The performers for the 2024 MTV EMAs have been announced today, with some very famous faces making an appearance.
This year sees Manchester crowned the home of the prestigious award ceremony for the first time ever, and what better way to celebrate than hosting in the UK’s newest live entertainment venue Co-op Live
Tooting-born Rachel Keen, more famously known as Raye, is flying the flag for the UK on the MTV EMAs stage as she will be the only British act performing this year so far.
The musical talent is no stranger to award shows as this year has been very successful for her following a sweep at this year’s BRITs such as ‘Song of the Year’ and ‘British Artist of the Year’.
Earlier this month, the entertainment brand announced the full awards list and nominations including household names like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Ariana Grande.
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Taylor Swift is leading the nominations for the MTV EMAs. Ariana Grande has several nominations of her own.Beyoncé is always in the conversation.Credit: Press Images (supplied)
Raye will be sharing the stage with a handful of acts like Shawn Mendes and Teddy Swims with more names to be announced very soon.
Mendes has amassed a large cult following for his guitar-heavy singles like ‘Stitches’, ‘There’s Nothin’ Holding Me Back’ and the steamy 2019 single ‘Señorita’ with Camila Cabello.
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Pop singer and vocal belting God, Teddy Swims has come into the spotlight recently since releasing his songs onto social media with his standout single ‘Lose Control’ – which he also performed with the one and only Kelly Clarkson – gaining lots of traction, especially on TikTok.
There’s also buzz around rising star Benson Boone after his hit ‘Beautiful Things’ followed the same trajectory of Swims becoming an overnight star due to its virality.
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Mexican rock band The Warning are also taking to the stage and like many other acts who are set to play, this will be their first time performing at this incredible new music venue.
Teddy Swims has been announced as a performer at the MTV EMAs 2024 in Manchester.Raye is also set to put on a showstopper.Shawn Mendes fills out the stunning 2024 lineup.Just a handful of the performers confirmed for the 2024 MTV EMAs. (Credit: Supplied)
The performers and nominees won’t be the only recognisable faces attending the event as the presenters helping give out the awards are stars too.
Manchester is set to become a mini Hollywood for one night only as acting royalty Jodie Turner-Smith, known for her role as Anne Boleyn, is just one of the presenters for the award show.
Aaron Taylor Johnson, who has starred in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Bullet Train, as well as UK cult classic film, Angus, Thongs And Perfect Snogging, will also be there on the evening.
Lucien Laviscount and Gavin Rosendale are joining the presenting team too, with more big names set to be announced very soon.
Featured Images — Wikimedia Commons/Press Images (supplied)
Audio
Akon speaks on his connection to Manchester after run of Co-op Live gigs
Danny Jones
Music veteran Akon has recently discussed his connection to our city following his run of live shows here in Manchester.
In fact, he went so far as to say he feels much more affinity here than he does with ‘The Big Smoke’.
The seasoned Senegalese-American rapper, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur and humanitarian, teamed up with fellow chart-topper Ne-Yo for not just one, not even two, but three whole nights at Co-op Live this May as part of their co-headline tour across the UK and Ireland.
Chatting with Simone Riley on BBC Radio Manchester before the third and final gig of the trio, Akon admitted that there’s “something about Manchester” that he loves way more than London.
As you can see, while he couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly is about it in the North compared to the capital, he said simply that “it’s crazy here”, and he loves it.
Same, mate. Same.
Admitting that he feels “more attached to Manchester than London” and labelling the energy from the crowds as “stupid” up here (he meant it in a good way, we promise), Simone couldn’t help but confess her joy over his comments.
He’s not the only global superstar to have recently shouted out their affection for 0161, either, as Billie Eilish also said something similar.
Speaking to the mainline BBC at the premiere of her Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), she said that while the dates lining up were certainly a key factor, there were other reasons why she chose Manchester to film her new movie.
Our Audio North team were also lucky enough to chat with Akon’s touring partner Ne-Yo recently, too, who also had nothing but good things to say about us as a place to play.
As for Akon, the 53-year-old has obviously played here plenty of times over the decades, with last year’s tour being his first return in a decade.
That being said, given how glowingly he’s spoken about us and how popular these joint performances were, we reckon it won’t be that long before he comes back.
Last but not least, we obviously couldn’t resist going along to at least one of the nights for ourselves; listen to what we had to say about the tour in our full review down below.
Antony Szmeirek announces second album along with biggest UK tour dates yet
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester spoken word artist Antony Szmeirek has finally revealed the name, cover art and release date for his second album, along with his biggest run of UK tour dates yet.
The Tameside teacher turned full-time artist dropped his maiden record, Service Station at the End of the Universe, back in February 2025, and now, just over a year on from its launch, he’s getting ready to deliver his highly anticipated follow-up.
Entitled Decoding Birdsong, the sophomore studio project is scheduled for this summer, with a series of live shows booked for the following autumn.
Having already dropped lead single ‘The Heron’ earlier this year, Szmeirek has just released the opener from his upcoming LP, which is simply called ‘Chalk’; he’s also unveiled the rest of the tracklist and a rather striking bit of album artwork.
The Hyde-born artist is making big moves not only within the spoken word space but across multiple genres, with his music blending everything from indie, hip-hop, electronica and more.
His latest song, for instance, is more of an acid-house-esque meets contemporary EDM outing, and has quickly gone down as a popular addition among fans.
On the album name itself, he’s never one to shy away from a weird title or two – case in point, ‘The Great Pyramid of Stockport’ from his debut and ‘Dave’s Angling Superstore’ on this new record.
The 34-year-old carries that same idiosyncrasy throughout his lyricism and creative concepts, as well.
‘Chalk’ is a perfect example of this, as the song is inspired by The Edge of Everything documentary: a film about the career of legendary British snooker player, Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Here’s the music video…
As for his latest raft of live shows, these will be some of the biggest domestic gigs that the local lad has played in his career so far.
In addition to a pair of hometown shows here in Manchester, he is set to play a dozen different cities across Great Britain and Ireland.
Antony Szmierek UK/IE tour dates – October 2026
We’ve highlighted the Northern stops for you, too:
Thomas Melia -
22nd October 2024 
