Description
Halsey – Manic – Compact Disc
Comes in a gatefold Digisleeve
Halsey’s Manic is her third studio album, released on January 17, 2020 by Capitol Records. It’s the record where she deliberately stops trying to sound like one “version” of Halsey and instead builds an album around range—genre range, emotional range, and even voice/persona range. She described it at the time as her most personal work, and you can hear that in the structure: Manic isn’t a tight concept album so much as a curated self-portrait, switching styles because the point is that her life and headspace don’t sit in one style.
Sound and approach. Compared to the darker pop of Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, Manic is more eclectic and song-to-song. It moves through pop, alternative pop, R&B-leaning tracks, and guitar-based singer-songwriter moments, with production that ranges from minimal, diary-like ballads to radio-built hooks. The producer list is broad (including frequent collaborator Lido and a roster of big pop names), which matches the “many rooms in one house” feeling. The album also uses short interludes (“Ashley,” “Dominic’s Interlude,” “I’m Not Mad”) to break the record into emotional chapters rather than sonic ones.
Singles and key songs. The rollout was unusually long and multi-phase, starting months before the album. Major singles include “Without Me” (originally released in 2018 but later included on the album), “Graveyard,” “You Should Be Sad,” and “Be Kind” (with Marshmello, released later in 2020 and associated with the Manic era). “Without Me” became the era’s biggest commercial moment, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it’s a big reason Manic had such a wide audience beyond Halsey’s core fanbase.
Features and standout collaborations. The guest list is small but purposeful: Dominic Fike appears on “Dominic’s Interlude,” SUGA (BTS) features on “SUGA’s Interlude,” and Alanis Morissette appears on “Alanis’ Interlude.” Those aren’t “radio features” so much as mood-shifts—each one emphasizes a different side of the album (indie looseness, global pop/rap crossover, and legacy alt-pop introspection).
Chart performance and editions. Manic debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, and it became Halsey’s biggest first-week performance at the time. The standard edition is typically listed as 16 tracks (with some regional/retailer variations), and there are also expanded/alternate versions in circulation depending on market.
Why it matters in her catalog. If Badlands is the “arrival” and Hopeless Fountain Kingdom is the big cinematic concept, Manic is the pivot where she centers the writing voice over the aesthetic—less world-building, more self-exposure. It’s also a key “streaming-era album” example that still plays well front-to-back: the styles change, but the emotional through-line is consistent—an album about contradictions, coping, and trying to tell the truth even when the truth comes in different moods on different days.
Brand new, never played and still in the factory plastic sealed
Track Listing
Ashley
Clementine
Graveyard
You Should Be Sad
Forever… Is A Long Time
Dominic’s Interlude
I Hate Everybody
3am
Without Me
Finally / Beautiful Stranger
Alanis’ Interlude
Killing Boys
Suga’s Interlude
More
Still Learning
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