‘It’s not my pain. There’s a responsibility in that’: Thea Gilmore on writing songs from anonymous confessional voicemails

After tiring of writing about herself, the British singer-songwriter asked the public to share stories to inspire her music – and they responded in their thousands

‘A dog would get treated better than a drag queen in Hollywood’: Alaska on prejudice and leading Oh, Mary!

The RuPaul’s Drag Race alum on queer visibility, politics and starring in Cole Escola’s smash comedy

Macklemore’s Free Palestine tour review – a triumph of a show with performances from Hozier, Kneecap and more

3Arena, DublinSeveral unannounced guests feature on the first European date of the rapper’s sold-out benefit tour, including video messages from Mark Ruffalo and Cynthia Nixon

‘My death was reported in Rolling Stone’: how the Zombies made Time of the Season

‘A year after we broke up, we heard that two bands had started touring the US as the Zombies. One group said they were the originals but with a new singer – because I’d been killed in a car crash’

I used to think I had impeccable taste in music. My kids taught me to stop being a snob

Music may not define them in the way it defined many of my generation, but my children still know a good tune when they hear one

‘I don’t give a damn what people think any more!’ Jimmy Webb on his wild days – and writing hits for Dolly, Glen and Frank

From Wichita Lineman to MacArthur Park, he penned masterpieces. As the great hit-maker resurrects his lost songs, he recalls writing for giants – and the night Richard Harris stripped off and disappeared

Anthropic sued for allegedly using 274 Elvis Presley songs to train AI models

Authentic Brands Group says AI company infringed on rights of songs by the King such as Can’t Help Falling in Love

Natasha Bedingfield looks back: ‘I had hits in the US that weren’t released in England. It was like being banished’

The singer-songwriter on her unconventional education, her brother Daniel, and her quest to write a classic like Purple Rain

Readers reply: will there ever again be a band as big as the Beatles or the Stones?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

‘I’d rather live through something publicly than escape it privately’: Jack Antonoff on survivor’s guilt and still singing love songs after his breakup

Whether he’s playing the role of soul-baring artist or starry producer, the Bleachers frontman strives to keep his integrity intact. He weighs in on Ed Sheeran, his love of working on ‘high-stakes’ albums and why he’s standing by the songs about his marriage

‘I’m not someone who has sex to music. I like uncomfortable silence’: Katherine Ryan’s honest playlist

The comedian unashamedly loves the Spice Girls’ Wannabe and cries to Boyz II Men, but which novelty song changed her life?

Sam Fender tells fans high ticket prices for Proper Massive tour are ‘getting changed’

Fender criticises stadium pricing, calling it ‘bollocks’ and says it ‘won’t be happening’ on his tour

‘Unlike anything we’ve experienced’: fans swarm San Francisco for BTS star’s art exhibition

K-pop star RM gave a boost to the previously struggling SFMOMA with an exhibition of over 100 pieces from his collection

Add to playlist: the gloriously boisterous grime-metal of Native James and the week’s best new tracks

Filtering alt influences and eskibeats through a distinctly Black British point of view, the Ipswich rapper’s scorched-earth rage sounds like a lot of fun

With albums under threat, Raye’s Mercury win is a triumph for grand statements

Her winning album has its longueurs, but there’s something heartening about its risk-taking – and the Mercury prize needs big bold records like this to stay relevant