Halle Bailey gets candid about turning ‘diary entries’ to music

Halle Bailey just talked about how she takes the feeling of pain and heartbreak and channels it into her music, revealing how deeply personal experiences shaped her debut solo album and even helped her get through a tough period in life.

The singer released her debut album Love? Or something like it… in October, featuring tracks including Alone and Braveface, which explore themes of betrayal, resilience and self-reflection.

Halle, also an actress who stars in You, Me and Tuscany, discussed the inspiration behind the record in a conversation with PEOPLE magazine.

This project came out following her highly publicized split from rapper DDG, with whom she shared a two-year-old son, Halo.

Their separation initially appeared amicable but later involved restraining orders amid allegations of domestic violence and a custody dispute, which was settled last October.

Halle said: “It was a lot of my diary entries about my experience through love the past few years.”

Referring to the album’s themes, she added: “(The project was from) coming out of your version of what you thought was love in the moment and looking back and asking yourself, ‘Was that love?’ Just the journey you go on as a young woman.”

As she reflected on how the split from DDG affected her, Halle mentioned, “I’m great. I’m just grateful to be here.”

She continued: “I was grateful that I got to put that out into the world. It makes me so happy to see people responding to those songs. It literally blows my mind when I can find some version of a creative outlet and have it impact people.”

Additionally, Halle also spoke highly of her sister, Chloe Bailey, saying, “Chloe’s really good at it. She’ll be like, ‘Go ahead. This is a good person!’ I’ve tried to match me, too, but, you know... yea, she’s better at it than me.”

It is pertinent to mention that Halle Bailey rose to fame as a part of the Chloe x Halle group before achieving success in solo music and films.

She garnered global recognition after starring in The Little Mermaid, earning praise for her performance as well as vocals.