Albums I'm Looking Forward to in 2025
After a standout year for pop music in 2024, who's left to release in 2025!?
2024 was one of the most exciting years for pop music we’ve had in years. With releases from Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli xcx, and so many more, it felt like there would be a complete pop music drought in 2025. Rest assured, the girls who took a backseat last year are stepping up to the driver’s seat and keeping us dancing this year. Here’s my list of albums I’m looking forward to in 2025, in no particular order.
Miley Cyrus
Though Miley hasn’t been out of the public eye like she has been between album cycles in the past, I couldn’t be more ready for a new body of work from her. We already know her project is titled “Something Beautiful” and will be both a visual album and “more experimental than anything she’s ever done” while still sticking to a pop sound, thanks to her recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar.
The album pulls inspiration from Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ and the 2018 horror film 'Mandy.’ We don’t have a date for this release yet, but after winning and presenting at this year’s Grammys and performing at this weekend’s SNL 50 concert, I would say we’ll get this album sometime in the spring.
Harry Styles
I know what you’re thinking: a man on this list!? Are you okay!? It’s true, though I often make jokes about how I only listen to female artists, but there are a handful of men who slip through the cracks, and Harry Styles is always near the top. There have been so many instances where we thought HS4 was getting a surprise drop, like last week when his website randomly went offline or when his entire team was boarding a flight together and posting ominous Instagram stories, but alas, all we have is disappointment (disappointment from a man? groundbreaking.)
Lady Gaga
My paws have been up for Lady Gaga’s return since September 2024, and they will continue to stay up until March 7th (and long after that). I’ve already been eating up everything Gaga is selling from ‘Mayhem’ - Abracadabra is already my third most listened-to song of the year after being out for 10 days.
The Mayhem era is alive and well, with Lady Gaga appearing on Hot Ones this week and performing at the SNL 50 concert (yes, the same one Miley’s performing at). We’re only getting started with what’s to come from Mother Monster this year.
Reneé Rapp
If you know me, you know Reneé Rapp has been one of my favorite artists for the last three years (she’s been in my top 10 artists of the year since 2022), and it’s time to add a new album into the mix. She had a killer year in 2024, performing at Coachella, headlining All Things Go, and all of the things you want to see one of your favorite artists do after they release a fantastic debut album. There’s no set date or confirmation that she’s dropping music this year, but she did share that she’s been writing new music about a very transformative year in 2024. “I think one of the last songs I wrote, I had such a terrible day. I just had such a bad day and just like bad experiences, and I was like I have nowhere else to go with my thoughts because obviously, I can’t put them outward in this moment, therefore I will be like mentally just writing,” she shared on Instagram’s Close Friends Only Podcast last summer. All of this to say, I am incredibly ready for whenever this sophomore album drops.
Lorde
Every four years since 2013, we have been blessed with a project from none other than Lorde, one of my favorite artists of all time, and 2025 marks the next chapter in this saga. All we know about this project is that it’s happening and that it’s produced by Dev Hynes. She shared a few cryptic photos alluding to "L4,” which have since been deleted (typical Lorde behavior). Regardless, it’s never been time for a new Lorde album like it is now.
Rebecca Black
Another album that we know we’re getting this year is SALVATION by Rebecca Black.
She’s dropped two singles from this album already, TRUST! and Sugar Water Cyanide, and they’re both bangers. The reinvention of Rebecca Black is something that needs to be studied, and I’m ready to teach the course. She’s been discovering and playing with new sounds for the last few years, and this full-send on hyperpop is exactly what I need this year.
SALVATION drops on February 27th.
Addison Rae
If Addison Rae has 100 fans, I’m one of them. If Addison Rae has 1 fan, it’s me. If Addison Rae has 0 fans, I’m dead. I cannot get enough of everything she has released and am beyond ready for a full-length project. She opened up about her album in her recent Rolling Stone cover story interview, and it was described as “hypnotic, trance-like pop songs, pulsating and lush, which will no doubt accomplish the primary goal of Rae and her collaborators: to make people dance.” I. Am. Sold. We don’t have a date for the album yet, but it will be coming at some point this year. For now, I’ll keep Diet Pepsi on repeat and am patiently waiting for the release of ‘High Fashion’ this Friday.
JADE
Another artist who has been dropping singles that I’ve continuously eaten up time and time again is JADE. This former Little Mix member has been dropping banger after banger since her debut single ‘Angel of My Dreams’ last year.
There’s no set date or confirmation on when we’re getting a full album or EP from her, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we got a full-length project from her at some point this year.
Chappell Roan
Last but absolutely not least is Chappell Roan. 2024 was an absolute knock-out of a year for Chappell, and 2025 is already shaping up to be another killer year after taking home the Grammy for ‘Best New Artist’ earlier this month. She hasn’t said much about a new project, however, we do know there is new music ready to go, such as ‘Subway,’ which she performed at various festivals last summer, and ‘The Giver, ’ which she performed on SNL.
She also shared a photo of herself with a possum (yes, a possum) on Instagram last year with the caption “this may or may not be an easter egg!!!” so who knows what she has up her sleeve.