The year 2025 was vibrant for world music, bringing long-awaited debuts, surprises and impactful returns from renowned artists.
From Brazil to the world, CNN separated some of the biggest music album releases in 2025. Check it out!
The top music albums of 2025
Bad Bunny — “I should have taken more photos”
The Puerto Rican singer was a big highlight of world music this year thanks to the release of the album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos”, which is an ode to culture and delves into the roots of the Caribbean country. With this album, Bad Bunny won five awards at the Latin Grammy Awards and received six nominations at the Grammy Awards, whose ceremony will take place in 2026.
Lady Gaga — “Mayhem”
An album that marked Lady Gaga’s arrival in Brazil in 2025, “Mayhem” brought the star’s return to pop that goes back to her roots — when she debuted in music in 2008.
The star managed to score hits like “Abracadabra” and “Disease” with the album and .
Marina Sena — “Natural Things”
Bringing hits like “On an Island” and “Full Moon”Marina Sena fused MPB, funk, arrocha, bossa nova and reggaeton in the 13-song project. The album celebrates the artist’s personal growth and cultural roots, mixing Brazilianness with Latin rhythms.
João Gomes, Mestrinho and Jota.pê — “Dominguinho”
“Dominguinho” is a successful collaborative acoustic album between Brazilian artists João Gomes, Jota.pê and Mestrinho, with original songs and reinterpretations such as “Indestructible Bridges” (Charlie Brown Jr.), in a sound that combines forró and contemporary MPB.
The disk
Ana Castela – “Let’s Go Rodeo”
“Let’s Go Rodeo” is inspired by the country style, highlighting the pride of origin and life in the rodeo, and came from the singer’s research to, in fact, integrate into the pop world. The album has some big hits like “Look Where I Am” and “Rodeo in Texas”.
“Swag” — Justin Bieber
“Swag” was the singer’s 7th studio album and the 1st since “Justice”released in 2021.
The announcement took many fans by surprise. Despite some posts on social media and billboards spread across the United States with the word “SWAG”, the artist had not yet officially confirmed the launch of the project until shortly before the premiere.
On social media, where he changed his name to “lil bieber”, the singer shared a photo shoot alongside his wife, Hailey Bieber, and the couple’s son, Jack Blues Bieber, born in August 2024. The photos were part of the new visual era that accompanies the launch.
At the time of release, “Daisies”one of the songs, had 8.3 million plays in 24 hours on the Spotify streaming platform and reached the top of the Top 50 – World playlist.
Sabrina Carpenter — “Man’s Best Friend”
Over the course of 38 minutes of music, Sabrina dives head first into sexually charged compositions, with lyrics full of innuendo and self-affirmation and verses with double meanings. The project, which features hits “Manchild”, “Tears” e “House Tour”is an extension of the singer’s great pop album, “Short n’ Sweet” (2024)which went on to win the Grammy for Best Pop Album.
With “Man’s Best Friend”, Sabrina Carpenter earned six Grammy nominations.
Gaby Amarantos — “Rock Crazy”
With “Rock Doido”, Gaby Amarantos shows his role in valuing Pará culture, mixing tecnobrega with the aesthetics of Belém sound systems. The track “Foguinho” became a huge success. Other songs like “Dá-le Sal” and “Toda Noite Eu Vou Pro Rock” also stood out.
Taylor Swift — “The Life of a Showgirl”
With 12 tracks, and features collaborations with producers Max Martin54, e Shellback40, in addition to the singer Sabrina Carpenter26.
The new project combines the grandeur of Taylor Swift’s artistic narrative with an aesthetic inspired by the world of showgirls, the name given to artists who typically perform in theater shows wearing extravagant costumes.
In an interview with the groom’s New Heights podcast Travis Kelce35, Taylor Swift said that she sought to put more “up” and pop beats than previous projects, but that, lyrically, she will continue to bet on concepts like the one covered in the album “Folklore” (2020)which brought lyrics more mature and deep of the singer.
The first single from the album, “The Fate of Ophelia”became a worldwide hit, skyrocketing on the main music charts.
Lily Allen — “West End Girl”
“West End Girl” was the artist’s first album since the “No Shame”released in 2018. The album has 14 tracks and, according to the star, it was composed in 16 days, at the end of 2024. The compositions of the new album caused a stir on social media, due to the artist’s revelations about her ex-marriage to the actor David Harbour50.
In an interview with the magazine British VogueLily Allen assured that she was inspired by her relationship with David Harbor, but some of the lyrics are just fiction. The two got married in 2020 and divorce rumors began circulating earlier this year.
Most of the lyrics talk about cases of infidelity. In “Madeline”one of the first songs on the project, Lily Allen asks: “How long has this been going on? / Is it just sex or is there emotion too? / He told me he would stay in hotel rooms, it would never be out in the open / Why would I trust anything that comes out of his mouth?”
