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Pop some bottles and put on your party hats: 2016 is finally coming to a close.
), hip-hops radical MCs (trigger the Jewels!
Credit: (CW) Cooper Neill/WireImage; Brian Bowen Smith; Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images; C Flanigan/WireImage; Daniel Boczarski/Redferns; Jeremy Ryan; Williams + Hirakawa
), countrys queens (Shania Twain!
), and rocks coolest badasses (Haim!).
Below, EW has exclusive details on 35 of the most anticipated albums of 2017.
Jim Bennett/FilmMagic
And thats not even the most peculiar part ofOczy Mlody.
Theres probably 500 new gadgets every week put out there, Coyne says.
spin up the Jewels is kind of a newborn child for us, El-P says ofRun the Jewels 3.
Bryan Steffy/BET/Getty Images for BET
But their politically incendiary rhymes remain the draw, especially in the wake of 2016s divisive election.
Our job is to make dope-ass rap music, Mike says.
Adds El-P: We can provide some music and some swagger in the face of doom.E.R.B.
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Thatd make sense considering member Jamie xx broke out in 2015 with his dazzling, dancey debutIn Colour.
We would be like, What would Justin say right here?
On one of our songs, Im Betta, we did a Timberlake impersonation.
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We see that millennials know us from Poison and Do Me!
but we wanted to keep it innovative, says Ronnie DeVoe.
And he had breakout success in 2016 with his rousing stomper Blood on Me.
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Sampha was more surprised by that tracks trajectory than anyone.
I was a little bit weirded out by the song, he admits.
It was a bit more aggressive than what I usually do.
Shania Twain.Daniel Petty/The Denver Post via Getty Images
I learned a lot and, as experience does, it folds itself into your everyday character.M.V.
Expect Adams to explore heartbreak in the wake of his 2016 divorce from actress Mandy Moore.
(Sample song titles include To Be Without You and Haunted House.)
Carlo Cruz/redbullcontentpool.com Courtesy Columbia Records
I dont think theres anything wrong with that.
So its like exercise.
It sucks in the beginning.
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I wanted songs that were older than me, Krauss says.
Jens Lekman,Life Will See You Now,Feb.
It sounded like I had given up, he says.
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It was a way of slapping myself in the face and saying, you could do anything!
But withThe Breaker, Little Big Town are reviving their more homespun country sound.
The vibe was so cool, with all the stained-glass windows, says Fairchild.
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Wed all play and sing at the same time, right there with Jay at the boards.
And naturally the album also includes the bands Taylor Swiftpenned hit single Better Man.
She had sent it to Phillip and we were like, Wow!
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Thats a good email to get and thank God that didnt go to your spam folder!
And the collection finds the St. Louis native punching up the volume.
I was hiding before, the art-soul singer admits, referencing her more subdued EPs.
But my mom definitely lets me know when she hears it.
Shes like, That is not appropriate!M.V.
So for his 11th studio LP, Paisley wanted to throw a wrench in it.
Im beyond excited for it to come out.M.V.
That track became Phoenix, a featured cut onThe Ride her first album since 2012sThe Spirit Indestructible.
These songs are more poetic than Ive been in the past.J.G.
Then the singer-songwriter met the Black Keys Patrick Carney at a Grammys party in 2015.
He was like, Where have you been?
recalls Branch, who has since signed with Verve.
It wasnt long before the Everywhere singer hit the studio with Carney to work on her fourth LP.
Patrick was like, This is your record, it has to sound like you, she says.
It was the first time that someone pushed me to figure it all out on my own.
her budding romance with Carney.
The lust, the love, the heartbreak, she says.
So its been for country-pop queen Shania Twain.
I feel like I just need to keep making albums now.
Theres, like, five of them, she says with a laugh.
Im forever backing things up.
So if its a rainy day or Im bored, Ill go through my electronics and listen to things.
Theyll have titles like Fun beat or Fab memory.
What do I gotta do next?K.O.
He has an immense knowledge of pop music and can produce really next-level records, Charli says.
I think itll be the deepest, boldest work Ive ever done,she toldGuitar World.
Expect plenty of forward-thinking tunes from the woman whose most recent effort,St.
Vincent, wasEWs top album of 2014.E.R.B.
I actually think its a nice healthy length of time, though.
Theyve also teamed once more with Flaming Lips longtime producer Dave Fridmann.
I love working with Dave because he makes a point to f things up, says frontman Britt Daniel.
Twenty-three years in, he is creatively invigorated like never before.
I love this record, Daniel says.
I feel like we are on to somethingwere covering some new ground.K.O.
We wanted to get back to our so-called roots, Danielle says.
We needed it just to be the three of us in the beginning.
Theres three perfectionists in our band, says Alana.
To add any more people would be too much of a party.
(The group has already road-tested the songs Nothings Wrong and Little of Your Love.)
After writing the material on piano and guitar, Horan worked with session musicians to realize his songs.
I found it so interesting to watch those [session musicians] do it.
Im enjoying the process of re-creation, Badu told EW in Nov.
The universe is re-creating me right now.
Itll be bolder and more me, she says.
Lyrically, Ballerini whos dating Australian country artist Morgan Evans is promising more autobiographical confessionals.
Its about the last two years of my life.M.V.
We write a lot about friendships and romantic relationships, says singer Drew Taggart.
Adds Alex Pall, We want to give people more of a clear vision of who we are.J.G.
Its time for something else.
This is what the people voted for.
The crew came together in 2014 and bonded over their love of 80s new wave and new romantic music.
It was obvious early on that we had something, and it felt really exciting, says Young.
It really was one of the most amazingly organic experiences and Daveys voice is mind-blowing!
As for the status of No Doubt, Young says theyre still going strong.
I dont think it affects the future of No Doubt at all.
This is just what we are doing at the moment.K.O.
Expect club-ready tracks like the provocative single M.I.L.F.
I want nothing more than to spill my guts RIGHT NOW about the whole thing, she said.
I can hardly stop myself from typing out the name.
But until recently, Michaels didnt think she could cut it as an artist herself.
Im not a confident person, she says.
I didnt believe in myself enough to do it.
Helping her make the transition: encouragement from the artists shes worked with.
Selenas always been very supportive, and so has Hailee [Steinfeld], she says.
Every woman that Ive worked with has been so supportive.
They just want everyone to win and be happy.
Theyre not competitive or jealous people.
The journey to her first major-label EP, due in early 2017, hasnt been without challenges.
There were definitely a lot of people that wanted that song, she says.
Its why she says we shouldnt expect any of her famous collaborators to make guest appearances anytime soon.
I dont want to ask for favors, she says.
I want to work for it.
I want to earn it.N.F.
Shes also been tweeting studio updates via her Twitter account, where shepromised big plansfor the new year.
Ok back to the studio for me, she wrote in October.
2017 is gonna [be] tight af.N.F.
I wanted to do something more handmade, says the 45-year-old.
I wanted to get back into the production and engineering side of the work as well as the writing.
He says, It turned out the songs were cool either way.
So, production is important, but songwriting still rules the day.M.V.
Justin Timberlake, Title TBD, Date TBD
Justin TimberlakesTrollsearworm Cant Stop the Feeling!
was his poppiest, most immediate single in years.
Now, his fifth studio album feels like following suit.
But Timberlake, as usual, is taking his time.
I guess Im resigned to the fact that Im a tortoise when it comes to this process.
I cant imagine doing it any other way.N.F.
I want to show more of myself, shetold EW last summer.
If Im angry, be angry.
If Im sad, be sad.
If I want to feel sexy, I want to do that specifically.
It was like speed dating for songwriting, she says.
Ive experimented a lot.N.F.
