The Most Anticipated Albums of 2023

This year has turned out to be an impressive one in the music industry as artists from all genres continue to come out with new albums. Miley Cyrus’s “Endless Summer Vacation,” Chlöe’s “In Pieces,” Sam Smith’s “Gloria,” and Ice Spice’s debut album, “Like . . ?” are just a few of the releases we’ve been playing on repeat since they dropped earlier this year. Well into the second half of the year now, several additional artists — including Olivia Rodrigo and Doja Cat — have teased new albums set to drop in the remaining months.

So far, artists like Kesha, Bebe Rexha, the Jonas Brothers, and Keke Palmer have all come through with enough new music to keep our AirPods buzzing for months. Between tracking release dates, collaborations, track lists, and tour dates, keeping up with all the new albums of 2023 is basically a full-time job. With more album releases still to come, though, we’re willing to put in the work, i.e., refresh our favorite artists’ social media pages for any and all clues about new albums.

In February, we saw the return of Paramore with their sixth studio album, “This Is Why,” and celebrated the release of Lana Del Rey’s “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.” From Anitta’s upbeat “Funk Generation: A Favela Love Story” to Karol G’s hopeful “Mañana Será Bonito,” the Spanish music charts have also been heating up with hit after hit, which has us itching to get in the virtual queue for concert tickets.

With so many new albums to listen to, it’s hard to believe there’s still so much new music to come. (Yes, Taylor Swift’s “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is on its way!) Ahead, see the biggest new album releases on the horizon for 2023, including original music from Selena Gomez, Tems, The Weeknd, Normani, and more.

Cardi B — New Album Release: 2023

It’s been five years since Cardi B released her debut album, “Invasion of Privacy,” but new music is definitely in the works. The rapper has dropped several hints, including a tour of her at-home recording studio. Late last year, she again sparked suspicion among fans when she started following a since-deleted Instagram account called @albumcb2.

Though some fans have become skeptical that a new album is still on the way, Cardi gave fans a glimmer of hope in May. “This album is coming,” she assured viewers during an Instagram livestream. A few months later, Cardi also appeared on her husband Offset’s track “Jealousy,” one of many collaborations she’s done this year. Additional collaborations include “Put It on da Floor Again” with Latto and “Point Me 2” with FendiDa Rappa.

Speaking with Vogue México y Latinoamérica for the publication’s September 2023 cover story, Cardi gave fans the most promising update yet. “I’m not going to release any more collaborations,” she said. “I’m going to put out my next solo single. Right now, I’m working on the cover art and ideas for the next record because it’s definitely coming up. Everyone always tells me I should put the record out now. They did when I released ‘WAP’ [with Megan Thee Stallion] and when I released ‘Up,’ but I always let them know I’m not going to wait long after all these singles. So stay tuned because it’s coming out very soon.”

Selena Gomez — New Album Release: 2023

Following the release of her introspective Apple TV+ documentary, “My Mind and Me,” Selena Gomez is preparing to release her fourth studio album.

“I just finished season four of my cooking show, and I am in LA working on my album now,” she said in a May 2022 interview on the “Crew Call” podcast. News of Gomez’s upcoming album comes just one year after the singer hinted at “retiring” from music. “I think there are a lot of people who enjoy my music, and for that I’m so thankful, for that I keep going, but I think the next time I do an album it’ll be different,” Gomez said in her Vogue 2021 cover story. “I want to give it one last try before I maybe retire music.”

Gomez’s new album will be her first solo release since her 2021 Spanish EP, “Revelación.” In August 2020, she also released her collab, “Ice Cream,” with K-pop giant Blackpink. She also released “999,” a 2021 collab with Camilo; “Let Somebody Go,” a 2022 collab with Coldplay; and, more recently, a “Calm Down” remix with Rema.

While Gomez hasn’t announced an official album title or release date, she has hinted at a possible tour to accompany her new album. “I am open to a tour, a thousand percent, but I obviously have obligations and things I wanna do, so when the time’s right,” she added. “It’s not the top of my priority list.”

In June, Gomez posted photos of herself in the recording studio on Instagram. “don’t worry guys, it’s coming. Even from Paris,” she captioned the photos. In the comments section, even celebrity friends were curious to know more. “TELL US MORE!!!!!!!!!” Serena Williams wrote, echoing the thoughts of fans worldwide.

The most recent album tease came in August when she released her uplifting breakup anthem, “Single Soon,” hinting that more music will follow soon.

Normani — New Album Release: 2023

Normani fans are eagerly awaiting her debut album as a solo artist. Since her Fifth Harmony Days, Normani has released songs “Love Lies” with Khalid, “Dancing With a Stranger” with Sam Smith, “Diamonds” with Megan Thee Stallion, “Wild Side” feat. Cardi B, and her 2019 hit “Motivation.” Then, last year, she premiered her heartbreak song “Fair,” the lead single off her upcoming album.

“When you go through heartbreak and adversity that often creates the best record,” she previously told “Today.” “And for me, this was really just an opportunity to showcase my vulnerability. I think that I’ve never really been comfortable with being vulnerable in front of people. So for me, this was really a breakthrough and really just shattering the idea of perfection.”

Normani said her album will be a blend of genres. “I think that’s one thing that in the beginning of the process was limiting to me creatively because I’m like, ‘OK, is this pop enough? Is this urban enough?'” she continued in the Today interview. “Like, I was really, really putting myself through it and not enjoying just making good ass music, which for me is the most important.” She added that she was inspired by some of her favorite ’90s musicians, such as Brandy, Monica, Toni Braxton, and Destiny’s Child.

In an April 2022 interview with BET, the singer said the album is a representation of her growth as an artist. “There’s a range from what you can hear from the records I’ve already put out along with the next record I’ll be putting out — there’s so much dimension to me as a person so I really wanted my artistry to reflect that,” she said. “As a songwriter, I’ve grown tremendously. With me trusting myself, you’ll hear that confidence for sure.”

While the album was expected to drop in 2022, the new projected release date is sometime in 2023. Five years on from the initial album announcement, fans are hanging in there, but she did give a taste of what’s to come in a Bose ad released in June. “In terms of my career and my music, I know the wait has been extensive but it’s definitely going to be worth it, and I just feel like the partnership couldn’t have come at a better time,” she told Billboard after previewing her single, “Candy Paint.”

Normani added that the new album will evoke her sillier side and all her “personality to shine.” “It’s a performance record first, which I know my fans have been waiting for, for a very long time,” she said. “It’s fun, energetic, bossy. It’s bold. It’s sassy but assertive, and yeah, I’m really excited to shoot the [‘Candy Paint’] music video.”

Tems — New Album Release: 2023

Tems’s debut studio album is on its way. The Grammy-nominated singer, whose cover of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” was featured on the “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” soundtrack, promised new music after a fan called her out on Twitter for pushing back the album release date.

In 2021, the “Free Mind” singer was featured on “Fountain” from Drake’s album “Certified Lover Boy.” She later rejoined Drake for a feature on Future’s “Wait For You,” which earned her an American Music Award for favorite hip-hop song. The song also earned Tems Grammy nominations for best rap song. Additionally, she received a nomination for album of the year for her feature alongside Grace Jones on Beyoncé’s “Move” from “Renaissance.” Her “Wait For You” performance also earned her a Grammy for best melodic rap performance alongside Future and Drake.

In an August interview with Interview Magazine, Tems shed some light on her creative process and the work she’s been doing in the recording studio. “I’m the kind of person that if you leave me in the studio by myself for like two days, I turn into one of those mad scientists in a cartoon,” she said. For Tems, her creative process is primarily a solitary one. Though, she admits she does, occasionally, appreciate input along the way: “I record myself mostly, but sometimes after doing, like, 800 takes, I call and I’m like, ‘Yo, I’m going crazy. I need help.'”

Though being in the studio for long hours can be exhausting, Tems added there are times when she gets so into the zone she can’t stop. “Sometimes I freestyle to a point where I can’t feel my feet,” she continued. “I’ve entered somewhere and I don’t even know where I am anymore. I’m just pouring out my gut and then when I’m done, I don’t remember what I just did. If you didn’t record it, it’s almost as if I blacked out.”

As the end of the year approaches, we hope to hear the product of Tems’s transcendent recording sessions sooner than later.

The Weeknd — New Album Release: 2023

After ditching his stage name in favor of his birth name, Abel Tesfaye, The Weeknd, has sparked rumors that new music is on the horizon.

Following “Dawn FM” in 2022 and his dramatic HBO series, “The Idol,” fans speculate that The Weeknd’s upcoming album may be his last — at least, under his stage name. The new album is also expected to be the final piece in his album trilogy, which currently consists of “After Hours” and “Dawn FM.” He told Variety, “The name of it will come out soon, but it’s not called what some fans think it’s called . . . what they think it’s called is actually a song on the album, but that’s not what the actual album is called [some fans speculated that it would be titled ‘After Life’]. So I’m just gonna say that.”

Though the singer hasn’t shared specific details about an album title or release date, fans are keeping a close eye on his social media accounts for any hints about the upcoming project. In the meantime, The Weeknd is set to make his feature-film debut alongside Jenna Ortega as a lead actor, producer, writer, and director in an upcoming film.

Demi Lovato — “Revamped” Album Release: Sept. 15

After entering their punk-rock era with “Holy Fvck” in 2022, Demi Lovato is coming back with a refreshed version of their biggest pop hits. “Revamped,” set to drop on Sept. 15, will be Lovato’s first remix album and will feature major hits including “Heart Attack,” “Cool For the Summer,” “Confident,” and “La La Land.”

On tour, Lovato and their band created new arrangements for the pop songs to better fit their punk vibe. After an overwhelmingly positive fan response, Lovato decided to officially rerecord her chart-topping hits with a heavy metal twist. “I love revisiting these past moments in my career,” they told Rolling Stone. “We’ve done a great job of reenvisioning the songs, and I’m really happy with them.”

Though the album will remix some of their most famous songs, Lovato said they were careful not to strip the tracks of their sense of “familiarity.” “I changed the melody a little bit in certain spots and then try to hit higher notes than the originals,” Lovato said. The only notable lyrical change on the upcoming album occurs in “Tell Me You Love Me.” Before the lyric, “No, you ain’t nobody ’till you got somebody,” in the chorus, Lovato sings, “They say.” “I interject a little because I don’t want that negative connotation of ‘You’re only somebody if you’re with somebody’ and that’s something that’s always bugged me about the song as I’ve performed it on the road,” Lovato said of the change.

For those who have been fans of Lovato since the start of their career, the new album will be a fresh take on some of their favorite songs. Lovato encourages fans, though, to approach the album release with an open mind. “I think what’s important is that you just listen to it with an open mind and be receptive to the new genre of music that it’s in,” Lovato said. “I think my fans will know and love these songs still.”

ennifer Lopez — “This Is Me . . . Now” Album Release: Summer 2023

For the first time in nearly a decade, J Lo is releasing new music. In November 2022, the “Marry Me” singer announced the title of her ninth studio album: “This Is Me . . . Now.” The album is a sequel to her 2002 release, “This Is me . . . Then,” which featured hits like “Jenny From the Block” feat. Styles P and Jadakiss and “All I Have” feat. LL Cool J.

“This Is Me . . . Now” is a celebration of love and will touch on Lopez’s rekindled relationship with Ben Affleck in the form of “confessional songs, reflections on the trials of her past, and upbeat celebrations of love,” according to a press release. “People think they know things about what happened to me along the way, the men I was with —— but they really have no idea, and a lot of times they get it so wrong,” Lopez said of the upcoming release in an interview with Vogue. “There’s a part of me that was hiding a side of myself from everyone. And I feel like I’m at a place in my life, finally, where I have something to say about it.”

Lopez added that the album is “emotionally raw” and “the most honest work she has ever done.” “We captured me at this moment in time when I was reunited with the love of my life and we decided we were going to be together forever,” she said in an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe. “I think what the message of the album is very much if you were wondering if you have, like me at times, lost hope, almost given up, don’t. Because true love does exist and some things do last forever and that’s real. I want to put that message out into the world and that does take a lot of vulnerability.”

The song “Midnight Trip to Vegas,” specifically, was inspired by her spur-of-the-moment decision to tie the knot with Ben Affleck at the famous Little White Chapel in Las Vegas, she revealed on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in January. She later teased the song’s romantic lyrics in her “On the JLo” newsletter. In addition to her romantic relationships, the album will explore her “tough childhood, unsuccessful relationships and the incredible emotional journey” she’s endured. The autobiographical stories included in Lopez’s upcoming album will also be reflected in other “personal projects” the singer has in the works.

“This Is Me . . . Now” is expected to drop sometime in the summer of 2023 and will feature tracks like “To Be Yours,” “Can’t Get Enough,” “Rebound,” “Greatest Love Story Never Told,” and “Dear Ben Pt. II.”

By Chanel Vargas

Photo: Getty