This year might become one of the most prolific ones for pop music — ever. A-listers, legacy acts and rising stars alike have been releasing and teasing new projects at a whirlwind pace. In the past three months alone, we’ve seen projects from the likes of Ariana Grande, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Lopez and 21 Savage. The music industry is showing no signs of slowing down as the calendar flips to spring — in fact, it’s only heating up. Here are five showstopping new albums to look out for.

“WE DON’T TRUST YOU”

Just days removed from their headlining performance at Rolling Loud in Los Angeles, the rapper-producer duo of Future and Metro Boomin are set to finally release their collaborative album. Titled “WE DON’T TRUST YOU,” the new LP promises to leave other hip-hop acts in the dust.

The trailer for the project declares that the rap game “is meant for a select, simple few.” The two have definitely earned their place among that few. Future has several platinum albums to his name, including for his most recent project, “I NEVER LIKED YOU.” Metro Boomin’s production pedigree is just as impressive, including his work on the soundtrack for “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (2023) and his breakout solo record, “HEROES & VILLAINS.” These superstars will join forces when “WE DON’T TRUST YOU” releases Friday.

“COWBOY CARTER”

Only a global superstar like Beyoncé could overshadow the Super Bowl with just four words. That’s exactly what she did when, in the middle of a Super Bowl commercial for Verizon, she instructed an offscreen assistant to “drop the new music.” The new singles “TEXAS HOLD ’EM” and “16 CARRIAGES” appeared on streaming services on her command, ushering in a brand-new era — and genre — for Beyoncé.

“COWBOY CARTER” is both a sequel to her four-on-the-floor masterpiece “RENAISSANCE” and a bold departure from it, ditching the dance hall for the saloon in a move that inspired infuriating online discourse and immeasurable hype alike. This country album was born out of an experience where Beyoncé “did not feel welcomed” into the genre — but her rebuttal was simple: “This ain’t a country album. This is a Beyoncé album.” Beyoncé’s next act arrives March 29.

“THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT”

Speaking of overshadowing, there’s this artist named Taylor Swift who tends to dominate any room she walks into. That includes the most recent Grammy Awards, where the artist used her win for best pop vocal album to announce a brand-new one, promptly breaking the internet once she did so.

“THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” is set to be yet another introspective and diaristic project from the artist, with heavy press speculation that the project will largely focus on Swift’s relationship and ensuing breakup with longtime partner Joe Alwyn in 2023. The typically independent artist chose to include some collaborations this time, with rapper Post Malone and band Florence + The Machine joining Swift in her newest sonic era. Taylor Swift’s reign over the music industry continues when “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” drops April 19. 

“Radical Optimism”

It’s been four years since Dua Lipa’s “Future Nostalgia” electrified a pandemic-ravaged world with upbeat hits like “Levitating.” Now, the London-born artist has yet another party-friendly release arriving just in time for summer.

Preceded by the single “Houdini,” which topped Billboard’s dance and electronic chart for months, “Radical Optimism” is set to embrace its titular concept. In a statement that accompanied the album’s announcement, Lipa said that she was inspired by “the idea of going through chaos gracefully and feeling like you can weather any storm,” a feeling that drove her recording sessions for the project. The cover for the 11-track LP reflects this attitude, with the pop star defiantly staring at an approaching shark with complete calm. Dua Lipa’s positivity-infused dancefloor will light up once again when “Radical Optimism” comes out May 3.

Billie Eilish’s third album

It’s very rare for a newer artist to make headlines as concisely as Beyoncé did during the Super Bowl. Despite her young career, Billie Eilish managed to, like Beyoncé, do it in just four words: “my album is mastered.”

That’s what the artist captioned an otherwise normal Instagram post Feb. 21, immediately sending her massive fandom into a frenzy. The overwhelming critical and commercial reception to “What Was I Made For?” — Eilish’s one-off single for “Barbie” (2023) — made the singer-songwriter incredibly relevant in what was otherwise a quiet year. Now that she’s promising an album’s worth of new material, it’s only a matter of time until she captivates global attention once more. Billie Eilish’s forthcoming third album will be released in association with Interscope Records.