Music

Former President Barack Obama has shared his annual list of his favorite songs of the year, featuring Kendrick Lamar’s GNX track “Squabble Up,” “Yayo,” by rising Nigerian star Rema, and the Waxahatchee and MJ Lenderman duet “Right Back to It.” Billie Eilish, Tyla, Fontaines D.C., Shaboozey, Beyoncé, Moses Sumney, Johnny Blue Skies, and more appear

Suki Waterhouse brought out TOPS’ Jane Penny at a recent gig in Montreal. Check out footage below. The moment occurred during Waterhouse’s show in the city’s MTELUS Performing Arts Centre on December 14. Ahead of welcoming the TOPS vocalist to the stage, Waterhouse referred to the Canadian indie-rock band as “the coolest band in Montreal”

Hozier returned to Saturday Night Live for the NBC program’s final pre-Christmas episode of 2024. He first played “Too Sweet,” which former President Barack Obama recently named one of his favorite songs of the year. The Irish musician then did the Pogues’ holiday classic “Fairytale of New York.” Watch Hozier’s SNL performances below. Hozier made

Hull is set to submit its bid to become the UK’s latest recipient of the UNESCO Creative City of Music award. The designation is awarded by the United Nations agency to a number of cities around the world that have “identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development” and that aim to establish

Alfa Anderson, the singer of some of disco group Chic’s biggest songs, including “Le Freak,” “Good Times,” “My Forbidden Lover,” “At Last I Am Free,” “I Want Your Love,” has died. The band’s Nile Rodgers shared the news on social media, but he did not disclose a cause of death. Anderson was 78 year old.

Normani has teased the possibility of a new full-length album in 2025, saying she is working on a “whole new body of work”. The pop/R&B star and former Fifth Harmony singer released her debut solo album ‘Dopamine’ in June this year, including the singles ‘Wild Side’, ‘1:59’ and ‘Candy Paint’. Now, in a new interview

A new movie from Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, which shares a title with his forthcoming album, Hurry Up Tomorrow, has received a North American release date of May 16, 2025, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The suspense thriller stars the Weeknd alongside Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan, with director Trey Edward Shults (known for the

Charli XCX and Post Malone have each received additional Grammy nods. The Recording Academy shared the additional nominations for the 2025 Grammys yesterday (December 20). The latest batch of adjustments to the nominee list saw both artists given Best Recording Package nods for serving as art directors on ‘Brat’ and ‘F-1 Trillion’. Both records were

Boldy James links up with King of the Hill–referencing producer WhoTheHellIsCarlo for their first collaborative project. The record swiftly follows Boldy James’ latest stellar full-length, The Bricktionary, the rapper inviting Conway the Machine, Styles P, King Hendricks, and Zelooperz to join him across seven tracks. Listen on Apple MusicListen on SpotifyListen on TidalListen on Amazon

Bruce Springsteen has teased a jam-packed 2025 with extended tour dates and the release of “never-before-released” material. It has been announced via a press release that the 75-year-old rock icon will be kicking off 2025 with an extension of his global tour with The E Street Band, and will hit the road on May 14

Questlove is set to direct a new documentary about the history of Saturday Night Live’s musical guests, Deadline and Variety report. To coincide with SNL’s five decades on the air, Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music will “feature untold stories behind the culture-defining, groundbreaking, and newsmaking musical performances, sketches, and cameos of the past

The Cure‘s Robert Smith has revealed that he does not “stream music on principle” – see what he had to say below. READ MORE: The Cure – ‘Songs Of A Lost World’: a masterful reflection on loss During a new interview on the Sidetracked podcast with Annie Mac and Nick Grimshaw, in which he celebrated the release

Pitchfork continues to celebrate the Year in Music with a club night tonight (Thursday, December 19). The event, presented by AdHoc, features RP Boo, Dazegxd b2b Intimacy Simulator, Anysia Kym, DJ Ess, Alphonse Pierre, and Mano. Due to delays with original venue Night Club 101 the event will now take place at the Brooklyn venue

The O2 in London has been given ‘Commended’ status, and recognised as ‘A Greener Arena’ by non-profit organisation A Greener Future. The new status is given to arenas that show ‘demonstrable improvements’ and ‘a significant engagement in reducing negative environmental and social impacts’, and in the case of The O2, recognises the site’s longstanding commitment

Yesterday (December 17), Megan Thee Stallion filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court for a restraining order against Tory Lanez, reports The Associated Press. She claims that Lanez—who shot her multiple times in 2020 and is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence after being found guilty of felony charges of assault with a semiautomatic

The Cure‘s Robert Smith has spoken out about his viral Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame interview revealing that he “felt bad” about it. Back in 2019, while making their way through the red carpet ahead of being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at the New York Ceremony, Smith and co

The shortlists for the 2025 Academy Awards’ music categories are here. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences named Daniel Blumberg, Bryce Dessner, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Hans Zimmer among the potential nominees for Best Original Score. Reznor and Ross are also Best Original Song nominees, as are Maren Morris, Pharrell Williams, and

Olivia Rodrigo is due to donate a substantial amount of money to several women’s charities across the globe. READ MORE: Olivia Rodrigo live in London: quite possibly 2024’s most fun tour Per a Billboard report, the ‘Good 4 U’ singer-songwriter has announced that she will be donating a hefty sum of money, taken from ticket sales

SahBabii is going on tour in support of his new album, Saaheem. The rapper’s Resurrection Tour begins in February, in Houston, and is scheduled to conclude, on March 25, at Center Stage in the Atlantan’s hometown. See SahBabii’s tour dates below. SahBabii released Saaheem, his first new project in years, in November. The musician’s team

Katie Melua has opened up about suffering an acute psychotic breakdown earlier in her career, attributing it to the pressures of the music industry and touring. During an appearance on the Origins With Cush Jumbo podcast, the 40-year-old singer-songwriter explained: “I had what is called an acute psychotic breakdown and it was crazy. Suddenly that

Zakir Hussain, the groundbreaking percussionist who helped bring the tabla and Indian classical music to the world stage, has died, his family said in a statement. He died, in a San Francisco hospital, of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease. Hussain was 73 years old. Hussain was born in Mumbai to a tabla-playing father

Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong‘s covers band The Coverups have announced another intimate London show for 2025 – find all the details below. Formed in 2018, the group features Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt along with Green Day touring member Jason White, their audio engineer Chris Dugan, tour manager Bill Schneider (also of Pinhead Gunpowder),

With so much good music being released all the time, it can be hard to determine what to listen to first. Every week, Pitchfork offers a run-down of significant new releases available on streaming services. This week’s batch includes new projects from Bossman Dlow; Amen Dunes; Roc Marciano & Alchemist; Saint Etienne; Daniel Blumberg; YhapoJJ:

Drake has awarded CAD$10,000 to the winner of his lookalike contest in Toronto – find out more below. READ MORE: Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s feud: the full timeline  On Saturday (December 14), Toronto, Canada’s Casuals Cakery held a contest to find the city’s best Drake lookalike. The grand prize was initially meant to be a bottle

Gracie Abrams was the musical guest on last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by Chris Rock. The pop singer played “That’s So True” and “I Love You, I’m Sorry,” from her new album, The Secret of Us. Watch those performances and her SNL promo video with Rock and Heidi Gardner, below. Abrams has

Metallica played two sets full of hits, deep cuts and some unexpected covers during their annual Helping Hands benefit show last night (December 14) – check out footage below. READ MORE: Metallica live in Amsterdam: still the greatest heavy metal band around Taking place at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, the first half of the

Röyksopp have shared a new album, Nebulous Nights – An Ambient Excursion Into Profound Mysteries—an ambient reinterpretation of their Profound Mysteries project. Röyksopp recorded Nebulous Nights live, weaving in auditory call-backs to their catalog. Listen to the record below. The Norwegian electronic music duo said in a press release, “Outside the pure listening pleasure, Nebulous

Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst has pointed out that fans frequently misunderstand the lyrics to the band’s 1999 hit ‘Nookie’. READ MORE: Download Festival 2024 review: despite all odds, a promising step in a new direction Despite the song’s chorus, where Durst raps that he “did it all for the nookie”, people frequently overlook that the

Pink Siifu has announced a new album: Black’!Antique will arrive January 27 via Dynamite Hill. Today, Siifu has shared a new single from the project, “WhoUWithHo+.” The track features Dallas-born producer and artist Kal Banx. Check it out below. Black’!Antique follows Siifu’s 2021 solo LP Gumbo’!, as well as a pair of collaborative albums from

U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. has revealed he has been diagnosed with dyscalculia. READ MORE: U2 live in Las Vegas: a dazzling opening night at the $2 billion Sphere The musician opened up about his recent diagnosis in an interview with Times Radio, revealing it also explains why he makes a “pained” face when performing, as he