Halle Bailey swam into the hearts of millions last year in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, demonstrating how her ethereal voice can make a beloved soundtrack new again. She continued her acting streak late last year in another major film role as Nettie Harris in The Color Purple. In the midst of her movie star turn, Halle released her debut solo single “Angel” last August to remind fans that she was introduced to audiences as a singer first alongside her sister Chlöe. And to top it all off, she became a mom, welcoming her son Halo and announcing his birth at the top of this year.
Halo is the center of attention with Halle’s new solo single “In Your Hands,” and even makes an appearance in the music video. “In your hands, in your hands / The world is yours when I’m in it / In your hands, in your hands / You can’t let go or you’ll lose your chance / ‘Cause after me, you’ll never fall in love again,” she sings on the song’s chorus.
She explained how the soaring ballad came to be on Instagram, noting that it was intended to be an interlude on her upcoming album, but others encouraged her to turn it into a full-length song. The track is essentially about love in two very distinct forms: romantic love for a partner and the motherly love she has for her son.
“What’s beautiful about this song is the hook is based off of being in love, being in a relationship and knowing that your future with this person is beautiful and also knowing your worth,” Halle said, per Rolling Stone. “But the beautiful thing as well, the verses I wrote, I wrote when I was pregnant. The verses almost are to Halo, I felt I was singing to him about how I’m always going to be here for him and my journey as his mother. It made me really, really happy.”
When speaking with Cosmopolitan last year about creating her debut solo LP, she acknowledged that everything she’s experienced in the past few years has led up to the music she’s creating now.
“This has been a really beautiful transformative time for me. I have all this new material to write about. It’s like, ‘What the heck did I just experience and go through?’ A whirlwind of amazingness,” she said. “You never know what you’re capable of until you’re put through it. I was very creatively inspired, and then from there, I fell in love. And so I really just played with those themes in my music.”