2025 closed off with an internet-shattering surprise collaboration between Timothée Chalamet and breakout star EsDeeKid, who was barely known at the start of the year, and 2026 shows no sign of slowing down. Less than a week into the new year and we’ve already had fresh music from A$AP Rocky, confirmation of recently reunited BTS’ fifth studio album, and whispers of new Olivia Rodrigo music. Below, we break down what we expect to be the biggest musical moments of 2026. 

THE RETURN OF A$AP ROCKY

Kicking the year off with a bang is the long-awaited return of cloud rap godfather A$AP Rocky, whose upcoming album, Don’t Be Dumb, releasing January 16, is set to be his first full-length release in eight years. Originally slated to drop in 2024 and reportedly delayed due to leaks and sample clearances, early previews hint at an all-star cast on the project. Rocky himself has confirmed that Dean Blunt, Pharrell Williams, Mike Dean, Madlib, Metro Boomin, and the Alchemist have all contributed production, while fans online have already spotted signs pointing to potential collaborations with Dominican dembow rapper Tokischa and longtime friend Playboi Carti. Plus, if you’re struggling to get your hopes up after the previous delays, you can finally rest easy knowing that Rocky is also scheduled to perform at Saturday Night Live on January 17 – it’s actually happening this time.

BEYONCÉ RENAISSANCE ACT III 

While nothing has been officially confirmed as of yet, it’s no secret that fans are awaiting the conclusion of Beyoncé’s three-part Renaissance album series this year – and it’s certainly not controversial to say that many are expecting it to be a rock project. Centred around the reclamation of Black music genres, previous Renaissance acts have seen forays into club and country music, and many fans took Beyoncé’s recent Levi’s ad – in which she rode away from a billiards club on a motorcycle – as confirmation that rock would be next on the list. Adding further weight to the theory is that Beyoncé also posted a picture on Instagram styling herself after late rock icon Betty Davis in late 2024 (again accompanied by a motorbike). As for the release date, with two years spanning between the release of Renaissance and Cowboy Carter, and very little arriving from Beyoncé last year, all signs are pointing to some big B news in 2026. 

FAKEMINK – TERRIFIED

It’s no secret that London rapper fakemink had an incredible year in 2025, with debut 2024 album London’s Saviour becoming a sleeper hit over the last 12 months, and attracting fans spanning Timothée Chalamet, Frank Ocean, Geese and more. In characteristic mink style, fakemink formally announced the project last week with a Sooty puppet show on Instagram live, later revealing that it will be entirely self-produced. “Terrified coming soon, sooner than you think, so keep your eyes peeled,” the 20-year-old artist announced via the Sooty puppet, before simulating a group hug between Sooty, Sweep and Soo. There’s still a lot of question marks surrounding the upcoming project’s tracklist and features, but perhaps the biggest of all is who was operating the third puppet? 

BAD BUNNY PERFORMS AT THE SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW

Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance shook the world last February, but Puerto Rican reggaeton star Bad Bunny looks set to give him a run for his money next month. While ostensibly a celebration of Puerto Rican and Latin American culture, the release of Bad Bunny’s latest album Debí Tirar Más Fotos (I Should Have Taken More Photos) became highly politicised last year amid a climate of fear created by Ice raids across the United States, which disproportionately targeted Latin Americans within the country. Dubbed the ‘King of Latin Trap’, Bad Bunny has long been held up as a mouthpiece for Latinx communities, having recently removed all US dates from his 2025 international tour to protect fans from Ice raids and previously hit back at Donald Trump after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe branded Puerto Rico an “island of floating garbage” at a MAGA rally in 2024. It’s in view of all of this that Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance is set to be a landmark moment – not just in music, but in culture as a whole. In his own words: “This is for my people, my culture, and our history.”

THE BIGGEST YEAR FOR K-POP YET? 

Following a three-year-long hiatus while group members completed their mandatory military service and pursued solo ventures, record-breaking Korean boy band BTS formally reunited in August 2025 and announced that they are currently working on their fifth album. The project’s release date was unveiled to be March 20 and will be accompanied by a world tour – their first in almost four years. 

But that’s not all in the world of K-pop. Fellow Korean superstars BLACKPINK are also set to make a long-awaited comeback with their third studio album this month, following solo LPs from Rose, Lisa, Jennie and Jisoo last year. The project is currently slated to release in ‘late January’ after a string of delays last year, though worryingly little information is available yet. Finally, after shooting to become Netflix’s best-performing film of all time, the soundtrack for KPop Demon Hunters has received multiple nods at the Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year. All in all, it’s set to be a great year for K-pop.

GRAND THEFT AUTO VI SOUNDTRACKS 2026

Not to add to the already substantial GTA VI glazing but, if 2013’s GTA V was anything to go off, then the soundtrack is going to be heavy. On top of an original soundtrack created by Tangerine Dream, The Alchemist, Woody Jackson and Oh No, GTA V featured 18 original radio stations, hosted by the likes of Flying Lotus, the late great Lee “Scratch” Perry, Cara Delevigne, Gilles Peterson and more. Where GTA V focused on hip-hop in a loosely Los Angeles-inspired setting, however, GTA VI’s Miami-based setting looks set to dive deeper into disco and rock. With Tom Petty’s “Love Is A Long Road” already spiking on streaming platforms after appearing in the first GTA VI trailer last year, it seems set that the long-awaited release is going to create a few musical moments of its own. 

CHARLI’S NEW CHAPTER 

As the curtains closed on Charli xcx’s inescapable Brat summer in 2024, the superstar described feeling like she “wouldn’t be able to make music anymore”. But it was a DM from English filmmaker Emerald Fennell asking Charli to record a song for an upcoming film adaptation of Wuthering Heights that renewed her inspiration. Rather than a single song, Charli suggested that she create an entire concept album for the film – one that, she states, “couldn’t be more different to Brat.” This prediction seemed to hold true with the release of unsettling noise cut “House feat. John Cale”, the first single from the project, but follow-up cathartic synth-pop track “Chains of Love” revealed a little more of the Charli xcx we all know and love. It seems she still has more musical greatness in her after all. 

OLIVIA RODRIGO RENEWS HER “DRIVER’S LICENSE”

Grammy Award-winning singer Olivia Rodrigo sent fans into overdrive when she updated her website to reveal a driver’s license renewal form, with an ‘online appointment’ set for January 8, 9AM PST. The update pays homage to Rodrigo’s debut single “Drivers License”, released back in 2021. The star’s ‘Livies’ immediately began anticipating a third album from Rodrigo, which would be her first full-length release in three years. It’s all speculation right now, but one thing’s for sure: renewing a driver’s license has never seemed this exciting.

A BIG SURPRISE? 

Amid all of these huge moments, it is still very likely that the biggest musical moment of 2026 will be one that takes us all by surprise. With Justin Bieber, Rosalía and Dave all dropping landmark albums with little to no notice last year, it’s become clear that today’s pop stars are increasingly forgoing the tradition of long album campaigns in favour of surprise releases. Elsewhere, it’s hard to ignore the meteoric rise of Scouse rapper EsDeeKid in 2025, going from less than 200,000 monthly listeners to upwards of 17 million last year, and even dropping a collab with Timothée Chalamet. With both established and rising artists striking from the shadows in 2025, it is wise to keep your eyes peeled this year as the next hit might land from where we least expect.