Even earlier than the arrival of streaming, musicians rewrote the promotional playbook and delighted their followers with shock albums. From the in a single day drop to calculated partnerships, artists are not reliant on the normal methodology of an album roll-out life cycle. From Radiohead’s democratic pay-what-you-like mannequin to Beyoncé’s groundbreaking Lemonade, there are among the shock albums that shook up the music world.
Radiohead: In Rainbows (2007)
Radiohead not solely disrupted the normal album rollout, they utterly modified the way in which artists distributed their music. When it got here to their follow-up to 2003’s Hail To The Thief, the band introduced a brand new album on their web site together with a pre-order hyperlink the place followers may pay what they wished for it. In Rainbows not solely set a precedent for album releases however marked a brand new period for the band following their departure from EMI. Two months following the discharge, the band dropped a second In Rainbows disc that includes eight new tracks.
Key observe: “Weird Fishes”
The Raconteurs: Consolers Of The Lonely (2008)
Following Radiohead’s launch, music critics had been in retailer for one more shock, this time from rock supergroup The Raconteurs. The venture was labeled as a rush-release with none promotion, drumming up much more curiosity. Jack White went to nice pains to tug off a shock drop, dubbing the album “The Plug-Ins” to forestall any leaks. But it surely was all for nought. iTunes unintentionally made the album accessible for buy forward of time and followers and critics snatched it up.
Key observe: “Salute Your Solution”
Frank Ocean: Channel ORANGE (2012)
Leaks can really sabotage an artist’s fastidiously deliberate roll-out schedule. To stop this, Frank Ocean determined to launch Channel ORANGE per week earlier than its meant date. This was impressed by Kanye West and Jay Z, who fooled their critics with decoy dates for 2011’s Watch The Throne. Channel ORANGE turned out to be a watershed second for hip-hop and R&B, additional blurring boundaries between the 2 and introducing a queer narrative that’s hardly ever seen in both.
Key observe: “Pyramids”
David Bowie: The Subsequent Day (2013)
On his 66th birthday, David Bowie caught the world without warning when he dropped a brand new single, “Where Are We Now?,” and introduced a brand new album, his first in 10 years. Not solely did it shatter the hypothesis that he’d retired from music, however Bowie managed to spend two years recording an album and never a whisper acquired out. For an icon of his standing to tug off such a feat was remarkable. Even the president of his document label solely caught wind of The Subsequent Day a month earlier than its launch. When the album did materialize on iTunes, at 5am, on March 8, 2013, it proved that Bowie was nonetheless able to difficult each listeners and himself.
Key observe: “Where Are We Now?”
Beyoncé: Beyoncé (2013)
Greater than another artist, Beyoncé has made a profession of protecting the general public on its toes. Her final three information had been shock albums dropped in a single day, beginning along with her self-titled opus, in 2013, adopted by Lemonade after which Every part Is Love (recorded as The Carters, along with her husband, Jay Z). Beyoncé arrived with out a single, a promo video, or any advance phrase; the pop phenomenon had been secretly engaged on a brand new album and creating visuals for every observe. A launch of this nature was remarkable from somebody of Beyoncé’s magnitude, and followers instantly ate up her mission of making “an immersive experience” round an album launch.
Key observe: “Drunk In Love”
Jay-Z: Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013)
If anybody is aware of the worth of synergy, it’s rapper-turned-mogul Jay Z. He’s managed to land an unique partnership for nearly each album launch, and Magna Carta Holy Grail was no exception. Through the 2013 NBA Finals, Jay Z appeared in a Samsung industrial asserting his new album and supplied the primary million followers a free copy of it in the event that they downloaded the Magna Carta app on their Samsung smartphones. This “benevolent gesture” reportedly earned Jay Z and Roc Nation an estimated $20 million from the South Korean tech big.
Key observe: “F__kWithMeYouKnowIGotIt”
U2: Songs Of Innocence (2014)
U2’s automated iTunes launch stays one of many greatest shock albums in historical past. As a part of their Apple Watch and iPhone 6 announcement, Apple additionally inked a cope with the band to make their new album, Songs Of Innocence – their first in 5 years – free to Apple prospects – all 500 million of them. Bono later known as it a “drop of megalomania, a touch of generosity.”
Key observe: “The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)”
Drake: If You’re Studying This It’s Too Late (2015)
In 2014, Drake dominated the rap recreation, nonetheless using excessive from his earlier launch, Nothing Was The Identical. What adopted was an intricate bait and change: Billboard first broke the information that Drake’s fourth album can be known as Views From The Six. Months later, Drizzy shared three new singles then phrase acquired out that there’d be a mixtape, inflicting even additional confusion. He then launched a brief movie known as Jungle, which featured snippets of unreleased music, and, by midnight, the official mixtape arrived on streaming providers, paving the way in which for one more Drake mixtape sooner or later.
Key observe: “Energy”
Beyoncé: Lemonade (2016)
After the shock roll-out of her self-titled album, Beyoncé managed to high herself with the arrival of Lemonade. A day previous to her historic efficiency on the Tremendous Bowl halftime present, Beyoncé launched the groundbreaking music video for “Formation.” Wearing Black Panther apparel, the pop megastar whipped each followers and the NFL right into a frenzy over her Tremendous Bowl efficiency and the announcement for her upcoming tour. Following a obscure teaser trailer, HBO premiered an hour-long, conceptual quick movie primarily based across the music of Lemonade, and the album appeared on Tidal completely. For an artist who’s fiercely protecting of her picture, Lemonade’s uncooked expression redefined perceptions of her and have become the bestselling album on the planet that 12 months.
Key observe: “Hold Up”
Solange: A Seat At The Desk (2016)
The youthful Knowles sister additionally is aware of a factor or two about shock albums and grand inventive statements. Within the eight years following her earlier launch, Solange had launched her personal document label and began working with extra experimental artists like Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange) on her 2012 EP, True. What emerged was a Grammy-winning masterpiece that she’d been making ready her entire life to make. The aptly titled A Seat The Desk made Solange an R&B star and cemented her place amongst artists making music for the longer term.
Key observe: “Cranes In The Sky”
Rihanna: Anti (2016)
That is the uncommon case when a leak truly furthered an album’s hype. Followers had been conditioned to count on a brand new album from Rihanna annually, so, after a number of years of silence, when she lastly delivered three new singles and album particulars in 2015, the web went wild. After efficiently debuting Anti’s first single, “Work,” the album appeared on Tidal by mistake for less than 20 minutes, however not earlier than customers had been in a position to rip and share it. As a mea culpa, Samsung launched one million free downloads as part of a deal, inflicting Anti to be the quickest platinum-certified album by RIAA.
Key observe: “Work”
Frank Ocean: Countless, Blonde (2016)
Following his debut, Frank Ocean would proceed together with his streak of mysterious shock albums. As a result of great essential success of Channel ORANGE, critics and followers alike had been anxious for brand new music in a four-year drought. On July 2, 2016, a picture of a library card studying “Boys Don’t Cry” appeared on his web site; the due dates on the cardboard had been suspected launch dates for his Channel ORANGE follow-up. On August 1, Apple Music featured a promo of Ocean constructing a construction and enjoying devices on loop. On August 19, his musical movie Countless was launched on Apple Music. This fulfilled his contract with Def Jam, and the next day he dropped his precise sophomore LP, Blonde, on his new label Boys Don’t Cry.
Key observe: “Ivy”
Kendrick Lamar: DAMN. (2017)
It had been two years since Kendrick Lamar launched his game-changing To Pimp A Butterfly, and Ok Dot was set to headline Coachella with none new materials. In late March, he posted on social media the final bar of his new freestyle, “The Heart Part IV,” and teased new materials. In only a few days’ time, Lamar dropped the video for DAMN.’s lead single, “Humble,” and the album went stay for pre-order on 7 April. It was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it roll-out, however DAMN.’s affect would lengthen far past the competition circuit, ultimately going double-platinum and incomes him a Pulitzer Prize in 2018.
Key observe: “Humble”
The Carters: Every part Is Love (2018)
Each Jay Z and Beyoncé have proved themselves masters of shock releases, so it was solely a matter of time earlier than music’s energy couple would collaborate on a full album. Jay Z’s 4:44 performed as a husband’s rebuttal to the accusations made on Beyoncé’s Lemonade, however the time had come for hip-hop’s royal couple to undergo counseling on document. On the London cease of the On The Run II Tour, Beyoncé and Jay Z introduced they’d a shock earlier than premiering the music video for “Apesh__t.” The top of the video featured the phrases “Album Out Now,” and the couple’s joint album quickly appeared on Tidal.
Key observe: “Apes__t”
J Cole: KOD (2018)
4 days previous to the discharge of his fifth album, KOD (which stands for “Kids On Drugs,” “King Overdosed” and “Kill Our Demons”), rapper J Cole cleared his socials, prompting mass hypothesis. Main as much as the album’s launch, Cole hosted a collection of fan listening occasions each within the US and the UK, drumming up hype earlier than KOD’s cowl artwork and tracklist had been even revealed. This wasn’t the primary time that Cole dropped a shock album. He launched his third album, Forest Hills Drive, with out fanfare and introduced 2016’s 4 Your Eyes Solely with simply an iTunes pre-order web page. Clearly the tactic paid off every time, and KOD notching him his fifth No.1 within the US.
Key observe: “ATM”
Ariana Grande: thank u, subsequent (2019)
After the August launch of Sweetener, Ariana Grande suffered a tragic private loss with the sudden demise of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller. Talks of touring and new album had been nixed, however she later decamped to New York to document with just a few of her longtime collaborators. In lower than three months, Grande launched the album’s first single, titled after the forthcoming document, and reportedly recorded thank u, subsequent in a matter of weeks. At first, it appeared that Grande was eschewing the everyday album roll-out and simply releasing singles as an alternative, however then thank u, subsequent dropped in February (lower than six months after Sweetener) and continued her chart domination.
Key observe: “7 rings”
