Halsey’s “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power” Album

After canceling her 2020 live concerts and a brief absence from the music scene due to the covid-19 pandemic, sensational American singer and songwriter Halsey released her fourth studio album, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power. 

Capitol Records released the album on all major music platforms on August 27, 2021.

In June 2021, numerous billboards were mounted in many cities across the United States, announcing the upcoming release of Halsey’s fourth studio album. It brought joy and high anticipation to the singer’s fans and music lovers.

Halsey confirmed the announcement, previewed one of the songs from the album on her social media, and stated it would be released on August 27, 2021. In addition to the post, she announced the album release with a video film shot in New York.

Halsey gave birth to her baby boy on July 14, 2021. It should be noted that prior to this successful delivery, she had suffered multiple miscarriages. In her social media post on July 7, 2021, she pointed out that the concept for the album focuses on the joy, uniqueness, and negative conditions associated with childbirth pregnancy.

She also stated that initially, she developed the album’s concept of mortality, permanence, and love. However, because of the huge emotional impact of her pregnancy, she confessed that she felt inspired to change the concept to a theme of feminine anatomy, body horror, and conceit.

Cover Art

She also posted the album’s cover artwork picture, which later went viral shortly after her post. In the cover artwork, Halsey is depicted as Madonna, a collection of artworks to illustrate the image of the Holy Mary and mother of Jesus.

Again, in the picture, Halsey is seen wearing a very long purple dress with her left breast uncovered, holding a baby covered in a gray towel, as she is seated on a golden stool that resembles one from the Game of Thrones series.

According to her, she specifically chose this image for an important reason. And the said reason was to send awareness to help eradicate the social stigma surrounding postpartum bodies and breastfeeding.

Credits and More Facts

Atticus Ross alongside his Nine Inch Nails bandmate Trent Reznor produced the entire album. Additionally, they co-wrote almost all the album’s songs.

The album’s production took place in Los Angeles. However, Halsey sang all the thirteen songs on the album in a studio located at the Turks and Caicos Islands. This means Halsey worked remotely with her collaborators during the making of the album.

The album has no official features. She specifically decided not to feature an artist as she felt the album should be sung by only her so that listeners could extract the message from the direct source, thus, Halsey.

Furthermore, she stated that this decision gave her a good feeling, one that she had not felt since she released her debut studio album in 2015.

The album features tunes from the pop-punk, alternative rock, and grunge-pop genres.

Upon release, many music critics praised Halsey for doing a good job and rated the album very high on their websites.

Songs birthed by “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power”

• “Ya’aburnee”
• “The Lighthouse”
• “I Am Not a Woman, I’m a God”
• “Whispers”
• “Honey”
• “1121”
• “Darling”
• “You Asked For This”
• “Girl Is A Gun”
• “Lilith”
• “Easier Than Lying”
• “Bells in Santa Fe”
• “The Tradition”