Track Review: Halle, ‘Angel’

After swimming to the top of the box office and revolutionizing a centuries-old fairy tale with her turn as Princess Ariel in the live-action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Halle Bailey has unleashed her debut original solo song.

Co-written by Halle, Sebastian Kole (Coco Jones’ “Crazy for Me,” Alessia Cara’s “Here”), and producer Ron “Neff-U” Feemster, Halle funnels the past few years of turmoil and controversy into a glowing ballad of resilience. “Black girl here, Black girl with the Black girl hair / Took a little sunkiss just to look like this / God-sent, you're an angel,” she sings in the rousing chorus.

Following the official announcement that she would portray Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid, Halle endured years of online harassment aimed at her race and her locs. While she was able to carry the film to a No. 1 debut at the domestic box office, the hate and controversy she endured impacted her in ways that no level of success could erase. Hence, “Angel,” a song that’s less of a general empowerment anthem and more of a love letter from Halle to herself. “Do you ever make it out of your head? / Do you still swim in your thoughts?” she questions in the song’s opening lines.

The dramatic piano-backed song does recall the standard power ballad from an “empowering” historical fiction film, but Halle’s vocal performance packs much more nuance than that. When she switches to a striking staccato delivery on the chorus, her voice embodies the prickly nature of her past four years. On the phrase “And if we fall, we fall on clouds,” her voice quite literally free-falls into the fade out, showcasing both her vocal control and her ability to add new layers of storytelling through her vocal performance.

Sonically and lyrically, “Angel” is the perfect song to introduce Halle as a solo recording artist. The song’s subtle gospel (check out that backing choir and the organ in the outro) and soul influences — which connect to her sister’s “Pray It Away” — convey the grounding elements of her sonic profile, while also helping her seamlessly transition away from the juvenile bent of her Little Mermaid tracks. “Angel’s” intrinsic connection to “Pray It Away” brings Chloe x Halle full circle; you can hear both of their individual sounds in the fusion of their work as a duo.

“Angel” is unlikely to be a commercial smash, but that’s far from its purpose. Halle finally got to clear her chest while formally stepping out on her own, the numbers are just a bonus.

Score: 74