Vocal Points: Voices To Look For In 2012

posted in: Features • Pop • Rock

As great as 2011 has been, it’s time to start fresh. So, while you’re making your New Year’s resolutions, start thinking about what music will be your soundtrack to 2012. Here are some of the voices we’re looking forward to hearing more from in the year to come!

Paramore, who made news in late 2010 for their split with founding members Josh and Zac Farro, are scheduled to release a full-length album in early 2012. So far, we’ve heard singles “Hello Cold World”, “Renegade” and most recently “In The Mourning”. Still, we’re wondering how the full-length album reflects any change in the band’s style. And it’ll be particularly interesting to see if Hayley Williams‘ voice is strong enough to keep fans hooked.

We’re also looking forward to having John Mayer‘s voice back in 2012! His fifth studio album, Born and Raised, which was initially scheduled for the end of 2011, will now be coming out in 2012, as soon as Mayer’s voice has completely recovered. And since the album’s already mostly completed (just missing vocals) it looks like we don’t have too long to wait!

Mumford and Sons won’t be keeping us waiting much longer either. According to the band, their next LP will be more mature, sounding a bit like “Black Sabbath meets Nick Drake”. And after the success of Sigh No More, its hard for us to imagine the band’s follow-up being anything less than great. Our fingers are crossed.

The list goes on with Tim McGraw, whose legal troubles with Curb Records previously prevented him from releasing his newest material. the country star has finally announced that Emotional Traffic will hit record stores January 17th. The album is said to include collaborations with wife Faith Hill and R&B sensation Ne-Yo, leading us to believe it could be quite the album!

Another voice to look for belongs to Melanie Amaro, the winner of Simon Cowell‘s The X Factor who was awarded a $5 million recording contract at the season finale December on 21st. This is the largest assured prize in television history, and will open doors for Amaro like nothing else could. Now, the only question is, will her music be good enough to sell records? We can’t wait to find out.

And last, but not least, we hear The Fray have some more material up their sleeves. Their single “Hearbeat”, which was released in October, has left fans anxious to hear more. Especially since the band says they’re trying to capture a sound that is very similar to their live performances, and are using Springsteen and Pearl Jam as influences. Luckily, we don’t have to wait long to hear for ourselves since Scars and Stories, their third studio album, is scheduled for release February 7th.

What are you looking forward to in 2012? Share your thoughts here!