10 Most Exciting Releases For The Rest of 2012

Alright, it's mid-April and there has really only been one or two albums that have really blown me away this year. Lana Del Rey's Born to Die is still my favorite album thus far, but I think I've been listening to the Sleigh Bells' Reign of Terror just as much. Other than that, most of the major releases have been pretty good, but didn't exactly live up to the hype that artist has been receiving. I don't think I'll still be listening to any other releases (aside from the aforementioned) in ten years. Basically, there's a huge lack in "classic" material so far. 

Fret not though my misguided Martian family. There are still tons of albums that are coming out this year that I fulled expect to make the hair on my eyebrows explode clean off. Here's the top 10 that I'm most excited for.

10. Chris Brown - Fortune

I'll go ahead and say that the promotion for this era has been a shitty wreck, plus he's doing some "no interview" thing that's really making him seem unapproachable...  but Chris Brown always delivers. This album is the most likely this year to quench a crossover lover's thirst for a multi-genre LP

9. Nelly Furtado - The Spirit Indestructible

There's not many people who didn't catch their lives to her soundtrack to summer 2006, Loose. Now with the release of "Big Hoops," I'm really excited to see exactly how she's evolved since that work, aside from Mi Plan. I really think she's going to come back as big as she was all those years ago.

8. The Bird and the Bee - TBA

Greg Kurstin has been a busy little bee over the past few years, penning tracks for Britney Spears, Ke$ha, Marina & the Diamonds and Kelly Clarkson, so I'm really interested to see how he and Inara are going to shake things up for the new album or if they'll stick to their unique toy-shop pop sound.

7. Usher - Looking For Myself

I mean... it's Usher. "Climax" flew up the charts with barely any promotion. People just love him. I think his voice is appeals to generations because it's so smooth and sexy, but compared to the following generation of male R&B/Pop stars (Chris Brown, Trey Songz, etc) his content is more that just the typical sex, money and dancing. He's one of the few artists that shows evolution with every single and album.

6. Christina Aguilera -TBA

It's safe to say the whole world is eagerly awaiting the full comeback of Christina Aguilera. I'm secretly kind of hoping she'll hold off until the end of the year because now Britney's rumored to be revving up for a "comeback" of sorts and it's be nice for the two to either work together or against each other. Either way it'd be massive sales for the both of them.

5. Regina Spektor - What We Saw from the Cheap Seats

I'm guilty of being a Regina Spektor stan. She can do no wrong in my eyes. Even though each of her albums seems to progress more and more towards a mainstream sound, it's still all effortlessly beautiful and thought provoking. Her lyrics are just lightyears beyond any artist of a greater caliber. I think even Adele would struggle to pour her heart out the way Regina does.

4. Ke$ha - TBA

I've been waiting for this for what seems like years. Ke$ha is really an underrated writer and now that I hear that she's going to sort of break away from the dance sound and pen more serious music, I think she could really give a timeless pop rock album that will be talked about for ages. She easy has her producers gushing over her dreamy her works have turned out so far, with Wayne Coyne comparing one song, "2012," to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

3. Carrie Underwood - Blown Away

Carrie has an upper hand because she's one of the top vocalist in the industry. With the star power she has and the unequivocal vocal talent, it's almost impossible for her not to slay your faves into a tiny casket and bury them on the with her country chart toppers. "Good Girl" seems to be just a small taste of the versatile Blown Away, as Carrie has confessed to world domination and taking her music overseas for the first time!

2. Marina & the Diamonds - Electra Heart

This album is days away and I really don't think I can handle waiting any more. Every single release so far has been pop perfection, especially "Homewrecker." Then with album sampler was released and I really saw the stars aligning for Marina & this album. This will probably be the Cinderella's Eyes of 2012. Perfect album. Underrated artist.

1.Shakira - TBA

Let me just name off some of the people Shakira is working with...

Tiesto, RedOne, Afrojack, Pharrell, Billboard, Max Martin, Akon, will.i.am, Benny Blanco, Fernando Garibay, Sia, Pitbull, The Runners, Ester Dean...

With this line up, Shakira can't possibly fail and the only humanly possible way to improve would be to throw Greg Kurstin into the mix to soften up some of the dance songs for her. 

When the Mayans predicted 2012, it was really just the release of Shakira's album they were talking about.