Halsey has reflected on the ups and downs of her twenties in a candid birthday message.

The singer-songwriter, real name Ashley Frangipane, turned 30 on 29 September.

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Halsey - who uses both she/her and they/them pronouns - shared a series of happy snaps from a surprise birthday party organised by friends over the weekend.

In the accompanying caption, the Without Me hitmaker contemplated some of the "inexplicable changes" they have experienced over the past decade.

"Some beautiful and awe inspiring, some puzzling and painful. But 30 came like those ten years never happened, (much like the beautiful birthdays back home in Jersey before I had ever heard of the name Halsey) SCREAMING in an Italian American heritage hall with the people I love," the star wrote. "I thought the only reason I'd have all these people in a room with me at the same time would be because I was in a wooden box in the center, but there we were. With cake and crying and bare feet. I don't know how they did it. But they made all the noise of my twenties stop, and replaced it with joy."

In recent months, Halsey has been open about her health issues, including being diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder.

And despite the tough times, the artist promised to embrace moments of joy whenever possible.

"The universe, God, the stars have done this to me twice. First, just before I turned 20. By challenging me with difficulty for years and then giving me life altering joy just as I slid into base, from 19. And now by giving me a twenties full of struggle turned lesson turned growth, and replacing it with JOY as I transition from 29 to 30. And both times, that buzzer-beater joy is so strong that it settles the 9 years that came before it," they continued.

Halsey, who shares a son with ex-partner Alev Aydin, recently confirmed she is engaged to actor Avan Jogia.

The 30-year-old is also set to drop their fifth studio album, The Great Impersonator, on 25 October.

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