Halsey claims label won’t let them release song without faking “a viral moment on Tiktok”Halsey claims label won’t let them release song without faking “a viral moment on Tiktok”

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Halsey has inadvertently created a viral TikTok moment by claiming that their record label is forcing them to create a viral TikTok moment.

In a TikTok posted on Sunday, we see Halsey frowning as a song — presumably the one they want to release — plays in the background. The text reads, “Basically, I have a song that I love that I want to release ASAP, but my record label won’t let me.”

The text continues, “I’ve been in this industry for eight years and I’ve sold over 165 million records and my record company is saying I can’t release it unless they can fake a viral moment on TikTok.”

“Everything is marketing and they are doing this to every artist these days,” the text concludes. “I just want to release music, man and I deserve better tbh. I’m tired.”

In the comments, fans were indignant on Halsey’s behalf, while a few joked, “plot twist this is the viral tiktok they planned.”

Then, Halsey posted receipts: A video of themselves listening to someone who presumably works at their label, telling them how the TikTok rollout should go. When the label guy asks Halsey why they look upset, they say, “Honestly, I just hate this. It sucks.” “Oh, I know,” he replies. “I hate it.”

The text over the video reads, “I wish I was kidding lol.”

When a fan wrote in the comments, “What counts as ‘viral’ tho?” Halsey replied, “It’s like…if it doesn’t get a certain amount of views or likes or [whatever] they will just keep making me make videos and push [the song’s release] back until they’re happy.”

“Reverse psychology this IS the marketing scheme,” another fan commented.

So far, according to Variety, Halsey’s label hasn’t commented.

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