Charli XCX and Lorde’s conflict resolution is the year’s most powerful pop moment
Alim Kheraj
Squabbles between pop stars have been around for decades, but this one is different – by reconciling in song, the two singers expose pressures put on women while asserting their agency
Cult film company A24’s tie-in merch to the seminal documentary Stop Making Sense sounds either like karaoke or is wildly disconnected from the source material
September 2023
Pacific project
Moana vocalist in push to revive threatened Pacific languages through song
Olivia Foa’i and Lorde are among those using indigenous language in music to build culture and connection
May 2023
Fans are fretting about Beyoncé tour ‘spoilers’ – but live music thrives on gossip and excitement
Laura Snapes
As the star kicks off her Renaissance dates, fans are battening down the hatches and avoiding coverage until she hits their city. Why have gigs become the equivalent of a Marvel plotline?
January 2023
Screen and heard: is TikTok changing the way pop stars perform?
From Lorde to Rosalía, today’s biggest stars deliver shows that seem precision-engineered for social media. We speak to the people behind the scenes
October 2022
Ranked
The 100 greatest BBC music performances – ranked!
As the Beeb celebrates its centenary, we take a look at its most memorable pop moments, from the birth of grime to the first sightings of Bob Dylan and Bob Marley, plus TOTP goes Madchester and countless classic Peel sessions
September 2022
Bleachers review – in-demand producer Jack Antonoff cuts loose with his band
‘Music makes you fall in love with people’: Marlon Williams on his ‘Māori disco bop’
July 2022
Kitty Empire's artist of the week
Lorde review – a magnificent night out
By turns tearful and rocking out, the New Zealand star is on a roll with cathartic cuts from 2021’s Solar Power, including a stirring performance in Māori
June 2022
Sunday at Glastonbury: Kendrick Lamar, Diana Ross and Jack White – as it happened
The US rap star headlined the main stage on the last night of the festival, while Pet Shop Boys, Charli XCX, Jarvis Cocker and a host more brought the festival to a close
May 2022
Lorde review – introspection and euphoria in strikingly theatrical show
Saved for Later
Why is synaesthesia suddenly going viral? Plus: the poetry of the second mention
March 2022
Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar to headline Glastonbury 2022
As the festival returns from Covid-enforced hiatus, over half of the acts announced so far feature women
December 2021
2022 culture preview
Abba to Zappa: pop, rock and classical music to look forward to in 2022
UK rap’s biggest star goes on tour, Wet Leg drop a deadpan debut and Rosalía gets into reggaeton. Here are the albums, concerts and tours the big hitters have in store
September 2021
Give Lorde a break. Non-Māori must speak Māori for it to survive
Morgan Godfery
If we must wait for the perfect circumstances to speak or sing te reo, we may as well sign the language’s death certificate
Cyborgs, not goddesses: how breastplates became fashion’s feminist accessory
From Lorde to Cardi B and Bella Hadid, celebrities are literally arming themselves against outdated gender expectations
‘Powerful experience’: Lorde releases mini-album in Māori language
The New Zealand pop star says recording in the indigenous language was an ‘emotional’ experience
August 2021
10 Quick Questions
From Pure Heroine to Solar Power: how well do you know Lorde?
The New Zealand star has a dedicated fanbase – some of whom were thrown by her latest album’s aesthetic shift. How devoted are you? Take our quiz
Lorde: Solar Power review – she has earned her wistful, floaty record
The New Zealand star embraces mellowness on a third album shaded by climate anxiety and a rejection of celebrity
Billie, Lorde, Lizzo: has being a female pop star in 2021 become unbearable?
Laura Snapes
New releases by three pop icons reveal their extreme attempts to protect themselves from the damage caused by fame. Pop stardom has never seemed less aspirational
