Grammy-Nominated Singer Says Record Label Blocked Her From Releasing New Album
Halsey opens up about Columbia Records holding back new music after *The Great Impersonator* underperformed
Halsey, the Grammy-nominated artist behind hits like Bad at Love and Without Me, has shared that her record label is preventing her from releasing another album. Speaking with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe on September 18, the singer revealed that Columbia Records decided to put her music plans on hold following disappointing sales of her 2024 project, The Great Impersonator.
“I can’t make an album right now—I’m not allowed to,” Halsey admitted. “That’s the reality, because The Great Impersonator didn’t perform the way they thought it was going to.”
The album, which included tracks such as Ego and Only Living Girl in LA, was Halsey’s fifth studio project. While Columbia anticipated results similar to her 2020 double-platinum album Manic, the commercial response fell short. “I can’t do that every single time,” she said, referring to the expectation of repeating massive success.
Born Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, Halsey explained that she feels pressured to compete in a pop landscape she no longer identifies with. “That’s the hardest part of having been a pop star once. I’m not one anymore, but I’m being compared to numbers and to other people that I don’t consider lateral to me.”
Although The Great Impersonator didn’t reach the numbers her label had hoped for, it carried deeply personal themes. In 2022, Halsey disclosed multiple chronic health diagnoses, including Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), Sjögren’s syndrome, lupus, and a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder.
Reflecting on her health, she wrote on Instagram ahead of the album’s release: “Long story short, I’m lucky to be alive. Short story long, I wrote an album.” One of the project’s standout tracks, The End, captures her experience through raw lyrics: “Every couple of years now, a doctor says I’m sick. Pulls out a brand-new bag of tricks and then they lay it on me. And at first, it was my brain, then a skeleton in pain.”
Halsey’s honesty highlights the tension between artistry, commercial expectations, and personal struggles—an ongoing battle many musicians face in today’s industry.
Source: Billboard
