Playlist · Ben Beaumont-Thomas · 213 items · 30 likes

Artists who have been permanently resident in the UK for five years will qualify for British categories

Revenues expected to be down by more than £25m as effects of pandemic hit media industry

Military-grade training and constant surveillance from fans creates a ruthless culture of perfection in Korean pop music – but megastars Monsta X are trying to take back control

Video scenes in God Control recall 2016 Orlando shooting that left 49 people dead, and end with the words: ‘No one is safe. Gun control. Now’

Many will pore over the gossipy, self-referential lyrics, but Styles’s song is for everyone: an effervescent, high-tempo hit to have you clicking your heels

Knocked off course by anxiety and an album she didn’t believe in, the singer is back after five years away with a bold new sound – and an urge to speak out

In a brutally honest interview ahead of his stunning second album, the Tyneside chart-topper discusses politics, family, fame and mental health

Glasgow-born Grammy nominee had worked with Madonna, Charli XCX and more

The former One Direction star talks about his love of Thin Lizzy, Dua Lipa and 5 Seconds of Summer – and how he’s writing songs about dating in lockdown

Swift delivers her most personal song yet, while gospel and church organs keep the faith in this month’s roundup of new music – read about our 10 favourite tracks below

It was tough being a punk or metal obsessive in a small town. Seven fans who sought love or friendship via music mag ‘lonely hearts’ ads tell us if they found what they were looking for

Angelique Kidjo, Jeff Mills, Sebastien Tellier and more remember the late drummer: his humility, his brilliance, and his awesome sportswear

The indie rockers rolled out their last record, Everything Now, with a satirical ad campaign. The result? Mass confusion and bad reviews. As they hit UK arenas, frontman Win Butler is defiant: ‘Let’s...

Dressed as a wordsearch and rapping about tacos, the Philadelphia native delivers a concert and standup set in one

The MPs who condemned the press attacks on the Duchess of Sussex should be praised, but tiptoeing around the language only protects perpetrators

From productions for Charli XCX and Gaika to Sophie’s emotionally shattering solo works, we celebrate a truly singular artist who has died aged 34

As she releases her third album, the US indie rocker reminisces about waffles, hardcore Christian punk and her terrible skateboarding

After winning two of the night’s biggest awards, the south London MC expressed dismay over the aftermath of Grenfell in an incendiary show-closing freestyle and castigated the Daily Mail

The gender-fluid pop sensation talks about performing as a stripper, giving queer people strength and dressing up as Bono

Generally, excellent music is at the centre of all our coverage (although bad music sometimes gets a look-in). What they do all have is a…

Bob Dylan is 80 today. But what’s his greatest song? Stars pick their favourite – and recall their own encounters, from Marianne Faithfull turning him down to Judy Collins whacking a policeman to get...

Informed by baile funk, metal and more, Linn da Quebrada and Jup do Bairro – with producer Badsista – are dodging racism, transphobia and music industry resistance to tell their own stories

Tim Smith, who has died aged 59, made a bizarre kind of rock music that was so wrong it was right – and his boundless enthusiasm was so infectious it created an army of followers

Still triumphantly unhinged after 25 years, the US duo break all the rules of what punk and, indeed, live music should be

Their vocals and songwriting feature on some of the biggest hits, but black women are often not credited, leaving their solo careers stunted and causing them to lose out financially

This week, rapper Lil Peep died of a suspected overdose. Hip-hop has always been open about recreational drug use – but how did constant references to depression and prescription painkillers move...

(Drag City)Life has tested David Berman, and he translates it into songs of mordant wit on this fantastic collaboration with Woods

Fans can now donate to their favourite artists via Spotify, but this feature is a tacit admission that the firm undervalues the musicians that make it viable

Back with a bold fourth album, Ellie Goulding is set on a new sound, averting environmental catastrophe – and settling a score or two

Already banned from one postcode, the duo received a prison sentence for performing Attempted 1.0 – making British legal history. ‘We’re being criminalised for making music’, they say

I Wanna Be Yours, a love poem that rhymes Ford Cortina with vacuum cleaner, has been a school text and a wedding staple. But now, thanks to TikTok and Arctic Monkeys, it has gone spectacularly...

‘We had to put Charles Dickens in the movie. Who’s the least likely character to be Charles Dickens? Gonzo!’

In this terrible year, Rain on Me seemed to face the nightmare head on – and then deliver you from it

On her brilliant new album, Orton ploughs her deepest emotions – and doesn’t hold back. She talks about living with Crohn’s disease, her identity struggles and the limits placed on women

Whether it’s Dave and Stormzy castigating the government or Kanye surrounding himself with young Londoners, black artists have expertly capitalised on the visibility of the Brits stage

Pop stars are under pressure to produce a continuous stream of new music, with many releasing two albums a year. What’s behind the explosive pace?

Four decades after it originated in the favelas of Rio, a new wave of the electronic music genre is exploding on TikTok, and inspiring the likes of Cardi B and Travis Scott

Amazon has announced a Las Vegas music festival called Intersect. Like so many other branded events today, it exists only to exploit artists and audiences

This hoard of material from the OK Computer era is an endlessly interesting chronicle of a band reinventing the mainstream by rejecting it

In his first interview in a decade, the Durutti Column’s hermit-like leader, once described as ‘the best guitarist in the world’, relives his extraordinary life from Manchester gangs to Factory...

Raye is one of the world’s most listened-to artists, but her label wouldn’t let her make an album. She’s the latest example of stars who say their music is being sidelined

A lesson in how to keep moving forward, Kurt Wagner keeps experimenting with his ability to see beauty in everything, every day

South London rapper, who won album of the year for Psychodrama, also called for support for the Windrush generation and castigated the media over their coverage of Meghan Markle

Taylor Swift superfans are ganging up on critics who haven’t given her new album a perfect score – a symptom of a culture obsessed with quantifying our lives

A wonderful solo debut takes in race, religion and boozy excess, all with searing lyricism