Hailee Steinfeld Breaks New Ground With “Afterlife” From ‘Dickinson’

Mike Wass | September 30, 2019 9:00 am
Hailee & Drax Project's 'Woke Up Late'
Hailee Steinfeld kicks off 2019 by teaming up with Drax Project for 'Woke Up Late.'

EDIT: The post has been updated with an extraordinary video courtesy of director Hannah Lux Davis. Watch it below.

From “Love Myself” to “Let Me Go,” Hailee Steinfeld has cobbled together an impressive discography bursting with pop hits. She ups the ante, however, on “Afterlife.” Taken from the upcoming Apple TV series Dickinson (about legendary writer Emily Dickinson), the track is darker and more poetic than any of her previous singles. “Will you love me when my heartbeat stops? When my heartbeat stops, will you stay mine?” Hailee ponders over StarGate and KOZ’s eerie production. “Will you promise me you’ll search for us? Will you find me after life?”

It turns out the song was inspired by Emily. “This record has become one of my favorite songs I’ve worked on and sonically, it’s indicative of the direction I’m exploring with my new music,” the 22-year-old reveals. “There’s a line in the song that says ‘immortality is bliss’ and it’s reminiscent of a lot of Emily’s poems.” She then explained the cover art. “[Emily] lived during a time where women were forbidden from voicing their opinions and restricted in many ways, including how they dressed,” Hailee shares.

“I wanted the single art to reflect this idea too, so the corset has an exaggerated cinch to represent how Emily in particular felt constricted and stifled.” Dickinson premieres on November 1. Listen to Hailee’s very, very good “Afterlife” below.

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