Meaning of “Angel” by Halle
Halle Bailey has had a notable 2023, starring in The Little Mermaid, one of the biggest movies of the year. Before making a name for herself as an actress she had already found success as a singer, more specifically as part of a sibling duo called Chloe x Halle alongside her older sister, Chloe Bailey.
But as for “Angel”, which was released on 4 August 2023, this marks her debut outing as a soloist, with Halle first teasing the song on New Year’s Eve, 2022. And to note, this track was put out by Columbia Records and Parkwood Entertainment, the latter being the label founded by Beyoncé, who had been heavily involved in putting Halle (and Chloe) on.
Halle gets co-writing credit for this tune, alongside Sebastian Kole and the track’s producer, Ron “Neff-U” Feemster. Wendy Morgan served as the director of the music video to “Angel”. And this song is not directly associated with any album as of its dropping.
The Lyrics of “Angel”
The spirit of Beyoncé is definitely felt in this piece, as Halle has described it as being ode to “other brown and black girls”, besides “everyone in general”. And the way she goes about achieving that goal is by depicting herself and other such individuals as ‘angels’.
As such, the lyrics we are met are heavily imbued with religious terminology, as more or less to be expected in today’s musical climate. But to make a long story short, they basically serve the purpose emotionally/psychologically supporting the intended addressees.
Or put otherwise Halle has learned, based on her own experience as a “black girl”, that it is easy to become discouraged. Indeed, she had to deal with some racist backlash for starring in The Little Mermaid, as the character she portrayed is traditionally depicted as being white, with such critics apparently believing that there’s actually such a thing as Caucasian mermaids.
But outside of the references to ‘black girls’, as alluded to by the songstress in her above-referenced explanation, this piece does have a general applicability. Or put otherwise, it isn’t only black and brown females who have to deal with the likes of hate, abuse and associated discouragement.
So what the vocalist is basically arguing is that even if such individuals are not valued by those around them, “heaven knows” that they’re “angels” nonetheless. Therefore, the ultimate message of this piece reads along the lines that they too should come to realize their own self-worth, as Halle has. Or another way of encapsulating what’s being relayed is that even if a black girl in particular is devalued by the world at large, she can make it so long as she learns to appreciate herself.
