The 29-year-old singer took to her Instagram to share her excitement. She said: “NOTE TO SELF: you used to dream about the life you live now. I HAVE MY VERY OWN UK ARENA TOUR!!! 2024 will be about coming to as many cities in the UK & partying with thousands of you! not coming out for a song or two on someone else’s show, not on a line up with other artists, my very own show! make sure you sign-up to presale so you can get your tickets in early. I don’t want you disappointed! I’m gonna make this show MASSIVE, I can’t wait to see you all.”  

Supporters of the hit-maker took to the comment section to share their excitement over the news. One person said: “I am SOBBING. This is just something you have dreamed of for so long. This 11-year journey had been SO worth it. I am honestly sobbing. I cannot even express how proud I am of you. No words at all.”

Meanwhile, another person also wrote: “Hard work. Dedication. Perseverance. Every show, festival, and performance you have done is living proof you are an artist who is worthy of this and MORE! Beyond stoked for you and this mega accomplishment. Cannot wait to support you in this in every way possible my Queen!!”  

Earlier this week, Hill appeared on BBC’s Live Lounge series and performed her 2023 anthem “Disconnect” and covered “Shades of Love” by Blessed Madonna. Other stars who performed on the series this month include Jorja Smith, Madison Beer and Holly Humberstone – and will also see 2024 Halftime Superbowl performer Usher make his debut on the show in a few days time.

Watch Hill perform her song “Disconnect”. 

Tour dates

14/06/2024 – Musgrave Park – Cork
15/06 – Belsonic – Belfast
12/10 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
13/10 – Utilita Arena – Newcastle
15/10 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
16/10 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
18/10 – Westpoint – Exeter
19/10 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham
20/10 – AO Arena – Mancheshter
22/10 – Utilita Arena – Cardiff
24/10 – OVO Arena Wembley – London

The 2022 single, which has strong elements of synth-pop and new wave, saw the track stripped down into a raw and soulful version by Smith and her live band. The rendition, which can be watched below, showcased the remarkability of Smith’s breath-taking vocals.

Smith explained why she decided to cover the pop song and said: “I keep hearing it. I find it hard sometimes to do a cover – it needs to be a song that I know even though I’ve deffo got the lyrics in front of me. But this one I’ve been hearing a lot and I thought, ‘Oh, this will be really nice’. It’s a bit more toned down…”

The 26-year-old musician also covered her own single, “Little Things”, on the show. “Little Things”, which was released earlier this year as the second single from her latest album, has gained over 29 million streams on Spotify. Additionally, the remixed version of the single, “Little Things x Gypsy Woman – L BEATS MASHUP”, has topped the stars’ popular songs on the platform with over 46 million streams.

Last week, BBC’s Live Lounge also saw other acts perform on the show, including Olivia Rodrigo and Troye Sivan. Other artists that are scheduled for the series include YungBlud, Usher and Madison Beer.

Falling Or Flying is Smith’s second studio album, after her extended EP Lost & Found in 2021. The 2021 record, which included hit singles such as “Addicted” and “Gone”, was a commercial success for Smith – peaking on various charts around the world, including Australia, Belgium and Scotland. The record peaked at number nine on the UK Charts and hit number one on the UK R&B Albums Chart.

Her latest record has been praised by critics. Thomas Smith from NME gave the album four out of five stars and said that Smith “finds her rhythm with an expanded sonic palette… Flying or Falling was the record she was destined to make.” Meanwhile, Amiee Cliff from Pitchfork complimented the album’s daring freedom of exploring Smith’s relationship with fame.

Listen to Smith’s latest album on Spotify.

The 30-minute documentary will include the footage of the group’s debut appearance on Radio 1’s Live Lounge, the famed segment featured on the BBC Radio 1 station. The BBC film will not only chart the rise of BTS but will also examine the increasing popularity of the genre K-pop and the industry which has evolved the style. The Live Lounge broadcast will take place on Tuesday 27th July 2021 at 12 pm and will be available to view on Radio 1’s YouTube channel. Following the radio broadcast, the BBC One programme will air on Wednesday 28th July at 10:35 pm, the show will also be available on BBC iPlayer.

The hitmakers first performance and interview on the Live Lounge will be presented by Adele Roberts, Roberts who once participated in the reality TV show Big Brother is a regular presenter for the station’s segment. The group will perform versions of their successful single ‘Dynamite’ and will perform their new single ‘Permission to Dance’ as well as a cover of the gigantic hit ‘I’ll Be Missing You’ originally performed by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans.

Roberts took to her Instagram page to announce the news, the presenter also conveys her elation to be a part of the show.

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A post shared by Adele Roberts (@adeleroberts)

Radio host, Adele Roberts, has spoken on her excitement to be a part of the group’s appearance, the DJ also comments on the band’s accolades and immense popularity. “I am so happy for BTS fans worldwide especially our very own UK Army. They have been so passionate, so supportive and have hoped for a Radio 1 Live Lounge since the first time we played the band. Four years later, BTS have broken records, barriers & boundaries. That dream is now going to be a reality. I’m beyond excited for us to finally be hosting the biggest boy band in the world!”

The BBC documentary entitled ‘BTS @ Radio 1’ will begin by charting their initial relationship with BBC Radio 1, which saw the group’s first-ever radio play in 2017. Ever since their initial radio plays a supportive and large fanbase has developed across the world. Roberts will be conducting an exclusive interview prior to their Live Lounge appearance, where the presenter will reunite with the group.

Within the BBC film, Roberts will provide an insight into the moment that the group exploded after their hits were broadcasted on the BBC station. Viewers will also get the chance to see Roberts describe her experiences when the presenter set out to explore and document the popularity of BTS. Her exploration took her to Seoul in 2018, it was within this trip that the radio personality met with the group’s choreographer who is responsible for the band’s most beloved and infamous dance routines. Roberts also met with the minister for K-pop to further her understanding for the genre’s industry and the group’s large and loyal fanbase, faithfully called The ARMY. Within the documentary viewers will see the impact of The ARMY within the band’s victories and the sheer admiration in which the ARMY hold for the band.

BTS, otherwise known as the Bangtan Boys, are a south Korean breakout act from the newly popular music genre K-Pop. The band consists of seven members, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook. To say that the band are successful is a vast understatement, the seven-piece outfit have rocketed since their inception in 2013. The band are mainly popular with a younger audience and include topical and current themes within their music, their lyrics involve subject matter such as mental health issues, self-love and loss. The band’s music also deals with topics that are geared towards adolescent life, coming of age story themes are prevalent within their lyrics.

Their debut single album, ‘2 Cool 4 Skool’, was released on 12th June 2013 and was well received, the album sired two singles ‘No More Dream’ and ‘We Are Bulletproof pt. 2’, both released in 2013. The band’s second album, which was recorded and released in Korean, was their first big success and became their first step into stardom. The album entitled ‘Wings’ was released in 2016 and sold over 1 million copies in the band’s home country of South Korea. The band soon crossed over into global success, they were awarded the certification from the Recording Industry Association of American and became the first Korean group to receive the certificate, the award was for their single ‘Mic Drop’. The band would soon become the first Korean band to enter into the US billboard 200 Chart, doing so with their album ‘Love Yourself: Tear’ which was released in 2018. BTS would then obtain a Grammy nomination for their massive single ‘Dynamite’ which was released on 21st August 2020. Keeping in line with the band’s lyrical message, the release was meant to improve morale among the world during the COVD-19 pandemic. The single landed at number 3 within the UK Singles charts and became the catalyst for the group’s world domination.

The band have been compared to the Beatles due to their vast and endearingly loyal fan base, much like Beatle fever within the ’60s, BTS hysteria has ensued globally. The group’s success is not only based on their catchy hooks and relatable lyrical content but on a phenomenon, which has spread throughout the world. Due to these reasons, the BBC special along with the Live Lounge, is not just for diehard BTS fans but for music fans everywhere, giving an insightful look into a new and powerful genre of music.

Slowthai is fresh from the release of his sophomore album, ‘Tyron’, which has been met with acclaim from fans and critics alike. He’s got a massive arena tour on the way and is right at the peak of his powers. This week, Thai popped down to Radio 1’s legendary Live Lounge.

He took on The Verve’s legendary Britpop hit, ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ – an interesting choice to say the least. Slowthai moved away from his usual grimey, venomous delivery and exercised his pipes somewhat. There are moments on the new album, ‘Tyron’, where Thai softens up somewhat and Slowthai gives himself the chance to be more vulnerable and intimate.

The cover version, then, is pretty decent – although it’s split fans. Slowthai has a clearly talented band behind him who pull the strings and sound pitch perfect. Thai faces his band as he delivers Ashcroft’s lyrics in his unique style, they rattle through the track without a hitch – the backing band gives Slowthai enough space to do his thing and deliver the lines as he choses. The version is beautifully chilled and atmospheric. There’s a haunting quality to the instrumentals that make the track glimmer and shine

Thai also played a live version of album track ‘i tried’ – one of the softer and more intimate cuts from ‘Tyron’. Slowthai has quite a tour lined up, playing a series of intimate, low capacity shows before looking to tear up arenas at the start of 2022.

You can see Thai’s cover below, he also played a Live Lounge version of ‘i tried’ from second studio LP, ‘Tyron’.

Anne-Marie also performed a cover of Harry Styles’ hit song Watermelon Sugar, which has already hit 36,000 views. When asked about the cover by Clara Amfo, Anne-Marie said; “I just love this song so much” and adding “songs like that make me feel like I’m on a beach when I’m inside, so I appreciate that song Harry, thank you.” Clara asked Anne-Marie, if she is more of a One Direction fan or a Harry Styles fan, to which she replied; “I mean, I did like the One Direction songs, I did. Now they’ve gone solo, I’m loving their individual styles, I’m loving seeing their creative directions individually.”

Her stunning cover of the summer hit led fans to call for a collab between the two singers. A fan commented on the video saying; “my two fav London gems Anne-Marie and Harry styles. we need a collab.” Watermelon Sugar was the fourth single from Harry Styles’ second studio album Fine Line. The song became his first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

There will be new performances every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the month for Live Lounge Month 2020. The other acts on the line-up are Arlo Parks, London Grammar, Little Mix, Miley Cyrus and Yungblud. The sets will be aired during Clara Amfo’s show, which takes places Monday-Thursday from 11am-1pm on BBC Radio 1.

Anne-Marie rose to fame in 2016 when she featured on Clean Bandit’s Rockabye before she released her debut album Speak Your Mind in 2018. There have been a lot of hints already this year about Anne-Marie’s second album coming at some point this year, but at the moment there is still no date confirmed. Along with To Be Young, Anne-Marie has also released Birthday back in February, both are believed to be featured on the album. In recent weeks, she has appeared on Rudimental’s new song Come Over and This City with Sam Fischer.

Check it out the performance below:

McKenna released his sophomore album ‘Zeros’ last Friday to rave reviews and is likely to take the number one spot in the album charts this week. But he’s be competing head-to-head with the Rolling Stones’ reissue of their 1973’s ‘Goats Head Soup’, with Billy Ocean and Paloma Faith not far behind. If he clinches the top spot by this Friday, ‘Zeros’ will be the indie superstar’s first chart topper and first top 10 album.

Speaking to Dork last month about the album, McKenna said the pop heart of the album is informed by his inclinations for experimentation: “The songs that come to me naturally are just pop songs. I’m not trying to be a crazy math-rock artist or anything like that, but I like experimentation to be at the base of my work. I always end up writing pop songs, but there has to be something new about it for me. It has to feel fresh and give me that burst of energy you get when you hear a song you really like. I have to experience that with a song I’m writing, or I just give up straight away.”

And Mckenna has also been open about the struggles of recording an album and emerging as one of the biggest new artists of recent years, telling NME: “The most imposter syndrome I’ve ever felt is now,” he says. “I’ve just been sitting on an album for a year, and I have had too much time to ask myself questions about the musical direction I have gone in. When you get to that point, you begin to wonder if you are an absolute fraud.”

The artist performed a small, socially-distanced gig on September 4th in London to celebrate the release of ‘Zeros’.