Bad Bunny scored one of the night’s most coveted trophies, taking home Album of the Year for ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos‘ further cementing his status as a crossover force who moves freely between Latin music and the mainstream pop charts. The Puerto Rican star arrived at the show with six nominations and left having made history for Latin representation in the Grammys’ top categories. His win capped a year in which Spanish-language releases continued to dominate global streaming and festival lineups.

Kendrick Lamar reaffirmed his place as one of rap’s defining artists, converting a leading tally of nine nominations into multiple wins across the evening. He took Record of the Year for ‘Luther’, his collaboration with SZA, extending a run of critically acclaimed projects that have bridged commercial success and social commentary. Lamar’s victories follow his clean sweep at the 2025 Grammys and underscore the Recording Academy’s continued recognition of his ambitious studio work.

Pop icon Lady Gaga also enjoyed a strong night, collecting Best Pop Vocal Album for ‘Mayhem‘ a project that saw her return to high-energy, theatrical pop after recent project in film and jazz. She was also in the running for Song of the Year with ‘Abracadabra’ highlighting her continued presence in the Grammys’ most competitive fields. While she missed out on that top songwriting prize, Gaga’s wins reinforced her reputation as one of the ceremony’s most reliable performers and nominees.

For British artists, the 2026 ceremony proved especially significant. London singer-songwriter Olivia Dean was named Best New Artist, marking a major breakthrough on the global stage after several years of critical acclaim at home and steady chart growth. Fellow UK talent Lola Young won Best Pop Solo Performance for ‘Messy’ a confessional track that beat out previous Grammy favourites including Sabrina Carpenter and Gaga in one of the night’s most closely watched categories.

Beyond the headline names, the winners’ list showcased an eclectic mix of genres and generations. Billie Eilish took Song of the Year for ‘Wildflower’, while British veterans The Cure won Best Alternative Music Album for ‘Songs of a Lost World‘ reflecting how legacy acts and emerging stars continue to coexist on the Grammy stage. With nearly 100 awards handed out across pop, rap, rock, R&B, dance, global and classical fields, the 2026 edition painted a picture of an industry still dominated by a handful of marquee names but increasingly open to fresh perspectives from across the world.

However, Liam and Noel Gallagher still face tough competition. Last week’s chart leader, Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’, is trailing by just 500 chart units (number two), while Chappell Roan’s ‘Pink Pony Club’ remains a strong contender at number three.

Currently, Lamar‘s ‘Not Like Us‘ is topping the charts for the first time, having charted at number two last week, after a long climb that peaked after the artist’s much acclaimed Super Bowl Half time Show. It is the artist’s first song to achieve the number one position in the UK, after two albums have also claimed number one, most recently his latest release titled ‘GNX‘.

Chappell Roan‘s ‘Pink Pony Club‘ has also been climbing charts, and it has to yet to achieve the number one position. It debuted in mid-September of last year and currently the number three position is the highest it has ever been. If it achieved the number one position, it would mark the artist’s first song to ever do so, after ‘Good Luck Babe’ peaked at number two last year. ‘The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess‘, Chappell Roan’s debut album, has spent various non-consecutive weeks at number one.

Currently, Official Charts predicts Oasis’s ‘Whatever’ as number one, ‘Not Like Us’ by Lamar at number two, Chappell Roan at number three, Lady Gaga with ‘Abracadabra‘ at number four, and Benson Boone’s ‘Beautiful Things’ at number five. They also predict that chart topper ‘Messy’, currently charting at number two, will fall off the charts at the tenth position.

Furthermore, American singer Tate McRae could see a significant boost following the release of ‘So Close to What’. Her track ‘sports car‘ is on course to reach a new peak inside the Top 10 at number six, while ‘Revolving Door’ is set for a strong debut in the Top 20 at number seventeen.

Sam Fender’s ‘People Watching‘ is expected to re-enter the Top 10 after the release of his highly anticipated third album. Meanwhile, ‘Arm’s Length’ could climb higher, currently charting at number 13, and ‘Little Bit Closer’ is poised to make its chart debut. Official Charts has named Fender’s latest release the album with the biggest opening of the year with only a few days of tracking.

Another new entry to charts is expected to be Selena Gomez’s collaboration with fiancé Benny Blanco and rising pop star Gracie Abrams, ‘Call Me When You Break Up’, which is projected to debut on charts this week, marking Selena’s first Top 20 single in six years.

Abrams’s ‘That’s So True‘, which charted last week as number three has fallen to the fourteenth position, while ‘Apt’ by Rosé and Bruno Mars currently charts at number eight. While we predicted last week that Lady Gaga’s ‘Abracadabra’ would challenge Young’s ‘Messy’ for number one, the America Singer has yet to climb to that position and currently charts at number three.

1. Lola Young – ‘Messy‘

It is British pop sensation Lola Young’s fourth week as number one, after climbing charts for ten weeks. The song originally debuted at number 87, weeks after it was released on streaming platforms; its success is mainly to be attributed to its popularity on the TikTok platform, where it went viral last year. It is the artist’s first and only song to achieve the number one position, as well as her first song to ever chart.

2. Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us‘

Lamar’s latest album, ‘GNX‘, debuted at number one in the UK upon its release. ‘Not Like Us’ originally debuted on UK charts in May of last year at number 10 and eventually fell out of the top 20, charting at 94 two weeks ago. But with Lamar’s recent (and widely discussed) Super Bowl halftime performance, the song has once again climbed charts.

3. Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra‘

Last week, we had predicted that Gaga’s spell with ‘Abracadabra’ would claim the number one position over Young’s ‘Messy’, since it has debuted at number six with only a couple days of chart units. However, ‘Abracadabra’  has still to climb a couple positions before it can mark the artist’s fifth number one song.

4. Chappell Roan – ‘Pink Pony Club‘

After 13 weeks charting in the UK, this is ‘Pink Pony Club’s peak. The song was originally released in 2023, but it gained more and more popularity throughout the past year when Chappell Roan’s debuted album ‘The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess‘ peaked at number one. If the song managed to climb up the charts and reach number one, it would mark the artist’s first song to achieve the position.

5. Chrystal – ‘The Days‘

‘The Days’ is Chrystal’s first song to make it on the UK’s Official Songs Charts. It debuted at number 96 in late 2024 and has since been climbing up the charts, peaking at number four for three consecutive weeks. The song was originally released on TikTok, where it gained world wide attention.

When hosts Andy Goldstein and Darren Bent asked what he didn’t like about Lamar’s set, Gallagher said: “I didn’t watch it all, I just switched it off. There was like 300 people getting out of a car in the first two minutes”.

He carried on, saying: “But no I don’t like the halftime nonsense, it’s usually artists I don’t like.” When asked about his favourite past Super Bowl Halftime performances, Gallagher voiced his aversion for the show, saying: “I never watch it, I’m not interested it.”

Noel has been known to have a patchy relationship with hip-hop – when Jay-Z was announced as a headliner for Glastonbury 2008, he staunchly stood against it, saying: “I’m not having hip-hop at Glastonbury, it’s wrong.” Jay-Z hilariously responded in his set at the Pyramid Stage, miming to the Oasis hit ‘Wonderwall’ as his introduction.

When Kanye West headlined the festival in 2015, Noel slightly changed his tune, saying what he saw of Kanye’s set was “f***ing amazing”. In the same interview with NME, he said “I thought for half an hour it was f**king outrageous. It looked amazing on my iPad, I have to say,”

He continued: “Then, like most hip-hop gigs, after 45 minutes you’re going, ‘I want something else now’. But for half an hour it was as f**king good as it gets.”

In a recent feature for Far Out magazine, he shared praise for old-school artists like LL Cool J, Eric B & Rakim and Public Enemy, who he called “inspirational”. He told Portland Mercury in 2012 that “Nobody will ever be as good as Public Enemy or the Beastie Boys.”

Kendrick’s Superbowl set saw him include songs from his latest album ‘GNX’ like ‘peekabo’ and ‘TV Off’, older hits like ‘HUMBLE’, and his famed diss track for Drake, ‘Not Like Us’. He also brought some guests with him – SZA joined to sing ‘All The Stars’ and ‘Luther’, while Samuel L Jackson made a cameo as ‘Uncle Sam’ and Serena Williams was seen crip-walking on a podium.

@now Did you notice the call out? Because we did #kendrick #kendricklamar #kendricklamaredit #kendricklamarfan #notlikeus #notlikeuskendrick #sza #szasos #szaedit #allthestars #superbowlhalftimeshow #halftimeshow #halftimeshow2025 #superbowlhalftimeshow2025 #samuelljackson ♬ original sound – NOW

Critics have given high praise to the Superbowl performance, while some reviewers and fans haven’t shared the hype for Lamar’s show, slamming it as “boring”. The Guardian called it an “uneven but ambitious set that was arguably the most esoteric in the Super Bowl’s history, perhaps at the expense of landing a knockout blow.”

Surely Kendrick won’t mind the mixed opinions – since the performance, his streaming numbers have taken a big boost. His Spotify streams have seen an overall jump by 175 percent, with ‘Not Like Us’ seeing a massive increase in streams, by 430 percent. He’s also set a new milestone as the rapper with the highest monthly listeners in Spotify history – a record previously held by rival, Drake.

Both Kendrick Lamar and SZA are setting out on tour this year, and recently announced UK and European dates that will see them take over stadiums in cities like Glasgow, Cardiff, Birmingham, London and more. Tickets can be accessed here.

Already set to commence in North America in April, the highly anticipated tour will see two of music’s biggest names take the stage across the UK and Europe in July and August. Hosted by Live Nation, pgLang and Top Dawg Entertainment, the ‘Grand National’ tour will see the pair take over 13 stadiums across the UK and Europe, including shows in Glasgow, Birmingham, Cardiff and London. Fans can expect to witness worthwhile shows including the pair’s most notable tracks, fan favourites and their much-loved collaborations.

NEW SHOW Kendrick Lamar and SZA announce their co-headline Grand National Tour, coming to stadiums across the UK in July.

Tickets on sale this Friday at 9:00. pic.twitter.com/rUyANyd1t2

— ticketmasteruk (@TicketmasterUK) February 10, 2025

Lamar, who is nominated for ‘International Artist of the Year’ at this year’s BRIT awards, will return to the UK for the first time following his ‘The Big Steppers’ tour in 2022, whereas SZA last performed a headline slot at both Glastonbury and Hyde Park’s British Summer Time last year.

With a sonic relationship that spans over a decade, Lamar and SZA have collaborated seven times over the years, the first being in 2014 on SZA’s debut EP ‘Z’ with ‘Babylon’, which has garnered over 40 million streams on Spotify. Since then, the pair have brought enticing chemistry through seamless vocal delivery, perfectly conducted melodies and an extra layer of camaraderie to each of their collaborations. Most notably, their biggest hit featured in the 2018 Black Panther score, ‘All The Stars’, peaked at number 5 on the UK Official Singles Chart and has since gained almost 2 billion streams on Spotify. Most recently, SZA featured twice on Lamar’s newest number 1 album, ‘GNX’ on ‘luther’ and ‘gloria’.  It is evident, their collaborations are loved by fans, as much as the artists themselves, making the ‘Grand National’ tour a must-see for Lamar and SZA fans alike.

The announcement of the forthcoming tour followed the pair’s performance at this year’s Superbowl, where the hip-hop and alt-R&B artists performed a live debut of ‘luther’ before an effortless transition into much-loved favourite, ‘All The Stars’. As the pair continuously prove themselves as perfect collaborators, their ‘Grand National’ tour is in safe hands if their Superbowl performance is anything to go by! There is no doubt that tickets will high demand for this iconic tour of the summer.

@nfl #KendrickLamar and #SZA are the moment #NFL #AppleMusicHalftime @Apple Music @Roc Nation ♬ original sound – NFL

There will be various fan pre-sales taking place between Wednesday 12 February and Thursday 13 February, before general sale kicks off on Friday 14 February at 9am local time. Tickets can be accessed here.

Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” came back to the number one spot on charts last week, after the release of its extended version “The Anthology” on physical copies. It is the album’s tenth week at number one in the UK, and it marks Taylor Swift’s twelfth album at number one and thirtieth week at the top position. With “The Tortured Poets Departments: The Anthology” Swift made a career-marking album, which has broken records worldwide and quickly became a fan favourite.

Right after Swift, Sabrina Carpenter is still topping charts with her album “Short n Sweet”, currently on its sixteenth week in the top ten. The album previously peaked at number one on its debut week, and its singles made Carpenter this year’s charts queen. Ever since the album was released, it charted on the UK’s top three. “Short n Sweet” made Carpenter one of the biggest artists of the year, and perhaps of the decade. She will be headlining BST Hyde Park next summer, after her sold-out tour which will take her around the UK.

Michael Buble’s “Christmas” is currently at number three, but it’s likely that it will climb charts in the next couple weeks over Christmas. The album, originally released in 2011, is on its 117^th week on the UK’s top ten. It achieved the number one position various times in the past, spending six weeks at the top spot of charts in total. Buble’s climb is almost a yearly tradition, and the album has managed to make its way to the charts’ top ten every year since its release, achieving the number one in 2011, 2020, 2022 and 2023.

Rose’s album “Rosie”, released earlier this month, has climbed its way to number four on UK charts. One of the previously released singles, “APT”, in collaboration with Bruno Mars, has topped the songs charts for the past couple of weeks, becoming a worldwide hit. This is the album’s debut week on UK charts, but with the popularity of its singles it is likely that “Rosie” is here to stay.

At number five, Sabrina Carpenter debuts on charts with “Fruitcake”, a Christmas album originally released last year which is gaining popularity this year after Carpenter released her Christmas Special “A Nonsense Christmas” on Netflix, earlier this month. The album contains some new Christmas-themed songs, as well as some covers of all time Christmas classics.

Up next on the UK’s albums chart is Chappell Roan with “The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess”, on its 35^th week charting, followed by Charli xcx’s “Brat”, Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX”, Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft” and at number ten, The Weeknd’s “The Highlights”.

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Kendrick Lamar is a 37 year old, American rapper from Compton, California. With a career beginning in high school, he signed with Top Dawg Entertainment where he founded a group called Black Hippy in 2008. Following a successful album, he then signed with Interscope and Aftermath Entertainment, a company created by Dr Dre. He rose to prominence in 2012 with the release of his second album “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City”. He was ranked as the 9th greatest rapper of all time by Billboard in 2015, and then he was ranked at number two by Billboard in an updated list in 2023. In 2018 he received the Pulitzer Prize for Music, making him the first in his genre to do so.

Kendrick Lamar’s first album entry in the UK charts was the 2015 release “To Pimp a Butterfly”. He also has five top ten albums with another making it to the top 40. Though he has yet to receive a UK number one single, he has ten top ten entries and 25 top 40 entries, including the 2015 collaboration “Bad Blood” with Taylor Swift and collaborations with the WEEKND, Sia, Beyonce, and Maroon 5. His songs “Euphoria” and “Not Like Us” reached number 4 and 11 respectively. 

His newest album release “GNX” was an unpromoted, surprise album released last Friday, charting at number 1 on the chart on 29 November. Three songs from the album occupy spots 4, 5 and 6 on the official single charts for the period 29 November – 5 December. These songs are ‘Squabble Up’ (4), ‘Luther’ (5) and ‘TV On’ (6), topped only by a top three that have each been in the chart for over a month already. The album is a West Coast hip-hop album that seamlessly blends multiple genres, including both classical and contemporary hip hop as well as g-funk, R&B vocals and soul. 

After a year full of diss tracks and conflict with Drake (a conflict which resulted in the release of Lamar’s track “Not Like Us”) Kendrick Lamar released an album that NME said “showed the world that he would die for his pride in the scathing battle, igniting the fearless insolence that seeps into his latest album”. NME, who also called Lamar this year’s rap MVP, rating the album five stars, said “Lamar channels what could be interpreted as hate and negativity into a teachable moment, leading you to draw upon the purest emotion known to man: love. In a year that started with so much venom, Kendrick Lamar shares the antidote on ‘GNX’.”

Others have compared the album to the cultural phenomenon of an episode of Game of Thrones, saying, “a cultural moment of reception, that stopped the world for an hour or so.”, with The Guardian ranking the album a four out of five, and The New York Times adding comments such as “It all makes “GNX” less a coherent statement of purpose than a collection of approaches, a burning off of loose energy before something much more focused and contemplative. Call it the storm before the quiet.”

No matter what, the one thing that all reviews seem to have in common is that “GNX” is a statement, one that Lamar didn’t feel the need to promote because he simply knew the world would listen – all of the reviews and his standings on the chart are a testament to that.

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American singers Gracie Abrams and Gigi Perez hold their positions tight, and the latter is once again at number two with the viral hit “Sailor Song” which first begun getting recognition over tiktok. This is the first of Perez’s songs which achieves such popularity and success, being at its 18th week charting and having already achieved the first position. Currently, Perez counts almost 28 million listeners on spotify and a million followers on TikTok.

Rosè and Bruno Mars’s “Apt” is also firm on their number three position, on their sixth week charting. This is one of Rosè’s first releases as a solo artist, and its success is really a testament to the singer’s talent. It is also Bruno Mars’s second hit song this year, as he had previously peaked at number two with his collaboration with Lady Gaga titled “Die With a Smile”. 

British singer Sam Fender, who last week was peaking at number four with his song “People Watching” is now charting at number 11, at its second week charting. “The Door” by Teddy Swims, which we saw last week peaking at number 5, has now gone down to number 9 at its 32rd week charting. 

Instead, positions number four, five and six are now taken by Kendrick Lamar who has recently released his sixth studio album “GNX”. The first single off the album, titled “Luther”, a collaboration with SZA, is currently peaking at number five. The song “Squabble Up” holds number four and “TV off”, featuring Lefty Gunplay, holds number six. Lamar’s new album is expected to take over more sosta in the top ten chart in the upcoming weeks and is already gaining popularity and success at its first week on charts. The album is currently at number one on UK album charts. 

Number seven is, to no surprise, held by Wicked’s “Defying Gravity”: the iconic song originally performed by Idina Menzel, now in the movie version sung by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

Only a few days before December, positions 8 and 10 are taken by two of the most iconic modern Christmas hits: “Last Christmas” by WHAM and “All I want for Christmas is you” by Mariah Carey. Both songs have previously peaked at number one and have spent countless weeks in charts. Both songs are expected to rise as the Christmas excitement grows and are surely going to be some of the most played songs on radio for the upcoming month. 

International artists like Kendrick Lamar, Doja Cat and Paramore, are also represented for the international awards with multiple nominations, displaying how music videos are still important to the art of music for major artists, not just in the UK, but across the world.

Newer artists like New York artist, METTE and rapper Andrey Nuna are also represented across a plethora of awards as the awards put themselves at the forefront of cutting edge ideas in the realm of music videos.

Live videos also get a representation at the awards with artists like The 1975 being nominated for their Being Funny In A Foreign Language live video as well as live videos from Young Fathers and Jeshi.

The winners of the UK Music Video Awards will be announced at an award ceremony on October 26^th at the Magazine, a venue in North Greenwich, near the 02 Arena. Tickets can be found here.

Here is a selection of nominations for the awards:

Best Pop Video

Raye feat 070 Shake – ‘Escapism’

Lewis Capaldi – ‘Forget Me’

Sam Smith - ‘I’m Not Here To Make Friends’

Labrinth – ‘Kill For Your Love’

Harry Styles – ‘Music For A Sushi Restaurant’

Harry Styles – ‘Satellite’

Best R&B / Soul Video – UK

Joesef – ‘Just Come Home With Me Tonight’

Ezra Collective feat Kojey Radical – ‘No Confusion’

Grace Carter – ‘Pick Your Tears Up’

Ama Lou – ‘Silence’

Stormzy feat Raye – ‘The Weekend’

Jorja Smith – ‘Try Me’

Best Rock Video – UK

Shame – ‘Fingers of Steel’

Bring Me The Horizon – ‘LosT’

Elephant Kind – ‘Love As’

Royal Blood – ‘Pull Me Through’

Squid – ‘Swing (In a Dream)’

Squid – ‘The Blades’

Best Hip Hop / Grime / Rap Video – UK

Little Simz – ‘Gorilla’

J Hus – ‘It’s Crazy’

Stormzy – ‘Mel Made Me Do it’

Jords – ‘Mobay / Stay Close’

Loyle Carner – ‘Nobody Knows (Ladas Road)’

AntsLive – ‘Number One Candidate’

Best Pop Video – International

Priya Ragu – ‘Adalam Va’

Christina Aguilera – ‘Beautiful (2022 Version)’

Tove Lo – ‘Borderline’

Mette – ‘Mama’s Eyes’

Jung Kook feat Latto – ‘Seven’

Mette - ‘Van Gogh’

Best Rock Video – International

Grian Chatten – ‘All of the People’

The Hives - ‘Bogus Operandi’

Stolen Nova – ‘Glue’

Cari Cari – ‘My Grandma Says We Have No Future’

Paramore – ‘Running Out of Time’

Falling In Reverse – ‘Watch The World Burn’

Best Hip Hop / Grime / Rap Video – International

Doja Cat – ‘Attention’

Kendrick Lamar – ‘Count Me Out’

Benjamin Earl Turner- ‘Headspace’

Audrey Nuna – ‘Locket’

Travis Scott – ‘Sirens’

Biji – ‘Zigidi’

Rolling Loud Rotterdam is hosted by Woo Ha! and will kick off in the summer of 2023 at the Rotterdam Ahoy venue, located in the heart of what is The Netherlands’ second largest city and one of Europe’s primary seaports.  With the announcement of more acts to follow, the Rotterdam event is schedules to take place on June 30th – July 1st, 2023.  You can check the line-up as it stands so far, and grab pre-sale tickets, here.

Travis Scott will go on to headline Rolling Sound Portugal, which, this year, takes to the picturesque beaches of Portimao on the Algarve coast as a venue.  With announcements of the full lineup for the event to follow soon, presale tickets are currently available here.  The festival will take place on 5th – 7th July, 2023.

2023 looks to be a busy year for Rolling Loud’s organizers, as in addition to the Rotterdam and Portugal dates, Rolling Loud has events planned for Thialand in April, and California in March.  The California event will be headlined by Travis Scott, Future, and Playboy Carti.  July will also see the eight annual Rolling Sound flagship event returning to Miami on July 21st – 23rd.

Check out footage of Travis Scott performing “Stargazing”, live at Miami’s Rolling Loud in 2019.

Since its inception in 2015 by founders Matt Zingler and Tariq Charif, Rolling loud has earned global acclaim from critics and festival-lovers alike, with Variety calling the event “The biggest hip-hop festival in the country”, and Forbes describing it as “a lifestyle brand. They are more than just the shows. They have built a community with their consumers and are building new channels to maintain continuity”.  The festival’s 2022 headliners in the flagship Miami event included the likes of Kid Cudi, Kendrick Lamar and Future.  September 2022 brought the first ever Rolling Loud Toronto, where Future was joined by Wizkid and Dave, and Rolling Loud New York, where Nicki Minaj, Asap Rocky and Future took headlining slots.

For full details on all of Rolling Loud’s upcoming 2023 events, check out their website here.