The 2024 MTV VMAs saw Halsey channel Freaky Friday's Pink Slip. The 29-year-old pop diva (she/they pronouns) performed "Ego." at New York's UBS Arena on Sept. 11.
Halsey, who wore a white collared shirt with a black tie, baggy denim shorts, and black lace-up boots, rode a bike to join a band in a faux garage to sing the pop-punk anthem. Halsey was accompanied by Måneskin bassist Victoria De Angelis.
"I think that I should try to kill my ego/'Cause if I don't, my ego might kill me," Halsey sung while playing the guitar. "I'm all grown up but somehow lately/I'm acting like an f---ing baby/I'm really not as happy as I seem."
Lindsay Lohan's Freaky Friday character and friends establish an all-girl garage band and play rock.
Halsey, Lenny Kravitz, Lisa, Benson Boone, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Camila Cabello, GloRilla, and Rauw Alejandro were named as VMA performers last month.
The "Without Me" singer released "Ego" and its music video on Sept. 6. Halsey wrote and directed the film, which depicts two incarnations of the musician—one feminine and one androgynous—who fight over dinner, chase each other around a house, and try to kill each other.
The video ends with the femme-presenting Halsey hiding in their alter-ego's automobile and choking them.
Halsey struggles with their public image and private pain in the '90s alt-tinged song. Last month, Halsey released an eras-spanning trailer for their fifth studio album, The Great Impersonator, calling it a "confessional concept album."