Veteran Artists and Bands returning with new music in 2026

In the context of our article published last year titled “Veteran Artist returning in 2025”, the year was somewhat underwhelming in that most artists or bands listed in that article did NOT end up releasing full-length albums at all in 2025. Hence, I run a non-trivial chance of rehashing some of speculation that I had captured in my article from a year ago. The noteworthy exception in that list was British disco queen Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Her largely uptempo album, “Perimenopop”, spawned fantastic radio fodder via sonic gems such as “Relentless Love”, “Dolce Vita” and “Time” (all of which, as of today, are still getting high airplay on our 24-7 global online music radio broadcast). Other acts from yesteryear that had promising moments in 2025 include Louise (formerly of 90s all-girl group Eternal), Tunde Baiyewu (the frontman of pop duo Lighthouse Family), and Alison Goldfrapp (from the duo Goldfrapp). The one new pop act that has truly piqued my interest is South African husband-wife duo Porcelain Moon. Check out “Not Giving You Up” and the eponymous single “Porcelain Moon”.

Now that I have 2025 out of the way, I want to dive into what we can expect in 2026.

Charlie Puth:

Having released his first single in 2015, the New Jersey native Charlie Puth just about qualifies for the label “veteran” (we’ve set our threshold for this label at 10 years since the first release from an artist/band). I have generally scoffed at artists (I am looking at you Justin Bieber!!!) whose path to prominence is propelled by their ubiquity on YouTube after uploading a handful of cover versions on there. I tend to frown upon those that musically piggyback on the musical output of others (Fake AI artists such as The Velvet Sundown are taking this to new lows – but that is an article for another day!). I initially dismissed Charlie Puth as being an unremarkable teeny bopper. That was until his sophomore album “Voice Notes” (released in 2018), compelled me to recalibrate my assessment of him. Noteworthy highlights on that album include “Boy” and “Slow It Down”. Charlie Puth took things up a notch a year ago with a relatively under-the-radar Christmas pop gem called “December 25th” – a song that has all ingredients of a modern classic and one that is very much in the vein of the Wham! hit classic “Last Christmas”. The song does not rise to the dizzyingly high levels of “Last Christmas”, but it definitely is a top five (of all time) Christmas pop single for me. “Changes”, the lead single of his upcoming fourth album, titled “Whatever’s Clever”, is already getting loads of airplay on our online music radio broadcast. If the song is remotely representative of the album, fans are in for a treat.

The album is slated for release on March 6, 2026.

Richard Marx:

The man behind decade-defining ballads such as “Right Here Waiting” and “Endless Summer Nights” is more multi-faceted than people give him credit for. I mean, who else besides Richard Marx would have the sonic audacity to create a haunting mid-tempo song about a murder mystery that still has people asking “who killed Mary” over 30 years later? It did seem like his days as a current radio star started to fade right after he released his 1997 album “Flesh and Bone”. He had a momentary resurgence in 2004 after he won “Song of the Year” at the Grammy Awards that year for a song that he co-wrote with the late Luther Vandross called “Dance with My Father” (performed solely by Luther Vandross). This did lead to him being offered a major record deal but it appeared that he was still sonically confined to MOR rock and Adult Contemporary of the sort that was unlikely to break ground with new fans. It didn’t look like that path was likely to change until he released the album “Limitless” in 2020. This album, undoubtedly marks a creative inflection point for Richard Marx as his newfound creative mojo is starting to spawn poptastic radio fodder that comfortably shields itself from the dreaded “Adult Contemporary” genre label. If you are not convinced, check out the utter sonic bliss that is “All Along” from that album.  It is the first of two albums in this vein. Hence, fans might be a little unenthusiastic to find out that he is slated to release an album that is a mix of American standards along with original songs in the style of those American standards – recorded live at Evergreen studio (Burbank, California) with a full band orchestra and zero studio wizardry over three afternoons. That is, of course, until they hear the super-sexy and sophisticated lead single “Magic Hour” (co-written with Richard’s wife and former model Daisy Fuentes). It will make one wonder why Richard Marx has never featured on a James Bond soundtrack before – especially since “Magic Hour” would make a perfect sonic backdrop to any of those Casino scenes in a Bond movie. Here (below) is a video clip of “Magic Hour”.

The album, titled “After Hours” also features guest collaborations with Rod Stewart and Kenny G, and is slated for release on January 16, 2026.

Mika:

Beirut-born pop star Mika struck me as one of those quirky novelty acts with songs such as “We are golden” and “Grace Kelly” from his debut album. By this time in the music industry, it had become increasingly common for a new artist’s debut album to mark the zenith of one’s career with each subsequent release being a diminishing return from a commercial standpoint. Mika’s commercial arc was no different. Fortunately, he understood the significance of diversification into ancillary areas and its ability to buoy his popularity in continental Europe. Being a judge on The Voice (France) and X Factor (Italy) undoubtedly helped keep him in the public consciousness – but it still appeared that a lot of his goodwill was tied to his debut album “Life in cartoon motion”. This is a shame because I think he went from being good to absolutely GREAT on his fifth album “My Name is Holbrook” (a node to his actual name Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr). The album spawned the super-infectious “Sanremo” and “Tomorrow” both of which are FAR superior to the songs that made him famous – but music’s most powerful curators have no patience for lulls in an artist’s musical output (fortunately, at Radio Crème Brulee, we are quite different and we played the living daylights out of both “Sanremo” and the fantastic “Tomorrow”). These songs, probably have more than a little to do with my enthusiasm for musical output from Mika. His upcoming album “Hyperlove” is due for release on January 23, 2026. I cannot help but wonder if his 5th album was a musical oddity or the start of a renewal of the sort that Richard Marx started to experience with his “Limitless” album. The albums’ singles “Modern times” and “Immortal love” make it seem like Album #5 was an isolated musical high. That being said, “Immortal love” is likely to land well with die-hard Mika fans.

Robbie Williams:

This section of this article might feel like a little bit of a rehash of a post from last year. Robbie Williams was slated to release his 13th traditional studio pop album titled “Britpop” in 2025. He chose NOT to because apparently he is still obsessed with chart positions. He is no longer a mainstay on the singles charts but his albums do top the UK albums charts. His initial release date for “Britpop” coincided with “Life as a Showgirl” by Taylor Swift and Robbie conceded that he could not compete with her and hence pushed the release of the album out to what many perceive as a relatively uncompetitive music release window in February 2026. That being said, four songs from the album have already seen the light of day with “Pretty Face” being the most recent one. The songs are relatively raw and guitar-heavy but the melodies are quite pedestrian. In a strange way, it feels like he is chasing a sound and image he was desperate to nurture after his acrimonious exit from Manchester boyband Take That in the mid-90s (he did reunite with them for a FANTASTIC album called “Progress” with Take That which was released in 2010). His ardent fans will like these songs but it is unlikely that he will break any new ground with this if the rest of “Britpop” is similar to the songs from the album that have seen the light of day.

Ralph:

As a music curator, it is a non-trivial source of frustration for me that the relative obscurity of Canadian starlet Ralph continues to be a thing while so much musical mediocrity enjoys unwarranted fanfare. When I first discovered this talented lady (her actually name is Raffa Weyman) with her infections single “Tease” (released in 2017), I imagined her having a career comparable to that of Dua Lipa’s. For all the chatter around on-demand streaming being great for discovery, the fact still remains that only monocultures or any remnant of a monoculture with some level of scale allows for stardom. The fact that Ralph still perseveres in an environment that can feel almost defeatist is beyond exemplary. For a few years, I started to feel like she was losing steam and her musical output was starting to feel a little generic (post 2020). That assessment changed dramatically when she dropped the lead single “Tom Hanks” from her upcoming album (slated for release in 2026) back in June 2025. To say this song marks a creative high for Ralph would be an understatement. There is a great repeating refrain in the song with the lyric “Sadness is the same as euphoria”. This one line perfectly encapsulates the mood of the song. It is dark, melancholic, cinematic, and upbeat. It is the song British duo Everything But The Girl wishes they had written and recorded.

Based on some of the studio recording sessions that Ralph is sharing video clips of via her Instagram stories, there is undoubtedly more musical greatness slated for this new album. Watching her team of musicians working together at a time when the music business feels less and less like a meritocracy is beyond awe-inspiring. The album’s second single “Dangerous Nostalgia” is slated for release on January 6, 2026.

Culture Club:

If the history of pop music (especially its defining moments) was told through a series of photos, Culture Club (and especially their flamboyant frontman Boy George) would definitely be in those photos. They were hands down one of the biggest acts of the 80s and songs such as “Karma Chameleon”, “Do you really want to hurt me”, and “Miss Me Blind” have stood the test of time. That being said, in an interview with us back in 2013, the band’s frontman Boy George indicated that “nostalgia has a shelf life” and that he had no great desire to dwell exclusively on the past. Culture Club did make moves that ensured that their legacy was not tied exclusively to the 80s despite their acrimonious split after the release of their fourth album “From Luxury To Heartache” (which spawned the fantastic US top 40 single “Move Away”). Unfortunately, whether it was timing, or just a matter of questionable judgment, they were unable to swing the musical punch that they needed to – and this is DESPITE the fact that they returned with strong material. In the late 90s, against all odds, they returned with the super-sophisticated “Don’t Mind if I do” album. Despite the single “I just want to be loved” peaking in the UK top 5 (oddly enough, this album did not get a release in the US), the album did not chart well and the band had to part ways with their record label. They may have returned just too early for their own good. 20 years later, it looked like they were sitting on an even better (relative to the “Don’t mind if I do” album) treasure trove of songs which they had started to perform at reunion concerts as early as 2015. More importantly, they were starting to showcase two very distinct facets of themselves – the old-school band that didn’t rely on glossy production to sound great (with songs such as “Like I used to” and “Universal Love”) and of course the quintessential pop stars that they were with their reggae-infused flourishes and smooth production. Unfortunately, some of the finest songs from their sonic treasure chest did NOT make the cut on their 2018 album “Life”. “Life” undoubtedly had its moments (especially the Bob Marley-esque “What does sorry mean?”) but it is difficult NOT to acknowledge that the album was a watered down version of what it could have been thanks to the exclusion of songs such as the up-tempo “Hard times”, “Like I used to”, and “Universal Love”. It is unclear whether or not there is a desire to revisit this decision via a new album. The preview that the band has shared on their Instagram page would suggest that their musical direction is moving closer to the sound of Boy George’s solo sound as opposed to that of the trademark Culture Club sound. I have always respected Boy George’s unshackled experimentation and genre-hopping streak but I would be lying if I said that I would prefer that he confined that facet of himself to his solo endeavors. It is unclear if that will be the case on the upcoming Culture Club album (which does not have a release date yet). That being said, the possibility of the band revisiting the missed opportunities of the “Life” album is a good enough reason for cautious optimism.

Jamiroquai:

Acid jazz turned funky disco-soul act Jamiroquai is the best example of the broad-minded curatorial ethic of MTV’s heyday being a catalyst for widening the notion of the word “mainstream”. A musical act with a heritage similar to that of Jamiroquai’s does NOT enjoy the level of celebrity Jamiroquai (especially their lead singer Jay Kay) did and continues to enjoy. The eye-popping music videos (featuring fancy cars, gorgeous models, and lead singer Jay Kay’s trademark dance moves) made the band an irresistible mainstay in the second innings of MTV in the 90s. More importantly, the en masse warming up of music’s most powerful curators (especially outside the US) to Jamiroquai added a welcome layer of diversity to the musical spectrum of commercial viability. The band’s music has also aged incredibly well. With a brand as strong as theirs and a cult following whose reverence for the band only seems to be strengthening over time, long gaps between albums do NOT seem to be a problem for the band. In fact, their last album titled “Automaton” was released back in 2017. Lead singer Jay Kay describes the upcoming as album as a “11 track banger”. As of today, the band has also started to perform extended versions of four of the new songs on the band’s current “Heels of Steel” concert tour around Europe. Here (below) is a glimpse of one of these performances:

The trademark Jamiroquai sound is still very much there but is unclear as to what studio versions of these new offerings are likely to be. Either way, a Jamiroquai album in 2026 is a bright prospect!

Keane:

“We are about songs” – said Richard Hughes (the drummer for Keane) when asked what the band were all about in an Australian interview while they were promoting their debut album “Hopes and Fears”. This seems like an oddly quaint response but it has merit in a time when the incentives of the music industry seemed more rewarding of hollow stardom than artistry with any potential for longevity. It did not stop the band from leaning into their honesty even more instead of recalibrating their musical aesthetic to accommodate an industry on a creatively downward spiral. I cannot help but wonder what the place of British band Keane would have been in contemporary pop culture in a world wherein they had risen to prominence a decade prior. Songs such as “Somewhere only we know” and “Everybody’s changing” from their debut album “Hopes and Fears” have an anthemic quality that time cannot erode. Despite having 5 UK #1 albums (and a 6th album that peaked at #2 on the UK albums chart) under their belt, their mainstream (outside the UK and Europe) power does not seem anywhere close to that of Coldplay’s. Lead singer Tom Chaplin continues to be a vocal powerhouse and one of the most under-rated frontmen in pop/rock music. Keane strikes me as an example of what could have been in a music business that felt meritocratic. 6 albums into their career as a band, the creative well of the band’s primary songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley does not seem to be drying up. The band is back in the recording studio (and has shared photos and recordings of this on their instagram page) but has not shared any clips of the new material. If the band’s history is any indication of what they are still capable of, fans are in for an album full of sonic gems and NOT just a few isolated moments of musical greatness. I can barely wait!

Kings of Convenience:

In the early 2000s, with the dominant phenomena such as overproduction, loudness, and the staggeringly unoriginal “rent a rapper” trend (which involved featuring a guest rapper on a song as a commercial crutch to sound mainstream enough for the US market), it seemed borderline rebellious, revolutionary, and commercially risky to emerge with a sonic aesthetic that was the antithesis to the path to commercial success in the music business – especially in the US. This is what Kings of Convenience, the duo from Bergen (Norway) did when they first surfaced in 2001. “Quiet is the new loud”, the title of their debut album was more than a hint of the minimalism that defined their sound. Their sparse soundscape is shaped by acoustic guitars and their intertwining vocals. Their songs occasionally benefit from string section embellishments, but the core of the music has always been out on full display, as opposed to being draped in a cloak of studio gloss/production. It seems almost quaint that the sound of their stylistic rebellion would be one characterized by the tranquility of a cozy living room. Against all odds, this approach has worked spectacularly well. While they may not have dented the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts (a very debatable indicator of music quality these days), they have been able to build and nurture a loyal and ardent fanbase in America. They returned in 2021 with their fourth album “Peace of Love” after a 12-year long hiatus as a duo reminding fans of what a gift they were to music. While no major announcements have been made, it does appear that they are back in the recording studio – presumably in the midst of crafting the brilliance that will become Album #5 for them. This might be a long shot for 2026 but I hope I am wrong about this.

Madonna:

Almost two years ago, I reviewed one of the Madison Square Garden concerts of Madonna as part of her “Celebration tour” – a retrospective that celebrated each phase of an illustrious career that has spanned a little over four decades for pop music’s undisputed “Queen of pop”. In that review, I had also indicated that the notion of a popstar (with global ubiquity) in her mid-60s was somewhat of a new concept given the age-old notion of the word “pop” being almost exclusively associated with conventional definitions (i.e. rooted in chronological age) of “youth”. It was tempting to think of Madonna’s “Celebration” tour as a natural grand finale but it appears that Madonna has absolutely no desire to bow out and is back in the studio with producer Stuart Price (a producer that she brought out of relative obscurity with her US #1 album “Confessions on a dancefloor” in 2005). Fans of the album are undoubtedly hopeful for Part 2 of “Confessions”. Oddly enough, I prefer Stuart Price’s work with acts such as Kylie Minogue (on “Aphrodite”), Take That (on “Progress”) and New Order (specifically on the track “Jetstream” from “Waiting for the Siren’s call”) while having largely muted enthusiasm for Madonna’s “Confessions” album. Hence, a Madonna album that is stylistically more in the vein of Stuart Price’s other work is more my cup of tea. So far, Madonna has shared images from the recording studio but there do not appear to be any concrete details with regards a timeline for the album release. Either way, I am cautiously optimistic!

Natalie Imbruglia:

This lady has to be one of the most criminally under-rated vocalists of her generation. In America, she is still largely known for her debut single “Torn”. This is a shame since her best followed after her debut album. Noteworthy but often overlooked tracks by her include “Lukas” (from her ill-fated “Come to life” album), “Standing there” (a b-side from the single “Beauty on the fire”) and of course her hit single “Wrong Impression” from her sophomore album “White Lilies Island”. Her last album, “Firebird” received a lot of critical acclaim. It wasn’t heavy on radio fodder (with the exception of “Maybe it’s great”) but it showcased her vocal chops. Very little is known about her upcoming album other than the fact that she has around 13 new songs written for it. Hopefully, more details surface as the year moves along.

Johnny Hates Jazz:

Sometimes, pop bands create timeless hits that are larger than the band itself. Anglo-American trio (now a duo with lead singer Clark Datchler and producer/bass player Mike Nocito) Johnny Hates Jazz definitely falls in this category. To the broader public, it looked like they had become overnight stars as the biggest new band in 1988. The reality was quite different. All three members at the time had been groomed in different capacities at RAK studios (founded by record producer Mickie Most) in London. It looked like their story had ended soon after it began with lead singer Clark Datchler leaving the band after their debut album “Turn back the clock” hit the #1 spot on the UK albums charts and spawned hits such as the timeless “Shattered Dreams”, “Turn back the clock”, and “I Don’t want to be a hero”. 25 years of time apart was not enough to dilute their sonic chemistry and to the surprise of many, Clark Datchler and Mike Nocito reunited to release two fantastic albums – “Magnetized” and “Wide Awake”. These albums embody some of the elements that made “Turn back the clock” the masterpiece that it is and they hold up incredibly well independent of the Johnny Hates Jazz yesteryear halo. The band also just wrapped up a headlining tour around the UK. Given the response to their concerns, it appears that touring stints in Australia are likely and I can only hope that they finally set foot on an American stage soon. But the bigger news is the promise of new music. A new Johnny Hates Jazz single has been recorded and could see the light of day in “a matter of weeks” according to lead singer Clark Datchler as mentioned in the Winter Solistice 2025 episode of his fantastic livestream titled “Journey Songs”. He also added that he is sitting on three albums worth of ideas – so hopefully those ideas morph into recorded music by the end of the year and we see a fifth Johnny Hates Jazz album (the fourth with Clark Datchler since he was not part of their ill-fated sophomore album “Tall Stories”).

Samantha James:

It appears that we have been teasing new music by dance pop starlet Samantha James for almost a decade. In our article titled “Veteran artists/bands returning with new music in 2025”, we indicated that she had deviated from the process and ethic that made her first two albums “Rise” and “Subconscious” albums the brilliant pieces of music that they are. The deviation stems from her NOT working with Sebastian Arocha Morton (the production mastermind of her first two albums). Their creative chemistry has been compared to that of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt from Everything But The Girl. Samantha has been recording this album in different parts of the world. She offers little glimpses into this process via her Instagram presence. Her latest recording location is South Africa. She certainly knows how to dial up the intrigue levels. In fact, one of the studios there appears to be tied to Universal Music’s office in Johannesburg. By now, most fans would have given up on her but she knows exactly how to keep people at the edge of their seats. I am hoping at least some of this new music surfaces this year. The wait has been excruciatingly long!

Poets of the Fall:

Rock music’s best-kept secret from Finland clearly does not believe in taking extended breaks. Their propensity towards being prolific in a music industry that feels less and less like a meritocracy is beyond admirable. Their guitarist Olli Tukiainen recently released an instrumental album titled “Lost within the fire”. The lead single “Livin’ the dream” possesses all the swagger and snarl of the Poets Of The Fall instrumental track “Rogue” from their “Jealous Gods” album. Fortunately, this is NOT an indication that the band members are going their separate ways to pursue solo endeavors. In late September of 2024, they posted that they are working on new material – but as of now, we have no timeline of the album release or the recording process. It has been three years since their last album “Ghostlight”. They have been pretty good about churning out an album every alternate year so let’s hope that spunk is still alive!

So this is our list. Anyone noteworthy we are missing? If so, please feel free to share in the comments below. Wishing all of you a glorious 2025 – and once again, my sincere apologies for the delay in posting this!