{"id":251472,"date":"2026-01-22T09:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T09:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/251472\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T09:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T09:23:10","slug":"katy-perry-robbie-williams-liz-mitchell-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/251472\/","title":{"rendered":"Katy Perry, Robbie Williams, Liz Mitchell & More"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tJoy Awards<\/a> 2026 leaned decisively into live music, transforming Riyadh into a global<\/a> showcase with performances by Katy Perry, Robbie Williams and disco legend Liz Mitchell of Boney M., alongside a prominent lineup of Arab artists.<\/p>\n

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\n\tHeld annually in Saudi Arabia\u2019s capital, the Joy Awards have steadily evolved from a regional ceremony into a performance driven broadcast closer in spirit to the MTV Video Music Awards than a traditional awards show. The 2026 edition pushed that evolution further, placing music at the center of the night\u2019s pacing and identity.<\/p>\n

\n\tThroughout the broadcast, international<\/a> headliners shared the stage with artists from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Lebanon. Orchestral passages flowed into pop arrangements, genre boundaries blurred, and transitions carried the polish of a touring arena production aimed at a global audience.<\/p>\n

\n\tKaty Perry opened the ceremony with an arena style performance of \u201cDark Horse,\u201d combining live vocals, large scale choreography and shifting stage environments. The set built toward a dramatic peak as fireworks lit up the Riyadh skyline, framing music as a driving force rather than a break between awards. Perry later returned to present the Favorite Female Artist award to Egyptian pop star Angham, briefly reflecting on music\u2019s ability to transcend borders.<\/p>\n

\n\tOne of the night\u2019s defining moments followed with Robbie Williams\u2019 appearance. After performing hits including \u201cFeel,\u201d the British pop icon was joined onstage by Saudi artist Ayed. The segment moved from Ayed\u2019s \u201cTakhayyal Law\u201d into a bilingual duet of \u201cAngels,\u201d unfolding as a fully integrated performance rather than a novelty crossover.<\/p>\n

\n\tArab artists were woven prominently throughout the program. Lebanon\u2019s Abeer Nehme and Angham anchored the regional presence, with Angham delivering one of the night\u2019s most technically striking collaborations. Polish guitarist Marcin joined her during a medley of her best known songs, introducing Latin influenced guitar passages that recontextualized familiar melodies while keeping the vocals at the center.<\/p>\n

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\n\tGenre blending reached its clearest expression later in the evening. Operatic quartet Il Divo delivered a dramatic rendition of \u201cI Will Always Love You,\u201d followed by Liz Mitchell performing the music of Boney M., bringing disco\u2019s golden era energy to the stage. The segment culminated in a joint performance that fused operatic vocals with classics including \u201cDaddy Cool\u201d and \u201cRasputin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBeyond music, the ceremony maintained its cross industry scope with appearances from global screen figures including Squid Game stars Lee Jung-jae and Lee Byung-hun, Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown and Oscar winner Forest Whitaker. Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan also appeared, presenting an award to Syrian singer Assala.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaken together, Joy Awards 2026 reflected a broader shift taking place across Saudi Arabia\u2019s entertainment landscape. Riyadh is no longer positioning itself as a regional stop on the global touring circuit, but as an active participant in shaping how large scale live music and broadcast events are produced and experienced.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat positioning extends well beyond a single night. In recent years, the capital has built a dense calendar of major music moments, from MDLBEAST Soundstorm, now one of the world\u2019s largest electronic music festivals, to headline performances tied to Formula 1 weekends and a steady flow of arena and outdoor concerts. Joy Awards fits into that ecosystem as its most broadcast focused expression, translating the same production ambition into a globally oriented televised format.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joy Awards 2026 leaned decisively into live music, transforming Riyadh into a global showcase with performances by Katy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":251473,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[1096,134057,146,7727,85,399,46,409],"class_list":{"0":"post-251472","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-awards","9":"tag-billboard-arabia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-global","12":"tag-il","13":"tag-international","14":"tag-israel","15":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}