Miranda Lambert brought the house down at Stagecoach on Saturday night, delivering a triumphant set filled with surprises. The highlight? A three-song finale featuring none other than Reba McEntire, who joined Lambert on stage for a spectacular performance of ‘Mama’s Broken Heart,’ ‘Fancy’ and ‘Gunpowder & Lead.’
Fresh off her 48-date Las Vegas residency, Lambert’s return to the stage at Stagecoach was a joyous reunion with her dedicated fanbase. But it wasn’t just a celebration of her past successes – it also marked significant milestones in her career. Lambert recently inked a new record deal with Republic Records and is doubling down on her commitment to her Big Loud Texas label.
Known for her deep connection with her fans, Lambert seized the opportunity to unveil her latest song, ‘Wranglers, at the polo grounds in the California desert. Recorded in Austin, Texas, with frequent collaborator Jon Randall, the track is a powerful anthem of empowerment for women who refuse to settle for less.
Penned by Audra Mae, Evan McKeever, and Ryan Carpenter, ‘Wranglers’ captivates with its incendiary guitars, haunting organ melodies, and Lambert’s signature vocals. The song channels a sense of foreboding and tension, drawing listeners into its narrative of resilience and revenge.
As Lambert unleashed the electrifying track to the sold-out Stagecoach crowd, the response was overwhelming. Fans swayed, fists pumped in the air, and cheers filled the night as they hung on every word of the new anthem. While ‘Wranglers’ may have been unfamiliar territory, Lambert’s storytelling prowess and commanding stage presence ensured that the audience was fully engaged.
Reflecting on the song’s message, Lambert shared, “‘Wranglers’ is a classic tale of a woman taking her power back. We’ve all been in situations where we’ve needed to find our strength and seek a little revenge. This song captures that feeling with such intensity and authenticity.”
With its raw emotion and fierce spirit, ‘Wranglers’ stands as a testament to Lambert’s unyielding artistry and her ability to connect with audiences on a deeply personal level. As Lambert continues to blaze her own trail in the country music landscape, ‘Wranglers’ serves as a powerful addition to her repertoire of empowering anthems. It is out everywhere this Friday, May 3rd.
With Perrie (Edwards) the third member of Little Mix to go solo with her debut single ‘Forget About Us’ shooting in to No.10 on the UK Official Singles Chart recently, I’m looking at girl bands of the last 30 years to see which members have become breakout solo stars in their own right and here are ten of the biggest success stories:
Beyonce
Sitting first in my list is arguably the ultimate girl group member gone solo story, as Queen B continues to enjoy success some 20+ years into her solo music career, scoring the rare chart double earlier this month when ‘Cowboy Carter’ and it’s lead single ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ simultaneously sat at the top of the Official UK Charts. Not content with racking up 14 Top 40 UK singles and 5 Top 40 albums with her group Destiny’s Child in the late 90s and early 00s, Beyonce has gone on to become one of the biggest popstars of a generation. Every album she drops seems to become an event; from the surprise release of her eponymous album to the visual album for ‘Lemonade’, the black queer scene that influenced ‘Renaissance’ to Country music on the new album.
Cheryl
Cheryl is the breakout star of Girls Aloud accumulating 11 Top 40 solo hits and four Top 10 studio albums. Her profile was raised through her high profile relationship with footballer Ashley Cole and being watched by millions each week at the peak of X Factor. Her intricate dance routines and catchy bops saw her take the crown from Geri Halliwell as the British female solo act with the most UK number 1s with five to her name (since eclipsed by Jess Glynne). After featuring on Will.i.am’s ‘Heartbreaker’, Cheryl started her solo career proper with ‘Fight For This Love’ in 2009 which went straight to the top of the charts. We last heard new music from her in the summer of 2019 when ‘Let You’ didn’t quite manage to become her twelfth Top 40 hit (#57). Girls Aloud have reformed as a four-piece following the sad passing of Sarah Harding and are hitting the road for an arena tour this summer.
Mel C
All five Spice Girls have released solo material (see our handy timeline) and shortly after Mel B released her collab with Missy Elliott staking her claim on the R&B/Hip Hop pop area, Mel C showed her Rock credentials with her Bryan Adams duet ‘When You’re Gone’. In 2017, OfficialCharts.com announced that this duet was the biggest selling solo Spice Girls song. Mel C can also boast the best-selling album from a solo Spice with her debut ‘Northern Star’ being certified triple Platinum in the UK. She’s also gone on to release more solo material than any of the girls, racking up eight studio albums in her career so far and she’s not showing any signs of stopping.
Geri (Halliwell now Horner)
Geri unexpectedly left the Spice Girls whilst they were promoting the final single ‘Viva Forever’ from their second album ‘SpiceWorld’. It wasn’t long though until she returned to music by releasing her debut single ‘Look at Me’ in May 1999 which peaked at No.2 on the UK charts. She bettered that position with her second solo release ‘Mi Chico Latino’ which went to the top of the UK charts and was the first of 4 consecutive number 1 solo hits for Geri, giving her the honour of being the UK female solo act with the most UK no.1 singles of all-time (at that point). Her first album spawned three of those no.1s and was certified double platinum. Geri released three studio albums at the start of her solo career and has since dropped occasional one-off singles including a tribute to good friend, the late George Michael with ‘Angels in Chains’ in 2017.
Camila Cabello
The former Fifth Harmony member had a more gradual start to her solo career with features on both Machine Gun Kelly and Major Lazer tracks giving her chart success alongside her debut Christina Aguilera sampling ‘Crying in the Club’. An artist trying to find her sound perhaps, but with 2017’s ‘Havana’ it felt like she had hit the nail on the head. The track spent 5 weeks at No.1 on the UK charts. She went back to the top spot with another latin drenched track ‘Senorita’ – a duet with her then boyf Shawn Mendes – in 2019. Just earlier this month she released new track ‘I Luv It’ which sees her moving to a more electronic and experimental direction. In total, Camila can claim 15 UK Top 40 singles and 3 Top 40 albums (two of which have been certified Gold).
Kelly Rowland
Starting strong, Destiny’s Child memeber, Kelly teamed up with Nelly for her debut release with the No.1 hit ‘Dilemma’ at the end of 2002. This was quickly followed by ‘Stole’ which narrowily missed out on the top spot peaking at #2. Her debut album ‘Simply Deep’ reached the top spot and featured 4 Top 20 hits. Second album ‘Ms Kelly’ didn’t fare quite so well, and even with a slightly confusing repack and two Top 5 singles it didn’t get any higher than #23. A change of musical style came in 2009 when she worked with dance producer David Guetta and gained her second No.1 single with ‘When Love Takes Over’ and Top 10 hit ‘Commander’. Sticking with the dance route and a stint as a judge on X Factor UK, generated another couple of Top 10 hits. She returned to a more classic R&B sound for her fourth album and has even added a bit of disco funk on most recent single ‘Crazy’. In total, Kelly has had 13 top 40 singles and 3 top 40 albums.
Emma Bunton
Emma’s first solo release was as a featured artist on dance act Tin Tin Out’s cover of Eddie Brickell’s ‘What I Am’ which ended up the runner up in a chart battle with Geri’s third solo track ‘Lift Me Up’ and had to settle for no.2 peak. However, Emma’s first fully solo track ‘What Took You So Long?’, released over a year later, did give Emma a no.1 UK single. Emma has since gone on to enjoy 9 Top 20 hits and released four albums so far with her last release her ‘My Happy Place’ album and a one-off seasonal song ‘Coming Home For Christmas’ both released in 2019.
Nicole Scherzinger
The Pussycat Dolls main vocalist, Nicole and her band mates accrued 11 Top 40 singles including two No.1s. Much like Camila (above) Nicole’s solo career was perhaps a little confusing to start with a couple of features (including P Diddy’s ‘Come To Me’ and Timbaland’s ‘Scream’) and her first proper solo track ‘Baby Love’ in 2007. Her debut album was shelved however, and it wasn’t until 3 years later that we’d get her first statement single with ‘Poison’, which peaked at #3. A No.1 in ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath’ followed and the parent album ‘Killer Love’ was Gold certified. In 2020 the PCD girls reformed for the brilliant ‘React’ and a tour that then had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. Not one to rest on her laurels, the former X Factor judge, turned her sights on to the stage and has being wowing critics and fans alike with her performance in Sunset Boulevard; winning an Oliver Award for Best Actress.
Louise
Eternal were the first girl group in UK history to sell over a million copies of an album, when the then four-piece released their debut album ‘Always and Forever’ in 1993. Despite this success, Louise wouldn’t return for the follow up. Instead she kicked off a solo career that saw her gain 12 Top 40 singles and 4 Top 20 studio albums. Starting with a Top 10 hit in 1995 with ‘Light Of My Life’, it was probably her third hit ‘Naked’ that really got her solo career going. The Janet Jackson-esque track peaked at No.5 and helped her debut album of the same name gain Platinum status in the UK. After a musical hiatus of nearly 20 years, fans were treated to new music from Louise with her 2020 ‘Heavy Love’ album and she has recently teased new bangers are on the way!
Alesha Dixon
When trio Mis-teeq disbanded in 2005 after two hit albums and seven Top 10 hits, Alesha always seemed the most likely to have solo success. She’d already been spotted by Pharrell Williams and asked to star in his group’s video for N.E.R.D’s ‘She Likes To Move’ whilst still in Mis-teeq and she shone. In the summer of 2006 she released her first single ‘Lipstick’ which peaked at #14 but follow up ‘Knockdown’ unfortunately failed to reach the Top 40 and she parted ways with her label leaving her debut album campaign adrift. In 2007, she won Strictly Come Dancing (she would later join as the panel) and this lead to a new record contract and her biggest hits to date as a solo act when ‘Boy Does Nothing’ peaked at #5 and follow up ‘Breathe Slow’ reached #3. Her album ‘The Alesha Show’ has been certified platinum and Alesha went on to release two further studio albums.
Many other girl group alumni have had success with solo endeavors with other personal highlights being Sugababes’ Siobhan Donaghy’s second album ‘Ghosts’ and (not strictly solo) Appleton’s ‘Everything Eventually’ album from the sisters from All Saints.
Meanwhile, there’s one more Little Mix member, Jade Thirlwall, who is waiting in the wings with her solo material rumoured to be coming soon and All Saints’ Shaznay Lewis will release her second album ‘Pages’ next month.
Tell us your favourite girl group gone solo act on our socials.
The trailer has been released for ‘Maxton Hall’, an upcoming original series coming to Prime Video.
Based on Mona Kasten’s bestseller ‘Save Me’, the series stars Damian Hardung, Harriet Herbig-Matten, Sonja Weißer, Fedja Van Huêt, Clelia Sarto, Runa Greiner, Martin Neuhaus, Julia-Maria Köhler, Andrea Guo, Justus Riesner, Eli Riccardi, Ben Felipe, Esmael Agostinho, Govinda Cholleti, Frederic Balonier, Eidin Jalali, Thomas Douglas, Cynthia Micas, Hyun Wanner and Gustav Schmidt.
When Ruby unwittingly witnesses an explosive secret at Maxton Hall private school, the arrogant millionaire heir James Beaufort has to deal with the quick-witted scholarship student for better or worse: He is determined to silence Ruby. Their passionate exchange of words unexpectedly ignites a spark…
‘Maxton Hall’ is directed by Martin Schreier and Tarek Roehlinger. The series is created by Daphne Ferraro.
‘Maxton Hall’ debuts on Prime Video on 9th May 2024.
Beyoncé has ruffled all kinds of feathers this year with the release of her album ‘Cowboy Carter’.
The R&B superstar has made a foray into Country music, which has had Country music fans up in arms. Regardless of the controversy around the release, Beyoncé scored another huge hit in the shape of number 1 single “Texas Hold ‘Em” and it looks like her new single ‘II Most Wanted’ with Miley Cyrus might follow suit.
With plenty of hits and albums under her belt, we want to know what your favourites are! Cast your vote in our poll below and share this with other members of the Beyhive so they can join in too.
Kansas-born Country singer-songwriter Chris Housman has been steadily making waves in the industry as an openly gay artist.
Unafraid to be himself and exploring what it’s like to be a gay man in the modern age, Housman’s music is proving that the Country genre might finally be ready to really embrace change and inclusivity. After building a fanbase with songs such as ‘Blueneck’, ‘Bible Belt’ and ‘Drag Queen’, Housman is gearing up for the release of his album ‘Blueneck’ on 31st May 2024.
For his latest offering Housman has released ‘Guilty as Sin’, a song that marries a bluesy melody with a 90s Country sensibility. The song finds Housman singing about how he tried to suppress his sexuality before embracing it and accepting who he is.
The accompanying music video features Houseman with Gabe LaDuke, and it sees the pair in an empty car workshop. They hold hands, sit on the bonnet of a car and get hot and heavy as the video draws to a climax. Directed by Ford Fairchild, the video is sure to get you a little hot under the collar.
In an industry where gay artists are hugely under-represented, Housman should be applauded for not hiding who he is. ‘Guilty As Sin’, along with the rest of Housman’s catalogue, is an important step for inclusivity, diversity and representation. Seeing two men in a romantic embrace shouldn’t be a shocking thing in 2024. I’ve lost count of the number of videos by heterosexual Country music stars that feature love scenes.
You can watch the video at the top of this article and pre-save Chris Housman’s album ‘Blueneck’ at https://chrishousman.komi.io/.
The trailer has been released for Disney+’s upcoming Original series ‘Becoming Karl Lagerfeld’.
Starring Daniel Brühl as the iconic designer, the series will be released on 7th June 2024. Watch the trailer below:
In 1972, Karl Lagerfeld (Daniel Brühl) is 38 and not yet wearing his iconic hairstyle. He is a ready-to-wear designer, unknown to the general public. While he meets and falls in love with the sultry Jacques de Bascher (Théodore Pellerin), an ambitious and troubling young dandy, the most mysterious of fashion designers dares to take on his friend (and rival) Yves Saint Laurent (Arnaud Valois), a genius of haute couture backed by the redoubtable businessman Pierre Bergé (Alex Lutz).
‘Becoming Karl Lagerfeld’ plunges viewers into the heart of the 70s, in Paris, Monaco and Rome, to follow the formidable blossoming of this complex and iconic personality of Parisian couture, already driven by the ambition to become the Emperor of fashion. Between glamour and clashes of egos, grandiose parties and destructive passions, discover the story of Karl before Lagerfeld.
The series is adapted from the best-seller ‘Kaiser Karl’ by Raphaëlle Bacqué (published by Albin Michel).
Steps’ forthcoming musical ‘Here & Now’ has added an additional week at The Alexandra in Birmingham.
The new shows have been added due to phenomenal demand after becoming The Alexandra’s fastest selling on-sale in history, which saw 50% capacity sold within 24 hours. ‘Here & Now’ will run in Birmingham from 9th to 30th November 2024 and tickets for the new dates will go on sale at 12 noon on Monday 29th April 2024.
Featuring Steps’ most beloved hit songs, ‘Here & Now’ has an original book by Shaun Kitchener and is produced by the band and ROYO with Pete Waterman. It will be directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, with choreography by Olivier Award winning Matt Cole and Matt Spencer-Smith as musical supervisor, orchestrations and arrangements. Casting to be announced.
Welcome to seaside superstore Better Best Bargains, where it’s Friday night, the vibe is right, and everyone’s dancing in the aisles. But when Caz discovers the shelves are stocked with lies and betrayal, the summer of love she and her friends dreamed of suddenly feels like a tragedy. Have they all lost their chance of a ‘happy ever after’? Or does love have other plans in store…
Steps said, “We were thrilled and grateful for the response we received when we announced the show, people were queuing up outside the theatre from 3am to purchase tickets! The past few weeks we have been workshopping the script and songs; it is so exciting to see it lift off the page. We can’t wait to share this with you!”
Steps (Claire Richards, Faye Tozer, Ian ‘H’ Watkins’, Lee Latchford-Evans and Lisa Scott-Lee) are the UK’s most successful mixed sex pop group of all time, with 14 top five singles, 4 number one albums, 22 million record sales, 500 million streams & 11 sold-out national arena tours under their belts.
The band’s hits include #1 singles ‘Tragedy/Heartbeat’ and ‘Stomp’, the gold certified ‘One For Sorrow’ & ‘Better Best Forgotten’, the silver certified ‘5,6,7,8’, ‘Last Thing On My Mind’, ‘Love’s Got A Hold Of My Heart’, ‘Chain Reaction’, all of which will feature in the musical alongside many more.
Steps’ 2017 comeback tour sold out all 300,000 tickets, making it one of the biggest pop tours of the year. The band have since continued to release new music including two further iTunes #1 singles, the Sia-penned ‘What The Future Holds’ in 2020 and the Michelle Visage duet ‘Heartbreak In This City’ in 2022. In 2022 Steps celebrated their 25th anniversary with a headline summer tour and released the #1 album Platinum Collection which means they join ABBA, Rolling Stones and Stereophonics as the only groups in UK history to score #1 albums in four consecutive decades.
‘Beyond Paradise’ has been renewed for a 2024 Christmas special episode and third series, coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
The BBC, BritBox International and Red Planet Pictures series has become one of the UK’s most popular dramas since its debut last year, with episode one of series two being watched by 7.5 million viewers so far.
The second series, which culminated last night (Friday 26th April), saw Humphrey and Martha very nearly tie the knot, while their fostering journey came to a heartwarming conclusion as they welcomed Ryan into their home. Esther took on a case which saw the Shipton Abbott Museum robbed of its prized possession, and Kelby and CS Charlie Wood’s professional relationship took an unexpected turn…
Across the series the Shipton Abbott police team continued to crack a host of mind-boggling and mysterious puzzles – including a death during a murder-mystery play on a steam train, a local fishing legend going missing at sea, a medium predicting an arson attack and many more – to ensure the station house remains open for the foreseeable future.
Tim Key, executive producer for Red Planet Pictures, says: “The response to series two has been fantastic. So much love goes into the making of the show and we’re delighted that the audience have enjoyed it so much. We can’t wait to get back to Shipton Abbott for another Christmas special and series to continue the story and learn more about our characters and the town they live in – I can promise that we’ll be making the viewers laugh, cry, laugh a bit more and then baffling them with a series of ingenious puzzles. There will also be a duck.”
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, says: “’Beyond Paradise’ has become such a huge hit with millions of viewers across the UK. It’s a show that is absolutely on a roll, and we’re beyond pleased to bring more fiendishly clever mysteries from the Shipton Abbott team to the BBC.”
Created by Robert Thorogood and Tony Jordan, ‘Beyond Paradise’ is a co-commission between the BBC and BritBox International and is produced by Red Planet Pictures, part of the Asacha Media Group.
Myke Towers and Bad Bunny have joined forces once again for new single ‘Adivino’, which is available now on all streaming platforms.
The first single from Towers’ upcoming album, the song was written by both Towers and Bad Bunny, and produced by Jarom Sua, De La Cruz, and Eiby. Watch the official visualiser at the top of this article.
‘Adivino’ mixes trance-inducing beats with reggaeton and it delves into the challenges faced in a relationship and the pain of a breakup. Both Towers and Bad Bunny are at the top of their game and together they are setting new benchmarks and redefining the boundaries of Latin music.
‘Adivino’ comes less than a month before the start of Towers’ European leg of his ‘Vive La Tuya… No La Mía’ tour, which kicks off on 21st May 2024 with a sold-out show at Madrid’s WiZink Center. The tour will visit 19 major European cities, including Barcelona, Milan, Amsterdam, and Sevilla. Additional dates are to be announced soon.
Earlier this month, Towers released the awaited ‘La Falda (Tiësto Remix)’. The song’s original version marked his fourth US Latin radio number one and is 2x Platinum-certified by the RIAA. ‘La Falda’ also continues to chart in the Top 10 of several countries, with over 292 million Spotify streams currently ranking #30 worldwide.
Additionally, Towers received four nominations at the 2024 Latin American Music Awards, including Song of the Year, Global Latin Song of the Year, Best Song – Urban, and Best Collaboration – Urban for “LALA” and ‘Borracho y Loco’ with Yandel.
Walter Presents will launch ‘The Silence’ on Channel 4 in June and release seasons 1 and 2 on C4 Streaming.
Starring Kseniya Mishina, Goran Bogdan, Darko Milas and Sandra Loncaric, the series is created by Nebojsa Taraba and Miodrag Sila. ‘The Silence’ is based on the critically acclaimed fact-based books by investigative journalist Drago Hedl that examine human and weapons trafficking throughout Eastern Europe
A girl has drowned in the River Drava in Osijek. Another one has overdosed. A third one was killed by a car. Nothing points to murder. And no one can identify them. Inspector Vladimir Kovač, his colleague Vesna, journalist Stribor Kralj and Olga Horvatić join forces in order to solve these mysterious deaths. The investigation takes them into the world of unscrupulous men who sexually abuse those who are the most vulnerable – children.
Credit: Walter Presents
Vladimir Kovač, an experienced police inspector who is burdened by private problems, puts in all of his energy, hoping to escape his problems in that way. However, his over eagerness to solve the case only makes things worse.
Stribor Kralj, a journalist in his prime, will be faced with a question: are career and money worth more than moral integrity?
Olga Horvatić, a Ukrainian married to a powerful man from Osijek, will find out that living a lie has its price, that silence costs. Sometimes too much.
Together, they will put their careers and lives in danger in order to uncover what links two seemingly unrelated cities, the small and quiet Osijek in Croatia and the big and noisy Kyiv in Ukraine.
Walter Presents: ‘The Silence’ will launch on Channel 4 on 10th June 2024 at midnight. Seasons 1 and 2 will be available on C4 Streaming from 7th June 2024.
