September was a big month in the world of music. With many releases, both surprise and planned, along with the arrival of the 2025 VMAs. An artist out of hiatus, first-time award winners, and the part two of a fan-favorite album from this past summer.
The VMAs brought new, iconic moments to talk about after the show premiered on September 7. Sombr deservedly won his first VMA, Sabrina Carpenter had a wonderful performance for trans rights, Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga both took home the most coveted awards, and Conan Gray earned his spot as 2025’s main pop boy with his amazing vocals and stage presence.
This year’s show also awarded Mariah Carey with the Video Vanguard award for her decades in the industry, with expert music videos to accompany that. She delivered a heavily lip-synced performance before accepting the award from a bowing-down Ariana Grande.
Upon its release on September 26, Doja Cat’s new album “Vie” entered the global charts, and the number one position on the US iTunes album chart. Industry experts predict that the album will reach number five on the Billboard Hot 200 soon. Interestingly enough, however, this particular album has not caused a ton of talk like Doja’s past albums have. “Planet Her” in 2021, was a worldwide smash hit, as well as “Scarlet” in 2023, so what is possibly causing Doja to fall off so hard?
Could it be that the hype was taken to another project from another artist? The album has a total of 15 tracks, and has already reached critical acclaim, so it is quite peculiar that it is not being talked about more.
Cardi B also released an album on September 19, but with a better marketing strategy to make sure people heard about its existence. These strategies for sure worked in her favor, as the album reached number one, meaning both of her albums have accomplished this. The album gathered 200,000 sales within its first week alone, which is wildly impressive for someone who has not released a full album since 2018.
To promote the album, Cardi made sure she had some insane features like Selena Gomez, Lizzo, and Janet Jackson to talk about in interviews. She also released three alternate cover editions of vinyl records for collectors to gather, and held a pop-up shop in a New York City bodega before jetting off on a tour of meet-and-greets spanning from September 19-25.
She was also seen selling the records on the streets of NYC, giving people a chance to meet her and buy the album in a unique way. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you do an album rollout.
The anticipated return of former “One Direction” band member Louis Tomlinson also took place within this past month. After being seen out and about with former bandmate Zayn Malik, reportedly filming something, people began to speculate one of them, or both, had something up their sleeve(s).
Thankfully Tomlinson did as on September 23, he released a 15-second snippet of a new song titled “Lemonade.” The song was released a week later on September 30, and just mere hours after its release he announced his third studio album, “How Did I Get Here,” with a January 23, 2026, release date.
Tate McRae also surprised fans this month with a completely random single drop, announced and released all within two days. The song, “Tit for Tat,” was announced on September 24 before its release on September 26.
The song is a sick diss at her ex, The Kid Laroi, after he did so childishly in one of his new songs. McRae later stated in an interview that she had, in fact, written the song only two weeks prior to its release.
There was another surprise release this month as Justin Bieber dropped “SWAG II,” the part two to his summer album that dropped on July 11. “SWAG II” was released on September 5 and featured 23 new tracks, all described as R&B and pop. One song is a spoken-word track about the story of Adam and Eve, as Bieber has recently been trying to find his way toward a faith of his own.
The album has received mixed reviews since its release. Some people are saying how it lacks boldness and has an extensive tracklist, while some praise the album calling it feat for showcasing Bieber’s creative freedom, and a nice, soulful vibe that stays consistent throughout the whole album.
The most notable upcoming release for this month would have to be Taylor Swift’s anticipated 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” The album consists of 12 tracks, one of which having a Sabrina Carpenter feature. A New York City pop-up, containing so many meticulously curated easter eggs, has recently opened and will remain until the day before the album release on October 3.
This month provided much entertainment for music lovers as different albums and singles dropped left and right. There is something for everyone, and in perfect time as we launch ourselves into the 2025 award show season.