Highly-anticipated album releases are in the works for this fall. Get acquainted with the titles before they hit the stores.
As usual, fall brings out the best in music. Maybe its the decision to get an early sweep on next year’s Grammys’ nomination process or it’s all about getting a big break on the upcoming holiday rush, some of the most celebrated pop music icons are readying for their new releases this year. And we at HiFi are giving you an exclusive heads-up on what to expect this round.
Rihanna
Loud
(Def Jam)
Release Date: November 16
Just one year after releasing the gothic album Rated R, the good-girl-gone-bad, after dominating 2010 with the #1 smash “Rude Boy” and dueting on yet another #1 pop smash with rap icon Eminem, is pumping out her next album. According to sources, the album – Loud – won’t be as dark and gritty as Rated R. Expect to hear some upbeat pop and club-ready gems tucked in the mix. The first single, “Only Girl (In the World),” kicks off the festivities of the album’s grand opening.
LISTEN TO:
Rihanna – (Only Girl) In the World
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Mark Ronson
Record Collection
(Columbia)
Releaste Date: September 28
The mastermind behind Amy Winehouse’s breakout album Back to Black is launching a much different album than his usual. Rather than going the blue-eyed soul approach found on Version, he’s leaning on an ’80’s-coated, synth-pop production. With a new band (The Business Intl.) on board and a list of guests joining in (Boy George, D’Angelo, Q-Tip), Record Collectionaims to explore Ronson’s bigger ambitions and new levels of creativity.
LISTEN TO:
“Bang Bang Bang” (featring Q-Tip and MNDR)”
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Michael Jackson
Untitled
(Epic/Sony)
Release Date: Winter 2011
The King of Pop continues to reign on the Billboard charts with his catalog albums and his dozens of “best-of” compilations, but MJ plans to rise from the dead with a whole new album of unreleased material, courtesy of the good folks at Sony. If it’s anything like the leaked snippets and singles we’ve gathered over the years, Jackson posthumously could very well top the pop charts again.
Black Eyed Peas
The Beginning
(Interscope)
Release Date: November 16
Probably one of the biggest game-changers in pop music, the Black Eyed Peas – after dominating the charts with “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Got a Feeling” and touring relentlessly in super-sized stadiums – are not slowing down their commitment to the studio. In Rolling Stone, will.i.am, the group’s frontman, announced they were finished with the project. “Now I have to unfinish it!” That means that they have to decide which of the hundreds of recorded songs will land on the official album. Expect to hear more Euro-house sounds and electro dance beats on the next batch. Their view on dance culture: “Dance culture is the only thing that’s vibrant. Everything else is bullshit.”
El DeBarge
Second Chance
(Geffen)
Release Date: September 28
Groomed as R&B’s biggest comeback, El DeBarge is emerging from the shadows with a new contract with Geffen, a suave/debonair look and a new album worth talking about. The album, Second Chance, is his first in over a decade. But adult R&B radio is lighting up over his return, particularly with the album’s title cut and the newly-released “5 Seconds,” which features a cameo appearance from rap star Fabolous. Production on the album is being handled by Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Babyface, Michael Angelo, Mischke and Ron Fair.
LISTEN TO:
“5 Seconds” (featuring Fabolous)
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Bruno Mars
Dop-Wops & Hooligans
(Atlantic/Elektra)
Release Date: October 5
Responsible for three big hits in 2010 (B.o.B’s “Nothing on You,” Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire,” and Cee-lo’s “F*** You), Bruno Mars is now poised to become one of the year’s powerful mover-and-shakers. His newly-released single, “Just the Way You Are,” is lighting up the Hot 100 (rising to #9) and is just a sign of what’s to come for the 24-year old Hawaiian singer-songwriter. The album promises to feature pop music with a swinging taste of nostalgic soul; relying more on live instrumentation to get the heavy juices flowing.
LISTEN TO:
“Just the Way You Are”
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Taylor Swift
Speak Now
(Big Machine)
Release Date: October 25
Without a single co-writer on board, Taylor Swift is stepping out on faith to make a record all her own. On Speak Now, the country-pop singer opens up about her inner struggles and confessions. One track in particular, “Back to December,” has her apologizing to a former ex – possibly Twilight star Taylor Lautner. “After I wrote it, I realized that I’ve never aplogized to someone in a song,” she stated to RS. The first single, “Mine” is growing strong on the pop charts (peaking at #3).
LISTEN TO:
“Mine”
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Phil Collins
Going Back
(Atlantic)
Release Date: September 28
Throughout his 40-year career in music, Phil Collins has never recorded a full covers’ album. But his time to pay tribute to the great songs of old – particularly with Motown and ’60’s soul standards. In press statements, Collins’ intent was not to make a ‘old’ record sound new again, but to make an old record and to once again revisit those feelings he experienced when he first heard them. Motown Funk Bros. vets like Bob Babbitt, Ray Monette and Eddie Willis also joined in on the sessions. Eighteen songs colorfully document the album, including songs like “Jimmy Mack,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” “Standing In the Shadows of Love,” “(Love Is Like A) Heatwave” and “Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While).”
LISTEN TO:
“(Love Is Like A) Heatwave”
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Kings of Leon
Come Around Sundown
(RCA)
Release Date: October 19
Rather than returning to their cozy Nashville quads to pump out the sequel to 2008’s Only By the Night, Kings of Leon detoured to New York for a change of pace while also in pursuit of an updated sound. Their upcoming record, Come Around Sunshine, stays within the perimeters of their country-rock (especially with “Back Down South” and “Mary”), but enhances their x-ray vision into more stadium chants and crowd pleasers. Their superpowers are already warming up radio with the gospel-meets-Springsteen rock of “Radioactive.”
LISTEN TO:
“Radioactive”
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Cee Lo Green
The Lady Killer
(Atlantic)
Release Date: December 7
“F*** You!” is one of those songs that you just love to hate and hate to love. Yes, it’s a dichotomic reference that doesn’t make sense. And that probably explains why a song so unconventional for any radio format went viral in a matter of seconds and has since gained traction on rock radio (peaking so far at #48 on the Rock Songs’ survey). Let’s be reminded that this is not a rock song. It’s decorated with a Holland-Dozier-Holland swagger. And coming from a black guy with lots of hip-hop headlining his resume, this doesn’t actually spell rock music. But Cee-Lo Green, one-half of Gnarls Barkley – the duo that turned “Crazy” into a worldwide hit, is far from predictable these days. Besides him working on last-minute decisions to authorize the final album listing, and deciding what songs to lift from his 2010 mixtape Stray Bullets unto the fold, everything else seems to be set in motion. Both edited and explicit versions have been released of (F*** You).” The clean version is called “Forget You.” While describing the album, Green states that “he’s picking up where Barry White left off.” E’nuff said.
LISTEN TO:
“F*** You (Forget You)!”
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T.I.
King Uncaged
(Grand Hustle/Atlantic)
Releaste Date: December 2010
The superstar rapper, now with a hit movie under his belt (Takers), is prepping the release of his seventh album. But there’s a long tale of setbacks that have made this album so controversial including his stint in prison and a run-in with the po-po’s, also involving his wife. The latter, damaged with drug charges in L.A., could land him right back in jail. If this happens, and it most likely will, street promotions and touring for the album will be tough to pull off. Several songs from the highly-anticipated release have already worked its way to radio including “Pledge Allegiance to the Swag” and the pop-natured, Keri Hilson-featured “Got Your Back.”
LISTEN TO:
“Got Your Back” (featuring Keri Hilson)
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Kanye West
TBD
(Columbia)
Release Date: November
Without an official release date or album title, hip-pop emcee Kanye West is still planning to make a deadline of releasing his follow-up for ‘808s & Heartbreak. According to soulman John Legend, West plans to reveal a few tracks featuring him on it. Other stars lined up for cameos include Beyoncé Knowles, Charlie Wilson, Dwele, Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne. Drake is even showing up on the album. But don’t expect the album to follow the synth-driven dominance of ‘808s & Heartbreak. Although critics hailed the album as one of his best and most creative efforts, West plans to return back to the beats and lyrics. The stuff that made him one of the most respected emcees in hip-hop; despite his wacky outbursts. His first single, “Power,” made its debut back in June and has peaked at #22 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs’ chart.
LISTEN TO:
“Power” (featuring Dwele)
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Ne-Yo
Libra Scale
(Def Jam)
Release Date: October 19
One of R&B’s princes is coming back with yet another album release – a year after Year of the Gentleman. It’s also planned to carry on the spirits of a concept album; highlighting his love for sci-fi, comic books and anime. The producer/songwriter/singer wanted to do a series of videos for every song on the album – much like Michael Jackson did for Thriller and with the long-form montages that documented most of Moonwalker, but budget woes and time restraints put a hault to that idea. Still, Ne-Yo has kicked out three singles for the album. The better of the three, “Champagne Life,” has peaked at #75 pop and #11 R&B.
LISTEN TO:
“Champagne Life”
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Nelly
5.0
(Dertty Ent./ Universal Motown)
Release Date: November 16
After Brass Knucklessuffered a whimsical death in record sales, Nelly is aiming for a big bounce back. After Taylor Swift tweeted that she was so much in love with Nelly’s new single “Just a Dream,” Nelly felt cool again. And he has a right to be. The new single “Just a Dream” is lighting up several charts including Hot Rap Songs (#16), Mainstream Top 40 (#16) and soaring to #7 pop. “Tippin In da Club” is expected to make major noise on hip-hop/rap radio. “This album is a lot more melodic than most of my previous albums,” said an enthusiastic Nelly to Billboard. “It has the power, energy and diversity that my fans have allowed me to [draw from] over the years, including pop, rhythmic, urban and even country.”
LISTEN TO:
“Just A Dream”
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Elton John and Leon Russell
The Union
(Decca)
Release Date: October 19
It may seem like an oddball decision to bring the Rocket Man and the Session legend together, but it’s a union that ultimately makes sense when you look at their love for the piano. “Two pianos and no egos” is how John described the pairing of the two on the studio collaboration with the country-rock-R&B genius Leon Russell. John, with his colorful and highly-decorated resume of hits, and Russell, with so many hit records he’s played on and so many songs like “Superstar” and “Song for You” etched into timeless Americana, teamed up to write a record of new songs. Some song credits feature John’s longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin, Booker T. (Jones), Neil Young, Brian Wilson and producer T Bone Burnett. What makes the album so riveting and special is that most of the songs were cut in just one or two takes. “If It Wasn’t for Bad,” one of the released singles from the album, blends both men’s styles together in a fashionable way; highlighted with their exceptional piano pumping and with the arrangement’s fancy theatrics.
LISTEN TO:
“If It Wasn’t for Bad”
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