After a flood of exceptional A-list album releases this past year, 2025 is shaping up to be an interesting year for music. With household names like Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande and Kendrick Lamar being unlikely to release an album two years in a row, 2025 has the possibility of introducing a new wave of genres and artists to the forefront of discussion, akin to the past year with Chappell Roan and Gracie Abrams.
Here is The Black & White’s list of 2025’s most anticipated albums, split into two categories: confirmed by the artist and likely to be released.
Confirmed
“Hurry Up Tomorrow” – The Weeknd (January 24th)
The final album in The Weeknd’s trilogy will be released in January, following his 2020 critically acclaimed album “After Hours” and 2022 concept album “Dawn FM.” The album, which was previewed by the singles “Dancing In The Flames,” “Sao Paulo” with Anitta and “Timeless” with Playboi Carti, is expected to be his last under the pseudonym. The artist has been quoted in W Magazine saying the album is probably his “last hurrah as The Weeknd.” He announced a new tour and movie alongside the upcoming album.
“So Close To What” – Tate McRae (February 21st)
The upcoming third studio album by Tate McRae, “So Close to What” was preceded by the release of its lead single, “It’s OK I’m OK” which caught immense attention from fans and was later followed by the release of “2 Hands.” Listeners witnessed considerable personal growth from McRae, who began her career with a “sad girl” persona primarily due to her popular song “you broke me first.” However, recently, McRae catapulted into the mainstream pop sound with her hit “greedy” and her musical persona is expected to continue evolving with this new album.
“LG7” – Lady Gaga (February)
After releasing the smash hit “Die With A Smile” with Bruno Mars, global star Lady Gaga will release her seventh studio album in February. While Gaga hasn’t announced an exact release date, displayed cover art, or even revealed the album’s title, she released the first single, “Disease” in October 2024. Fans can expect this album to be a “dark-pop record,” which she has described as “chaotic” and “genre-bending.”
“The Right Person Will Stay” – Lana Del Rey (May 21st)
In November 2024, Lana Del Rey announced the release of her 10th studio album this May. In early 2024, Del Rey previewed her song “Henry, Come On,” the lead single on her new album. Originally titled “Lasso,” the album was set to be in the Country Americana genre. However, the singer later confirmed she “might turn it into something more ‘southern gothic,’ like it was supposed to be in the beginning, and less country,” and the name was later changed. Fans are also looking forward to Del Rey’s Europe tour in the summer to follow her album release.
Likely
“reputation (Taylor’s Version)” and “Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version)” – Taylor Swift
Fresh off the global record-breaking “Eras Tour” and the success of her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” Taylor Swift isn’t expected to release a brand-new album in 2025. However, she is currently re-recording her first six albums to regain control over their masters after their ownership was sold without her consent in 2019. The only albums left to be re-recorded are her 2006 debut album “Taylor Swift,” and 2017’s “reputation”, both of which are expected to be re-released in 2025 with never-heard-before “From The Vault” tracks, following an established pattern of alternating between releasing one brand-new album and two re-recorded albums every other year.
“OR3” – Olivia Rodrigo
After the success of her 2021 album “SOUR” and fending off the dreaded “sophomore slump” with her 2023 second studio album “GUTS,” Olivia Rodrigo is expected to return in 2025 with her third album, continuing a two-year gap between releases. The 21-year-old superstar will be on the GUTS World Tour until June 2025, making an album release in the same year possibly challenging, but not unlikely, given Rodrigo’s relatively new introduction to the musical scene and her writing new songs while on tour.
“L4” – Lorde
Lorde, known for her 4-year hiatus between albums, teased in early 2023 that the wait between her 2021 album “Solar Power” and her upcoming fourth album wouldn’t be as long as it was between her 2017 album “Melodrama” and “Solar Power,” telling Billboard that “anything could happen.” The wait looks to be standard between her albums — or possibly even longer — despite many Instagram posts and stories hinting at new music coming soon. The 28-year-old singer/songwriter debuted two new songs at the Sziget Festival in Hungary last year that could be on a new album and has since teased snippets on social media. After the critical acclaim of her feature on Charli XCX’s “Girl, so confusing,” fans are eagerly awaiting new music.