NEWS
Jacob Alon recently opened up to NME about collaborating with longtime inspiration Kae Tempest, while also sharing why they continue to admire artists who speak openly on political and social issues.
The Scottish singer songwriter spoke with NME backstage at the Ivor Novellos last Thursday, May 21, where they picked up both the Rising Star award and Best Song Musically and Lyrically for ‘Don’t Fall Asleep’.
The recognition follows a huge year for Alon, who also earned the Critics’ Choice Award at the 2026 BRITs and became the first Scottish artist to win BBC Music Introducing’s Artist of the Year title.
The success arrives alongside the release of their highly praised debut album ‘In Limerance’, which came out last year and led to a support slot on Kae Tempest’s recent ‘Self-Titled’ tour. During those shows, the pair performed a moving rendition of George Michael’s ‘Freedom’ together. Speaking backstage at the Ivors, Alon also confirmed that they have recently been in the studio with Tempest working on new music.
“Kae is one of my absolute heroes,” they said. “We’ve been in the studio this week actually, writing together. I’ve never felt closer to another creative mind before.”
Although Alon avoided revealing too much about the collaboration, they described the experience as “the biggest privilege to witness his genius and to be in the presence of something raw and beautiful”.
They went on to say they are “really excited for the world to witness” the music they have been creating together.
The ‘Of Amber’ artist also spoke with NME about the importance of using their platform to stand up for causes they care deeply about. In recent months, Alon held a Palestinian flag during the BRITs and appeared at the Trans Mission event in London, where they defended those being “scapegoated by people who want to distract everyone from the real problems in society”.
“I’m endlessly inspired by those that use their voices and their platforms to speak out about what matters. I’m trying to do that myself,” Alon explained to NME. “It’s not easy to know what the right thing to say is sometimes, but I think the effort made to do that is always worthwhile.”
The remarks echo comments Alon previously shared with NME at the BRITs earlier this year, where they said they believe “music is important and can make a difference”, while also teasing a brighter direction for future releases compared to their emotional and introspective debut album.
“Going into making something new, it’s already different. It’s a different place to create from because now I know what’s out there,” they shared, joking that the next era may lean into punk influences and that all the praise might finally go to their head.
Later this summer, Alon is set to join the packed line up for Lewis Capaldi’s headline performances at BST Hyde Park. The concerts take place on Saturday July 11 and Sunday July 12, with Conan Gray, The Vaccines, Absolutely, Nieve Ella and more also appearing across the weekend. Find any remaining tickets here.
At the 2026 Ivor Novellos, other major winners included CMAT for Best Album, Fraser T Smith and Kae Tempest for Best Contemporary Song, and Sam Fender taking home Songwriter Of The Year.
Rosalía was named International Songwriter Of The Year, while Radiohead’s Thom Yorke received the Academy Fellowship award presented by Harry Styles. George Michael was also honored posthumously with the Academy Fellowship award.
Suki Waterhouse has spoken candidly about how she found herself crying constantly after the birth of her daughter.
The singer and actress reflected on her experience as a mother more than two years after she and her partner, actor Robert Pattinson, welcomed their baby girl in March 2024.
During an interview with The Standard published on Thursday, Suki explained that motherhood has completely shifted her outlook on life.
"I think it's made me marvel at our humanness. It's so funny, even just your kid getting a fever, watching a little body recover from that, it's brought me down to what it is to be alive and I really love that," she said. "It feels very survivalist and medieval in a way, especially birth, birth is medieval."
The Daisy Jones & The Six actress, 34, shared that she was caught off guard by just how exposed and emotional she felt after giving birth to her daughter.
"I'm almost two and a half years in now, but when she was first born, I remember thinking that I can't believe everybody does this and I can't believe how vulnerable I feel," she told the publication. "I was crying all the time."
Suki continued, "It makes me cry now thinking about it. It was just... shocking."
The Notting Hill singer also admitted that she has never considered herself someone who cries easily, making those emotions all the more surprising.
"It's so f**king weird! I'm not a cryer! I'm so not an emotional person, I'm such a Capricorn. But being a mum just fed me up in such a sweet way," she stated. "It just absolutely broke open my heart, and I'm just madly in love and, despite my crying right now, I enjoy it so much and I'm so taken by my daughter and so in love with doing it with my partner and I just feel the preciousness of it very much."
Suki and Twilight actor Robert, 40, have been in a relationship since 2018 and announced they were expecting their first child together toward the end of 2023.
The pair have largely kept their romance away from the spotlight and have yet to publicly share the name of their daughter.
