Countdown Till Album: 5 Upcoming Releases

As 2010 has come to a close and 2011 is just getting started, here at 5 upcoming albums that you should be looking forward to this year.

1. "The Light of the Sun" - Jill Scott

Since Jill Scott's 2007 release of The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3, fans and critics have been awaiting the followup to the gold selling Grammy winning album. While "The Light of the Sun" was expected to drop at the end of 2010, label drama has halted the release. Meanwhile, Scott have previewed two potential songs "Love You" and "Hear My Call"which fans have openly embraced whole heartedly. Here's to hoping that her long awaited album comes out soon as her fans (including myself) crave for new Scott material.

2. "Late Nights & Early Mornings" - Marsha Ambrosius

Since the demise of Floetry, fans have been waiting for Marsha Ambrosius' debut solo album to drop. While the first single "Hope She Cheats On You (With A Basketball Player)" peaked at a respectable #22 on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, it's her second single "Far Away" which has many buzzing about her upcoming project.  While the release date of her J Records debut has yet to be solidified it is expected that her album will drop in the first half of 2011.

3. "blackSUMMERS' night" - Maxwell

With the smash hit of BLACKsummers'night, which Maxwell stated was the first part of a trilogy of albums fans and critics were buzzing about the release of the second part blackSUMMERS' night to drop in 2010. With 2010 clearly over and Maxwell announcing during his joint tour with Jill Scott over the Spring of 2010 that the second album would drop sometime in 2011, fans are eagerly anticipating the followup to the smash that was BLACKsummers'night. With the success of "Pretty Wings" and "Bad Habit", one can only imagine what Maxwell's followup will entail for his Grammy winning series.

4. "21" - Adele

Adele is following up her Grammy winning debut album "19" with the apply titled "21". With the first single  "Rolling in the Deep" moving up the charts and Adele previewing the ballad "Someone Like You", 21 is already primed to match the success of "19". Scheduled to drop at the end of January, Adele's sophomore album is set to move her catalog into a more bluesy direction.

5.  "James River" - D'Angelo

Since the release of Voodoo in 2000, fans and critics have eagerly awaited  D'Angelo's followup.  Tentatively titled "James River", D'Angelo's third album was expected to drop in 2010. However the release of "James River (Album Prelude)" via Amazon.com on December 26th, 2010, which went out of print 24 hours later, is leaving fans guess as to whether D'Angelo's third album is going to drop this year. While the track "1000 Deaths" has leaked online and is believed to be the first single, time will tell if 2011 will bring new material from D'Angelo.