If you're anything like me, spring break means that the season of music festivals and summer concerts are now within reach. It also marks a point where good music is (typically) easy to come by, but with an influx of new music it's hard to separate the great from the mediocre, which is why I created the following list to help you focus on a select few artists.
Disclaimer: the following albums are not ranked in any order.
1. Drake, "More Life" (TBD)
Drake has been playing with his fans for the longest time, always alluding to the coming of a new album. At this point in time we have no idea what is to come in his career. Could there be a Young Money reunion on the horizon? Or another song to reign spreme over "Hotline Bling"? Your guess is as good as mine, but hopefully we'll know in the next few months.
2. Taylor Swift (TBA)
It's been nearly three years since Taylor Swift released "1989" and since then we've been searching for clues of her next album. A breadcrumb was left when Ed Sheeran talked about his relationship with Swift in an interview. It was here where we saw our first ray of hope.
3. Katy Perry (TBA)
Ever since the election, Katy Perry has stayed pretty mum on the progress of her upcoming album. Ever since her Grammy-nominated Prism album which contained hits like "Roar", "Dark Horse" and "Unconditionally" we've only seen a small assortment of singles. We can only hope that she releases her album now rather than later.
4. Lorde (TBA)
It has been four years since Lorde's last released her critically acclaimed "Pure Heroine", and throughout these grueling years we've had only vague posts to go on. Yet within the past week she has already managed to rock the boat with her new single "Green Light" which debuted on the Hot 100.
5. Lecrae (TBA)
Even though Lecrae released a new album a little more than a year ago, it's hard not to expect another album especially when he keeps teasing his fans with new music.
6. Chance the Rapper (TBA)
Even though Chance the Rapper released an album just last year, it's hard not to be impatient especially with rumors swirling around a possible collaboration with Childish Gambino (Donald Glover). Even if these rumors are not true, I'm sure he'll have plenty of tricks up his sleeve in the form of surprise collaborations.
7. Beck (TBA)
Even if Beck's name isn't immediately recognizable, some of his songs are. Outside of being the victim of one of Kanye West's infamous rants we have Beck to thank for the song used in the Acura and Fifa17 commercials. To say the least, we are all waiting to see what this artist will release after his GRAMMY winning album, "Morning Phase".
8. Zara Larsson - "So Good" (March 17th)
Zara Larsson's star has risen greatly since her days on Sweden's version of America's Got Talent. Her unique voice and take on modern pop music has made her a rare find in the pop genre. She's already seen three songs make it in the Top 40: my favorites being the tropical sounding "Lush Life" peaked at No. 5, her duet with MNEK, "Never Forget You", which peaked at No. 5, and the risque "Ain't My Fault" which debuted on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite these achievements Larsson has yet to release a full album on the international stage, a boundary she will break on March 17th.
9. TLC (TBD)
If you're anything like me, TLC's hit "No Scrubs" is still on replay. Even though we all thought that this pop group's career would end after the unexpected death of Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, and now nearly 16 years later since their last studio album we hear about the makings of a new album between their remaining members.
10. The Chainsmokers
Secretly we all knew that the Chainsmokers were here to stay since they released the viral hit "#SELFIE". Flash forward two years and we're waiting for the American DJ duo to release an album to follow-up their successful singles: "Roses", "Closer", and "Don't Let Me Down".
In conclusion, there is a lot of great music to look forward too in the coming months and year.
I hope you enjoyed this piece on the top 10 upcoming albums, feel free to leave any albums that I missed in the comments or shoot me a tweet so that I know what to add for a possible part two.
