11 albums to get excited about in 2020

Today is a huge win for music fans across the globe; for those who love K-Pop, arguably the biggest release of the year (so far) comes from mega-group boy band BTS. On the flip side, if Art-Pop is your poison, then prepare yourself for Canadian singer Grimes’s new offering, the environmentally minded, cyber-charged Miss Anthropocene.

And the rest of the year holds much musical promise, too: Adele let slip last weekend that her hugely anticipated fourth album is due for release this September; the Navy, meanwhile, continue to endlessly troll their leader RiRi in the hope that she will finally release her first record since 2016’s Anti.

Here, Vogue lists the 11 definitive albums you need to play / stream / download / obsess over this year.

BTS, Map Of The Soul 7, 21 February 2020

RM, Suga, Jin, J-Hope, V, Jimin and Jungkook kicked off 2020 by announcing a global arts collaboration with Antony Gormley—an ongoing, multi-city art initiative that they’ll roll out throughout the year. They also unveiled details about their brand new album: Map Of The Soul 7. Set for release today (21 Feb), track titles include Black Swan, Moon, We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal and the energetic Outro, while collaborators on the 20-track album include Troye Sivan and Chandelier singer Sia. Anticipation is at an all-time high, and that’s reflected by the staggering four million pre-orders. There’s simply no stopping this phenomenally powerful seven-piece.

Grimes, Miss Anthropocene, 21 February 2020

Five years after the release of Art Angel, Art-Pop singer and mum-to-be Grimes releases her new LP Miss Anthropocene today (21 Feb). Describing her project on social media as “a concept album about the goddess of climate change”, the title of the record also nods to ideas coined by Nobel Prize winner and climate change scholar Paul J Crutzen back in 2000—Anthropocene being the word used to describe the current geological state of the Earth (with Ice Age, Jurrasic, etc, all coming before our time). If you are familiar with Moore's Law, you can expect the album to be a cyber trajectory of exponential reverberations… If not, expect a woman-centred, ecologically minded innovative release from one of music’s most magical.

J Balvin, Colores, March 2020

The record-breaking J Balvin recently announced that Colores is the title of his upcoming fourth solo studio album, set for release this March. Enlisting Japanese artist and colour visionary Takashi Murakami for the artwork and Colin Tilley (Kendrick, Rihanna, Bieber) for the videos, the Columbian chartbuster promises a kaleidoscopic vision for his latest record. He’s already released Blanco, replete with a very white video and a whopping 137m views; while the purple-hued Morado is catching up with over 51m views to date. Known for his collaborations, including Oasis, an entire record with Bad Bunny, and last year’s Latin Grammy Award-winning single Con Altura (well over 1 billion views to date) alongside Rosalía, Colores will feature José and José alone. Expect his ubiquitous blend of reggaeton and dembow, dancehall and pop, and no doubt more mind-blowing, streaming figures.

Tiwa Savage, TBC

Commonly referred to as the Queen of Afrobeats (Tiwa herself prefers “Number One African Bad Girl”), Lagos-based, London-raised Tiwa has hinted a new album is imminent. And we’re so ready for it. Signing with Motown/Universal last year, Savage’s rapaciously vibrant and powerfully political 49-99 single (an homage to Fela Kuti’s Shuffering and Shmiling) has already hit nearly 9 million views as she continues to grow her fan base, which includes Drake, Beyoncé... and Vogue! Other details about the record are scant, but there’s no doubting Savage’s new album will be ferocious.

Rihanna, R9, TBC

If the barrage of constant quips and comical memes circulating social media are anything to go by, Rihanna’s Navy are pretty keen for a new album. The end of 2019 had us waiting with bated breath for the Work singer’s long-awaited project, (titled R9 by her loyal fan base), alas to no avail. The few details we do know about the Bajan star’s first project since 2016 make it one to salivate over. RiRi teased a clip of her working with Pharrell Williams’s The Neptunes just last week (they worked together back in 2017 on the single Lemon), while she divulged to Vogue back in November 2019 that the record would be reggae inspired. “It’s not gonna be typical of what you know as reggae. But you’re going to feel the elements in all of the tracks.” Roll on RiRi 2020.

Adele, Adele, September 2020

A wedding officiant, multiple Grammy award winner and frequent musical icon cosplay devotee—is there anything Adele can’t do? The 31-year-old singer last had us all in our feelings when she dropped her album 25 back in 2015 and last weekend at former Maccabees guitarist Hugo White’s wedding she confirmed that we won’t have to wait too long for her latest, possibly greatest project—September in fact. As for the title, back in 2016 while appearing on James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke, the recently divorced singer confirmed she would be deviating from her numerical album naming, simply calling the new record Adele. While we’re sad for her heartache, we can only imagine what musical magic the break-up could conjure. Someone Like You: Part 2 anyone?

The 1975, Notes On a Conditional Form, April 2020

Last week, The 1975 member Matty Healy made a point of tweeting that the band is a very much a collaborative collective, and without fellow members George, Ross and Adam their success wouldn’t be nearly as meteoric. He’s also a tireless LGBTQ+ advocate and recently announced the band would only be performing at gender-balanced festivals going forward. Right on! No wonder the band has such ardent, devoted fans. Lead single Me And You Together, released last month, saw Healy confess his undying adoration for a new romance—possibly an ode to his rumoured new partner FKA Twigs? Perhaps more will be revealed once the full album drops.

Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia, 3 April 2020

Scheduled for release on 3 April, Future Nostalgia is the perfect title for a record that promises to be an apocalyptic take on 80s disco. The feel-good hit Don’t Start Now gave us a taste of where the Grammy winner’s head is at, while Physical is an unadulterated bop. If Dua was worried about matching her incredibly successful 2017 self-titled debut, these two singles suggest she can relax. With production from powerhouse Stuart Price and, if the internet is to be believed, a sample from the ultimate 80s power-pop ballad Never Tear Us Apart by INXS, Dua’s ascent to top of the pops is assured.

Rina Sawayama, 17 April

Pop game-changer Rina Sawayama makes her studio album debut next month. Previously a model, the Japanese-British entertainer and LGBTQ+ advocate may no longer catwalk but she’s still firmly influenced by fashion. Singles from the album released so far include Comme Des Garçons (Like the Boys) while the nu-metal inflected STFU and its super-stylish video ruminates on the micro-aggressions she’s endured as a dual-heritage woman. Supporting Charli XCX on tour last year, Rina is more than ready for centre stage as she preps for her first international tour this April.

Rosalía, TBC

In February, Spanish superstar Rosalía won a Grammy for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album for her incredibly impressive debut El Mal Querer. It was yet another achievement to add to her already growing stash of accolades, which also includes an ever-growing army of famous friends and fans such as Frank Ocean, Virgil Abloh and Kylie Jenner. Although her rise may seem somewhat rapid, the Catalan singer-songwriter has been quietly totting up an impressive list of features over the last 12 months, lending her seamless vocals to Travis Scott’s global hit Highest In The Room and James Blake’s mellow Barefoot In The Park. Her Spanish language albums have undoubtedly opened up the global floodgate for flamenco, not to mention a legion of other Spanish singers. If you’ve seen her live, you’ll know that there’s nothing quite like anything Rosalía. 2019 proved that the 26-year-old is only just getting started.

Frank Ocean, TBC

The Coachella 2020 headliner has everyone excitedly anticipating his comeback. In My Room was a delicious filler to sate our appetites for a short time, but now, we’re absolutely ready for the main course. The track, which premiered on Frank’s Apple Beats 1 show, Blonded Radio, came as a welcome surprise to fans, arriving a cool two weeks after he dropped single DHL. Ocean has been typically non-committal about a time frame for his third album, merely noting, last September, that it would veer away from his more melancholic style and take in house and electronic influences. Whatever Frank does next, no doubt we’ll all love it.

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