Halsey’s Newest Album Was Blocked From Debuting at No. 1 for the 2nd Time in a Row
On Aug. 27, Halsey released her fourth studio album If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power. The album was produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and Halsey also made an IMAX film to accompany the release of the album. While If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, it was blocked from the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 by Kanye West‘s surprise release, Donda. This is the second time in a row one of Halsey’s albums has been kept from the top spot on the Billboard 200 due to a surprise album, as the same thing happened with the singer’s 2020 album Manic.
Halsey’s new album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200
On Sept. 5, Billboard published the new rankings of the Billboard 200, and West’s album Donda debuted at No. 1. Donda was delayed multiple times before ultimately being released on Aug. 29. Even with the delays, the album was highly-anticipated and West held multiple listening parties for Donda leading up to its release.
Halsey’s If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power debuted at the No. 2 spot and boasted strong sales. According to Billboard, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power is “the singer-songwriter’s fourth straight, and total, album to reach the top two.”
Billboard reports, “If I Can’t Have Love starts with 98,000 equivalent album units, and of that sum, album sales comprise 70,500 (making it the top-selling album of the week), SEA units comprise 26,500 (equaling 34.76 million on-demand streams of the set’s 13 tracks) and TEA units comprise 1,000. Of If I Can’t Have Love‘s 70,500 in total album sales, physical sales comprise 52,500 (across CD, vinyl LP and cassette configurations), while digital album sales comprise 18,000.”
This is the second time a surprise release blocked Halsey from the No. 1 spot
Halsey released their third studio album Manic on Jan. 17, 2020. Like If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, it debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 after being blocked by a surprise album drop.
“If I Can’t Have Love was announced on July 7 with its Friday, Aug. 27 release date in place. Pre-orders began on July 7, as well. West’s Donda, which debuts at No. 1 ahead of If I Can’t Have Love, surprise-dropped on Aug. 29, also with an active pre-order campaign from digital retail,” wrote Billboard.
Billboard’s report continues, “Halsey’s previous album, Manic, also bowed at No. 2 behind another surprise-release album, Eminem’s Music to Be Murdered By. Both Manic and Music were released on Jan. 17, 2020. The former had four months of advance promotion while the latter arrived with no warning.”
‘If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power’ debuted at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart
Even though If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power missed out on debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, it still reached the top spot on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart. The Top Album Sales chart ranks albums each week based on traditional album sales.
According to Billboard, “Of If I Can’t Have Love’s sales of nearly 70,500 in the week ending Sept. 2, physical album sales comprise just over 52,500 (with 25,300 on vinyl, 27,200 on CD and a negligible sum on cassette) and 18,000 via digital download.”
If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power is available in stores and on streaming and music-purchasing platforms.
