticity made this performance unforgettable. Whether belting out anthems or disclosing painful personal details, she reminded attendees why she continues to stand out in today’s pop landscape: as an artist willing to evolve, take risks and bare her soul.

Follow Jane Hu at Instagram.com/plainjane.