Halsey says label barred her from new album after Great Impersonator sales

Halsey said she has been barred from making a new album because her record label was disappointed by the commercial performance of her most recent release, The Great Impersonator, she told Zane Lowe in an interview released Sept. 18 on Apple Music. The singer said the decision comes despite what she described as a strong first week for the project and a successful accompanying tour.

"I can't make an album right now. I'm not allowed to," Halsey, whose given name is Ashley Frangipane, told Lowe. She added that The Great Impersonator "sold 100,000 fucking copies first week," and argued that that figure should be viewed as a success in the current music market. "The tour is the highest selling tour of my entire career," she said, but "they want Manic numbers from me," referring to her 2020 album that yielded the No. 1 single "Without Me" and which industry reports show moved roughly 239,000 units in its debut week.

The Great Impersonator, released in October 2024, peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and reached No. 19 on the U.K. albums chart. Its highest-charting single, "Lucky," made it to No. 88 on the Hot 100. While the album received critical praise from several outlets,...