Adele! Kanye! Rihanna! Frank Ocean! Sufjan! Seriously, we’re freaking out.
Adele, TBA
Thanks to a single, winking tweet from Adele, many fans expected the follow-up to her world-conquering sophomore album last year. However, 2014 came and went without so much as a song title and the project remains shrouded in mystery. In a recent interview, long-time collaborator Paul Epworth refused to comment on the sound or status of the album, saying only that it “will come when it's ready." Will she pull a Beyoncé? Collaborate with Pharrell? Make good on her promise to go country? Only time will tell because her people aren't talking.
XL Recordings
Kanye West, TBA
Appreciators of G.O.O.D. music are starved for new ‘Ye after a 2014 in which a much-anticipated follow-up to Yeezus was teased repeatedly but never produced. One track allegedly leaked, while another made a brief and tantalizing appearance in a World Cup Adidas commercial. On New Year’s Eve, Kanye threw fans for another loop by premiering the first official taste of his next project — an emotionally devastating ballad written from the perspective of his late mother and featuring Paul McCartney. Dubbed “Only One,” the piano-driven tearjerker is about as far from the queasy pyrotechnics of Yeezus as you can get. And with several more McCartney collaborations promised in a press release, the only thing we know is that everything we thought we knew about Yeezus II is wrong. New day, new ‘Ye.
Slaven Vlasic / Getty Images for (RED)
Rihanna, TBA
It’s been two years since Rihanna’s last album and expectations are at an all-time high. Once known for releasing a new album every year, pop’s hardest working hit-maker decided to take some time off in 2013. While she continued to listen to demos and "phuck round" in the studio, it wasn’t until October 2014 that she really buckled down and got to work. According to insiders, her eighth album — dubbed #R8 by fans — will be a mix of ballads and edgier, Hudson Mohawke-esque bangers. She's also reportedly recorded a song titled "Burritos," so, yeah, it sounds like this album will be worth the wait.
Def Jam
Kendrick Lamar, TBA
What we know: 1) “i” and the untitled track he performed as the last musical guest ever on Colbert both slay. 2) His last album Good Kid M.A.A.D City was a rare kind of insta-classic revelation that floored just about everyone exposed to it. 3) Kendrick himself is a rare music artist, unafraid to take risks, confound fans, and say what’s on his mind in this era where nearly everyone is content to play it safe. All that adds up to next-level anticipation for whatever it is King Kendrick has planned, and we’re told from a label rep who has heard the album that our expectations aren’t misplaced. “I can’t tell you anything about the album,” he told us. “Except it’s going to blow you away.” Of course, label reps are paid to make hyperbole sound natural, but we are completely inclined to agree here.
Interscope
