L = Label, M = Management, B = Booking Agent
One Direction
“TBD”
L Syco/Columbia
M Richard Griffiths, Harry Magee and Will Bloomfield, Modest! Management
B Creative Artists Agency
After releasing two No. 1 full-lengths, “Up All Night” and “Take Me Home,” in the United States in 2012, One Direction will return with its third album before the end of the year, according to Columbia. The still-untitled effort is led by the single “Best Song Ever,” which features more streamlined rock production and bestowed the boy band with its best Billboard Hot 100 position to date by blasting to a No. 2 debut. Whenever One Direction’s next LP arrives, the release will fall comfortably between the premiere of the group’s recent 3-D film, “One Direction: This Is Us,” and its 2014 stadium tour, set to begin next April.
Marco Antonio Solis
“Gracias Por Estar Aqui”
l Universal Music Latino
M, B Hector Villalobos
After almost a lifetime with predominantly regional Mexican label Fonovisa, Solís will now release his music on sister label Universal Music Latino. The switch is a nod to “Gracias Por Estar Aqui,” a set of new pop material written and produced by Solís. One of the biggest stars in Latin music and one of its most prolific songwriters, Solis has long recorded both pop and regional Mexican fare. Here, he goes full pop romance. First single “Tres Semanas” debuted Aug. 17 at No. 43 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart. It re-entered the chart last week at No. 40 and holds this week. Solís is in the middle of a U.S. tour that wraps Sept. 22 in San Jose, Calif.
Cher Lloyd
“TBD”
L Epic Records
M Craig Logan, Logan Media Entertainment
B The Agency Group (U.K., international), William Morris Endeavor (North America, Australia)
Lloyd’s “Sticks + Stones” hit stateside stores last October, but the 20-year-old’s debut had been released a year earlier overseas, after she finished fourth on the U.K. edition of “The X Factor” in 2010. Accordingly, the “Want U Back” singer’s follow-up — which will likely include the single “I Wish,” featuring T.I. — will offer a more mature version of her bubble-gum sound. “I’ve really opened up,” Lloyd says. “I’ve written songs about things people wouldn’t dream of knowing about me. It’s a big step and I’m kind of nervous to let people listen to it, because they’re going to know a lot more about me.”
Britney Spears
“TBD”
L RCA
M Larry Rudolph and Adam Leber, Reign Deer Management
B Rob Light and Jeffrey Azoff, Creative Artists Agency
Before Spears hit the studio for album No. 8, executive producer Will.i.am wanted to “go to lunch for two months” to get an intimate sense of where her life is right now. The results will likely appear before the holidays, as first single “All Eyes on Me” is prepped for a mid-September release. Having the extra insight into Spears’ personal life means Will.i.am could say to songwriters, “‘Actually, we can’t have this song. Yes, we want dance songs but that’s a little too dark.’ I want it to fit with the emotions. I’m really excited about that and honored that she trusts me. I don’t want to let her down,” he told Billboard in May.
(Fall Preview 2013 Reporting by Judy Cantor-Navas, Keith Caulfield, Ed Christman, Leila Cobo, Alex Gale, Phil Gallo, Andrew Hampp, Jessica Letkemann, Jason Lipshutz, Kerri Mason, Gail Mitchell, Evie Nagy, Alex Pham, Deborah Evans Price, Erika Ramirez, Tom Roland, Reggie Ugwu, Ray Waddell, Brad Wete, Emily White, Nick Williams and Emily Zemler.)