Marshmello and Halsey’s latest track ‘Be Kind’ is on its way to becoming an absolute pop earworm. With Mashmello’s smooth, sexy production work and Halsey’s light, likeable vocals, this song instantly encapsulates the range of styles and emotions that make up the modern 2020 sound.

Genre-wise, it’s as pop as it gets but Halsey does explore some soft R&B tunes, so it’s just seductive and groovy enough to work as a dance number. Like most collaborations between master producers and female pop singers, the chorus is every bit as dashing, rambunctious and moving as you would expect. Halsey’s vocals do well to hit the high notes but still keep a playfulness intact throughout the composition. 

The singer has gotten busy with a number of collaborations over the past year or so, already having worked with top-earning artists such as BTS, Kelsea Ballerini, and Khalid. Her popularity has really sneaked upon us, which is why it somehow feels like she’s both everywhere and nowhere. Yet there is an adaptive quality to her voice that can fit within any given genre or style; obviously, she mostly leans towards the riotous, dynamic numbers but we’ve seen in the past that she’s more than capable at producing some real emotion through her gentler compositions. 

As for Marshmello, his fans would be glad to see another commendable effort from the producer. He’s been all over the charts in recent years, and his productions have captured both emotions and energies well above the stuff we see from most producers. He’s lent his talents to artists such as Bastille, Anne-Marrie, Selena Gomez, so the DJ extraordinaire clearly knows how to write and produce a song in perfect accordance with the singer’s capabilities. 

This particular tune has a bit of fun history behind it: initially, Marshmellow had posted a tweet on his social media account that pointed to a collaboration between the two artists. This was all the way back in 2017; however, things got busy and none of them were able to make the collab happen until April of this year. 

But longtime fans would be pleased to know that the collaboration work involving both was absolutely worth the wait. The song is stylish, touching, and just has the right tempo to be a classic dance fest. 

 Pop     R&B 

Author: Shaoni Das

Shaoni Das is a writer/editor currently based in Edmonton, Canada. She remains eager to inspect how the changing culture of music impacts upon the greater world.