Halle Bailey has released her highly anticipated debut solo single. “Angel” is a piano-led ballad, in which the singer celebrates Black girlhood and embraces her flaws. The music video follows the angelic theme of the song, as well as Bailey’s ethereal vocals.
“Black girl here, Black girl with the Black girl hair,” she sings in the chorus. “Took a little sunkiss just to look like this / God-sent, you’re an angel.”
The track aims at inspiring Black girls to embrace their flaws despite the criticism and comments that may stem from others. The song also aims to inspire anyone who may feel overwhelmed.
“Some might hate, and they wait on your fall / They don’t know there’s a grace for it all,” Bailey sings.
The 23-year-old shares her own experience being in the spotlight at a young age — one she has found to be overwhelming at times.
“I wrote this song because the past three years of my life have been a really beautiful journey of self-discovery for me. It has opened so many doors for me; it has been an eye-opening experience,” Bailey said in an Instagram Live. “This song was a mixture of all my emotions and how I could feel so grateful for something but also so overwhelmed. This is a huge, big thing that [The Little Mermaid] was for me. I’ve never experienced something like this in my life.”
As soon as news broke that she was being cast as The Little Mermaid, Bailey became the target of race-based online bullying. The performer shared that she coped with these negative reactions by leaning on her family’s support and by focusing on the importance of on-screen representation. The Little Mermaid skyrocketed Bailey’s career and introduced her to a whole new set of fans, both children and adults alike.
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In writing “Angel,” Bailey included affirmations as a way to keep going and as an empowering message to her younger self. The music video concludes with family footage of a young Bailey performing.
“This song was my affirmations that I would tell myself to be able to keep going because all of a sudden I was thrown into this world of so many different opinions,” she said. “It’s a very empowering message. I think I was writing it to the little girl within me, in my heart. I hope other people are inspired and feel the same way, but it’s definitely a black girl anthem. We need love, too! “
Ultimately, Bailey wants the track to be inspiring to everyone who identifies with its lyrics.
“Everyone who can identify with feeling overwhelmed and confused about life and everyone who needs that pick-me-up of it’s gonna be OK no matter what, you’re a motherfreaking angel, you got this, you’re here for a reason,” she added.
This is just the beginning of Bailey’s career as a solo artist. She previously told British Vogue that she has an album on the way. A release date has yet to be announced.
