Greetings and good tidings, dear Popheads, and welcome to the second submission window for Popheads Quarterly!

Wondering what the hell a “quarterly” is? Read the introduction post here (we know, reading is hard, but we believe you can do it!)

As a reminder, this project is meant to be retrospective, rather than reactive. Ideally, you’ve had a chance to sit with an album for a bit before you submit an entry for it. But if you’re still catching up with releases from Q2, never fear – you’ll have a few weeks before the submission period closes. We’ll be accepting submissions until August 25th, 2026. 

The Ballot Box

If you need a refresher on the submission rules, check ‘em out here! If you think you’re ready to submit your takes, carry on wayward son (gender neutral) and utilize the following links.

Note: You’ll be submitting an individual entry for every album you’d like to contribute commentary for. You do not need to score every album to participate.

• 🧮 Album Scores can be submitted here.
• 🕰️ Retrospective Scores can be submitted here. (NEW category!)
• 📮 Album Commentary can be submitted here.
• 📡 Shout-Outs can be submitted here.
  • There is no Throwback Commentary submission for this quarter. Any re-releases not featured as a RetroGrade can be submitted as a shout-out.
• 🏵️ Best Week Bonus: Vote for your favorite release week here!

The lists of which releases we’re including in each category are below; if you don’t see one of your favorites here, that might make it a great contender for a Shout-Out!

The Honorees

The following releases were categorized based on name recognition, subreddit activity, and a dash of PHQ staff discretion.

Please note, if any album below receives only low-effort or no submissions, it will not be included in the Quarterly.

You can also view the full list, organized by release date, here. (Helpful cheat sheet for deciding your favorite release week for the Best Week Bonus poll!)

Note (Reprise): The PHQ editors are only human, and it is inevitable we will miss or mistake an album release here or there. If there seems to be a glaring omission, please don’t hesitate to submit it in the shout-out category; we’ll make sure it lands in the right place.

Q2 2026 Gradebook Nominees

The following new releases are available to be commentated upon and scored, for an eventual inauguration into the Popheads Gradebook:

Album	Artist	Release Date
HALO	Tiffany Day	04-03-2026
Cruel World	Holly Humberstone	04-10-2026
Superbloom	Jessie Ware	04-17-2026
KONNAKOL	ZAYN	04-17-2026
The Great Divide	Noah Kahan	04-24-2026
Kehlani	Kehlani	04-24-2026
Toy With Me	Meghan Trainor	04-24-2026
Middle of Nowhere	Kacey Musgraves	05-01-2026
Dancing On The Wall	MUNA	05-08-2026
ICEMAN	Drake	05-15-2026
Florescence	Maisie Peters	05-22-2026
Detour	Kim Petras	05-29-2026
BITCH	Lizzo	06-05-2026
you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love	Olivia Rodrigo	06-12-2026
DIRTY BLONDE	Bebe Rexha	06-12-2026
Sweet Fortune	Ryan Beatty	06-26-2026

AND INTRODUCING: Q2 2026 RetroGrade Albums

As we’re attempting to back-fill our gradebook library catalogue, we’ll be including several previously released albums in the upcoming quarters for scoring, based upon if new editions were released within the window. This could include deluxes, anniversary editions, remixes, live recordings, etc.

Just remember, you’re scoring the original album, NOT the rerelease. There is a comment box available to add additional thoughts on the deluxe, if you’d like!

Album	Artist	OG Release Date	2026 Q2 Rerelease
A Matter of Time	Laufey	08-22-2025	Deluxe
LUX	Rosalía	11-07-2025	Deluxe
It’s Not That Deep	Demi Lovato	10-24-2025	Deluxe
Wishbone	Conan Gray	08-15-2025	Deluxe
Midnight Sun	Zara Larsson	09-26-2025	Remix
The Great Impersonator	Halsey	10-25-2024	Deluxe
MAYHEM	Lady Gaga	03-27-2025	Live
Dangerous Woman	Ariana Grande	05-20-2016	Anniversary
Radical Optimism	Dua Lipa	05-03-2024	Live
Puberty 2	Mitski	06-17-2016	Anniversary

Q2 2026 Commentary Albums

These additional releases are available to be commentated upon, based on engagement levels in the community. If a release you loved isn’t here, be sure to submit a Shout-Out for it; it may be featured in the Quarterly!

Album	Artist	Release Date
Dandelion	Ella Langley	04-10-2026
EQUILIBRIVM	Anitta	04-16-2026
Nine Inch Noize	Nine Inch Nails & Boys Noize	04-17-2026
M.I.7	M.I.A	04-17-2026
Veils	Vanessa Carlton	04-17-2026
ZENZEALIA	Azealia Banks	04-21-2026
Dorian Electra	Dorian Electra	04-24-2026
Sweat	Melanie C	05-01-2026
The Afterparty	Lykke Li	05-08-2026
status update music	leroy (Jane Remover)	05-13-2026
everyone for ten minutes	Bleachers	05-22-2026
EXPERIMENTAL RAP	JPEGMAFIA	05-22-2026
LEMONADE	aespa	05-29-2026
The Boys of Dungeon Lane	Paul McCartney	05-29-2026
U, Me & My Ego	Chxrry	05-29-2026
NATURE IS HEALING	horsegiirL	06-05-2026
Dinner Party	Niall Horan	06-05-2026
Sanctuary	Evanescence	06-05-2026
Do That Again	Malcolm Todd	06-05-2026
Dancefloor Erotica	Dagny	06-12-2026
So Help Me God	Kelsey Lu	06-12-2026
God Must Really Love Me	Tori Kelly	06-12-2026
Resurrection	Chloë & Timbaland	06-19-2026
Victory	Madeon	06-26-2026

Major thanks to everyone for your open-minded enthusiasm to this initiative, some persistent patience as we worked out the kinks with Q1, and we hope you’ll have a lot of fun making your submissions over the next month. 

As a reminder, Q2 submissions will be open from July 27th - August 25th.

QUICK LINKS: [ Fresh Scores ] [ RetroGrades ] [ Commentary ] [ Shout-Out ] [ Best Week ]

We also highly encourage y’all to start up the conversation now and chat about the releases here in this thread. A little discussion before you finalize your submissions can make it all the better!

Godspeed, and pop on,

– Your PHQ Staff