Drake

Heroes and Villains of 2024: Music’s Dizzying Highs and Tragic Lows

From Charli XCX setting trends to Dave Grohl shocking fans, 2024 proved unforgettable. Here’s a look at who reigned and who fell short in the music world.

by Tom Curtis-Horsfall |

Dua Lipa’s pickle juice and Diet Coke cocktail, M.I.A. embracing “tin-foil hat” energy with her apparel launch, Azealia Banks starting fires on Twitter/X again, Liam Gallagher telling Oasis reunion critics their “attitude stinks”, and Snoop Dogg showing up at the Olympic Games in Paris. It’s been another weird year of highs and lows in 2024. Then again, some things never change – ahem, Liam and Azealia…

But some folk within the music world have crushed it or completely fucked it slightly more than most. To see who, here’s your heroes and villains from 2024.

Heroes

Charli xcx

Charli xcx has consistently predicted pop music trends, but 2024 was finally the year the mainstream got it. Brat beamed from beyond Britain around the world, igniting TikTok trends, bringing New York’s Times Square to a standstill, partially propelling Kamala Harris’ US presidential campaign, and claiming a colour on the Dulux paint chart entirely of its own. It wasn’t just a kitsch marketing ploy though – Brat was brimming with bangers, rightly earning its place in the upper echelons of many AOTY lists, and rightly earning Charli’s due as a 21st century pop music icon.

Charli-XCX-review

Joni Mitchell

It’s been a tentative return to live music for Joni Mitchell, who has only made a handful of appearances since suffering a brain aneurysm in 2015. Having to re-learn to walk, speak, and eventually sing, the Laurel Canyon legend made a brief appearance at Newport Folk Festival in 2022. But after surprising everyone at this year’s Grammy Awards with an emotional rendition of ‘Both Sides Now’, Joni confirmed two extra special shows at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl in October – dubbed the ‘Joni Jam’ – delivering a career-spanning set surrounded by a wealth of guests including Elton John, Meryl Streep, Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold, Jacob Collier, Jon Batiste, and Annie Lennox. It was nothing short of triumphant. 

Chappell Roan

Chappell Roan’s slow-burn rise to maximalist pop superstardom has been nothing short of a ‘Femininomenon’. Not only has she popped out hit after hit – indebted to camp pop rock queens like Elton John, Freddie Mercury, and Lady Gaga – or pulled in the biggest crowd Lollapalooza has ever witnessed for one performance, Roan has also garnered praised for shapeshifting the relationship between artist and fan. Taking a no-shit approach to toxic fan interactions may very well be her lasting legacy, if only her music wasn’t ‘HOT TO GO!’ 

Save Our Scene UK

Save Our Scene UK have been “speaking up for UK live music” since its formation in 2020, setting up guerilla raves along London’s canals and pop-up events around the country, consistently campaigning for government support, and emphasising why the UK’s music scene is nothing short of world-class. This year they made their greatest contribution yet, partnering with Music Venue Trust in encouraging massive acts like Coldplay, Katy Perry, and Sam Fender to pledge a £1 levy going towards UK grassroots venues from their own stadium tour ticket sales. Whilst it should already be the norm, this is a major step forwards for the grassroots ecosystem – that could very well unearth a future Glastonbury Festival headliner. 

Jon Bon Jovi

When we muse over the year’s heroes, we generally champion the artists or institutions that have had an overwhelming positive or transformative twelve months. But in 2024, Jon Bon Jovi became a legitimate hero: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-r convinced a visibly distressed woman to come down from the ledge of a bridge, his heroics taking place throughout filming for the music video for recent Bon Jovi single  ‘The People’s House’. In fairness, there’s few other rockers that could successfully encourage someone to ‘Keep The Faith’. 

Villains

Justin Timberlake 

As disastrous album sales for Everything I Thought I Was and a critical walloping suggested, the cat was finally out of the bag when it came to Justin Timberlake’s credentials as pop’s most cringeworthy customer. The former *NSYNC teen heartthrob made matters worse having been arrested for driving under the influence, infamously sighing under his breath “this is going to ruin the tour” with the police officer having no clue who the ‘Sexy Back’ singer was. 

Dave Grohl

2024 was the year that Dave Grohl lost his crown as the “nicest guy in rock”, announcing he fathered a baby girl outside of his 21-year marriage to wife Jordyn Blum. The news came as a massive shock to fans of the Foo Fighters’ frontman and former Nirvana drummer – who jibed “there goes my hero” and “is someone getting the best of you?” – though his infidelity was no way near as cataclysmic as it must have been for his family. Pledging to be a “loving and supportive parent” for his newborn as well as earn his family’s forgiveness, Grohl may earn back his crown in time. 

Dave Grohl
Photo: Rich Fury.

Katy Perry

Accusations about her wanting to showcase the body that Ozempic built, there’s no denying that Katy Perry looked fantastic for her poptastic return with album 143. It’s just a shame that the music was severely lacking in any sense of self-awareness. Lambasted by seemingly every corner of the mainstream media and her own fanbase for its muddled messaging about female empowerment and agency, Perry was criticised for working closely with controversial producer Dr. Luke, retroactively fitting meaning about “metamorphosis” to her comeback single ‘A Woman’s World’ in an attempt to claw back some respectability. Nobody was buying it, especially since the music video un-ironically pandered to the male gaze.

Drake

Rap music’s commercial golden boy versus the critically acclaimed genius: Drake and Kendrick Lamar faced off in a heated exchange throughout 2024 that brought back the public rap battle of yesteryear into full focus. Each releasing scathing rap tracks about each other, Drake and Kendrick’s feud rumbled on for several months before Lamar dealt the decisive blow with ‘Not Like Us’, his pro-Black Los Angeles anthem which cemented his legacy alongside West Coast greats in Ice Cube and 2Pac. Drake was left with further egg on his face after 2Pac’s estate threatened to sue the Canadian for his illegal AI rendering of the late rapper’s voice on diss track ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’ which has since been removed offline. 

Perry Farrell

Of course there had to be an on stage fracas involved when we’re listing villains of the year. It’s rock ‘n’ roll music’s bread and butter. Unfortunately for Dave Navarro, this year’s diva outburst came from Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell during Jane Addiction’s brief reunion, who confronted Navarro for drowning out his vocals during an ill-fated performance in Boston before cancelling the remaining tour. Perhaps someone should have informed him of a sound technician’s purpose before the gig kicked off. 

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