While the Grammy’s unveiling of the Album of The Year 2024 award isn’t until February, mass speculation has already started.
In a recent TikTok, Madeline Argy said, “Sabrina Carpenter just dropped Short n’ Sweet. We have Chappell Roan playing “HOT TO GO!” at every festival this summer. And Olivia Rodrigo is still on the Guts tour. I think we all need to collectively stop for one second and realize that we are living through summer 2024. And I think people are going to be nostalgic about this for a really long time. And I think we all need to sit and appreciate the position that we’re in right now.”
In honor of all the commentary, we’ve rounded up the female artists who have had some of the most standout releases in music so far this year.
Beyoncé Went Country
Beyoncé was timely with her country music release this year – followed by Post Malone’s pivot into the genre and Drake becoming a Texas resident. Cowboy Carter, released on March 29, was an instant success. It’s the second in a trilogy following 2022’s Renaissance and features included icons Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton. The most popular song is TEXAS HOLD ‘EM, which is now her most popular track on Spotify, and made her the first Black woman with a number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart.
Ariana Grande’s Comeback
After facing media backlash and scrutiny in the public eye, Ariana Grande made a huge statement with her lyrics to “yes, and?” at the beginning of the year. Then, on March 8th, she put out a full album called eternal sunshine. Alongside her role in the forthcoming Wicked movie out on November 22nd, 2024 has been a career-defining year for the artist.
Billie Eilish’s HIT ME HARD AND SOFT
On May 18th, Billie Eilish came out with HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. The lyrics for “LUNCH” has people freaking out, and the most popular song “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” has since gone platinum. This was her first full-length album since 2021’s Happier Than Ever and she’ll be going on tour in September for it. The musician’s feature on Charli XCX’s song and music video “GUESS” also recently went viral.
Charli XCX Predicted to Win Album of The Year 2024
Said to be the album of the summer, Charli XCX‘s Brat has been massive since coming out on June 7th. There are huge hits like “Girl, so confusing featuring lorde” and the viral song “Apple.” We all saw this release reach even more insane heights when it became part of the Kamala’s 2024 presidential campaign as well. This sixth studio album will undeniably be a contender at the next Grammy’s.
Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet
Just released on August 23rd, Sabrina Carpenter‘s Short n’ Sweet is the singer’s second album following Emails I Can’t Send. After “Espresso,” which has been thought of as the song of the summer, “Please Please Please” and “Taste” are so far the most popular out of the 12 tracks. With viral music videos featuring Barry Keoghan and Jenna Ortega, this release quickly solidified itself as one of the album’s of the year.
Chappell Roan’s 2024 Breakout
Although Chappell Roan‘s album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess came out last year in 2023, it has only more recently blown up – referred to in the industry as a “sleeper hit,” or surprise success. While we don’t know if it will be eligible to be nominated for the official Album of The Year 2024 award, it has become one of the defining albums of this year.
What Else Can We Expect This Year?
While Lana Del Rey‘s country project Lasso isn’t out yet, it’s been highly anticipated this year – a followup to 2023’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. The starlet has already released the first single, “Tough”, featuring Quavo. As fans look forward to its release, it looks like it might not come out until 2025 now. Aside from this, we’re curious to continue to see what other iconic artists will put out albums before the end of 2024.
