Happy birthday Mike Shinoda, rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, and co-founder of Linkin Park

'Deeming me as not successful enough just because I'm not number one is really dangerous and toxic. What if I don't want to be as big and famous as some of these people? What if that's a personal choice? I don't know when we got to this point where it's all or nothing'

Cirkut scoops Producer of the Year at the 2026 Grammys for his work with Lady Gaga and The Weeknd

'Now it's like I can't really flop, because if you create something and you love it, that's a win in itself. And if people aren't enjoying it, then that's not really my problem'

Happy birthday singer, drummer, songwriter, and producer Phil Collins - one of the world's best-selling solo artists and known for his work with Genesis, Philip Bailey, Eric Clapton, Adam Ant, Four Tops and more

'I went from never taking a flight, never being photographed, to singing at the royal wedding. I don't think my body knew how to process the contrast between my old life and my new life'

Happy birthday Tricky, producer, vocalist and rapper known for his work with Massive Attack, his highly acclaimed debut solo album Maxinquaye, and collabs with Björk, Alanis Morissette, Grace Jones, PJ Harvey, and more

Happy birthday Jazzie B OBE, pioneer, DJ, producer, entrepreneur, and founding member of Soul II Soul

'There's this huge list of things that are embarrassing and scary and terrifying to talk about - the dark, the twisted, the ugly, the trauma - and if not music, then where?'

Top advice, as quoted in Lionel Richie's excellent autobiography, Truly

'I felt a lot more self-assured, and I was feeling like I could do whatever I wanted, and I wanted to prioritise feeling good about that'

'I wish I knew why I started making music or why I started performing it live, but I don't. I honestly can't tell you. I just had to do it'

Happy birthday Pete Waterman, part of the Stock Aitken Waterman team, which wrote and produced at least 22 UK number one singles with Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley, Bananarama, Jason Donovan, Steps, and many more

'The songs always come from a feeling, and the feeling gets overwhelming. I'm like, "Bloody hell, I'm going to have to write another pop song"'

'It's all about the people you get to make things with and spend your time with, and that means the most to me right now. Any day in the studio is a great day!'

Hey hey, guess who's on TikTok 🎵 Come hang out: @dukestreetmusic

'Music is unique among all the arts in that it physically usurps motor control of your body. It causes you to twitch weirdly. It makes you do weird shit. Overt sexual display, thrusting your pudenda in public: behaviour for which you would be arrested without music. Shakespeare doesn't do that!'

'When I go in to write something, I always ask myself, "What's going to feel the most fulfilling to me?" After all, I'm the one who has to sing it and perform it for the rest of my life. I just really try to listen to my gut - it hasn't led me the wrong way yet'

'As long as what you're singing is from your heart and what you really want to sing, there's really nothing else to worry about. Everyone will have a different reaction. And some people that hate it today will love it tomorrow' - Chris Martin from Coldplay

'There's a lot of pressure to be the perfect version of yourself at the start of the year, and that's just not possible, and that's okay'

Happy birthday Jeff Lynne, co-founder and songwriter for Electric Light Orchestra, and producer for George Harrison, Brian Wilson, Roy Orbison, The Beatles, and more

👀 Read the full interview here - www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12...

'She's the most straightforward, honest, open person, and it didn't leave room for any confusion or questioning. I don't know anyone else in pop music opening up about feeling old and hoping that a facelift holds and talking about vasectomies'

'When I started out, I knew that I loved singing and loved performing - I loved to entertain. But as I grow older, I realise there's a difference between being a performer and being an artist'

'I think fame is very exposing and raw, and it puts you in a position that not everyone gets to experience. I enjoy the luxury of it all, though of course there is a price you pay'

'I don't think American people are put off by Britishness - I don't think the music is too crazy for them to get it. If the post-Brat era has taught us anything about music, it's that you can actually be as experimental as you want, and if it translates, it will translate'

'I knew I liked to write. I didn't know I liked to write songs. Then, I discovered I love writing songs and I discovered I love producing them out with a collaborator. And then I discovered I love making music videos and I love to edit and I had so much fun rolling everything out'

'It's hard to get something that is catchy, that is honest, that the production is exciting. None of those things have to be a formula. Even if you just look at what the hits of this year have been, they've been so different. It can come from anywhere, which I think is exciting'

'People are craving real music with real instruments and real bridges and really thoughtful writing, and we're headed in the right direction. I'm loving the current state of the charts right now' - Sombr on playing both sides of the pop-rock divide 👀 Read more - www.billboard.com/music/pop/so...

'Even when we first wrote the song, there was some part of me that was somewhat scared of the song. I could just see people react to it and come back to me like, "Can I hear that one more time?" I think I was a bit confused, and I wasn't sure what that meant'

'Write the opposite of what you think is a hit. Write what speaks to you... write something that only you can write and write the music that you want to listen to yourself. Add the weird chord progression and key change, and call men stupid in as many ways as you can!'

'For me, it's a love letter to all the fans and what we've done together; this idea of creating a lovely, safe space for me and the fans to share that love for each other' - JADE on her latest single Church

Happy birthday Kara DioGuardi, songwriter, record producer, and co-writer on hits for Kylie Minogue, Miley Cyrus, Pink, Celine Dion, Robbie Williams, Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera, and more

'I want to be an artist who doesn't get dragged by the flow, but creates the flow. I don't want to be confined - I want to be an artist without limits'

'I try and make a few ideas a day, and most of them are rubbish but it's about the journey of finding out what you like. The more you can fall in love with the obsession of it, that's the win. The best feeling is when you play back the thing you've made that day and you actually feel good about it'

'This has been one of the most transformative years of my life. Not only because of the shift in my career, but I've learned so much about myself and the true beauty in time, patience, and savouring certain moments'

'I feel like in America, I've got a pretty decent standing. But the UK is the place that I've always wanted to get the respect, because I feel like my music is very British' - Pinkpantheress on her desire to gain more recognition in the UK 👀 Read here - www.interviewmagazine.com/music/zara-l...

'I'm really grateful that people have been receptive of me being in their faces for a little bit too long, and I'll be sure to take a good nap after'

'I know that so many songs are written about love, but I think it's the most important thing in the world, so we must keep digging on the topic'

'I've been in the studio, and I am pouring my soul into this project. I don't want to spoil it by revealing too much too early, but this is a more soulful me. I'm also getting more reflective and vulnerable'

'I really try to be as timeless as I can with my music. It's very dangerous to think beyond the room when you're creating a song. You have to just be completely present and drop all ego'

'I don't know if I'm going to be free-falling forever for the rest of my career. I don't know if I'm going to enter another system, and then regret that too. So now, where I'm at: I'm just like, damn, I wonder where this is going? And I have to be okay with that feeling'

'Signing artists today is very difficult. It's no longer about music, but about social networks. If you make a track but you don't have followers, there's no point signing your song because there's no vehicle to promote it. It's a shame, because it should be about how good the record is'

'The pressure is on as an independent artist, on an independent budget. When you don't have a major label footing all the bills that you weren't aware of, everything becomes very real. Not only do I want it to go well, but I need it to go well, because we're having to work 10 times harder'