Shadowing Practice: Halsey Talks 'Without Me', Breakup With G-Eazy, Tattooing, Halloween & More! - Learn English Speaking with Video
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325 sentences
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Halsey is here.
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Halsey, let's talk.
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She walks in.
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The first thing you say, Halsey, you say, Jojo, am I giving you a tattoo?
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Yeah, because last time I was here, we said I was going to.
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And I've been learning.
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So when the moment presents itself, I can tattoo you.
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So, well, last time I told I said, yeah, I'm in.
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I'm in.
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I know.
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I didn't really believe you, though.
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I'm calling your bluff.
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You walked in with a needle.
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I'll be like, but update me real quick.
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I mean, not that I don't trust you and believe you, because I'm in.
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But just give me, like, are you good?
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Are you not so good?
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How are you?
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Okay, I haven't moved on to skin yet.
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Perfect.
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I'm going to be doing skin in this time off, hopefully.
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You know what's funny, guys?
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I always drew people's tattoos.
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People would always come to me for designs, and I would draw them.
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Like, two of my best female friends, I've drawn, like, two of their tattoos.
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I've drawn, like, three of G -Eazy's, I think.
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Oh, yeah?
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Yeah. Which ones?
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I don't know all of his tats, but which ones did you do?
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He's an angel and a devil on two arms, and I did the little sketches of them.
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But you didn't tattoo him.
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You just drew the arm.
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I just drew them, yeah.
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All right.
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But, yeah, in this time off, that's one of my goals is write an album and learn how to tattoo.
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Got it.
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Well, okay, I'm in.
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Is G going to – are you going to give him a tattoo as well?
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If he'll let me.
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Is he going to go first or am I going to go first?
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I can go first if you want, but – I think you might have to go first.
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Okay, are you going to draw me?
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We discussed some vampire artwork, right?
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That's what I would love, because you said you could draw some vampire anime, whatever it is.
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That's kind of what I'm looking at.
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And you're going to, okay.
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Halsey, I'm in.
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I'm in.
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So pick a time.
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You're taking some time off here in the near future, you said, to write and whatnot?
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Well, I was going to take some time off, and then I wrote a song.
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Yes, you did um a song that i just put out
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and um sometimes music just kind of begs to be in the world
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and i was really anticipating having some time off i've obviously
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been touring hopeless fountain kingdom just wrapped the world tour um
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it was really really an incredible experience um i got to tour
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so many different countries that i've never been to
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and having two albums is like such a different it's a different thing you know you're like
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so much more of a complex artist on stage
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when you have two albums um and there's so much growth
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and i mean we i played to i think a total
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of like 500 000 people on this tour half a million people
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which is insane that
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that many people would want to come stand in a room with me um
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but let's let's let's sit on
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that for a second 500 000 people yeah you know uh they drove their car to a crazy parking structure
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which was probably insane parking everywhere i know they waited in
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some lines at some point they probably heat well not cold
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heat heat maybe they bought some merch whatever some drinks they got in their seat families schedules
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and they sat with you 500 000 people for a good probably what two hours something like
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that yeah dude i mean it's really crazy i mean taylor swift does
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that in like three nights which is pretty insane
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but i'll i'll get there yeah i'm working on it you're doing just fine
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but anyway yeah i was wrapping that tour
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and i was supposed to take some time off
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and then i just wrote this song
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and it was kind of like well it's either this is gonna be a very good pun it's now
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or never you know like put it out um
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and let the world have it for what it is in this moment where it's it's true
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and meaningful and you know authentic to my life um
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because i wasn't just gonna hold on to it
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and then put it out later because it wouldn't have felt the same So it was like, you know, I kind of just like traded my time off for putting out a song
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that I love It feels so organic because this, not that it's bad to have it attached to an album
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But to my understanding it's not attached to anything It's not promoting an EP I feel
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so free Wow I feel so free and it's really crazy for me too because I've made concept records
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So Badland's my debut and then Hopeless Found Kingdom were both concept albums All the music videos were connected
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It's like a storyline with a character and all the cinematography
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and like a subplot and all this stuff
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and this is just like a song about me and my life
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and i just wanted to put it out
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and wanted the world to have it it's not attached to any like drama
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or you know hopelessbound kingdom was like car crash gunfight bloody face like
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like wow i took boxing lessons to make those music videos um
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and this is just it's just me
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so it feels really good without me uh you tweeted you cried the whole time
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while recording this song or writing
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and recording you know later after the fact i guess you felt empowered yeah give me what's
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that all about give me
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that whole story yeah i mean the song is really dynamic i guess in that way
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because everyone who hears it says a different says a different
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thing like some people who hear it get really emotional and get really quiet.
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you know when i was playing it for my friends like you know doing the beta testing right um
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some people would get like really quiet really emotional and it would end and they'd be like
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wow i'm like that's it you know and i could tell
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that they were just in their own head just like relating it back to something going on in their life
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or some people would hear it and start screaming and like yelling
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and be like whoa yeah like talk that talk like say
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that like yeah like this is awesome so it was so crazy to watch like some people become so like emotionally
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um enveloped in it and then other people get so empowered
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and it was like this whole thing I was like is
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it a ballad is it a is it like a like
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a pop upbeat song is it sad is it happy is what is it it's just
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so it doesn't have it doesn't like fit in a box in
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that way for me because I don't think emotions do
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and since it's such a reflection of my emotions
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if my emotions don't fit in a box naturally the song is not going to either
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and that's what i think makes it
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so special what did you write it about what does it mean to you
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so you know i um i'm like a i'm a caretaker
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that's like my thing um i think a lot of people
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maybe see me as like the like rebellious like punky loud spontaneous whatever girl
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and i am sometimes um but in my adulthood
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which is now i just turned 24 last week and you know
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when i first started making music i was 18 years old
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um i was living in new york
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and the world was my playground i could like do say whatever i wanted to
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and now i'm 24 and i'm coming into my adulthood
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and i'm realizing i'm like you know analyzing the relationships around me
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and it was kind of like this moment of like huh
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i give a lot more than you guys do i don't
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really get a lot back like i don't what's going on here um
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and i kind of try to approach it at first with a sense of humor
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and be like oh you know here's me like the fixer the mom friend
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and that's what that's what i was getting at before
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when i say a lot of people i think have this image of me
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because like you know the hair the tattoos like the whatever like
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but i'm really maternal i'm like such i'm
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so the mom friend like i'm the like no don't run
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out in the middle of the street stop okay let's come
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on let's make a plan let's like that's me um and
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so I take care of a lot of people
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and this record is kind of just about me realizing
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that it's not okay to give all of myself to someone
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who isn't you know going to reciprocate in a naturally balanced way I don't necessarily think in my experience
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that relationships are about um an eye for an eye
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someone doesn't necessarily have to give to you what you've given to them
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but I think it's about the effort you know
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and about reciprocating in the way that you can
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and maybe reciprocating in a way that they need um
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and I wasn't getting a whole lot of that
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and I was approaching my 24th birthday
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and I was just like you know what I'm done and I cut a lot of people out of my life
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um some for a little bit of time and they came back around and some for good
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um
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and this record is kind of me just like it's like
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my um my facebook update status about it like attention world i am no longer taking your bs
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and i have cut everyone out who does not comply try me this year come
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and come and try me because i'm not playing around this time
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awesome let's let's let's play the track okay here we go halsey that's wow you you she's glow you're glowing
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when you're talking about this
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and i've uh i've interviewed interviewed you quite a few times you know i've never seen you not
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that you haven't loved every song you've come in with
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but there's something a little i don't know something a little
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different i guess maybe it's without me you guys get on
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this track it's not attached to any album any ep i
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mean maybe it could appear on something in the future i don't know who knows
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but that's not that's there's no plan it's just a song
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that you wrote that boom it's out there that's why i feel
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so great i think music has become
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so like homogenized you know it's like song album promo bundle package this
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that like all this stuff like i literally just made a song
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because i felt like it and said hey i want to put this out
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and like there wasn't like a record label being like oh
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but we can't because the album and the release and this
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and that and it doesn't follow the plan because there's a lot of
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that in the music industry he's like it is this doesn't follow the plan we have a plan
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and i was just like hey i made this because i'm an artist and that's what i do
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is i feel things and then make things about the things
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that i feel and i want to give them to the world and
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I'm so fortunate to have such amazing people around me in my professional life who were just like, yeah, Ash, cool. Do it.
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Go give it to the world.
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And I was like, really?
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That's cool.
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Like it's not going to mess with the album or mess with like the promo.
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They're like, just do it.
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They're like, just put it out.
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You love it.
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I was like, okay, cool.
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And I was so rewarded for it because the response has been amazing.
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And all that says to me as an artist is that authenticity still wins.
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it still wins in a time of like you know packaged commercialized
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and i'm and i'm not talking down on that
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because i'm totally a player in
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that game right you know what i mean it's part of
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like wanting as many people as possible to hear the thing you made um
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but this one just feels i just can feel the fans
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responding in this way where they're just like atta girl this is what we wanted
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and for every single one of them they all say the same thing
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and it's this came at the perfect time for me let
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me let me ask we were all on the same like wavelength
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or same frequency or something the the people
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that uh god this is a sensitive question yeah don't answer whatever you know
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because you know me i'm not looking for sound bites people in your life
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that you you said you cut out obviously well let me
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just ask you yeah g -easy's this has nothing to do
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with him right this is all no no it is it is yeah
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but you guys are still you guys are yeah we're together okay good
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because i was getting i just loved you guys together
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so i'm glad that's good so yeah we're We were swimming in my pool this morning before I came here.
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No, we're still together.
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But it's, you know, that's kind of back to what I was saying before.
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Is my face red right now?
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My face is red, isn't it?
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A little.
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Were you scared to ask that question?
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Yeah, I was because I love you and I don't want you to hate me.
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Yeah, no, not at all.
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That's part of this too, you know, because I had a really public breakup.
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Right.
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And the whole world was watching and they were like, say something, say something, say something.
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And I was like, what am I going to do?
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Like, tweet about it?
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Like, post it?
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No, I'm going to put it in a song because that's what I do.
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I'm an artist that's how i move and how i function
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and him and i you were going to cut his off
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but i guess that luckily yeah i didn't do
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that um for the record oh my god i didn't do
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that this this is what music is all about what a beautiful thing though
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that i can make a record and also
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that the record can be a vehicle for that kind of thing
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because there's a lot of people who heard the record
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and went oh i might be a part of this problem
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and some people heard that and heard like the pain
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and like the the the realness in this this record i made
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and some people in my life heard it
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and they were like oh i might i might be a part of this a part of this problem
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and they've like changed you know they've made more of an
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effort well what yeah everything you just said music speaks i
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i am endorsing a thousand percent i just love it oh
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my i can't wait to get a tattoo even more from
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you thank you god thank you for hanging out yeah thank you for having me i'm
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so excited i haven't done this in like a year
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and a half my album came out
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so long ago i love getting to talk about my music thank you for letting me come
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and talk about my music i've talked about you uh benny
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came benny blanco came in the other day he was talking
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about you about of course about east side among other things
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you know he had some great things to say about you so people love you uh let me ask um
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halloween what are what are the plans are you are you
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a trick -or -treater are you uh you seem like a
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halloween kind of a girl to me i'm actually really happy
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you asked me this question first of all yes i am
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very obviously a halloween kind of girl i became a musician partially
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so i could play dress up all the time hell yeah
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halloween is definitely my favorite holiday um yeah i'm like a horror film freak
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and you know i just love i love the holiday
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but every year for the past three years i um i throw a really big party in la oh you
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and your parties oh lord this is a different one this one's a little different
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so it kind of started with just like some friends
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and friends of friends of friends of friends of friends of
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friends where i did this little themed party it was tarantino themed we had like little pulp fiction diner booth
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and like you know the kill bill cherry tree cherry blossom trees like it snowed outside
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and um i was like i was like come hang come drink you know be somewhere safe
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and party with me the only thing i ask is that
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when you arrive you make a donation at the door to my friend's place
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which is an la -based charity um organization uh
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that cares for the homeless youth in la
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because la has the highest population of homeless youth in the country right
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and a large large percentage of those homeless youth are lgbt um and minorities
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because those are the two communities of young people who are
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most likely to be ostracized um you know from the people
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that are supposed to care for them
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and a lot of them have a hard time getting access to health care
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and jobs and legal services and child care um because they're homeless
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and because they are in minority groups um and they're just kids um
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and i and i've been working with them for a really long time
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and i love everyone there and a lot of the kids are creatives
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which is really awesome they have like a studio
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and like they make art and teach people how to like use engineering software
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and like make music and cool stuff like that to give them like a skill set and help them.
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like vent their you know creativity um because if there's one thing
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that i know it's that struggle breeds creativity
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because i didn't have anywhere to live
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when i signed my record deal i was living out of a duffel bag wow um
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and so you know i look at a lot of these faces
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and i'm like you who knows what you could be destined for
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so anyway it was huge party and the only entry
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that i ask for is a donation to support this organization my friend's place
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and um it's just it's grown
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and delicious massive party this year is going to be
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so many people i'm so nervous and i haven't announced the theme yet
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so i'm not going to say it
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but it's uh it's going to be a whole lot of
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people having fun giving back being somewhere safe drinking hanging out
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and nerding out this year is a really nerdy theme i'm
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really excited about oh my god yeah i just you know you've told me your party stories in the past
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and clearly the day after your house
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which is okay your house is be i moved it out
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of my house i moved it out of my house we
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do it at a there's like thousands of people who come
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to this thing it's like a thing i'm like determined to
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become the regina george of halloween in la maroon 5 does a party every year
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and if adam levine hears this i want him to know i'm coming for him
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and i'm about to take the la halloween crown oh it's
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all i want it to be like halsey's party what you
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don't know about halsey's party come on it's like a thing
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i'm i like care about this party almost as much as i care about like an album i put
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so much work into it it's my baby
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and i just i love it it's for a great cause
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and it's just so fun
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so the pub the public not invited to this yeah what's is there a website
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or how do we
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or do it it's kind of a thing it's kind of like word of mouth all right
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so there's a flyer that goes out and
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if a friend of a friend gets the flyer
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and sends you the flyer then you can come
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and all right yeah it's really cool the way
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that we do it and it gets around because everyone's
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so connected here um but yeah i mean last year there were fans
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and friends and industry people and also just like
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just everyone it was like the coolest mix of people does the flyer say halsey on it
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or is it just sort of halsey presents okay all right
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you guys look for this flyer yeah look for this halsey
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presents yes god halsey i love you thank you i love you too fist bump to make it official Bye.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Halsey Talks 'Without Me', Breakup With G-Eazy, Tattooing, Halloween & More!”. This video has 325 sentences and 3610 words to shadow. The speech runs for 17:12. The speaker talks fast, about 210 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tattoo noun | /tæˈtuː/ | An image made on a body part, usually the skin with ink and a needle. |
| attach verb | /əˈtæt͡ʃ/ | To fasten, to join to (literally and figuratively). |
| insane adjective | /ɪnˈseɪn/ | Exhibiting unsoundness or disorder of mind; not sane; utterly mad. |
| emotion noun | /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/ | A person's internal state of being and involuntary physiological response to an object or a situation, based on or tied to physical state and sensory data. |
| naturally adverb | /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ | In a natural manner. |
| necessarily adverb | /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/ | Inevitably; of necessity. |
| package noun | /ˈpæk.ɪd͡ʒ/ | Something which is packed, a parcel, a box, an envelope. |
| minority noun | /maɪˈnɒɹ.ɪ.ti/ | The state or condition of being smaller, inferior, or subordinate to something or someone else; lesserness. |
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| wrap verb | /ɹæp/ | To enclose (an object) completely in any flexible, thin material such as fabric or paper. |
| cherry noun | /ˈt͡ʃɛɹi/ | A small fruit, usually red, black or yellow, with a smooth hard seed and a short hard stem. |
| tweet noun | /ˈtwiːt/ | The sound of a bird; any short high-pitched sound or whistle. |
| creativity noun | /kri.eɪˈtɪv.ᵻ.ti/ | The ability to use imagination to produce a novel idea or product. |
| donation noun | /doʊˈneɪʃən/ | A voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause. |
| glow verb | /ɡloʊ/ | To emit heat and light without a flame. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| put out verb | To blind (eyes). | |
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| cut out verb | To refrain from (doing something, using something etc.), to stop or cease (doing something). | |
| dress up verb | To put on special or fancy clothes. | |
| get around verb | To move to the other side of (something, such as an obstruction) by deviating from a direct course or following a curved path. | |
| give back verb | To return, restore (a thing to its original owner or location etc.). | |
| go out verb | To leave, especially a building. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Are you not so good?
- You know what's funny, guys?
- Is my face red right now?
- My face is red, isn't it?
- Were you scared to ask that question?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | I've been learning · i've been working |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | haven't moved · I've drawn · i've never been |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | nights which is · everyone who hears · people who hear |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | were connected · be ostracized · could be destined |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 115 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: booth /buθ/, authentic /ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/, authenticity /ɑθɛnˈtɪsɪti/, wavelength /ˈweɪvˌlɛŋ(k)θ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: emotion /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/, donation /doʊˈneɪʃən/, fiction /ˈfɪkʃən/, delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/, partially /ˈpɑɹʃəli/
- Long words — get the stress right: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, minority /maɪˈnɒɹ.ɪ.ti/, creativity /kri.eɪˈtɪv.ᵻ.ti/, emotionally /ɪˈməʊʃənəli/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like tattoo, attach, insane.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.