Tired of singing Happy Birthday?

Our regular contributors select their highlights of the year.

Billie Eilish and Lizzo were among the big breakthrough acts in 2019, while we bade farewell to the likes of Ginger Bakerand Keith Flint, writes Ed Power

Diana Ross will be 76 by the time she crosses the Atlantic for pre-Glastonbury gigs at the Marquee in Cork

Few could have predicted Lizzo's stratospheric rise in 2019. Coming out of the Minneapolis scene, she has toiled for years with a couple of minor hits such as the cocky 'Batches and Cookies'.

She spent a year living in a car while trying to break into the music industry and is now the hottest ticket in showbusiness. Where did this creative powerhouse, who doesn’t conform to celebrity norms, come from, asks Suzanne Harrington.

Julie Jay is a writer, presenter and stand-up comic. She is co-host of the Up to 90 podcast with Emma Doran which will be recorded live on Sunday in the Spailpín Fánach, as part of Cork Podcast Festival

With a plethora of culture and content releasing at an incessant rate, finding someone to have that cliched watercooler moment with is getting harder and harder. However, there’s a whole host of pop culture podcasts that do the heavy lifting/watching with you.

Lizzo is one of music's biggest stars at the moment - a fact that was evident last week when people around the country were left devastated after tickets for the superstar's first ever Irish show disappeared within seconds.

Music fans have raised concerns about Ticketmaster’s online sales system after tickets for a sold-out concert appeared to go on re-sale on its website minutes later for more than double the original price.

As the Dublin venue only seats 1,200, a lot of the tickets were snapped up during the presale.

Rising hip-hop and R&B songstress Lizzo's ‘Cuz I Love You Too’ European tour is coming to Dublin.

Aisling O’Riordan is involved in various arts and entertainment events around Cork, including this weekend’s It Takes a Village festival in Trabolgan, as festival manager. Weekend passes and Sunday day tickets are still available for ITAV. Aisling also DJs and plays in the bands Morning Veils and Hex.