In 2025, the music industry was filled with new releases practically every month, from Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift to The Weeknd and Rosalia, and many more. That being said, people expected a music drought this year. That is, many anticipated this summer to be rather boring in regards to new music from famous artists. However, there already seems to be an unexpected amount of album announcements for music in this summary. Ironically, three incredibly famous artists are releasing an album this summer: Olivia Rodrigo, Gracie Abrams, and Ariana Grande.
Firstly, Olivia Rodrigo is releasing her album You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love on June 11th. This is her third studio album, following her two very well performing albums Sour and Guts. The last time Rodrigo released music was in early 2024 for Guts (Deluxe), so this release has become extremely anticipated by fans worldwide. However, this also creates a very high standard for her to meet, especially considering how successful her prior albums were. Grace Yang (10) shares how she’s “hoping the lyrics are still deep and emotional, even if they’re happier songs. But her new single is so fun and catchy, so I’m very excited.” Speaking of, “Drop Dead” was the lead single for this album, which was released April 17th of this year, and has been received very well despite being her most lighthearted song thus far. Rodrigo also sang an unreleased song called “Begged” on Saturday Night Live, which goes back to the sadder, more emotional lyrics fans love. That being said, this album is already adored and expected to have a good variety of songs that explore new sounds while also having songs of her signature style.
Secondly, Gracie Abrams is releasing Daughter From Hell on July 16th, which will be her third studio album as well. She released the first single “Hit the Wall” on May 15th, which was teased on her social media platforms for weeks as she posted small snippets that fans now know belong to this song. So far, this album seems to stick to themes of female rage and identity crises that Abrams has explored in her last two albums. This is a particularly exciting era for the singer as it is the first album she is releasing after becoming extremely famous. Her last album, The Secret of Us, was still niche and not well known until the deluxe released and her song “That’s So True” went viral on TikTok. Therefore, the expectations fans have for this album are high, and for many, it is their first music release as a fan. Joyce Yang (10) explains how she “became a fan last summer when she was touring her last album, so I’m very excited to actually be a fan for this entire music process.” Many are hoping for this to be her official breakthrough album, with Abrams eyeing awards and possibly her first Grammy after being nominated twice but losing.
Lastly, Ariana Grande recently announced her eighth studio album, Petal, out July 30th. Out of these three artists, this was definitely the least expected. Her last album, Eternal Sunshine, was released in 2024. However, Grande publicly stated multiple times how after her success playing Glinda in Wicked, she wanted to focus on her acting career and was stepping away from music for a while. That being said, nobody really expected new music from her anytime soon because of this and the fact that she is barely touring her last album this summer as well. Nonetheless, fans are still very excited. Brooke Holmer (10) says that she is “really excited for the different emotions and sounds for this album because the cover itself feels very new and different for her.” Like many fans, Brooke also described how she trusts Grande’s amazing singing and songwriting skills and has no doubts this album will be amazing.
All in all, this summer is very busy music-wise with a new album release every month. So far, only two of these artists are going on tour. Ariana Grande is touring Eternal Sunshine starting this summer, as mentioned, but will still be on tour when her album releases so is expected to mesh both albums into one tour. Olivia Rodrigo has also announced her tour for this album called “The Unraveled Tour,” which kicks off in September. Both tours are sold out, and Gracie Abram’s anticipated tour is also likely to sell out quickly.
