If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Halsey, released on August 27, 2021, by Capitol Records. It written by Halsey, Johnathan Cunningham, Greg Kurstin, and its producers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Halsey described the project as "a concept album about the joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth".
The cover artwork of If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power was inspired by artistic depictions of Mary, mother of Jesus. A theatrical film directed by American filmmaker Colin Tilley, titled after the album and featuring its music, screened in select IMAX cinemas around the world on August 25 and 26, 2021, leading up to the album release. If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power is an alternative rock, grunge-pop, and pop punk effort with heavy industrial influence, driven by clattering drums, fuzzy guitars and cinematic textures. Its lyrics center on femininist themes, such as addressing patriarchy and institutional misogyny. The album has received critical acclaim, with emphasis on its ambitious concept and theatrical production.
Background
American singer-songwriter Halsey released her third studio album, Manic, on January 17, 2020. It included the successful single, "Without Me" (2018), the second Billboard Hot 100 number-one song of Halsey's career. She contributed to the Birds of Prey soundtrack, titled "Experiment on Me", which is a nu-metal track produced by Oliver Sykes and Jordan Fish from the British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. She released collaborative songs with other artists in 2020, such as Kelsea Ballerini's "The Other Girl", Juice Wrld's "Life's a Mess", and Machine Gun Kelly's "Forget Me Too". Halsey was slated to embark on her third concert tour, titled Manic World Tour, in 2020, but after postponing and rescheduling many dates due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour was announced cancelled on January 23, 2021. She also announced her first pregnancy, with American screenwriter Alev Aydin, after suffering many miscarriages due to endometriosis and undergoing a surgery in 2017.
On June 28, 2021, numerous billboards went up across major cities of the United States, announcing the fourth studio album by Halsey, titled If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power. The singer confirmed it herself through her social media accounts on the same day. Together with the announcement, she also previewed one of the tracks from the album. It was also revealed that the album was produced by American musician Trent Reznor and English musician Atticus Ross, members of American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. In a short teaser video, Halsey hinted at the album's punk rock sound. On July 7, 2021, Halsey unveiled the cover art and announced that If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power would be released on August 27, 2021. Halsey gave birth to her child, Ender Ridley Aydin, on July 14, 2021.If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Halsey, released on August 27, 2021, by Capitol Records. It written by Halsey, Johnathan Cunningham, Greg Kurstin, and its producers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Halsey described the project as "a concept album about the joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth".
The cover artwork of If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power was inspired by artistic depictions of Mary, mother of Jesus. A theatrical film directed by American filmmaker Colin Tilley, titled after the album and featuring its music, screened in select IMAX cinemas around the world on August 25 and 26, 2021, leading up to the album release. If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power is an alternative rock, grunge-pop, and pop punk effort with heavy industrial influence, driven by clattering drums, fuzzy guitars and cinematic textures. Its lyrics center on femininist themes, such as addressing patriarchy and institutional misogyny. The album has received critical acclaim, with emphasis on its ambitious concept and theatrical production.
Background
American singer-songwriter Halsey released her third studio album, Manic, on January 17, 2020. It included the successful single, "Without Me" (2018), the second Billboard Hot 100 number-one song of Halsey's career. She contributed to the Birds of Prey soundtrack, titled "Experiment on Me", which is a nu-metal track produced by Oliver Sykes and Jordan Fish from the British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. She released collaborative songs with other artists in 2020, such as Kelsea Ballerini's "The Other Girl", Juice Wrld's "Life's a Mess", and Machine Gun Kelly's "Forget Me Too". Halsey was slated to embark on her third concert tour, titled Manic World Tour, in 2020, but after postponing and rescheduling many dates due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour was announced cancelled on January 23, 2021. She also announced her first pregnancy, with American screenwriter Alev Aydin, after suffering many miscarriages due to endometriosis and undergoing a surgery in 2017.
On June 28, 2021, numerous billboards went up across major cities of the United States, announcing the fourth studio album by Halsey, titled If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power. The singer confirmed it herself through her social media accounts on the same day. Together with the announcement, she also previewed one of the tracks from the album. It was also revealed that the album was produced by American musician Trent Reznor and English musician Atticus Ross, members of American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. In a short teaser video, Halsey hinted at the album's punk rock sound. On July 7, 2021, Halsey unveiled the cover art and announced that If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power would be released on August 27, 2021. Halsey gave birth to her child, Ender Ridley Aydin, on July 14, 2021.false2025-11-08 09:02:29If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power20222022-08-312022-08-31106Pop138966236921948275d94-219c-4aff-b5d7-c14508dfb5b43377f3bb-60fc-4403-aea9-7e800612e060798e5814-9f96-46b2-a72a-408d67267661/media/data/media4/Music/Halsey/If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power/folder.jpgHalseyHalseyAshley Nicolette Frangipane (IPA: FRAN-jih-PAH-nee; born September 29, 1994), known professionally as Halsey ( HAWL-zee), is an American singer and songwriter. Noted for her distinctive singing voice, she has received several awards including three Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Women in Music Award, an American Music Award and nominations for three Grammy Awards. She was included on Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.
Halsey was born and raised in New Jersey. Gaining attention from self-released music on social media platforms, she signed with Astralwerks in 2014 to release her debut extended play (EP), Room 93 in October of that year. Her debut studio album, Badlands (2015) was met with critical and commercial success—debuting at number two on the Billboard 200. It received double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), likewise with its singles "Colors", "Gasoline" and "New Americana", the latter of which became her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100—at number 60.
In 2016, Halsey co-performed with The Chainsmokers on their single "Closer", which topped the charts in the US and ten countries, while receiving 14× platinum certification by the RIAA. Her second studio album, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom (2017) embodied a more "radio-friendly" sound than her previous efforts; it peaked the Billboard 200, while its singles "Now or Never" and "Bad at Love" both reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100—with the latter peaking in the top five. Her 2018 single, "Eastside" (with Benny Blanco and Khalid), found continued success and peaked within the top ten. Later that year, she was moved to Capitol Records.
Halsey's third studio album, Manic (2020), became her best selling album worldwide. Its lead single, "Without Me" peaked the Billboard Hot 100, received diamond certification by the RIAA, and remains her most commercially successful song as a lead artist. Her fourth album, If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power (2021), moved away from her previous sound in favor of a darker industrial sound; described by Halsey as "the album [she] always wanted to make", it was produced by Nine Inch Nails members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and received generally positive reception. She then parted ways with Capitol in 2023, following a controversy surrounding the release of her non-album single, "So Good" the year prior.
In 2020, Billboard reported that Halsey has sold over one million albums and received over six billion streams in the United States. Aside from music, she has been involved in suicide prevention awareness, sexual assault victim advocacy, and racial justice protests.