The 10 Most Anticipated Albums of 2024: Rihanna, Billie Eilish, Cardi B and More
The biggest confirmed or rumored releases of 2024 also include new full-lengths from Usher, Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa and more
Olivia Rodrigo, Lana Del Rey, Troye Sivan and more. And things are shaping up to be even bigger in 2024. Here’s everything we know about the coming year’s top releases.
Cardi B
It’s easy to forget that Cardi B has only put out one studio album. But some time next year, the rapper plans to grace us with her second full-length effort, the follow-up to 2018’s Invasion of Privacy. “I should already start talking about the album because I’m going to be putting it out very soon,” she said on Ebro in the Morning back in September. Cardi denied rumors that she held the album due to Taylor Swift’s release schedule, claiming, “I’m just holding it because I feel like I’m missing a couple of things. Then on top of that, everything just has to be like perfect from everything because I feel like people are expecting so much. For my first album, I didn’t get to do not even half the things I wanted to do because I was super super duper pregnant. I missed out on a lot of videos I wanted to do, I missed out on touring — I just missed out on a lot of things, so I just gotta make sure that everything is just planned out.”
Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa’s upcoming third album follows 2020’s Future Nostalgia. Earlier this year, she released “Houdini,” which will appear on her 2024 release. In an interview with T Magazine in August, she revealed the album will be “more personal” than her previous, inspired by “1970s-era psychedelia” and “still pop,” but “different sonically.” Regarding potential collaborators, Variety reported that Lipa is working with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, plus several producers and writers who worked on her last album.
Ariana Grande
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Just this month, following rumors swirling this past year, Ariana Grande confirmed that her new album is coming out in 2024. “See you next year,” Grande wrote in an Instagram post, tagging her producer Ilya Salmanzadeh, Republic Records and others. The post featured a video of her mother dancing and a photo showing Grande crying. The singer shared her post in an Instagram story and wrote, “The two moods of the album.” In addition to working on this new album, her seventh, Grande is filming the upcoming Wicked film, in which she plays Glinda the good witch.
Rihanna
Ring the alarm. Everyone asking Rihanna for new music might be in for a treat. The artist and mogul, whose most recent album Anti came out in 2016, has had two children and become a billionaire with Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty during the past seven years. And in 2024, Rihanna is reportedly planning to release new music. The singer has a deal with Live Nation, will release new songs and announce a world tour for 2024 and 2025.
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish’s third album is coming, her follow-up to 2021’s Happier Than Ever, and it could be out as soon as next year. Recently, the singer-songwriter revealed her new album is in its “final stages.” And this month, she revealed it’s “almost done” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. While it’s been a couple years since Eilish’s last album, the star released her hit single “What Was I Made For,” which appeared on the Barbie movie soundtrack this year, and went on a global tour.
SZA
SZA’s second studio album SOS has been nominated for nine Grammys, leading the nominees list. And now, she’s teasing a new project. Lana started off as a deluxe edition of SOS, but now could be its own separate release. In August, she said, “It’s outtakes and new stuff, too — I added a couple of songs. It’s like a whole new project … Lana is really just the B-side of SOS.” SZA later revealed that the release will be about seven to 10 tracks long. This month, she shared the cover art for the forthcoming release. The release date and tracklist are still unconfirmed, but signs point to the new year.
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez’s ninth studio album This Is Me…Now will be released on Feb. 16 of next year, alongside a companion short film. This will be Lopez’s first studio album in almost a decade, 22 years after the release of its sister album, This is Me…Then. The album is described as a blend of “R&B, contemporary pop sounds and hip-hop beats.” Its track list includes nods to Lopez’s relationship with Ben Affleck, featuring song titles like “Dear Ben Pt. II.” As for the film, it’s been revealed as “a narrative driven, intimate, reflective, sexy, funny, fantastical and highly entertaining musical and visual reimagining of her publicly scrutinized love life.”
Usher
Usher has a big year ahead of him. In addition to headlining the 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show, the R&B icon is releasing his ninth studio album, Coming Home, on Super Bowl Sunday Feb. 11. This will be Usher’s first new album since 2016’s Hard II Love, and his eight-track project with Zaytoven in 2018, A. Coming Home will feature his 2023 single “Good Good” featuring Summer Walker and 21 Savage. “I’m coming home, I’m back with my team,” Usher told Zane Lowe in an interview. “Even when you see the artwork, you will understand it. When you see the peach. You get it. You understand where I’m from and what we’re doing.”
J Balvin
Columbian hit-maker J Balvin has a new album on the way, his first full-length in two years. Fans expected the new release in 2023, per Billboard, but the album has been pushed to next year. He released some advance singles, “Amigos” and the Usher-sampling, DJ Khaled–featuring “Dientes.” Balvin is working with a variety of producers and collaborators like Mura Masa and Stormzy. He’s also working with Ed Sheeran, but it’s unclear whether that’s a separate album.
Green Day
Green Day are kicking off 2024 with their 14th album and first in three years, Savior, on Jan. 19. The trio has shared three tracks off the album, including its lead single “The American Dream is Killing Me.” They will embark on a stadium tour across North America with supporting acts like the Smashing Pumpkins and Rancid.
