You might have observed slow progress in the entertainment industry as all the blockbusters were released virtually on OTT platforms. But the music industry doesn’t know a thing of slowing down. 2020 might have scarred your expectations but the music luminaries have been dropping missiles one after another. 2021 has started with the blast of Taylor swift’s surprise album evermore followed by her quarantine project folklore. When Swifties were enjoying the end of the year with the perfect holiday gift from the singer, Fiona Apple’s long-scheduled Fetch the Bolt Cutters came out in the nick of time.
The albums released at the same time and the world stood still to imbibe the magical essence of the new album. No gigs were allowed to occur in 2020 but technology saved the day. Virtual gigs and online solo concerts brought people from different corners together. For many of us, 2020 ruined all the prophesized plans of attending the hottest music festivals. But the musicians took the challenge seriously and came up with brand new singles o audio streaming platforms to brighten your days.
If you are looking for a muse to make you feel alive again in 2021, music will become your shadow. The artists are not leaving your side easily because they have huge plans to steal your heart again with some mind-blowing albums. You won’t be able to stop dancing with the raspy hit singles from the upcoming artists or Drake’s signature tunes in his upcoming project. It’s time to provoke yourself with the up-to-the-minute singles and long-teased albums from everyone’s favorite music stars like Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, and Adele.
The suave artists have been locked inside their posh residents and worked in the studio for more than ten months. So, you better not be surprised to see more quarantine projects coming out at the beginning of January. Pandemic stopped the wheel of production in 2020 but this year is the turning point for musicians. Even Tik Tok hitmakers have found top spots on music charts which only suggest other mainstream artists to work hard. You can’t really find any pattern of the new music releases from artists like Ringo Starr. Zayn Malik has outdone himself with his new album that might replace his number one debut very soon.
Still, the most certain question remains unanswered: will things become fine again? It is a vital time for the music industry but the uncertain success of vaccination makes it even more crucial. Everyone can just hope that vaccines will soon be ready to roll out and people will gather in the brightest music concerts without a fear.
Let’s keep our despondency aside for a minute and discuss the hot albums coming out this year.
January
Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album (January 8)
It’s easier to pause the flight services and stop the supermarket to open stores in the pandemic, but keeping Morgan Wallen out of music is not possible. His unmasked participation in parties before appearing on Saturday Night Live didn’t stop him from performing his latest song on the show. He has become famous for winning the Country Music Association Award for New Artist of the Year. The year has given him a golden opportunity to polish his innate skills.
His performance on SNL has set the stage on fire with the envious chords of the brand-new singles “7 Summers” and “Still Goin’ Down”. He is trying to push his charisma with the upcoming double-layered album Dangerous, a mix of 30 tracks full of soul.
Wallen said in an interview, “The ‘double album’ idea started off as just a joke between me and my manager,” but, if it works out this year, he will become a giant in Country music.
Ashnikko, demidevil (January 15)
Only a few pop stars can match the standard of Ashnikko’s success. She has been blessed in 2020 with o many hit songs. She has never topped number one on any highly-regarded charts or snatched the Grammy nominees but her powerful Tik Tok snippets have paved a strong foundation in her music career. Many artists are still figuring out the way she holds strong inception of success. If you listen to her viral singles “Stupid” and “Daisy”, you will not take a single minute to find the similarities between two major releases of her life.
The songs are deeply seductive, justifying the decisions of a happy-go-lucky character with repetitious wordplay and groovy beats, but if you look for her story on the internet, you will be amazed to see how different her aura is from those fizzy songs. There is something in the water where she was born! Her jovial smile signals that she carries her heart on her sleeves. She infused the mind-numbing, positive effects of her genuine smile in her first full-length project, a full-grown mixtape demidevil. It was scheduled to release in February but the songs turned out to be leaked. So, friends, it’s out now which features Grimes, Princess Nokia, and Kelis.
Baio, Dead Hand Control (January 29)
Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio takes us to the edge of a new sound from his third solo album in a fast-forward motion. He skipped the disorder in the international music market and straight hits the jackpot with the graceful new singles “Endless Me, Endlessly” and “What Do You Say When I’m Not Around?”
His deep vocals and philharmonic experiments are laced with the savory collection of words. You may feel the gorgeous smell in the season of love with his airy music releases.
Drake, Certified Lover Boy (January, date TBD)
Drake’s face has come up many times in last year’s music awards but it’s just hard to believe that he didn’t dish out a full-length music album since the release of the gigantic album Scorpion. He was not completely in exile from the music scene in 2020. He kept his boat rocking throughout the journey in 2020 with enormous tracks like ‘Popstar’ and other collaborations.
He kept his discography messy with long releases that might look like an album but hold your breath! Those were sold-out EPs The Best in the World Pack and Dark Lane Demo Tape. He knows how to drive his ship away from humdrum and so, he introduced one of the biggest hits of 2020 or Tik Tok chartbuster “Toosie Slide”. The world has to wait a while to dance along with the moody rap songs of Drake because his album is on the way.
Other upcoming Albums
Barry Gibb, Greenfield: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1 (January 8)
Griselda, Conflicted soundtrack (January 8)
Jazmine Sullivan, Heaux Tales (January 8)
Beach Bunny, Blame Game (January 15)
Buck Meek, Two Saviors (January 15)
Zayn, Nobody Is Listening (January 15)
Caroline Shaw, Narrow Sea (January 22)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, New Fragility (January 29)
Madlib and Four Tet, Sound Ancestors (January, date TBD)
February
SG Lewis, times (February 19)
There is hardly anyone who didn’t tap their feet to one of the immersive songs produced by the luminary. He has been graced with beautiful works while collaborating with Victoria Monét on her disco-rave track “Experience,” Dua Lipa on the most-awaited pop album Future Nostalgia standout “Hallucinate.” The 26-year-old meritorious artist recently worked with Channel Tres and Robyn on “Impact”. He churns out a couple of majestic songs from his debut album times. It comes with a string of EPs that featured Clairo, AlunaGeorge, and Ruel. times has made promising collaboration with Lucky Daye and Rhye.
Julia Stone, Sixty Summers (February 19)
Julia Stone makes a comeback after nine long years with her first solo album. It is co-produced by St. Vincent and Thomas Bartlett and it has made amazing collaboration with the National’s Matt Bellinger and Bryce Dessner. Fans of Taylor Swift who fell head over heels with the lyrics on folklore and evermore should give the new album Sixty Summers a try without a doubt. Stone dished out three random singles from the album titled “Break,” “Dance,” and “Unreal”. The music video for “Dance” featuring Susan Sarandon and Danny Glover has become a milestone in her solo music career.
Wild Pink, A Billion Little Lights (February 19)
A Billion Little Lights is not made with the same approach as Wild Pink is famous for. Unlike describing the unruly beauty of the American West, it produces expensive sound experimentations of the contemporary music world. This is not like those double blasts of songs. It has successfully separated from the works of inspiring indie legends like the War on Drugs. Just like his first blockbuster Yolk in the Fur back in 2018, the lavishing project will get you stuck in limbo.
Other Anticipated Albums
Foo Fighters, Medicine at Midnight (February 5)
Femi and Made Kuti, Legacy (February 5)
Slowthai, Tyron (February 5)
The Weather Station, Ignorance (February 5)
Florida Georgia Line, Life Rolls On (February 12)
Pale Waves, Who Am I? (February 12)
The Pretty Reckless, Death by Rock and Roll (February 12)
Sia, Music: Songs From and Inspired by the Motion Picture (February 12)
The Hold Steady, Open Door Policy (February 19)
Katy Kirby, Cool Dry Place (February 19)
Mogwai, As the Love Continues (February 19)
Cloud Nothings, The Shadow I Remember (February 26)
Willie Nelson, That’s Life (February 26)
Anticipated albums in Spring
Loretta Lynn, Still Woman Enough
Anticipated Albums
Arab Strap, As Days Get Dark (March 5)
Teenage Fanclub, Endless Arcade (March 5)
Ringo Starr, Zoom In (March 19)
Evanescence, The Bitter Truth (March 26)
Greta Van Fleet, The Battle at Garden’s Gate (April 16)
Weezer, Van Weezer (May 7)
Albums with the possibility to come out in 2021
Adele
Adele became the front face of the news for several weeks when she hosted SNL back in October. She told that she was lost in the oblivion of nothing new. Last year, the Corona virus jeopardized everyone’s vitality but she had been on a rough patch with her divorce. With eventful months full of stories of her dating Skepta and attending reggae festivals, she found herself to be exhausted throughout the year. Hopefully, she has something new to start this year.
Cardi B
It was just one song “WAP” and the whole world got insane with the drippy and juicy music video. the hotness of Cardi B saved the world from the regular humdrum and helped us to stop worrying about the virus for a few hours. She showed that she has earned the throne by winning the Grammy and setting a record on Youtube. Cardi B stated that she kept herself busy for the last few months because her new album was in the making process. It gives us hope to hear when she says, “If you all are so curious to know about my relationship and blah, blah, blah, I’m going to put it in the fuckin’ music, and you can buy it, too.”
Billie Eilish
The young pop singer maintained a never-fetching record of bagging the Grammys. She didn’t take a break to enjoy her success. 2020 has given her inspirations to release charismatic singles such as “NoTime to Die” and “My future”. She will become busier with her anticipated album and the highly-acclaimed documentary The World’s a Little Blurry.