When Olivia Rodrigo appeared on the BBC Live Lounge in October, there were a million and one songs she could have covered. But in the spirit of the changing weather, she opted for ‘Stick Season’, a sensitive, mid-tempo country-folk...
Stefflon Don – 'Deadly'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4PPcvh_F-M
The brand new sultry Afro-R&B love song weaves Stefflon Don's dynamic patois-infused flow with Victony’s unmistakable vocal to create an insatiable love story, which paints another picture of her forthcoming debut album. The track is rooted...
Choosing an album of the year is never an easy task. We are lucky here at The Forty-Five, to have a community of music writers all with disparate tastes and opinions – but sweet lord, does that make compiling...
Abby Roberts – ‘Volatile’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I9ltfnu0Nc
Abby Roberts might explain the backstory behind ‘Volatile’ as “about getting this pent-up anger and frustration that was caused by the reckless behaviour an ex-friend off of my chest”, but the track doesn’t go for the...
Forget Christmas — it’s already awards season, baby! Hot on the heels of the 2024 Grammys longlist announcement, the BRIT Awards have dropped their nods for their Rising Star award, introduced in 2008 as a glowing prediction of the...
‘ORAL’ – BJÖRK, ROSALÍA
This dreamlike collaboration between two of music’s most visceral performers makes a big statement. The song dates back 25 years and was originally inspired by a dancehall beat, coming to light again in 2023 with the...
Gossip – ‘Crazy Again’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E1S596MZjQ
After over a decade, indie-rock trio Gossip have reunited. The song is about being in love and feeling a sense of security. The instrumentation echoes the rollercoaster of feelings that you experience when you’re falling...
A day that gets everyone scrolling through aeons of tiny font and gnashing their teeth at the absence of their favourite, The 2024 Grammy nominations are out, in all their pomp, glory and categorical complexity. This year's reveals were...
Dolly Parton has always been a rock star – even if she hasn’t necessarily felt worthy of that title. We’re not talking the throwing-TVs-out-of-hotel-windows caricature that’s often associated with the moniker, but in the way that she’s an adulation-inspiring, larger-than-life...
10 years ago, Lorde emerged with her debut single ‘Tennis Court’, kickstarting a rapid rise to becoming one of music’s brightest stars of her generation. In the decade since, she’s given us everything from assessments of teen life to...