Rylee Meelan, Staff Writer

2016 may be a year that you want to forget about. Celebrity deaths and political chaos were among the negatives, but certainly not the exceptional music. With a new year upon us, the music is bound to be even more unforgettable.

According to Billboard Music, a few of the most anticipated albums and artists of 2017 are Camila Cabello, The Devil Don’t Sleep from Brantley Gilbert, More Life from Drake, Lorde, Charli XCX, Kelly Clarkson, Near to the Wild Heart from Japandroids and Bell Biv DeVoe will be making a comeback with Three Stripes.

“John Mayer actually just released new music this week and the songs are wonderful,” said freshman Joanna Gaertner. “I’m glad he is coming out with a new album after not releasing anything for a little while.”

In the last week, John Mayer released a wave of four songs from his upcoming album. He will be releasing new songs throughout the year, instead of releasing the full album at once.

Ed Sheeran released two new singles on Jan. 6 and the rest of his album, Divide will be released on March 3. Sheeran smashed the record for one-day Spotify streams by more than two million streams. Shape of You got 6,868,642 streams while Castle on the Hill got 6,186,395.

“I am anxious for the rest of his album to be released,” said sophomore Justin Abdoo.

Country artists in 2017 are releasing many new albums and songs to be on the lookout for. Luke Bryan, Brantley Gilbert, Brett Young and Sam Hunt will be releasing their new albums early this year.

“I am anticipating a new song or album from Tim McGraw because of his tour this year with Faith Hill,” said freshman Steven Calidonna. “He released some new songs towards the end of 2016, so I wouldn’t be surprised for more new songs from him.”

Another big country name, Zac Brown Band has fans waiting for the release of their new album. “One of my favorite bands, Zac Brown Band is releasing their new album in May and I cannot wait for it,” said freshman Aneesa Lewis. “Their music gets better with every new album.”

In the rap genre, many new artists are working their way to the top to claim the title of best rapper.

“One of my new favorite artists is Lil Uzi Vert,” said freshman Joanna Gaertner. “He has released some great songs and I’m excited for the new music he will come out with this year.”

Lil Uzi Vert has captivated an obsessed young audience. In an interview with Billboard, A$AP Rocky, one of Uzi’s idols said “His style, his approach and his voice: I don’t think I’ve heard somebody as raspy since Lil Wayne.”

Nicki Minaj, Wale, Jay Z, Fetty Wap and many other big names have albums being released in 2017.

A$AP Rocky and French Montana are due to release albums sometime soon, but have not officially announced any new music yet. Fat Joe & Remy Ma partnered together last year and delivered “All the Way Up” which cracked the Top 40 and earned the pair a Grammy nomination. They will be releasing an album together in February to mark their return.