However, fans of the “Speed Drive” star were left displeased with the decision to include Smith on the record. In a TikTok that was posted a few days ago by XCX, which confirmed the duo’s collaboration, many expressed that the “Unholy” singer should not be featured in the song. One user wrote: “Charli I want the version just yours”, whilst another person commented: “In The City ft Charli XCX and Charli XCX only please.”

@charlixcx this one is really cute and fun and i’m so lucky to have @Sam Smith ♬ In The City – Charli XCX & Sam Smith

Despite the negativity, XCX has hit back against those who were unimpressed with the choice to include Smith. The 35-year-old musician has now defended Smith in a new TikTok post. She said: “I’m about to release a song with Sam Smith and the experience so far has been really interesting because never in my life have, I seen somebody receive so many hateful comments. It’s been really disheartening, but at the same time I’m so proud of Sam’s ability to withstand that – because I know I certainly couldn’t.”  

@charlixcx♬ original sound – Charli XCX

The star continued: “So I just want to say Sam, I love you. I love our song together and I’m in awe of your strength.”  

The sweet message to Smith, who featured in XCX’s “Speed Drive” video in the summer, led to an array of fans to also leave kind words. One person wrote: “I love Sam Smith more than I can express. Their existence and persistence in this world is a guiding light for my own”. Meanwhile another person said: “The hate is so unnecessary, so excited for this new track from you guys!” 

Listen to “Speed Drive.”

“In The City” will mark the first collaboration between the two artists. Smith, who released his fourth studio album Gloria earlier this year, has been at the centere of public scrutiny over the past year. This has come because of a change in Smith’s evolution as an artist and performer. At the 2023 Brit Awards, the star received backlash over his performance of his smash hit “Unholy”, which featured singer Kim Petras. The performance, which received over 100 Ofcom complaints, faced a similar reception when the duo performed at the Grammys a week prior. The Grammy performance has led to many conservative US politicians branding the two as “satanic” and “evil”.  

Watch the “Unholy” performance at the Grammys.

However, this outrage did not affect the song’s commercial success. The track has gone on to receive multiple Platinum certifications across the world and was certified Diamond in France.

Charli XCX shared a preview of the track on her official TikTok page. The “Beg for You” singer captioned the post: “This one is really cute and fun and I’m so lucky to have Sam Smith on it with me.” Fans can pre-save the song here. 

@charlixcx this one is really cute and fun and i’m so lucky to have @Sam Smith ♬ In The City – Charli XCX & Sam Smith

The new song, which will be released next week, will mark the first collaboration for Charli XCX and Smith. Smith, who released his fourth studio album Gloria earlier this year, appeared in Charli XCX’s music video “Speed Drive” for the 2023 Barbie movie. The video, which has just under four million views on YouTube, received a positive reception. One person wrote: “The fact that she keeps her hyper pop/car aesthetic intact whilst adapting her music to her audience is actual talent”, whilst another person commented: “Charli XCX does it again. Seems like she’s never had a bad song release. Speed Drive doesn’t feel overwhelming nor underwhelming to listen to. It’s a bop that’ll continue sticking around with you for a long time. Kinda had this on repeat many times at this point.” 

Watch the “Speed Drive” video.

Charli XCX, who had teased the song last week on her Instagram, is gearing up for her next album. The “Fancy” singer, who earned the star the 2015 NME Award for Dancefloor Filler, released her last studio LP in 2022. Crash, the singer’s fifth album, became the star’s first album to top the UK Albums Chart with over 16 thousand copies sold in its first week. Across the pond, the album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 with over 31 thousand copies sold – becoming the 31-year-old “Boom Clap” singer’s highest charting album in the US. 

Listen to Crash on Spotify.

Whilst it remains to be seen if the star will top the success of her fifth studio album, the singer has been working on her next album. Last month, the star had shared several photos and a video on her Instagram in a gallery – and captioned the post “album 6 I guess.” The post, which received over 241 thousand likes, had fans buzzing with anticipation over her next project.  

The singer announced on Facebook on the 24^th April that the Birmingham concert, originally to held in Resorts World Arena on 25^th April, will be moved to 27^th May. Similarly, Smith had announced on the 21^st April that the Glasgow show scheduled for the following evening in Glasgow OVO Hydro would be rearranged for the 25^th May.

The announcements follow the “Unholy” singer and their team being taken unwell. When sharing that the Glasgow date would be rescheduled, they gave the statement on Facebook, “Sailors, I’m so sorry to say but we have to reschedule the Glasgow show to 25th May 2023. Myself and a lot of my team have been hit with a virus, that’s made us really unwell.” They continued to explain, “I want to give you the best version of Gloria the tour and at the moment that’s not possible. It was also really important to me that we had another date to move this to straight away. We will celebrate Gloria together!!”

All tickets sold for the original Birmingham and Glasgow dates will be honoured and valid on the rescheduled dates for May.

The Glasgow and Birmingham dates were supposed to be the fifth and sixth dates on Smith’s Gloria world tour in support of their fourth studio album. Gloria was released in January earlier this year and debuted at number one on the UK, Scottish, Irish, and Australian album charts.

If all things continue as planned, the artist will be touring around Europe for the remainder of April and May. Their next date is scheduled to be in Copenhagen on the 29^th April. After they visit Europe they will be heading back to the UK to play Manchester on the 24^th May and then the rescheduled dates for Glasgow and Birmingham. Sam will be supported by British singer-songwriter Cat Burns for the UK and European leg of the tour. For any remaining tickets see here.

This summer the popstar will tour around the States throughout July, August, and September. The Canadian singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez will be supporting them for the US dates. They will be ending their tour in Australia and New Zealand playing a handful of dates in October and November.

See below for the remainder of Sam Smith’s UK and Europe dates:

29/04/23 – Royal Arena – Copenhagen
01/05 – Mercedes Benz Arena – Berlin
04/05 – Avicii Arena – Stockholm
06/05 – Spektrum – Oslo
08/05 – Lanxess Arena – Cologne
09/05 – Ziggo Dome – Amsterdam
12/05 – Sportpalais – Antwerp
13/05 – Accor Arena – Paris
16/05 – Hallenstadion – Zurich
18/05 – Wiener Stadthalle – Vienna
20/05 – Unipol Arena – Bologna
21/05 – Pala Aliptour – Turin
24/05 – AO Arena – Manchester
25/05 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
27/05 – Resorts World Arena – Birmingham

Hundreds of exclusive releases have been announced within the official Record Store Day list, including this years RSD ambassadors, The 1975. The band will distribute limited edition LP, CD and Cassette versions of their BBC Philharmonic Orchestra performance of their second studio album, I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of it. The track list also features a version of ‘’Chocolate’’, which features on their EP, Music For Cars.

British Rock band, Rare Birds, will release a compilation of mixes, edits and B-sides from their album, A Flock of Seagulls. Single mixes and edits from their biggest hits ‘’Modern Love is Automatic’’ and ‘’I Ran’’ will appear on the limited edition release. It will also include B-Sides of singles originally on the album, such as ‘’Tanglimada’’ which is the B-Side to ‘’Telecommunication.’’ Alison Moyet – The Other Live Collection, will be an exclusive vinyl release on Record Store Day. The special edition was recorded during her 2017 tour, ‘The Other Tour’ and will include tracks ‘’All Cried Out’’ and ‘’The English U.’’ Bastille will also release a LP version of their Live MTV Unplugged performance, including their chart-topping single ‘’Pompeii’’ and an exclusive cover of ‘’Killing Me Softly.’’

Black Sabbath’s eighth album, Never Say Die, will be released as a special edition LP and be presented on a never-seen-before light blue splatter and transparent vinyl, also including a reproduction of the Ten Year War brochure. Duran Duran will release a collective of carnival remixes and night versions onto a LP format, for the 40th anniversary of their album release, Rio. Sir Elton John is also celebrating an album anniversary, as his sixth studio album Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only the Piano Player, was released 50 years ago in 1973. Exclusive to RSD 2023, the album will be distributed on coloured vinyl in an LP format. The album includes Elton John’s renowned singles ‘’Crocodile Rock’’ and ‘’Daniel.’’ The special edition will include a bonus disc of the album’s session demos.

2020 Rising Star Brit award winner, Celeste, will release a limited edition pink vinyl and six track extended play in celebration of Record Store Day. The EP is titled Lately, and will include an extended version of her track ‘’Strange’’ and her latest single ‘’To Love a Man.’’ The EP is an adaptation of her 2019 Lately EP, which was only released in North America as a limited run promo. In relation to Brits Rising Star winners, the 2015 recipient of the award, Sam Smith, will release a 7-inch vinyl of his track with Kim Petras, ”Unholy.” The vinyl will include the original song, as well as a remix by electronic duo, Disclosure. Jessie Ware will also celebrate RSD with the release of a 7-inch vinyl of her single ‘’Free Yourself.’’ Her fifth studio album, ‘That! Feels Good!,  is set the be released the week after Record Store Day.

Many worldwide renowned artists are celebrating and participating in Record Store Day UK. Fans can expect special edition releases from artists such as Slade, Björk, The Pogues, Stevie Nicks, Madonna, The Cure, Nas, Dolly Parton, Sam Fender, The Police, and many more…

To access the full list of official releases scheduled for the 2023 Record Store Day UK, click here.
To find your nearest record store participating in the 2023 Record Store Day UK, click here.

The duo, consisting of Sam Smith and Kim Petras, performed a dark, sinister-like yet entrancing performance on Saturday night. Which undoubtedly provoked a rummaged reaction from the rest of the world. The live delivery showcased a sexually naughty attitude involving black latex and leather outfits, devil horns, fire sparks and a bouncing car in the background. A show was requested and delivered no doubt by the pair.

Both their performances were strongly carried out, however, the Grammy’s performance was quite the milestone for the non-binary duo as it was the first ever award a transgender, Kim Petras, has ever won. Not too dissimilar to the Brits performance, it characterised a fiery satan-like tribute, dominated by a red setting, roaring fire, devilish backing dancers and Kim Petras locked in a cage. The obvious delegation of being unholy as being the devil.

Following up a week later with another “Unholy” performance, viewers haven’t been able to hold back in voicing their opinion about the disputed presentation. It is clear Smith was willing to cause some sort of controversy by displaying formerly known taboos on stage, as to which some saw as “Iconic” and others as “Idiotic”. Either way, an impact was certainly made.

Alongside this uproar, Sam Smith turned up at the BRITS with a remarkable fitting made by the indian designer known as Harri, famously recognised by his sculpture-looking designs. All eyes were on the voluminous, latex, inflatable-looking black suit. As eye catching as it was, however, it didn’t receive the most positive response one would hope for. Some claiming it to be an attention seeking move from the singer.

The singer didn’t go home with any awards that night after being nominated for Best Song of The Year and Best R&B/Pop Act. Both awards fell in the hands of the “As It Was” popstar, Harry Styles, who finished the night with an impressive four victories. Smith did, however, win the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the Grammy’s alongside Kim Petras.

“I’m impartial,” he says. This also marks the second year for the best artist prize, as the BRITs replaced best male and female awards with one gender-neutral category in 2022. Mo remains aware of the constant criticisms and Newsbeat aren’t the first ones to bring the matter up.

Mark Savage, a BBC Music correspondent interviews Mo about the music industry as a whole. Mo says, “No-one gets into this industry being like, ‘I must win this award, I must be nominated for that’. “And the people that are watching it, the young kids who are like, ‘Oh, I want to be like Adele or Beyoncé, or Sam Smith, they just want to be like their first idols. This is a celebration of music first.”

Mo likes the fact that artists are speaking out, as he uses a lot of music in his routines. He tells Newsbeat, “They’re being heard and their opinions are being listened to. It’s nice to be a part of musicians who are using their platform to have an opinion on society and life.”

Regardless of criticisms or non-criticisms, all eyes are focused on Mo within a second when he’s on stage. He confessed that he’d be lying if he said that wasn’t nervous ahead of Saturday. “This is a big occasion for me and for so many people,” Mo says. “I think it’s nice to have some nerves you know, I think the day I don’t have any nerves is the day that this is too normal.”

Mo shares what he has learnt from last year’s BRIT Awards as a ‘first-timer’ host. He says that he will “probably be a bit calmer than last year” when he was “shouting a lot”. “What you could expect is a bit more controlled chaos on my behalf. I’m doing a suit change as well so I’m doing two different colours. He tells Newsbeat.

In all seriousness, Mo expressed that this experience as a host from last year’s awards shaped his confidence in this year’s awards. He says, “Last year, I wasn’t that confident in doing it but I’ve kind of got one under my belt now.”

 He then went on to say, “I get so sick of people trying to change things without thinking of the long-term consequences, some of these things are an improvement, some of them are not.”, adding “[Freddie Mercury] was a musician, he was our friend, he was our brother. We didn’t have to stop and think: ‘Ooh, now, should we work with him? Is he the right colour? Is he the right sexual proclivity?’ None of that happened, and now I find it frightening that you have to be so calculating about everything.”. Today, however, May took to Instagram to defend himself. Blaming “predatory press hacks” that have unfairly made him seem “Unfriendly to trans people.”.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Brian Harold May (@brianmayforreal)

 He explains that his words were “subtly twisted”, and that his “heart is open as always to humans of all colours, all creeds, all sexes and sexualities, all shapes and sizes – and all creatures.”.

For the 2022 ceremony, the British male solo artist and British female solo artist categories will be replaced by a singular artist of the year award, and the same will be applied to the previously gendered international solo artist categories. Regarding the changes, BRIT’s Chair Tom March commented, “It is important that The BRITs continue to evolve and aim to be as inclusive as possible. It feels completely the right time to celebrate the achievements of artists for the music that they create, and the work that they do, irrespective of gender.”. Last year, British non-binary singer Sam Smith was left out of the categories despite being nominated for a number of other awards.

Queen and Adam Lambert are currently set to begin their UK and European ‘Rhapsody Tour’ in Belfast in May 2022, the tour was postponed in February 2020 after their Australian dates due to COVID-19. See here to get tickets. Since the last dates of the tour, drummer Roger Taylor has embarked on a series of solo shows in the UK. On the final night of the tour, October 22^nd, Taylor was joined by May for a surprise performance of a number of Queen classics, as well as a cover of Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti”. See a fan video of the performance below.

MUSIC FEEDS, the at-home festival for charity to help fight #FoodPoverty | 28/29 Jan | Tickets/info: https://t.co/E0otrImWt0 | 40+ unique artist performances to aid @FareShareUK @StagehandFund @HelpMusiciansUK
| Presented by @coopuk and @weareEBH #MusicFeeds pic.twitter.com/yBlQsDuTy7

— Everybody Belongs Here (@weareEBH) January 8, 2021

Presented by Everybody Belongs Here and Co-op UK, the festival will be in aid of FareShare, a charity fighting food poverty, as well as Help Musicians and Stagehand, who are currently helping musicians and stage crew who have been affected by the ongoing corona virus pandemic.

Jo Whitfield commented on the company’s collaboration with the music festival stating; “The pandemic has brought a sharper focus on issues such as food poverty and many in the music industry have seen their livelihoods disappear overnight because of lockdown restrictions. It’s right that we should lend our support and co-operate with musicians to raise awareness and raise funds for such vital causes.”

Festival founder Saul Davies added to the statement, speaking of the event with excitement and passion; “At Music Feeds you’ll get never-seen performances from leading artists, uncover new bands, and get up-close and personal with interviews. The festival will be broadcast to your Smart TV and devices over two nights, and festival goers can even join the sofa mosh-pit via the simultaneous Twitter listening party.”

The description included on the official website reads, “The #ILoveLive memorabilia prize draws were arranged to support the unsung heroes of the live music industry – the people behind the scenes that make the magic happen, the crew and the technicians. Most of these people are self employed and no shows means no income. Although Government support has helped, there are still many that have slipped through the cracks and need our support.”

Artists who donated prizes for fans to win via donation include Sam Smith, Radiohead, Robbie Williams, Melanie C, FKA Twigs, Foals, The Cure’s Robert Smith and many more. Prizes were incredible memorabilia such as Smith’s Schecter ‘Fibonacci Sequence’ UltraCure guitar, hand-painted lyrics by Florence and the Machine, Melanie C’s jacket worn on the Spice World Tour in 2019, and even FKA Twigs’ Commedia dell’Arte masks.

Friday I’m in love … https://t.co/RaA2vjgl84

— Stagehand (@StagehandFund) December 12, 2020

The founder of Stagehand Andy Lenthall told NME, “There are people who have been able to get alternative work, and there are people can survive on self-employment income support, and there are people who have been furloughed – but we’ve lost  lot of people due to redundancies and 20% of our self-employed crew have fallen through the cracks and had nothing.” As well as the money raised, GiftAid gave an additional £10,882 (estimated), bringing the total up to £546,722.

According to the Elton John AIDS Foundation, ‘Hosted by Reggie Yates the show will feature Sir Elton John and David Furnish as well as TikTok stars and celebrity guests. The show will also feature ‘critically acclaimed recording artist Rina Sawayama, BRIT Critics’ Choice Winner Sam Fender as well as OSCAR and Grammy-Award winning artist Sam Smith will also feature in the show.’ 

Sir John himself says that he is ‘excited to recognise World AIDS Day with TikTok and my Foundation this year to celebrate progress that we’ve made and mark what we can do collectively to end the AIDS epidemic.’ He expresses the desire to debunk the stereotypes surrounding HIV and AIDS and raise awareness amongst young people from all walks of life of how to have safe sex and keep themselves and others safe.

Since the focus of this campaign from the Elton John AIDS Foundation seems to be geared towards informing and educating young people, it makes sense that the decision was made to host the event on TikTok, a platform which is currently trending amongst the younger generation. In fact, it may well be the most popular platform amongst young people right now, having the advantage of only launching very recently, and so being able to both confuse the slightly older generations who are familiar with Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat, while making those in their teens feel like they have something to call their own.

The evidence of TikTok’s success is clear, with the now Facebook owned Instagram platform effectively copying and remaking in their own style the entire TikTok format of short video content combined with music, in their new Reels feature. The Elton John AIDS foundation have also struck on a winning note in their choice of special guests for the event. Most notably Sam Smith, who’s latest single ‘Diamonds,’ reached number 11 in the UK single’s chart.

Sam Smith has also recently made headlines by choosing to eschew conventional gender stereotypes by opting to be referred to as they or them rather than any gendered pronoun. This has made Sam Smith something of a hero for the LGBTQ movement in the UK in a similar way that Sir Elton John has been throughout his decades long career.

Sir Elton John released ‘Jewel Box,’ this year on vinyl, CD and on streaming platforms, a collection of B-sides and rarities spanning his extensive career from ‘1965 to 2019.’ The collection can be streamed now on Spotify or other streaming services and can also be bought on CD for £79.99 including a limited edition A2 artwork poster. The album collection was also available as a set of 9 LP Vinyls although these have sadly now sold out.

Sir Elton John is set to tour starting in October 2021, full UK dates are as follows:

30/10/2021 – AO Arena – Manchester
02/11 – The O2 – London
03/11 – The O2 – London
05/11 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
07/11 – The O2 – London
09/11 – The O2 – London
10/11 – The O2 – London
12/11 – The O2 – London
14/11 – The O2 – London
16/11 – The O2 – London
17/11 – The O2 – London
19/11 – AO Arena – Manchester
21/11 – Resorts World Arena – Birmingham
23/11 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham
24/11 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham
27/11 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool
28/11 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool
01/12 – AO Arena – Manchester
06/12 – Odyssey – Belfast
09/12 – The Event Complex – Aberdeen
10/12 – The Event Complex – Aberdeen
13/12 – The SSE Hydro – Glasgow
14/12 – The SSE Hydro – Glasgow