Nick is joined by one of his favourite singers, Elmiene, while Annie is away. Fresh from releasing his debut album ‘sounds for someone’, Elmiene tells Nick what it’s like to work with Raphael Saadiq, how Benji B and Virgil Abloh helped him get his big break, and why it all links back to BBC Bitesize. They also discuss the news of Kanye West’s upcoming return to the UK, and how conflicted lots of his former fans feel about it. Plus, Celine Dion’s iconic comeback announcement inspires a conversation about Cornwall, and Rosalía’s food poisoning nightmare raises some serious questions.

Get in touch with Sidetracked! You can send a WhatsApp to 07970082700 or email [email protected]

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

HOMEWORK: Listen to Elmiene’s debut album ‘sounds for someone’ and tell us your thoughts.

SONGS

D'Angelo – Untitled (How Does It Feel)

Elmiene – Golden

Elmiene – Light By The Window

Eric Clapton – Layla

Solange – Cranes in the Sky

Wesley Joseph – Peace of Mind

Wesley Joseph – Pluto Baby

Kanye West – Through the Wire

Kanye West – Heartless

ALBUMS

Elmiene – sounds for someone

Ye – Bully

Rosalía - LUX

It’s the inaugural Sidetracked Album Club: Annie and Nick travel down memory lane to 2005 after listening back to LCD Soundsystem’s debut album and answer questions like: What was life like then, how much have things changed, and does the music still hold up? Elsewhere, Nick is preparing for 6 Music Festival (which will see him DJ with Beth Ditto), Annie reflects on some excellent gig crowds and Courtney Love is on a very relatable Geese journey. Plus, Annie and Nick review SNL UK’s first episode, and a listener gets in touch about Lily Allen’s West End Girl shows, inspiring a conversation around the ethics of enjoying music about someone’s deeply personal pain. HOMEWORK: Send in your ideas for the next Album Club choice.

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! You can send a WhatsApp to 07970082700 or email [email protected] And you can also stay in touch via our Instagram Channel, which you can find in the BBC Sounds Instagram bio.

SONGS

LCD Soundsystem - Losing My Edge

LCD Soundsystem - Tribulations

LCD Soundsystem - Daft Punk Is Playing at My House

LCD Soundsystem - Too Much Love

LCD Soundsystem - Tired

LCD Soundsystem - Yeah

The Rapture - House of Jealous Lovers

The Killers - Mr. Brightside

Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out

Scissor Sisters - Comfortably Numb

Geese - Trinidad

Hot Hot Heat - Bandages ALBUMS

LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem

Robyn - Sexistential

RAYE - This Music May Contain Hope

Elmiene – sounds for someone

Courtney Barnett - Creature of Habit

The Killers - Hot Fuss Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters

Green Day - American Idiot

Kasabian - Kasabian

Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand

The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy & The Lash

David Byrne leaves Annie wanting to know more about his live show while Nick avoids any Rosalía Lux Live spoilers. Plus, Annie and Nick discuss the intimate production behind James Blake’s new album and how too many opinions can hold an artist back. Speaking of opinions, there have been many about Jack Harlow’s new album, “Monica,” and Annie and Nick explore what puts the soul into neo-soul. Meanwhile, Morrissey has been left in a “catatonic” state and Live Nation executives give people new reasons to be angry, as Annie and Nick try to wrap their heads around their recent settlement with the US Department of Justice.

Finally, Annie and Nick are paid a visit by Gail Mortley, an opera singer and singing teacher who kindly takes them through the importance of opera, instructions for our diaphragms, and a few vocal exercises for all burgeoning divas to follow - with Nick turning from reluctant singer to essential pillar of “Gail and the Gail-ettes.”

HOMEWORK: Don’t forget to listen to LCD Soundsystem’s self-titled debut album and send us your thoughts ahead of our first ever album club discussion.

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! You can send a WhatsApp to 07970082700 or email [email protected]

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

SONGS

James Blake - Doesn’t Just Happen (feat Dave)

James Blake - Rest of Your Life

James Blake - Days Go By

ALBUMS

Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska

Jack Harlow – Monica

James Blake - Trying Times

Various Artists for War Child Records – HELP(2)

LIVE MUSIC

Altin Gün

David Byrne – Who's in the Sky?

David Byrne - Stop Making Sense, film directed by Jonathan Demme

Rosalía Lux Live

OPERAS

O Mio Babbino Caro from Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini

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 [email protected]

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

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 [email protected]

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

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 [email protected]

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

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 [email protected]

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

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 [email protected]

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

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 [email protected]

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

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 [email protected]

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

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 [email protected] 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