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NOVEMBER

John Mayer
BATTLE STUDIES (11/17)
The singer deliberately took his time following up his last effort, 2006's Grammy double whammy Continuum, working once again with John Mayer Trio drummer Steve Jordan as co-producer. First single ''Who Says'' may be an ode to single-guy freedoms (''Who says I can't get stoned/Call up a girl I used to know/Fake love for an hour or so''), but ''Half of My Heart,'' a duet with Taylor Swift, finds the tabloid lothario in a more familiar romantic mode.

Amerie
IN LOVE & WAR (11/3)
The ''1 Thing'' belter is back with a brand-new batch of energetic R&B workouts.

Carrie Underwood
PLAY ON (11/3)
Underwood continues to grow, co-writing more songs than ever. (For more former Idols, see sidebar on previous page.)

Bon Jovi
THE CIRCLE (11/10)
The Jersey stalwarts are promising an album of back-to-basics, big-chorused songs like first single ''We Weren't Born to Follow.''

50 Cent
BEFORE I SELF DESTRUCT (11/17)
Fifty announced an album with this title in 2007. Evidently his self-destruct-by date is later than anticipated.

Norah Jones
THE FALL (11/17)
Is the piano tinkler turning into Eddie Van Halen? Probably not. But she does play more guitar than keys on her fourth disc, which features a Ryan Adams writing collab.

Leona Lewis
ECHO (11/17)
Lewis reunites with Ryan Tedder (see next entry) for her second album's power-ballad lead track. Also on board are Ne-Yo and Max Martin.

OneRepublic
WAKING UP (11/17)
Frontman Ryan Tedder has spent the last few years producing hits for artists like Beyoncé, so it's somewhat surprising to find a guest-star-free follow-up to 2007's Dreaming Out Loud.

Avril Lavigne
STILL UNTITLED (11/17)
The onetime Sk8er Girl gets help from husband Deryck Whibley and her own 15-year-old self (on the decade-old ''Darlin''').

Susan Boyle
I DREAMED A DREAM (11/24)
''I Dreamed a Dream'' and ''Memory'' are here, along with a cover of ''Wild Horses.'' Will the rest be packed with huge surprises? (A Lil Wayne guest rap? A Metallica cover?) Stay tuned...

30 Seconds to Mars
THIS IS WAR (11/24)
Kanye West shows up on one tune, but it's fans of Jared Leto's band who contributed the most, sending sounds and pics to be used on the CD (it will have 2,000 different covers).

ALSO DUE
Glee: The Music (11/3), Ryan Leslie (11/3), Slayer (11/3), Brooke Waggoner (11/3), Wale (11/3), Michelle Branch (11/10), Dashboard Confessional (11/10), Switchfoot (11/10), Robbie Williams (11/10), Annie (11/17), Justin Bieber (11/17),

DECEMBER

Alicia Keys
STILL UNTITLED (12/1)
Fresh off Jay-Z's ''Empire State of Mind,'' the R&B songstress returns for her first album since 2007's As I Am.

LATE FALL

Mary J. Blige
STRONGER (DATE TBD)
The latest chapter in Mary's ongoing saga of self-actualization boasts a guest appearance by rapper of the moment Drake on lead single ''The One.''

Eminem
RELAPSE 2 (DATE TBD)
Because one dose of prescription-drug-inspired rap per year isn't enough, Marshall Mathers releases another new album.

Usher
STILL UNTITLED (DATE TBD)
Little is known about the singer's sixth disc, tentatively set for this year, but given that it's his first since filing for divorce, expect some emotional material.

*ALL RELEASE DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Written by Clark Collis, Leah Greenblatt, Dave Karger, Joe Lynch, Whitney Pastorek, Aly Semigran, Dan Snierson, Tim Stack, Tanner Stransky, Simon Vozick-Levinson, and Kate Ward