Meshell Ndegeocello: Synonym review – vivid all-star reinventions of everyone from Bob Dylan to J-Lo

In the jazz-soul singer’s ‘expression of queer liberation’, stars from Chaka Khan to Bill Callahan to Cynthia Erivo duet on equally varied songs from Cher to the Human League and beyond

Oasis take legal action to stop sale of unheard recordings valued at more than £1m

Tapes made in the 90s, including candid conversations between Noel and Liam Gallagher, which were expected to sell for up to £1.6m

Post your questions for Michael Winterbottom

With us to mark the 24th anniversary of 24 Hour Party People, the director’s work includes everything from Cracker to A Cock and Bull Story, Wonderland to Welcome to Sarajevo. And, of course, The Trip

Heavy metal is about uplifting the downtrodden. So why is alleged abuse by Marilyn Manson so easily forgotten?

Slipknot sharing their stage with a man accused of wrongdoing by more than a dozen women is the antithesis of everything the genre should stand for, even if he denies it

The Pussycat Dolls review – Nicole Scherzinger’s star power dominates fraught reunion

First announced in 2019 and now launching with just three of the original lineup, the Dolls whip up a whirlwind of hair-flipping and put on a decent spectacle

Start spreading the news… New York’s opera giveaway shows UK politicians how to be brave

New York’s mayor Mamdani is putting his political capital behind one of our greatest art forms with his pledge of Opera for All – and 70,000 free tickets to prove it

Iranian singer’s 74 lashes for performing without a hijab ‘a form of torture’, say rights groups

Iranian court upholds sentence against 29-year-old star Parastoo Ahmadi and other musicians in crackdown on women flouting hijab law

Tough decisions for Andy Burnham – take our quiz and guess the tracks he picked for each of England’s regions

At receptions at Labour conference, Burnham played a series of regionally specific tracks – but did he hit the right notes?

It was a ghost town of three people. So how did Luckenbach rival Nashville as the heartland of country music?

In 1971, self-appointed mayor Hondo Crouch turned the Texan town into a rural respite for country stars. Soon it was immortalised in chart-topping songs – and became a symbol of a simpler American life

‘A genre-defying monument’: how Sign o’ the Times captured Prince at his creative peak

As a new book on the Paisley Park polymath is released, author John McKie explains why Prince’s 1987 album is the ultimate showcase of his genius

Paraorchestra; Sinfonietta/Jonny Greenwood review – Reich’s kaleidoscopic music bursts into life

Paraorchestra’s immersive performance of Music for 18 Musicians was immaculate and exhilarating; London Sinfonietta and the Radiohead guitarist’s vibrant tribute to the almost 90-year-old composer followed

‘We wanted it to be a battlecry’: how Republica made 90s anthem Ready to Go

‘The day Saff came into the studio with red hair, I said, “We’re gonna be massive!” It was the missing link’

Stevie Wonder releases four unheard songs from Songs in the Key of Life sessions

Previously unreleased material comes as Wonder marks 50th anniversary of album with arena tour

MTV VMAs 2026: full list of winners

Taylor Swift and Madonna were the big winners, with Swift now the recipient of the most MTV VMAs in history

Rod Stewart announces final tour for 2027: ‘Most definitely my last’

The 81-year-old singer will wrap up a touring career that stretches back to his mid-teens in the early 1960s, with dates planned for UK and Europe