Angel

"**Angel**" is the debut solo single by American singer and actress Halle Bailey. It was released on August 4, 2023, by Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. She described it as a "Black girl anthem," which details her experiences of growing up as a Black woman in the world. It was co-written by Bailey, Coleridge "Sebastian Kole" Tillman, and producer Theron "Neff-U" Feemster. The official music video, directed by Wendy Morgan, premiered the same day to Bailey's YouTube channel.

## Background

On July 26, 2023, Bailey announced the creation of her Discord server, which is used to communicate with fans and give updates of her solo journey. On July 29, she wrote the message, "open ur ears on monday."

On July 31, she posted a teaser of the upcoming record. It contained home video footage of her early years, including receiving an electric guitar as a gift, then showing the angel pendant on her charm bracelet. It concluded with the following lyric, "Angels make a way somehow" and its release date. Chlöe retweeted with the comment, "my angel forever and always 😍 i'm so proud of you sis. cannot wait, i love this song sm." "Angel" was available to pre-save the same day, where it took visitors to her official website, Halle's Happy Place, with links to Apple Music and Spotify.

The next day, on August 1, she archived her Instagram posts and uploaded the official cover artwork. On August 2, she dropped the teaser trailer for her video, which featured the beginning of her chorus, "Black girl here, black girl with the black girl hair..." She also hosted a special giveaway open to everyone that pre-saved, where five will be given a gift box. On August 3, she declared that the single "will officially be out" at 9:00 PST, where she also went on an Instagram livestream at 8:30 PST. Those who tweeted the hashtags #Angel #HalleBailey #HalleAngel will see an emoji of Halle, and in support, her boyfriend DDG tweeted out, "#HalleBailey #halleangel #angel."

On the livestream, she explained that she wrote it because the last 3-4 years was a journey of self-discovery, which was very eye-opening. She was grateful for all of the opportunities, but also overwhelmed, where in particular *The Little Mermaid* played a major role due to an audience on her. The song serves as an affirmation to tell herself to keep going, as she was thrown into a world of "so many opinions." She made it as a message to recognize that she was human and has flaws, which is what makes her beautiful and who she is, as "an empowering love letter to the little girl" in herself.

On November 10, 2023, it was announced by The Recording Academy of "Angel" being nominated for Best R&B Song at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

## Personnel

### Song

* Coleridge "Sebastian Kole" Tillman – background vocals, writer
* Ethan Harrelson – assistant engineer
* Halle Bailey – lead artist, vocals, writer
* Kyle Mann – background vocals, bass, recording engineer
* Leif Eisemann – assistant engineer
* Mark "Spike" Stent – mixer
* Theron "Neff-U" Feemster – background vocals, writer, producer

### Video

* Wendy Morgan – director
* Scheme Engine – production company
* Jannie McInnes – executive producer/producer
* Saul Levitz – producer/commissioner
* James Rothman – head of production
* Hart Represents – director's rep
* Shayna Gianelli – producer
* Zoe Simonë-Yi – DP
* Kyle Abraham – choreographer
* Myrosia Palmer – casting
* Wesley Goodrich – production designer
* Anna Trevelyan – Halle's stylist
* DeVanté Rollins – Halle's stylist assistant
* Tinisha Meeks – Halle's hair stylist
* Raul Otero – Halle's makeup
* Michelle Won – Halle's nails
* Ronald Burton III – stylist
* Ashley Victoria – makeup
* Eric Barr – editor
* Jared Rosenthal – color
* Max Colt, Frender – VFX supervisor
* Denis Nigmatullin – "NM2" painting
* Syera Plitt, Marcella Lewis, Marirosa Crawford, Nadia Maryam, Mackenzie Jarrett, Kerrynton Jones – dancers

## Lyrics

**Lyrics**
[Verse 1]

Do you ever make it out of your head?

Do you still swim in your thoughts?

Do you still mistake your flaws for property?

Something that just don't sit right with you

But Heaven knows, Heaven knows

Your wings can weigh you down

[Pre-Chorus]

Angels make a way somehow

And if we fall, we fall on clouds

[Chorus]

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 (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

Heaven wears your halo

They know you're an angel (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

[Verse 2]

I'm a big deal (Big deal)

I get sick and tired of holdin' it in

Rich blood, you can probably see the gold in my skin

I'm more than a girl, won't let the troubles of the world

Come weigh me down

[Pre-Chorus]

The angels make a way somehow

But if we fall, we fall on clouds

[Chorus]

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 (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

Heaven wears your halo

They know you're an angel (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

[Bridge]

Some might hate and they wait on your fall (Oh)

They don't know there's a grace for it all

My flaws don't make me

Beautiful and real are you, they cannot compare

Are you perfectly a masterpiece

And all of me, even the scars

Even the scars, yeah

[Chorus]

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 (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

Heaven wears your halo

They know you're an angel (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

Angel (*Angel*)

## References

1. ↑ Paul, Larisha (July 31, 2023). "Halle Bailey Revisits Early Musical Memories in Teaser for First Solo Single 'Angel'". *Rolling Stone*.
2. ↑ "Chlöe (@ChloeBailey)". *Twitter*. July 31, 2023.
3. ↑ "Halle Bailey (@HalleBailey)". *Twitter*. August 3, 2023.
4. ↑ "DDG (@PontiacMadeDDG)". *Twitter*. August 3, 2023.
5. ↑ "Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcademy)". *Instagram*. November 10, 2023.