5 artists we absolutely need new albums from in 2019

Usually, the expression is “new year, new me.” But what it should be is “new year, new music”! This year is bringing a whole new crop of albums, and these are the ones we hope are on the way.

The new year is upon us and that means a whole new start. It’s time to change your habits, start going to the gym, eating better, and organizing your life! Okay, that’s probably not going to happen overnight, but a new year also means new TV shows, movies, and — best of all — new music to keep us going all year.

You may or may not ever make it to the gym, and that new juicer you bought may go to waste, but you can be assured that your Spotify playlist will be popping with all the latest jams from the new albums from our favorite artists.

There are so many albums speculated for 2019. Some have been confirmed, and others are just ones we hope are on the way. There was so much amazing music dominating the charts last year from artists like Ariana Grande, Cardi B, Drake, Dua Lipa, Janelle Monae and so many more, so hopefully this year can keep up! But if the five artists on our list of artists we need albums from in 2019 all manage to get out their albums on time — or at all — then we can guarantee we will all have an amazing 2019… at least music wise.

LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 02: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO COMMERCIAL USE) Ariana Grande performs onstage during the 2018 iHeartRadio by AT&T at Banc of California Stadium on June 2, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

Ariana Grande

To say 2018 was Ariana Grande’s year would be an understatement. She kicked off her new era in April when she released her new single “No Tears Left to Cry” from her forthcoming album Sweetener. Sweetener picked up so much attention as she released the promotional single “The Light Is Coming” with Nicki Minaj and then the follow-up single “God Is A Woman.” She released the album, announced the Sweetener World Tour, was named the Billboard Woman of the Year, and also released more music following her highly publicized whirlwind engagement and subsequent breakup with Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson. (Let’s not forget about “thank u, next.”)

Grande has made it clear that she doesn’t care about the typical album “era” and just wants to release new music as she sees fit. But after she put out so many bops in the past year, we can’t help but be left begging for more! A new single here and there is great, but a whole album would be even better! We want ballads, we want dance hits — “Into You” part two, please! — and we want more of whatever Grande can give us! Thank you, next!

NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 07: Cardi B performs at Z100’s Jingle Ball 2018 at Madison Square Garden on December 7, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

Cardi B

Like Grande, Cardi is just not slowing down! Even a pregnancy, a marriage, a newborn baby, and a breakup couldn’t keep her from slaying in 2018, and we’re hoping 2019 is next.

Cardi took the industry by storm with her commercial debut single “Bodak Yellow” in 2017, then continued to climb the ladder, even earning two Grammy nominations for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song. She even had high profile collabs with G-Eazy, Migos and Nicki Minaj, and Ozuna, then went on to release her debut album Invasion of Privacy in 2018 to rave reviews. The album even debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200, and the single “I Like It” was the smash hit of the summer.

The rapper recently appeared on DJ Snake’s Latin single “Taki Taki” with Selena Gomez and Ozuna and released her own single “Money.” Lucky for us, she actually confirmed that she has plans to release a new album in 2019! We can never get enough Cardi, and that’s why she is where she is now. Her personality hooked us and now her music has kept us invested.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – JANUARY 06: Lady Gaga attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

Lady Gaga

The (hopefully) soon-to-be-Oscar-winner Lady Gaga — I am speaking it into existence! — will always be on our list of singers who need new albums because, hello, we always crave new Gaga music! Even with her stellar performance in A Star Is Born and the even more stellar soundtrack, featuring plenty of amazing new Gaga originals like “Shallow,” “Hair Body Face,” “I’ll Never Love Again,” and the most meaningful masterpiece she has ever released, “Why Did You Do That?” Of course, all those songs are technically performed by her A Star Is Born’s character, Ally, so we’d also accept a new album from her, too.

With her new Las Vegas residency Enigma kicking off and award season in full swing (with Gaga a shoo-in to be taking home more than a couple trophies), 2019 is sure to be another busy year for her. But this would be the perfect time for her to record more music. She could perform the songs in her Vegas show — which features all of her career highlights like “Poker Face” and “Bad Romance” — and all the press she’s gotten for A Star Is Born would be like built-in promo for the album.

NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 20: Madonna presents the award for Video of the Year onstage during the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on August 20, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for MTV)

Madonna

Even after almost 40 years in the industry, Madonna is still the Queen of Pop, and we are always desperate to see what she’ll do next. It’s been over three years since her last album, Rebel Heart, was released, and that’s just unacceptable.

Madonna originally said she would have a new album out for fans in 2018, but you can’t rush art! With all the ventures she has her hands in at the moment, including her MDNA Skin line, it’s no wonder she had to put a pause on music, but now she promises new music is on the way. She confirmed the exciting news in an interview with WWD, saying: “I’m finishing my record, which I’m going to release next year.” Time to freak out!

There’s no saying what route Madonna will take with the sound of this new music, but here’s hoping she’s still got plenty of bops left in her. She needs to show these new girls how a real queen does it.

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 13: Rihanna speaks onstage during Rihanna’s 4th Annual Diamond Ball benefitting The Clara Lionel Foundation at Cipriani Wall Street on September 13, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Diamond Ball)

Rihanna

Last but certainly not least, we are in desperate need of new Rihanna music! Between 2005 and 2012, Rihanna basically released new albums every year, then we had to wait four years for Anti in 2016. Even with her feature on DJ Khaled’s summer smash “Wild Thoughts,” we’re still craving some new hits from RiRi.

The Rihanna Navy — as her fans like to call themselves — have been demanding new music from the singer and mogul so much that she has even started making a meme of herself on her Instagram stories. She’s been a little too busy building her Fenty empire, with her wildly successful Fenty Beauty line as well as her Fenty-Puma collab and her Savage X Fenty lingerie line. She has finally confirmed that the new album is dropping in 2019, but we don’t know much else.

Earlier in the year, there were rumblings that she was recording a reggae album and if that is true, summer 2019 is about to be the Year of Rihanna. Give us some dancehall bops, RiRi!

These are just a couple of artists we’re getting amped to hear music from in 2019. Who would you love to hear some new music from? Let us know in the comments.