Designed by Quinton McMillan
As fall begins, it might feel like 2018 has already crammed in a year’s worth of album releases: By Labor Day, we’d already seen a marathon of projects from the G.O.O.D. family, a surprise joint album from Beyoncé and JAY-Z, a battle for chart-dominance between Travis Scott and Nicki Minaj LPs and enough Drake songs for not one but two albums. But the months ahead still have plenty to offer, with a slew of projects from veteran icons (including two posthumous releases), country powerhouses, pop upstarts and everything in between. Here are Billboard’s 40 most anticipated albums of fall 2018.
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The 40 Most Anticipated Albums of Fall 2018
Image Credit: Designed by Quinton McMillan As fall begins, it might feel like 2018 has already crammed in a year’s worth of album releases: By Labor Day, we’d already seen a marathon of projects from the G.O.O.D. family, a surprise joint album from Beyoncé and JAY-Z, a battle for chart-dominance between Travis Scott and Nicki Minaj LPs and enough Drake songs for not one but two albums. But the months ahead still have plenty to offer, with a slew of projects from veteran icons (including two posthumous releases), country powerhouses, pop upstarts and everything in between. Here are Billboard’s 40 most anticipated albums of fall 2018.
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David Guetta, ‘7’ (Sept. 14)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo After the success of 2014’s Listen (which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, his best mark to date), David Guetta is back to dominate the dance world once again. The veteran DJ/producer’s seventh album — appropriately titled 7 — features an impressive star-studded tracklist. It includes singles like the sultry “2U” with Justin Bieber, the uplifting “Don’t Leave Me Alone” with Anne-Marie and the island-tinged “Goodbye,” featuring Nicki Minaj, Willy William and Jason Derulo. — BIANCA GRACIE
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Good Charlotte, ‘Generation Rx’ (Sept. 14)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Good Charlotte continues to elevate their signature pop-punk sound with Generation Rx, the band’s seventh album and the follow-up to 2016’s hiatus-ending comeback LP, Youth Authority. Led by the anguished, introspective single “Actual Pain," the record ranks as one of the group’s most mature releases to date, touching on America’s opioid crisis and the death of Lil Peep, who cited the group as a major influence before his death from an accidental overdose last year. Yet the band hopes Generation Rx will inspire others to prioritize their well-being: “[The album is] from a place of wanting to encourage people to love themselves,” Benji Madden recently told Billboard. “And ask the right questions of themselves.” — B.G.
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Carrie Underwood, ‘Cry Pretty’ (Sept. 14)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Underwood’s sixth LP marks the singer’s first time co-producing one of her projects. After making her last five albums under the guidance of studio vet Mark Bright, the country star teamed up with David Garcia (“Meant to Be”) for her latest, a change that she said in a letter to fans has allowed her to “be creative in a way that I’ve never been before.” Garcia recently told Billboard that Underwood was immediately comfortable behind the boards, though her raw vocals are still what really shine: “There's some songs where you're just listening to every word she says because of the way she performs the song.” As for lyrical content, fans looking for a another “Before He Cheats” or “Two Black Cadillacs” on Cry Pretty might be a little surprised by the kind of stories Underwood is telling this time: “I don’t think I kill anybody off in this one,” she recently joked in an interview. “The drama is more real-life.” — TAYLOR WEATHERBY
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Willie Nelson, ‘My Way’ (Sept. 14)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo It’s one thing to add your name to the list of artists who’ve made Frank Sinatra tribute albums; it’s a whole other thing when you were actually friends with Frank Sinatra IRL. Willie Nelson and Ol’ Blue Eyes had quite the mutual admiration society back in the day: Sinatra reportedly called Nelson his favorite vocalist, and the two shared both stages and screen time in various PSAs about outer space. Now, in his honor, the prolific country star is covering classic tunes by the Gershwins and Cole Porter for My Way — his second LP of 2018, after April's Last Man Standing. — NOLAN FEENEY
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Josh Groban, ‘Bridges’ (Sept. 21)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Though it's been 15 years since operatic pop star Josh Groban first topped the Billboard 200 with his multi-Platinum-certified Closer album, he's maintained a loyal fanbase in the decade and a half since, with each of his five subsequent albums making the chart's top five. His eighth studio LP, Bridges, looks to continue that streak, with covers of modern pop standards "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and (for the Deluxe edition) "She's Always a Woman," as well as featured appearances from singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, Sugarland frontwoman Jennifer Nettles and fellow vocal powerhouse Andrea Bocelli. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER
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Christine & The Queens, ‘Chris’ (Sept. 21)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo The French singer-producer, born Héloïse Letissier, is ready to pump up the jam on the follow-up to 2015’s self-titled English-language debut. Her new songs, which she mostly self-produced, are more upbeat and dancier, drawing inspiration from ‘80s electronica, ‘90s G-funk, Dangerous-era Michael Jackson and classic Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis beats. More notably, she’s delivering them via Chris, the macho, gender-bending evolution of her Christine stage persona. “The record is so much about desire as a force of chaos and ecstasy that the sounds had to be a bit tougher,” she recently explained to Billboard. “On the first album, I was dreaming about being touched and looked at. With the second album, I’m trying it, I’m touching, I’m relating…There is way more life.” — N.F.
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Prince, ‘Piano & a Microphone 1983’ (Sept. 21)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo To be released on what would have been the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's 60th birthday, Piano & a Microphone 1983 is what its title describes: a set of Prince renditions of both covers and originals from '83, with just one instrument and some amplification for accompaniment. It may sound like a fans-only sort of release, but from the two tracks already released — stripped-down versions of classic "When Doves Cry" B-side "17 Days" and 19th-century spiritual "Mary, Don't You Weep" — it should be as electrifying a listen as any non-posthumous drop this year. (Besides, who isn't a Prince fan, anyway?) — A.U.
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Metric, ‘Art of Doubt’ (Sept. 21)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo On 2015’s Pagans in Vegas, the Canadian quartet all but ditched guitars with the most electronic, synth-heavy record of their career. Now, partly inspired by the chaotic state of the world, the group is ready to rock again — and frontwoman Emily Haines promised in a statement that “the band has plugged in and turned their guitars to 11” for their seventh LP. You can hear that new approach — aided by producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck, M83) — on first single “Dark Saturday,” a biting look at income inequality whose anxious hook would have sounded right at home on Metric’s 2003 debut, Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? — N.F.
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Nile Rodgers & Chic, ‘It’s About Time’ (Sept. 28)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo It’s About Time is absolutely right! Fans have waited 26 years for Chic to return with new music, and the iconic group’s first album since 1992’s Chic-ism is ready to take everyone back to the disco dance floor. It won’t be all '70s-inspired glitz and glam, however: As seen with advance tracks like “Sober” (featuring Teddy Riley, Stefflon Don and Craig David), “Till the World Falls" (with Vic Mensa, Mura Masa, and Cosha) and “I Want Your Love” (with Lady Gaga), the band will also be experimenting with the sounds of New Jack Swing and electronic house music. — B.G.
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Cher, ‘Dancing Queen’ (Sept. 28)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again was a worldwide box office smash, in large part because of entertainment icon Cher's scene-stealing presence, a gleeful, fan-servicing addition to the beloved ABBA musical franchise. And Cher and her fans had so much fun with the enterprise that she elected to record an entire album of ABBA covers — Dancing Queen, her first full-length release since 2013's Closer to the Truth — and already provided the set's best and most honest review: "THINK ITS GOOD," she tweeted in July, "& (as we all know) I’M NOT A BIG CHER FAN." — A.U.
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Tom Petty, ‘An American Treasure’ (Sept. 28)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Almost exactly a year after the rock legend died at age 66 last October, his legacy is being honored with a four-CD, 60-track box set of unreleased tracks, alternative versions, live renditions and deep cuts, packaged with extended liner notes and photos as An American Treasure. And if you're worried that the set is just a bunch of leftovers for superfans, radio programmers likely don't share your concern, as the set's "Keep a Little Soul (Outtake, 1982)" is already a top five hit on Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs airplay chart. — A.U.
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Jon Batiste, ‘Hollywood Africans’ (Sept. 28)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo The Late Show bandleader teamed up with executive producer T Bone Burnett — Bob Dylan collaborator, guitarist, producer and the Coen Brothers’ composter-of-choice — for Hollywood Africans, an LP that explores the overlooked legacies that weave themselves into the tapestry of American rock n’ roll. Named for Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1983 painting, which highlights the sacrifices and unsung achievements of black artists in the entertainment industry of the 1940s, Batiste was interested in running with Basquiat’s train of thought on original compositions that work in some of his classical training — and familiar strains from “Moonlight Sonata,” which he re-interpreted on the first single, “Don’t Stop." — HILARY HIGHES
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Brockhampton, ‘Iridesence’ (Sept. TBD)
Image Credit: Ashlan Grey The 14-member, self-proclaimed “best boy band since One Direction” has released albums before — three last year, in fact — but the stakes feel much higher for their upcoming full-length release. Brockhampton’s mainstream profile has expanded considerably since last December’s Saturation III, for reasons both positive (a $15 million deal with RCA, the most buzzed-about performance from MTV’s TRL relaunch) and negative (the departure of rapper Ameer Vann amidst sexual misconduct and abuse allegations from multiple women). After canceling a handful of gigs, the fraternity of singers, rappers, producers, and miscellaneous creatives is expected to rebound to its hyper-positive (while simultaneously grimy, cathartic, and confounding) ways with its major label debut. — CHRIS PAYNE
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Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, ‘A Star Is Born: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack’ (Oct. 5)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Little Monsters, unite. The hotly anticipated soundtrack for A Star Is Born, starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in the classic romance movie’s third iteration, features 19 original songs and 15 dialogue tracks. The lengthy project includes songwriting credits from both Gaga (who plays a struggling artist named Ally) and Cooper (who took singing lessons for the role of a veteran, troubled country singer) as well as a who’s who of behind-the-scenes talent, from country writers like Hillary Lindsey and Jason Isbell to pop hitmakers like Julia Michaels, Mark Ronson and Gaga’s ARTPOP collaborator DJ White Shadow. Though there’s still no word of a new solo album from Gaga, A Star Is Born should certainly tide fans over — and the already glowing reviews of her performance only add to the soundtrack hype. — TATIANA CIRISANO
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Cat Power, ‘Wanderer’ (Oct. 5)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Revered indie singer-songwriter Chan Marshall — a.k.a. Cat Power — takes inspiration from well-traveled folk and blues musicians on Wanderer, her first album in six years (and tenth overall). The 11-track project will include the rumbling, soulful single “Woman” (featuring recent tourmate Lana Del Rey) as well as what Marshall promises are appearances from “longtime friends and compatriots.” In a statement announcing the LP, Marshall said, “Wanderer, the album, represents the course my life has taken in this journey — going from town to town, with my guitar, telling my tale; with reverence to the people who did this generations before me … They were all wanderers, and I am lucky to be among them.” — T.C.
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Twenty One Pilots, ‘Trench’ (Oct. 5)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo For one of music’s most obsessive fanbases, the three-year wait is almost over. 2015’s Blurryface brought these Ohio-bred rap-rockers mainstream attention (singles “Stressed Out” and “Ride” went top five on the Hot 100) and soon, the Skeleton Clique will have a another genre-melding, narrative-driven concept album to dissect. While members Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun have only just begun introducing fans to their latest opus’ post-apocalyptic universe (featured in recent music videos), hardcore-tinged lead single “Jumpsuit” has already dominated rock radio, spending three weeks atop Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart. — C.P.
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Eric Church, ‘Desperate Man’ (Oct. 5)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo In the wake of the tragedy at Las Vegas’ Route 91 Harvest music festival last October, The Chief found himself uninspired and in a funk. As he experimented in the studio, nothing was inspiring him — until he wrote the boisterous lead single, “Desperate Man,” which helped open the creative floodgates and ultimately inspired the title of Church’s sixth LP. So far, he’s teased his latest set with a pair of contrasting tunes (he followed “Desperate Man” with a bluesy, mellower track called “Heart Like a Wheel”) which suggest that Church’s first album in nearly three years will still feature his signature rustic sound, while also showing off more of his soulful side. — T.W.
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Emily Warren, ‘Quiet Your Mind’ (Oct. 5)
Image Credit: David O'Donohue What do Dua Lipa’s “New Rules,” Charli XCX’s “Boys,” and your favorite Chainsmokers songs all have in common? Songwriter Emily Warren, who, in addition to making electro-pop jams for other artists, also puts out more stripped-back, soulful tunes as a solo artist. She’s already shared a handful of tracks since last year — including standouts “Hurt By You” and “Something To Hold On To” — but with Quiet Your Mind, she’s finally bringing curious listeners into her own world and showing off the full extent of her talents. — N.F.
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KT Tunstall, ‘WAX’ (Oct. 5)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Before her last album, 2016’s KIN, KT Tunstall tried to walk away from her solo her career: After losing her father and going through a divorce, the Scottish singer-songwriter started life over in Los Angeles and pursued a career in composing music for film with no plans for another album…until the magic of Venice Beach and the California hills pulled her back into writing songs for herself. Evidently, the setting proved to be a well of inspiration — just two years later, she’s already back with the roaring single “The River” and a new LP, which was produced by former Franz Ferdinand member Nick McCarthy, and which Tunstall has described as the second installment of a trilogy exploring the human mind, body and soul. — N.F.
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Jess Glynne, ‘Always in Between’ (Oct. 12)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo The “Rather Be” vocalist tried to make the follow-up to 2015’s I Cry When I Laugh the usual way: By going to Los Angeles and writing and recording a whole bunch of songs with various producers. “I wrote so many great songs,” she told Billboard earlier this year, “but I also felt a little lost.” So she asked her label if she could decamp to the English countryside with a few of her closest collaborators for a no-pressure experiment to see what they could come up with — and ended up writing the bulk of her new album, including the country-tinged lead single “I’ll Be There.” Said Glynne: “It was the most productive week I could have had, and it was probably one of the most amazing times in my life.” — N.F.
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Kurt Vile, ‘Bottle It In’ (Oct. 12)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Last fall, Kurt Vile teamed up with Courtney Barnett for the collaborative album Lotta Sea Lice. Now, he’s about to launch his upcoming seventh solo album — his first solo effort since 2015’s b'lieve i'm goin down, which became highest charting Billboard 200 release (No. 40) to date. Judging by the instrumentally intricate and lyrically humorous lead single “Loading Zones,” Bottle It In picks up where Vile left off with few detours: His brand of twangy slack-rock is unmistakably him, and this new project will fit seamlessly into Vile’s quickly growing catalog. — LYNDSEY HAVENS
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MØ, ‘Forever Neverland’ (Oct. 19)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo The road to MØ’s second studio album — the follow-up to 2014’s No Mythologies to Follow — has been long and winding: After scoring a life-changing hit with Major Lazer and DJ Snake on 2015’s “Lean On,” the Danish pop star released a string of sparkling, club-ready singles before indulging her artsier, more left-field impulses on last year’s When I Was Young EP. “[‘Lean On’] opened all these doors,” she said in an interview last year, but “I wanted to find my own sound as well.” She seems to have found it with Forever Neverland, which reunites her with many of her frequent collaborators (Diplo, Charli XCX), but puts a twist on the dance-pop you might expect from her: “Way Down” climaxes with a flute (!) drop instead of a bass drop, while lead single “Sun in Our Eyes” rides a piano-driven groove off into the horizon. — N.F.
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Elle King, ‘Shake the Spirit’ (Oct. 19)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo The pressures of a sophomore album can take a toll on any artist, but for Elle King, that was just the tip of the iceberg. “I had a very hard time personally last year,” she recently admitted to Billboard. But once she started putting her struggles — heartbreak, bad influences, a battle with PTSD – under the microscope in the studio, her creative process turned a corner. “The music was bringing me back to life,” she said. The album’s 13 tracks cover the spectrum of emotions she experienced while writing it, from the sassy (lead single “Shame”) to the somber (“Good Thing Gone”). And while she admits there’s some “weirder” songs on the album, “Shame” suggests that she’s still the same soulful rocker with a feisty spirit that fans got to know on “Ex’s & Oh’s” nearly four years ago. — T.W.
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Neneh Cherry, ‘Broken Politics’ (Oct. 19)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Nearly 30 years after the release of her solo breakthrough, Raw Like Sushi, Neneh Cherry remains one of underground pop's most vital performers, collaborating in the last half-decade with envelope-pushing artists like Robyn, Four Tet and Blood Orange, among many others. Broken Politics will mark Cherry's first LP since 2012, and from the sounds of its lead single — the near-apocalyptic dub&B of the sneakily affecting "Kong" — it should be as raw as ever for the shapeshifting artist. — A.U.
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Culture Club, ‘Life’ (Oct. 26)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Coming off a successful co-headlining tour with fellow new wave survivors The B-52s, the time is perfect for the reunited Culture Club to release their first original LP of the new millennium, Life. Frontman and early-'80s MTV icon Boy George raved about the set to Billboard in August, calling it they album the band has been wanting to make since 1983's Colour By Numbers: "It's funny when you say it sounds very Culture Club; We do often say that about tracks. But it just feels looser. It's very catchy. The songs are really strong, really melodic. It just has an ease about it that I really like." — A.U.
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Allie X, ‘Super Sunset’ (Oct. 29)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo As if co-writing half of Troye Sivan’s Bloom and booking sessions with indie darling Mitski wasn’t enough, electro-pop enigma Allie X also has a new album of her own, Super Sunset, on its way — one that uses three alter-ego-like characters (Sci-Fi Girl, the Hollywood Starlet, and the Nun) to explore the project’s multi-layered themes. “I think that this record is a search for connection in a heartless place,” she recently told Billboard of the follow-up to last year’s CollXtion II. “It's all about the navigation of being in the industry. At the same time that I have been doing that for the last five years, I also fell in love and have a very real intimate relationship with someone in this soulless city. It's about both of those things.” — N.F.
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Boygenius, ‘Boygenius’ (Nov. 9)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo This year, indie rockers Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers all released acclaimed solo albums. Soon enough, the three guitarist-vocalists were booked on a North American fall tour together, with Baker and Bridgers co-headlining and Dacus opening. But that wasn’t enough: They also quickly formed a supergroup, and gave it a tongue-in-cheek name that nods to how women are rarely called geniuses with the frequency the way their male peers are. Now, the trio will release its self-titled EP, on which they take turns in the frontwoman role and elsewhere blend their voices and instruments together in perfect bliss. The EP’s uniting thread, though, will surely be the clear-cut lyricism they all have in common, which packs a witty punch line after line. Some might even call it genius. — L.H.
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Laura Jane Grace & the Devouring Mothers, ‘Bought to Rot’ (Nov. 9)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo How best to describe Laura Jane Grace’s latest endeavor? “It’s a solo album, except that it’s not,” the Against Me! frontwoman wrote in an announcement on Twitter. Though her main band isn’t going anywhere, Grace has said she sought an artistic “blank slate” following the outfit's 2016 album Shape Shift With Me. But she’s not in it alone — Grace made the record, under the name Laura Jane Grace & the Devouring Mothers, with Against Me! drummer Atom Willard and producer Marc Hudson, who also worked on Shape Shift. (Fellow AM! guitarist James Bowman even shows up one track.) Regardless of its name or packaging, the record is yet another outlet for Grace’s boundless creativity, which she often strikes at the most inconvenient times: “I sleep with a notebook next to me in bed,” she recently told Billboard. “And most nights I sleep with my guitar next to me.” — N.F.
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Muse, ‘Simulation Theory’ (Nov. 9)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo No one does borderline-preposterous alt-prog as loudly or proudly as U.K. stadium rockers Muse, and from the looks of their Tron-like cover art to upcoming eighth studio album Simulation Theory, they're leaning so far in to the more cartoonish parts of their persona that they might just fall all the way through. That's fine: From the sounds of advance tracks like the neon-hued and gleefully cheesy "The Dark Side" and the whooping Rock Songs top 5 hit "Thought Contagion." the band seems to understand that they're at their most fun when it's clear they're not taking themselves any more seriously than we are. — A.U.
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Jeff Goldblum, ‘The Capital Studios Sessions’ (Nov. 9)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Yes, that Jeff Goldblum: he of The Fly, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, and that totally bizarre 25-foot statue that appeared outside the Tower Bridge in London earlier this year, much to the Internet's delight. The 65-year-old actor is now an aspiring jazz musician, and The Capital Studios Sessions will comprise his first release since singing to Universal's classical label Decca Records after he impressed execs with his ivory-tickling during a performance alongside jazz singer Gregory Porter on The Graham Norton Show last year. "As far as I can tell, everyone loves Jeff Goldblum," Decca director of A&R Tom Lewis told Billboard in May — which is a better tagline for his new project than "Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid," at least. — A.U.
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The 1975, ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’ (Nov. 30)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Never ones to shy away from pushing sonic boundaries, The 1975 seem to be taking fearless to a whole other level on their third album. With a title that is as quirky as they are, the British rock band's first few releases from their latest set — frantic lead single “Give Yourself a Try,” cavernous stomper “Love It If We Made It” and tropical-tinged “TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME” — hint at a more ambitious sound and a bigger focus on their electro-pop inspirations. But perhaps the most daring part about The 1975’s third LP is frontman Matty Healy’s openness about overcoming an almost band-ruining heroin addiction, which he confronts in particular on a track called “It’s Not Living If It’s Not With You.” As Healy told Billboard about the album earlier this year, “This is my truth, and I feel like I can’t negotiate properly with the world if I can’t tell the truth.” — T.W.
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Lil’ Kim, TBD (November)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Entertainment One When Lil’ Kim finally does release her new album — her first since The Naked Truth, well over a decade ago — it's practically inevitable that most of the narrative around it will try to slot it into drama with longtime sparring partner (and current drama magnet) Nicki Minaj. Let's just hope that the album reminds listeners enough of the Bad Boy star's ahead-of-her-time greatness in the '90s and '00s that it rises above any such messiness and reestablishes Kim as an MC who demands attention on record as well as in the headlines. “Every song has a different vibe,” Kim told Billboard in July. “I think people are gonna be shocked.” — A.U.
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Lil Wayne, ‘Tha Carter V’ (TBD)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Universal Music Group Yes, you read that right: Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter V is actually coming out this fall, as detailed in Billboard’s new cover story about the rapper. And while Wayne is still keeping many of the project’s details under wraps, he is teasing its contents, including a Sampha-sampling track that will serve as the record’s outro and touches upon the suicide attempt he made as a 12-year-old. “I’m very much a perfectionist,” he said of his creative process with this album. “I don’t know what it’s setting me up for — some big comeback, or maybe some big fall back or whatever — but it’s setting me up for something, and I’m ready.” — N.F.
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Robyn, TBD
Image Credit: Mark Peckmezian It’s been eight years since her last full-length album, Body Talk, and Robyn wants you to know she’s been “Missing U” too: The Swedish pop queen has described her shimmering new tune as a message to her loyal devotees — though it’s also a propulsive breakup anthem that will fit right alongside melancholy classics like “Dancing On My Own” and “Be Mine!” While she has yet to announce a release date for the project, Robyn told one fan on Twitter earlier this year that the project was coming “sometime this year,” and in a Red Bull Music Festival talk at New York’s MoMA in May, she said the new material had a minimalist feel and was inspired by everything from Prince and Michael Jackson to ‘90s house music. — N.F.
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Alessia Cara – 3 Nominations
Image Credit: Brick Howze Three years after breaking onto the pop scene with her defiant anti-party song “Here,” the now-21-year-old has grown up as both a person and an musician — and she’s channeled all of that into material for her next album, The Pains of Growing. “It just feels like the last three years of my life,” Cara recently told Billboard, adding that the album tells that story with “a lot more transparency” than her debut LP, 2015's Know-It-All. Cara’s lead single “Growing Pains” indicates that she’s more confident than ever — especially after fighting off naysayers following her Grammy win for Best New Artist this past February. And though she hasn’t revealed a release date or tracklist for her forthcoming sophomore effort, she promises to continue empowering fans the way she has with hits like “Scars to Your Beautiful,” but this time with a very personal touch: “I just tried to write songs because I wanted to, and because I needed to.” — T.W.
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Maggie Rogers, TBD
Image Credit: Oliva Bee Over two years have passed since the viral video that broke Maggie Rogers, a demo of her folk-tronic epic “Alaska” that stunned Pharrell Williams during an NYU masterclass. A daunting wait for a hyped-up major label debut? Perhaps, but the promise of last year’s dazzling Now That The Light Is Fading EP and subsequent high-profile festival performances (Lollapalooza, Reading + Leeds) suggest that anxiously waiting for new Maggie Rogers albums is a habit worth getting used to. On July’s single “Give A Little” — expected to be a key track on the forthcoming LP — Rogers’ mysticism kicks into a previously unexplored gear, like Haim’s pep squad dance grooves mixed with Julie Byrne’s whispery dreamlands. — C.P.
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Ella Mai, TBD
Image Credit: MEENO Ever since her heart-eyed breakthrough “Boo’d Up” climbed to the Hot 100’s top five earlier this summer, Ella Mai has become a ubiquitous presence in the 2018 R&B world. But the 23-year-old rising star will get a chance to prove her staying power with a debut full-length expected sometime this fall. “I’ve learned a lot, I’ve seen a lot, I’ve grown a lot,” Mai told Billboard of the upcoming LP. “I'm super proud of what we've been making. Even I'm like, ‘Wow, I didn't know I could write like this.’" If the result is anything like Mai’s recent single “Trip,” expect even more silky, lovestruck vibes from the British singer-songwriter. — T.C.
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Avril Lavigne, TBD
Image Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Race To Erase MS The prospect of new music from Avril Lavigne has felt like a decade-old conversation topic, even though it’s only been five years since her most recent release, her 2013 self-titled album. But at last, the singer is gearing up for a comeback: She recently posted a lengthy and candid note on her website that announced a lead single, “Head Above Water,” and a Sept. 18 release date for it. Lavigne explained that the song was the first one she wrote in bed after she had “accepted death” amid her struggles with Lyme disease. The album will likely offer more brutally honest looks into Lavigne’s personal life and time away from the spotlight — and hopefully put the punk-pop princess back on her throne. — L.H.
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Selena Gomez, TBD
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Selena Gomez promised in her recent Elle cover story that her as-yet-unannounced upcoming album is a departure from anything she’s released before — including recent one-offs like “Back to You,” from season two of Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, and 2017’s “Bad Liar” and “Fetish.” The sound is, supposedly, more “funky.” And with a new sound likely comes plenty of new subject matter: Since her last full-length release, 2015’s Revival, Gomez has endured a lot — including a few changes in her relationship status and a kidney transplant, for starters — but seems to have admirably weathered it all, if the joyful photos with friends and self-aware captions she shares on her Instagram are any indication. — L.H.
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Mariah Carey, TBD
Image Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage The pop diva hasn’t exactly been, well, elusive since 2014’s Me. I Am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse — there was a greatest hits album with new track, a Vegas residency, an E! docuseries, the New Year’s Eve fiasco — but the announcement of a forthcoming studio album, the singer’s 15th, for later this year is welcome news as she prepares to launch a completely new Vegas show. The official first single, “With You,” will arrive Oct. 5, but in the meantime she’s tiding fans over with a track “GTFO” — because of course Mariah Carey would want to make a statement entrance. — N.F.