My Top 3 Most Anticipated Album Releases of 2017
A new year brings new resolutions, new goals, and most importantly, new music!
Number 3: Vinyl Theatre
Vinyl Theatre stole my heart through their lead singers, Keegan Calmes, Instagram feed. I never really followed them before or listened to their music. I knew they were touring in my area and have toured in the past with Twenty One Pilots so I started following them. Keegan posted videos of him preparing and working on the new album. The videos were less than 60 seconds, but the lyrics and beat captured my soul. There was one video that stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it. I discovered it late one night and couldn't stop listening to it.
Here it is, give it a listen:
"It's fine. I'm fine on my own."
His voice is so beautiful. When I heard it for the first time, it captured how I felt in that very moment. The song is so soulful! Especially with him playing the guitar and the black/white filter.
I'm hopeful this song will be on the new album!
Vinyl Theatre is currently on tour with Dashboard Confessional. Their last album, Electrogram, was released in September 2014 and is currently on iTunes. Last month they played their new album in full in their hometown, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
UPDATE: Their album, Origami, will be out May 5, 2017! They have released four new songs off the album entitled, "The Island," "New Machines," "My Fault," and "30 Seconds."
Number 2: Halsey
I started listening to Halsey at the end of April 2016. I was viewing the Bonnaroo 2016 lineup and wanted to discover more artists I didn't know as well to watch on The Farm. I listened to Halsey's song 'Gasoline' and was hooked! I immediately bought her album Badlands (released August 2015) that week and was obsessed with each song. By June, I knew them all by heart.
In June at Bonnaroo, Halsey and The Chainsmokers released their smash hit, "Closer," which has been on the charts ever since (Unfortunately, I missed that release on The Farm - still a little sad about that). I did get to watch her set live on The Farm and she still rocked out despite being in the hospital the day before. That is dedication and passion to her art!
In 2016, Halsey was popping up everywhere. I remember hearing her songs on television commercials, watching her perform on MTV, and hearing her music in the film, Nerve. She even popped up on the show Roadies performing an acoustic version of
"Hold Me Down" with Machine Gun Kelly. Yes, I did freak out a little bit when she was on the show and that she collaborated with Machine Gun Kelly on one of my favorite songs from Badlands.
Such a rad performance! You can watch it below:
Most recently she released the song "Not Afraid Anymore" for the film, Fifty Shades Darker. All of her fans are obsessed with the song, but it left a lot of us wondering will this be a part of her new album? A fan asked if it will be and she gave us a little taste of what we can expect from her next album:
Not really. As per badlands and room 93, the next album has a concept as well. Not Afraid Anymore lives in the 50 shades timeline/universe https://t.co/CU293fpFjN
— h (@halsey) January 23, 2017
As for the release date of her next album? Just check out her Twitter bio. It says her next album will be released this June! Will a single be released before then? Here is hoping for one in the next coming months! My predictions is for late March, early April.
UPDATE: Halsey's new album is titled Hopeless Fountain Kingdom and will be released June 2. The first single released is "Now or Never."
Number 1: Twenty One Pilots
Say it with me - Twenty One Pilots! What can I say? I've been 'bumping out' (as Tyler would say) to this band since 2014. I am praying and hoping for a new album this year! Or even a single? Honestly, I'll take anything!
In December, they released TOP x MM. I was immediately in love. All of the remixed songs with Mute Math gave me the 80s vibes. One of these collaborated songs should really be included on Stranger Things Season 2!
As far as any updates on a new album or single? Well, there is no news out in the clique yet, but I have a feeling we will be hearing a new album soon. Blurryface will be released two years ago this summer and Vessel was released two years before that. So, if we are going by that - we should be jamming out to new TOP soon!
UPDATE: Twenty One Pilots announced an end of Blurryface three stop tour in their home state of Ohio in June 2017. That can only mean one thing - the end of Blurryface and the beginning of a new album.