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BBC Sounds

For music and pop culture lovers looking for an authentic and light-hearted take on the week in music... with broadcasters and music fanatics Annie Macmanus and Nick Grimshaw.

Sidetracked with Annie and Nick

Harry Styles has had a big week with the release of “Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.” and even if he doesn’t pay attention to reviews, there’s a vital one in this episode. Annie and Nick discuss the new album, as well as a myriad of other new releases including War Child Records’ compilation album HELP (2), Yebba, and Eliza. Elsewhere, Timothée Chalamet has made a massive error by dismissing ballet and opera, but one good to come from it is Annie wants to learn how to sing classical music – and she takes some inspiration from Madonna to show how ready she is for the challenge. And Nick recently revealed the song that made him cry as a 10-year-old and now he has some scientific answers as to why music can inspire such intense emotional reactions. 

HOMEWORK: Listen to the HELP (2) album and/or get in touch if you think you can teach Annie and Nick to sing opera. 

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! You can send a WhatsApp to 07970082700 or email sidetracked@bbc.co.uk 

And you can also stay in touch via our Instagram Channel, which you can find in the BBC Sounds Instagram bio. 

SONGS 

Harry Styles – Are You Listening Yet? 

Harry Styles – Coming Up Roses 

Harry Styles – Dance No More 

Ezra Collective & Green Tea Peng – Helicopters 

Wet Leg – Obvious 

Fontaine’s D.C. – Black Boys on Mopeds 

Arooj Aftab – Lilac Wine 

Flying Lotus – Antelope Onigiri 

Eliza – Pleasure Boy 

Fever Ray – The Lake (Cinematic) 

Sylvester – You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) 

ALBUMS 

Harry Styles – Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. (aka KISSTO/KATTDO) 

Yebba – Jean 

Various Artists for War Child Records – HELP(2) 

ELIZA – The Darkening Green 

Flying Lotus – BIG MAMA 

OPERAS 

La Traviata 

Carmen 

7 Deaths of Maria Callas 

Akhnaten 

Rigoletto 

Tristan und Isolde

Harry Styles is quite good, Compilation albums are back, and Timothée Chalamet is wrong

So the BRITs was fun...Annie and Nick review the 2026 event, which took place in Manchester for the very first time. How did Nick feel about Rosalía bringing on Björk? Did Annie think it worked as a TV show? And find out why our red-carpet interview with Self Esteem may have secured her a new, unexpected job. 

Elsewhere in the world of music, Rihanna has shared footage of her in an actual recording studio, Mitski has a brilliant new album, and Soulseek users are being trolled by an AI Homer Simpson. 

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! You can send a WhatsApp to 07970082700 or email sidetracked@bbc.co.uk 

And you can also stay in touch via our Instagram Channel, which you can find in the BBC Sounds Instagram bio. 

HOMEWORK: The Sidetracked Album Club has officially started and March’s pick is LCD Soundsystem’s self-titled debut album. We’ll discuss it at the end of the month. 

SONGS 

Sam Fender & Olivia Dean – Rein Me In 

Rosalía - Berghain 

Harry Styles - Aperture 

Hozier – Take Me to Church 

Underworld – Born Slippy 

Mary J. Blige – I’m Going Down 

ALBUMS 

Mitski - Nothing's About to Happen to Me 

Altin Gün - Garip 

Harry Styles – Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. 

LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem

Sidetracked reviews the BRITs, Rihanna’s ‘Night in the Life’, and Homer Simpson as a pop girlie

With just days to go before the 2026 BRIT Awards, Annie and Nick discuss their plans for the night and whether there’s a more optimistic feeling around this year’s event. Plus, Spotify have revealed some stats around the royalties they paid UK artists in 2025 and the number of times global audiences played those artists – breaking news: Olivia Dean is really popular. Elsewhere, Lana Del Rey is back and seems more in control of her art than ever before, Annie is lamenting the decline of rap groups, and Nick has a Mary J Blige update. And one listener has a brilliant idea for people who want to appreciate albums as an artform. 

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! You can send a WhatsApp to 07970082700 or email sidetracked@bbc.co.uk 

And you can also stay in touch via our Instagram Channel, which you can find in the BBC Sounds Instagram bio. 

 
SONGS 

Eminem – My Name Is 

 
Kanye West – I Wonder 

Labi Siffre – Cannock Chase 
 

Labi Siffre – Bless the Telephone 
 

Lola Young – Messy 

 
Lana Del Rey – White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter 

 
Yebba – Yellow Eyes 

The Scythe – THE SCYTHE 

The Scythe – LIT EFFECT 

 
Max Winter – Candlelight 

 
Radiohead – High and Dry 

ALBUMS 

Yebba – Dawn 

 
Yebba – Jean 

 
A Tribe Called Quest – Beats, Rhymes &Life 
 

cktrl – spirit 

 
The Scythe – Strictly 4 The Scythe 

 
Charli XCX – brat 

 
Charli XCX – Wuthering Heights 

 
Radiohead – The Bends

A British Music Revival, Lana Del Rey, and Album Clubs

Annie and Nick are joined by friend, singer, fellow podcaster and icon, Jessie Ware. In between a long overdue catch up, they discuss Jessie’s new music, whether she has any plans to tour and how the album launch has changed since her first record. Plus, they ponder why the majority of songs focus on love or heartbreak, reveal the songs that devastate them the most, and Annie gives Jessie and Nick a necessary Irish vocab lesson. 

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! You can send a WhatsApp to 07970082700 or email sidetracked@bbc.co.uk 

 And you can also stay in touch via our Instagram Channel, which you can find in the BBC Sounds Instagram bio. 

Jessie Ware is releasing her 6th studio album ‘Superbloom’ on 10th April. 

HOMEWORK: Listen to Jessie’s excellent new single, Ride (out on 20th February) 

SONGS 

Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah 

Taylor Swift - Welcome to New York 

Jessie Ware - Ride 

Ennio Morricone- Main Theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 

Kendrick Lamar - Alright 

Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You 

Toto – Georgy Porgy 

Mary J. Blige - I’m Going Down 

Madonna - Justify My Love 

Donna Summer - Love to Love You Baby 

Pet Shop Boys - What Have I Done to Deserve This? 

Jessie Ware – Free Yourself 

ALBUMS 

Jessie Ware – Superbloom 

Charli XCX – brat 

Jessie Ware – Devotion 

Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure? 

Jessie Ware – That! Feels Good! 

Yussef Dayes – Black Classical Music

Sidetracked with Jessie Ware

Annie and Nick discuss Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl half-time show and have some pretty surprising opinions about it all – but what should other artists take from the performance? In other news, Taylor Swift released her music video for Opalite and some fans aren’t pleased with how she chose to do it; Rosalía is confirmed to perform at the Brit Awards, and Lana Del Rey has promised a new single is imminent. 

And in very serious, breaking news: Harry Styles has responded to Nick’s hard-hitting questions about ballet flats. 

HOMEWORK: Watch A$AP Rocky and FKA twigs’ on their respective episodes of Celebrity Substitute, and get in touch with details about the craziest thing you’ve done to get tickets to a gig. 

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! You can send a WhatsApp to 07970082700 or email sidetracked@bbc.co.uk 

And you can also stay in touch via our Instagram Channel, which you can find in the BBC Sounds Instagram bio. 

The full 6 Music Festival line up can be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0q3zl2wn2xo 

SONGS 

Sasha Keable – Hold Up 

Ezra Collective & Sasha Keable – Body Language 

Rosalía - Berghain 

Rosalía - Sauvignon Blanc 

Rosalía - La Perla 

Lana Del Rey - White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter 

Lady Gaga – Die With a Smile 

Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin – I Like It 

Taylor Swift – Opalite 

ALBUMS 

Lana Del Rey - Stove 

Rosalía - LUX

Harry Styles Texts Back, Bad Bunny Jeopardy, and Quantifying Culture

With the Grammys done and the Super Bowl Half Time show looming, Annie and Nick discuss the monumental week Bad Bunny is having. They also go through their other stand out moments from the emotionally charged ceremony, and what it means to them to see artists like Olivia Dean, FKA twigs, Lola Young and the Cure succeed amongst such fierce competitors. 

Elsewhere, the UK version of SNL may not have a launch date just yet, but they do have a confirmed musical director – what could the show mean for music on the TV? Plus, in the name of journalism, Nick sends Harry Styles a very serious text. 

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! You can send a WhatsApp to 07970082700 or email sidetracked@bbc.co.uk 

And you can also stay in touch via our Instagram Channel: https://www.instagram.com/channel/AbZ16VG0mPTML0Aa/?igsh=aXdtYzA2czJrenRj 

SONGS 

Neil Diamond - Sweet Caroline 

Lola Young - Messy 

Kendrick Lamar – Luther 

HAAi (feat. Jon Hopkins, Obi Franky, ILĀ, & TRANS VOICES) - Satellite 

ILĀ, Nature - Nightingale (feat. Anna Phoebe & Sam Lee) 

ALBUMS 

Olivia Dean - The Art of Loving 

Bad Bunny - Debí Tirar Más Fotos 

 FKA Twigs - Eusexua 

 Justin Bieber - Swag 

 Jacob Alon - In Limerence 

 Gabriel Jacoby - gutta child

Bad Bunny, Music on TV, and the timelessness of Sweet Caroline

In a week so busy that Nick had to start making notes, he and Annie sit down to attempt to discuss some of the most important music stories, like the return of Arctic Monkeys, Victoria Beckham’s somewhat inappropriate chart success, and Robbie Williams beating a record previously held by the Beatles. In other news, Harry Styles fans are freaking out over Aperture – but what do Annie and Nick make of his new sound? And should we be worried about his feet? 

Plus, Pitchfork are opening the reviewing floor to the public, Brandi Carlile is obsessed with CMAT, and music industry insiders are declaring the album dead. 

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! If you’re over 16, WhatsApp on 07970082700 or email sidetracked@bbc.co.uk 

More information on the HELP(2) album here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4qqdy29d2o 

New Yorker Article about the changing relevance of the album drop here: 

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/why-albums-drop-and-movies-launch 

HOMEWORK: Watch Geese on SNL and listen to Robbie Williams’ album Brit Pop. 

SONGS 

James Blake – Death of Love 

James Blake – Limit To Your Love 

Arctic Monkeys – Opening Night 

Harry Styles – Aperture 

Victoria Beckham – Not Such An Innocent Girl 

Spice Girls – Viva Forever 

Cruz Beckham – LICK THE TOAD 

Madonna – Nobody Knows Me 

ALBUMS 

James Blake - CMYK 

Various Artists for War Child Records - HELP(2) 

Robbie Williams – BRITPOP 

Tyler, The Creator – CHROMAKOPIA 

Djo -The Crux 

Bad Bunny - Debí Tirar Más Fotos 

Perfume Genius – Glory 

Wet Leg - moisturizer 

Rosalía - LUX 

FKA twigs – Eusexua 

Madonna – American Life

Harry Styles’ Podiatry, Posh Spice, and Worthless Music

The nominees for the BRIT Awards 2026 have been revealed and, in their signature chaotic fashion, Annie and Nick analyse the lists of names and ask: will Olivia Dean and Lola Young reign supreme? Could any moment rival Jarvis Cocker mooning Michael Jackson in 1996? And will Harry Styles perform his new music at the ceremony? Plus, Sidetracked favourite Jacob Alon has won the Critics’ Choice Award – and Annie and Nick have big feelings about it.
Elsewhere, the Japanese PM has gone viral for her heavy metal drumming – should more world leaders use music in meetings with their peers? And Mitski is back with a brilliant new single; Lily Allen has shared the best response to Brooklyn Beckham’s explosive Instagram Stories statement, and Nick isn’t sure about Heated Rivalry.

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! If you’re over 16, WhatsApp on 07970082700 or email sidetracked@bbc.co.uk
Full details of BRIT Awards 2026 Nominations: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgjwnx70pjwo/

HOMEWORK:

Listen to new music from Mitski, Jessie Ware, James Blake, KAVARI, and A$AP Rocky.

SONGS

Mitski – Where's My Phone?

KAVARI – IRON VEINS

The Roots – You Got Me

James Blake – Death of Love

Lola Young – Messy

Olivia Dean – Man I Need

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande – Defying Gravity

Gracie Abrams – That's So True

Disco Lines and Tinashe – No Broke Boys

Rosé and Bruno Mars – APT

Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – Die With a Smile

Chappell Roan – Pink Pony Club

Taylor Swift – The Fate of Ophelia

ALBUMS

A$AP Rocky – Don't Be Dumb

Jill Scott – To Whom This May Concern

Harry Styles – Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally

Lily Allen – West End Girl

Geese – Getting Killed

Jacob Alon – In Limerence

BRITs nominations, Rihanna lore, and Harry Styles rumours

Harry Styles is teasing something new, with posters showing up in cities all over the world – but what does it all mean? Annie and Nick dissect the role Harry’s fan community is playing in the cryptic campaign. Elsewhere, Robyn has revealed her purpose in life and it’s a strong one, A$AP Rocky is braggadocious in the best ways, and in an unlikely twist, Annie has found herself drawn to a Bruno Mars song. Plus, Annie and Nick celebrate a big change for Sidetracked. 

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! If you’re over 16, WhatsApp on 07970082700 or email sidetracked@bbc.co.uk 

HOMEWORK 

Watch the following music videos: Talk To Me by Robyn; I Just Might by Bruno Mars, and Helicopter by A$AP Rocky. 

SONGS 

Wesley Joseph & Danny Brown – Peace Of Mind 

A$AP Rocky – Helicopter 

A$AP Rocky – Punk Rocky 

Robyn – Talk To Me 

Robyn – Sexistential 

Bruno Mars – I Just Might 

Bruno Mars & Lady Gaga – Die With A Smile 

Bruno Mars & Sexyy Red – Fat Juicy & Wet 

Bruno Mars & Rosé - APT 

Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk 

HUNTR/X, Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami – Golden 

ALBUMS 

SAULT – Chapter 1 

Wesley Joseph - Forever Ends Someday 

Robyn - Sexistential 

Harry Styles – Harry's House 

George Michael – Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On 

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue 

Talking Heads - 77 

Television - Marquee Moon 

The Saints - I'm Stranded 

David Bowie - Let's Dance

Harry Styles values community, Robyn’s purpose, and is Bruno Mars a hypnotist?

In the first week of 2026, Annie and Nick have different thoughts about the new A$AP Rocky single, Gen Z are discovering Prince thanks to Stranger Things, and EsDeeKid has told The Chainsmokers exactly what he thinks of their 4 Raws remix. Elsewhere, Stormzy has used social media to express his thoughts about...social media and revealed how he's grown as an artist and as a person. Plus, Jill Scott is finally back with new music, vinyl is expensive, and Annie and Nick get sidetracked by hedgehogs. 

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! If you’re over 16 WhatsApp 079700 82700 or email sidetracked@bbc.co.uk 

HOMEWORK: Watch Prince performing “Purple Rain” at 2007’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, and listen to Mandy, Indiana’s “Cursive” 

SONGS 

FAUZIA – The Way 

Mandy, Indiana – URGH 

Mandy, Indiana – Magazine 

Mandy, Indiana – Cursive 

A$AP Rocky – Punk Rocky 

JADE – Angel of My Dreams 

Jill Scott – Beautiful People 

Jill Scott - Exclusively 

Prince – Purple Rain 

Prince – When Doves Cry 

Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) 

America - A Horse With No Name 

EsDeeKid, Timothée Chalamet - 4 Raws

Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World

ALBUMS 

A$AP Rocky – Don't Be Dumb 

Jill Scott - To Whom This May Concern, 

Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol. 1 

Bob Marley and the Wailers – Exodus 

Arctic Monkeys – AM 

Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra – Promises 

FKA twigs – Eusexua

Bad Bunny, Music on TV, and the timelessness of Sweet Caroline

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