History was made last night when Bengali singer Arijit Singh performed before more than 40,000 fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. The venue, which has hosted global stars such as Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons, became the stage for Singh’s landmark appearance as the first South Asian artist to headline a major UK stadium.

“He’s doing this to show the sheer power of him as an artist, but it’s also an incredible statement of Indian culture in the west,” South Asian BBC presenter Nihal Arthanayake said.

Though not a household name in the west, Singh is one of the most listened-to artists on Spotify, boasting nearly 50m monthly streams. His relative anonymity outside of South Asia is often attributed to his lyrics being performed in Hindi and Bengali, as well as his reserved personality that keeps him away from the media spotlight.

Singh was born in Jiaganj, West Bengal, into a family of musicians and began playing music at the age of three. His breakthrough came in 2013 with “Tum Hi Ho,” the lead track for the Bollywood romance Aashiqui 2. The ballad dominated charts across India, cementing Singh’s status as one of the country’s most important voices.

As a playback singer, Singh belongs to a central tradition in Bollywood, lending his voice to songs that actors later perform on screen. This unique role has given him an unmatched reach, with his voice tied to many of India’s most memorable films of the past decade.

During the performance, Singh included “Sapphire”, a multilingual track co-written with Ed Sheeran. Though Sheeran was not present at the concert, the song marked a notable moment in Singh’s set, highlighting his expanding global reach and cross-cultural collaborations.

Their partnership has drawn international attention, with Sheeran previously sharing that he was first captivated by Singh’s voice after hearing his 2013 hit “Tum Hi Ho.” He later described Singh as “one of the most soulful artists I’ve ever heard.”

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The concert lasted more than three hours, with Singh moving fluidly between styles and instruments. He performed a retro rendition of “Saariyya” that caught long-time fans off guard, alongside modern, myth-driven pieces that highlighted his experimental side. His setlist balanced Indian classical instrumentation with contemporary arrangements, showcasing his versatility as both a vocalist and a musician.

The stadium was nearly at full capacity, with the majority of the audience made up of fans from London’s South Asian community. For many, the night was not only a concert but also a rare moment of cultural representation on one of the UK’s largest stages

With his Tottenham show, Singh proved that his artistry transcends language and geography. As Arthanayake put it, the night was as much a celebration of Indian culture in the west as it was a triumph for Singh himself—a once-in-a-generation voice finally recognised on the scale it deserves.

The industry is starting to become more vocal of allegations following the recent claims against film producer Harvey Weinstein. Accusations that Weinstein has harassed and sexually abused many women he has worked with over the years, is all coming to the surface now. Women from across the film business are pulling together to become more confident in speaking out about their experiences with Harvey. Some of these woman include big names such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Rosanna Arquette and Angelina Jolie.

This has kick-started a #MeToo campaign on social media, where many women are using it to speak out on their own sexual abuse and harassment experiences together and supporting each other with their honesty and courage. Actress and singer Alyssa Milano was the one who first started it, and it has certainly spread like wild fire, as thousands of women have reacted back to it to share their stories. This domino effect on speaking out is urging bigger names to discuss their opinions on the subject.

If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet. pic.twitter.com/k2oeCiUf9n

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 15, 2017

#MeToo

— xoxo, Gaga (@ladygaga) October 15, 2017

Yep being sexually harassed on the streets of London is a daily part of most women’s lives! Needs to stop.

Me too https://t.co/ScX67Kmmiy

— Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) October 15, 2017

— Hannah Reid (@HannahfmreidLG) October 16, 2017

Among these replies London Grammar singer Hannah Reid spoke about how catcalling on the streets of London needs to stop, as it is ‘create’s such an atmosphere of intimidation and is often not regarded as sexual harassment’.

Extremely popular British musician Ed Sheeran contributed to this in conversation with Sky News, explaining how “he’s never came across it, but its definitely a thing that happens in both industries”. Regarding the #MeToo campaign, the Grammy award winning and multi million selling artist said: “I think it’s dreadful that this sort of stuff didn’t get talked about before. It’s nice that it is being brought to light now.”

Our very own National treasure Tom Jones, also in interview, spoke about the existing abuse not only in the entertainment industry but also how it is evident within the music industry. Adding that it isn’t just woman that may be getting harassed, it’s men too.

Jones was talking to BBC Radio 5 today to express his opinions on the recent Weinstein allegations for his decade of sexual abuse claims, and the Welsh OBE awarded singer said how the same goes for record contracts as it can to get a film contract. “You hear people complaining about it, being expected to do things for a record contract”. Tom also went onto say “There were a few things like that. But you avoid it. You just walk out… But what’s tried on women is tried on men as well.”

He then went onto reminisce on his own experiences, saying “It wasn’t bad, just somebody tried to pull… it was a question and I said ‘No thank you.”

Weinstein is now facing criminal investigations after being sacked from his company. Taking a stronger stance on fighting sexual harassment is becoming larger and if you do need any advice regarding this issue please click here.

You’d only have caught it at the time if you’d been up with the birds though, as Ed posted the tracks even slightly before the promised 5am release time. Sheeran announced the news on Instagram, writing, ‘Cause I’ve been away for a bit here’s two singles rather than one.’ He added, ‘Hello 2017! I’ve been working hard on the new material and I hope you can be as excited about it as I am. I really wanted to show two different sides to my music that I’m equally as passionate about and I just knew I wanted to roll with two songs at the same time. I’m absolutely buzzing to be back.’

‘Shape of You’ is not exactly typical Sheeran, although perhaps it does represent a progression from the stripped down acoustics of ‘Plus’, via the more produced and pop-y ‘Multiply’, to the synthesised sounds of this track. His label, Atlantic’s, view on the track is that it ‘dismantles and rebuilds modern pop music using little more than a loop pedal.’ You can check out the track below:

For Castle on the Hill, which you can listen to below, Sheeran enlisted some writing help from Benny Blanco, the Virginian rapper who has previously worked with Sheeran on his smash hit ‘Don’t’, while ‘Shape of You’ was written by Johnny McDaid, the Northern Irishman previously of Vega4 who has previously worked with Example to co-write ‘Say Nothing.’

To honour the release of the tracks, Ed co-hosted the Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Scott Mills, and ended up revealing quite a bit about the process that finally lead to the tracks being released to the public at 5.30am this morning. He said that actually, there were quite a few people out there in the world who’ve heard the tracks before thanks to impromptu performances; ‘The funny thing is while I have music waiting to be released I usually end up playing it to random people. Normally when I’ve been out drinking I’ll be like, ‘Hey mate do you want to hear my new song?’ that happens a lot!’ Sheeran also revealed that he had initially written ‘Shape Of You’ with the intention of offering Rihanna the chance to sing it. Eventually, however, he decided against it, admitting, ‘I was singing some of the lyrics and was like Rihanna is not going to sing these words so kept it to myself.’

Ed was photographed recording the video for Castle On The Hill in Suffolk last year, a county which he adores, describing the track as ‘a love song’ for the place he calls home. The video also features a sixteen-year old lookalike sporting a fine crop of Ed’s trademark ginger hair, whom Ed enlisted for the task. ‘The main guy who looks just like me is weirdly from my sixth form.’