Music News

Hozier doesn't like "rubbing shoulders" with chart artists.
The 24-year-old singer - whose track 'Take Me To Church' became a fixture in Top 10s worldwide and was nominated in the Song of the Year category at the Grammy Awards last month - is thrilled with the hit's success but doesn't like being compared to singers whose sole aim is to make it to number one.
He said: "A lot of people complain about current music, about the Top 10 and the values reflected in it, but Take Me To Church found room there, and that had to be good. Then again, you're rubbing shoulders with artists who make music that is 'designed' to chart, and that's not something I've ever aimed for.
"The danger is that, once you're there, it can be difficult to come back; you feel like you have to do it again. I'm very conscious of that, very watchful of myself. Songwriting can't be about that. It means so much more. It's mortal combat."
Hozier added he is shocked that his music has become a mainstream success and hopes he can inspire other artists to follow in his footsteps.
He told The Sunday Times newspaper's Culture magazine: "I never, ever, ever imagined having mainstream success, and it still amazes me. But it also makes me think that, if I can do it, there are so many other musicians who could as well."

Rebecca Ferguson won't call her kids when she's on tour.
The 28-year-old singer - who has Lillie May, 10, Karl, nine, and five-month-old Arabella from past relationships - tries not to go too long without seeing her children when she's on the road but finds it too upsetting only speaking to them on the phone.
She said: "If I am touring throughout the week, they sometimes join me on the weekends, so I don't go too long without seeing them.
"I try not to call them when I'm away because it just upsets me more, it's like a reminder of me not being there.
"I'm never apart from them for longer than a week though."
Despite juggling her busy career and three children, Rebecca hasn't ruled out having more kids in the future.
She said: "If I got married one day and settled down, I would love to have more children.
"But I'm also aware of how much it takes out of your body. Since having Arabella, I've realised how much harder it can be when you're older."
However, the former 'X Factor' star is currently single and isn't interested in embarking on a new romance.
She told Closer magazine: "I am not dating and, in fact, I'm not interested in men at all.
"I want to go out with my friends and have a laugh. It's funny, you always attract men when you don't want them - you'll go out and they'll want your number while you're left thinking, 'Where were you when I wanted a boyfriend?' "

Charli XCX wants to take over the world.
The 'Boom Clap' hitmaker - who has worked with the likes of Iggy Azalea, Rita Ora and Gwen Stefani - is keen to keep pushing boundaries in her own career, as well as penning pop hits for other artists.
Asked what the future holds, she said: "I just want to be continuously making killer songs and mind-blowing videos, as well as writing for other artists.
"I want to change the musical landscape. I think the overall plan is to take over the world. That's basically it."
The 22-year-old singer has been performing since she was 14 years old and thinks she "deserves" her global success because she has worked so hard
She said: "Now that it's here, I feel like I really deserve it. I know how this world works now, and I'm not going to let people walk all over me.
"I feel blessed to be in this position and I've made so many great relationships."
The 'Fancy' star credits Swedish pop star Robyn with giving her the best piece of career advice she has heard.
She told Grazia magazine: "We'd just had this epic dance-off in Australia, she is an insane dancer, and I was feeling a bit down and insecure.
"She said, 'You've just gotta be yourself and be nice to everybody because that's why people think you're cool.' "

Christina Milian's five-year-old daughter tells her what to eat.
The 33-year-old singer admits the reasons why she wants to stay in shape have changed since she and ex-husband The-Dream became parents to little Violet, and the youngster tries to advise her mother on healthy foods.
She said: "My daughter Violet inspires me to stay in shape. Before, I wanted to get in shape to be the prettiest girl but now I do it for her.
"She's really smart. She tells me not to eat French fries - she'll say, 'Mom, it's junk food.' "
Christina gained 45lbs when she was pregnant with Violet and though she felt pressured to slim down quickly, she is delighted with her figure these days.
Asked if she felt pressure to lose weight, she told Now magazine: "Yeah, but showbiz or not, when you're pregnant all you can think about is, 'OK I don't want to gain too much weight.'
"I loved being pregnant but you can't wait to get back to your old shape and being healthy.
"I have a different body now as a mother, but I'm finally back to my pre-pregnancy weight - I'm only 3lb more than my 'Dip It Low' days."

Pete Doherty is "haunted" by never finishing a song with Amy Winehouse.
The Libertines frontman used to try to write with his late friend, but she was "very, very critical" of him, and their addictions frequently got in the way of their creativity.
He said: "Invariable, whenever we got together to write, I was probably in no fit state either. But the way I remember it was she... I never really caught her at the right time.
"She was more interested in other things, not in actually getting any music done, which is strange because that's something people have accused me of as well.
"Whenever we used to get together to do music, she was always very, very critical of the new ideas I had. So we never ended up getting anything finished. I'm haunted by that."
Pete - whose is donating the profits from his latest single, 'Flags of the Old Regime', to the Amy Winehouse Foundation - believes Amy felt "trapped" by her success.
He explained to NME magazine: "She bought a brand new house in Camden Square, it was incredible, she had loads of great guitars in the basement and a huge music system. On her doorstep, she had all these horrible paparazzi. So she couldn't go anywhere.
"Blake [her husband] was in prison. She was just... She's got a lot time, she's been in a state of absolute despair. Fame had completely hemmed her in.
"I think her natural spirit was to be flying on melody and feeling. And yet she was caged. She was trapped...
"To make the money and get the wealth and power that comes with it, you have to sacrifice a lot of your personal liberties."

Björk felt "embarrassed" by the songs on her new album.
The 'It's Oh So Quiet' hitmaker released her latest LP, 'Vulnicura', online last month but admitted she initially found the collection awkward because the tracks came from a place of heartbreak following her split from partner of 14 years, Mathew Barney.
She confessed: "I did feel really embarrassed about these songs in the beginning."
However, the 49-year-old singer revealed she had a change of heart when she revisited the collection a year after writing it, and decided she would like to release the songs but wanted to ensure she protected her family, especially 12-year-old daughter Ísadóra who she had with her ex-partner.
She explained: "I was like, OK, it isn't as messy as I thought it was. It is messy, for sure, it's just that there are different types of mess. Some you're up for sharing and some not. And protecting my family was obviously the most important thing. That was priority number one, two and three. But then number four was maybe this sort of hunter in me, this other person who looks and evaluates."
But after listening through the tracks again, she soon decided it was important to retain the rawness which she wrote them with, because that was what made them so special.
She told The Guardian newspaper: "That person [in me] looked at it and said: 'No, if you cut out all the messy bits, it's not going to be a document of this grief journey, it's not going to be any use for anyone.' If I had taken out the messy bits, they would have been arid songs. They wouldn't even have been good songs."

Mariah Carey is back in the studio.
The 44-year-old singer has started recording new music for her 15th studio album - 25 years after she released her eponymous debut - just a day after it was revealed she has signed a new deal with Sony label, Epic Records.
Confirming she has already begun working on new tracks, her long-term collaborator Jermaine Dupri posted a photo on Instagram with the caption, "been in the studio all night with @MariahCarey. (sic)"
The 42-year-old record producer has worked with Mariah numerous times before, and previously masterminded her hit singles 'Always Be My Baby' and 'We Belong Together'.
Her recent deal with Epic Record will also see the star reunite with producer L.A. Reid, who worked on her 2005 record 'The Emancipation of Mimi'.
The album will follow 2014's 'Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse' released through Def Jam Recordings, which featured the singles '#Beautiful' and 'The Art of Letting Go'.
The record will also be her first since her highly-publicised split from husband Nick Cannon which came to light in August, six years after they married, and three years after the chart-topper gave birth to twins Monroe and Moroccan.

Kanye West was "getting fat" before he was inspired by Drake.
The 37-year-old musician revealed although the 'Hold On, We're Going Home' hitmaker is a musical competitor, he helped him to get back into the studio because he realised he needed to up his game after hearing Drake's new collection, 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late'.
He admitted: "I look at Drake as an amazing sparring partner.
"Someone who's like, 'Come on, man, get back up!' Bow! 'Get back up! What's up, bro? What you doing?'
"I was sitting there getting fat. Sitting back, just knocked everybody out. And then this guy hits the gym, he's just running around like, bow, 14 hits, same as Paul McCartney. I'm like, Whoa. OK. Let me go to the studio, then. Let's see what's happening. Let me get these lyrics up. Let me see what's happening. So, that's where we at right now, that's where you getting these records from."
However, the 'All Day' rapper - who is expected to release his new album 'So Help Me God' later this year - insisted he wouldn't describe his relationship with the 28-year-old star as a rivalry because they have mutual respect.
Speaking to French website Clique, he said: "I think healthy competition is better than rivalry.
"I think rivalry becomes a cancer; it becomes like termites in your health. I think healthy competition is something where you appreciate how hard this person goes."

Big Sean was "addicted" to Eminem.
The 26-year-old rapper found the Stan' hitmaker's music "exciting" and different when he was a youngster growing up in Detroit, and was thrilled to get the chance to collaborate with him on 'Detroit Vs. Everybody' years later.
He said: "I bought his first CD at Costco with my mom when I was 11. He was a new breed of rap - he had fresh storytelling lyrics, full of drugs and murder. It was exciting. It was addictive. His music itself was like a drug. "So you can just imagine what it's like to go from there to being in the studio with him, eating pizza and talking about which is better, 'South Park' or 'Family Guy'."
Sean - who is dating Ariana Grande - has always been confident in his own abilities and was confident he'd be a successful rapper from the age of just 12.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "I've always been a dreamer. Since I was 10 years old, I was always rapping in front of the TV in the living room, visualising it all.
"[Did I think I'd make it?] I actually did. I never even questioned it. From 12 on, I used to always be like, 'And when I'm a rapper...' I was living in that world where I was already a rapper. People would make fun of me a little bit, but they would just be playing, though. They bought my CDs at school."