If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power

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If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power by Halsey.png
Standard cover[a]
Studio album by
Halsey
ReleasedAugust 27, 2021 (2021-08-27)
Recorded2020–2021
GenreAlternative rock
Length42:52
LabelCapitol
Producer
Halsey chronology
Badlands (Live from Webster Hall)
(2020) 		If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
(2021)

If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power is the upcoming fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter Halsey. It is set for release on August 27, 2021, via Capitol Records. Halsey recruited American musician Trent Reznor and English musician Atticus Ross for the album's production. She described the project as "a concept album about the joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth."

The cover artwork of the album 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, is scheduled for screening in select IMAX cinemas around the world on August 25 and 26, 2021, leading up to the album release. Its tickets went for sale on August 3, 2021.

Background[]

American singer-songwriter Halsey released her third studio album,[note 1] Manic, on January 17, 2020.[2] It included the successful single, "Without Me" (2018),[3] the second Billboard Hot 100 number-one song of Halsey's career.[4] She released collaborative songs with other artists in 2020, such as Kelsea Ballerini's "The Other Girl", Juice WRLD "Life's a Mess", and Machine Gun Kelly's "Forget Me Too".[2] 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.[5] She also announced her first pregnancy, with American screenwriter Alev Aydin, after suffering many miscarriages due to endometriosis[2] and undergoing a surgery in 2017.[3]

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.[2] The singer confirmed it herself through her social media accounts on the same day.[6] Together with the announcement, she also previewed one of the tracks from the album.[7] 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.[8] In a short teaser video, Halsey hinted at the album's punk rock sound.[2] 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.[9] Halsey gave birth to her child, Ender Ridley, on July 14, 2021.[10]

Concept[]

This album is a concept album about the joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth. It was very important to me that the cover art conveyed the sentiment of my journey over the past few months. The dichotomy of the Madonna and the Whore. The idea that me as a sexual being and my body as a vessel and gift to my child are two concepts that can co-exist peacefully and powerfully. My body has belonged to the world in many different ways the past few years, and this image is my means of reclaiming my autonomy and establishing my pride and strength as a life force for my human being.

— Halsey introducing If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power, Instagram[11]

Halsey stated If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power is a concept album focusing on the positives and negatives of pregnancy and childbirth.[12] The album was originally built around "mortality and everlasting love and our place/permanence", but the emotional impact of her pregnancy "introduced new themes of control and body horror and autonomy and conceit." Halsey also emphasized that it "feels very cool" to have an album with no guest features again, following her debut studio album, Badlands (2015). She said If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power "had to be entirely from [her] voice.[13]

Music and lyrics[]

If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power is an alternative record,[14] with ambient and industrial influences.[15]

Artwork[]

Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels painted by Jean Fouquet, from Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp
The album's cover artwork is modelled after the Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels, a 1452 Renaissance painting of Madonna by Jean Fouquet.

The cover artwork of If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power was unveiled through video shot at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, in which Halsey walked through the exhibits before finally pulling away a cover to reveal the life-size painting of the artwork.[16] The cover artwork was photographed by Lucas Garrido. It depicts an artistic rendering of Halsey as Madonna, a category of icons and works of art depicting Mary, mother of Jesus. The singer is seen seated on a golden throne, holding a baby, with her left breast exposed. She stated that the artwork portrays "the sentiment of [her] journey over the past few months",[12] and aims to uproot the social stigma around "bodies & breastfeeding".[17]

The artwork was specifically inspired by the Virgin and Child Surrounded By Angels from Jean Fouquet's two-panel Renaissance oil painting called Melun Diptych, and became a subject of widespread attention and discussion on the internet.[18] The Mercury News associated the artwork with the topfreedom movement on Instagram "#FreeTheNipple", and noted visual similarities to Cersei Lannister, a Game of Thrones character.[19] A censored version of the album cover, where the exposed left nipple is covered by the baby's hand, is also available to music streaming platforms.[1]

Promotion and release[]

The album is scheduled for release on August 27, 2021.[12] Its CDs, vinyl records, and box sets were made available for pre-order on July 7, 2021, on Halsey's webstore. Limited-edition red vinyl LPs, with an alternative cover, were sold exclusively at Urban Outfitters.[20] Halsey embraced the August 2021 cover of American women's magazine Allure, for which she was interviewed about her social identity, relationships, pregnancy, and family.[21] On July 23, 2021, an online game called "LXXXXP" was launched, which is a choose-your-own-adventure-style platform that encourages users to "choose your path and discover your destiny". The "You drowned in a freezing lake" outcome results in a snippet of a song from the album.[22] On August 10, 2021, the titles of the album's songs were revealed through Amazon Alexa, which recited the track listing upon asking it "Alexa, tell me about Halsey's new album." The next day, Halsey herself posted the track list across her social media.[23][13] No singles were released from the album.[24]

Film[]

On July 13, 2021, Halsey posted a trailer across her social media to an hour-long film, titled If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power as well, which will precede the album as its companion.[25] The film is directed by American filmmaker Colin Tilley, who previously directed Halsey's music videos for "Without Me" and "You Should Be Sad" (2020).[26] It is rated R.[27]

The theatrical poster of the album's accompanying film.
If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power official film poster

The film will feature music from the album. Rolling Stone reported that the film incorporates fantasy, drawing visual influences from American television series Game of Thrones and the 2006 film Marie Antoinette, alongside themes of motherhood and mysticism in its storyline.[28] Halsey was styled by American stylist Law Roach in the film; Halsey's own beauty line, About-Face, was used for her makeup.[29] The opening of the trailer states, "this film is about the lifelong social labyrinth of sexuality and birth" and "the greatest horror stories never told were buried with the bodies of those who died in that labyrinth."[30] The film will be screened exclusively for one night, in select IMAX cinema theatres.[30][31] On July 29, 2021, a second trailer, titled "woman/god trailer", soundtracked with lyrics "I am not a woman, I'm a god/ I am not a martyr, I'm a problem/ I am not a legend, I'm a fraud", was released on July 29, 2021. She announced the list of cities in the US the film will be screened on August 25, 2021, and the international cities on August 26, ahead of the album's release on August 27. The tickets went for sale on August 3, 2021.[26]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Rolling Stone3.5/5 stars[32]
Pitchfork7/10[24]

Rolling Stone critic Julyssa Lopez wrote If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power is an adventurous, highly dramatic, and "supremely theatrical" album, that is slightly overwrought at times.[32] Dani Blum of Pitchfork named the album the strongest project of Halsey's career, and praised the album's experimental production by Reznor and Ross; however, he felt the record becomes "unsettlingly claustrophobic" due to its lack of featured acts.[24]

Track listing[]

If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power – Standard edition[13]
No.TitleLength
1."The Tradition"3:46
2."Bells in Santa Fe"3:37
3."Easier than Lying"3:26
4."Lilith"2:47
5."Girl is a Gun"2:26
6."You Asked for This"4:25
7."Darling"3:02
8."1121"2:42
9."Honey"2:53
10."Whispers"3:11
11."I Am Not a Woman, I'm a God"2:56
12."The Lighthouse"4:33
13."Ya'aburnee"3:08
Total length:42:52
If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power – Walmart physical edition (bonus track)[33]
No.TitleLength
14."Nightmare" (reprise) 

Notes[]

  • "You Asked for This" and "I Am Not a Woman, I'm a God" are stylized in sentence case.[13]
  • "Honey" is stylized in all lowercase.[13]
  • "Girl Is a Gun" is stylized as "Girl is a Gun".[13]
  • "Ya'aburnee" is an Arabic language sentence (يقبرني), translating literally to "You bury me".

Release history[]

Release dates and formats for If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
Region Date Format(s) Version Label Ref.
Various August 27, 2021
Standard Capitol [20]
United States
  • CD
  • vinyl
 Walmart bonus [34][33]
Brazil October 22, 2021 CD Standard Universal Music Brasil [35]

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Halsey's pronouns are she/her and they/them. This article uses she/her pronouns for consistency.
  1. ^ This is the uncensored cover artwork of the album, used for its standard editions. A censored cover is also available for the album's digital copies only, in which the right hand of the baby covers Halsey's exposed left nipple.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Ehrlich, Brenna (July 7, 2021). "Halsey Reveals 'Madonna and Whore'-Inspired Cover for 'If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Fowler, Bella (July 8, 2021). "Singer Halsey poses topless on striking new album cover". NewsComAu. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Mamo, Heran (August 10, 2021). "Halsey Proudly Shows Off Stretch Marks Weeks After Giving Birth: 'This Is What It Look Like'". Billboard. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  4. ^ "Halsey – Hot 100 Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  5. ^ Ting, Jasmine (January 25, 2021). "Halsey Cancels the 'Manic' World Tour". Paper. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  6. ^ Lavin, Will (June 28, 2021). "Halsey announces new album produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross". NME. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  7. ^ Tate, Sarah (June 28, 2021). "Halsey Announces New Album Produced By Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross". iHeartRadio. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  8. ^ Kaufman, Gil (June 28, 2021). "Halsey Announces Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross-Produced Fourth Album, Teases Snippet". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  9. ^ Halsey [@halsey] (July 7, 2021). "If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power August 27, 2021 LoveAndPower.com" (Tweet). Retrieved July 7, 2021 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Halsey nurses newborn baby Ender for World Breastfeeding Week". Yahoo!.com. August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  11. ^ Ehrlich, Brenna (July 7, 2021). "Halsey Reveals 'Madonna and Whore'-Inspired Cover for 'If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b c Young, Alex (July 7, 2021). "Halsey Reveals Cover Art for New Album If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Moore, Sam (August 11, 2021). "Halsey shares tracklist for new album 'If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power'". NME. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  14. ^ Chris, DeVille (August 25, 2021). "Premature Evaluation: Halsey If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power". Stereogum. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  15. ^ Kennedy, Mark (August 25, 2021). "Review: Halsey (Nine Inch) nails a terrific new direction". Associated Press. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  16. ^ Strauss, Matthew (June 28, 2021). "Halsey Announces New Album Produced by Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  17. ^ Aswad, Jem (July 7, 2021). "Halsey Aims to 'Eradicate the Social Stigma Around Bodies & Breastfeeding' With Album Art". Variety. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  18. ^ Rossignol, Derrick (July 7, 2021). "Halsey's Artistically NSFW Album Cover Quickly Goes Viral". Uproxx. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  19. ^ Ross, Marth; Harrington, Jim (July 7, 2021). "Halsey frees the nipple to honor motherhood in new album cover". The Mercury News. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b Physical and digital formats for If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power:
  21. ^ Pergament, Danielle (July 13, 2021). "Halsey Always Breaks the Mold". Allure. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  22. ^ Moore, Sam (July 26, 2021). "Halsey fans discover new song snippet in online game". NME. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  23. ^ Gralha, Marcus (August 11, 2021). ""If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power": veja tracklist do novo álbum de Halsey" (in Portuguese). Tracklist.com. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b c Blum, Dani (August 26, 2021). "Halsey: If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  25. ^ Skinner, Tom (July 13, 2021). "Halsey shares eerie trailer for new theatrical film 'If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power'". NME. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b Atkinson, Katie (July 29, 2021). "Halsey Announces Cities & Dates for 'If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power' IMAX Film Along With Godly New Trailer". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  27. ^ @Halsey (August 21, 2021). "The film is Rated R. If you have triggers that fall into the categories of violence, sexual violence, blood, anything pregnancy related, death, etc as indicated in the rating, I respectfully suggest that each individual decide what their personal comfort is with these subjects" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. ^ Shaffer, Claire (July 13, 2021). "Halsey Announces 'If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power' IMAX Film". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  29. ^ Byrne, Suzy (July 30, 2021). "Halsey goes from beautiful to bloody in second trailer for 'If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power' film". Yahoo! Entertainment. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  30. ^ Jump up to: a b Bosselman, Haley (July 13, 2021). "Halsey to Debut 'If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power' IMAX Film Ahead of Album". Variety. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  31. ^ Cella, Jason (July 13, 2021). "Halsey's 'If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power' Movie Coming to IMAX One Night Only". Collider. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  32. ^ Jump up to: a b Lopez, Julyssa (August 25, 2021). "Halsey Explores the Beauty and Brutality of New Motherhood on 'If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  33. ^ Jump up to: a b "Halsey - If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power (Walmart Exclusive) - Vinyl [Exclusive]". Walmart.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  34. ^ "Halsey - If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power (Walmart Exclusive) - CD [Exclusive]". Walmart.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  35. ^ "CD HALSEY - IF I CAN'T HAVE LOVE, I WANT POWER - VERSÃO STANDARD". Umusic Store (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
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