2015 was a great year for music. The world got to witness the triumphant return of British soul singer, Adele, when she greeted us with a heart wrenching “Hello“. The boys of One Direction gave Directioners a swan song album – their 5th studio album, “Made in the A.M.” – before professionally going separate directions (pun intended).
Justin Bieber, Ellie Goulding, Carly Rae Japsen, Janet Jackson, as well as newcomers Tori Kelly and Shawn Mendes, all gave us amazing new pop albums too.
Judging from the expected releases this year, here are our top picks that look promising:
1. Rihanna
Riri was supposedly done with her 8th studio album, “ANTI”, in 2014. But for some reason, producers have been telling her that the record isn’t good enough. The fact that none of her previous singles, “FourFiveSeconds” and “Bitch Better Have My Money”, were smash hits further supports the notion that releasing the album in 2015 would have been risky.
But now that she has a world tour (named after the album) beginning in February, it’ll probably come around then.
2. Sia
Lead single “Alive” was originally meant for Adele but the singer didn’t want the track, which led to Sia repurposing the song. Similarly, all the other songs on the album, titled “This Is Acting”, were written with and/or for other singers.
“Most of the songs, if not all of them, I wrote for other people and they were rejected. Generally, they’re songs that aren’t from my perspective, so it feels like acting. I have rejects from Rihanna, Shakira, Beyonce, Demi Lovato, all the good girls, (and) Katy (Perry),” she said.
Hey, if it works for Sia, we’re not going to complain.
3. Charlie Puth
At 24, Charlie Puth is already one of the fastest rising pop singer-songwriter in music. His “Furious 7” soundtrack hit with Wiz Khalifa, “See You Again” spent 12 weeks at No.1 at the Billboard Hot 100 last year.
2015 also saw Charlie scoring a whole bunch of accolades including 2 Teen Choice Awards, a Hollywood Film Award, 2 American Music Awards, as well as scoring 3 Grammy nominations and a Golden Globe nomination for best original song (“See You Again”).
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Not bad for the singer to have all these recognition and success before even releasing his debut album, “Nine Track Mind”. We certainly can’t wait to see what this multi-talented musician has up his sleeves.
4. Zayn Malik
Zayn Malik never intended to take a break from music, only from his former boy band, One Direction. Over the past few months, the 22-year-old has been teasing fans with snippets from his solo project.
For his solo album, Zayn insists that his music is far from the “generic as f**k music of 1D“. Instead, it will sound a lot more R&B and hip hop-influenced.
He told The Fader, “I don’t feel like people really know what I’m going to give them, musically. And once they hear it, I feel like they will understand me a little bit more, and they’ll understand why I did what I did, and why I left the band”.
“Because for five – not even for five years, for ten years, this album has been in my brain, and it’s just been there, sat with me, needing to be out,” he added.
5. Lady Gaga
Little Monsters rejoice! LG5 will be here this year.
Fresh off her win at the Golden Globes, Lady Gaga told reporters backstage that her 5th studio album is on its way. “You know, I am putting out an album this year. I won’t tell you when,” she said.
Gaga credits her character (the Countess in “American Horror Story: Hotel“) for providing her with an outlet to channel her dark side.
She added, “What was nice about playing The Countess is it reminded me that in my own life and in my music, I’m always — at times — playing a character, and I become them fully. And living inside of her was liberating because she doesn’t give a s**t about anything”.
What about you guys? Which upcoming albums are you most excited for this year? Leave us a comment and let us know :)
Sources: Stuff.co, Capital fm, Entertainment Weekly.
