Music News

Brandon Flowers "struggles" with raising his kids and having a career.
The Killers frontman tries hard to find a balance between family life with wife Tana and their sons Ammon, seven, Gunnar, five, and three-year-old Henry and his "desire" to create and compete.
Asked if he struggles with fatherhood and the demands of the band, he said: "Yeah. I struggle with it every day. But I do take daddy time off and I also have this strong desire to create.
"Sometimes it's a desire to compete. A lot of the time I'll be competing with older stuff, like Blue Oyster Cult. I'll hear a purity in that stuff that I don't hear on modern radio and I'm striving for that sound in my own music."
The 'Read My Mind' hitmaker loves hiking in the Las Vegas desert, both because it gives him quality bonding time with his sons but also to find inspiration for his songwriting.
He told Q magazine: "The desert doesn't leave you. It energises me. That's where I go for inspiration and perspective, where I take my kids on a hike."

George Ezra finds it "really hard" to deal with having fans.
The 21-year-old singer is grateful for the support but feels awkward when he is approached by admirers who want to have their picture taken by them and worries he might not live up to their expectations.
He said: "I actually find it really hard to deal with people looking up to me or being interested in wanting a picture.
"Anyone that I think is amazing at what they do, I always have it in the back of my mind that they might be a di**head. I'm never rude about it or anything; I'll always smile, I appreciate it. It just goes over my head a little bit."
The 'Budapest' hitmaker is uncomfortable about being in the spotlight and has always thought about his music rather than being famous.
He said: "When I was younger, I used to love the idea of writing songs and performing them live. But that was all I thought about. I didn't think about people getting to know my face."
And George admits he particularly admires Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner for the way he is "appreciated" without being public property.
He explained: "He's appreciated for his lyrics. He's released, what, five albums now? And still I never see his face in papers. You don't ever hear what he's up to, and I think that's cool."

Biffy Clyro's Simon Neil had a "breakdown" last year.
The 'Mountains' singer was ordered onto bed rest by doctors and he admits he was "terrified" when he realised he had reached breaking point.
He said: "Getting older, my own mortality popped into my mind a lot more. I ended up having a bit of a breakdown.
"I was just about to go into America, through immigration and I had to get taken side and wired up to this heart monitor, strapped into this chair and there were medics all around me.
"It was the most terrifying moment of my life because I felt like my mind and body just broke.
"I was ordered to have bed rest by the doctor because I was just in such a bad state. There was a big change - a forced change - in my personal life. Rather than thinking about the band all the time, I took a big step back and thought about my survival as a human being."
The 35-year-old rocker admits he even considered giving up music in a bid to get better, but is now feeling stronger than ever.
He told Q magazine: "I went on holiday and spent some time with my wife.
"Things became very clear to me about how to let my own soul flourish while digging into dark places. I think, as well, just singing really personal songs took their toll and I felt like a bit of a shell of a man and I kind of lost myself. At a certain point I thought, 'Can I be happy and do this? If I'm mining these parts of my mind and soul can I do that and still exist in a healthy place?' I realised I'm not quite as invincible as I thought I was.
"But good old prescriptions can get you through anything. I feel great now."

Neil Young is recording an album with Willie Nelson's sons.
The 69-year-old musician revealed he is in the middle of working on his 36th LP - following the success of 'A Letter Home' and 'Storytone' which were both released in 2014 - and is hoping to bring a new edge to his sound by working with the country star's youngest children, rocker Lukas Nelson and his brother Jacob.
He said: "I'm working on another album now that I'm going to be doing with Willie Nelson's sons."
The singer-songwriter also explained the record - which has been tentatively named 'The Monsanto Years' - will be an "upbeat review of the situation" between himself and agriculture company Monsanto, which he has publicly criticised in the past.
Most recently, the star's hatred for the firm hit the headlines when he announced he would be boycotting Starbucks coffee shops after they began working with the controversial company to try and prevent laws in Vermont which would force manufacturers and retailers to label genetically modified products.
Writing on his website, he said: "I used to line up and get my latte everyday, but yesterday was my last one. Starbucks has teamed up with Monsanto to sue Vermont, and stop accurate food labeling."
Although he plans to release the album later this year, the 'Heart of Gold' singer admitted he is unsure of what he will do next, but knows music will be involved because of his recently launched music player, Pono.
He told RollingStone.com: "I don't know much about the future.
"I want to [focus on Pono] and I want to continue playing music. Those two things should keep me pretty busy. I have some film editing and things to do on the side. I'll probably be writing some more books. I want to keep doing what I do. I'd like to continue doing it for a long time."

Nicki Minaj has made a documentary about the "emotional rollercoaster" of making her new album.
The 'Anaconda' hitmaker released her third studio record 'The Pinkprint' last month and will give fans an insight into her personal and professional struggles while making it in a one-off programme titled 'Nicki Minaj: My Time Again'.
Confirming the news on Twitter, she wrote: "I can finally share this! Here's the trailer for my new @MTV doc #MyTimeAGAIN! (sic)."
In the teaser trailer for the show - which will premiere on MTV in the US on January 18 - the rapper hints the documentary will include a look into her personal heartbreak in 2014, having split from her boyfriend of 12 years, Safaree Samuels.
She says in the trailer: "I didn't know that this album would entail an emotional rollercoaster."
As well as suggesting she will talk her relationship, she also describes the music industry as something "no-one could prepare" her for.
She adds: "No-one could prepare for this business. Until you are in it you really can't wrap your brain around it."
The 32-year-old star released a similar documentary, 'My Time Now', in 2010, which chronicled her rise to stardom and followed her as she geared up for the release of 'Pink Friday' which spawned the singles 'Roman's Revenge', 'Fly' and 'Moment 4 Life'.

Mark Ronson's computer exploded while making 'Uptown Funk'.
The 39-year-old musician revealed he had a hectic time while making the chart-topping tune when it came to technology, but admitted the hard work was worthwhile though because it's the favourite of his songs.
He said: "I worked so hard. It had to be the first single because I'm most excited about it out of anything I've ever done.
"I was in the studio, playing the guitar. We heard this sizzling and suddenly the computer screen explodes."
Despite feeling "excited" about the single - which broke UK chart history last year when it was streamed a total of 2.34 million times during a single week - the producer confessed it was a struggle to complete the track because of the 'Locked Out of Heaven' singer's busy schedule, meaning it took half a year to finish.
He explained: "Bruno was on tour a lot, so we'd work on the track when we had one day free in LA. Or if he was in London playing Wireless we'd be in my studio. It took around six months to finish with all the to-ing and fro-ing.
"I had to chase him around to finish that song."
However, Mark - who is married to actress and singer Joséphine de La Baume - said the pair continued to work on the track with co-producer Jeff Bhasker for so long because they are always desperate for everything they do to be perfect.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, he added: "I'm just a perfectionist and Bruno is probably the only person I know that is even more of a perfectionist than I am. Sitting in the studio going that extra hour, or 13 hours or whatever it takes."

Years & Years have topped the BBC Sound of 2015 poll.
The east London pop trio beat off competition from singer-songwriter Rae Morris and grunge pop band Wolf Alice to top the list - which aims to highlight the year's rising musical stars - with the group's frontman Olly Alexander admitting he "nearly passed out" when they discovered they had won.
Speaking on BBC Radio One, he said: "I nearly passed out when I found out. I got quite emotional; there were tears, so many feelings, so many."
The list was voted on by 139 UK-based musical tastemakers who tipped the acts they believed would gain prominence in the following 12 months, with James Bay, Stormzy, Raury and George the Poet completing the top five.
Following their win, the 'Desire' hitmakers say they are planning on releasing their debut album in 2015 to live up to expectations.
Speaking about the LP, bassist Mikey Goldsworth revealed: "It's almost finished."
However, the group's keyboard player Emre Turkmen acknowledged their reluctance to stop writing new songs has delayed the release of the anticipated record.
He added: "We just keep writing new stuff. You could go on forever, really. We're going to stop soon."
Now that they have been tipped for success, the 'Take Shelter' singers joked they won't become "boring" like the poll's 2014 winner, Sam Smith.
The 24-year-old vocalist told music website Popjustice: "We're going to try really hard not to be boring. 'Not boring' - we're going to get it tattooed on ourselves. It will be the word boring with a line through it."

Kendrick Lamar believes Iggy Azalea should be allowed to do "her thing".
The 27-year-old rapper has voiced his support for the 'Fancy' hitmaker, who has become a target of criticism for a number of people in the music industry, including Azealia Banks and J. Cole.
However, the Compton-born MC thinks Iggy, 24, ought to be left alone, telling Billboard magazine: "She's doing her thing. Let her. People have to go through trials and tribulations to get where they at. Do your thing, continue to rock it, because obviously God wants you here."
Earlier this week, Iggy said sexism is to blame for much of the criticism she receives.
She claimed it's especially difficult for her to succeed in the rap industry because she's white and female.
Asked if being a woman is linked to the criticism she gets, Iggy replied: "Well, they don't say that stuff about Macklemore. So, yes, I think it has 100,000 percent to do with the fact that I have a vagina."
Iggy also said it's tough being white in the hip-hop industry, but she can't understand the problem.
Iggy reflected: "I never thought it was strange. If you go back to the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley and Eminem - they've all basically done black music.
"I felt this wasn't that far from what we've seen in music history over and over again."

Snoop Dogg's next album will be called 'Bush'.
The 43-year-old rapper confirmed the title of his upcoming 13th solo album while at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Wednesday (07.01.15), also revealing fans can expect the LP to be released in mid-March.
The 'Drop It like It's Hot' hitmaker previously revealed Pharrell Williams is producing the entire album - which is being released on his i am OTHER label and Columbia Records - with the N.E.R.D. member praising the album by saying it is better than his own 2014 record, 'Girl'.
Speaking last year, the 'Happy' singer said: "Snoop's album is better than mine. You're gonna bug out from the approach and what we did."
The star's most recent release was 2013's '7 Days of Funk' which was created while he was using the alias Snoopzilla, in collaboration with Dam-Funk.
Snoop also hinted the material - which is believed to include contributions from Stevie Wonder and Charlie Wilson - won't sound like anything he has done previously.
He explained: "It's a great record me and Pharrell did from top to bottom. It feels good and I'm happy to be back in the studio working with one of my favourite producers and homeboys.
"It's different - it's completely different than anything we've ever done. It feels good, sounds good, looks good."