New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The
Weeknd least expected that his much anticipated 2020 album, After Hours - which has done exceptionally well, according to public opinion, has topped several charts and is constantly being featured on every "best list" made by popular music platforms - would be completely
snubbed by the Grammys committee.
Not a single Grammy nomination for an album with songs that featured on both US & UK charts for weeks. Hopefully, your unibet odds and casino visits did well and not like some albums that have lost out big this award nomination season.
Let's find out how some of our other favourite R&B albums have fared and see what fates they encountered either in the court of public opinion or at the hands of notable award committees.
Anticipated Albums that Never Saw the Light of Day
1. Normani & Rihanna's Albums
How long have we now waited for Rihanna's next album? Four years since The Navy received the ANTI album from the powerhouse that is Miss Robyn Fenty, and here we still are, in the throes of waiting on an album which was supposed to have been released every year since 2018.
R9 was promised to us yet again in 2020, with no track list nor release date but still widely anticipated and rumoured to feature artists like Dua Lipa, Pharrell and Diplo.
One could argue that Normani is following in the footsteps of one of her idols, considering that she is a Fenty Ambassador and in close communication with Rihanna.
We all expected Normani's debut album in 2020, and a number of us might still be silently hoping that it gets released before the year ends. As early as March of this year, we can find several articles expressing that her debut album will count towards helping to permanently remove her from the shadows of once belonging to the girl group, Fifth Harmony, to establish her as a talented young artist in her own right.
With her first solo single, 'Love Lies', she communicated to us that she is an artist with the capacity to deliver so much and we are still waiting on her to fulfil her end of the bargain with a complete body of work.
Anticipated Albums that Did Well
2. Bigger Love, Alicia & B7
John Legend's seventh studio album, 'Bigger Love' enjoyed the most commercial success compared to albums by Alicia's self-titled album and Brandy's which she titled 'B7'. All three artists are exceptionally talented R&B veterans, with a huge fan following to ensure that their albums, at the very least, enjoy considerable public attention.
Overall, these veterans delivered a solid feel good body of work, indicative of their years of experience in the industry, each a classic album in its own right. However, Legend, who has always been able to marry classic with commercial managed to deliver an album with tracks such as 'Don't Walk Away' featuring Koffee, which received a decent number of air-plays across different music platforms. Legend's album has also been nominated for Best R&B album at the 2021 63rd Grammys.
Anticipated Albums that We Couldn't Get Enough Of
3. Take Time, Ungodly Hour, to feel love/d and Chilombo
If you have listened to Giveon's debut album entitled 'Take Time', then you will agree that it is an unbelievably phenomenal piece of musical artistry. You cannot skip any track while listening and it has rightfully been Grammy nominated alongside artists like Legend, for Best R&B Album of 2020 as well. Similarly, Chloe X Halle's 'Ungodly Hour', Luke James's 'to feel love/d', and Jhene Aiko's 'Chilombo' have all received prestigious award nods for their exceptionally executed albums.
For example, the track 'Do it' by Chloe x Halle has over 40 million views on YouTube alone and caused somewhat of a fashion and choreography sensation when it was released. Millennials and Gen Zs alike went all out, dressed up in the similar 90s style as the girls did in the music video as well as dance to every step of the choreography. It definitely made a lasting impression and the album has received glowing reviews from many corners of the world.
Other notable anticipated albums which met and surpassed our expectations are Teyana Taylor's 'The Album', Dvsn's 'A Muse in Her Feelings', PartyNextDoor's 'Party Mobile', Kehlani's 'It Was Good Until It Wasn't, and of course The Weeknd's 'After Hours', which according to Elton John has been ridiculously snubbed by the Grammy's. If you haven't yet, which is very unlikely, check out one of The Weeknd's most successful tracks off the album, 'Blinding Lights'.
All in all, 2020 was a good year for R&B artists and fans, there are more records of wins than there is disappointment, so there really isn't more to ask for, gratitude all around towards our beloved R&B artists.
