Eastside (with Halsey & Khalid)

"Eastside" is a poignant and nostalgic exploration of young love, memory, and the difficult transition into adulthood. The song tells the story of a couple reminiscing about their teenage romance, which was filled with innocent moments, secret meetings, and a rebellious spirit against parental disapproval. The "Eastside" of the city serves as a symbolic backdrop for their relationship—a place of freedom and endless possibilities where they could escape from the world. The narrative contrasts the carefree, passionate days of their youth with the harsh realities they face as young adults. Now in their twenties, they are confronted with "dead-end jobs and bills to pay," and the feeling that their dreams are slipping away. The song captures a universal feeling of longing for the past and the desire to escape the pressures of the present by running away and starting a new life together, fueled by the belief that their love can conquer any obstacle. It's a bittersweet ode to how time changes people and relationships, yet also a hopeful anthem about the enduring power of a foundational love to inspire change and renewal.

The narrative of the song unfolds as a dual perspective on a shared past, a story of young love that blossomed with innocent, simple gestures. It begins with Khalid reminiscing about their early days, a time when holding hands was the pinnacle of their connection. As they grew older, their relationship evolved into something more physical, stealing kisses on the back of the bus, away from judging eyes. A significant obstacle was her father's disapproval; he never believed the protagonist's love was genuine or that he was worthy of his daughter. Despite this, their bond was strong, characterized by secret late-night meetings, with her sneaking out of her window to be with him.

The central meeting point, the "Eastside," becomes a powerful symbol of their world. It's described as a mythical place "where the sun don't set," a testament to their timeless, unending feelings for each other. They would drive through the city's backstreets in a blue Corvette, a cinematic image of freedom and escape. This memory is intertwined with a desperate plea to leave their current lives behind, to drive to the coast and lose themselves in the sea, a baptism into a new life. The core belief driving them is that their love gives them the power to do anything, to simply draw a line through their old lives and start anew. It's a promise of unwavering commitment, a pledge to protect each other's hearts.

Halsey's verse shifts the timeline forward, reflecting on their shared dreams at seventeen—a future with a house, a family, and all the trappings of a conventional life. But reality hits hard when they turn twenty-three. The carefree dreams are replaced by the crushing weight of adult responsibilities. They find themselves in dead-end jobs, burdened by bills, and alienated from old friends who have become like enemies. This stark contrast between their youthful ambitions and their current, harsher reality triggers a wave of nostalgia, a longing for the simpler times when they were just falling in love.

The pre-chorus and chorus are then repeated, but this time they carry the weight of their adult experiences. The memory of meeting on the Eastside is no longer just a fond recollection but a beacon of hope, a reminder of the freedom and passion that still lies within them. The desire to escape is more urgent now, not just a youthful whim but a necessary act of survival against the disillusionment of adulthood. The promise to run away together is reiterated, not as a naive fantasy, but as a conscious choice to reclaim their love and their lives from the pressures that seek to tear them apart. The song concludes with the overlapping, echoing refrains of them meeting on the Eastside, solidifying it as the eternal, sacred space of their love story, a place they can always return to, at least in memory.

"Eastside" marks the debut single of renowned producer and songwriter benny blanco as a credited artist, released on July 12, 2018. The song's creation was a collaborative effort. Blanco began writing the demo with Ed Sheeran while they were on tour in Philadelphia. Blanco later played the demo for Halsey at his house, and she quickly contributed her part, essentially completing her vocals on the spot. Feeling the track would work well as a duet, Blanco reached out to Khalid, whom he had always wanted to work with. Khalid recorded his vocals remotely from Denmark. The song's signature guitar riff was added by Andrew Watt at Blanco's studio in Los Angeles. The production team also included Cashmere Cat. The song was released on Blanco's own label, Friends Keep Secrets, in partnership with Interscope Records. In 2021, a lawsuit was filed by the band American XO, claiming "Eastside" copied their 2015 song "Loveless," but the lawsuit was later dropped in 2023.

The song's structure is melodic and rhythmically engaging, contributing to its pop appeal. The tempo is moderately paced at around 89 beats per minute, creating a laid-back, yet forward-moving feel. The song follows a fairly standard verse-chorus structure. The rhyme scheme is generally simple and effective, often using couplets (AABB) or near rhymes to maintain a natural, conversational flow, as seen in the first verse: "love"/"enough" and "touch"/"bus". The rhythm of the vocal delivery is syncopated and flows smoothly over the beat, playing off the steady guitar arpeggio. The core progression is F♯m–E–A–D–E, a common and effective pop progression that provides a sense of both melancholy and hope. This interplay between the gentle, looping musical rhythm and the more varied vocal rhythms of Halsey and Khalid creates the song's signature chill and reflective vibe.

"Eastside" employs a blend of musical and literary techniques to create its nostalgic and emotive atmosphere. Musically, the song is built around a gentle, looping arpeggiated guitar riff that provides a hazy, reflective foundation. The production combines elements of pop and dancehall, with a skittering beat that gives it a contemporary feel while maintaining a wistful warmth. The vocal arrangement is a key feature, functioning as a duet where Khalid's smooth, soulful delivery and Halsey's emotive, slightly edgy vocals trade verses before harmonizing in the chorus, representing the two sides of the shared story. Lyrically, the song uses a narrative, storytelling structure that contrasts past and present. It employs vivid imagery (e.g., "kiss underneath the light on the back of the bus," "sneak out late") to create a relatable, cinematic feel. The use of specific ages, "seventeen" and "twenty-three," anchors the coming-of-age theme, marking the shift from dreaming of the future to confronting its difficult realities. The conversational and direct tone of the lyrics makes the story feel personal and authentic.

"Eastside" was a massive commercial success and benny blanco's breakthrough as a solo artist. It topped the charts in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand, and peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song had remarkable longevity on radio, tying a record at the time for the most weeks (45) on Billboard's Pop Songs airplay chart. Its music video, directed by Jake Schreier, garnered significant attention for its personal, documentary-style feel, featuring home-video-style footage and facts about the artists. The song became a staple on pop radio and streaming playlists, solidifying its place as a defining track of the late 2010s pop landscape. Blanco, Halsey, and Khalid performed the song at the 2018 American Music Awards, and Halsey also performed it solo on Saturday Night Live, further boosting its visibility. The track's blend of relatable, nostalgic storytelling with a chill, pop-dancehall sound resonated widely, making it a modern classic about love and growing up.

The song uses several key symbols and metaphors to enrich its narrative.

• The Eastside: This location is the central symbol, representing a private, almost mythical space for the young lovers. Described as a place "where the sun don't set," it symbolizes a timeless, perpetual state of love and freedom, away from the constraints and judgments of their families and the outside world. It's their sanctuary and the heart of their shared history.
• The Blue Corvette: Riding "through the backstreets in a blue Corvette" is a classic image of youthful rebellion and American freedom. The Corvette symbolizes their desire to escape, their mobility, and the thrilling, cinematic quality of their young romance.
• Putting a Line Through It: The lyric "Take your old life, then you put a line through it" is a direct metaphor for making a clean break from the past and present struggles. It represents a conscious decision to abandon their current, unsatisfactory lives and start over, empowered by their love.

The most significant recurring motif in "Eastside" is the phrase "meet me on the Eastside / In the city where the sun don't set." This line acts as the song's central anchor, appearing in both Khalid's and Halsey's pre-choruses. Its repetition reinforces the importance of this specific place and time in their shared history, serving as a nostalgic touchstone. When repeated, it bridges their individual perspectives, showing that this memory is a mutual foundation of their relationship. The chorus itself is a powerful recurring motif, with the lines "We can do anything if we put our minds to it / Take your old life, then you put a line through it" functioning as the song's core thesis. Its repetition solidifies the theme of love as an empowering, transformative force, a mantra for the couple to hold onto as they face adult challenges. The outro, with its layered, echoing repetition of "He used to meet me on the Eastside / She used to meet me on the Eastside," emphasizes the mutuality of their memory and brings the story to a dreamlike, lingering close.