Has Halsey Settled Into a Grammy Genre?
‘If I Can’t Have Love…’ could be a leading alternative contender, or fall between a rock and a pop place
Even from an
artist known for constant reinvention, Halsey turned plenty of industry heads with the June announcement that Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross had produced “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power.” Under their supervision, the project certainly leans more alternative than prior Halsey releases but defies easy musical categorization, as its songs have garnered airplay and playlisting on multiple genre charts across radio and DSPS. Still, Capitol’s focus has been on amplifying the album as a body of work, which meant foregoing the traditional rollout of singles or videos in favor of a -minute conceptual film, which screened in Imax theaters in August and bowed Oct. on HBO Max.
Could that musical diversity be a boon for Halsey, who has previously only been nominated twice, for featured appearances on albums by Justin Bieber and the Chainsmokers? Or could it hamper their chances in a category such as alternative album, where St. Vincent’s “Daddy’s Home” is considered the front-runner? Could “If I Can’t Have Love” make noise in rock, where it would likely face off against tried-and-true acts such as Foo Fighters or upstarts including Machine Gun Kelly? And how might it fare against such fellow crossover acts as the Kid Laroi and Olivia Rodrigo? “Alternative is different than it was when that category originated, and St. Vincent’s record is quite different than Halsey’s,” says Siriusxm host Lori Majewski, who has championed the Halsey album on the air. “That’s why I think Capitol would be smart to try their hand at the rock categories.”
Capitol head of marketing Arjun Pulijal declines to disclose the categories for which the label submitted Halsey. “Our intent was to position this album as an art-driven body of work, as opposed to a pop singles-driven campaign. It’s about making a cultural statement.”
Adds Capitol head of A&R Jeremy Vuernick: “It’s a testament to the heart and soul of everyone involved that they were willing to challenge genre identities, rollouts, processes and risk-taking. That is inherently, across the board, what this album is about.”