Halsey, the queen of fearless pop-‘n’-poetic chaos, is out here claiming her label is literally not letting her make a new album. Yep, you read that right.
In a recent sit‑down with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, Halsey made a bombshell confession that she “can’t make an album right now,” because she’s “not allowed to” by her record label after they apparently felt her latest album The Great Impersonator “didn’t perform the way they thought it was going to.” WHAT?!
Related: Halsey Reveals The Time A ‘Really Powerful’ Music Exec Snooped Through Her Nudes! WTF!
You know Halsey: always pushing boundaries, always raw. In this context, she did that by reminding everyone that The Great Impersonator still made quite a splash:
“If I’m being honest with you, the album sold 100,000 f**king copies first week. That’s a pretty big first week, especially for an artist who hasn’t had a hit in a long time.”
But when her team (aka the label overlords) compared those numbers to her Manic era, they were unimpressed, even though she was doing things she’d never done before. Touring success, emotional depth, pushing the envelope. But apparently that’s STILL not enough.
She explained, referencing her 2020 album Manic in doing so:
“The tour is the highest-selling tour of my entire career, but they want Manic numbers from me. Everyone wants Manic numbers from me. I can’t do that every single time. It should be good enough that I do it once in a while.”
She also pointed out that what would be considered success for most artists — 100,000 in week one with no radio hit and minimal support — is being labeled a failure in her case. Lowe seemingly agreed with Halsey, saying:
“It should be good enough.”
Before she quickly added:
“But it’s not. What would be considered a success for most artists, a success story, 100,000 albums in the first week, in an era when we don’t sell physical music, okay, with no radio hit, nothing. But it’s a failure … in the context of the kind of success that I’ve had previously.”
Ugh.
And she added:
“But if my record comes out with 100,000 copies first week — with no radio play, no real support — and the comparison is, ‘Why isn’t she doing Taylor Swift numbers?’ Are you f**king kidding me? I made an experimental concept album about how I almost f**king died. I’m not gonna do those numbers, but I’m doing pretty damn good. Those are strong numbers. It’s still in the top 10 of female artist first weeks. But it’s not good enough because it’s not the pop star I once was.”
But don’t think she’s alone in this. She made sure to give lots of love to her fans who have stuck by her through it all:
“I love them. God bless them, because they’re the only reason that I’m even able to make anything at all, that I can sell that many copies of an experimental concept album about death.”
Wow.
See more (below):
Halsey tells Zane Lowe that her label won’t allow her to release another album after ‘The Great Impersonator’ failed to meet their commercial standards. pic.twitter.com/uNyHSOSGGz
— Buzzing Pop (@BuzzingPop) September 18, 2025
Jeez. But if we know anything about Halsey, it’s that she won’t stay quiet. Here’s to her hopefully eventual creative freedom!
[Image via KIKA/WENN]
