Sonic calendars at the ready: 2026 is already shaping up to be huge.
From long-teased comeback records to surprise soundtracks and highly anticipated follow-ups, some of the biggest names in music are quietly (and not so quietly) lining up their next eras. Whether it’s legacy icons returning to form, festival-dominating stars plotting their next move, or fan-favourite bands finally emerging from the studio, there’s plenty to get excited about.
Below, we’ve rounded up all the 2026 albums we know are on the way so far – plus a few that are still deliciously unconfirmed. Consider this your early briefing.
1. The Mountain by Gorillaz
Release date: 27 February 2026
This will be the ninth studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz (the first new music from the group since 2023’s Cracker Island). For a taste, you can listen to the first single from the album Damascus on streaming platforms now.
2. Act III by Beyoncé
Release date: TBC
While there’s no official release date yet, fans have been waiting for the third and final instalment of Beyoncé’s Renaissance – the dominant theory being that Act III is Beyoncé’s long-rumoured rock album. We’ll keep you updated on this one.
3. Arirang by BTS
Release date: 20 March 2026
All seven members of BTS came together last year during a live broadcast on fan platform Weverse to announced their post-military return and that they were working on a album and tour. And now, the untitled, 14-track album has been revealed to fans through handwritten New Year’s letters sent to their Weverse fan-club members, with personal messages of thanks from the group.
4. Wuthering Heights by Charli XCX
Release date: 13 February 2026
Charli has been gearing up for her first movie soundtrack for Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights and has already released her first single from the project titled Chains of Love. All 12 original songs will be yours from 13 February (a day before the film releases globally).
5. Stove by Lana Del Rey
Release date: TBC
Lana has been teasing Stove for a minute now, but fans know that not every album teaser from Del Rey should be taken seriously. This one in particular has gone through a couple names already (Lasso and then The Right Person Will Stay), but we’re thinking this one is likely to see the light in 2026 (if at all).
6. you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love by Olivia Rodrigo
Release date: June 12, 2026
Pretty much as soon as Rodrigo finished her masterful festival-headlining run for Guts, we turned our attention to what was coming next. And now, we know: OR3 is an album full of love songs and it’s just around the corner.
7. Confessions on a Dance Floor Part 2 by Madonna
Release Date: July 3, 2026
Madonna has reunited with her original Confessions album producer Stuart Price to put together a part II this July. Yes, the album that originally gave us hits like Hung Up and Get Together is finally giving us more. The singer-songwriter has been teasing the follow-up album since 2023 through posts on Instagram, sharing glimpses of studio sessions and hinting at new material. Recent previews, including a short teaser released on YouTube, suggests the new album will continue in a similar vein of pop and electronic dance music, staying true to the sound that defined the original album.
8. DOGS and GHEMB by The 1975
Release date: TBC
Matty Healy has been in the studio since 2024, and releasing teaser IG stories alluding to their sixth studio album – in fact, there are allegedly two new The 1975 albums incoming. One is reportedly called DOGS and the other is GHEMB (God has entered my body, like a body my same size; like me floating into you or you floating into me). You can read the full deposition on what we have confirmed so far and get into the fan theories yourself.
9. Sexistential by Robyn
Release date: 27 March, 2026
Robyn is back to cathartically heal us all. Last year, the Swedish pop goddess dropped a new single called Dopamine last November, and our appetites were well and truly whet for more where that came from.
10. Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally by Harry Styles
Release date: March 6, 2026
Styles broke his years-long hiatus from public life just prior to Christmas in 2025, linking fans to a brand new visual of his tour-ending piano solo Forever, Forever. Of course, we now know that was only a prelude of what was to come, with Styles officially blessing us with a new album in March.
11. untitled by Gracie Abrams
Release date: TBC
Abrams has been teasing her third album for a while now – ever since she debuted an unreleased track at Glastonbury last year. At a Chateau Marmont-hosted launch party for her new Chanel Coco Crush campaign in early January 2026, Abrams toldThe Hollywood Reporter about her upcoming music:” It’s definitely my favourite music I’ve ever made, and I feel very closely connected to it. I appreciate so much that these albums are time capsules of where I’m at in my life at any given point, but right now it does feel very like me. I hope that whoever finds it, connects with it and that they make it theirs when it’s out one day. But not yet.”
12. untitled by Ariana Grande
No, that’s not a drill. According to Grande’s Instagram, we can expect new music from the singer this summer (or winter, if you’re Australian). We don’t know exactly what it will sound like yet, but the singer teased a new era with a series of black and white photos in the studio, and can we just say, we are so ready.
Stay inspired, follow us.
