Poor Julian Lennon has revealed that he couldn't get booked on a late-night show last year to flog his album, Jude. And you thought you had problems! I was feeling a bit spicy this week (starting 2025 as I mean to go on, perhaps), so I wrote something about nepo babies, entitlement and the music industry. Elsewhere this week, we had a lovely retrospective from Mark Beaumont on Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" as it celebrates its 35th anniversary. Ed Power offered a word of caution to Oasis as he reflected on the ill-fated Stone Roses reunion. And the culture team picked some highlights for January to keep your spirits up, from new TV series to art exhibitions, albums and Oscar-worthy films. She was the opera diva who had a tumultuous and tragic private life, but while this added to her myth, something else entirely would derail her career as one of the greatest singers of all time... as Meghan Lloyd Davies explains: the secret humiliation that really ended the career of Maria Callas. Finally, Helen Brown is back in the critics' seat with her review of Ethel Cain's dark and mysterious album, Pervert. And if you missed it last weekend, make sure you catch up with Annabel Nugent's fab interview with the one and only JADE, whose brilliant single "IT Girl" is out now. If you're looking for something to watch this weekend, check out the two-part series Queens of Music, which shines a light on the experiences of Black women in the music industry. It features interviews with a number of prominent figures, including the legendary Taponeswa Mavunga, who started out as a temp in reception and rose to become Director of Africa at Sony Music, along with Dellessa James (Senior Artist Relations Manager at Amazon Music UK), and Sheniece Charway (Head of Black Music and Culture at YouTube). Both episodes are available now on Channel 5! As for new music, I've already mentioned Jade's latest single "IT Girl", a certified Bop if there ever was one. I'm thrilled to see the return of serpentwithfeet with a new single, "Writhing in the Wind", and the announcement that their album Grip Sequel will be out next month. Rap duo Krept & Konan are back with the vibey "Low Vibrations", and AK Patterson demonstrates her superb songwriting on "Morticia". Divorce's "Pill" is full of drama (love), while Sophie Jamieson's "Vista" is dark and introspective. You'll find all of that and more on The Independent's Now Hear This playlist on Apple Music. Enjoy! |
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| Written by Roisin O'Connor |
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Chappell Roan has been announced as the winner of BBC Radio 1's Sound of 2025 poll.
The US pop singer, 26, was chosen by a panel of more than 180 industry experts and artists including Sir Elton John and Dua Lipa.
Jack Saunders, who hosts Radio 1's Future Artists and the Official Chart show, said: "No one deserves this accolade more than Chappell Roan. "She was the most exciting artist of the last 12 months and is now set to be the artist of the next 12 months. "The success is all her own doing: standing tall in the face of the doubters and keeping her community close to fuel the energy of her shows and musical movements. Congratulations Chappell, 2025 is your year!". Roan's win comes after a change in eligibility criteria for the award: to qualify, artists cannot have more than two UK Top 10 albums or two UK Top 10 singles prior to 30 September 2024 to their name. Full story. |
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Subscribe to the official Now Hear This playlist on Apple Music and stay up to date with all the best new releases 1. "IT Girl" - JADE 2. "Low Vibrations" - Krept & Konan 3. "Morticia" - AK Patterson |
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| I did feel anxious about pissing people off or any sort of backlash, but I have to write about what my experiences are – I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It is, you know, my reality. |
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Jade to The Independent, January 2024 |
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| I ain't heard no breakup song like I can write... I have that knowledge |
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Prince in his posthumous memoir The Beautiful Ones |
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JADE, 'IT Girl', January 2025 |
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Spotlight on... Muireann Bradley |
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Q. Hello! Tell me about yourself |
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| A. My name is Muireann Bradley, I'm 18 years old and I'm a folk blues finger picking guitarist and singer from County Donegal. I think most people first heard of me when I appeared on Jools Holland's 2024 New Year's Eve Hootenany. |
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Q. What are your inspirations and influences? |
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| A. I grew up with a father who was crazy about old country blues music from the 1920s and 30s and so I was hearing this music all the time from before I can even remember. My father was a stay at home dad for a few years when I was little and he would play these old records at home every day. I would hear the music of Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Rev Gary Davis, Blind Blake, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Memphis Minnie and many more including the some of the best more modern country blues players like Stephan Grossman, Ari's Eisinger, Roy Book Binder, Eric Bibb, Keb Mo and Alvin Youngblood Hart so much that I knew the words of maybe a hundred of these songs off by heart. Our house was full of old American-made acoustic guitars from the same era as this music and I'd hear him playing and singing this music himself. I always loved the songs and was fascinated by my dad's guitars. He was always catching me trying to play these expensive vintage guitars and was worried I was going to damage them as I was barely big enough to hold them and so he bought me a wee short scale travel guitar for my 9th birthday and began to teach me how to play. |
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Q. What do you have lined up for 2025? |
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A. 2025 is going to be a very busy year for me. I have a good few gigs in Ireland in January and February and I'll be heading back over to Holland for a couple of shows including ESNS In Groningen on the 17th of January. Then I'll be supporting one of my heroes, Eric Bibb, in Dublin on 25 January at St Patrick's Cathedral as part of TradFest. My debut album 'I Kept These Old Blues' will be re-released on my new label Decca (UK) / Verve (US) on February 28th, it has been remastered and sounds so much better and has a new added bonus track, "When The Levee Breaks". Then in March I'll be off to Australia and New Zealand for a 3 week tour before joining Joe Bonamasa in Miami for his " Keeping the Blues Alive at sea" cruise. It's definitely going to be a very busy year. |
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