Music News

Lady Gaga is trying to find the basis for "the torture of the artist".
The 28-year-old singer has been enjoying some time off after finishing her 'ArtRave: The Artpop Ball' world and has been getting philosophical about what the source of her internal angst is.
Gaga has deduced it comes from her constantly looking forward to the next scene in her life.
In a post on her Instagram and Twitter accounts, she wrote: "My life feels like a movie in slow motion. And as I try to live in the moment and be mindful I realise I'm writing the script to the next scene. Is this the source of the torture of the artist? We must be inspired by nature and yet we are constantly synthesizing it so do we ever live it? Or are we always writing it's next great fantasy?"
Gaga believes all artists could be trying to "play God" by creating their own world.
She added: "Are we playing God? Because certainly it would be foolish to think one could create something more beautiful than nature itself."
When she hasn't been philosophising, the pop superstar has been spending her festive break decorating her Christmas tree, doing yoga and cooking meals for her and her boyfriend Taylor Kinney.
Gaga has also recorded and released the classic Christmas song 'Winter Wonderland' with Tony Bennett - who she collaborated with on their hit album 'Cheek To Cheek'.

Nile Rodgers says The Beatles changed his life.
The 62-year-old musician has revealed the Beatles track 'A Day in the Life' was the first song he played on the guitar, and prompted him to take up a career in music.
He said: "The first song I ever learned to play was a Beatles song called 'A Day In The Life'. That changed the whole course of my entire career."
The star - who is best known for his tracks with Chic including 'Everybody Dance' and 'Le Freak' - also revealed he still doesn't feel fully confident in his musical ability, despite having so much success during his extensive career, and typically assumes people won't like his songs.
He said: "I don't go into a project assuming that it's going to be a hit. I go into a project assuming it's going to be a failure and then do everything in my power to try and help people hear the music."
The Grammy Award winner has worked with Avicii, Disclosure and Sam Smith in the past few years, as well as contributing to the worldwide hit 'Get Lucky' by Daft Punk, but said he's very selective about who he works with because he wants to be able to learn things from his collaborators.
Speaking about the type of artists he chooses to work with, he told Popjustice.com: "People that I admire, respect and people that I believe that I'm going to learn from. I always go into a situation feeling highly confident I am going to teach them something and it really doesn't matter whether its Placido Domingo or Avicii, I believe that if I don't have something to offer you, why do you use me?
"If I can't give you something new then why do you need me? I always believe in working with somebody who is going to teach me something."

Beyoncé is being sued by a Hungarian singer for allegedly using a sample from her song for her hit 'Drunk In Love'.
Monika Miczura, also known as Mitsou, has reportedly served a lawsuit to the R&B superstar for sampling her 1995 track 'Bajba Bajba Pelem' on a version of her single, without getting permission.
The lawsuit says: "Mitsou's voice was sampled and digitally manipulated without her permission.
"[The sampling is used] to evoke foreign eroticism alongside the sexually intense lyrics performed by Beyoncé and Jay Z in 'Drunk in Love.'"
The Grammy-nominated track - which also features Beyoncé's husband Jay Z rapping - features on the singer's self-titled fifth studio album which was released last year, and despite being available for the last 12 months, the angry musician wants damages and has requested for the song to be banned until her voice is removed.
Later in the lawsuit, the Hungarian Roma singer's lawyers explain how her voice has been illegally used throughout a considerable portion of the track.
It reads: "In the video, Mitsou's solo vocal introduction follows 57 seconds of a cinematic, intimate scene of beach at night. Following Mitsou's stirring featured solo vocal introduction, Mitsou's voice continues to sing as Beyoncé begins to sing.
"All together, Mitsou's vocals are featured for over one-and-a-half minutes of the five-and-one-half minute song. Mitsou has never signed any documents that would permit anyone to use her voice for advertising or trade purposes."
The news comes just a week after a lawsuit against Jay Z was thrown out of court, following TufAmerica's claims the 45-year-old rapper had used an uncleared single word sample from Eddie Bo's 1969 song 'Hook & Sling Part 1' in his 2009 hit 'Run This Town'.

Britney Spears has teamed up with Iggy Azalea.
The 'Toxic' hitmaker - who is currently in the middle of her two-year residency show 'Britney: Piece of Me' at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas - will release the "undeniably great" track with the Aussie-born star early next year.
Iggy, 24, confirmed the news to the Daily Star newspaper: "We have a song which is going to be her first single coming out next year. It's undeniably great. It's a really fun track."
Britney - who is currently working on her ninth studio album - has previously expressed her desire to work with the 'Fancy' singer, as well as 'Roar' hitmaker Katy Perry.
She said: "I would love [to work with] Katy Perry, I would love to do something with her. And Iggy."
The currently unnamed track will be the 33-year-old's singer's first offering since the release of her eighth studio album 'Britney Jean' which, despite spawning the hit singles 'Alien' and 'Work Bitch', became her lowest-selling record of all time.
She also hinted that fans should expect a change of direction with the new record, steering away from her trademark pop sound, saying: "I want to do something very artsy fartsy, something I've never done before.
"Even if it's just take a left lane and go for a little bit of rock or rock-pop. Just do something that's kind of out there and different."

Ed Sheeran is the top fans' choice to perform at next year's BRIT Awards with MasterCard. The 'Thinking Out Loud' hitmaker topped a poll of dream performers for the 2015 ceremony with 21 per cent of the vote, while reclusive 'Ziggy Stardust' icon Davi...

David Bowie turned down the chance to collaborate with Coldplay.
In a video tribute to the 67-year-old icon at the BBC Music Awards, Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin said that Bowie had not been impressed by the track they proposed for him.
Chris, 37, said: "One time I sent [Bowie] a song to ask him to sing on it... he called me and said, 'It's not one of your best'.
"He's got very high standards and I appreciate that. It inspires the rest of us to keep our standards high."
What's more, Chris revealed himself to be a huge fan of Bowie's latest album 'The Next Day', which includes the single 'Where Are We Now?'.
He shared: "When that came out I was staggered, and also annoyed... like, 'Come on, it's not fair'. He's already got all these amazing songs and then this instant classic."
Earlier this month, Coldplay revealed they are working on their "final" album.
The band - made up of Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion - confirmed they are currently recording their seventh studio album, 'A Head Full of Dreams', and they likened the upcoming record to the final 'Harry Potter' movie in the film franchise.
Chris shared: "We haven't told anyone this, but we're making an album called 'A Head Full of Dreams'. We're right in the middle of it.
"It's our seventh thing and we look at it as the last 'Harry Potter' book or something like that.
"Not to say that there won't be another thing one day, but this is the completion of something. It was great to go from 'Ghost Stories' right back in the studio."

Michael Stipe insists R.E.M. will never reunite.
The 'Losing My Religion' hitmakers - comprising Michael, Peter Buck and Mike Mills - went their separate ways in 2011 after over three decades together and the frontman insists they won't perform together again because there's "no point" and he "despises" nostalgia.
Asked if they will get back together during an interview on 'CBS This Morning', Michael said: "No. That will never happen... There's no point. I love those guys very much and I respect them hugely as musicians and as songwriters and everything but I just don't want to do that thing that people do...I despise nostalgia. I'm not good at looking back."
Despite his feelings about a reunion, the 'Nightswimming' singer hasn't completely ruled out performing again himself in the future.
He said:"That's maybe an exclusive, but I think I will sing again. Not soon, maybe...I don't know.
"I love my voice and I think it's still... I think it actually got better as I got older.
"I sing in the shower. And I'm not bad. You would be surprised at my play list."
The 54-year-old musician most misses performing when he watches other people's gigs.
He said: "I just needed to step away for a while. [But] when I go to see bands perform live, that's when it's hard for me. I look up on the stage and I think: 'I wish I was there.'

Stevie Wonder will feature on Mark Ronson's new album.
The 'Uptown Funk' hitmaker has teamed up with a string of guests for 'Uptown Special', including the soul legend - who appears on the first and last tracks on the record - Tame Impala's Kevin Parker, Simian Mobile Disco's James Ford, and Bruno Mars.
Mark teamed up with award-winning author Michael Chabon for many of the lyrics on the album, which is his fourth studio release.
He said: "I wanted lyrics to push farther than most of what's going on in R&B and pop today.
"I wrote Michael to ask if he'd be interested in writing lyrics for the album."
Other acts on the album include Keyone Star, the winner of an audition Mark held at the Jackson State University in Mississippi, and Andrew Wyatt of Miike Snow.
Meanwhile, Stevie has been praised by Sir Elton John as one of the greatest singers and musicians of all time.
The 'Rocket Man' hitmaker told GQ magazine:"He's so multitalented that it's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes him one of the greatest ever. Along with Ray Charles, he's the greatest R&B singer who ever lived. Nobody can sing like he does. As a keyboard player he never ceases to amaze me. I like to think I'm a pretty good musician, but he's in a whole other league.
"When people discuss the history of music, they will talk about Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder - and they will still be the greatest."

Sam Smith has started working on a new album.
The 'Money On My Mind' hitmaker released his debut record, 'In the Lonely Hour', earlier this year, but is already well on the way to completing his second album having already settled on the name and cover art, as well as some of the tracks.
He revealed: "I've already come up with the title, the concept, the artwork, everything.
"I'm already recording really rough demos on the road."
The 22-year-old crooner recently received six Grammy Award nominations for his first record, but insists he hasn't been able to rest because he is always writing songs to express his emotions.
He continued: "I believe if you're a creative person you won't be able to stop creating. I can't stop writing."
However, fans of his first album may be disappointed as he has confirmed his sophomore record will follow a different theme from that of unrequited love, after releasing his demons in a new song.
He explained: "The reason I'm happy is because something clicked about four weeks ago.
"I wrote a song. It's about my family and something that happened in my life as a kid which has really scarred me as a person.
"It was the most honest record I've written in my whole life. It's all just clicked."
The star added he is also hopeful about working with his pal Ed Sheeran on his new music, after recently striking up a friendship with the 'Thinking Out Loud' singer.
He told The Sun newspaper: "He's one person, when we're talking about celebrities in the industry, who I'd actually count as a friend. Him and Jessie Ware.
"Ed's an amazing man. He helps me and gives me advice. I would love to work with him."