Miley Cyrus
@vijatmMiley Cyrus has made the cut for Forbes’ annual 30 Under 30 List, and the singer took to Twitter following the announcement on Wednesday (Dec. 1) to express her gratitude.
“FORBES 30 UNDER 30,” the singer captioned a video from her 30 Under 30 shoot. “I turned 29 last week. It was now or never. Thank you for the honor. @Forbes @happyhippiefdn @gucci.”
“Songwriting is the greatest joy that I have in my life. It’s my favorite element of what I do. Taking it in and being grateful every day for the fact that I write songs for a living because a lot of people write songs and it doesn’t get to be what keeps their lights on and for me to be able to be one of those people, I never forget how lucky I am,” the 29-year-old said.
She continued, “With anything, distance makes the heart grow fonder so having that distance from my fans for the longest I’ve ever had since I was 12 years old, almost two years separated from me and my audience, the pandemic kind of reignited and just lit that spark again for me, the gratitude that I have to be a live musician, first.”
In addition to being selected to be a part of this year’s list, Cyrus also served as a judge for selecting this year’s other honorees, which include Olivia Rodrigo, Jack Harlow, Willow Smith, Tinashe, Don Toliver and Remi Wolf. Cyrus was previously selected to be a part of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in 2014, but has been invited back for 2021 due to having six albums chart within the top five on the Billboard 200 over the years, her Happy Hippie Foundation (which supports LGBTQ+ and at-risk youth), her investments in FanMade and feminine product company Hers.
See Cyrus’ celebratory tweet below.
Sharleen Spiteri joined BBC Radio 2’s The Sara Cox Breakfast Show ahead of Texas taking the stage to launch the main live music programme at Radio 2 in the Park in Stirling.
Checking in from rehearsals, the Texas frontwoman spoke about getting ready for the band’s opening performance at City Park. Radio 2’s annual flagship festival takes place there from 11 to 13 September 2026. "I’m match fit because I’ve had a couple of days’ rehearsals," Spiteri said. "We’re kicking the whole weekend off, which we’re very much looking forward to, so everybody’s got to get ready to party."
Before the live acts take over, Friday’s DJ Pre-Party gets the weekend started with Radio 2 favourites Sara Cox, DJ Spoony, Gary Davies, Michelle Visage, and Rylan behind the decks.
Jo Whiley helped set the mood with a special programme from Stirling’s Tolbooth venue. Working with BBC Introducing Scotland, the broadcast put the spotlight on Scotland’s emerging music scene through performances and conversations with Fright Years, Alice Faye, and James Emmanuel.
Fright Years, a four member band from Edinburgh, played "Never Been Wrong" and offered their take on Simple Minds’ "Waterfront." Glasgow singer and songwriter Alice Faye, the BBC Introducing in Scotland 2026 winner, paired "Some Brief Encounter" with a rendition of Lulu’s arrangement of "I Started a Joke." James Emmanuel, who was born in Nigeria and now lives in Edinburgh, sang "Brothers & Sisters" before taking on Chaka Khan’s "I’m Every Woman."
"We’re all about celebrating BBC Introducing and all the music that’s come out of Scotland," Whiley told listeners. "It's about celebrating the local music scene and the incredibly important work that BBC Introducing does to support independent, up-and-coming artists."
Joining the conversation were Stephanie Cheape, presenter of BBC Introducing in Scotland, Tara McLoughlin, venue manager for Stirling Council, and student radio presenters representing the University of Stirling’s Air3 Radio.
Listeners can catch the complete interviews and live performances from the weekend’s programmes on BBC Sounds.