Album Development: Calvin Harris Announces "Motion" Album, Dami Im's "Heart Beats"

Calvin Harris Drops Motion Cover, Announces November 4th Release

Calvin Harris announced the release of his upcoming 4th studio album, Motion, just last night. Alongside the title reveal, the British DJ revealed that the disc will be pressed just in time for a November 4th release date. The album cover was released a number of hours later. The placement of the album's release on the schedule is likely a solid move, with November 4th being the only date that lacks a lot of competition for the rest of the year (only Nickelback will compete alongside Harris), though holdover competition courtesy of Taylor Swift's 1989 and Lil Wayne's Tha Carter V could slightly tarnish sales.

Still, Harris should be able to score a big debut with the album, which has already spawned a slew of number 1 singles in the United Kingdom ("Under Control", "Summer" and "Blame"). In the United States, "Summer" reached the top 10, while "Blame" became his fastest rising track of all time. On the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, "Summer", "Under Control" and "Blame" all reached the top 20, with "Under Control" reaching #10 (the highest of the three thus far).

Alongside the first three singles from the album, "C.U.B.A" (released as the B-side to "Blame") has been confirmed on the final tracklist. There hasn't been any other confirmations on collaborations, but the album is likely to be jam packed with vocals from other artists (like 18 Months was). The album's 4th official single is expected to drop on October 27th, but this hasn't been confirmed by Harris himself.

More news on this is arriving soon, so stay tuned!

Dami Im Announces "Heart Beats", Her First Album Composed of 100% New Material

Dami Im, one of The X Factor Australia's most coveted winners in recent history, has announced that she'll officially release her 3rd studio album (2nd on a major label and first composed of entirely new material) on Friday, October 17th, 2014 in her home Australia. As for the rest of the world, we'll have to wait for an international release date. She'll be up against stiff competition from Jessie J and Nico & Vinz among others, but could end up landing her second consecutive number 1 album on the national Australian charts (ARIA) since her X Factor win in October of last year.

The new album comes preceded by two Australian top 20 hits. The album's lead single, "Super Love", reached #11 on the ARIA single charts after being released to digital retailers on May 16th. The album's second official single, "Gladiator", generated universal acclaim from contemporary critics in Australia. They claimed it to be reminiscent of songs by Katy Perry. Upon release to retailers on August 8th, the track also eventually peaked at #11 on the ARIA single charts (though it debuted lower on the chart).

On September 26th, the album was put up on iTunes Australia for pre-order. A new single called "Heart Beats Again" was released to promote the pre-order, and an additional countdown single could be revealed within the weeks preceding the album's release.

See the full tracklist:

1. "Super Love"

2. "Gladiator"

3. "Living Dangerously"

4. "Without You"

5. "Moment Just Like This"

6. "Speak Up"

7. "Beauty in the World"

8. "Let Go"

9. "One More Time"

10. "Heart Beats Again"

11. "The Hunger"

12. "Heart So Dry"

13. "Solid Ground (Stop the World)"

14. "Beautiful"

15. "Without You (Acoustic)"

Come back for more new posts and keep it here for more Album Development features.

One Direction Announces New Album "FOUR" + Free Single "Fireproof"

The band has announced a brand new album (due November 17th) and is offering a free download of new promotional effort "Fireproof" for 24 hours to celebrate.

One Direction is slowly taking over the world. Just a year after releasing their third studio album, Midnight Memories, the band has announced that their 4th studio album (conveniently titled FOUR) will be released on November 17th. Alongside the announcement of the new album, the band revealed that they'll be offering an unlimited amount of free downloads of their new promotional single, "Fireproof", for 24 hours.

The announcement of the new album comes after the release of a perfume and the prepping of a new limited engagement theatrical film. The new album will contain 12 songs on its standard edition, with 4 bonus tracks and a bonus Behind the Scenes video being reserved for the "Ultimate Edition" (the deluxe version). As with their other releases, the Japanese version is currently rumored to contain several additional bonus tracks and videos. While the album is now available for pre-order around the world (currently #1 in 52 countries, and top 10 in 72 countries), no official track-list has been revealed. 

Despite this, "One Chance to Dance" has been confirmed as the album's lead single. It was written by Zayn Malik, Emeli Sandé and Naughty Boy, the latter of which it was produced by. "Fireproof" is expected to be released onto iTunes for sale as the first promotional single from the album (remember, it's not the first official single) sometime on Tuesday (after the 24 hours have lapsed; approximately 9 AM EST on Tuesday morning).

As far as album sales go, I'm expecting it to sell between 525,000 and 560,000 copies in its first week of release in the United States. That range allows for a 3% decrease to a 3% increase in sales. Either way, it'll easily debut at #1 in the United States as the year's second most successful debut (after Taylor Swift's 1989, which should debut with sales of 1.15 million or more at the end of October). It's also likely to become one of the year's top 10 best sellers in the United States and one of the year's 3 most successful albums worldwide (with yearly sales of over 4.5 million expected worldwide).

Watch One Direction's announcement video and click the link above to download "Fireproof" for free. What do you think of "Fireproof"? Will you be pre-ordering or buying FOUR. Let me know below or on Twitter!

Come back for more posts!

Album Development: Jason Aldean's "Old Boots, New Dirt", Nick Jonas Album Covers Drop

Jason Aldean's "Old Boots, New Dirt" Cover, and Track-List Revealed

After the release of "Burnin' It Down" as the first single from his forthcoming 6th studio album, Jason Aldean released "Sweet Little Somethin" on September 2nd as the album's first promotional single. Alongside the release of the track, Jason Aldean announced the name of his new album, the track-list as well as the album's cover.

The album is expected to be released on October 7th, 2014, and is likely to debut atop the Billboard 200 with sales similar to that of his 2012 album, Night Train (which debuted with 409,000 copies in its first week of availability). It has almost no competition during its first week of release, though it could face some holdover competition from Blake Shelton's Bringing Back the Sunshine and Lady Antebellum's 747 (which both drop a week before). Additionally, Florida Georgia Line's Anything Goes drops the next week.

See the track-list below, and click here to pre-order.

Standard Edition

1. "Just Getting' Started"

2. "Show You Off"

3. "Burnin' It Down"

4. "Tryin' to Love Me"

5. "Sweet Little Somethin"

6. "Laid Back"

7. "Tonight Looks Good On You"

8. "Too Fast"

9. "If My Truck Could Talk"

10. "Old Boots, New Dirt"

11. "I Took It With Me"

12. "Don't Change Gone"

13. "Miss That Girl"

14. "Gonna Know We Were Here"

15. "Two Night Town"

Deluxe Edition

16. "Fast Lanes" - Target Exclusive

17. "Too Much You For Me" - Target Exclusive

18. "Ain't No Easy Way" - Target Exclusive

Nick Jonas Reveals Album Cover For Self Titled Set

Nick Jonas is finally back with a brand new set of singles, and of course a brand new album. Due for a November 2014 release, the new album will include lead single "Chains" (which dropped in late July) and the forthcoming second single, "Jealous" (due out September 8th). There will be a standard edition as well as a deluxe edition, with a Target Exclusive edition also being rumored. 

Other than the singles, the album will contain the Mike Posner penned "Numb", "Push", "Nothing Will Be Better" and the Demi Lovato featuring "Avalanche". Angel Haze is also expected to be one of the many other collaborators. More news as it comes.

Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter V" Scheduled: Will It Debut With Killer Sales?

Lil Wayne's Long Delayed "Tha Carter V" Gets Cover and Release Date

Note: All sales and peak positions are derived from Nielsen Soundscan numbers confirmed via Billboard. None of the peak positions reflect ranks on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50. This post is just my personal analysis of how Tha Carter V will perform upon it's official release.

After years of talk and no official announcements, Drake and Lil Wayne announced the official release of Tha Carter V to be May 5th in early 2014. Unfortunately, this plan came to fruition as Lil Wayne's manager announced on March 27th that the album had been delayed. Fortunately, Lil Wayne surprised America and the world with the release of "Believe Me (feat. Drake)" on May 6th, 2014 instead. On July 2nd, another new release called "Krazy" dropped onto the internet. In early August a third release ("Gridin'") slithered onto the internet. At this point, many critics and fans speculated an official album announcement. On August 14th, it was officially announced that his supposed final album would hit digital and physical retailers on October 28th. The official album cover dropped later the same day. It features a young, tattooed Lil Wayne (like other Tha Carter installments) walking alongside his mother. Another song, "D'usse", was officially announced to be on the album.

All of this news is sure to generate some much needed buzz for Wayne (as will his tour with Drake), but one big question comes to mind regarding the album: "Will it become a massive hit?". With CD, vinyl and digital platforms all posting massive drop offs since 2011 (when his last Tha Carter installment saw release) it's unlikely that Tha Carter V sees first week sales as high as the last two Tha Carter installments (1,005,545 first week sales for the 3rd installment and 964,000 for the 4th installment). Still, we haven't factored in the fact that Lil Wayne has announced that this release will be his last one, which makes me think that it'll still end up selling moderately well. Also helping it is the fact that it's slated to arrive during a period that hasn't been booked up with album releases. With a date planned out so far ahead, most other artists should steer clear of a October 28th release. In other words, Tha Carter V could be the only major release on the date. The title itself will also make it a huge seller, as most fans have stuck with purchasing albums from the series while steering clear of the veteran rapper's other titles such as Rebirth and I Am Not A Human Being which both launched with a fraction of the sales that other Tha Carter installments did.

While most of these factors point to a major opening, none of the singles from Tha Carter V have actually broken out to become major successes. During promotion for Tha Carter IV, three singles became top 10 US hits ("6 Foot 7 Foot", "How to Love" and "She Will") while a 4th became a top 20 ("Mirror"). "John" reached #22 and "It's Good" reached #79. To date, the first two singles from The Carter V haven't performed nearly as well. "Believe Me" has reached #24 and "Krazy" has yet to chart.

I'm currently expecting the new album to score an opening frame north of 625,000 (which would be a slightly bigger launch than that of Drake's "Nothing Was the Same" back in 2013), which would easily make it the year's largest opening. Coldplay previously set the bar back in May with 383,000.

Final Prediction

Debut Week US Sales: 625,000

Debut Week US Rank: #1

Come back for more posts and for more album related posts.

Album Development: Lady Antebellum Jet Off With "747", Jesse McCartney's "In Technicolor"

Lady Antebellum Announce 747

Set to take flight on September 30th around the world, Lady Antebellum's 6th studio album, 747, comes just a year after the re-release of their 5th studio album Golden, and less than 18 months after the first version of Golden dropped. Preceded by lead off single "Bartender" (one of their most exquisite hits to date), the new album will likely catch huge waves of success (similar to their recent studio releases) and should debut with sales near or above 100,000 copies. Unfortunately, it sees release during a highly competitive month (September). See the album cover and track list just below.

Tracklist

1. Long Stretch of Love

2. Bartender

3. Lie With Me

4. Freestyle

5. Down South

6. One Great Mystery

7. Sounded Good at the Time

8. She Is

9. Damn You Seventeen

10. 747

11. Just a Girl

Jesse McCartney's In Technicolor

McCartney took a different approach while promoting his new album. Unfortunately, that approach (releasing half the album 6 months before the full collection drops) rarely works. While Jesse has had strong performing albums in the past (his first three records debuted between at either #14 or #15), it's unlikely that Techincolor (his 4th release) performs as well. Not only has he somewhat faded in popularity, it has been 6 years since he last dropped an album. Additionally, he is signed to a much smaller label (Eight0Eight instead of Hollywood Records), so sales are likely to plummet. It's a simple equation: faded start quality, a smaller release and no lead off hits equals near disaster. Don't expect much more than 15,000 copies.

In Technicolor has spawned three singles: "Back Together", "Superbad" and "The Other Guy". All have failed to connect with audiences. The album drops into select markets on July 22nd. See the track list below.

Tracklist

1. In Technicolor, Part 1

2. Back Together

3. Young Love

4. Superbad

5. All About Us

6. Checkmate

7. Punch Drunk Recreation

8. Goodie Bag

9. In Technicolor, Part 2

10. Tie the Knot

11. The Other Guy

Colton Dixon Drops Anchor on August 19th

American Idol season 11 alumni Colton Dixon is finally back with another new disc after receiving mixed sales numbers and reception with his debut album A Messanger. The Christian singer returns with a brand new release on August 19th, 18 months since the release of his first album. Supported by just one single ("More of You"), Anchor is poised to be somewhat of a bomb in terms of sales, and will likely miss the Billboard 200 top 10. Still, it should sell well for a Christian album, so this isn't a complete bust. See the full track list and the heavily photoshopped album cover below.

Tracklist

1. S.O.S

2. Our Time Is Now

3. Walk On the Waves

4. Anchor

5. Echo

6. 35.8438, -86.4518

7. More of You

8. Loud and Clear

9. Fool's Gold

10. Dare to Believe

11. Through All of It

12. Limitless

13. Back to Life

14. This Isn't the End

G.R.L's Self Titled Set Dropping Soon

While we have an over abundance of young aged all female bands already, G.R.L has surprisingly placed themselves within the upper reaches of the pack. After starting off 2013 with a few singles here and there, the group releasing "Wild Wild Love" with Pitbull in early 2014. It became a surprise hit on US radio, which led to G.R.L landing on everyone's radar. Now, "Ugly Heart" (the lead single from their debut self titled extended play) is already on US Pop Radio (currently sitting at #48), which leads me to believe that G.R.L's debut EP will become a moderate success. See the track list below.

Track list

1. Ugly Heart

2. Show Me What You Got

3. Rewind

4. Don't Talk About Love

5. Girls Always Right

Album Development: Wiz Khalifa's "Blacc Hollywood", Majid Jordan and More

Wiz Khalifa Reveals Blacc Hollywood Details

After over 5 months of teasing his upcoming new release, Wiz Khalifa has finally unveiled the deluxe and standard edition covers of his new album entitled Blacc Hollywood. Due for an August 19th release, Blacc Hollywood will be the sixth studio album for veteran rapper Khalifa, and his 3rd solo major label release. He previously launched his 2006 debut Show and Prove to critical acclaim as an indie rapper, his largely more successful Deal or No Deal (released on the same label, Rostrum Records, in 2009), his major label debut (2011's massive Rolling Papers), a collaboration soundtrack alongside Snoop Dogg (Mac and Devin Go to High School), and 2012's O.N.I.F.C, which also became a major success. 

Supported by its lead single "We Dem Boys", Blacc Hollywood is set to have one of the larger sales weeks this year, with a sales week above 100,000 copies being highly likely. See the regular and deluxe edition covers below. The standard shows Khalifa smoking a joint, while the deluxe shows Wiz rolling a joint that has been blurred out. See the track lists below.

Standard Edition

1. Hope (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)

2. We Dem Boyz

3. Promises

4. KK (feat. Project Pat & Juicy J)

5. House In the Hills (feat. Curren$y)

6. Ass Drop

7. Raw

8. Stayin' Out All Night

9. The Sleeze

10. So High (feat. Ghost Loft)

11. Still Down (feat. Chevy Woods & Ty Dolla $ign)

12. No Gain

13. True Colors

Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks

14. We Dem Boyz (feat. ScHoolboy Q & Nas) [Remix]

15. You and Your Friends (feat. Snoop Dogg & Ty Dolla $ign)

16. We Dem Boyz (Video)

Majid Jordan's A Place Like This Leaks Ahead of Release

Just days before being releasing their major label debut EP, Canadian duo Majid Jordan (composed of Jordan Ullman and Majid Al Maskati) has unfortunately suffered a leak online. The five song A Place Like This EP reached the web before officially dropping on iTunes on its due release date. See the official track listing before and the video for its lead single, "A Place Like This".

Track listing

1. Forever

2. All I Do

3. Her

4. U

5. A Place Like This

Neon Jungle Promotes Debut Album With Song Samples
Neon Jungle has seen some ups and down with the promotion for their new album, but they've turned it around this time... by offering fee song samples of individual songs ahead of the album's July 28th release. To date, the album has offered up 4 top 20 singles. 4 previews have been released thus far at the rate of one every 2-3 days. See the track list below.

Standard Edition

1. Braveheart

2. Welcome to the Jungle

3. Trouble

4. Louder

5. Can't Stop the Love (feat. Snob Scrilla)

6. Bad Man

7. Sleepless In London

8. Waiting Game

9. So Alive

10. Fool Me

Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks

11. Future X Girl
12. London Rain
13. Fool Me (Acoustic)
14. Trouble (Line of Best Fit Sessions)
15. Take Me to the Church
16. Royals (Line of Best Fit Sessions)

Jessie Ware Reveals Album Cover For October's Tough Love

The title pretty much says it all. Jessie Ware has announced that her sophomore studio album will be released this October in the United Kingdom, with a worldwide expanded release expected just before the year's end. The new album will be titled Tough Love, and comes preceded by the release of the album's title track (and lead single) "Tough Love". The new single drops August 4th on the United Kingdom iTunes.

Come back for more posts soon!

That's it for this edition of a new feature called Album Development, where I dive into news about upcoming large releases. Keep it here for more updates!

Album Development: Train's "Bulletproof Picasso", Drake Announces New Album

Train Unveils "Bulletproof Picasso" Cover and Tracklist

Alongside the release of the official video for "Angel In Blue Jeans" on Tuesday, July 15th, Train revealed the cover and track list for their upcoming studio album Bulletproof Picasso. The new album, due for a September 16th release, follows their 6th album California 37 which produced the #1 CDS Music Chart hit single "Drive By" as well as the #1 bubbling track of 2012 ("50 Ways To Say Goodbye"). To date, Bulletproof Picasso's lead single ("Angel In Blue Jeans") has reached as high as #38 on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, somewhat of a disappointment compared to their previous releases.

Notable for being the first album to be recorded without the founding drummer Scott Underwood, the band is set to release the album's second official single sometime in early August. Rumors are pointing toward "Bulletproof Picasso" as the album's next single.

Tracklist

1. Cadillac, Cadillac

2. Bulletproof Picasso

3. Angel In Blue Jeans

4. Give It All

5. Wonder What You're Doing for the Rest of Your Life

6. Son of a Prison Guard

7. Just a Memory

8. I'm Drinking Tonight

9. I Will Remember

10. The Bridge

11. Baby, Happy Birthday

12. Don't Grow Up So Fast

Drake Announces New Album "Views From the 6"

After months of speculation, Canadian recording artist and rapper Drake has announced the release of his new album titled "Views From the 6". The title, likely a reference to the area codes in his hometown of Toronto, bares some resemblance to the 1999 release of Jennifer Lopez's "On the 6", which was a shoutout to her hometown of the Bronx (New York).

The new album is due for a late 2014 release, possibly in November or December. No lead single has been announced to date, but several promotional releases have been dropped through Soundcloud. In other news, Drake's record label will release its first two major releases at the tail end of July and he'll be touring with Lil Wayne.

Alex & Sierra Reveal "It's About Us" Tracklist

As the winners of the US version of The X Factor, American duo Alex & Sierra naturally got a record deal with Simon Cowell's Syco Records. After several months of prepping their debut studio album, Alex & Sierra released the single "Scarecrow" at the tail end of June. Now, the group has announced the release of their album. Due for an October 7th release, It's About Us will be the group's first effort. See the full tracklist below.

Tracklist

1. Scarecrow

2. Give Me Something

3. Bumper Cars

4. Almost Home

5. Here We Go

6. It's About Us

7. Little Do You Know

8. Cheating

9. Just Kids

10. I Love You

11. Broken Flame

13. All For You

Kris Allen Returns to Music; Announces August Release For Album Horizons

After somewhat of a troubling album cycle in 2012, Kris Allen has announced that he will be back with a brand new album before the end of Summer 2014. As of July 8th, the Horizons era has finally begun. The album's lead single, "Prove It to You (feat. Lenachka)" dropped on July 8th, just one month ahead of the album's street date. See the full tracklist below.

Tracklist

1. Young Love ("Paul Simon")

2. Prove It to You (feat. Lenachka)

3. Beautiful & Wild

4. In Time

5. Lost

6. Don't Set Me Free

7. Everybody Just Wants to Dance

8. Parachute

9. It's Always You

10. Girl Across the Room

That's it for this edition of a new feature called Album Development, where I dive into news about upcoming large releases. Keep it here for more updates!

Album Development: The Saturdays Greatest Hits, Ariana Grande (Target)

The Saturdays Release Greatest Hits Album Cover, Tracklist

After releasing 4 full length studio albums, UK all girl group The Saturdays have announced that they plan to release a 2 disc greatest hits on August 11th, 2014 of this year. The standard edition of the greatest hits album (titled Finest Selections: The Greatest Hits) will contain 20 "selections" (most of which are top 10 UK Singles Chart efforts) including 3 new tracks. A deluxe edition will be released including the most popular B-Sides on a second disc. 19 B-Sides will be part of the deluxe edition. A Super Fan Edition only from the official The Saturday's store will include all of this plus all 18 music videos recorded for the official singles. The album's lead single "What Are You Waiting For?" will be released on August 10th. See the track lists below.

Standard Edition Tracklist

1. What About Us (Feat. Sean Paul)

2. Higher (Feat. Flo Rida)
3. Ego
4. All Fired Up
5. What Are You Waiting For?
6. Up
7. Forever Is Over
8. Issues
9. Disco Love
10. Notorious
11. Missing You
12. Work
13. Not Giving Up 
14. 30 Days
15. 808
16. Gentleman
17. If This Is Love
18. Walking Through The Desert
19. My Heart Takes Over
20. Just Can’t Get Enough

Deluxe Edition Tracklist (Disc 2; Flashback - The B-Sides)
1. Not That Kinda Girl

2. Flashback
3. Wildfire
4. Beggin’
5. Turn Myself In
6. Love Come Down
7. Ladykiller
8. I Can’t Wait
9. Somebody Else’s Life (Acoustic)
10. Had It With Today
11. Ready To Rise
12. So Stupid.

13. What Am I Gonna Do
14. On The Radio
15. Unofficial 
16. Golden Rules
17. Bigger
18. Crashing Down
19. When Love Takes Over

Super Fan Deluxe Edition Tracklist (Disc 3; The Videos)

1. If This Is Love (Music Video)
2. Up (Music Video
3. Issues (Music Video)
4. Just Can’t Get Enough (Music Video)
5. Work (Music Video)
6. Forever Is Over (Musicc Video)
7. Ego (Music Video)
8. Missing You (Music Video)
9. Higher (Music Video)
10. Notorious (Music Video)
11. All Fired Up (Music Video)
12. My Heart Takes Over (Music Video)
13. 30 Days (Music Video)
14. What About Us (Music Video)
15. Gentleman (Music Video)
16. Disco Love (Music Video)
17. Not Giving Up (Music Video)
18. What Are You Waiting For? (Music Video)

Ariana Grande Announces Deluxe Tracklist, Unveils Target Bonus Version

After announcing and revealing the album covers for the deluxe and standard edition track lists of her second studio album, My Everything, Ariana Grande announced that Target will carry a super deluxe version of the album. This new version includes 2 additional bonus tracks (on top of the 3 deluxe version tracks). The Target version will include a slightly revamped cover that's pink tinted with shades of gray. See all the covers below (pink is Target, Gray is standard, and navy plus is deluxe) plus all three track lists. A special deluxe Japanese version includes "Baby I" (a song that featured on Grande's debut studio album) for no particular reason.

Standard Edition

1. Intro

2. Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)

3. One Last Time

4. Why Try

5. Break Free (feat. Zedd)

6. Best Mistake (feat. Big Sean)

7. Be My Baby (feat. Cashmere Cat)

8. Break You Heart Right Back (feat. Childish Gambino)

9. Love Me Harder (With The Weeknd)

10. A Little Bit Of Out Heart

11. Hands On Me (feat. A$AP Ferg)

12. My Everything

Deluxe Edition

13. Bang Bang (Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj)

14. Only 1

15. You Don't Know About Me

Target Extra Bonus

All of the above +2 more songs.

16. Cadillac Song

17. Too Close

Jhené Aiko Announces Album Release Date

R&B/Soul singer Jhené Aiko has announced that she will release her debut studio album, "Souled Out" on August 25th... in direct competition with Ariana Grande's My Everything. The album comes preceded by "To Love & Die (feat. Cocaine 80s), the album's leaded singles. Aiko previously released her debut mixtape Sailing Soul(s) in 2011 and her 2013 debut EP Sail Out. Apparently she likes souls and sailing. No announced track list or cover yet.

Come back for more posts soon!

That's it for this edition of a new feature called Album Development, where I dive into news about upcoming large releases. Keep it here for more updates!

Album Development: Jason Mraz Continues Promotion, Ella Henderson DropsTracklist

Ariana Grande Reveals Album

Update 2: The track list for the standard edition has been released. The deluxe edition track list has not been confirmed or announced.

Update 1: The track list will be revealed later today.

Alongside the announcement of Ariana Grande's upcoming new single "Break Free (feat. Zedd)", the 21 year old singer revealed the title, release date and cover of her upcoming sophomore studio album. Preceded by lead single "Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)", Grande's upcoming new album will be released under the title My Everything on August 25th. There will be at least two different versions of the album, with a a deluxe edition and standard edition both being confirmed. A Target version is currently rumored but not confirmed. The official track list will be released in late July, approximately 1 month before the album drops. The album's second single, "Break Free (feat. Zedd)", will go into release on July 2nd. Check out the deluxe edition and regular edition album covers below. The grey cover is the standard edition, while the navy version is the deluxe edition.

If you pre-order the album from the official Ariana Grande store, you'll be able to select from a variety of packages. Some bonus items you can purchase with the album are a women's shirt with the album cover, an exclusive poster featuring the names of other fans who pre-ordered layered over a picture of the cover, a digital deluxe edition, a digital regular edition, a CD deluxe edition, a CD regular edition. Every version from the online store includes a code to watch a live stream of Ariana performing new tracks around the time the album drops.

Standard Edition

1. Intro

2. Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)

3. One Last Time

4. Why Try

5. Break Free (feat. Zedd)

6. Best Mistake (feat. Big Sean)

7. Be My Baby (feat. Cashmere Cat)

8. Break You Heart Right Back (feat. Childish Gambino)

9. Love Me Harder (With The Weeknd)

10. A Little Bit Of Out Heart

11. Hands On Me (feat. A$AP Ferg)

12. My Everything

Ella Henderson Drops Tracklist
After the massive success of her debut solo single, "Ghost", Ella Henderson announced the release of her first studio album Chapter One. The album is scheduled for release on September 19th, 2014 and comes preceded by the release of lead single "Ghost" in mid June 2014. The album cover is shown below. The official regular and deluxe edition track lists have been announced, and are also featured below.

The album will release nearly 2 years after Henderson was controversially eliminated from The X Factor UK in the 7th week of the competition. She ended up still signing a deal with Syco Records, with Simon Cowell signing her on.

Standard Edition

1. Ghost

2. Empire

3. Glow

4. Yours

5. Mirror Man

6. Hard Work

7. Pieces

8. The First Time

9. All Again

10. Give Your Heart Away

11. Rockets

12. Lay Down

13. Missed

Deluxe Edition

14. Billie Holiday

15. Beautifully Unfinished

16. 1996

17. Five Tattoos

18. Giants

19. Rockets (Acoustic) [Chapter One Sessions EP]

20. Give Your Heart Away(Acoustic) [Chapter One Sessions EP]

Jason Mraz Releases 6th Promotional Single

For the promotion of his upcoming 5th studio album, Jason Mraz decided to take an odd route that was only briefly popular several years ago: offer up half of your album as "countdown" iTunes singles. Literally, 7 out of 14 album tracks have already been released. It doesn't make much sense (you might as well just leak your entire album right now), but whatever floats his boat is fine by me.

The American pop singer's 5th studio album, YES!, comes preceded by the release of 1 official single and 6 promotional releases. The album's lead single, "Love Someone", was released on May 19th with the album's pre-order. It has peaked at #120 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Hello, You Beautiful Thing" was released on May 23rd as the first promotional release (it has not charted except at #152 in the UK). "Long Drive" was released on June 2nd as the second promotional release (it has not charted). "3 Things" was released on June 16th as the third promotional release (it has not charted). "You Can Rely On Me" was released on June 23rd as the fourth promotional release (it has not charted). "Back to the Earth" was accidentally released on iTunes sometime during the release of promotional singles as the 5th non-official single. "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" was released on June 30th as the sixth promotional release (it has not charted).

Check out the track list and album cover below. The album drops on July 15th

1. Rise

2. Love Someone

3. Hello, You Beautiful Thing

4. Long Drive

5. Everywhere

6. Best Friend

7. Quiet

8. Out of My Hands

9. It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday

10. 3 Things

11. You Can Rely On Me

12. Back to the Earth

13. A World With You

14. Shine

Kiesza Announces US Hideaway EP

After the astonishing success of "Hideaway" around the world in late spring 2014, Kiesza has announced she will be releasing a limited Hideaway EP in the United States. The new EP includes "Hideaway", new, equally addictive single "Giant In My Heart", a new never before heard track called "So Deep" and her cover of of Haddaway's "What Is Love". The tracks "No Enemiesz" and "Hideaway (Gorgon City Remix)" were removed from the track list (they featured on the European EP). They were replaced by "Giant In My Heart" and "So Deep".

The EP will drop on iTunes and other digital retailers on July 7th. Kiesza will later perform "Hideaway" on CBS' The Late Show With David Letterman only July 9th. The EP reaches physical retailers (namely Best Buy and Amazon) on July 22nd.

See the album cover and track list below.

1. Hideaway

2. Giant In My Heart

3. So Deep

4. What Is Love

That's it for this first ever edition of a new feature called Album Development, where I dive into news about upcoming large releases. Keep it here for more updates!

Album Guide: 5SOS' Crazy Tracklistings

If you've been a long time reader here at CDS Music Chart, you're likely to know that I don't typically enjoy boy bands. Despite this, there have been several limited occasions where some tracks are acceptable. For example: The Wanted scored a 1 week #1 with "Glad You Came", One Direction scored the #17 peaking "What Makes You Beautiful" and 5 Seconds of Summer (most recently) scored the #43 peaking "She Looks So Perfect" (based on fan votes alone). Additionally, their follow up single, "Don't Stop", reached #51 and barely missed inclusion on the chart a few weeks ago.

Despite the fact that these boy bands reached the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, I have never considered purchasing any of the associated albums, and the release of the latest major boy band release (5SOS' self titled debut set on June 27th) will be no exception. I will not be doing an album review for the new 5SOS album either, but for those readers who do enjoy 5 Seconds of Summer, I decided to give you a bonus post just because I don't want you to feel left out (and maybe I can't think of anything else to write about).

As most of you know, the way the new 5 Seconds of Summer album is being packaged is both confusing and varied. The whole concept of offering limited tracks to certain markets is so interesting to me, that it doesn't even matter that I don't enjoy the band itself. Let's start unraveling this sticky situation.

Those of you in or purchasing from Australia*, Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Netherlands, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden or Switzerland will get one of the two album covers below. The standard version (non-graffiti) is on the right, while the deluxe is on the left. You'll be able to purchase the album starting June 27th.

Those of you in or purchasing from France, Malaysia, Portugal, Spain or Israel will get the same exact thing (below), but you'll have to wait until June 30th to purchase it. Fans in Mexico will also get the same exact track list, but the album won't be released there until July 22nd.

You'll end up getting 12 or 15 tracks (standard and deluxe respectively), all of which are listed below. Released singles are bolded, and promotional iTunes countdown singles are italicized.

** "Green Light" is an iTunes exclusive but will be available for fans from all countries listed above.

Standard

1. She Looks So Perfect

2. Don't Stop

3. Good Girls

4. Kiss Me Kiss Me

5. 18

6. Everything I Didn't Say

7. Beside You

8. End Up Here

9. Long Way Home

10. Heartbreak Girl

11. Lost Boy

12. Amnesia

Deluxe (Plus all Standard edition tracks)

13. Social Casualty

14. Never Be

15. Voodoo Doll

16. Green Light**

For fans in the United Kingdom, "Lost Boy" will be swapped out for a new track called "English Love Affair" on all editions (standard and deluxe). All other songs are the same, and the covers are still the ones shown above. "English Love Affair" will not feature as a track on any other version except at Sanity, an Australian movie/CD retailer (where it will replace "Lost Boy"). "English Love Affair" won't be on any other versions of the album at any other store in Australia.

The Japanese versions of the album features the same album covers above, but the deluxe edition is completely reworked (all standard edition tracks are the same) and includes the music videos for "Don't Stop" and "She Looks So Perfect" on a bonus DVD. 5 Japanese exclusive tracks will be released on the deluxe version. They won't feature on any other versions in any part of the world. "Green Light" still features as an iTunes only bonus track on the digital Japanese version as well. The album will be released in Japan on July 16th, 2014. Here's the Japanese track list (bolded tracks are the exclusives):

Standard

1. She Looks So Perfect

2. Don't Stop

3. Good Girls

4. Kiss Me Kiss Me

5. 18

6. Everything I Didn't Say

7. Beside You

8. End Up Here

9. Long Way Home

10. Heartbreak Girl

11. Lost Boy

12. Amnesia

Japan Deluxe (Plus all Standard edition tracks)

13. "Heartache On the Big Screen"

14. "The Only Reason"

15. "What I Like About You"

16. "Rejects"

17. "Try Hard"

18. Social Casualty

19. Never Be

20. Voodoo Doll

21. Green Light**

Now it gets even more tricky with the North American versions. The United States and Canada will receive the album on July 22nd. The regular edition of the album will be sold at all retailers (except for Target; we'll get to that soon). The deluxe will be only on iTunes. They will feature new covers shown below (they're almost identical save for the blue "x"). Everything is the same, except the covers (as previously noted) have been slightly altered and feature a blue "x" and the track "Lost Boy" has been replaced by a new song called "Mrs. All American". "Mrs. All American" won't be released in any other part of the world on any edition. The deluxe is on the left and the standard is on the right.

And finally, there's the Target version(s). The Target version features "Mrs. All American" (like all other US editions), but completely wipes the 3 bonus tracks from the deluxe edition (4 if you count th iTunes exclusive track) and replaces them with 4 Target exclusives. They won't feature on any other versions in any part of the world. Here's the Target exclusive deluxe edition track list (bolded tracks are the exclusives):

Standard

1. She Looks So Perfect

2. Don't Stop

3. Good Girls

4. Kiss Me Kiss Me

5. 18

6. Everything I Didn't Say

7. Beside You

8. End Up Here

9. Long Way Home

10. Heartbreak Girl

11. Mrs. All American

12. Amnesia

Target Deluxe (Plus all Standard edition tracks)

13. Tomorrow Never Dies

14. Independence Day

15. Close As Strangers

16. Out of My Limit

Most importantly, the album's cover(s) has been changed again. If you purchase the album at Target, you'll get one of the 4 following albums (online pre-orders ship random colored covers). They all have the same track list.

There are 27 different tracks all spread out on various versions of the album, and I've complied a short list of versions to get if you want...

The most tracks - Japanese iTunes Deluxe (21/27)

The most exclusive cover - Target deluxe edition (4 choices only at Target)

A version with a DVD - Japanese Physical Deluxe (music videos of "Don't Stop" and "She Looks So Perfect")

The song "Lost Boy" - Any version not from UK, US, Canada or Australia (Sanity is the only Australian retailer without it)

The song "Green Light" - iTunes version in any country

The song "English Love Affair" - Any version from UK, Japan or from Sanity in Australia

The song "Mrs. All American" - Any version from US or Canada

The song "Voodoo Doll", "Social Casualty" and/or "Never Be" - Any version from anywhere except Target exclusive

The song "Tomorrow Never Dies", "Independence Day", "Close As Strangers" and/or "Out of My Limit" - Target exclusive

The song "Heartache On the Big Screen", "The Only Reason", "What I Like About You", "Rejects", and/or Try Hard" - Japanese Deluxe 

The Cheapest Way to All Tracks Legally - BUY: Japanese deluxe edition, Worldwide standard edition, and UK/Sanity Australia standard edition (one must be an iTunes deluxe edition. They all work, but Japanese version is the best one to pick). You'll also need to buy the Target exclusive edition.

1. Japanese digital deluxe edition ($20.61)

2. Worldwide standard edition ($16.99)

3. UK/Sanity Australia edition ($16.99)

4. Target deluxe edition ($14.99)

Total: $69.58 (27/27)

Okay, hope that helps you if you're considering buying 5SOS' debut studio album. The funny thing is, they could have avoided this whole mess by making their debut album only 12 tracks, with no deluxe edition so that everything was fair to fans worldwide. They could've held the next 15 tracks for their 2nd studio album and released it at the end of 2014. It's a little bit of poor planning in my opinion. I mean, they could have made double the money, faster.