By Mike Theodore
50 Cent (Before I Self Destruct; November 16, 2009 )
Okay, how many times has this album been pushed back? Before I Self Destruct is hip hop heavyweight 50 Cent’s fourth studio album. Much of the anticipation of the album is stirring up from comparisons to his past works which launched the artist into a major spotlight. 2003’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’ scorched the sound scan selling 872,000 copies it’s first week and went on to sell 12 million copies worldwide. His sophomore success of 2005, The Massacre, went on to sell 1.15 million copies in four days, going 5-time platinum in the US alone. Will controversies with the likes of Fat Joe and Rick Ross and constant album leaks throughout the summer and fall be enough give Curtis another international success?
Lil’ Wayne (Rebirth; November 24, 2009)
Lil’ Wayne is arguably one of the hottest MCs in today’s world of hip hop. Weezy’s last album Tha Carter III was his biggest success ever and dominated hip hop, selling over a million copies in a week in the United States in 2008. But this time, Wayne’s decided to try something very different. With the recent success of Tha Carter III, Lil’ Wayne has decided to release a rock album, working with artists like Fall Out Boy, Lenny Kravitz, and Korn. “Prom Queen,” the album’s first single which was leaked in early 2009, was rather favored by fans and radio, reaching the number fifteen spot on the Billboard Hot 100. However, the album continued to fail to pick up as much interest as Tha Carter III, causing the label to push back the release date consistently. Not to mention, Lil’ Wayne has recently plead guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and is set to be sentenced in February 2010. Many fear that this album will never see the light of day.
Rihanna (Rated R; November 24, 2009)
Rihanna. Now there’s a name we’ve been hearing a lot lately. February 8, 2009 is one night neither she nor her pop sensation ex-boyfriend, Chris Brown, will forget. Rihanna’s performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards was canceled because of an alleged altercation with Brown, who was later charged for assault and criminal threats. Finally, there was the leaked photo of the damage done to RiRi’s face as a result of the altercation which was obtained and leaked by TMZ.com. Since then, Rihanna has collaborated on the hot summer single “Run This Town” with artists Jay-Z and Kanye West and released her first single written by NeYo off of Rated R, “Russian Roulette.” Other singles include “Wait Your Turn” and “Hard” featuring hip hop artist Young Jeezy. With all of the drama that has been going with RiRi lately, expect this album to be a lot more edgy than her last commercial success Good Girl Gone Bad. Rihanna collaborates with superstars The Dream, Justin Timberlake, NeYo and Akon for the gritty album.
Britney Spears (The Singles Collection; November 10, 2009)
Britney Spears and Jive records announced through Twitter that they would be releasing a compilation of Britney Spears’ hit singles from the past decade or so and that they would be recording some new material to add on to the collection. “3,” which has generated a much airplay as almost any of Britney’s songs, is the leading single for the album. As a bonus for her fans, the album will be released in three different versions: A standard album release, a CD/DVD combo, and an ultimate fan box set. The CD/DVD includes all of the music videos for her singles. If you’re an ultimate fan, you can buy the fan box set which has each single on a separate CD with a B-Side for the remix.
Susan Boyle (I Dreamed a Dream; November 23, 2009)
Surprisingly, this may be the most anticipated album for the month of November. The Scottish 49-year-old second place winner of hit TV show Britain’s Got Talent shocked the world with her amazing voice in 2009 and is now ready to live a dream that she thought she would never live to experience. The album, which will be released on Nov. 23, became Amazon’s best album pre-sales and is predicted to do very well on the global market. The video of her audition gained the attention of over 2.5 million viewers in less than seventy two hours and was viewed over 66 million times the first week, setting an online record for Youtube. Susan Boyle’s talent and story managed to captivate the attention of reporters from China, Brazil, areas in the Middle East and the United States. Everyone loves a rags to riches story. Susan Boyle gives the world hope as a clear example that dreams really do come true.
Already released of note:
Carrie Underwood (Play On; November 3, 2009)
Multi-platinum selling records, multiple Grammy awards, and winner of American Idol’s fourth season, Carrie Underwood is what we like to call a great success. Let’s face it, the genre of country music isn’t as popular as it was in the ’90s, but you can’t ignore someone with a reputation and possible soon to be legacy in the world of music. With a little help from R&B sensation NeYo, her third studio album, Play On, was released on Nov. 3 and the first single “Cowboy Casanova” was the fastest selling song in the past year of country music and her fastest selling song ever. Promotional singles from the album include “Mama’s Song,” “Undo It” and “Temporary Home.” Hopefully this album will give Carrie a few more awards under the belt.
