Much to the chagrin of music nerds, the Coronavirus pandemic provided artists with a justified excuse to delay their releases. The chances of an A-lister releasing their crème de la crème while they can’t touch stages around the globe is slim to none. That being said quarantine did give us some memorable moments this past year and a half, such as the lockdown-inspired hyper pop Charli XCX album “how I’m feeling now” and Lil Uzi Vert’s long-awaited “Eternal Atake” (to read how this shifted things in hip-hop, check out this article from HOLR). However, with the music industry slowly retaining back to normal, it’s safe to assume that we are about to hear some key artist’s top-notch output. Here are 5 of the most anticipated albums coming our way this summer.
Image Courtesy of Universal
Lorde: Solar Power – August 20th
The New Zealand singer began working on new music back in 2019 when a trip to the earth’s southernmost continent proved inspirational. A book containing photos of her expedition to Antarctica was released as sort of a prelude to the album, but the untimely passing of her dog Pearl required the singer to take some time off. On June 10th this year Lorde released her first song since her album Melodrama 4 years back titled “Solar Power”, and confirmed via email that her album of the same name will be arriving August 20th. The singer-songwriter described the album as “a celebration of the natural world, an attempt at immortalizing the deep, transcendent feelings I have when I’m outdoors”
Image Courtesy of Rolling Stone
Lil Nas X: Montero – TBD
The contentious rapper/singer has had no shortage of headlines this year. Whether it be the “Satan Shoes” he dropped earlier this year that contained a drop of human blood, or his Cleopatra-themed performance of “Montero (Call Me By Your Name”) at this year’s BET awards. Fans were treated to a trailer for the 22-year olds debut album titled Montero on June 29th, containing a montage of moments from “Old Town Road” and “Montero”. A tracklist or release date has yet to be released, but the trailer contained what is assumed to be a snippet of a new track from the album.
Image Courtesy of Genius
Drake: Certified Lover Boy – TBD/End of Summer
Since 2019 a collection of snippets and Instagram clips have left fans anxiously waiting for the 6-God’s sixth studio album. Certified Lover Boy was originally scheduled for a release this January, except a knee injury forced Drake to devote his time to rehab and recovery rather than studio time. In an Instagram story, he notified fans that the album would be delayed and released the 3-track EP Scary Hours 2 to tide things over. Recently at the Ultimate Rap League’s N.O.M.E XL battle rap event on June 12, Drake claimed in a very nonchalant way that his album would be out by the end of this summer.
Image Courtesy of Variety
Billie Eilish: Happier Than Ever – July 30th
Written and produced entirely by Eilish and her older brother Finneas, the 19-year olds sophomore album is set to release at the end of this month. Two singles from the upcoming album have been released so far, and according to an interview with Stephen Colbert, the album was heavily influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic. The singer-songwriter has stayed active this year, appearing on the cover of British Vogue and featuring in an Appletv+ documentary.
Image Courtesy of Glamour
Adele: Fourth Album – TBD
Ever since her 2015 release “25”, which went on to become the 4th best selling album of the 21st century, the UK singer-songwriter has kept relatively quiet. Originally her fourth album was confirmed for a release in September 2020, but due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the release date was pushed back. On an episode of SNL back in October of 2020 she revealed that her album wasn’t finished, as she wasn’t the musical guest for the evening. Fingers crossed the album comes out sometime this summer.