As the last day of school approaches, Valley students are becoming more and more excited about albums to be released this summer. From Ariana Grande to Luke Combs, the break will be packed with new music to enjoy.
Sophomore Cameron Yates is most excited to listen to Gracie Abrams’ album “Daughter From Hell,” to be released July 17. Abrams described the album as being inspired by the “in-between” years of her 20s and the battle between post-adolescence and focusing on her future. The album will explore the complex emotions that come with growing up.
“I’m super excited to listen to Gracie’s new album because I’ve been a really big Gracie fan for a while, and I’m just excited she has new music coming out,” Yates said.
Abrams released the album’s lead single “Hit the Wall” on May 14. Produced by Aaron Dessner, the single details Abrams’ experience with emotional burnout and confronting internal struggles.
“I love how raw her voice sounds,” Yates said about the single. “Like, I love how you can hear that slight rasp in her voice and you can really hear the emotions in her voice.”
Yates hopes “Daughter From Hell” sounds similar to Abrams’ last album, “The Secret of Us,” enjoying a collaboration on the tracklist.
“I really hope maybe she has a song with Taylor Swift again because I loved her song ‘us.’ with her,” Yates said. “And I just hope she has those really strong bridges in these new songs because those are my favorite songs.”
Another popular female artist to release an album this summer is Ariana Grande, who will release “Petal” July 31. Lead single “hate that i made you love me” comes out June 6.
“I like the way that she has meaning to her music,” junior Julia Hoke said. “It can be relatable.”
Similar to Yates’ hopes, Hoke wants Grande’s new album to sound like her last album.
“I love her old album, ‘Eternal Sunshine,’” Hoke said. “I love that album.”
Grande described her new album as “feral,” drawing on emotions she had previously been nervous to express in past projects. She said the album is all about breaking away from negative attachments in her life.
Pop star Olivia Rodrigo will also release an album this summer. Rodrigo is set to release “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love” June 12.
“I’m very excited to listen to her new album because I like her music a lot, and I’m excited to talk about the album with my sister who’s a huge fan,” senior Cam Woodall said. “I like that Olivia Rodrigo is down to earth, and I feel like she doesn’t try too hard to make a super big impression on people.”
Rodrigo released the album’s lead single “Drop Dead” in April and released “The Cure” on Friday.
“I thought ‘Drop Dead’ was a great song,” Woodall said. “The lyrics are super catchy, and it’s the kind of style I want in the rest of the album.”
Rodrigo’s new album draws from her experience living in London, and she calls it her most experimental album yet. She continued to work with long-time collaborator and producer Dan Nigro, who also produced her first two albums. Rodrigo said the album is full of sad love songs, noting how much more difficult it is to write about happiness instead of heartbreak.
Departing from the past few pop girl releases, country singer Luke Bryan will release “Signs” Sept. 18.
“I love Luke Bryan so much,” sophomore Peyton Woomer said. “His energy is always on point.”
Woomer hopes Bryan’s new album is “super uplifting and fun” and noted that she already loves his most recently released single for the project, “Fish Hunt Golf Drink.” This single was released with the announcement of the album, but Bryan also has already released “Country And She Knows It” and “Word On The Street,” which are both to be featured on “Signs.”
As students wrap up the school year, anticipation grows for summer break, which will include not only these album releases, but many more, such as Malcolm Todd, Keith Urban, The Strokes, Tyla and Katseye. Needless to say, there will be no shortage of songs of the summer for 2026.
