Lewis Capaldi beats Sam Smith to become the most-viewed UK artist account on TikTok for 2023

NME about how 2023 was the “worst year for venue closures” – calling upon the upper echelons of the industry to contribute and for the government to introduce a mandatory ticket live on arena and stadium gigs.Earlier this year, it was revealed that the UK was set to lose 10 per cent of its grassroots music venues in 2023. An MVT report from January warned that grassroots gig spaces in the UK were “going over a cliff” – shutting off the pipeline of future talent without urgent government action and investment from new large arenas.The latest stats from the MVT show that this year saw 125 grassroots venues shut down in 2023 – causing a loss of 4,000 jobs, with 14,500 events no longer possible and 193,230 opportunities lost to musicians.One of the more high-profile gig spaces to shut its doors was Bath Moles.

A Scot could make history tomorrow – becoming the producer with the most consecutive Christmas No1s.

TikTok has given special status to certain high-profile accounts, with moderators in Europe encouraged to be lenient with the content they post.Journalists Hibaq Farah and Dan Milmo from The Guardian have suggested that the social media platform created a “hierarchy of users, with certain individuals or groups assigned internal tags that allow them more leeway. Certain seemingly important accounts have been given internal tags, which don’t seem to appear on other accounts.”Internal tags that are assigned to certain users and individuals point to a higher status and include markers such as “super account”, “super account super account”, “Top PGC” and “top creator”.People such as Russell Brand – who has been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse, although strongly denied the claims – Sam Smith, Manchester United, TV presenter Michael Barrymore, and YouTuber Ethan Payne have been given the internal tags.

Encore Musicians, Ed Sheeran‘s 2017 single ‘Perfect’ was the most popular track to be played on couples’ special days across the nation over the past 12 months.It was found that 16 per cent of newlyweds in the UK this year had the ‘÷’ (‘Divide’) track play as they enjoyed their first dance.Encore Musicians – which describes itself as “the UK’s largest and fastest musician bookings platform” – used a base of more than 3,000 events to conduct the study, per Clash.Coming in at second and third place were John Legend‘s ‘All Of Me’ (2013) and Elvis Presley‘s ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ (1961), respectively.Sheeran made another appearance on the list, with his 2014 ballad ‘Thinking Out Loud’ occupying fourth place. Jason Mraz’s ‘I’m Yours’ (2008) claimed fifth place ahead of Adele‘s ‘Make You Feel My Love’ (2008) at Number Six.Also making it into the top 10 were tracks by Earth, Wind & Fire, Etta James, Bruno Mars and Stevie Wonder (via Express).The top 10 most popular songs for first dances at UK weddings in 2023 were as follows:1) Ed Sheeran – ‘Perfect’2) John Legend – ‘All Of Me’3) Elvis Presley – ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’4) Ed Sheeran – ‘Thinking Out Loud’5) Jason Mraz – ‘I’m Yours’6) Adele – ‘Make You Feel My Love’7) Earth, Wind & Fire – ‘September’8) Etta James – ‘At Last’9) Bruno Mars – ‘Marry You’10) Stevie Wonder – ‘Isn’t She Lovely’Recently, Ed Sheeran was named as Spotify’s fifth most-streamed act in the UK of 2023.

Wham! taking the lead for the peak position on the charts.The news follows a neck-and-neck race between the iconic ‘80s pop duo Wham! And Eurovision star Sam Ryder over the past week, with their respective songs ‘Last Christmas’ [1986] and ‘You’re Christmas To Me’ [2023].At the first look at the race last week, just 42 chart units stood between the two taking the top spot on the UK charts, however, this week it has been revealed by the Official Charts that Wham! are in pole position, and have widened the gap between Ryder’s Amazon Music original track – which remains at Number Two.However, it doesn’t seem likely that the charts will stay this way until Christmas, with Ryder set to play a fan-exclusive gig tonight (December 19) in Shoreditch, London, in a push to promote the song in time for Christmas Day.Similarly, today (December 19) The Pogues are sharing a special, limited-edition physical run of their own iconic Christmas song ‘Fairytale Of New York’ in a push to climb the charts.Originally released in 1988 and featuring Kirsty MacColl, the track is being reissued in memory of the band’s late singer Shane MacGowan, who died “peacefully” in hospital from pneumonia on November 30. He was 65 years old and his funeral took place in Nenagh, County Tipperary on December 8.All proceeds from the reissue will be donated to the Irish charity Dublin Simon Community, and the release also arrived alongside a fan campaign to get Fairytale of New York to Christmas Number 1 for the first time.The push for the top position on the charts has also been endorsed by Shane MacGowan’s widow, Victoria Mary Clarke.

MEO Kalorama has been announced, with LCD Soundsystem, Massive Attack and Sam Smith leading the bill.The upcoming edition of the festival will see the event return to Lisbon over the summer and will be held at the usual Parque da Bela Vista site between August 29, 30 and 31.Now, before the third instalment kicks off, the festival organisers have announced the first run of acts set to perform – including massive names from across the electronic, indie, pop and rock scenes.Leading the way on the initial line-up for 2024 is LCD Soundsystem, Massive Attack and Sam Smith, who are all set to headline the event.From there, The Smile – an art-rock/post-punk project with Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead – are also set to perform during the three-day stint, as are hip-hop/electronica act Jungle and electronic duo Overmono.A variety of UK-based indie acts will be making their debut at the Lisbon festival too, including Yard Act and 2023 cover stars English Teacher. Other acts include this year’s Mercury Prize winners Ezra Collective, as well as Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service.

Sam Smith and boyfriend Christian Cowan are showing off some cute PDA.

There are now 9 contestants remaining on The Voice ahead of next week’s season finale.

Ed Sheeran has made a surprise appearance with The Darkness, playing a surprise opening set and later joining them to perform their song ‘Love Is Only A Feeling’ – watch the footage below.The global popstar has had a long relationship with The Darkness. Sheeran previously confessed his intentions to take Taylor Swift to the Suffolk band’s show: “I think she’d really dig The Darkness.” Meanwhile, the band opened for Sheeran on the UK leg of the 2019 ‘Divide Tour’ along with James Bay and Zara Larsson.Now, Sheeran has repaid the favour by performing a surprise opening set for the band’s show at London’s Roundhouse last night (December 9). According to website setlist.fm, Sheeran played six of his megahits, including his mashup of ‘Don’t’ (from 2014 album ‘x‘) and Blackstreet‘s ‘No Diggity’.

mental health services over the past two years.The charity, which supports professional musicians in the UK, has warned of a growing mental health crisis in the industry, reporting a 200 per cent increase in people engaging with their services.Help Musicians has a dedicated mental health service called Music Minds Matter, a free, 24/7 service which was launched last year and allows musicians access to counsellors who offer emotional support, advice and information.According to the charity, the burgeoning mental health crisis is connected to financial issues, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic which temporarily brought touring to a halt.“Music is a serious career,” head of Help Musicians Joe Hastings told the BBC. “People creating music work incredibly hard and have very difficult schedules.“It’s a very competitive industry, lots of late nights and time away from home.”He added: “People need to be respected for their abilities and skills, which needs to be reflected in what they earn and the level of skill involved.”One Bristol-based performer said the charity paid for 10 sessions of therapy.

When singer Tom Ball signed up for Britain's Got Talent last year, he never could have imagined where his life would end up - especially now he's singing a hit song written by the one and only Gary Barlow.The 25 year old was previously a secondary school teacher before his performance of Sam Smith's Writings On The Wall catapulted him to fame in the ITV talent show, but now he's rubbing shoulders with the likes of Take That members and Grammy-winning producers like Elliot Kennedy. "I've looked up to Gary Barlow for years, so this is just insane and a dream come true," Tom exclusively revealed to OK! "It's a complete pinch-me-moment." Tom's brand new Christmas hit Winter's Song is out today (Friday 8 December) and now the star recalls the moment when he realised he'd landed the gig of a lifetime and was offered a song that Gary Barlow had created.

TikTok has revealed which are the most popular artists and songs of the year.Hot on the heels of this year’s instalment of Spotify Wrapped, TikTok has revealed which are the best-performing artists of 2023 on the platform.Shared today (December 6) as part of a new report, the social media platform has revealed which artists are the most popular in the UK, and which songs dominated the music scene throughout 2023.According to the results, 13 of 16 Number One tracks on the UK Official Singles Chart since January had a viral moment on TikTok, and 13 of 18 Billboard Hot 100 Number Ones were driven by significant trends on the platform.Lewis Capaldi was one of the top-performing artists of the year and took the top spot as the most viewed artist on the platform throughout the year. He was also followed by other famous faces in pop including Sam Smith, Anne Marie, Ed Sheeran and more.As for the top songs of the year, it was drill anthem ‘Sprinter’ by Central Cee and Dave that claimed the peak position, racking up over 665,000 videos since its release in June. Other contenders for the most popular song on TikTok for 2023 include ‘Collide’ by Justine Skye and Tyga, ‘Cupid – Twin Ver.’ by FIFTY FIFTY and ‘Green Green Grass’ by George Ezra.Find the full list of results below.1. Lewis Capaldi 2. Sam Smith 3. Central Cee4. Anne Marie 5. Ed Sheeran 6. Prinz 7. KSI8. The Rolling Stones 9. Pink Pantheress10. Calvin Harris1. ‘Sprinter’ – Dave & Central Cee (655.3k videos)2. ‘Collide (more sped up)’ – Justine Skye ft. Tyga (3.3M videos)3. ‘Cupid – Twin Ver. – Sped Up Version’ – FIFTY FIFTY (6.2M videos4. ‘Green Green Grass (Sped-Up)’ – George Ezra (1.5M videos)5. ‘Makeba’ – Jain (1.7M videos)6. ‘Pretty (Sped Up)’ – MEYY (1.9M videos)7.

Michelle Keegan enjoyed a Coronation Street reunion as she bumped into Helen Flanagan at a recent event. The Northern pair both headed to the British Fashion Awards 2023 which took place in London on Monday night.

Lewis Capaldi has delighted fans with a surprise performance in a local Glasgow bar over the weekend, five months on from his decision to take a break in his career to focus on his mental health.

YouTube has revealed the UK’s top 10 most-watched music videos of 2023.Earning the Number One spot on the annual list is Miley Cyrus‘ Grammy-nominated track ‘Flowers’. The video has 644 million views.‘Flowers’ debuted at Number One on the UK Singles chart as well as the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Cyrus’ second Number One song toping the chart since 2013’s ‘Wrecking Ball’. It also debuted at number one on the Billboard Global 200 chart and stayed on top for thirteen non-consecutive weeks.The song was also the highest-earning song on Spotify in 2023.Following ‘Flowers’ is Central Cee and Dave’s hit ‘Sprinter’.

There were SO many celebs on the red carpet at the 2023 The Fashion Awards and we have a recap of everyone who attended!

The top 12 contestants on The Voice‘s current 24th season have been revealed!

Did disco ever go out of style? Not if you ask Mark Ronson and Dua Lipa, the forces behind the soundtrack for this year’s No. 1 box office hit, Barbie. Specifically, they co-penned the album’s lead single “Dance the Night,” which is performed by the English-Albanian singer.

Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the year’s most talked-about scripts continues with Rustin, Netflix‘s biopic of civil rights icon Bayard Rustin. Colman Domingo stars in the film, which is directed by Tony winner George C. Wolfe and hit theaters and the streamer in November after its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival.

NewJeans, members of BTS, BLACKPINK and more.The music streaming service launched the 2023 edition of its annual Spotify Wrapped event on November 29, where it shared data on the platform’s most-streamed artists, music and podcasts.As part of the Wrapped 2023, Spotify Korea also shared lists of the Top 10 most-streamed K-pop songs and K-pop artists this year. BTS member Jungkook‘s debut solo song ‘Seven (feat.