Billboard has published its list of the "50 Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)" – and seven are by Canadian artists.
Making the cut are releases by Justin Bieber, Drake, The Weeknd, Jessie Reyez, Grimes, Caribou and Andy Shauf.
Bieber’s Changes is described by Billboard as “a relatively muted, R&B-heavy album about the healing power of love” that is “too at peace to be concerned with collecting No. 1 hits.” He praised the Ontario pop star for “slinging hooks with a newfound self-assuredness.”
Dark Lane Demo Tapes from Drake earned a spot on the list, as did The Weeknd’s After Hours.
“A thrilling blend of his early R&B influences and Starboy-era pop sheen, every song is about feeling either everything or nothing at all,” reads the blurb. "As a whole, here, his artistic vision comes to fruition, somehow as bleak as it is beautiful.”
Reyez’s Before Love Came To Kill Us is described as “a bitter breakup album that alternates gorgeous, wistful laments with brash, indignant cockiness” and Miss Anthropocene from Grimes features “some of the best and most efficient songs in her catalog.”
Billboard also recognized the latest from Caribou. "While Suddenly includes body-moving productions it also masterfully and often gorgeously evokes emotions more contemplative and melancholic … In this moment of global tumult, Suddenly feels both appropriate, and in many moments, gratefully soothing.”
Shauf's The Neon Skyline is called "transfixing" and the Regina musician is praised for his "gorgeously rendered folk-pop storytelling."
Albums by Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa, Ozzy Osbourne, BTS and 5 Seconds of Summer are among the others featured on the list of the 50 best.
Canada is also well represented in the Top 10 of this week’s Billboard Hot 100, thanks to singles from The Weekend (“Blinding Lights” at No. 3), Drake (“Toosie Slide” at No. 6) and Bieber (“Intentions” ft. Quavo at No. 8).
This article has been updated since it was first published.