Some don't have any of these instruments
The Beatles were the kings of productivity from 1963 to 1966, releasing album after album, but particularly in 1964 with albums including 'A Hard Day's Night' and 'Beatles for Sale.' To be fair, they owed a lot of their releases to the different countries in which they were putting out records (i.e. UK and US got different releases).
For most artists, a typical album cycle is about two years. A studio-length album takes a lot of work, from creation to recording, sample clearances to shipping deadlines, and more. It can take months, even years, for an artist to get an album done. That’s why very few artists have ever attempted putting out two albums in the same year.
It's a feat that requires dedication and drive, and the reasons for attempting it could range from an apology for making fans wait so long since the last album, or a way to get out of a record label, or even just striking while the iron is hot.
Fans of Taylor Swift recently learned not to trust the singer when she says there’s “not a lot going on at the moment,” as that has been the preface to the releases of both of her surprise albums this year, the latest of which is called 'Evermore.'
But she's not alone. Click through to see which artists have released two or more albums in less than 12 months.
Four long years after his magnum opus 'Channel ORANGE,' Frank Ocean decided 2016 was his year. With some mystery involved, he released a visual album entitled 'Endless,' which reportedly fulfilled his contract with Def Jam records. It was a great record, but the next day he released 'Blonde,' which has since been considered one of the greatest R&B/pop albums of all time.
In 2014, the rapper released 'Mastermind' in March, then 'Hood Billionaire' in November.
Four and a half years after his 1987 album 'Tunnel of Love,' Springsteen made up for the wait by releasing both 'Human Touch' and 'Lucky Town' on March 31, 1992.
Kanye was very busy in 2018, and largely with producing other people's albums like Teyana Taylor and Pusha T. But he also released his own album 'ye' on June 1, and then a week later dropped his collaboration album with Kid Cudi, 'Kids See Ghosts'
Though 'More Life,' released on March 18, 2017, is classified as a “commercial mixtape,” it still has 22 tracks and was released less than a year after 'Views,' which dropped in April 2016.
The pop star released her first surprise album of 2020 in July, called 'Folklore.' Then, on December 10, Swift announced the release of her second surprise album, 'Evermore.'
DMX made a huge impact in 1998 when he dropped his first two albums, 'It's Dark and Hell Is Hot' and then six months later 'Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood.'
In 1996, the rapper released hip-hop's first double-full-length solo album, with 27 tracks, called 'All Eyez On Me.' The same fateful year, he earned another no. 1 album with 'The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory,' two months after his murder in September.
The rapper released 'Baby on Baby' in March 2019, and then 'KIRK' in September of the same year.
Nelly became the first rapper to release two albums simultaneously when he dropped both 'Sweat' and 'Suit' on the same day in November 2004. The former was a more upbeat, party album, and the latter was more smooth R&B.
The rapper put out his first and only rock record in February 2010, called 'Rebirth,' which puzzled fans. Despite going to prison that year for criminal possession of a weapon, he released a second album, 'I Am Not A Human Being,' in September. He became the first hip-hop artist since 2Pac to have a no. 1 album while incarcerated.
In April 1999, Nas released his third studio album 'I Am…' which was a huge success. In November that same year, the rapper released 'Nastradamus,' which was not as well-received.
The Wu-Tang member released his fifth solo LP 'Fishscale' in March 2006, which was highly lauded, and then in December of that same year released the sequel, 'More Fish,' which wasn't nearly as successful.
On February 17, 2017, the rapper released 'FUTURE.' On February 24, he released 'HNDRXX.' Future became the first artist in Billboard's history to have two albums top the charts in successive weeks with this pair of releases.
Conor Oberst is another ambitious artist who dropped two albums on the same day, both 'I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning' and 'Digital Ash in a Digital Urn,' in January 2005.
And he did it again in 2017! He released 'Mr. Davis' in October, with an impressive list of guest features and production credits including Chris Brown, The Weeknd, Hitmaka, Danja, former NBA player Chris Bosh, and more. Then, in December, he released 'El Gato: The Human Glacier,' which was more minimal.
In July 2016, the rapper dropped 'Everybody Looking,' featuring Drake, Kanye West, and Young Thug. Months later, Gucci dropped the next entry in his East Atlanta Santa series, 'The Return of East Atlanta Santa,' with features by Drake, Bryson Tiller, and Travis Scott.
Prince was coming off his longest break when he released both 'Plectrumelectrum' and 'Art Official Age' on September 26, 2014. Then, because he's Prince, he released two more albums the next year, 'Hit n Run Phase One' (September 7), and 'Hit n Run Phase Two' (December 12).
The band released 'Mezmerize' in May 2005, and 'Hypnotize' in November that same year. They both hit no. 1 on the Billboard charts during the same year, and they both went platinum.
The 2008 releases of 'Microcastle' (August 19) and 'Weird Era Cont.' (October 28) were messy, since the former was leaked to file-sharing sites, and Bradford Cox himself accidentally revealed the existence of the latter, which was meant to be a surprise companion, through his own Mediafire account. Fortunately they both still earned praise as the top albums of 2008.
See also: Star singers who hate their own songs
Coming off a high from two successful albums, 'American Idiot' and '21st Century Breakdown,' the band decided to attempt the rarely executed triple-album release in the fall of 2012 with '¡Uno!' (September 21), '¡Dos!' (November 9), and '¡Tré!' (December 7). Their high was quickly cut short.
Waits, along with his wife and collaborator Kathleen Brennan, crafted scores for stage shows (1992's 'Alice' and 2000's 'Woyzeck') and released them as a pair of albums in 2002, called 'Alice' and 'Blood Money'.
Rihanna's debut album via Def Jam Records, 'Music of the Sun,' was released in August 2005 and got a lot of airtime with the single 'Pon de Replay.' Less than eight months later, in April 2006, she dropped 'A Girl Like Me' to much wider acclaim.
In 2018, the rapper released both 'Lil Boat 2' and 'Nuthin' 2 Prove,' which both explored his luxurious lifestyle over various trap-laden beats by Pi'erre Bourne, DJ Durel, Tay Keith, 30 Roc, and more.
In 2010, the artist dropped the first two of his entries in his 'Revenue Retrievin' series' on the same day ('Revenue Retrievin': Day Shift' and 'Revenue Retrievin': Night Shift'). Then in 2011, he did the same thing with 'Revenue Retrievin': Overtime Shift' and 'Revenue Retrievin': Graveyard Shift.'
'Use Your Illusion I' and 'Use Your Illusion II' were both released on September 17, 1991, and it was one of the most successful simultaneous album releases of all time, as both debuted at no. 1 and no. 2 on the Billboard charts.
Though the albums were released in different years, Grande's August 2018 'Sweetener' album was followed up less than five months later with 'Thank U, Next,' released in February 2019.
Artists who have released two albums in the same year
Taylor Swift surprised fans with a second album in 2020
MUSIC Albums
For most artists, a typical album cycle is about two years. A studio-length album takes a lot of work, from creation to recording, sample clearances to shipping deadlines, and more. It can take months, even years, for an artist to get an album done. That’s why very few artists have ever attempted putting out two albums in the same year.
It's a feat that requires dedication and drive, and the reasons for attempting it could range from an apology for making fans wait so long since the last album, or a way to get out of a record label, or even just striking while the iron is hot.
Fans of Taylor Swift recently learned not to trust the singer when she says there’s “not a lot going on at the moment,” as that has been the preface to the releases of both of her surprise albums this year, the latest of which is called 'Evermore.'
But she's not alone. Click through to see which artists have released two or more albums in less than 12 months.