“Now Or Never”, a slow, R&B-tinged track, is the lead single from American singer-songwriter Halsey’s sophomore studio album, hopeless fountain kingdom. The track was teased through a series of tweets by Halsey, leading fans to different coordinates to unveil the cover art for the album. The single was released alongside the music video which also marks Halsey’s directorial debut. The music video features a scene with intense gun violence.

Lyrically, the song describes the story of two young lovers enduring hardships and struggles in a dystopian world. These two lovers are “Luna” of the Aureum House and “Solis” from the House of Angelus, who parallel the Shakespearean characters Romeo and Juliet.

Upon release, many fans and critics noted sonic similarities to Rihanna’s “Needed Me” in its chorus' melody and production. The likeness could be intentional: Starrah was chosen to produce melodies for both “Now or Never” and “Needed Me”, and at the 2016 VMAs, Halsey referred to Rihanna as her “biggest inspiration in her whole life.”

On June 1st, Halsey performed the whole hopeless fountain kingdom album for VEVO: Presents. Now or Never is found below: