Every week, triple j select a Feature Album, a particular album whether local or international that the Australian national youth broadcaster decides to shine a particularly bright spotlight on for the duration of the week.
Songs from the album — not just the singles — are put on high rotation on the station, presenters regularly remind listeners of what the week’s Feature Album is, and occasionally we hear excerpts from the band or artist themselves discussing the record.
You may recall some controversy back in April when pop superstar Beyonce’s Lemonade was selected as an Album Packet. Some j listeners were incensed, not only because they felt Queen Bey was not suited to triple j, but because she didn’t really need the exposure.
So basically, having your album featured by triple j is kind of a big deal, which is why next week’s Feature Album has raised so many eyebrows. No, they haven’t selected Beyonce again, instead they’ve gone with… well, we don’t really know.
And apparently neither do they. If you take a look at the list of additions to the triple j playlist for next week, amongst names like Against Me!, Banks, Holy Holy, and The Preatures, you will literally see a giant ‘iunno’ emoticon.
According to our national youth broadcaster, next week’s Feature Album is yet to be confirmed, which has understandably led to some questions about just what the album might be. Perhaps it’s a surprise release set to drop over the weekend?
One guess is the Feature Album may be Frank Ocean’s imminent new LP, Boys Don’t Cry. After years of rumours, false starts, and broken promises, reports surfaced this week that the album is set to drop on Friday.
Whilst there’s been no official word from Ocean’s label, Def Jam, reports say the album will be unveiled on Friday US time and will remain exclusive to Apple Music for two weeks before being given a wider release.
So is the R&B crooner’s long-anticipated new album the mysterious triple j Feature Album for next week? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Correction 05/08/16: This article originally stated that Beyonce’s Lemonade was a triple j Feature Album.
