"Safeword" is a song by the American singer Halsey. She wrote it along with its producers, Austin Corona and Wyatt Bernard.

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

released it as a single on February 27, 2025, as Halsey's first release since her previous studio album ''

The Great Impersonator ''The Great Impersonator'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Halsey, released on October 25, 2024, by Columbia Records. Her first release with the label, Halsey conceived it as a confessional concept album believing it would be her la ...

'' (2024). It is a

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and

pop-punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

track with lyrics about

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...

. A music video for "Safeword", directed by Lana Jay Lackey, premiered on the same date; it stars Halsey portraying a

dominatrix A dominatrix ( ; or dominatrices ), or domme, is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. The BDSM practice is called female dominance, or femdom. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily l ...

wearing various latex outfits. The singer performed it live for the first time at the Sips and Sounds festival on March 7, 2025.

Background and release

In mid-February 2025, Halsey announced her fifth

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...

, titled For My Last Trick: The Tour. On a tweet, she revealed that she would be playing songs from her album ''

'' (2024) as well as previous songs, and ended the sentence by saying: "And new ones too! And even the one I'm dropping next week." She announced the single "Safeword" on February 24, 2025, which was released alongside a music video on February 27 at 12:00

Eastern Standard Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behind ...

( UTC−5). She also shared a 13-second teaser of the video, where she is shouting, "You're not the boss of me!" Answering a fan on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

, Halsey described the song's theme as "Obedience".

Composition

Musically, "Safeword" is a

and

track, led by a distorted guitar-driven beat and a fast rhythm. Ilana Kaplan of ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' described its sound as "

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

-meets-

Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group originally consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pio ...

", Stephen Daw of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' compared it to

Bratmobile Bratmobile is an American punk band from Olympia, Washington, formed in 1991. They are known for being one of the first-generation "riot grrrl" bands. The band was influenced by several eclectic musical styles, including elements of pop, surf ...

, and Abby Jones of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' said that it was similar to the styles of

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington, and the greater Pacific Northwest, and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. A subcultural movement ...

and

Kathleen Hanna Kathleen Hanna (born November 12, 1968) is an American singer, musician and pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. She is the lead singer of feminist punk band Bikini Kill and fronted the electropunk band Le Tigre ...

. The lyrics of the song focus on

, as depicted in the verse, "I'm not a criminal, I'm just a wild child / I'm not a bad girl, I just like it wild style". Halsey sings directly to a lover about the things she would like them to do.

Reception

Daw included "Safeword" on a list of the best

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

songs of its release week, and believed that it boosted the "chameleonic approach" of ''The Great Impersonator'' to "new levels". Derrick Rossignol from ''

Uproxx Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...

'' dubbed "Safeword" part of the best music of its release week and said that it depicts Halsey "at her most provocative".

Music video

Lana Jay Lackey directed the music video for "Safeword", which premiered alongside the single. It stars Halsey portraying a

in a S&M style, wearing various outfits made of latex. Prior to its release, she stated that it was "

not safe for work Not safe for work, also called not suitable for work (NSFW), is Internet slang or shorthand used to mark links to content, videos, or website pages the viewer may not wish to be seen viewing in a public, formal, or controlled environment. The ...

. Or the bus. Or brunch with your parents. Or your jealous boyfriend." The video begins with the singer wearing a leather outfit and knee-high

stiletto heel A stiletto heel, or just stiletto, is a shoe with a long, thin, high heel. It is named after the stiletto dagger. Stiletto heels may vary in length from 2.5 centimetres (1 inch) to 25 cm (10 inches) or more if a platform s ...

s beside a man, who is lying on the floor with a leather mask. She is then dominated by him and seen hanging upside down, as well as simulating

masturbation Masturbation is a form of autoeroticism in which a person Sexual stimulation, sexually stimulates their own Sex organ, genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. Stimulation may involve the use of han ...

Live performances

Halsey performed "Safeword" live for the first time at the Sips and Sounds Festival in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, on March 7, 2025. Days later, she shared the official footage on social media. In the performance, she is seen wearing a

babydoll A babydoll is a short, sleeveless, loose-fitting nightgown or negligee, intended as nightwear for women. It sometimes has formed cups called a bralette for cleavage with an attached, loose-fitting skirt falling in length usually between the ...

white dress and black cowboy boots.

Release history

References

{{Halsey 2025 singles 2025 songs Halsey (singer) songs Songs about BDSM