Hopeless Fountain Kingdom (stylized in all lowercase) is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Halsey. It was released on June2, 2017, through Astralwerks. Conceived as a concept album, it serves as a companion to her debut studio album, Badlands (2015), and follows a narrative inspired by William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Halsey served as an executive producer and collaborated with producers including Greg Kurstin, Benny Blanco, Ricky Reed, and Cashmere Cat.
Hopeless Fountain Kingdom is a pop, R&B, electropop, and synth-pop album, with elements of hip hop, soul, EDM, and alternative music. Its lyrics explore themes of love, heartbreak, desire, and identity through the story of two lovers from opposing worlds. The album features guest appearances from Quavo and Lauren Jauregui, while Sia and the Weeknd contributed as songwriters. It was supported by three singles—"Now or Never", "Bad at Love" and "Alone", as well as two promotional singles—"Eyes Closed" and "Strangers"; "Now or Never" charted within top 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100, while "Bad at Love" peaked at number 5 on the chart. Halsey further promoted the record with the Hopeless Fountain Kingdom Tour, which visited North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia between 2017 and 2018.
Hopeless Fountain Kingdom received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who often praised its ambition and conceptual scope, as well as Halsey's artistic development, although some criticized its stylistic influences and execution. The album charted at number one in the United States and Canada while reaching the top ten in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand and peaking within the top 20 in multiple European countries. Hopeless Fountain Kingdom was certified double platinum in the United States and New Zealand, as well as platinum in Australia and Canada.
Background and inspiration Halsey said that she had not intended her debut studio album to target mainstream radio. While she described Hopeless Fountain Kingdom as having a more radio-friendly sound, she still considered herself an alternative artist, adding that she was "more than capable of writing radio music". For this album, Halsey worked with various producers like Greg Kurstin, Benny Blanco, and Ricky Reed. She was an executive producer and oversaw the album's concept, songwriting, visual direction, and accompanying fan experiences. Recording for Hopeless Fountain Kingdom primarily took place at studios in Los Angeles, with additional sessions held in Van Nuys and London.
Halsey drew inspiration for Hopeless Fountain Kingdom from her experience in a toxic relationship. A concept album, it connects with her previous studio album, Badlands (2015); whereas Badlands used an apocalyptic setting as a metaphor for depression, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom follows two lovers from different worlds whose desire to be together leads them to sacrifice parts of themselves, drawing inspiration from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. The opening track "The Prologue" features the play's prologue spoken by Halsey, while the music video for "Alone" was heavily influenced by Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film adaptation of the play, Romeo + Juliet.
Halsey explained various parallels between lyrics in songs from both albums; each track contains connections to the album's wider narrative and to songs from Badlands through recurring lyrical references and themes. Speaking with Paper, Halsey revealed that Hopeless Fountain Kingdom is set in a purgatory-like world where two lovers from different backgrounds attempt to "beat the odds" and make their relationship work, unlike Badlands. Billboard author Colin Stutz pointed out that the album might be named after a real fountain built by Halsey's ex-boyfriend near the L train's Halsey Street station in Brooklyn.
Composition Halsey said that Hopeless Fountain Kingdom would incorporate more urban and R&B influences, while also featuring some stripped-down and vulnerable songs. Featuring collaborations with various artists including the Weeknd, Sia, Quavo, and Lauren Jauregui, the album is mainly rooted in pop, R&B, electropop, and synth-pop, with elements of trap-pop, alternative, hip-hop, soul, and EDM. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times noted that Halsey's adaptable vocal style allows her to move between different musical approaches, incorporating influences from other singers.
Thematically, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom is noted for swapping the genders of Romeo and Juliet and including same-sex relationships. The main character is a bisexual female named Luna Aureum, and her main love interest is a male character Solis Angelus. There are references to female love interests in the songs "Bad at Love" and "Strangers"; the latter features Jauregui, who is also bisexual.
Music
"100 Letters" incorporates hand drum-driven instrumentation and a restrained chorus as well as atmospheric percussion loops and distant guitar textures. Featuring goth-leaning production, "Eyes Closed" combines layered backing vocals with melancholic melodies. Multiple critics compared it to the style of co-writer the Weeknd; Varietys Jem Aswad felt that the song adopted the Weeknd's signature "wistful" and "hazy" sound, arguing that the departure from Halsey's earlier style worked to her advantage. On "Alone", Deborah Krieger of PopMatters and Caramanica observed a lyrical and musical resemblance to Alessia Cara's "Here" and Ed Sheeran's "Dive", respectively. The alt-pop and soul song combines brass and cello instrumentation with the sounds of 1990s music. "Now or Never" is an R&B, dark pop, and mid-tempo song that adopts a more summer-influenced sound than much of Halsey's earlier works.
"Sorry" is a classical piano ballad; Krieger highlighted the song for its stripped-back arrangement, which pairs Halsey's vocals with a somber piano accompaniment and largely avoids the vocal effects and electronic production found elsewhere on the album. "Good Mourning" is a one-minute interlude featuring spoken-word vocals by a child. An urban hip-hop and R&B song, "Lie" features guest vocals from Quavo, which adds a collaborative element to the album's midsection. According to Halsey, the mid-tempo pop ballad "Bad at Love" was intended to evoke the sounds of "Leonardo DiCaprio in a Hawaiian T-shirt in a droptop yellow convertible". "Walls Could Talk" is built around a violin riff and a stuttering chorus, drawing comparisons to late 1990s pop and R&B. Halsey co-wrote "Devil in Me" with Sia, which appears as part of the album's closing trio; it is paired with "Angel on Fire" and was noted for maintaining its emotional intensity without becoming excessive. The final track "Hopeless" is an electro song that features Cashmere Cat and incorporates elements of alternative music.
Lyrics The opening track "The Prologue" quotes Romeo and Juliet, which reinforces its conceptual framework. "100 Letters" depicts a deteriorating relationship through imagery of discarded love notes and emotional manipulation. The Observer journalist Kitty Empire observed that it balances expressions of "righteousness" and "self-excoriation". "Alone" portrays a narrator navigating parties, drinking, and social interactions while grappling with anxiety. Inspired by Halsey's breakup with co-writer Lido, "Lie" was described by Halsey as the most difficult song on the album to write. It depicts "both sides of a strange relationship gone off the rails" as she sings the lines "Are you misled? / I gave you the messiest head", according to Rolling Stones Rob Sheffield.
"Bad at Love" reflects on a series of Halsey's past relationships with both men and women, while acknowledging repeated mistakes in love. "Don't Play" concentrates on nightlife, partying, and substance use. "Strangers" depicts a same-sex relationship between two women, reflecting Halsey's intention to write a female–female love song. Alongside "Bad at Love", it is identified as one of the tracks in which Halsey explicitly references loving women. Krieger considered the lyrics of "Angel on Fire" as "the most teenager-y line", with Halsey singing "nobody seems to ask about me anymore / And nobody seems to care 'bout anything I think".
Promotion Marketing and distribution Halsey referenced Hopeless Fountain Kingdom as early as 2014, posting "the Kingdom" via her Twitter. It prompted speculation among fans about its connection to the fictional settings established in her earlier works. When playing at Madison Square Garden in 2016, Halsey displayed the words "you can find me in the Kingdom" on a screen. In February2017, she invited 100 fans in London to a church to hear four new songs from the album. In March, four Twitter accounts connected to Halsey began hinting at a storyline present in the album, involving two characters named Luna and Solis belonging to two different houses called the House of Aureum and the House of Angelus. Soon after the tweets were released, Halsey began mailing out quotes from Romeo and Juliet to her fans.
Hopeless Fountain Kingdom was announced on March7, 2017, along with a photograph of her holding a rose. On March23, she announced the release date of June2. To reveal the album's cover art, she had a global scavenger hunt, where miniature gun-shaped USB flash drives were hidden in nine cities around the world with pieces of the cover. To promote Hopeless Fountain Kingdoms narrative, Halsey and her team developed an extensive interactive campaign that included mailed clues, scavenger hunts, and character profiles designed to expand the storyline beyond the music itself. On May4, "Eyes Closed" premiered at Apple Music's Beats 1 during an interview with Zane Lowe and Luhrman. On the same day, Halsey performed "Now or Never" at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, later at the Billboard Music Awards on May21.
Via Astralwerks, various editions of Hopeless Fountain Kingdom were released simultaneously on June2, 2017. The 13-track standard edition was released on compact disc (CD), vinyl, digital download, and streaming services. The deluxe edition contains a remixed version of "Alone" which features the rappers Big Sean and Stefflon Don, while Target and Deluxe Plus editions include three additional tracks—"Heaven in Hiding", "Don't Play", and "Angel on Fire".
Singles Three singles supported Hopeless Fountain Kingdom. The lead single, "Now or Never", was released on April4, 2017, with the accompanying six remixes. Co-directed with Sing J Lee and shot in Mexico City, its music video premiered on the same day. According to Halsey, the video—her directorial debut—forms part of a broader narrative telling the story of "two people in love despite the forces trying to keep them apart". "Now or Never" debuted at number 50 and peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first single as a lead artist to reach the top 40 and her first since a collaboration with the Chainsmokers, "Closer" (2016).
Two promotional singles, "Eyes Closed" and "Strangers" that features Jauregui, were released on May4 and May26, respectively. The former was supported by the accompanying music video. "Strangers" peaked at number 100 on the Hot 100, being Halsey's sixth entry and Jauregui's first as a solo artist. The second single, "Bad at Love", followed on August22. It was recorded in Los Angeles alongside Reed and accompanied by its music videoalso co-directed with Leepicking up where the "Now or Never" video left off. The song was accompanied by five remixes. "Bad at Love" peaked at number five on the Hot 100 and entered various Billboard charts such as Streaming Songs, Pop Songs, and Radio Songs, reaching number one on the Dance Club Songs and Dance/Mix Show Airplay charts.