R&B: Last News

Usher has added two more London shows to his 2025 UK and European headline tour – find all the details below.The R&B singer announced last month that he’d be hitting the road next year in support of his ninth album ‘Coming Home’, which was released on February 9.

Glastonbury 2024.SZA is tipped as the latest artist speculated to be heading to Worthy Farm later this year, after fans pieced together clues from her upcoming shows.Rumours around the American singer-songwriter come following her being announced as one of the headline acts for this year’s BST Hyde Park series. She’ll join the previously-announced artists Shania Twain, Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Stray Kids, Kylie Minogue and Kings Of Leon at the London event.The ‘Snooze’ singer is set to be in the UK to headline the show on June 29, meaning that she will also be in the country when the Worthy Farm festival takes place between June 26 and June 30.“SZA at Glastonbury festival,” wrote one user on X/Twitter.

RAYE has spoken to NME about her record-breaking number of wins at this year’s BRIT Awards, and what it’s like to receive praise from artists including Kylie Minogue. Watch our video interview with her below.The singer-songwriter went into this year’s ceremony as the artist with the most nominations, with a record-breaking seven. She then went on to win in six categories, including Songwriter Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best R&B Act and Best New Artist.

Rihanna played her first full live show in almost eight years last night (March 1) at a pre-wedding ceremony in India – watch footage and see the setlist below.The singer was reportedly paid $6million (£4.7million) to perform a private concert celebrating the marriage of Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Indian billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani, and his partner Radhika Merchant (via TMZ).Taking place in Ambani’s hometown of Jamnagar, the extravagant three-day event hosted a 19-song gig from Rihanna – marking her first full-length performance since 2016 (via Setlist.FM).The show included live renditions of hits such as ‘We Found Love’, ‘Umbrella’, ‘Stay’, ‘Rude Boy’, ‘Diamonds’, ‘Work’ and ‘All Of The Lights’.“I’m here tonight in honour of Anant and Radhika, thank you for having me here. God bless your union, I wish you all the best, congratulations,” Rihanna said onstage, according to The National.Following the performance, the star told reporters: “The show was the best.

Justin Timberlake has added an extra London show to his 2024 UK and European tour dates. Find ticket details below.The singer, songwriter and former *NSYNC star announced details of the tour last week (February 23), to celebrate the upcoming release of his new album ‘Everything I Thought It Was’.Set for release on March 15 via RCA – and available to pre-order here – the LP marks his first new album in five years, and is set to contain the recently shared singles ‘Selfish’, ‘Sanctified’ and ‘Drown’.Now, due to phenomenal demand for tickets, Timberlake has announced an extra show for his forthcoming UK and European shows – held at The O2 in London.The new date is for August 12, and marks the singer’s second headline slot at the venue, following on from his previously shared stop there the night prior.Other previously announced shows in the UK include gigs at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena on August 7 and Manchester’s Co-op Live on August 8.

Kaytranada has been announced as the latest headliner at All Points East 2024.Joining the Canadian producer and artist on Friday, August 16 at the East London music festival in Victoria Park includes Victoria Monét, Thundercat, Amaarae, Channel Tres, Lancey Foux and more.The day’s line-up will also feature Jyoty, TSHA, KILIMANJARO, Lou Phelps, Felo Le Tee, Taylah Elaine, Arthi, Kitty Ca$h, Tkay Maidza and more artists that are still to be announced.You can find the full Friday line-up so far below. Tickets go on sale Friday (March 1) at 10am GMT and you’ll be able to buy yours here.Friday is the latest day line-up to be unveiled, and will be followed by Loyle Carner, Nas and Ezra Collective on Saturday (August 17), LCD Soundsystem, Jai Paul and Pixies on the following Friday (August 23), Justice and PinkPantheress on Field Day 2024 (August 24) and The Postal Service and Death Cab For Cutie on Sunday (August 25).Kaytranada’s last record, ‘Kaytraminé‘, came out last year alongside collaborator Aminé.

Usher has announced additional dates on his 2025 UK and European tour due to “incredible fan demand”.The R&B star recently announced the US dates for the 2024 ‘Past Present Future’ tour, which will be followed by the UK and European leg in 2025. Ahead of general sale for the latter, the ‘Yeah!’ star revealed extra London dates as part of the stint.Three new shows have been added to the run this week: a seventh show at London’s O2 on April 11, a second in Paris at the Accor Arena on April 16 and a fourth night at Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome on April 26.The trek will kick off on April 1 in London and close out at the Uber Arena in Berlin on May 2.Pre-sales for the new dates will begin Wednesday (February 28) at 10am local time, before general sale goes live Monday (March 4) at 10am local time.

Normani has spoken about her long-awaited debut album ‘Dopamine’, saying it will represent everything she has “gone through to get to this moment.”Earlier this week (February 22), the Atlanta singer unveiled the cover art and name of her first-ever solo full-length record. The announcement comes after she teased the record in January, saying it is “literally the best music she’s ever made”. In other posts, she confirmed that the album will be released sometime this year, though she did not reveal a concrete launch date.In a new cover story with Who What Wear, it is said that Normani’s upcoming record will be a subtle shift from the hip-hop and R&B-leaning pop music she has released before.

Kelly Rowland has responded to rumours on whether Beyoncé‘s new album ‘Act II’ will feature a Destiny’s Child reunion.During this year’s NFL Super Bowl LVIII, Beyoncé shared two new singles and announced that she’ll be dropping her eighth studio album ‘Act II’ next month. Since the announcement, rumours have circulated about what the theme of the record would be.

The Weeknd has finally shared the music video for ‘Popular’ featuring Madonna and Playboi Carti. Check it out below.The video first premiered in the game Fortnite last week.

Dizzee Rascal has revealed that he was originally given the beat to Beyoncé‘s 2013 single ‘Partition’, but gave it up because he “couldn’t come up with” anything.The grime pioneer was the first-ever interviewee on GRM Daily‘s new YouTube series Thoughts In A Culli. While chatting with the blog’s founder Posty, Rascal reflected on the time he spent in LA in the early 2010s and how he stumbled upon the instrumental that is now synonymous with the Houston singer.“This time I was around in LA – it was 2011, 2012 or something,” he began.

SZA has shared a new single called ‘Saturn’ – you can listen to it below.The song was first premiered as part of a Mastercard advert during the 2024 Grammys where the singer-songwriter won three awards: Best Progressive R&B Album (‘SOS’), Best R&B Song (‘Snooze’) and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (‘Ghost In The Machine’ feat. Phoebe Bridgers).“Stuck in this paradigm/ Don’t believe in paradise/ This must be what Hell is like/ There’s got to be more, got to be more,” SZA sings over a twinkly instrumental.

Kelela is in a reinterpretive mood. Earlier this month, the electronic R&B singer-songwriter shared RAVE:N, The Remixes, a collection of tracks inspired by her 2023 album (one of our favorites of the year) by artists including Loraine James, Shygirl, Yaeji, and Bambii.

“Say It Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud.”But the “Super Bad” singer was also super proud of his hair — whether he wore a natural Afro or a straightened conk.In fact, after the Godfather of Soul was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004, his tresses were foremost on his mind in his treatment.“He was like, ‘I can’t do chemo, ’cause I don’t wanna lose all my hair.’ I mean, this was a real thing,” says his daughter Dr. Yamma Brown in the four-part A&E documentary “James Brown: Say It Loud,” which premiered Monday and is now available to stream and on demand.“Thank God it was in the early stages enough that all he really needed was radiation.

Usher has added two more London shows to his 2025 European tour. Find ticket details below.The dates come as part of the R&B icon’s upcoming ‘Past Present Future’ tour, which is set to commence in the US later this year and will see him play shows across the globe over 12 months.The European leg of the world tour is set to start next April, following a string of tour dates across North America throughout 2024.

Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign have announced they will perform at three “‘Vultures’ Listening Experience” shows in Europe later this week.Earlier this month, Ye teased potential dates for his world tour on Instagram – including arena dates in Toronto, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London and more throughout the summer. Then, the Chicagoan revealed that he and Dolla $ign will hold three ‘Vultures’ listening events in both Italy and Paris.The collaborators will hit Italy first, performing at the Milan Forum in the country’s capital tomorrow (February 22) and Bologna’s Unipol Arena on Saturday (February 24), before landing in Paris on Sunday (February 25) at the Accor Arena.Those looking to attend either Italian ‘Vultures Listening Event’ show can find them here.

Solange has revealed that she has been working on new music – although in a different way to what fans are used to.The musician’s last studio album arrived five years ago, when she dropped the 2019 LP ‘When I Get Home’. Since then, she has turned her efforts to composing a 2022 ballet score.Now, however, it seems Solange is once again venturing into a new direction: focusing her efforts on writing music on the tuba.The R&B star opened up about the new material she has been working on during a recent discussion with Harper’s Bazaar, and revealed that the next project she releases may be comprised entirely of her playing the instrument.“I’ve started writing music for the tuba, and I am trying to talk myself into releasing it,” she began, going on to open up about her reluctance to officially share the new material.

“Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” 1966’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s World,” 1970’s “Super Bad” and 1974’s “The Payback” — James Brown’s recording career was decimated by the disco explosion in the mid-’70s.“Such an interesting time, especially in New York, there’s everything happening,” says Mick Jagger in the new four-part A&E documentary “James Brown: Say It Loud,” which the Rolling Stone legend executive-produced with Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson.“You’ve got punk happening, disco happening, all getting mixed up. A lot of other people were sort of left behind in this, ’cause this is a huge change, a sea change, in the musical scene.”And Part 3 of “Say It Loud” — which premieres tonight, along with Part 4 — reveals that Brown was “annoyed” about how much disco borrowed from his blueprint.“I’m the one who started disco,” says the Godfather of Soul in the doc.

Solange is the subject of a lengthy new cover story in Harper’s Bazaar. It’s an interesting read, with Solange speaking about her myriad artistic projects, which include a glassware line and becoming just the second Black woman to compose a score for New York City Ballet. Steve Lacy pops up, too, revealing that Solange decorated his home (he describes it as “Clean, futuristic, classic, Black”).

Nourished By Time has shared a new song called “Hand On Me.” It’s the lead single from Catching Chickens, the Baltimore singer-producer’s debut EP with XL Recordings and his first since the April arrival of Erotic Probiotic 2, one of The FADER’s favorite albums of 2023. While that record was recorded in his parents’ basement and released on the small English label Scenic Route Records — making its visionary production and masterful mixing all the more impressive — the forthcoming project will be backed by one of the world’s few remaining powerful indies.

Usher has expressed his regret at having smacked Nicki Minaj on the bum at the 2014 VMAs.The R&B star performed his new song ‘She Came II Give It II You’ featuring Minaj live at the music awards show a decade ago, when he bumped against the rapper’s behind while playing bass guitar before smacking her bum.Speaking in a new interview with Charlamagne Tha God and Jess Hilarious that aired on Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM on Monday (February 19), Usher was asked about the moment in their performance.“Have you seen some of your old moments, like when you were on stage with Nicki Minaj and you were headbutting her ass? Why was you so unhinged?” host Charlamagne asked.At first, the ‘Yeah!’ artist tried to laugh off the memory, replying: “That was Jamaican culture. So you gotta go to Jamaica.