Popular music reinvented itself in 2012 and predicting the hits of 2013 seems nearly impossible.
New artists continue to burst out of the woodwork in every genre, exploding to the top within weeks of their debut albums. Although no one can guarantee what will fare well in the upcoming year, some of pop music’s usual suspects are rumored to return in 2013 with new singles, albums and tours.
The Black Keys had an outstanding 2012, with their most recent album, “El Camino,” receiving both Album of the Year and Best Rock Album Grammy nominations. The first single off the record, “Lonely Boy,” also grabbed three nominations including Record of the Year, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance.
The band is scheduled to perform at the 55th annual Grammy Awards show this Feb. 13. With all of this success, a strong follow-up year seems unimaginable, but the band’s lead singer, Dan Auerbach , tackled any speculation head on in an interview with a British music magazine entitled “Uncut.”
“We're going to start making the new album in the second week of January and we're hoping to have it done by some time in March,” said Auerbach in the interview. “This is when we both work best, when we're dying to make an album.”
Fans can only hope that the band can keep up with their sold-out stadium success. There is no word on production or recording yet.
Lady Gaga is still in the midst of a national tour, but that won’t keep her from writing and recording new music.
Gaga managed to record her album “Born This Way” during her “Monster Ball” tour, according to Rolling Stone magazine. She has repeated this process during her current “Born This Way Ball” tour in 2012, which will make a stop at Penn State on March 2 . The pop-singer announced her progress over Twitter recently.
“I have written like fifty songs,” tweeted Gaga to her fans, “I don’t know what will rise to the top.”
There is not much info about the new album except that it is titled “ARTPOP” and is primarily produced by Fernando Garibay, the same producer she collaborated with on “Born This Way,” according to Rolling Stone magazine.
Although he frequents television and film, it has been a while since listeners have heard a new Justin Timberlake song on the radio. It has been more than six years since his last album, “Future Sex/Love Sounds,” which wielded smash hits “Sexy Back” and “My Love,” and rose to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200.
Last week, Timberlake teased fans on Twitter, releasing the link to a video at exactly 9:01 a.m. PST. The short video follows Timberlake as he walks into the recording studio, narrating his plans as he moves.
“What does the next decade mean for me?” Timberlake said in the video. “I don’t want to put anything out that I feel like is something I don’t love. You just don’t get that every day. You have to wait for it.”
The intense video ends with Timberlake standing in a sound booth, headphones on, approaching a microphone and announcing two words.
“I’m ready,” Timberlake said.
On his website, fans could find a countdown that ended at 12 a.m. PST on Jan. 14. What that countdown would lead to is Timberlake’s new single, “Suit & Tie” featuring Jay-Z, which is part of “The 20/20 Experience” Timberlake is releasing later this year, according to his open letter to the fans on his official website.
Timberlake tweeted to his fans on Jan. 14, thanking them for the quick success of the new track.
“Just woke up and heard we're #1 on [iTunes]! Wow... Speechless. Thank you, thank you, thank you! #SuitAndTie”
