80 m. ago Trump displays ANOTHER self portrait in a very prominent location in the White House

President Donald Trump has hung another self portrait in the White House, this time right next to Hillary Clinton's picture from her time as first lady.

Politics

12 h. ago The 35 greatest debut albums of all time, from Lady Gaga to Arctic Monkeys

These records serve as statements of intent and have the power to change or reshape the industry, inspire fellow musicians, and drive essential conversation about our understanding of music. Roisin O'Connor picks the best of the bunch

Politics

57 h. ago ‘Performing is not some gigantic thing – it’s just me breathing’: Obongjayar on the journey from shyness to stardom

Ahead of the release of his spectacular second album, the Nigerian singer speaks of his recent songwriting epiphany and how he learned to best express his political rageRight before he began work on his second album, someone told Obongjayar it was time to “start writing songs”. “I remember being really pissed,” laughs the artist, whose real name is Steven Umoh – though, in person, he goes by “OB”. “Like, what the fuck? What do you think I’ve been doing this whole time?”The incredulity seems fair. The 32-year-old Nigerian singer has been releasing work for more than a decade, running the gamut of genres from hip-hop to Afrobeat to experimental electronics to spoken word, alt-rock and soul. It has made him something of a critics’ darling, but if you’re not familiar with his solo music (his debut album, 2022’s Some Nights I Dream of Doors, was stunning), odds are you’ve heard his lithe, gravelly inflections on Richard Russell’s Everything Is Recorded project, or warming up UK rap star ...

Politics

3 d. ago Gregory Porter: ‘My worst job? Shovelling exterminated rats’

The singer on a precious photograph of his mother, losing his brother and the wonders of cooking with butterBorn in California, Gregory Porter, 53, released his Grammy-nominated debut album, Water, in 2010. He went on to receive best jazz vocal album Grammys for Liquid Spirit in 2014 and Take Me to the Alley in 2017. He sang for Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee and was the first celebrity to sing a lullaby on CBeebies Bedtime Stories. Next week, he begins a UK tour. He is married with two children and lives in California.What is your greatest fear? Immunity to cruelty. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Tunde Adebimpe: Thee Black Boltz review – a sparkling solo debut

(Sub Pop)The TV on the Radio frontman’s sharp pop instincts kick in on a multifaceted synth-punk-funk set born out of deep personal lossYou would not know, on first listen, that this effervescent debut solo album by the sometime frontman of TV on the Radio was steeped in grief. Tunde Adebimpe’s sister died during the pandemic when these songs were taking hesitant shape in an LA studio that Adebimpe, now a successful actor, shares with multi-instrumentalist and co-producer Wilder Zoby.Those difficult feelings – and others, about living in “a time of tenderness and rage” – became snaggle-toothed synth-punk cuts and bouncy synth-pop sounds. On Drop, there’s beat-boxing; on The Most, a Sleng Teng reggae riddim ambush; while on Somebody New, you can hear a punk-funk echo of New Order. Only ILY, a finger-picked folk song addressed to his sister, breaks character, adding “balladeer” to Adebimpe’s varied CV (former stop-motion animator, illustrator). “How’d you get so low?” asks God Knows, ...

Politics

6 d. ago $500 for the nosebleeds? Lady Gaga fans furious over ticket prices for Australian shows

The Mayhem tour’s ticketing agencies deny dynamic pricing has been implemented, but fans have complained prices are high and inconsistentElection 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastThe little monsters are not happy. Lady Gaga fans have swamped social media to complain about exorbitant ticket prices for the pop star’s Australian concerts, with many speculating that dynamic pricing is involved – a claim the official ticketing agency for the Melbourne and Brisbane shows, Ticketmaster, has denied.Off the back of her chart-topping album Mayhem, Lady Gaga is heading to Australia for the first time in 11 years, with Live Nation bringing the Mayhem Ball to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in December. Ticketmaster, which is owned by Live Nation, is responsible for the ticket sales in Melbourne and Brisbane. Ticketek is separately handling the Sydney show, because of its affiliation with Sydney venue Accor Stadi...

Economics

8 d. ago David Bowie's daughter Lexi Jones insists she's 'not a copy' of him following release of debut album

The 24-year-old was just 15 when the Ziggy Stardust musician passed away

Politics

8 d. ago David Bowie's daughter Lexi Jones insists she's 'not a copy' of her famous father in defiant message as she releases debut album

The late singer's only daughter Lexi, 24, real name Alexandria Zahra Jones, has teased her new music on her Instagram throughout last week.

Politics

8 d. ago David Bowie’s daughter Lexi Jones launches new album with defiant message to haters

Lexi Jones proved she'd inherited her father's aptitude for music this week with the release of her debut album, but despite the milestone she has shared her frustration at being compared to the music icon

Politics

9 d. ago The Kooks' Luke Pritchard reveals what really happened with THAT Arctic Monkeys feud and claims many 00s rockstars FAKED their seemingly wild lives to look cool

Led by singer and songwriter Luke, now 40, the band's 2006 debut album Inside In/Inside Out flung them into the public consciousness, going three times platinum.

Politics

2 w. ago David Bowie’s daughter paves her own way with debut album release

With very little promotion or advertisement, David Bowie’s daughter has stepped into her own musical spotlight and released her debut album Xandri

Politics

2 w. ago Sir Jackie Stewart opens up on wife Helen's dementia battle and moment she forgot who he was

Lady Helen Stewart, who is married to three-time Formula 1 champion Sir Jackie Stewart, was diagnosed with dementia in 2014 and her condition has steadily worsened over the years

Events

2 w. ago Pop star Jade felt ‘weight lifted off her shoulders’ as she reached major milestone

Former Little Mix singer says she wants her new album to sound like she’s ‘finding herself again’

Politics

2 w. ago ‘This weird dream just keeps going!’ Wet Leg on overnight success, sexual epiphanies and facing fears

The UK indie-rockers won two Grammys for their debut album. Ahead of their second, they explain how they protected one another amid sudden fame – and how queer love and Davina McCall inspired themWet Leg’s Rhian Teasdale looks like a pop star from a different era. She walks into a bar in east London wearing a giant, floor-length pale-pink padded coat. She has bleached eyebrows, dip-dyed hair, drawn-on freckles and jewels stuck to her nails and teeth. For a moment, Top of the Pops could be on primetime TV and a copy of Smash Hits in my bag. But then Wet Leg’s story always did feel anachronistic. In 2021, they managed what indie bands don’t often manage any more and became an overnight success. That June, they released their first single, Chaise Longue, a deadpan, perfectly simple and cheerfully daft megahit; they conquered the US and Japan, toured arenas and topped the album charts with their scathing, self-titled debut, scoring two Brit awards and two Grammys.They were still touring...

Politics

2 w. ago Black Country, New Road: Forever Howlong review | Alexis Petridis's album of the week

(Ninja Tune)After losing their frontman, the band’s third studio album shows how resilient and adaptable they are, with luscious melodies, fantastical lyrics and lots of recordersThe last time Black Country, New Road released a studio album, in 2022, it was accompanied by a strange feeling. Their debut the previous year had reached No 4 in the UK charts, and Ants from Up There was an even greater breakthrough, the sound of the UK septet pulling confidently away from the serried ranks of sprechgesang-heavy alt-rock bands who proliferated in the late 2010s. But there was an elegiac feeling around its release: Black Country, New Road’s frontman, Isaac Wood, had announced his departure four days prior. The others had resolved to continue without him, but given how distinctive Wood’s declarative, ruminating vocals were, many thought the band’s future was uncertain at best.That proved to be an underestimation. Instead of touring Ants from Up There, the remaining members stopped playing an...

Politics

2 w. ago Cyndi Lauper review – 80s pop eccentric hasn’t changed a bit

Rod Laver Arena, MelbourneHer farewell tour is a pockmarked history of her roots and wide-ranging influences, full of her trademark elan and vigourGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailFandom isn’t a good look on a critic; we’re supposed to be sober and impartial, analytical and measured. What to do, then, when called upon to review your favourite idol, the singer who first turned you on to the power of pop? Judicious rumination or tinny screams of delight? There’s room for both in this swan song from 80s pop eccentric Cyndi Lauper, as irrepressible here as when I saw her as a teenager, then touring her new album True Colours. She’s had an illustrious career, including a side gig composing musicals – Kinky Boots, and soon an adaptation of 80s workplace comedy Working Girl – but the bulk of her hits are drawn from her first two albums, including the astonishing debut She’s So Unusual. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun – the song that gives this farewell tour its name – is also by far La...

Politics

2 w. ago What time do Lady Gaga tickets go on general sale for UK tour 2025

Lady Gaga is visiting the UK later this year on her MAYHEM Ball Tour

Politics

3 w. ago ‘I feel as though I’ve been in chains’: the bittersweet life of lovers rock legend Mari’ Pierre

The British-Guyanese singer topped the reggae chart with 1978’s Walk Away, but despite work with Robert Plant and others, she’s rarely returned to the studio. This interview might change that In December 1978, Marie Pierre was at No 1 in the UK reggae chart with the lovers rock classic Walk Away, a beautiful tearstained lament on a troubled relationship. Her 1979 debut album Love Affair, powered by another enduring scene song in Choose Me, remained one of Trojan’s best-selling albums well into the 1980s; Pierre, with her crystalline multi-octave voice, seemed destined to follow her contemporary, Silly Games singer Janet Kay, into mainstream pop-reggae success.But in the 46 years since, Pierre has never released another album. A career that promised so much has – despite TV work and successful backing singing gigs with Robert Plant, Donna Summer and Chaka Khan – been one of frustration and thwarted ambition. Misfortune, mistrust and mistreatment, personal and professional, have sidel...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘It was like a freight train hit us’: How Justin Bieber changed the world (really)

Screaming girls. Puppy-love songs. That haircut. As the Canadian superstar’s debut album turns 15 – the same age he was when he became internationally inescapable – Mark Beaumont takes a look at his fast rise and often overlooked legacy

Events

3 w. ago Zadie Smith on the magic of Tracy Chapman: ‘She didn’t just look like us – she was singing our songs’

The novelist was just 12 when the ex-busker stunned a mammoth crowd at the Free Nelson Mandela concert – and sent everyone racing to Woolworths for her astonishing debut album. Its simple, honest, perfect songs of protest have mesmerised the writer ever sinceOn 11 June 1988, I was 12 and sitting with my family watching the Free Nelson Mandela Concert on TV. As a clan, we were old hands at trying to free Mandela, having done our fair share of marching and boycotting over the years, and this concert felt like the culmination of all that. There was a lot of excitement in the room: we squeezed on to the sofa and opened the windows wide. (If the wind’s blowing in the right direction, you can hear a Wembley audience roar from Willesden.)Many world-famous musicians played that day. Most of them I don’t remember, but one I will never forget: Tracy Chapman. I think a lot of people feel that way, though when you rewatch the footage you realise what she was up against at the time. Nobody cheer...

Events