Without question, 2017 was a triumph for music. The year started off with new albums from Kehlani and Migos, while Kendrick Lamar have us the subtle reminder that he holds the rap scene in the palm of his hand; the year was then finished off with the three part album debut of the world’s greatest boyband, BROCKHAMPTON. It was a year of new age musical endeavors and pushing boundaries within the music world never before seen since Prince and David Bowie, respectively. Last year of music brought on more heart to the premise of each album release, something very much lacking in prior years.
With the end of 2017, standards are held high for 2018 and artists who are preparing to release their music. Here’s a list of artists with albums expected to see the charts this year:
BROCKHAMPTON, Team Effort
The world thought that with the release of SATURATION I, II and III, it was the last of the boy band. With a particularly vague announcement about a new album, the BROCKHAMPTON boys are going to be coming back with Team Effort sometime this year. No word on a release date, unfortunately.
Justin Timberlake, Man Of The Woods
According to Vulture, Jessica Biel described JT’s album as “Wild West… but now,” which doesn’t give much, but maybe just enough to want to stick around to see just what kind of theme and sound the album is going to follow. The album is set to see release in early February.
Hayley Kiyoko, EXPECTATIONS
After patiently waiting, LGBTQ+ icon Hayley Kiyoko has announced the album cover for her upcoming studio album that is set to come out in spring. EXPECTATIONS is expected to be a perfect continuation of her constant battle to make music for queer girls, who are fairly lacking in terms of representation in mainstream media, especially music.
Camila Cabello, Camila
Sure, she’s rung in a lot of success from her singles — especially Havana — but judgement will lie with the release of her album on Jan. 12. She has already proved she is more than capable of standing on her own, since her departure from girl band, Fifth Harmony. Her album will set in stone the kind of artist she really is or has the potential to be.
Calpurnia, TBA
If you haven’t heard of them, they’re about to make sure that you do. With the front man being Stranger Things’ very own Finn Wolfhard, Calpurnia serves as a force to be reckoned with in the world of rock. So far, there’s only word of a studio EP they’ve recorded with the help of Twin Peak’s front man, Cadien Lake James, which is set to come out sometime this year. As far as an album goes, there’s not a single whisper in terms of a release date, much less a name, but Wolfhard has previously expressed that he wants to release an album.
Arctic Monkeys, TBA
For those of you who don’t know who the Arctic Monkeys are, they are the leading band in combining sex with psychedelia. Their self-titled album released in 2014 caused an epidemic of teenage girls and probably even invented the use of the choker for a while (until it died and then Lana Del Rey seemingly revived it). AM’s bassist, Nick O’Malley, confirmed the release of the album and even told motorcycle magazine, For The Ride, that “if it isn’t, we’ve got problems.”
Ariana Grande, TBA
Fans weren’t sure whether or not she was going to be releasing an album in 2018, considering Dangerous Woman is now 2-years-old and also the tragedy she had endured in Manchester. Either way, after confirming through a tweet that she is back in the studio, she’s on a radar for an album release this year. Fingers crossed the release date gets announced sooner rather than later.
THE 1975, Music For Cars
Following the most amazing release of their 2016 album, I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet Unaware Of It, it’s kind of hard to think that his band could follow up with something that could even begin to be compared to their 2016 release. The 1975 is most known for changing their entire setup with no warning at all and holding their fan base to anticipation; we expect nothing less with the upcoming release of Music For Cars. While it doesn’t have an official release date, it’s expected to drop sometime this year.
MGMT, Little Dark Age
Having released three songs already, one of them just recently seeing the light on Jan. 5, it’s no secret that the enigmatic MGMT is going to release an album this year. Little Dark Age is a highly anticipated release, considering their last album debuted nearly five years ago. Already, “Little Dark Age,” “When You Die,” and “Hand It Over” are promising singles and just a little taste of what their album is bound to be.
Troye Sivan, TBA
2017 was a year of wondering for Troye Sivan’s fans. They wondered if he was in the studio, if he was even going to continue with music and if 2018 was going to be the year they got a new album. Almost as if answering prayers, he tweeted about releasing music soon, and Jan. 5 havoc rung among fans, as he tweeted a cryptic picture of a billboard with no information except for “6 DAYS” scripted in white along the black background.
Get excited, because by the looks of this list, it seems as though 2018 is prepared to come through with a lot of incredible music.
