Before unveiling the Renaissance-inspired cover art to her If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power album, Halsey said she had something “very special” planned. As it turns out, that something “special” is actually a theatrical film set to her upcoming LP, which is set to be released in IMAX theaters.
Halsey unveiled the trailer to her If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, which is described in press materials as an “an hour-long film experience.” It was written by Halsey and directed by Colin Tilley, who previously worked with her on the videos for her chart-topping tracks “Without Me” and “You Should Be Sad.”
The trailer stars the singer as a disenfranchised Victorian queen who enacts revenge on those who have wronged her. The visual also features an ominous description of the plot: “This film is about the lifelong social labyrinth of sexuality and birth. The greatest horror stories never told were burned with the bodies of those who died in that labyrinth…”
Ahead of the trailer’s release, Halsey described the inspiration behind her LP. “This album is a concept album about the joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth,” she said. “[…] 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.”
Watch Halsey’s If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power film trailer above.
If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power is out 8/27 via Capitol. Pre-order the album here.