Over the past two decades, music fans have seen a drastic change in how music is made and released. With the advent of streaming, some artists no longer see the reason or need to make a full album; but instead are putting out single upon single to streaming services.
But in the coming year, a number of artists have planned album releases including Lady Gaga, Sir Ringo Starr, and Bad Bunny.
Bad Bunny gets the parade started off on January 5 with “Debi Tirar Mas Fotos” (I Should Have Taken More Photos), a 17 track album.
Three days later on January 8, indie artist Ethel Cain will release her second album “Perverts” – a nine track album she wrote, produced, and recorded in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania and Tallahassee, Florida.
Sir Ringo says, “we’re back to country music, and I love it!’. His new album “Look Up” is set for a January 10 release. The eleven song album was co-written with T-Bone Burnett. Burnett called working with Ringo “a 60 year dream come true.” The album includes collaborations with Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Jucius, Larkin Poe, and Alison Krauss.
Scottish rocker Franz Ferdinand also have an album coming out on January 10 titled “The Human Fear”. Sporting a new drummer – Audrey Tait – the album includes eleven new songs. Frontman Alex Kapranos noted that “making this record was one of the most life-affirming experiences I’ve had.”
Columbian artist Ela Minus is releasing her second album “DIA” on January 17. The new album features 10 songs of electronic music.
Also on January 17, Mac Miller is releasing “Balloonerism” – an album recorded back in 2014 but the estate is only now releasing. Miller died in 2018.
British singer Yola is making a return with the release of new music on January 17 with the EP “My Way”.
A major opera and orchestra enthusiast, Rufus Wainwright spent the Covid lockdown working on new music. Last June he debuted the orchestral epic “Dream Requiem” in Paris with soprano Anna Prohaska, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Radio France children’s choir conducted by Mikko Franck, and narrated by Meryl Streep. The work is being released on January 17.
Having released her last album before the Covid pandemic, FKA twigs will release “EUSEXUA” on January 24. The artist noted the album is “a deeply personal and immersive experience, rooted in connection.”
UK artist Central Cee will release his debut album – “Can’t Rush Greatness” on January 24. He spent 2024 recording the album a various locations around the United Kingdom.
Country music star Kane Brown is taking “The High Road” for his fourth album due out January 24. Brown calls it “my favorite album I’ve ever made”. “The High Road” includes collaborations with Brad Paisley, Khalid, Jelly Roll, Marshmello, and wife Katelyn.
Canadian artist The Weeknd will complete his trilogy of “After Hours”, “Dawn FM”, and “Hurry Up Tomorrow” on January 24.
Latin Grammy Award winning Venezuelan singer Joaquina is releasing her debut studio album “Al Romper La Burbuja” on January 31. Speaking on the album, Joaquina says “it’s a project that I wrote mostly when I was around 19 years, so it reflects a very transitional stage in my life.
New Jersey contemporary indie artist Sharon Van Etten has formed a band call The Attachment Theory. She and the band will release their self-titled debut album on February 7.
Also on February 7, former Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander releases his debut solo album “Polari”. Alexander said, “I was very inspired by how we communicate with each other and what it means to speak a secret language, something I think we all do in some form or another with the people we’re close to.”
After 13 years apart, drummer Mike Portnoy returns to Dream Theater for the February 7 release of “Parasomnia”. It is the 15th album for the progressive metal pioneers.
Bartees Strange are releasing “Horror” on February 14 (Valentine’s Day) – an album they say “reflects on fear and connection”. He adds, “In a way, I think I made this record to reach out to people who may feel afraid of things in their lives, too.”
Canadian singer Alessia Cara makes a Valentine’s Day release with “Love & Hyperbole”. She calls it her “best work to date…or at least my personal favourite”.
Liverpool indie rockers The Wombats is releasing “Oh! The Ocean” on February 14. The album features “over 50 demos into a cathartic exploration of life’s epiphanies.”
UK rocker Sam Fender is releasing “People Watching” on February 21. Fender notes that the album “is about somebody that was like a surrogate mother to me and passed away last November.” He adds, “I was by her side at the end, slept on a chair next to her. It’s about what was going through my head, to and from that place and home.”
Drive By Truckers co-founder Patterson Hood is releasing his solo debut album “Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams” on February 21. The inspiration for the album comes from a natural disaster that occurred in Hood’s Northa Alabama hometown.
Canadian singer and dancer Tate McRae will release her second album “So Close to What” on February 21. Reflecting on making the album she said it was “the most beautiful and exciting journey.”
Hardcore rockers Silverstein will celebrate 25 years of making music on February 21 with the release of “Antibloom”. A second album “Pink Moon” will be released later this year. Band members noted, “they say it takes an artist their whole life to write their debut album, but with starting this band so young, it felt like it took 25 years to write “Antibloom/Pink Moon” — the absolute collection of our musical style and ideas we’ve pioneered over these years.”
On February 28 Tuareg guitarist Mdou Moctar and his band will release an acoustic version of their album “Funeral for Justice” they are calling “Tears of Injustice”. Bass player Mikey Coulton said, “we’re always playing around with arrangements at shows. We wanted to prove that we could do it on a record, too. And there’s a whole other side of the band that comes out when we play a stripped-down set. It becomes something new.”
After a five year absence, Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) is releasing a new album “Sinister Grift” on February 28. Lennox is a member of Animal Collective. The album was recorded in Lennox’s Lisbon home studio; playing nearly all the instruments on the album himself.
Banks is releasing what she call the “big sister” album to “Goddess” – “Off With Her Head” on February 28. Banks noted that after a 10 year absence, she has reunited with the core musicians from her debut album.
Lisa from the K-Pop group BLACKPINK is releasing her debut solo album “Alter Ego” on February 28.
Canadian metal rockers Spiritbox will release their second album “Tsunami Sea” on March 7 and follow shortly with a tour.
On March 14 Coheed and Cambria will release “Vaxis Act III: The Father of Make Believe”. Claudio Sanchez notes, “with every album I try to ‘outdo’ the one before, or at least make something that sounds different and evolved in some way.” The album is a follow-up to Vaxis Act II: A Window of the Waking Mind”.
Lana Del Rey is releasing the 13 track album “The Right Person Will Stay” on May 21. She plans to premiere some of the music from the album during her Stagecoach Festival performance in April.
Wiz Khalifa, Lady Gaga, Chance the Rapper, Miley Cyrus, Blondie, Kesha, and Barry Manilow are all expected to have new releases some time during the year.