Halsey Hits No. 1 For The First Time As Her New Album Opens On Top
Halsey didn't quite make it to the top spot on the Billboard 200 this week with her new album The Great Impersonator. The singer-songwriter launches her latest full-length in the runner-up rung on the list of the most-consumed albums in the country, which is a position she's tallied in multiple times in the past.
While The Great Impersonator might not be the No. 1 album in America, it does manage to rule one list. Halsey debuts her new pop-rock studio effort in first place on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart, and it marks her first leader on that genre-specific tally.
The Great Impersonator marks Halsey's second trip to the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart. It's her first No. 1 and top 10 title, but 10 years ago, she debuted on the list. Her Room 93 EP peaked at No. 37, and it spent just two frames on the roster.
Halsey leads a Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart that features new arrivals and comebacks from some of the most famous names in those styles. Hers is the loftiest of half a dozen debuts, with the Grateful Dead (Dave's Picks, Volume 52: The Downs At Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM - 9/11/83, No. 7), Tears for Fears (Songs for a Nervous Planet, No. 20), 311 (Full Bloom, No. 25), Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (Live at Fillmore East 1969, No. 28), and Amyl and the Snifters (Cartoon Darkness, No. 45) all landing on the tally for the first time. Green Day's American Idiot is also back at No. 9.
Halsey's new project starts its time on two charts at No. 1. In addition to the Top Rock & Alternative Albums list, she also dominates the Top Alternative Albums ranking, but The Great Impersonator is not her first ruler on that list.
The Grammy-nominated musician first found herself at No. 1 on the Top Alternative Albums chart in 2015 with Badlands, her breakout project. She returned to the summit in 2021 with If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power. Her Room 93 EP also appeared on the roster, but only at No. 20, and only for a single frame.
The Great Impersonator arrives with almost 93,500 equivalent units shifted. That sum includes almost 81,000 sales, according to Luminate. In most other weeks, those numbers would likely be enough to ensure Halsey hit No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and Top Album Sales charts, but in this moment, she's beaten to the throne by Tyler, the Creator's new release Chromakopia.
