Set in a big, artfully lit studio, London Grammar’s Live Lounge session has a specific ambience to it. Hannah Reid’s haunting voice carries the first verse and chorus, before Dan Rothman comes in with the guitar and triggers the recognisable riff from The Weeknd’s chart topping hit. The London Grammar cover actually bears more resemblance to some of The Weeknd’s earlier work.

Alongside their cover, London Grammar performed their own newest single, ‘Baby It’s You’. This was released in August as the lead single on their upcoming album – the details of which, the band are keeping a secret for now. ‘Baby It’s You’ was favourably received by critics, but it was exceptionally well received by fans, who have been waiting in anticipation of London Grammar’s next move since 2017’s Truth Is A Beautiful Thing.

Fan support extended to their Live Lounge session, as proved by the comments section of the two Youtube videos. One fan enthusiastically declared that “everything they touch turns to gold. Outrageously talented band.” In an Instagram post, Radio 1 called their cover “spine tingling.”

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Spine tingling performance from @londongrammar today in the #LiveLounge They performed ‘Baby It’s You’ and a beautiful cover of @theweeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ Listen again on @bbcsounds or watch it @bbciplayer

A post shared by BBC Radio 1 (@bbcradio1) on Sep 22, 2020 at 12:44pm PDT

Blinding Lights is the hit from The Weeknd’s latest album, After Hours. Just yesterday, it broke the record for the most weeks spent in the Top Five of the Billboard Hot 100. Spending 28 weeks there, it passes previous record holder, Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape Of You’. Elsewhere, The Weeknd has been busy in collaboration with Calvin Harris on their new single ‘Over Now’. The single is a unique combination of the two artists’ talents, but fans have noted influences ranging from Michael Jackson to Daft Punk.

London Grammar’s Live Lounge session is part of Radio 1’s Live Lounge Month throughout September. The return of Live Lounge Month was announced a few weeks ago. It takes place on Clara Amfo’s show, with new sets every Tuesday and Thursday, and classic favourite sessions on Monday and Wednesday – including Harry Styles, Demi Lovato and Usher. The lineup of new artists for Live Lounge Month is below.

At the time of announcement, Clara Amfo said, “I am absolutely delighted that Live Lounge Month is returning in September! Live music is an infinite source of joy and something that I know we have all missed terribly over the past few months. From rapidly emerging artists, to our established faves, I can’t wait to hear what all our Live Lounge artists have lined up for us!”

Live Lounge Month Line-up (in alphabetical order!)

Anne-Marie
Arlo Parks
Biffy Clyro
Declan McKenna
Jorja Smith
Little Mix
London Grammar
Miley Cyrus
YUNGLBUD

The group kicked off the set with their latest single ‘Holiday‘, released on 24th July 2020 with a music video that currently stands at 8 million views. This was the first live radio performance of the song, as host Clara Amfo pointed out, commenting, “That was gorgeous!”

‘Holiday’ was followed up by a cover of Harry Styles’ ‘Falling’ from his 2019 album ‘Fine Line’. The emotional track was gracefully performed by the band with a bittersweet piano accompaniment, as they transformed the track by changing the melodies, tempo, time signature, and vocal tones.

Listeners were blown away by this entirely new take on the song, as well as the professional sound, saying, “Oh my gosh, no words. This cover is insane! I didn’t know it was possible to love Little Mix even more than I already did.” Afterwards, the band all let out a sigh of relief after being incredibly nervous to sing the challenging version of the song.

Between singing, the four members – Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall, Jesy Nelson, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock – chatted to Amfo about everything from TikTok, to meeting Jessica Alba, to the Little Mix 10th anniversary, coming next year. The videos will be available soon on the Live Lounge YouTube channel, but for now the full radio show is up here.

We’re falling pretty hard for @LittleMix‘s @Harry_Styles Live Lounge cover, tbh #R1LiveLoungeMonth pic.twitter.com/GzXkL0Kjaj

— Sony Music UK (@SonyMusicUK) September 15, 2020

‘Holiday’ is one of the singles to be shared so far from Little Mix’s new era, and potentially a new album. Apart from this release, and previous single ‘Break Up Song’, there have been no further news.

Little Mix formed in 2011 when the four members all auditioned for The X Factor as soloists and were asked to return as a group. They went on to win and sign to Simon Cowell’s label Syco, releasing five albums before signing with RCA Records. The band have won two Brit Awards and done a lot of work to combat cyber-bullying, support women’s and LGBTQ+ rights, along with supporting many charities and organisations.

Playing two of her originals and two surprise covers, the artist’s signature warm and husky vocals were supported by an interesting musical arrangement for Cyrus. Each social distancing and wearing masks, the band consisted of a pianist, a cellist, a drummer, and two guitarists who also provided backing vocals.

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Honored to be the 1st performing for @bbcradio1 Live Lounge Month 2020! Link in stories to see more…. @billieeilish “my future”…..

A post shared by Miley Cyrus (@mileycyrus) on Sep 1, 2020 at 9:49am PDT

The songs of choice began with ‘Midnight Sky’, the most recent release from the singer and first single from her next album.  She commented, “There’s a lot of pressure when it comes to releasing the first song. I thought that lyrically and sonically this was a good reflection of where I’m going,” going on to reveal that the song was only written six weeks ago.

Following this was 2019 single ‘Slide Away’, which Cyrus belted out with beautifully emotive performance. She described the song as “a point of reference of the growth and of my journey over the past year and a half.”

Next came two covers, starting with The Eagles who were a huge influence to Miley Cyrus in the former years of her career. Originally steady and clean, ‘Take It To The Limit’, she stayed true to the heart of the song, tuning into the country feel.

Finally, a surprising cover from the artist, ‘My Future’ by Billie Eilish, only released at the end of July. Cyrus landed perfectly on the jazzier notes of the song, bringing her unique power to the vocals and a filled out instrumental. She explained how important self-acceptance is to her, especially as a woman, calling Eilish a “really healthy role model” for young girls. The reaction from fans was incredible, showing their support online and sending comments to the show. For those who missed it or simply want to listen again, the show is available now on Radio 1 Sounds, with three videos released on the Live Lounge YouTube channel.

As only the first live lounge performance of the month, it was an astounding success, with more to come. Artists including Yungblud, Little Mix, Biffy Clyro, Jorja Smith, Declan McKenna, Annie Maire, and Arlo Parks will appear on the show throughout September, so stay tuned for more.

Every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the month, there will be new performances by artists such as Anne-Marie, Arlo Parks, Biffy Clyro, Declan McKenna, Jorja Smith, Little Mix, London Grammar, Miley Cyrus and Yungblud.

The sets will be aired during Clara Amfo’s show, which takes places Monday-Thursday from 11am-1pm. But don’t worry if you miss the show, the performances will also be available to watch on the Radio 1 iPlayer channel. Apart from the new sets, Clara Amfo will also play old Live Lounge performances by the likes of Harry Styles, Usher and more every Monday and Wednesday.

Delighted live music is slowly returning! Even getting as far as announcing the lineup for Live Lounge Month has demanded a colossal effort from so many people – BBC and artist/label partners alike – under the uniquely challenging circumstances of 2020. Thank you all! https://t.co/1aE29ukfpW

— Chris Price (@chrispricey) August 20, 2020

Talking about his involvement, “Strawberry Lipstick” hitmaker Yungblud has said: “Playing the Live Lounge was always a massive dream of mine – I used to have the CDs as a kid. To do it last year was so insane, but this time I have eight months of repressed energy and a whole lot of fire to get out. So, bring your petrol!”

And Arlo Parks added: “Dang another dream coming true!! I’m playing the Live Lounge for the first time in September – 16-year-old Arlo would be proud I think – I used to watch these on YouTube till 3am.” Biffy Clyro, who are also set for playing at the Live Lounge, are releasing their new album “A Celebration Of Endings” recently (14th August) and have a sister album coming up soon, so who knows, we might get to hear some of the new tunes sooner than we thought.

Another special performance is the one of London Grammar, who returned with new music, after three years of being away, on Wednesday, 19^th August, so there’s a likely chance of getting to hear their new song “Baby It’s You”. Whether it’s going to be the artists own songs or a cover (like Little Mix, who asked their Twitter followers what cover they’d like to hear in the Live Lounge), if you want to listen to the Live Lounge Month, just head over to Radio 1 daily all throughout September.