Halsey Reveals She’s ‘Not Allowed’ to Make a New Album Right Now

Singer cites 2024 release The Great Impersonator’s performance and label expectations as reason for creative pause

Halsey has opened up about her inability to release new music at the moment, attributing it to the commercial performance of her 2024 album, The Great Impersonator. In an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that aired on Thursday, September 18, the 30-year-old singer-songwriter explained, “I can’t make an album right now. I’m not allowed to. It’s the reality.”

Despite debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, Halsey said her latest album “didn’t perform the way they wanted it to.” She added, “If I’m being honest with you, the album sold 100,000 f—— copies first week. That’s a pretty big first week, especially for an artist who hasn’t had a hit in a long time.”

The artist compared these numbers to her earlier success with Manic, which featured the No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Without Me” and achieved six-times platinum certification. She noted that while 100,000 albums in a first week would be a success for most artists in today’s music climate, it is considered “a failure in the context of the kind of success I’ve had previously.” Halsey reflected, “The hardest part of having been a pop star once is that I’m not one anymore, and I’m being compared to people that I don’t consider lateral to me.”

Halsey’s My Last Trick Tour, which included 32 dates from May to July 2025, remains the highest-selling tour of her career, selling out almost instantly. She also announced the upcoming Back to Badlands Tour in Los Angeles, celebrating the 10th anniversary of her debut album, Badlands.

Now signed with Columbia Records after splitting from Capitol Records in 2023, Halsey expressed immense gratitude to her fanbase. “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,” she said.

Despite the current pause in album creation, Halsey’s dedication to her art and loyal supporters remains unwavering, highlighting the challenges of balancing creative vision with industry expectations in today’s music landscape.