- Rihanna
She promised us the album in 2019, but here we are with no new Rihanna music. That’s not to say she was just sitting around all year, though. She has been busy establishing herself as a business mogul, but we’ve been craving music. The music is expected to be very reggae and dancehall influenced, as she has previously mentioned, and we’re ready to hear it, as we have previously mentioned.
2. Adele
We thought surely this album (or at least a single) was coming last year because of the several reports claiming it. Perfection takes time, though, and we are more than happy to wait for what Adele has to offer us next, though we would appreciate it sooner than later. The vibe of the songs is expected to be much more upbeat than you might be used to hearing from Adele. 2019 was a difficult year for Adele, but it seems like she got through to the other side and is feeling much better, so I hope she really is doing well (and I hope we get some new music soon.
3. Justin Bieber
Five years since Purpose, Justin Bieber’s new album appears to be almost finished. He looks to be taking over 2020 with his new single, new docuseries, new album, and new tour, not to mention whatever else he has planned. Rumored to be released in March, and rumored to be titled either Forever or R&Bieber, the album is expected to feature collabs with Post Malone, Travis Scott, and Kehlani among others. “Yummy” was just released on January 3, but he does not look to be slowing down.
4. Beyoncé
This woman does not seem to ever take a break. Though it has been four years since her most recent album, Lemonade, she has supplied the Hive with The Carters joint album, her Homecoming Live Album, and all of her music she did for The Lion King: The Gift. She is rumored to have been shooting some music videos for her own project, and rumors are swirling about a possible tour, so it is likely she could release a new album of solo work this year.
5. Selena Gomez
We have waited so long, and while the “droplets” made the wait a little less painful, it has still been a long time without a new album from Selena. “Lose You To Love Me” and “Look At Her Now” were the perfect transition into this era, and based on the snippets from the album trailer, we have a lot to look forward to from this long-awaited project. Kid Cudi and 6LACK are featured on two different songs on this album, so we are eager to hear those collabs (and the rest of the album, obviously) on January 10.
6. Lady Gaga
The fans have been on the edge of their seats to hear anything regarding Lady Gaga’s new album, but she has kept relatively quiet. We know she has been in the studio for months working with different collaborators. This will be her first music since the highly successful A Star Is Born movie and soundtrack, so while expectations are high, I have no doubt in my mind that she will deliver quality as she always does.
7. Dan + Shay
This duo has shot to the top over the last couple of years, racking up hit after hit on the charts. They never seem to leave an award show empty-handed, and they are currently on a successful crossover journey that seamlessly bridges the gap between country and pop. Their most recent single, “10,000 Hours” with Justin Bieber, is expected to appear on this album. We’re hoping to see another female collab (maybe someone like Demi Lovato) on this album since we heard how great that worked on “Keeping Score” featuring Kelly Clarkson. After their huge success with their self-titled smash of an album and its singles “Tequila” and “Speechless,” there’s no telling how massive this next album could be.
8. Demi Lovato
Having recently signed with Scooter Braun, it seems that Demi’s comeback will be a big deal. We have all been anxiously awaiting the arrival of new music, but we have also wanted her to be well enough and ready to do so. She is a powerhouse of an artist, and she is also expanding her acting career with an upcoming arc on NBC’s Will & Grace. Now, we count down the days until that new music.
9. Megan Thee Stallion
I named her one of our Artists of the Year 2019, and I see no reason that she couldn’t carry that over in 2020. While she has released a series of mixtapes and EPs, her official debut album is anticipated for this year. She will surely be featured on a number of other artists’ projects, as well. She is rumored to have collabs with Nicki Minaj, SZA, Lizzo, and more on the way. Every project she has a new alter ego: “Tina Snow” on her Tina Snow EP, “Hot Girl Meg” for her Fever mixtape, and “Suga” will apparently be her next new personality we meet.
10. Halsey
One of the few albums on this list that has been officially announced Halsey’s new album Manic has been a long time coming, with its lead single “Without Me” having been released in late 2018. She then released “Nightmare,” which will not appear on the album, but the most recent single “Graveyard,” which I named one of MusicNewsRumor’s Best Songs of 2019, will be on Manic. A promo single, “Finally // beautiful stranger,” signaled that this album will be taking several different directions artistically and sonically.
11. Morgan Wallen
Morgan Wallen is on the rise to being one of the biggest country artists of this generation, and his following is only growing. You might know him as the one with the mullet, but I promise he is so much more than that. His style blends old country with new country, and his rough voice mixed with his clever songwriting makes for a perfect combo. He surprise-released a new song titled “This Bar” on New Year’s Eve, which is expected to be on this album. He has previously promised his sophomore album would arrive in 2020, and we will be waiting on that day.
12. Cardi B
Cardi has been hard at work on the follow-up to her debut, Invasion of Privacy, and she has said that it won’t be conforming to what’s popular in rap today. She seems to be transcending into a different sound, as you can hear on her most recent songs like “Press.” She is also sure to have some impressive collabs both on other people’s projects as well as her own.
13. Kesha
Kesha’s High Road will be released on January 31, and the most exciting thing about it to me might just be the exciting collaborations. My most anticipated of them all is “Kinky” by Kesha featuring Ke$ha, which already sounds iconic in itself. Add that to the list of Sturgill Simpson, Brian Wilson, Big Freedia, and Wrabel. Coming in at 15 songs, we can’t wait to hear the entire album.
14. Sam Hunt
Sam Hunt is a mystery in the best kind of way. His debut album, Montevallo, was chock full of #1’s, but after that album, he became more subdued and did not release much music over the following years. He did release “Body Like A Back Road,” one of the biggest country songs on the charts of the 2010s, before releasing “Kinfolks” in 2019, and most recently “Sinning With You” in January 2020.
15. Childish Gambino
Many people have wondered where Childish Gambino’s new album has been, and it’s pretty clear when you look at all that Donald Glover has been busy with in the many facets of his multi-talented career these past few years. Between his critically acclaimed FX series “Atlanta,” starring in Solo: A Star Wars Story, and voicing Simba in Disney’s latest adaptation of The Lion King, it makes sense why we don’t have the album yet. Because “This Is America” was such a hit and because he has previously said this would be his last album under the Childish Gambino alter ego, it is clear why it is so highly anticipated.
16. Dixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks have not released an album in so long, but that definitely does not mean we have forgotten about them. They have been working for much of 2019 with Jack Antonoff (you might know him from his work as Bleachers or producing for work most recently for Taylor Swift, Lorde, and Lana Del Rey). Natalie Maines recently revealed that the album is titled Gaslighter, and there are rumors of a new single within the next couple of months and a tour rumored for summer 2020.
17. Bruno Mars
24k Magic was one of the biggest albums of 2017, and it racked up numerous awards, so there is understandable hype for its follow-up. Bruno has kept busy between touring that album and working on his next body of work. In January 2019, he and Cardi B reunited to release a second collab, “Please Me,” and it’s possible that song could appear on his new album.
18. Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar has been laying relatively low since his critically acclaimed album, DAMN. He has hinted that the wait between albums this time around would be longer than usual, and it has been difficult to tell where his in the creative process, but we are ready.
19. Niall Horan
Niall Horan has released two songs off of the album already with “Nice to Meet Ya” and “Put A Little Love on Me,” and if the rest of the album is as good as these, we’re in for a real treat. We’re hoping to see a collab with Lewis Capaldi, who he will be touring with this year, on the tracklist.
20. Charlie Puth
Charlie Puth recently released a trio of singles in 2019 titled “I Warned Myself,” “Mother,” and “Cheating On You,” but he said those were standalone releases that will not appear on this new album. As great as those songs were, we can’t wait to hear what actually made it onto this album.
21. Normani
Normani’s debut album feels like it has been a long time coming because it has. She has made sure it was just perfect before releasing it into the world, because, as she has said before, you can only make your first album once. “Motivation” was one of the best songs released in 2019, and she is expected to have some impressive collabs on her debut. She already has a potential hit on her hands with her upcoming Megan Thee Stallion collab “Diamonds” for the ‘Birds of Prey‘ Movie Soundtrack, which could serve as the perfect segue to her album rollout.
22. Miley Cyrus
Miley released her SHE IS COMING EP last year, and she will be releasing her new album this year. She previously announced that the album would be made up of a trilogy of EP releases, SHE IS COMING then SHE IS HERE then SHE IS EVERYTHING. Each drop acts as a different chapter to the trilogy. It is not clear if this is still the release strategy, but we need her to release that song “Bad Karma” really soon, because we’ve heard snippets, and it sounds amazing. She has very recently started teasing new music with social media posts of a new photo shoot wearing a shirt that says, “SHE IS HERE,” rumored to be the title of the next EP of the trilogy, so it must be coming pretty soon.
23. Kelly Clarkson
As if she hasn’t been doing enough, we have the nerve to say, “Where is the music?” But, Kelly Clarkson really will be releasing new music this year. Her new single is reportedly titled “I Dare You To Love,” and it is expected to be released very early 2020. An album could also be coming soon because she is doing a Vegas residency, and her talk show gives her the prime platform to promote it.
24. Jonas Brothers
They just made their comeback in early 2019, but apparently, they already have more new music ready. They have been working with Ryan Tedder again, which was a successful collaboration on Happiness Begins, so we’re excited to see what the pairing has done next.
25. Kelsea Ballerini
She has released two songs off of the project so far that could not be any more different. “homecoming queen?” and “club” deliver the two sides of Kelsea that we love. The first is emotional and honest, and the second is fun and lets loose. Another song titled “la” is expected in January, and within the next few weeks we should know the album title and release date for her third album.
26. Nicki Minaj
Nicki kind of took 2019 off, and it is not entirely clear if she is even actively working on a new album or not. She announced her retirement before quickly rescinding the announcement saying it was a joke. Either way, there is no question she will have countless collabs in 2020, so any new music would be greatly appreciated.
27. J. Cole
Cole announced at the Day N Vegas Festival that his new album titled The Fall Off would be coming in 2020. He released “MIDDLE CHILD” last year, which was incredible, before releasing ROTD3 with his label, Dreamville. Cole is known to release with little warning or even surprise release, so this album could be coming at any time.
28. Dua Lipa
She has already announced that the album is titled Future Nostalgia because it combines futuristic sounds with throwback sounds. Its lead single, “Don’t Start Now,” was a bop, so we expect nothing less from the rest of the album.
29. The Weeknd
Chapter VI from The Weeknd is coming in 2020, and we already got the first taste of the project with its first two singles, “Heartless” and “Blinding Lights.” The retro vibe is definitely interesting, and it seems like it will also translate to the project as a whole. 2019 was a big year for The Weeknd between making his acting debut in Uncut Gems alongside Adam Sandler and releasing those singles.
30. Russell Dickerson
RD is one of the rising stars on the country scene right now, and with three #1 singles to his name already and an impressive debut album, the hype is real for his sophomore record. He puts on one of the most fun live shows of anybody I know, so this album is sure to have some fun and upbeat songs to look forward to.
31. Drake + Future
What A Time To Be Alive 2 is coming in 2020. Drake and Future have already been hard at work on shooting music videos for the project in both Atlanta and Canada. Drake has just shared a picture to his Instagram story of a computer screen teasing a possible song title “Life Is Good” with “Future + Drake” underneath it. While the joint project is definitely highly anticipated, it is also safe to assume that Drake and Future will be dropping their own solo work this year, as well.
32. Justin Timberlake
JT has been busy working on his next album for several months. Most recently he has started teasing us on social media with pictures from inside the studio working on collabs with Lizzo, SZA, HAIM, and Meek Mill, which is beyond exciting. Aside from his own album, he will also be releasing the soundtrack for the new Trolls movie, Trolls World Tour, and if there’s a song on it remotely close to “Can’t Stop The Feeling,” everyone else should release their singles quickly.
33. Frank Ocean
It has just been officially announced that Frank Ocean will headline Coachella 2020 in April, so it seems safe to assume that his new album will arrive prior to that performance. He has already released a few singles off of the project to somewhat lukewarm response, but he never fails to impress everyone when he released his albums.
34. SZA
Ctrl was one of the greatest albums released in 2017, and we have been craving some new SZA music for a little bit. She took some well deserved time to rest and gain inspiration for her next project, but she recently confirmed that 2020 would be the year for her new album.
35. Diplo (Thomas Wesley)
Diplo has been working on a country project under his real name, Thomas Wesley. He debuted the “alter ego” at Stagecoach in 2019, where he will perform again this year in 2020. He has already released songs off of this project titled “Heartless” ft. Morgan Wallen, “Lonely” ft. Jonas Brothers, and “So Long” ft. Cam. He is also expected to release collaborations with Thomas Rhett, Sam Hunt, Zac Brown Band, and more for this album.
Music News & Rumors 