Every year, the Met Gala gathers together some of the most famous faces from across the world of music, cinema, sport and, of course, fashion for a star-studded fundraiser in aid of the Metropolitan Museum Of Art’s Costume Institute.
This year’s event was held on Monday night, and proved to be as A-list as ever.
Co-chaired by Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and, as ever, Anna Wintour, the themed dress code of 2026’s Met Ball was “Fashion Is Art” – really allowing the famous guests to think outside the box and let their imaginations run wild when putting together their red carpet looks.
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And what do you know – some of them actually did.
On that note, we’ve pieced together some of the must-see looks from this year’s Met Gala, from some of the biggest stars on the planet…
Beyoncé
via Associated Press
As one of the organisers of the Met Gala this year, Beyoncé will have known that all eyes were on her on the red carpet.
Sam Smith has become renowned for their dramatic approach to fashion in recent history, and this year’s Met Ball really afforded them the chance to go all out.
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Channelling Norma Desmond, the British star gave us old school Hollywood glamour in a floor-length black dress complete with bejeweled adornments, billowing sleeves and a feather headpiece.
Madonna
via Associated Press
Madonna’s Met Gala look was a real departure from what we’re used to seeing the Queen of Pop in, opting for something more gothic, dark and, frankly, weird that we’re totally here for.
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The Bring Your Love singer’s ensemble was directly inspired by a Leonora Carrington painting, in one of the night’s more literal interpretations of “Fashion Is Art”.
Janelle Monáe
Janelle Monáe brings it every single Met Ball, and a theme like “Fashion Is Art” was always going to be in their wheelhouse.
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The 10-time Grammy nominee mixed the old and new with their imaginative look, which incorporated elements of nature and technology, merging moss and butterflies with wires and microchips.
Luke Evans
via Associated Press
Dressed in head-to-toe leather, Luke Evans’ look was an obvious nod to Tom Of Finland.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight on the Met Ball red carpet, the Welsh actor said that “playing such an iconic character on stage” in the current Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show made him want to put a “twist” on an “iconic gay artist who has influenced so much”.
On Monday night, her look consisted of a massive feathered hat and a floor-length red dress nodding to faded glamour – but our favourite part of the whole ensemble was the hand-held mirror, adorned with a recreation of her own face.
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Katy Perry
John Salangsang/Shutterstock
Perhaps inspired by her own trip to space last year, Katy Perry’s Met Gala look consisted of what appeared to be a fencing mask, with a shiny and opaque face covering on the front.
As she made her way down the red carpet, Katy revealed that the mask also swung open, adding even further to its futuristic elements (and putting us slightly in mind of a Star Wars villain).
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Emma Chamberlain
via Associated Press
We’re going to be very honest and say that content creator Emma Chamberlain was not exactly the person we thought was going to turn it out the hardest at Monday night’s event – but you can’t argue with this look can you?
In fact, the influencer may have just given us our favourite Met Gala look of 2026, with the dripping paint effect creating an optical illusion that really served the night’s theme.
The One Battle After Another star’s colourful dress almost put us in mind of painting-by-numbers (in the best way!), with its graphic design.
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Sarah Paulson
via Associated Press
On its own, Sarah Paulson’s expansive, red carpet look would have been show-stopping enough, putting us in mind of a presidential ball as much as an event like the Met Gala – but that dollar bill blindfold accessory really gives it something extra.
One of the more literal “Fashion Is Art” ensembles came from Ben Platt, wearing a colourful suit inspired by one of Georges Pierre Seurat’s most famous works.
The Seurat painting, of course, was also the basis of the iconic Stephen Sondheim production Sunday In The Park With George, which makes Tony winner Ben wearing it all the more fitting.
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SZA
via Associated Press
SZA’s Met Gala look consisted of a layered gown in this absolutely gorgeous yellow colour, as well as a floral headpiece and some beaded face jewellery for the evening.
Our favourite part of the whole look, though, was just how much of a blast the Good Days singer was clearly having wearing it.
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Lisa
via Associated Press
Extra body parts always go down well on the Met Ball red carpet, and Lisa’s look was no exception.
The jury’s out on whether “Fashion Is Art” really came into play here, but we just think the Blackpink and White Lotus star looks really cool, to be honest.
Skepta
via Associated Press
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Another big name doing the UK proud on the Met Gala red carpet was Brit Award nominee Skepta.
The rapper made a big impression in this matching white co-ord, which he later revealed was adorned with embroidery inspired by his own tattoos, as well as his own song lyrics.
Nicole Kidman
via Associated Press
Listen, Nicole Kidman never misses on the red carpet, but given how imaginative some people were with their looks, this feels a little out of place.
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We’ve mostly mentioned it in this round-up so we can include her explanation for it.
“Fashion is art and I wanted something red, because I wanted to embrace the way in which red has been used in art through the years,” she apparently claimed.
Just fantastic stuff
Kim Kardashian
via Associated Press
Kim Kardashian’s latest Met Ball look consisted of a molded bodysuit in an eye-catching shade of orange.
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Again, it wasn’t exactly our favourite outfit of the evening, but given just how synonymous with the Met Gala that Kim K has become, we just had to include her, alright.
For the 2026 Met Ball, Heidi transformed herself into a living artpiece, paying homage to 19th century sculpture with the aid of prosthetics and unconventional materials to deliver one of the night’s most talked-about looks.
Bad Bunny
via Associated Press
And speaking of prosthetics – Bad Bunny’s look was certainly an unconventional one, too.
The recent Super Bowl headliner walked the red carpet as an older version of itself, which it’s been pointed out was a probable nod to “The Aging Body”, a key element of the Met’s Costume Institute’s exhibit this year.
Her latest Met Ball look was another mix of the old and new – offering an unconventional silhouette and undoubtedly the night’s most intricate adornments.
We absolutely love what she did with her hair, too, with her partner A$AP Rocky also joining her on the red carpet later on, sporting a baby pink overcoat and tuxedo.
As 2024 starts to wind down, and we all gear up for our New Year’s Eve speculation, many of us will be feeling a little nostalgic and reflective.
Plenty of people will be using these next few days to look back at the past 12 months and their personal highlights – whether that’s in their own lives or just the TV, music and films that made the year for them.
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Others, though, will be using this time to catch up on the key moments they missed out on earlier in the year.
We’ve already rounded up some of the best TV shows from 2024 to dive into now you’ve got some time on your hands, but music fans will be pleased to hear we’ve got you covered, too.
Here are 14 essential albums released in 2024 to check out before the end of the year (in the order they were released)…
Singer-songwriter Nadine Shah had been through a turbulent few years while putting together her fifth album, Filthy Underneath – culminating in the death of her mother, a divorce and a stint in a mental health facility.
On her fifth album, Nadine didn’t shy away from any of this when recording Filthy Underneath. Reflecting on some of her darkest times with frankness, courage and, often, a refreshing sense of humour – most notably on lead single Greatest Dancer, in which she reflects on a night in watching Strictly with her mother during lockdown, while under the influence of her mum’s pain medication, and follow-up Topless Mother, in which she pokes fun a former therapist. There’s also a beautiful ode to her late mum on See My Girl, and a lament about the current climate in the UK on Sad Lads Anonymous.
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Although its heavy themes don’t make for the easiest of listens, the eclectic Filthy Underneath’s production is also a feast for the ears – like a mix of Rahim Redcar and David Bowie, in a Geordie accent.
Ariana Grande has done some of her best work with pop superproducer Max Martin, so fans were overjoyed when they found out the pair would be reuniting in a big way on her seventh album.
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The result was Eternal Sunshine, on which Ariana and the Swedish pop juggernaut worked on all but three of the final tracklisting.
Of course, by the time the album came along, the Grammy winner had a few things to get off her chest after finding herself at the centre of tabloid headlines about the breakdown of her marriage and subsequent relationship with Broadway performer Ethan Slater, who she met while still working on Wicked.
Ari kicked off the new era with Yes, And?, a breezy house-inspired bop where she takes on her critics head-on (“why do you care so much whose **** I ride?” she ponders at one point), while elsewhere she sends up her own reputation on singles We Can’t Be Friends and The Boy Is Mine, as well as album cut True Story.
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There are also personal moments when Ari reflects on romance past and present on the likes of Bye, I Wish I Hated You, the beautiful Imperfect For You and Ordinary Things, which ends the collection with a voicenote from the singer’s beloved Nonna.
After the more experimental sound of her ambitious break-up album Star-Crossed, Kacey Musgraves went back to her roots on Deeper Well, both in terms of its more simplistic and organic instrumentation, but also its stripped-back visuals.
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The title songs sees Kacey reintroduce fans to herself at a new, more reflective stage of her life, while the rest of the album sees the Grammy winner analysing various aspects of her life.
She also asks big questions, pondering the existence of God on The Architect and Heaven Is, before ending on a hopeful note with the pretty Anime Eyes and Nothing To Be Scared Of, as she looks ahead to a new romance.
After capturing her attention with Renaissance, Beyoncé decided to head in a completely different direction with the second part of her three-act musical project.
It may have taken the Texas-born star the better part of a decade, but she eventually issued her rebuttal in Cowboy Carter, after really doing her homework on the origins of country music, and used her album not just to highlight Black performers who are currently excelling in the genre, but also shining a light on those who came before her.
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She also made sure to have the co-sign from some genuine country music legends, like Dolly Parton (whose song Jolene she covered) and Willie Nelson – but never one to limit herself, Beyoncé also tries on other genres for size on Cowboy Carter too, dipping her pedicured toes into everything from gospel and soul to funk and classic rock and roll.
“This ain’t a Country album. This is a Beyoncé album,” Beyoncé said of her eighth full-length release, and it’s hard to argue with that thesis.
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On their debut release, it’s fair to say that British four-piece English Teacher came out of the gate strong.
Described by critics as “chaotic” and full of “surprises”, This Could Be Texas certainly keeps listeners on their toes over its 50 minutes, eventually peaking within the top 10 here in the UK and, crucially, earning them the coveted Mercury Prize title over the likes of Charli XCX, Corrine Bailey Rae, Ghetts and Brit Award winners The Last Dinner Party.
","type":"video","meta":{"author":"Taylor Swift","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqECaJ8Gagnn7YCbPEzWH6g","cache_age":86400,"description":"The official music video for “Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)” by Taylor Swift, from ‘THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT’.\n\nBuy/download/stream ‘THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT’: https://taylor.lnk.to/thetorturedpoetsdepartment \n\nJoin the #ForAFortnightChallenge on YouTube Shorts. Share 14 snippets of your life in one single Short with “Fortnight (feat Post Malone)” by using remix or adding the official sound.\n\nhttps://yt.be/ForAFortnightChallenge\n\n►Subscribe to Taylor Swift on YouTube: https://ts.lnk.to/subscribe\n►Shop Merch: http://taylorswift.lnk.to/store\n\n►Follow Taylor Swift Online: \nTikTok: http://tiktok.com/@taylorswift \nInstagram: http://instagram.com/taylorswift \nTwitter: http://twitter.com/taylorswift13 \nSnapchat: http://snapchat.com/add/taylorswift \nFacebook: http://facebook.com/taylorswift \nTumblr: http://taylorswift.tumblr.com \nWebsite: http://www.taylorswift.com \n\n►Follow Taylor Nation Online \nTikTok: http://tiktok.com/@taylornation\nYouTube: https://youtube.com/taylornation\nInstagram: http://instagram.com/taylornation \nTwitter: http://twitter.com/taylornation13\nTumblr: http://taylornation.tumblr.com\n\nDirector: Taylor Swift\nDirector of Photography: Rodrigo Prieto \nProducer: Jil Hardin \nEditor: Chancler Haynes \nProduction Designer: Ethan Tobman \n1st AD: Anthony Dimino \nVisual Effects: Parliament\nProduction Companies: Taylor Swift Productions & Object & Animal\n\n#taylorswift #postmalone #fortnight #thetorturedpoetsdepartment","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/q3zqJs7JUCQ/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"Taylor Swift – Fortnight (feat. 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After taking a more outward-facing approach with the songwriting on her hit albums Folklore and Evermore, and looking back on follow-up Midnights, Tortured Poets saw the Grammy winner returning to the more confessional – though veiled – lyricism she was synonymous with earlier in her career.
While much of the album is perceived as a break-up record about her short-lived romance with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy (and the ensuing media furore that it created), she also alludes to her split from her long-time partner Joe Alwyn and looking ahead to her new relationship with NFL player Travis Kelce.
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And with song titles like The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can) and So Long, London, The Tortured Poets Department is Taylor at her most unflinching.
Rachel Chinouriri – What A Devastating Turn Of Events
","type":"video","meta":{"author":"Rachel Chinouriri","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmluVMOmrTozqKtRXDz7RXg","cache_age":86400,"description":"The official video for ‘Never Need Me’ by Rachel Chinouriri. Listen right now! https://rachelchinouriri.lnk.to/neverneedme ✨\n\nTaken from the debut album ‘What A Devastating Turn of Events’ that you can pre-order now – out 3rd May! https://rachelchinouriri.lnk.to/WADTOE\n\nFOLLOW\n\nSubscribe to my mailing list 💌 http://rachelchinouriri.com/\nText me! https://rachelchinouriri.lnk.to/textme\n\nhttps://rachelchinouriri.lnk.to/insta…\nhttps://rachelchinouriri.lnk.to/tiktok\nhttps://rachelchinouriri.lnk.to/spotify\nhttps://rachelchinouriri.lnk.to/twitter\nhttps://rachelchinouriri.lnk.to/facebook\n\nLYRICS\n\nA call in the dead of the night\nit’s strange but it’s such a delight\nto hear your voice again\nit’s been a long time\nsince i last saw you\nYou never swim\nyou drown in your drink\nrevealing the secrets you think\nyou need me cos you’re scared\nwhat the hell am i supposed to do?\n\nIf you can’t change\nI doubt that I can help you\nI’ve made plans and sorry they’re without you\n\nIn my head you can do what you like\nOh no I couldn’t care what you do with your life\nI hope you just take it easy\nI hope that you never need me\nAnd maybe I’ll regret not sticking around\nBut how can I swim if you’re pulling me down?\nJust promise you’ll take it easy\nI hope that you never need me\n\nYou say i’m the love of your life\nBut now just isn’t the time\nYou’re doing it again\nthis is why your cycle never ends\nYou’re addicted to trouble you choose\nI’m surprised you’re even confused\nI know you’ll never learn\nwhat the hell am i supposed to do?\n\nIf you can’t change\nI doubt that I can help you\nI’ve made plans and sorry they’re without you\n\nIn my head you can do what you like\nOh no I couldn’t care what you do with your life\nI hope you just take it easy\nI hope that you never need me\nMaybe I’ll regret not sticking around\nBut how can I swim if you’re pulling me down?\nJust promise you’ll take it easy\nI hope that you never need me\n\nI’ll love you if you let me\nI’ll love you if you let me come on\n\nWithout you in my head you can do what you like\nOh no I couldn’t care what you do with your life\nI hope you just take it easy\nI hope that you never need me\nMaybe I’ll regret not sticking around\nBut how can I swim if you’re pulling me down?\nJust promise you’ll take it easy\nI hope that you never need me\n\nAHHHH!\nAHHHH!\nJust promise you’ll take it easy\nI hope that you never need me\nAHHHH!\nAHHHH!\nJust promise you’ll take it easy\nI hope that you never need me\n\nCREDITS\n\nDirected by Jake Erland\nProduced by Jake River Parker\nAssistant produced by Rowan Mackintosh King\nEdited by Laura Cairney-Keize & Alex Gregory \nCommissioned by Francesca Costa\nLabel – Parlophone / Atlas Artists\nManagement – Atlas Artists\n\nStyling (Rachel Chinouriri & Florence Pugh) – Shannon Kelsey Ann\nStylist (Lead Man & Supporting Artists) – Ellie Walker\nHair Stylist (Rachel Chinouriri) – Shamara Roper\nHair Stylist Assistant (Rachel Chinouriri) – Donica Campbell\nHair Stylist (Florence Pugh) – Shon Hyungsun Ju\nMakeup Artist (Rachel Chinouriri) – Georgia Hope\nMakeup Artist (Florence Pugh) – Alex Babsky\nMakeup (Lead Man & Supporting Artists) – Hebe Wallace\nMakeup (Lead Man & Supporting Artists) – Chloe Pack\n\nCasting Directors – Sophie Greetje & Thomas Adams\n\nCast:\nHerself – Rachel Chinouriri\nLeading Female – Florence Pugh\nLead Male – Freddie Dennis \nLead Female – Tara Leonard\n\nSupporting Artists:\nDarren Lee, Georgia Killick, Izzy Dennis, Ethan Joseph, Joe Grey Adams, Em Tunnicliffe, Effie Cherif, Meg Wells, Roisin Salmon, Kit Wyborn, Minna Gladstone, Dimitar Stoilov, Blessing Smith, Abiba Gbane, and more!\n\nAn OB42 Production\n\nExecutive Producers – Polly Millner & James Waters \nProduction Managers – Maddy Williams & Emily Mulkerins \nAssistant Directors – Freddie Wright, Oli Hill & Tyler Richards\nMovement Director – Weronika Szczerek\nDirector of Photography – Jake Hunter\nAssistant Cameras – Jeff Vine & Tom Watson\nCamera Trainee: Luke Gurney\nDigital Image Technician – Rosie 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We’re going to say it – Rachel Chinouriri’s Never Need Me is probably the best single released by a British performer in 2024, and follow-up album What A Devastating Turn Of Events proved there’s so much more that this artist is capable of.
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It Is What It Is and the brilliantly-titled Dumb Butch Juice continue the conversational style first showcased on Never Need Me, as she reflects on past relationship drama in an extremely relatable way, while elsewhere on the album Rachel broaches difficult and – at times – heartwrenching topics in a ways many artists a lot further into their careers would struggle with, singing about everything from body image and self-harm to loneliness and gender inequality with both confidence and sensitivity.
Here’s hoping a support act on Sabrina Carpenter’s 2025 tour can help boost Rachel’s career to the next level as even more people discover this must-listen album.
Billie Eilish returned to the music scene with a quiet confidence in 2024 (we imagine that second Oscar winner probably helped with that), dropping her strongest and most personal release to date on Hit Me Hard And Soft.
Having been in the spotlight since she was a teenager, Billie’s third album introduced the chart-topping singer at a different stage in her life, singing about new themes and diving headfirst into new genres, spawning two of 2024’s biggest hits in Lunch and Birds Of A Feather.
Alright, this is the biggie. The album that pretty much defined 2024, Brat marked the first album Charli XCX put out after renewing her record deal, and it became apparent pretty early on with the uncompromising Von Dutch and 360 – not to mention the album’s acidic green hues – that the British singer was doing things her way this time around.
Once people began to catch on, the era only grew in scale, from the confessional Girl, So Confusing remix with Lorde, the viral Apple dance and the arrival of “Brat summer”, culminating in A-list guest features on the re-released version, an Album Of The Year nomination at next year’s Grammys and even Brat creeping into the US election.
All we can say is, now Charli’s had a massive hit on her hands with something so unapologetically bold and true to her own vision, we can’t wait to see what she follows the Brat era with.
She’s been quietly working away in the music industry for a good few years now, but 2024 was the year it all really paid off for Sabrina Carpenter.
Few can say they’ve had a year as big as her, with three massive number ones under her belt (not to mention an extra two top 20s), and even a Netflix special over the Christmas period, pushing her from a little-known cult figure to a real force to be reckoned with in the music industry.
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Short N’ Sweet might not be a debut – it’s actually Sabrina’s sixth album overall – but it still feels like a breakthrough moment for a young star really discovering what kind of artist they are in the past year.
","type":"video","meta":{"author":"Fontaines DC","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVtO4Hc3qiKScQBad51RAIQ","cache_age":86400,"description":"Taken from the new album ROMANCE, out 23 August on XL. Pre-order here: https://fontainesdc.x-l.co/romance.oyd\n\nStream Starburster here: https://fontainesdc.x-l.co/starburster.oyd\n\n2024 UK & Ireland Tour:\nPre-order* from the UK official store before 3pm BST Tuesday 23rd April 2024 to get early access to tickets. General sale begins 10am on Friday 26 April: https://fontainesdc.com/\n\n20 Nov – Wolverhampton, UK – The Halls\n22 Nov – London, UK – Alexandra Palace\n24 Nov – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena\n26 Nov – Plymouth, UK – Pavilions\n27 Nov – Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena\n29 Nov – Manchester, UK – Aviva Studios\n3 Dec – Leeds, UK – First Direct Arena\n4 Dec – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro\n6 Dec – Dublin, IE – 3Arena\n\nWritten and Directed by Aube Perrie\nProducers: Two Happy (Joseph Goldman & Luke Tierney)\nProduction Company: Pulse Films\nHead of Music: Rik Green\nEP: Elena Argiros \n\nLine Producer: Fin Mulligan Wild\nManchester Service: AntFarm\nProduction Manager: Molly Singer\nProduction Assistant: Lucy Calderhead\n\nDirector of Photography: Christopher Ripley\n1st AC: Danny Usman\n2nd AC: Ken Carson\nData Wrangler / Camera Trainee: Alex De Palma\nData Wrangler: Beanie Baker\n2nd Unit DOP: Orlando Morris\n\n1st Assistant Director: Mathieu Pérez\n2nd Assistant Director (1st AD Pickup): Dom Child\n2nd Assistant Director: Lydia Shenton\n3rd Assistant Director: Katie Burnside\nFloor Runner: Ellie Fox\nPA: Sean Tant\n\nLocation Manager: Steve Cooper\nLocation Scouts: Toni Jordan & Miles Starkie\n\nGaffer: Chris Sarginson\nSpark: Harry Cohn\n\nCostume Designer: Ellie Walker\nCostume Assistant: Henry Hawksworth\nCostume Assistant: Isobel May Cain\n\nProduction Designer: Ruta Staseviciute\nArt Director: Orla Lawn\nArt Assistant: Jazz Helsen Pierce\n\nSFX / Prosthetics: Stuart Richards & Victoria Holt\nHair & Makeup Artist: Helena Smythe\n\nEditor: Gwennaël Ghelid\n\nPost House: Glassworks\nPost Producer: Andrew Patrick\nColourist: Jonny Thorpe \n\nSound Design: Mark Hellaby\nSound House: 750MPH\nProducer: Olivia Ray\n\nRecord Label: XL Recordings\nCommissioner: Scott Wright\nArtist Management: Emma Greengrass & Trev Dietz, Wildlife Entertainment\n\nDirectors Rep: HANDS\n\nMedic: Paul Derome\nUnit Drivers: Tony McGuigan, Heath Derrig & Peter Roberts\nAnimal Handler: Simone Aquilina\n\nStarring Fontaines D.C.\n\nSupporting Cast: Tracey Whardall, Olivia Hill, Andrew Bunker, Nicola Myers, Lea Harper, Peter Holmes, Fay Millray, Manuela, Maxine Noble, Alan Harper.\n\nCamera: Panavision Manchester\nLighting: Drop City\nCatering: MADE Catering\nLocation Support: Location One\n\nSpecial thanks to Panavision Manchester, Mike Greaves, Dean Oram, Glen Moore, Drop City & all of the fantastic people who helped bring this video to life.\n\n#fontainesdc #romance #starburster","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KHocVRUlvkk/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"Fontaines D.C. – Starburster (Official 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Fontaines D.C. took their biggest swing yet on the more electronic-inspired Romance, earning them their best reviews and sales to date, and a legion of new fans.
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The Irish rock group’s fourth album even wound up earning them their first nominations at next year’s Grammys, where they’re in the running for both Best Rock Album and Best Alternative Music Performance for lead single Starburster (which saw the band working with music video legend Aube Perrie on the accompanying clip).
This one’s technically a mixtape rather than a proper album, but it’s just so strong we couldn’t quite bring ourselves to exclude it.
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We’ve been championing Doechii for a good few years now, after she proved herself to be one of the most exciting and shape-shifting stars on the music scene. Alligator Bites Never Heal is her strongest work to date, showing off just how capable Doechii is at anything she tries her hand at. When her proper debut album inevitably follows in 2025, watch out.
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Award-winning rapper Tyler, The Creator went back to his roots on Chromakopia which he said was his way of paying tribute to his early life growing up in California before rising to fame as part of Odd Future.
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The album got underway with the elaborate music video for Noid, co-starring Ayo Edebiri, with the boundary-pushing album following a week later.
Like his previous acclaimed releases Igor and Flower Boy, Chromakopia sees Tyler confidently hopping from genre to genre, this time with a seriously impressive bunch of collaborators including Solange, Lil Wayne, British singer-songwriter Lola Young, electro singer Santigold and fellow rapper Doechii.
After stand-alone singles like Not Like Us and Meet The Graham captured the world’s attention over the summer, rap superstar Kendrick Lamar rounded off 2024 with GNX, which gave him yet more commercial and critical success and proved he had the goods to back up what he was saying on those scene-stealing Drake disses.
Next year is shaping up to be another huge one for the Pulitzier Prize winner, who’ll follow his performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show with a mammoth US tour, where he’ll team up with frequent collaborator SZA.
“When you’re talking about greatness, and when you’re talking about greatness for the 21st century specifically, no one has a longer or fuller track record than Beyoncé.”
That’s how Billboard announced the musical icon as the greatest pop star of the 21st century this week. The declaration came on the heels of the publication announcing its runner-up pick, Taylor Swift, who earned the No. 2 spot for catapulting modern pop stardom to heights many didn’t think were possible across her 17-year (and counting) career. The contest was close, given Swift’s astronomical album sales, streams and touring numbers, but in the end, Billboard explained that Beyoncé topped the list “based on her full 25 years of influence, evolution and impact.”
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Of course, the result didn’t sit well with Swifties, who argued that their idol’s accomplishments could’ve satisfied Billboard’s top-spot criteria. And it didn’t take long for members of the Bey Hive to chime in with their own retorts to defend their Queen Bey.
For weeks, the two fan bases had speculated about the music outlet’s hotly anticipated rankings, reigniting the tiresome debate that pits the superstars’ legacies against each other. The discussion hit a fever pitch last year while Beyoncé and Swift were both riding high on their economy-boosting international concert runs (Renaissance and the Eras Tour, respectively), which, according to Pollstar, were the two highest-grossing tours of 2023. And the discourse was reignited after the tours hit the big screen last fall, despite the two singers supporting one another at their Hollywood premieres.
That should’ve been enough to end all catty chatter among fans. But after Billboard’s rankings, now feels like as good a time as any to retire the Beyoncé vs. Taylor Swift argument that’s way past running its course.
Yes, it’s easy to compare the two global juggernauts when none of their peers have reached the same level of cultural dominance in this century. In nearly any arena that matters for pop stars — historic music sales, record-breaking numbers, awards acclaim, etc. — Swift and Beyoncé almost always lead the pack. However, contrary to what stan culture believes, numerous instances prove that Swift and Beyoncé are incomparable in the lanes that make them all-time greats.
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Swift’s unequivocally sharp pen has made her one of the most illustrious songwriters of her time, which she demonstrates time and time again with every chart-topping album she releases. Her successful crossover from country to pop superstardom proved her talents were as boundless as her ambitions, charting a path to hit-making, award-winning success. To this day, Swift, according to Forbes, is the only woman in music to build a billion-dollar fortune solely from her musicianship. Even with a later start in the millennium, she’s achieved what many in the pop world can only dream of.
Over the last 20-plus years, Beyoncé, meanwhile, has far exceeded what anyone could’ve expected from the former frontwoman of a ’90s and early aughts girl group, Destiny’s Child (one of the most successful in history). Her talents aren’t limited to music — her roles in films like “Dreamgirls” and “Cadillac Records” have proven that. But as many well know, Beyoncé’s name will be forever etched in the history books for consistently raising the bar for musical excellence (live performances, outstanding visuals, genre-bending projects, you name it), no matter the genre. Her ability to disrupt industry conventions has inspired many, including Swift, to be originators in their own right. But what truly sets the legend apart from Swift and everyone else is that she’s remained the standard of pop stardom for decades and is still reaching above and beyond to cement her legacy.
It does us all a disservice to try and assert why Beyoncé and Swift are better than one another when they’re two vastly different symbols of greatness. Where one dominates with statistics and chart numbers, the other has had an immeasurable cultural impact. But as with many polarising conversations about music, it’s more fun to fuel a narrative that keeps these two icons in constant competition, even when they oppose it.
Swift said it best in her 2023 Time Person of the Year profile: “Clearly it’s very lucrative for the media and stan culture to pit two women against each other, even when those two artists in question refuse to participate in that discussion.”
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The media and stans will likely cash in on that discourse again for the 2025 Grammy Awards — where Swift and Beyoncé are both nominated for record, song and album of the year — but don’t count on the pop stars to feed the frenzy.
As history has shown, Swift and Beyoncé have held nothing but reverence for each other’s work over time. Last year, in an Instagram post, Swift praised her contemporary for being “a guiding light throughout my career” who’s also “taught me and every artist out here to break rules and defy industry norms.” Beyoncé was just as generous with her words years prior when she held space for Swift to finish her acceptance speech at the 2009 Video Music Awards — where Kanye West infamously interrupted Swift to argue that Beyoncé should’ve won instead.
Even when people expect Swift and Beyoncé to pick sides against each other, they show that they know better than to entertain such negativity — it’s served their groundbreaking legacies well. When will fans finally learn to do the same?
For the past few years, Beyoncé has mostly taken a “keep quiet and let it blow over” approach to whatever rumour might be going round about her at any given time.
Thankfully, the music legend’s mum Tina Knowles is less selective about when to speak out.
On Sunday, Tina set the record straight about widespread false claims that Beyoncé had been paid as much as $10 million (around £7.9 million) to deliver a speech at a rally for Kamala Harris shortly before the US presidential election this month.
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“So this has been flagged on Instagram as fake news and taken down. It’s called false information. Sadly other platforms with a lack of integrity still have it up,” Tina wrote, alongside a screenshot of Conservative pundit Candace Owens’ Instagram page.
“The lie is that Beyoncé was paid 10 million dollars to speak at a rally in Houston for vice president Kamala Harris. When In Fact: Beyoncé did not receive a penny for speaking at presidential candidate vice president Kamala Harrris’s rally in Houston.”
Tina Knowles on stage at the BET Awards in 2016
via Associated Press
“In fact she actually paid for her own flights for her and her team, and total glam,” Tina added, insisting that right-wing critics are “not only lying and disrespecting Beyoncé’s name, but they are trying to further discredit the power of our vice president”.
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“When do the lies and rumours stop?” the House of Deréon founder questioned.
“Let ’em know, Ms Tina!” singer John Legend wrote in the comments, adding: “We all performed/appeared for free because we care about our nation’s future.”
“I know you care deeply about this country,” Tina later responded.
Having already been a vocal supporter of the Democrats in several past elections, Beyoncé joined Kamala Harris on stage at a campaign event in the Grammy winner’s hometown of Houston, Texas last month.
“I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician,” Bey told the 30,000 people reported by Harris’ presidential campaign to be in attendance.
She added: “I’m here as a mother, a mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided.”
Nominees for the 67th Grammy Awards were announced by the Recording Academy on Friday morning, leaving music fans with a lot to sound off on.
To drop the news, broadcaster Gayle King and comedian Jim Gaffigan joined forces with a long list of past Grammy winners that included Kylie Minogue, Mark Ronson, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Green Day’s Billy Joe Armstrong and last year’s best new artist, Victoria Monét.
Honoring the work released between September 2023 through this August, this year’s slate of nominations features both Grammy veterans and a charming array of newcomers.
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Beyonce’ accepts the Innovator Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, Monday, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
via Associated Press
Beyoncé’s most recent release, “Cowboy Carter,” earned 11 nominations, making her the most-nominated artist in the show’s history.
The western-infused album, which the artist herself has declared a “Beyoncé album” and not a country record, will compete in both pop and country categories.
One year after taking home album of the year for her 2022 effort, “Midnights,” pop heavyweight Taylor Swift’s 2024 double album, “The Tortured Poet’s Department,” emerged with six nominations. Her “Fortnight” collaborator Post Malone snagged seven nominations of his own.
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A replica of a Grammy triphy at L.A.’s GRAMMY Museum. The 2025 nominations dropped on Friday.
Matt Winkelmeyer via Getty Images
It was a breakout year for artists like Chappell Roan and Charli XCX, who secured six and seven nods, respectively.
While Roan is veritable newcomer, rocketing into the public consciousness with the release of her studio debut, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” Charli’s sixth full-length album, “Brat,” elevated the English singer from a long-simmering underground pop icon to an inescapable, slime-green cultural phenomenon this past summer.
Chappell Roan arrives at the premiere of “Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour” on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at nya studios EAST in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
via Associated Press
With seven nominations, Billie Eilish is the now only artist to have her first three albums each nominated for album of the year.
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The beef between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake will now have a chance to play out in the awards sphere. Lamar’s hit Drake diss, “Not Like Us,” received five nods. His rival, who released the album “For All the Dogs” last fall, received none.
There will be plenty more spectacle to come when winners across 94 categories are announced at the 2025 Grammys, set to take place live from Los Angeles on Feb. 2, 2025.
Check out the nominees for some of the key categories below:
Album of the Year
André 3000 – “New Blue Sun”
Beyoncé – “Cowboy Carter”
Billie Eilish – “Hit Me Hard and Soft”
Chappell Roan – “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess”
Charli XCX – “Brat”
Jacob Collier – “Djesse Vol. 4”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Short n’ Sweet”
Taylor Swift – “The Tortured Poets Department”
Record of the Year
The Beatles – “Now and Then”
Beyoncé – “Texas Hold ’Em”
Billie Eilish – “Birds of a Feather”
Chappell Roan – “Good Luck, Babe!”
Charli XCX – “360”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Espresso”
Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone – “Fortnight”
Song of the Year
Beyoncé – “Texas Hold ’Em”
Billie Eilish – “Birds of a Feather”
Chappell Roan – “Good Luck, Babe!”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Please Please Please”
Shaboozey – “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone – “Fortnight”
Best New Artist
Benson Boone
Sabrina Carpenter
Khruangbin
Chappell Roan
Teddy Swims
Songwriter of the Year
Edgar Barrera
Jessi Alexander
Jessie Jo Dillon
Producer of the Year
Daniel Nigro
Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II
Ian Fitchuk
Best Pop Solo Performance
Beyoncé – “Bodyguard”
Billie Eilish – “Birds of a Feather”
Chappell Roan – “Good Luck, Babe!”
Charli XCX – “Apple”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Espresso”
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Ariana Grande, Brandy & Monica – “The Boy Is Mine – Remix”
This year’s star-studded Grammys guestlist allowed for plenty of iconic interactions, but when it comes to A-list meetings, they don’t come any bigger than Meryl Streep and Beyoncé.
Meryl was one of the guest presenters at the biggest night in music on Sunday, where she presented Record Of The Year with her son-in-law Mark Ronson, while Beyoncé was in attendance to support her husband Jay-Z on the night of his Global Impact Award win.
During the ceremony, the two-time Oscar winner paid a quick visit to Bey’s table, where it’s fair to say the Mamma Mia! actor looked like she was engaged in some very enthusiastic chat.
After being shared on the Grammys’ social pages, the photo of Meryl and Beyoncé’s meeting quickly began doing the rounds online, where fans began imagining exactly how things went down between the pair in their conversation:
Countless celebrities flocked to celebrate the pop star’s birthday at Monday’s show at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. But Queen Bey couldn’t help but gush after noticing the Sister, Sister star in the crowd.
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After the Grammy winner spotted Tia in the audience while performing her 2011 song 1+1, Beyoncé decided to usher in some nostalgic vibes, spontaneously switching up the song to incorporate lyrics from the early ’90s single Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!.
More than two decades ago, Tia and her twin sister, Tamera, were part of a singing group called Voices, with Yeah, Yeah, Yeah! as their first single.
It does not make any sense how GOOD Beyoncé is. Like that was ON THE SPOT. Not rehearsed. Not thought of a week before but ON THE FUCKING SPOT. You would’ve had to pick me up off the floor if i were Tia 😂 https://t.co/bXTZm2s22T
I just can’t get over that Beyoncé clip. On HER birthday, with thousands of people to see HER she decided to take that moment and pay homage to a friend of hers. How intimate that must have felt for Tia!
Beyoncé’s connection to the Mowry sisters goes way back.
The trio previously crossed paths when Tahj Mowry, Tia and Tamera’s younger brother, starred in the ’90s Disney Channel sitcom Smart Guy.
In the 1998 episode A Date With Destiny, the singing group Destiny’s Child — which at that time included Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson at the time — made a guest appearance on the show. The Grammy-winning group also performed alongside Tahj in a music video for their song No, No, No.
On Tuesday, Tia Mowry posted about the heartfelt gesture on Instagram, sharing that she was “so touched” and “can’t believe that it truly happened.”
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“From the beginning, Beyoncé’s undeniable talent is only rivaled by her incredible kindness and generosity. I felt so lucky to have been able to see her perform Renaissance on her birthday,” Tia captioned the post, alongside a throwback photo of herself and Tamera with the members of Destiny’s Child.
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“You can truly see how amazing and detailed an artist she is, and how much thought and love was put into this show,” she added.
After a severe storm thwarted her Renaissance World Tour stop on Sunday night, Beyoncé and her team shelled out $100,000 (around £78,344) to make sure the Beyhive made it home safely.
The singer’s tour paid to keep all 98 Metro stations in the Washington, D.C., area open for an extra hour after the show at the outdoor FedExField was delayed due to heavy rain and lightning, a news release from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said.
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“Due to inclement weather that may delay the start of tonight’s Renaissance World Tour at FedExField, Metro will extend the last train by an extra hour beyond the extended closing previously announced,” the transit authority said in a statement.
“The additional hour will be funded by the Tour to cover the $100,000 cost to run more trains, keep all 98 stations open for customers to exit, and other operational expenses,” it added.
The thoughtful gesture came hours after fans had to take cover as a precaution because of the storm.
“Due to lightning in the area, we are currently under a shelter in place order,” the stadium wrote in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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“Fans outside of gates and in the parking lots are asked to return to their cars. All fans inside of the stadium are asked to shelter in place under covered concourse areas and ramps until further notice.”
FedExField issued the shelter-in-place warning on social media at 6:40 p.m. The 29-time Grammy winner usually hits the stage just before 9 p.m. local time for her headlining set.
After fans heard word of the Break My Soul singer’s generous efforts, they took to X to gush over her “power”:
Beyonce gave metro 100k to stay open late so people could get back damn she has a different type of power lol
While fans waited for the advisory to pass, several people were treated for heat exhaustion and one person was hospitalized, ABC affiliate WJLA reported.
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CNN reporter Abby Phillip, who attended the crowded venue that night, said “no one seemed to really know what the plan should be”, which caused a “chaotic” scene inside the stadium.
“It was very uncomfortable…I mean it was pouring rain for a while and there was lightning in the air, so they didn’t want to let to let anyone in and obviously the concert wasn’t going to start, but it was really chaotic and I think that was kind of the experience that I and so many other people had…the chaos and the crowd and the rain and the heat,” Phillip said.
“It was one of those moments where it was a great concert, but that experience was a little bit scary,” Phillip added.
The shelter-in-place order was lifted after fans waited around for nearly two hours, and ticket holders were cleared to return to their seats around 8:25 p.m., according to another post from FedExField.
Bey eventually kicked things off around 10 p.m. as she performed amid the continued rain, according to Setlist.fm.
Beyoncé avoided an onstage wardrobe malfunction this week thanks to a smooth move from one of her dancers on the Renaissance World Tour.
Queen Bey, during a concert in Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday, was on the verge of bringing her Break My Soul performance to a close when her shiny red dress seemed to slip.
One of her dancers with the Les Twins — a dance duo made up of Larry and Laurent Bourgeois — appeared to spot the near slip as he moved in to cover Bey from the audience’s view.
He went on to grab the singer’s hand and bring it to her dress before dancing aside, as Beyoncé confidently closed out the song.
Watch videos of the dancer’s quick decision-making below:
Members of the Beyhive praised the move, saying the dancer exhibited “KING BEHAVIOR” on stage.
Bey looks to continue the Renaissance World Tour in Germany on Saturday before heading to Poland. She’s then set to travel back across the pond to North America.
Pope Francis, Cristiano Ronaldo and Beyonce are among the first big-name casualties as Twitter removed the “blue tick” from legacy verified accounts.
Twitter Verified tweeted that legacy checkmarks would be removed from the site on April 20, with the main way of getting a blue tick being to sign up for Twitter Blue, which includes an £8 monthly fee for those based in the UK.
The legacy checkmarks began disappearing towards the tail end of Thursday.
Some of the biggest accounts losing their ticks include former president Donald Trump, as well as the official Twitter page for the Pope.
Some legacy accounts seemed to retain their ticks if linked to a verified organisation, including Barack Obama’s personal page.
Elon Musk had promised to take away all of Twitter’s blue check marks doled out to Hollywood stars, professional athletes, business leaders, authors and journalists unless they start buying a monthly subscription to the social media service.
Musk’s goal was to shove the advertising-dependent platform he bought for $44 billion last year into a pay-to-play model.
Twitter Verified Organisations enables bodies of “all types”, including businesses, non-profits and government institutions, to sign up and manage their verification and to affiliate and verify any related account. But it costs a base price of £950 a month.
Some were wistfully saying goodbye to their status …
