Three anticipated albums by highly acclaimed artists have already dropped or are being released this spring.
Ariana Grande delivered “eternal sunshine” this month, while Beyoncé’s “Act II” drops on Friday and Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” will be released next month.
Fans have been eagerly awaiting these albums.
Grande dropped “eternal sunshine” on March 9. It’s her first album in three years and her sixth studio album.The name originated from one of her favorite films, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, starring an actor she loves, Jim Carrey.
Grande has been busy since her last album, “Positions”. She was cast in the role of Glinda the Good Witch in the upcoming “Wicked” movie. To match her new role, she added a song titled, “Imperfect for You”, which references “Perfect for You” from the musical “Next to Normal”.
For her new album, the number seven seems very important. It became a common theme after Grande’s Dec. 7 post had exactly seven pictures and seven videos. Not to mention her next album related posts were on Dec. 17 and Dec. 27.
Exciting her fans and giving them a taste of what is to come, Grande released a lead single, “yes and?”. Following the theme of sevens it was announced on Jan. 7 and released five days later. It’s a pop song that has a catchy beat, and critics are raving about the music video. It spent two weeks at No. 1 Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global U.S. charts.
The song from this album that has made the biggest splash so far is “we can’t be friends”. It also claimed the No. 1 spot on Hot 100, capturing listeners’ hearts with its melody and relateable lyrics of having to let go of a loved one.
Grande truly impressed with this album after such a long break from releasing music.
Next up is “Act II”, Beyoncé’s first country album and the second installment of her 2022 album “Renaissance”. The release was announced during a 2024 Super Bowl commercial, leaving her fans shocked.
“Okay they ready, drop the music,” Beyoncé said at the end of her commercial.
Shortly after, she released a post on Instagram related to her new album.
“Act II” is set to be released on Friday and is Beyoncé’s eighth studio album. She also has five live albums.
“This three act project was recorded over three years during the pandemic,” Beyoncé shared in a booklet that came with the vinyl edition of “Act I”.
Beyoncé had been hinting at a trilogy after dubbing her 2022 album “Renaissance, Act I” and this new album “Act II”. It seems that fans cen be expecting a “Act III” in the future.
Rumors about her releasing a country album had been circulating for months, but fans really started speculating when Beyoncé’ wore a cowboy hat and a leather studded skirt to the Grammy Awards. Then she released two songs, “Texas Hold’Em” and “16 Carriages”, with music videos for each.
The two songs solidify the country theme for the following album through their style and the fact that both track covers feature Beyoncé in a cowboy hat.
Taylor Swift has been a major singer/songwriter and has many accomplishments throughout her career. She is a 14-time Grammy Award winner, has several multi-platinum albums, and is one of the best-selling music artists of all time with a net worth of $1.1 billion. Needless to say, Swift has had a huge impact on the music industry.
“I think [Swift] is a very influential person,” junior Madison Kallas said. “She is a big role model for a lot of women in the world.”
Swift announced the release of her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department”, after receiving her 13th Grammy Award for 2022 album “Midnights”.The news of her 11th album shocked the world and fans are overjoyed for its release on April 19.
“There is a lot of hype over the new album and I think it’ll be really good,” Kallas said. “I’m excited to hear it.”
Swift’s cult of followers, nicknamed “Swifties”, are overjoyed by this news and have been raving about it all over the internet.
The album cover is a black and white image of Swift lying back with the top part of her face just out of frame, similar to her album 1989’s cover art.
Fans suspect the album’s title, “The Tortured Poets Department”, is related to one of her exes, Joe Alwyn. This is because of a group chat he was in with Paul Mescal called “The Tortured Man Club”.
The tracklist for the highly anticipated album has a total of 16 songs and four bonus tracks, “The Manuscript”, “The Bolter”, “The Albatross”, and “The Black Dog”.There are two major collaborators that fans should look out for.
Popular artist Post Malone is featured on the very first track, “Fortnite”. Additionally, alternative indie artist Florence & The Machine appears on track eight, titled “Florida!”.
During her 2024 show in Melbourne, Swift expressed this album was her most cathartic project. She added that it reminded her of why songwriting is something that gets her through life, showing her excitement for this new album.
Two other versions of this album will be released as well, one called the “Bolter” edition and the other called “The Albatross”. These two versions will have unique covers and a limited bonus track for the fans to enjoy.
“I’ve heard some of it and it’s unbelievable,” Swift’s boyfriend and Kansas City Chiefs tight-end Travis Kelce said in a Super Bowl press conference. “I can’t wait for her to shake up the world when it finally drops.”
These three iconic artists are definitely aiming high with their new spring releases.
