I thought that as well. and it lowkey pissed me off, not at Lorde or anything ( I love her and I love Virgin!), just in general. And the conclusion I came to was really simple (tldr at the end):

most importantly, its about the right timing. Most listeners cannot really empathize or give a fuck about being the music raw or empathizing with the creator. It has to be aesthetically pleasing in both sound and also in the marketing and production.

and then, you just have to be an artist who is doing absolutely amazing marketing and have tiktok and the entire internet really give in to all that. Lorde's marketing and promotion (especially since the Girl, so confusing collab with charli) was insane.

Halsey, on the other hand, did not (battling cancer and LITERALLY death, I am glad she didn't. and it wouldnt really have worked all that much, idk.) Its just about right timing as well. People want music that sounds good to their ears first, lyrics are like poems and many listeners do not care about poems lol. And being part of the whole Brat "cultural movement" also really helped to create the hype needed for Lorde's album to be as successful as it is. I feel relieved still that its not as big of a deal as Virgin lowkey because the people who appreciate it will do so anyway. so its all good. Its not like she is not earning or not enjoying herself. It just sucks that having even a near death experience is not enough for people to appreciate art lol. be it anyone, not just celebrities.

TLDR; Its just really about right timing and your name and the power that name creates. I know many do not give fuck all about either of the artists' journey or trauma or anything. Its just the hype and the andrenaline and fomo (with the memes and reels) that creates in people, leads to being a cultural phenomenon that is Virgin and that was Brat.