Our coverage of twenty of 2008’s most highly-anticipated albums continues with sets due in March through the end of the year.
Snoop Dogg
“Ego Trippin'”
(Geffen, May)
Snoop has been tight-lipped about his latest disc, but if it’s anything like first single “Sensual Seduction” and its hilarious video, he’ll be in great shape for a spring hit. That talkbox-driven cut has risen quickly at radio; it’s No. 11 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Aiding the buzz: the rapper’s new reality show on A&E.
Usher
TBA
(Jive, Spring/Second Quarter)
First expected in fourth-quarter 2007, the R&B superstar’s new album is now looking like a second-quarter 2008 release, according to sources. Jermaine Dupri produced the track “The Realest,” which was at one time mentioned as a possible first single, while T-Pain produced “All the Time” and Ludacris turns up on the recent leak “Dat Girl Right There.” Dre & Vidal and Cool and Dre may wind up with cuts on the album as well. Sales of Usher’s prior effort, 2004’s “Confessions,” are at 9.4 million units, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Coldplay
“Prospekt”
(Capitol, summer)
With guidance from producer Brian Eno, “there’s experimentation and exploration” on Coldplay’s fourth album. “But the music still has integrity. It’s real and honest. There’s no posturing or bombast,” according to a source, who adds, “It feels like a very dense record. There are so many melodies and colors packed into a relatively short space.” “Prospekt,” which was previously said to reflect “a vibrancy and colorfulness that owes much to the atmosphere of Buenos Aires and Barcelona,” will likely wind up featuring songs such as “Cemeteries of London,” “Violet Hill,” “Poppy Fields” and “42.”
U2
TBA
(Interscope, fall)
After extensive writing sessions with longtime collaborators Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois in France and Morocco, U2 now has enough material for two new albums, according to Bono. Word is some of the songs have “trance influences” and “very hardcore guitar” playing from the Edge. “It feels like the ‘Achtung Baby’ period, when everybody was really hungry to do something fresh,” Lanois says. And while there hasn’t been any confirmation, Bono has claimed the set will feature “Mercy,” a six-and-a-half-minute epic left over from the “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” sessions.
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