Billboard UK
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Lola Young‘s “Messy” has bagged a fourth week at No. 1 on the U.K. Singles Chart (Feb. 14). The song first claimed the top spot in January, dethroning Gracie Abrams’ “That’s So True,” which held the No. 1 position for eight non-consecutive weeks.
By earning her fourth week at No. 1, Young is now the longest-running British female artist to be at the top spot since Adele’s “Easy on Me” in 2021. It breaks a tie with Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” (2022) and Kenya Grace’s “Strangers” (2023), which both had three-week stints at the top.
This achievement also coincides with Young’s continued success on the Billboard Hot 100, where “Messy” currently sits No. 19, a slight fall of five places week-on-week. “Messy” is featured on her sophomore studio album, This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway, which was released in May 2024; the song has now crossed 300 million streams on Spotify.
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In March, Young will compete for a BRIT Award in the pop act category against Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, Jade Thirlwall and Myles Smith. She also appeared on Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia as a guest vocalist on “Like Him.”
Speaking to Billboard U.K., Young discussed the success of “Messy” and why the message of self-acceptance had resonated with fans. “For a long time, I wanted to represent this ideal of Westernized beauty – but then I realized I’m not that,” she said. “I now choose to give realness and truth. I’ve got a bit of a belly out, I f–king swear a bunch and I have fun. And that’s what people are resonating with.”
Following his Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” finishes the week at No. 2 and gives the Compton rapper his highest ever placing on the U.K. Singles Chart; the song initially landed at No. 6 upon release last year.
Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” rises three spots to No. 3, while Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” makes moves up to No. 4. Chrystal’s “The Days” rounds out the week at No. 5, and there’s post-Grammys boosts for Benson Boone (“Beautiful Things,” No. 6) and Doechii (“Denial Is a River,” No. 9).
Ed Sheeran has seemingly just revealed the name of his upcoming LP in a social media comment. The Suffolk-based pop star has been teasing his return for 2025 and shared a few hints about what the record may sound like.
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Now, in a comment on an Instagram post, Sheeran appeared to reveal that the record would be called Play.
The “Shape of You” singer was responding to a post on the page of @memezar, which noted that Sheeran had changed his profile picture in anticipation of the return. “Ed Sheeran recently changed his profile picture guys! What math is he gonna do next?” a fan wrote. This referred to the Sheeran’s Mathematics album series, which included five studio records: + (2011), x (2014), ÷ (2017), = (2021) and – (2023).
In response, Sheeran wrote: “Irony is if you ask me anything maths related I would fail the question, I never finished high school.” He then signed off by appearing to reveal the title of his next LP. “Play coming soon though,” he added.
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In another comment to a fan who wrote theorised that the next series of records would be called “Play, Pause, Stop, Rewind, Skip,” Sheeran responded: “might skip Skip tbf.”
It’s not the first time he’s referred to the title. In 2023, Sheeran posted: “See you sometime next year when we press Play again on pop, and have a good holiday season x.” In 2022, he confirmed that he would be making “10 symbol records,” but said that “the next five won’t be maths.” Billboard U.K. has reached out to Sheeran’s representatives for comment.
His upcoming record would be Sheeran’s eighth studio LP, and would follow 2023’s Autumn Variations. In December, Sheeran teased that his new album would be a return to bigger sounds. “It feels like I’m getting back into big pop for the first time in a long time,” he told Variety. “It’s quite exciting.”
Earlier this week an impromptu performance by Sheeran was shut down by police in Bengaluru, India due to an alleged lack of permissions. In footage of the incident police can be seen interrupting Sheeran’s performance of “Shape of You” and unplugging his instruments. “We have permission to be here, but this policeman is shutting it down,” Sheeran can be heard telling the crowd. “See you later!”
Sheeran is in the midst of his Mathematics tour and will perform on Saturday (Feb. 15) in Delhi before a run of dates in China.
Sam Fender has extended his 2025 U.K. summer tour with the addition of three new dates. The announcement arrives ahead of the North Shields songwriter’s third LP People Watching, due next Friday (Feb. 21) via Polydor. The record marks Fender’s first full-length release since 2021’s Mercury Prize-nominated Seventeen Going Under. The first of the new […]
AJ Tracey and Jorja Smith have linked up once again for an absolute banger. The pair started promoting the Rhythm & Grime song earlier this week with a clip on social media, with Jorja rapping her verse in a driveway with a beautiful money-green BMW E30 and AJ Tracey dipped in a pink Palace and […]
Central Cee has shared his love of Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” in a new interview.
On the west London rapper’s four-part CRG Radio show, which is available via Apple Music 1, Cench — born Oakley Neil Caesar-Su — discussed his all-time favorite artists, past and present. In addition to praising Lil Durk, Drake, Damian Marley, Amy Winehouse and dancehall artist Vybz Kartel, he spoke about playing Eilish’s music on repeat.
“You see me, I don’t know lyrics. I was saying I know ‘Juicy’ by Biggie Smalls just about off by heart and that’s the only song,” he began. “And then, after listening to it maybe a thousand times, I know Billie Eilish’s ‘Birds of a Feather.’”
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“I need to listen to something for time to hear [song] lyrics,” he continued, before describing his attraction to Eilish in the “Birds of a Feather” music video. “I think I fancied her first. I was looking at her, I was just watching the video to look at her and then I started thinking, ‘Yeah, no, this [song is] actually cold. And now I don’t know if it’s ‘mind games’; I’ve just heard it so much, but I love it. I just love the music now. It’s not even about [Eilish] anymore.”
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He added: “I’ve just been told that [‘Birds of a Feather’] was one of the biggest songs of last year, and it kind of makes me think that when something’s so popular — I know people do it with my music — that I’m not actually as unique as I think I am for liking that song. But I am in my circle!”
The latest episode of CRG Radio will also be the last. Previous installments of the series have seen the 26-year-old speak with U.K. rappers Headie One, Blade Brown and Nemzzz, while there has also been an appearance from England midfielder Cole Palmer.
On Jan. 31, meanwhile, Cench beat competition from Teddy Swims to top the Official U.K. Albums Chart with his debut LP, Can’t Rush Greatness. He will support the record with a 39-date world arena tour through the spring, kicking off in Oslo on April 1.
Cench also recently scooped a trio of nominations for the 2025 BRIT Awards; the ceremony will be held March 1. He is up for best U.K. artist, best song (“Band4Band”) and best hip-hop and grime.
Little Simz has been announced as the curator of Meltdown Festival for 2025.The event, which is held at London’s Southbank Centre, is now in its 30th edition and will see the rapper crafting an eclectic bill of music, art and workshops across eleven nights June 12-22. The full lineup is expected to arrive in the spring.
Simz joins a prestigious list of previous curators including the likes of The Cure’s Robert Smith, David Byrne, Grace Jones, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker and most recently, Chaka Khan.“I’m super excited to be the 2025 Meltdown festival curator! My team and I are preparing 10 days of art, music, workshops and more,” Simz said in a statement. “So many incredible artists have curated this festival, so it’s a true honor to be a part of it.“Thank you to the Southbank Centre for having me. Meltdown 2025 the Simz way is going to be epic.”Jane Beese, Head of Contemporary Music, Southbank Centre said: “Little Simz’s ability to forge new genre-defying ideas and her ambition to inspire the next generation of creators aligns with what the Southbank Centre’s artistic program and vision stands for. We’re incredibly excited to witness the lineup she’ll curate and for the power of her great art, leadership and culture to bring people together onsite for our 30th year.”The festival has forged a reputation for staging unique one-off performances over the years. Patti Smith performed her album Horses in full for her curation of Meltdown in 2005, while Rahim Redcar — fka Christine and the Queens — delivered a two-hour rock-opera show in celebration of his Paranoïa, Angels, True Love LP in 2023.Simz’s new role, meanwhile, follows an illustrious few years in her career. Last summer, the 30-year-old performed on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage to glowing reviews, while she won the Mercury Prize for 2021’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. Outside of music, she has starred in the acclaimed Netflix series Top Boy.Her most recent full-length release, 2022’s No Thank You, was accompanied by a short film directed by Gabriel Moses, the designer of the 2025 BRIT Awards trophy.
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Sabrina Carpenter is the latest act to join the list of performers at the upcoming BRIT Awards (March 1), and will collect the global success award on the night. The “Espresso” singer will head to The O2 Arena in London to perform during the ceremony. She joins JADE, Myles Smith, Shaboozey, Teddy Swims and The […]
Morrissey has announced tour dates for the U.K. and Ireland, his first since 2023. The former Smiths singer shared the news of the upcoming shows on his official social media accounts.
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The post said that these were the only concerts he would “perform in Ireland, Scotland and England in 2025,” and will see him play in Dublin, Glasgow and Manchester in May and June.
Morrissey has played a number of shows in North America in recent years, and will tour the region again in 2025. He last played in the U.K. in 2023 with shows in London, Aylesbury, Liverpool and more.
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In November 2024, the “Suedehead” singer claimed that his unreleased album Bonfire of Teenagers has been shelved because of his various controversies. “As you know, nobody will release my music anymore,” Morrissey told a crowd in New Jersey. “As you know because I’m a chief exponent of free speech. In England at least, it’s now criminalized.”
“You cannot speak freely in England. If you don’t believe me, go there,” he continued. “Express an opinion, you’ll be sent to prison. It’s very, very difficult.”
In 2019, Morrissey expressed support for the far-right Britain First political party, and has not released an album since 2020’s I Am Not a Dog on a Chain. His Bonfire of Teenagers LP was scheduled to be released in February 2023, but it was pulled months before its release date, with Morrissey claiming its “fate is exclusively in the hands of Capitol Records (Los Angeles.).”
The album was reportedly made in 2021 and featured contributions from Iggy Pop, Miley Cyrus and producer Andrew Watt. News followed that Cyrus had requested her vocals to be removed from the record. Its title track references the Manchester Arena bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in 2017, which killed 22 attendees and injured hundreds more. One song from the record “Rebels Without Applause” has been issued as a single, with others performed live.
In February 2023, Morrissey issued another statement claiming he was “too diverse” for Universal Music Group. He has since stated that he has recorded an additional album titled Without Music the World Dies, which remains unreleased. He has offered the album to “any record label or private investor [that] has interest in releasing this project,” following his split from Capitol.
See Morrissey’s U.K. & Ireland 2025 tour dates below:
May 31 – Dublin, Ireland @ 3Arena
June 4, 5 – Glasgow, Scotland @ O2 Academy Glasgow
June 7 – Manchester, England @ Co-Op Live
Following his triumphant Super Bowl Halftime Show on Sunday (Feb. 9), Kendrick Lamar is extending the victory lap into this summer with a new set of U.K. and European tour dates.
The Grand National Tour, a co-headline trek between Lamar and SZA, will head to the U.K. for four dates this summer: Hampden Park, Glasgow (July 8); Villa Park, Birmingham (July 10); Principality Stadium, Cardiff (July 19); and London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (July 22).
The four dates come amid a slew of dates in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Poland and Sweden throughout July and August.
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The duo’s Grand National run will tour through North America from April 19, kicking off at Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium and concluding on June 18 at the Northwest Stadium in Washington, D.C. The pair will also hit up the Rogers Centre in Drake’s hometown Toronto, Canada, along the way.
Tickets for the U.K. and Europe shows go on sale from the tour’s website on Feb. 14.
Kendrick Lamar headlined the Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome on Sunday, providing a fiery, upbeat set during the blowout win for the Philadelphia Eagles over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Lamar was joined by SZA for two songs, “Luther” and “All the Stars,” and saw him play his Drake diss track “Not Like Us” live. The set came amid legal action from Drake against Universal Music Group for profiteering from a song that allegedly defames him. The song picked up five Grammys at the recent ceremony, including record of the year.
Writing for Billboard, Carl Lamarre called Lamar’s set a “victory lap” following the rapper’s recent accomplishments, and wrote that “the impact of Lamar’s performance is indisputable, leaving hip-hop and pop culture awestruck once again.”
Kendrick Lamar & SZA Grand National UK and Europe tour dates:
July 2 – Cologne, Germany @ RheinEnergieSTADION
July 4 – Frankfurt, Germany @ Deutsche Bank Park
July 8 – Glasgow, U.K. @ Hampden Park
July 10 – Birmingham, U.K. @ Villa Park
July 13 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Johan Cruijff ArenA
July 15 – Paris, France @ Paris La Défense Arena
July 19 – Cardiff, U.K. @ Principality Stadium
July 22 – London, U.K. @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
July 27 – Lisbon, Portugal @ Estadio do Restelo
July 30 – Barcelona, Spain @ Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys
Aug. 2 – Rome, Italy @ Stadio Olimpico
Aug. 6 – Warsaw, Poland @ PGE Narodowy
Aug. 9 @ Stockholm, Sweden – 3Arena
Ticketmaster has begun cancelling thousands of tickets for Oasis’ upcoming reunion tour in a crackdown on bots.
Passes for the shows in the U.K. and Ireland went on sale in August 2024, but the on-sale process was marred by long delays and the use of dynamic pricing model, which meant that ticket prices were higher for some fans than expected.
Reports said that over 50,000 tickets ended up on resale sites, despite efforts to restrict touts re-selling tickets at inflated prices.
A statement issued by promoters Live Nation and SJM Concerts at the time read: “Ticket resale is permitted at no more than the price you paid (face value + booking fees). Please only use the official resale partners Twickets and Ticketmaster. Selling tickets through unauthorised resale platforms will breach these T&Cs and those tickets may be cancelled”.
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Now, Ticketmaster have been contacting some ticket holders to inform them that their tickets have been refunded as “it has been identified that bots were used to make this purchase,” meaning they “violate the tour’s terms and conditions.”
“These terms were specifically established to limit resale of tickets on unauthorised ticketing platforms for profit,” the message says. “Fans have been strongly advised by all parties not to purchase tickets from unauthorised resale sites, to protect them from fraud or refunding.”
However some Oasis fans have reported on social media that their tickets have been wrongly cancelled in the efforts, despite abiding the rules of the on-sale process. “If 2025 could actually get any worse – now I don’t even have this to look forward to any more,” wrote one fan on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday (February 7) showing a message from Ticketmaster saying that their tickets had been cancelled.
Another wrote: “So what’s this complete sh-tshow? Sat on my laptop for hours on general sale day to secure just TWO tickets for ONE gig and you’re telling me I’m a bot and a tout!” The post is accompanied by pictures of his ticket buying set-up which includes one device but with multiple tabs.
Reports in the BBC and The Guardian have identified fans who have also had their tickets cancelled, with one telling the former that “it just feels like my dreams have been completely crushed.”
Billboard UK has approached Ticketmaster for comment. On the Oasis Refunds FAQ page, a message reads: “For ticket purchasers who believe they have had tickets refunded in error, refer to the email sent by the relevant agent when informed.”
Following the original on sale, the band responded to the news that tickets had been on-sale on resale sites for upwards of £10,000 ($12,412)
“We have noticed people attempting to sell tickets on the secondary market since the start of the pre-sale. Please note, tickets can ONLY be resold, at face value, via Ticketmaster and Twickets.
“Tickets sold in breach of the terms and conditions will be cancelled by the promoters.” Twickets shared Oasis’s statement and added their own: “Don’t buy tickets over face value. Official resale will be available on our website/app at face value only.”
Oasis’ reunion tour will kick off at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on July 4, before heading to Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin across the 19 dates. The tour will then head to North America, Latin America, Australia and Asia later this year.