The MTV EMAs will touch down in Manchester this week, bringing a mass of famous faces and celebrities to our city for a night celebrating the music industry.
The star-studded event will be taking place at the Co-op Live on Sunday 10 November, and also streamed and broadcast live.
Now in its 30th year, the MTV EMAs celebrates the biggest and best of the music industry across genres, with categories honouring the best music videos, collaborations, live shows and even fanbases.
This is the first time the global music celebration has ever been held in our city and it’s expected to attract some of the hottest names in the industry.
There’s a big chance, based off the nominees and already-announced performers, that we’ll have some of the world’s biggest A-listers staying in Manchester, booking up luxury hotel rooms and restaurants.
Host venue Co-op Live has sent the rumour mill into overdrive this week by sharing photos of famous faces who have previously attended the EMAs.
It posted photos of celebrities like Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, all of whom have graced the MTV EMAs stage either as performer or to receive an award over the years.
Not since last year’s surreal Chanel Metiers D’Art show, where the Northern Quarter was turned into a catwalk and Hugh Grant and Kristen Stewart popped up in town, have we been so excited about a potential event guest list.
We do know quite a few celebrities who will definitely be attending the MTV EMAs, including those who are performing, presenting or hosting at the glittering ceremony.
British R&B queen Raye, the iconic Pet Shop Boys, and backflipping crooner Benson Boone are all among those performing at the MTV EMAs in Manchester.
Also on the bill will be Shawn Mendes, Teddy Swims, Tyla, The Warning, Le Sserafim, and Peso Pluma.
Busta Rhymes is also set to receive the 2024 EMA Global Icon Award.
Taylor Swift could be among the celebrities at the MTV EMAs in ManchesterCredit: Instagram, @beyonce
Then there are the presenters, including the main awards host Rita Ora, plus awards presenters already announced like Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Turner-Smith and Lucien Laviscount.
But then there are all the big names on the nominees list, who may appear in person or may just opt to send pre-recorded messages of acceptance.
Taylor Swift herself is leading the nominations for the MTV EMAs for a second year running, with seven nods, with other top contenders including Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Charli XCX and Ariana Grande.
It’s a huge deal for Manchester to be the host city, especially with our very own Liam Gallagher going up agains rock icons like Bon Jovi, Coldplay, Green Day, Kings of Leon, Lenny Kravitz and The Killers in the Best Rock category.
Beyonce herself is nominated for a few, as is this summer’s music darling Chappell Roan, plus nods for Post Malone and Lady Gaga.
You can see the full list of nominees for the MTV EMAs – and thus the potential celebrities you could spot – HERE.
The story behind one of Noel Gallagher’s best bits of songwriting and greatest ever performances
Danny Jones
Noel Gallagher is not only one of the greatest songwriters of a generation, but perhaps one of Britain’s best-ever; he’s certainly in the top five of all time from Greater Manchester, but did you know how the story behind how one of his best (you heard) songs, ‘Dead In The Water’ came to be?
Or rather, do you know how one little radio performance produced one of his best vocal performances to date? Keep reading…
In case you’ve never heard the haunting ‘Dead In The Water’, taken from Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds LP three, Who Built The Moon?, it is very much just that: an almost ghostly and preciously quiet, acoustic song that became a cult favourite on the LP and even more beloved live track.
But this tune was never even supposed to be on the album; the deep cut, which was only ever played live a few times during concerts prior to its being released to the world, was taken from a radio show on Irish station RTÉ 2FM – and Noel didn’t even know it was being recorded.
Played during 2015, and it barely even needed ‘mastering’ before being released in 2017.
As explained by RTÉ’s Damian Chennells, Noel was promoting the previous album, Chasing Yesterday (his sophomore HFB outing and just second solo album up to that point), and during the session in the studio, Damian decided to hit record on an otherwise behind-the-scenes moment.
You can actually hear him going back and forth with the sound engineer at the start of the track – one he’d only just finished writing the night before – before he actually starts playing and the rest, as they say, is history.
We love the notion that the piano player didn’t even know what he was doing until Noel started playing.
Taped and ultimately tracked thanks to a spur-of-the-moment decision made in 2FM Studio 8 at the national free-to-air network’s radio centre in Dublin, Oasis and High Flying Birds fans, as well as lovers of Noel and music in general, got one of the most beautiful stripped-back listening experiences imaginable.
Returning to Ireland some time later, and just four years prior to getting Oasis back together for the Live ’25 world tour show that is now well underway, he performed it once again for The Late Late Show, which goes out on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
Some might argue he sounds even better this time around, but just as he says in the interview above, there is something truly special and unfiltered about that first raw and ridiculously good live recording.
From 2015 to 2021, and even present day, the story behind the original ‘Dead in the Water’ recording is fascinating.
Many have even speculated that the chatter recorded at the start and played to crowds on just a handful of occasions may have even foreshadowed the eventual reunion, as it seems to feature discussion surrounding Liam
The radio tech himself said in the recent retrospective interview of his own, he felt in the moment that “this song is an Oasis B-side” and was the only one played on the day that could easily slip onto one of their records.
As for Who Built The Moon?, a.k.a. HFB3, the album never featured ever B-sides of its own; instead, it just had one extra bonus track right at the very end of the 48:46 run-time – ‘Dead in the Water (live at RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin)’.
So there you have it: one of Noel’s most emotional, in-the-zone/lost-in-the-moment vocal performances in history, and one that so many still rate right up there with his very bits of music, may never have been if it wasn’t for ‘Damo’. So thanks, mate, I guess…
Are there any other tracks like ‘Dead in the Water’ where you love the back-story almost as much as the song itself? Bonus points if they’re by Greater Manchester artists.
Ed Sheeran announces ‘intimate’ Manchester date later this year
Danny Jones
The king of contemporary male pop music, Ed Sheeran, is returning to Manchester for one of his biggest dates ever, as well as his venue debut.
Yep, Teddy’s coming to Co-op Live.
The 34-year-old solo star and songwriting extraordinaire hasn’t played a standalone Manchester show since 2023, when he played the legendary AO Arena barely a year on from playing four sold-out nights at the Etihad Stadium.
And now he’s back for more with his first-ever gig at the city’s newest and Europe’s biggest indoor entertainment space.
Confirmed on Wednesday, 3 September, Ed Sheeran is set to play just a small handful of huge headline spaces this winter, including dates in Paris, Munich, Coventry and Dublin, as well as here in Manchester.
Announced ahead of his new LP and eighth studio album, Play, of which we’ve already heard four new tracks: ‘Sapphire’, ‘Old Phone’, ‘A Little More’ and ‘Azizam’ – the latter of which went straight to number one and stayed there for five whole weeks after it dropped.
These upcoming shows will be an extra and rare chance to see Sheeran before his all-new ‘Loop’ stadium tour, which kicks off in Australia next January.
Revealing details about the limited number of EU dates via his own social media channels, Sheeran wrote: “Coming to play some shows in Europe. These shows will be more intimate than a stadium show, obvz, but still will be incredible.”
We don’t know how he plans to make a room as big as the Co-op Live arena ‘intimate’, but we’re looking forward to seeing what he has in store…
He went on to add that he loves “playing these venues so much”, urging fans to pre-order the new record if they want to get their hands on tickets ASAP.
Play releases on Friday, 12 September, and those who pre-order the album exclusively through Amazon.co.uk before 7pm BST this Sunday, 7 September, can put themselves in with a chance of securing pre-sale tickets.
Elsewhere, early access will also be available to official Co-op members next Wednesday (10/9/25) ahead of general admission going live on Thursday, 11 September.
You can get ready to grab your tickets for Ed Sheeran at Co-op Live on Sunday, 7 December HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
7th November 2024 
