The Other Girl

## Singles Chronology

"**The Other Girl**" (stylized in all lowercase; also registered as "**Other Girl**") is a song performed by Kelsea Ballerini with Halsey. It was released on March 20, 2020 through Black River as the fourth track off of Ballerini's third studio album, *Kelsea*.

An edited more country version of the song called "The Other Girl [The Other Mix]" was released as a single to radio on April 20, 2020.

## Background

Halsey and Ballerini first teamed up to perform a duet of Halsey's song "Graveyard" and Ballerini's song "Homecoming Queen?" and "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac on *CMT Crossroads* which was taped on October 11, 2019 and aired on March 25, 2020. The two also performed their then-unreleased song "The Other Girl".

On March 3, 2020 Ballerini revealed that Halsey was featured on her song "The Other Girl".

In an interview with *The Taste of Country* Ballerini talked about how the collaboration came to be:

"*[Halsey] played Ascend here in Nashville and I went backstage afterwards and we just clicked. Hung out all night, went to Santa’s Pub, did karaoke, sang Fleetwood Mac for hours, drank Coronas like it was our job. That night, her and her whole team ended up back at my place and she played me the first cut of 'Without Me' — it was crazy and I was like, ‘Yeah you should probably put that out.’ We became really fast friends and so I wrote “the other girl” maybe a month later and I was going to L.A. a few weeks after that and I called her like ‘Hey, can I come over, can I play you something?’ Just played it for her and she dug it which was cool.*"
—Ballerini

On March 19, 2020 Halsey and Ballerini joined up for a joined Instagram live stream and both shared more about the making of the collaboration.

On March 20, 2020 Halsey again explained the meaning of the song from her point of view and also why she was drawn to it in an interview with *The Boot*:

"*It was really cool, because [Ballerini] and I were both in really good places in our lives and drawing from old hurt. To sing a song, or perform a song live, that has evolved from what it could have meant to what it means now, is just the best thing ever. There’s so much music – and I’m partially responsible for this – but there’s so much music in the world about cheating partners…People wanna pin it on the other girl, and make it the other girl’s fault, so it was so cool for us to be coming together and being like, “You know what? Forget him. We’re not gonna hate each other.” To be clear, this is a fictional event. But just us representing those two sides of women in the equation, being like, “No, we’re not gonna let misogyny turn us against each other, instead we’re empowered.*"
—Halsey

They performed "The Other Girl" live at the CMT Music Awards on October 22, 2020.

## Cross-references

* The lyric "Who's gonna put on the red dress / Scarlet letter on her chest" references Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic *The Scarlet Letter*, in which a woman who has cheated on her partner is forced to wear a red/scarlet letter A, with "A" standing for "adultery."
	+ Furthermore, the lyric "Who's the diamond? Who's the pearl?" is a reference to the main character's daughter whose name is Pearl.

## Official versions

* Album version - 3:21
* "[The Other Mix]" version - 3:23

## Lyrics

[Verse 1: Kelsea Ballerini]

I bet you're from out west somewhere

Hazel eyes and dark brown hair

And everything you wear fits you just right

I bet you drink martinis dry

And never let 'em see you cry

I bet you're more promiscuous than I

[Pre-Chorus: Kelsea Ballerini & *Halsey*]

I bet you're bold, I bet that's why you seem to occupy his mind

I bet you're smart, but do you know about me? (Is it you?)

[Chorus: Kelsea Ballerini]

Is it me? Is it you?

Tell me who, who's the other girl?

Who's the first? Who's the fool?

Who's the diamond? Who's the pearl?

Are you mad? Me too

And I wonder, in his world

Is it me? Is it you?

Who's the other girl?

[Post-Chorus: Kelsea Ballerini & Halsey, *Kelsea Ballerini* & **Halsey**]

Who's gonna put on the red dress

Scarlet letter on her chest

Can't love with this on her conscience

Tell me, who's the other *girl*, **girl**, *girl*, **girl**?

[Verse 2: Halsey]

Are you the one he's talkin' to

When he gets up and leaves the room?

He comes back with a distance in his eyes (Eyes)

Maybe I should be the one to leave

But damn, when he starts lovin' me

It makes me think I'm all that's on his mind (Ah, ah)

[Chorus: Halsey]

Is it me? Is it you?

Tell me who, who's the other girl?

Who's the first? Who's the fool?

Who's the diamond? Who's the pearl?

Are you mad? Me too

And I wonder, in his world

Is it me? Is it you?

Who's the other girl?

[Post-Chorus: Kelsea Ballerini & Halsey, *Kelsea Ballerini* & **Halsey**]

Who's gonna put on the red dress

Scarlet letter on her chest

Can't love with this on her conscience

Tell me, who's the other *girl*, **girl**, *girl*, **girl**?

[Bridge: Halsey & *Kelsea Ballerini*]

I bet you're cool, I bet that's why you seem to occupy his time

*I bet by now, you know about me* (You know about me)

[Chorus: Kelsea Ballerini & Halsey, *Kelsea Ballerini*, **Halsey**]

Is it me? *(Is it me?)* Is it you? **(Is it you?)**

Tell me who, who's the other girl?

Who's the first? **(Who's the first?)** Who's the fool? (**Who's the fool?** *Yeah*)

Who's the diamond? Who's the pearl?

Are you mad? **(Are you mad?)** Me too *(Me too)*

And I wonder, in his world

Is it me? *(Is it me?)* Is it you? **(Is it you?)**

Who's the other girl?

[Post-Chorus: Kelsea Ballerini & Halsey, *Kelsea Ballerini* & **Halsey**]

Who's gonna put on the red dress

Scarlet letter on her chest

Can't love with this on her conscience

Tell me, who's the other *girl*, **girl**, *girl*, **girl**?

## References

1. ↑ *ASCAP* ID 907285829
2. ↑ *RollingStone* - "Halsey, Kelsea Ballerini Team Up for New ‘CMT Crossroads’"
3. ↑ *The Things* - "Kelsea Ballerini and Luke Bryan Collaborate With Halsey And A Beer Giant"
4. ↑ *Twitter* - @kelseaballerini - "the day ash put her angel vocals on the other girl I played her homecoming queen and she played me you should be sad"
5. ↑ *YouTube* - "Kelsea Ballerini Proves She Can't Keep Secrets of Her New Songs"
6. ↑ *Instagram* - @kelseaballerini March 20, 2020
7. ↑ *The Boot* - "Story Behind the Song: Kelsea Ballerini feat. Halsey, ‘The Other Girl’"
8. ↑ *YouTube* - Kelsea Ballerini ft. Halsey Perform 'the other girl' | CMT Music Awards"