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The very best of Time Out's rising coverstars
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Time Out
In the past month, DJ AG has amassed nearly 50 million views on Instagram and TikTok combined – but he assures me ‘it’s not about the numbers’ at least three times throughout our chat. Beyond the street shows and livestreams, he also performs in care homes and hopes to reach out to schools and rehabilitation centres, all so he can spread joy through music. Click to read more.
DJ AG, whose real name is Ashley Gordon, is a 39-year-old Tottenham native who performs out on the streets of London. Recently, he’s garnered public attention for his star-studded, seemingly impromptu, sets. What AG is aiming to do goes far beyond the surprise guests on his music streams. It’s about building community through a platform. Meet Time Out’s Londoner of the Year, DJ AG. Click to read more.
In the past month, DJ AG has amassed nearly 50 million views on Instagram and TikTok combined – but he assures me ‘it’s not about the numbers’ at least three times throughout our chat. Beyond the street shows and livestreams, he also performs in care homes and hopes to reach out to schools and rehabilitation centres, all so he can spread joy through music. Discover more about DJ AG, Time Out's Londoner of the Year, now.

DJ AG – Londoner of the Year 2025

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‘The White Lotus’ and ‘A Real Pain’ star is set on London Film Festival glory.
‘The White Lotus’ and ‘A Real Pain’ star is set on London Film Festival glory.
I lived in Japan until I was eight and then moved to Surrey with my family, there isn't any place that I’d 100 percent call home. But I feel like I know London. Having spent a few months in Budapest this year and returning to London definitely felt like: Oh yeah! There's a greyness and a greenness I always notice as I arrive in London. It always smells like it’s just rained, even if it hasn’t. That’s an essence of something feeling like home. Read what he had to say to Time Out about London, Olivia Coleman, and getting noticed on the Tube.

Will Sharpe

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Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first full-length musical since Hamilton is not to be found on Broadway, at least not yet. Instead, Miranda and his co-writer, Eisa Davis, are introducing the show in a very 1970s way: as a full-length concept album.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first full-length musical since Hamilton is not to be found on Broadway, at least not yet. Packed with thrilling numbers and killer performers—including major hip-hop stars—the new concept album is a wild ride through a dystopian New York, and stakes a strong claim to a place in the future of musicals and recordings alike. 'I first saw the movie when I was four,' says Miranda. Read more about why he decided to adapt the 1979 cult classic here now.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first full-length musical since Hamilton is not to be found on Broadway, at least not yet. Instead, Miranda and his co-writer, Eisa Davis, are introducing the show in a very 1970s way: as a full-length concept album. Warriors is adapted from the 1979 cult film The Warriors—a touchstone of hip-hop culture—in which the titular street gang tries to make its way home after getting framed for the assassination of a charismatic leader named Cyrus. Read what they had to say about it now.

Lin Manuel-Miranda and Eisa Davids

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The TikToker turned TV star on quitting vaping, vodka cranberries and falling headfirst into festival season.
The TikToker turned TV star on quitting vaping, vodka cranberries and falling headfirst into festival season.
If you don’t yet know who GK Barry is, it won’t be long before you do. The 24-year-old podcaster, content creator and rising TV star has amassed a following of more than 4.5 million on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube combined, created a chart-topping weekly podcast and has a new BBC series in the works. Read what Grace, the mind behind GK Barry, has to say about her alter ego now.

GK Barry

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The Icelandic-Chinese musician and her twin have Gen Z spellbound – and they’re only just getting started.
‘I understand how hard it is for young generations to access classical music,’ Laufey says. ‘The very nature of going to a symphony concert is so daunting. Tickets are expensive. What do you wear? How do you get tickets? When do you clap?’ That’s why part of her mission is to use her platform to teach younger people about the joys of classical. ‘My fans come and often it’s their first time seeing a live orchestra play – my hope is maybe they’ll come back next week and listen to a Mahler symphony or something,’ she says. ‘I like to keep the message that music is just music.' Read the full interview now.
Both Laufey and her sister Junia grew up listening to classical: their mother is a classical violinist who plays with Iceland Symphony Orchestra and their grandparents were professors at China’s Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. It’s part of the reason why Junia feels so at home in London. ‘There is no city in the world where you can go to a concert – classical, jazz, or an opera or ballet – every single night,’ she says. ‘I often find myself having to choose between my two favourite composers, which is, like, insane.' Read the full interview now.

Laufey

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The ‘Escapism’ singer talks going independent, Walkers crisps and growing up in Croydon.
‘I have to love everything I release and be proud of it. I’m in a blessed place where I’m in control of my career now.’ Raye sat down with Time Out to chat about going independent, Walkers crisps and growing up in Croydon – read the full interview now.
The ‘Escapism’ singer talks going independent, Walkers crisps and growing up in Croydon for Time Out.

Raye

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The pop superstar talks to Time Out about growing up west, album number four – and why she enjoys playing the villain.
‘I don’t do as much boxing as I’d like to,’ she confesses, over call, a few weeks later. (She puts part of that down to being left-handed.) These days, she’s more of a hot pilates girlie – but for Time Out London’s new cover story, she’s ready to roll with the punches. Read now.
These days, Rita balances her life between London, L.A. and New Zealand, where she recently bought a house with her husband, the filmmaker Taika Waititi. Both on insanely busy schedules, the overarching goal is to create a space to ‘have a good time’. They’re even building a pub in the garden – a nod, perhaps, to the role London pub culture played in her younger years. Read what she had to say to Time Out in September 2024.

Rita Ora

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The superstar singer on the joy of a prawnless prawn Clapton curry and her pride in getting her bum out in a Cricklewood bingo hall.
The textbook image of commercial success, Anne-Marie is so shiny and manufactured, it’s hard to believe there’s anything under her hyper-polished plastic-pop shell. But – of course – there is. And, just like the rest of us, she’s still working a lot of it out. Read what she had to say about imposter syndrome, conquering her anxiety, and getting her bum out in a Cricklewood bingo hall.
In her fluffy leopard-print slippers and bubblegum-pink robe, Anne-Marie is appropriately dressed for a bingo all-nighter. She dangles curly fries at her pursed lips and pours peas over her plate, looking directly into the camera lens before plonking her finger into the baked-bean sauce and plopping the lot over her Pukka Pie. She moves from pose to pose seamlessly, rolling off answers to interview questions with no hesitation. It’s clear that those years of media training have paid off. Read what she had to say about impostor syndrome, coaching on the Voice, and getting her bum out in a Cricklewood bingo hall now.

Anne Marie

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London’s OG pop royals are experiencing a heroic comeback. Mutya, Keisha and Siobhán tell Time Out how they got there.
Maybe the cynics among you are thinking something along the lines of ‘Another noughties comeback? Who needs that?’. And, sure, Mighty Hoopla has a lot to answer for. But it genuinely feels like there’s something special about the Sugababes return. Perhaps that’s because, as Amar Ediriwira, creative director of Boiler Room says, so many artists are still inspired by them: ‘They're completely iconic in the British club space’. Perhaps it’s helped by Gen Z’s current revival of all things Y2K. (‘Oh my God, the big belts!’ says Buena, her gold tooth glinting as she laughs.) Or maybe it’s just thanks to it becoming increasingly normal for female pop stars to – shock, horror! – make music beyond the age of 29. You can find out more about the girls' return in their Time Out interview here.
‘Every [band] has their reasons as to why they get back together,’ says Keisha Buchanan, with a long, thoughtful pause. ‘Our one was – it was not financially motivated – it was about a story that we felt hadn’t been really told properly and we felt like it was taken away from us, that our opportunity was taken away.’ Read the Sugababes full Time Out interview now.

The Sugababes

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The divisive singer-songwriter speaks about confronting the haters, moving to London and launching his own music festival, Bludfest. Read the Time Out cover interview with Yungblud now!
The divisive singer-songwriter speaks about confronting the haters, moving to London and launching his own music festival, Bludfest. Read the Time Out cover interview with Yungblud now!
The divisive singer-songwriter speaks about confronting the haters, moving to London and launching his own music festival, Bludfest. Read the Time Out cover interview with Yungblud now!

Yungblud

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The ‘Mission: Impossible’ star on beating his demons and making his own dolce vita.
Happily married with a 14-year-old and a serene home-counties life, Simon Pegg not the same fired-up fanboy he once was. Hard-won perspective keeps him from plunging headfirst into fiery superhero nerd debates: ‘There's so much peril in the world and you’re worried about the [‘Justice League’] Snyder Cut? Fuck off.’ Read his full Time Out interview now.
‘I’m worried that humanity is too stupid to avoid its own destruction – that does worry me. Individually, humans tend to be lovely; en masse, they’re fucking idiots.’ Simon laughs. ‘And I'd include myself in that.’ Read his Time Out interview now.

Simon Pegg

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With a baby on the way, is the nation’s posh kid brother finally growing up? Read his Time Out interview now to find out.
In truth, for a man so well-connected he has Prince Harry’s mobile number saved on his phone, having to punch up can limit your targets. Instead, Whitehall likes to turn the mockery on himself: the absurdity of his privilege. ‘I don’t want to be snooty and aloof,’ he says, ‘I want to own it and make a joke of it.' Read what he had to say about growing up, becoming a dad, and why he loves 'Succession.'
When Jack Whitehall is asked which of his more juvenile habits he’ll have the most trouble shaking off, there’s a slight pause. He’s not offended, he just needs time to tot them up. ‘Being a hot mess. Being late to everything. Being slightly emotionally stunted. My hedonist tendencies, like binge drinking.’ The distant-yet-looming prospect of middle age keeps him up at night, he admits. ‘I’m conscious that routines where I’m recalling being an idiot and drunken hijinks are going to be really tragic in my forties.’ Read the full interview now.

Jack Whitehall

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The rapper and singer is back in the spotlight with her much-anticipated debut album, ‘Island 54’. She tells us why it will be worth the wait.
If you only know Stefflon Don from her music, then the real-life person is warmer and sweeter than you might expect. She is, however, a ruthlessly hard worker. Read what she had to say to Time Out about perfectionism and her music now.
According to Stefflon Don, the bar for bars has dropped. For a while, it put her off wanting to write rap music all together – and it’s also part of the reason why she has long-term plans to move to Miami. Find out more about why she has such high standards for her music now.

Stefflon Don

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' I did. It’s not every day a director is squirting sperm on you during filming.' – Read now to see what Joseph Quinn and Hayley Squires had to say about hoarding, prawn toast, and worshipping Gary Oldman.
The stars of 'Hoard' talk genius directors, smelly sets and prawn toast.
'I worship Gary Oldman' – Read now to find out what Hayley Squires and Joseph Quinn had to say about their acting inspirations, Liverpool FC, and using the Tube.

Joseph Quinn & Hayley Squires

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The pansexual polymath comic reflects on clashes with Truss and Beckham and his deep love of his hometown.
An activist who hates earnestness, a big national celebrity who lives in a quiet Birmingham suburb, a superstar comic who is putting out a book about bins: Lycett has carved out a strange niche that seems to be able to accommodate all of these contradictions. Read his full interview with Time Out now.
Behind the good-natured japery and teatime-telly-friendly presenting skills Joe Lycett is, effectively, an increasingly powerful and visible social activist. Read his full Time Out interview now.

Joe Lycett

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Jayda G reveals how she manages to be a successful DJ, music producer, and environmentalist all in one.
Jayda G is on her way to becoming a fully fledged Londoner. ‘It took time to wrap my head around pub culture here,’ she says. ‘I didn’t really get the uproar when they all closed during the pandemic. But now, I get it. And I really like the whole Sunday roast thing: it’s like Thanksgiving every weekend.’ The Canadian DJ, producer, and environmentalist – also known as Jayda Guy – boogied on to the club scene around seven years ago. By 2019, she was on her way to becoming one of the most in-demand underground dance DJs on the planet, thanks to her irresistible blend of classic house, soulful vocals and contemporary disco. Read her full interview with Time Out now.
On one of Jayda G's TikToks, she says that she wants to be a ‘Black female David Attenborough’. But surely being a touring DJ and calling yourself an environmental advocate is a bit of a paradox? Read how she balances being a successful DJ and climate activist in her interview with Time Out now.

Jayda G

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The breakout singer-songwriter has captured the hearts of Gen Z with her honeyed vocals and happy-go-lucky charm. We sit down to talk about her biggest year yet. Read the full interview now.
Olivia is a London gal through and through. She grew up in Highams Park, a maze of suburbia in the north-east of the city, with her mum, a barrister, her dad, the music lover of the household, and her younger brother. Read what she had to say when we caught up with her.
The breakout singer-songwriter has captured the hearts of Gen Z with her honeyed vocals and happy-go-lucky charm. We sit down to talk about her biggest year yet

Olivia Dean

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'There was a time when everyone was like: ‘TV’s dead, everyone’s watching YouTube’. But I’ve stood by TV. It’s not dead.' – AJ Odudu Read her full interview with Time Out now.
The ‘Big Brother’ presenter is here, there and everywhere. Read her full Time Out interview now.
'We are all, deep down, nosy neighbours,' says Big Brother host AJ Odudu when asked about why Brits love reality TV so much. 'We want to know absolutely everything. Reality TV gives you an escapism and a sense of fantasy that you can touch, that is tangible. We could go to where they filmed ‘Made in Chelsea’ or ‘TOWIE’. Read her full Time Out interview now.

AJ Odudu

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The Streatham-born pop star on London humour, the lesbian renaissance, and her debut album ‘early twenties’ – read now.
Since her breakout single go went viral on TikTok back in 2022 the 24-year-old Streatham native has experienced the kind of stratospheric rise that would force anyone to grow up quickly, reaching number four in the BBC Sound of 2023 polls, touring with Years & Years, Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran, collaborating with rapper ArDee and picking up three nominations at the 2023 Brit Awards. Read what she had to say when we caught up to chat about London humour, the lesbian renaissance, and her debut album ‘early twenties’.
The South London singer spoke to Time Out about London humour, the lesbian renaissance, and her debut album ‘early twenties’: 'I should be included if we’re having more conversations about bloody lesbians. I’m here!'

Cat Burns

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Time Out’s Londoner of the Year 2022 on QPR, sports bras and the aftermath of that historic day at Wembley.
Breaking into the senior squad of English football’s most successful women’s team was quite the challenge. ‘There were so many great players in that team, the likes of Kelly Smith and Rachel Yankee. Kelly was my idol growing up so to share the pitch of her was incredible and I was learning so much. But it got to a point in my career where I had to be playing football and sitting on the bench was frustrating. So that’s when I made the move up north.’ ‘I was so, so homesick,’ Chloe says of her move to Everton, ‘but I knew that was what I needed to do to get where I am today.' Read Time Out's full interview with the footballing legend now.
Time Out’s Londoner of the Year 2022 on QPR, sports bras and the aftermath of that historic day at Wembley.

Chloe Kelly

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