MUSIC PREMIERES

Hits Radio Live

By Graham Clark
December 04, 2024
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Returning to the BP Pulse Arena for the annual Hits Radio Live concert in Birmingham, this year’s concert celebrated all that is good about the UK music scene. Hosted by Hits Radio, the UK’s premier radio network for the latest hits and biggest throwbacks, the station has the ability to feature some of the biggest names in the pop world.

Opening up the evening Sigala warmed up the audience with a run through some of his biggest tracks accompanied by a spectacular light show. Making an effort by dressing up for the occasion Pixie Lott surprised with her new single Anybody Else which marked a maturity in her music though it was the old favourites Mama Do and All About Tonight which resonated with the audience.

Fresh from representing the UK in this years Eurovision Song Contest Olly Alexander decided not to feature his new track, Polari, instead concentrating on his big hits. Backed with two vocalists it was his biggest Years and Years hit, King where he really triumphed.

Tom Grennan used his twenty minute slot wisely, as he provided an energetic and consummate performance that showcased his melodic songs to full effect; A Little Bit of Love will probably still be played on the radio and remembered in twenty years time, such is the quality of the song. As he concluded with By Your Side, Grennan had provided the best performance of the first half of the evening.

Joel Corry, looking like he had just returned from the gym, opened up the second half of the show with a selection of top tracks, including some throwbacks such as the Flo Rida track, Good Feeling.

As Leigh- Anne arrived on stage with her two dancers, she looked absent without the other members of Little Mix, her former group. In a bass heavy set the new songs sounded like they had been heavily influenced by South African singer Tyla with Stealin’ Love being her best number.

Wearing a new blue hat, Tom Walker and his band gave his second performance of the night having supported The Script as the nearby Utilita Arena. The likeable Walker excelled on Just you and I as the arena lit up in a sea of lights as tge fans held their mobiles in the air.

For a group who has been going for over twenty years that has not had a big chart hit recently who can headline either demonstrates the current state of the lack of big newcomers in the pop world, or conversely shows that Sugababes and their music are timeless.

Backed by a competent band the three piece excelled on Freak Like Me and naturally Push the Button ending a night where Hits Radio Live appeared to push all the right buttons successfully.

MUSIC PREMIERES

‘The Afterparty’ Review: Lykke Li Crafts a Brief but Emotional Experience

By Andrew Trendell
May 11, 2026
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Lykke Li didn’t hold back when speaking about the making of her sixth studio album, ‘The Afterparty’, during a listening session in Los Angeles earlier this year. “Let’s talk about the album. It was a motherfucker to make,” she admitted to the crowd. While balancing motherhood, the chaos of modern culture shaped by Trump and AI, and her own desire to create something more “extroverted, impulsive and chaotic” than ‘EYEYE’, as she previously shared with NME, the Swedish alt pop star arrived at a headspace that “feels like it’s 4am and the sun is going to rise”. The record captures that blurry final moment before regret, exhaustion and reality settle in, which makes it even more emotional considering she has hinted this could potentially be her final album.

There is something fitting about how brief the project feels. With only nine tracks running across 24 minutes, it never overstays its welcome. Lykke immediately drops listeners into the atmosphere with opener ‘Not Gon Cry’, painting a picture of those lonely early morning hours with the line, “No angels here tonight, no dancing queens.” Alongside the shadowy pulse of ‘Happy Now’ and the twisted disco energy of ‘Lucky Now’, she revisits the emotional yet dance driven spirit of her earlier material while blending in the sharper, more confident attitude heard on ‘So Sad, So Sexy’ and the shimmering influence of her 2019 Mark Ronson collaboration ‘Late Night Feelings’.

The emotional fallout begins to settle in quickly. ‘Famous Last Words’ carries a lush orchestral sadness as Lykke reflects on lessons that only came after years of chaos and late nights, confessing, “I had to crash and burn to tell the tale.” Then comes ‘Future Fear’, a delicate acoustic track with robotic textures that stares directly into anxiety and uncertainty with the chilling question, “I’m going to a dark place, do you need anything?” Meanwhile, ‘So Happy I Could Die’ glows like sunrise after a sleepless night, holding onto fleeting moments as she sings about “slipping through the hourglass”.

Throughout the album, Lykke Li vividly captures the beauty and wreckage of reckless nights with the vulnerability that has always defined her music. On ‘Sick Of Love’, she channels heartbreak into revenge, wanting to “make you beg for it” after rejection in a way that feels spiritually connected to Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’. One of the strongest moments arrives with ‘Knife In The Heart’, a track that fully embraces her desire to become the “rock god” and “fuck boy” she spoke about, firing back at anyone who tries to tear her down with the words “you can spit, you can walk on me” while delivering one of the catchiest songs she has created in years.

Closing track ‘Euphoria’ leaves behind the same bittersweet feeling that runs through the rest of the album. With sweeping strings, pulsing beats and emotional intensity, Lykke Li reminds listeners that nothing lasts forever as she sings, “Player play your song, waste the night away”. Like the fading energy of the perfect night out, ‘The Afterparty’ ends in a haze of beauty and uncertainty. If this truly is her farewell, she leaves with one final intoxicating statement, though it still feels like there could be another chapter waiting.