Having just released his debut album, Bloodline, the singer discusses his fractured identity, survivor’s guilt and how he took solace in Mumford & Sons

Long before he started packing out theatres and earning millions of listeners with his poetic folk-pop, Mon Rovîa began life in Liberia at a time when many of his country’s youngest were armed with assault rifles and forced to fight as child soldiers in a brutal civil war. After his mother died, his grandmother needed help raising his sister, brother and him, and placed him with a white missionary family from Florida. He was the only member of his family to escape the war. “That is something that weighed heavy on me as I grew,” he says. “Why was it me? Why couldn’t my siblings come, or why wasn’t it one of them?” It would be years until he knew what became of them.

Today, his stage name – he was born Janjay Lowe – is a stylised version of the Liberian capital Monrovia; his songwriting addresses his fractured identity, and the spectre of colonialism that surrounded him in Liberia and the US, applying emotional intimacy to global realities. His approach, he theorises, “starts with people trusting that you’re not afraid to be vulnerable in your own way. Then you start talking about the bigger picture.”

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© Photograph: Carter Howe

© Photograph: Carter Howe

© Photograph: Carter Howe

Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
Despite never being a huge pop force after her years as Disney star Lizzie McGuire, fans come from Brazil and Saudi Arabia for Duff’s charming, self-deprecating return

It’s fair to say that US actor-singer-writer-entrepreneur Hilary Duff has never been a force to be reckoned with in pop music. Her songs and albums have neither been particularly critically acclaimed nor commercially dominant; many people would know her only as Lizzie McGuire, hero of the Disney Channel sitcom from the early 00s. But for the 38-year-old Duff’s first live performance in 18 years, she’s met with a sold-out crowd screaming back every word of her music like they are all universally adored hits. Duff seems overwhelmed by the rapturous reception. Fans have come from Brazil, Saudi Arabia and all over Europe, and they are often so loud you can’t hear the woman on stage.

But after the shock wears off, Duff shows no signs of rust and her fierce sincerity combined with girl next door charm infuses the night with euphoria and escapism. When she jumps up and down on the stage’s sofa singing Why Not, you get the sense that this is how everyone in the crowd once sang the song in their adolescence. She’s also not afraid to poke fun at herself and her past: she brings three fans on stage to recreate the low-energy dance choreography of her 2007 single With Love that went viral on TikTok in 2021.

The 17-song set expertly sprinkles five new numbers from forthcoming album Luck … Or Something in between fan favourites such as 2015’s criminally underrated Sparks and 2003’s So Yesterday to keep the mood elevated. Time has made Duff’s voice more textured and refined, adding new depth to songs like Fly and Come Clean, though the twee Someone’s Watching Over Me, a ballad about self-acceptance, is cloying.

The biggest noise of the night comes with the one-two encore of her new single Mature and the Lizzie McGuire classic What Dreams Are Made Of. A wild singalong ensues complete with pink butterfly confetti as a giddy Duff jumps for joy on stage. It’s an emotional conclusion that takes this devoted crowd to new levels of noisy rapture and proves that Duff could easily put music at the centre of her portfolio career.

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© Photograph: Christopher Polk/© Polk Imaging 2026

© Photograph: Christopher Polk/© Polk Imaging 2026

© Photograph: Christopher Polk/© Polk Imaging 2026

The Number of the Beast lights up an unforgettable scene in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple thanks to director Nia DaCosta expertly blending ‘craziness and romance’

There were laughs of surprise around me in screen three of the Everyman in Muswell Hill, north London, as 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple drew to its conclusion. Without giving too much away for those who haven’t seen it, Ralph Fiennes dancing semi-naked among piles of human bones to Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast is not how you expect one of our greatest thespians to deport himself on screen.

“Alex Garland chose that song,” says the film’s director, Nia DaCosta. “He wrote it into the script. And you can’t get better than that in a film about satanists.”

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© Photograph: AP

© Photograph: AP

© Photograph: AP

Second season is due to air later this year and will see the return of castmembers David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Danny Dyer and Alex Hassell

© Disney +

Musician who drove much of the band’s ferocious sound and co-wrote many of its biggest hits was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2023

• Rob Hirst was a force of nature, a born showman who led Midnight Oil from the back

Rob Hirst, the drummer and founding member of Australian rock band Midnight Oil, has died aged 70.

Hirst was diagnosed with stage three pancreatic cancer in 2023. The band confirmed his death on Tuesday afternoon.

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© Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

© Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

© Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Urban and Kidman’s divorce was finalized earlier this month, bringing an end to 19 years of marriage

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The Justice Department is investigating Lemon after he reported from an anti-ICE protest at a church

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Zimmerman and his wife Marie-Claire Lambert died together in a fire at their home in Belgium

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Singer shared pictures of her scraped-up Porsche on Instagram

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Alon was awarded the prize ahead of next month’s Brit Awards

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Urban and Kidman’s divorce was finalized earlier this month, bringing an end to 19 years of marriage

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‘I wanted Kid ’n Play but the studio said, “Who are these guys?” I replied, “They’ve got platinum records.” I had no idea if they did’

Black music videos weren’t played on MTV in the late 80s. So while I was still at Harvard, I’d make music videos in my head. One day, while listening to Bad Boy/Having a Party by Luther Vandross, I thought: “This could be a great music video or movie.” And I sat down that night and wrote a script for a short film that ended up not only being made but shown at festivals and becoming a big hit in the world of student films. Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It had piqued interest in up-and-coming black film-makers. New Line Cinema saw my short and brought me in for a meeting. I pitched an expanded version of my idea and they said: “Let’s do it.”

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© Photograph: Everett/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Everett/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Everett/Shutterstock

Musicians, theater groups and others from overseas are facing visa challenges and rising costs, posing a looming crisis for the performing arts sector.

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Super Bowl LX will take place February 8 in California

© Getty Images

Springsteen dedicated his song, ‘The Promised Land,’ to slain Minneapolis resident Renee Good

© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

A composer and pianist as well, he was a prolific recording artist who integrated jazz, classical and world music traditions in a career that spanned seven decades.

© Tom Copi/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

‘Her talent and generosity have made a lasting impact on the world,’ Governor Bill Lee said in his proclamation

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Springsteen dedicated his song, ‘The Promised Land,’ to slain Minneapolis resident Renee Good

© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Fremantle Park, Perth
Returning to Australian stages after nine years, the band delivers a fierce, generous set that draws on four decades of music

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Dragging his hand across the piano keys, Nick Cave leaps into the air and charges towards the crowd like a preacher breaking from the pulpit. “Bring your spirit down!” he cries repeatedly, arms flung wide as the choir roars behind him.

It’s barely 10 minutes into their set at Fremantle Park in Perth, and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds have the audience in the palm of their hands. Touring their 2024 album Wild God in Australia for the first time, they open with the brooding track Frogs and the eponymous Wild God, an explosive crescendo of high-pitched strings, soaring vocals and pounding percussion.

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© Photograph: Dougal Gorman

© Photograph: Dougal Gorman

© Photograph: Dougal Gorman

Super Bowl LX will take place February 8 in California

© Getty Images

The former heptathlete throws shapes to Cameo and got gold-medal inspiration from Whitney, but which rapper helps get her out of bed?

The first song I fell in love with
I was at nursery school when Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen was the song of the moment. I remember seeing the video on Top of the Pops, which is chilling at first, but epic when it gets to the big guitar break.

The first single I bought
My mum had this little record player that used to keep me very entertained, so I got her to buy me Ring My Bell by Anita Ward for my birthday or Christmas, from a record shop in Wolverhampton.

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© Photograph: The Fold Woman Awards

© Photograph: The Fold Woman Awards

© Photograph: The Fold Woman Awards

Apple Music à la baguette d'un nouveau concert qui s'annonce grandiose !

Starting out in the 1970s as a rare woman in a field dominated by men, she directed the premieres of a pair of politically charged modern classics.

© Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

Peshawar is a haven for Afghan artists who fled from the Taliban, which had banned music. A new policy of deportations by Pakistan threatens this community of exiles.

© Asim Hafeez for The New York Times