Music News

Mary J. Blige claims the music industry hates "strong and independent women".
The 'Family Affair" hitmaker slammed the treatment of female artists and claims she "fought hard" against attempts from industry bosses who tried to encourage her to sleep around to get to the top.
She said: "They hate strong and independent women.
"I never slept with anyone to get where I am, but they were after me to do that. I fought hard over that."
Despite breaking into the industry back in 1992, Mary insists the problem is worse than ever.
She said: "It's definitely got worse."
The 43-year-old singer - who released her debut album 'What's The 411?' aged 21 - confessed she didn't feel "comfortable" as an artist starting out and has finally learnt to be more "accepting" of herself.
Speaking to Stella magazine, she added: "This is the best time in my life. I'm becoming freer, i'm accepting the things I can't change and I'm not going to apologise for who I am. In my twenties, I wasn't comfortable in my own skin. I didn't like the way I looked, I didn't like me, and I always played myself short to make everybody else happy."

Ed Sheeran will perform at London's Wembley Stadium in July 2015.
The 23-year-old singer will play his first stadium headline show at the iconic building on July 10 2015, which will be the Grammy nominee's final European show in 2015.
Commenting on the announcement, he said: "I've made no secret recently of my ambition to play Wembley Stadium on my own in front of 80,000 people, so I am absolutely over the moon to be able to announce it's going to happen next summer.
"It's going to be amazing, I just can't wait."
The show will mark the end of the crooner's world tour in support of his triple-platinum certified second album 'X' which was released in June. The record - which features the hit singles 'Sing' and 'Thinking Out Loud' - has been named as the biggest and fastest-selling record of 2014 in the UK, having topped the charts for eight consecutive weeks.
Tweeting about the announcement, he added: "If you missed my big announcement it was that I'm ending the multiple tour at Wembley stadium next year playing solo, should be pretty fun (sic)."
Earlier this year, Ed - who features in the Band Aid 30 single which premiered on 'The X Factor' last night (16.11.14) - sold out a string of 21 arena shows, playing to 275,000 people.
The Brit Award-winner will return to London for his final show of the tour after completing dates across Europe, US, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
Tickets for Ed Sheeran at Wembley Stadium will be available to O2 priority customers at 9am on November 26, with general sale tickets being released at 9am on November 28

Slipknot are to headline Download Festival 2015.
The 'Wait and Bleed' hitmakers are thrilled to be returning to Donnington Park for the third time on the opening night of the rock festival, which runs between June 12-14.
Frontman Corey Taylor said: "Being invited back to Download always feels like coming home. Headlining Download, for the 3rd time, feels like the culmination of a life's dream. It's an honour, a privilege and we're all looking forward to it."
Joining Slipknot as main support act for June 12 will be Judas Priest, while Black Stone Cherry and Five Finger Death Punch will also perform that night.
The other two headliners are expected to be announced later this week.
The 2014 festival saw Avenged Sevenfold, Aerosmith and Linkin Park top the bill.
And fans who don't wait to wait until June to see Slipknot will be able to see them perform in January when they tour the UK with Korn on their 'Prepare For Hell' tour, which kicks off in Sheffield on January 16.
The group will also perform in Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, London, Cardiff and Nottingham before finishing up in Birmingham on January 27.

S Club 7 are considering recording new music.
The seven-piece pop group - comprised of Bradley McIntosh, Hannah Spearitt, Jo O'Meara, Jon Lee, Paul Cattermole, Rachel Stevens and Tina Barrett - revealed today (17.11.14) that they will take to the stage for the first time in 12 years for a tour of UK arenas in 2015, and have also suggested that they may record new tracks or an album if the series of shows is successful.
When asked if they would like to work on new tracks together, Jo told BANG Showbiz: "Who knows? Yeah?"
Paul continued: "We have nothing planned at the moment for new music.
"We're going to concentrate on the hits that got us where we are, the ones that are classics with the fans, but you never know."
Former 'Strictly Come Dancing' contestant, Rachel, added: "Watch this space!"
On whether the 'Don't Stop Movin' hitmakers would be performing any of their individual solo tracks on their tour, Bradley explained it was an idea which they are still thinking about.
He explained: "I think a lot of this stuff is up for discussion, we've still got to walk about what songs we want to perform."
Paul added: "I think in the classic social media thing of the way things are these days, we're allowing the fans to say and give us advice, to say what they want to hear."
The band split up in 2003 following a career which saw them release four studio albums and rack up 10 million global record sales, but Rachel went on to have a successful solo career with the 2003 album 'Funky Dory' and 2005's 'Come and Get It', spawning hit singles 'Some Girls' and 'Sweet Dreams My LA Ex'.
On whether she has any plans to make any more solo hits, Rachel said: "You never know! At the moment we're all together concentrating on this, and as Bradley said we haven't worked out how it will work with solo numbers and things, but I would love to. I guess we'll just see what happens."

One Direction aren't upset their new album has leaked online.
The 'Steal My Girl' quintet release latest LP 'Four' today (17.11.14) but many fans have already heard some of the songs thanks to unauthorised versions being posted on the internet and though they think it's "crazy" it happens every time they have new music, the group don't worry too much.
Liam Payne said: "It's crazy that it happens every time but we try not to get too a***y about it."
Harry Styles added: "Usually it's a couple of days before but this time it was over a week."
One track on the album the group - which also includes Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan - are particularly pleased with is '18', which was written by their friend Ed Sheeran.
Liam told The Sun newspaper: "He sent the song through to Simon Cowell, who sat down with him. It's a great song. It tied into some of the bits we had missed when we were writing the album.
"It was one of the later ones we recorded but it fitted in so well. It's top dollar."
Earlier this year, the 'Little Things' singers embarked on a huge global stadium tour and they enjoyed playing massive venues because it meant they could do fewer shows and have more free time.
Liam said: "We got more time out and got to do a lot more in a lot of countries. This will be the tour we will all remember."

Bette Midler has announced her first UK tour in 35 years.
The 'Wind Beneath My Wings' hitmaker - who last performed in Britain in 1979 and 1980 - will perform five shows in July 2015 in support of her latest album 'It's The Girls'.
And as well as tracks from the record - a tribute to iconic girl groups through the ages - Bette, 68, will also treat fans to numbers from her extensive back catalogue.
She said: "I have always loved visiting and working in the UK. It will be a thrill to finally do a proper UK tour and be back performing here."
The tour kicks off on July 9, 2015 at Birmingham's Barclaycard Arena and calls at Manchester, Glasgow and Leeds before ending at London's The O2 on July 18.
Fans who have purchased 'It's The Girls!' from Bette's online store before 3pm on November 20 will be given the first opportunity to buy tickets for the gigs, ahead of them going on general sale on November 21.
Bette recently admitted she initially refused to record 'Wind Beneath My Wings', which went on to be her biggest hit.
She said: When I first heard 'Wind Beneath my Wings', I thought, 'I'm not singing that.'
"[Long-time friend and producer] Marc Shaiman insisted and it was the biggest hit of my career."

Bette Midler's 2015 UK Tour dates:
09 July - Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham
11 July - Phones 4u Arena, Manchester
13 July - SSE Hydro, Glasgow
15 July - First Direct Arena, Leeds
18 July - The O2, London

The Who are to headline Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park next year.
The 'Baba O'Riley' rockers will take to the Great Oak Stage at the London park on June 26 for the final UK show of their 'Who Hits Fifty' tour, with Paul Weller, Kaiser Chiefs and Johnny Marr also performing that day.
The gig marks the fourth time the band have played there, their third headline appearance plus a slot at Live 8 in 2005, and they are delighted to be returning to Hyde Park.
Pete Townshend said: "It's a good gig. You draw from all over the country but a London crowd is always a good crowd.
"It's a Royal Park so thank you your majesty, you can't play it without her permission."
And the 'My Generation' rockers admitted their headline show in 1996 almost didn't happen after Roger Daltrey fractured his eye socket in rehearsals the day before the gig.
He recalled: "I remember doing it with an eye patch holding my eye in when we did 'Quadrophenia', that was a nightmare. We had a quarter of a million people coming the next day and i've got a fractured cheekbone. How we did that show i'll never know."
The Who are the second British Summer Time headliners to be announced, with Taylor Swift previously revealed to be topping the bill in Hyde Park on June 27.
Tickets for The Who gig go on sale on Thursday (20.11.14) at 9am.

One Direction have been given the opening lines of Band Aid 30's 'Do They Know It's Christmas Time?'.
The star-studded charity single - which will raise money for the fight against the Ebola virus - was unveiled for the first time last night (16.11.14) on 'The X Factor' after being completed at 4.20am and it is believed the acts involved didn't know which lines they had been given until the "rough" edit aired.
The 'Steal My Girl' group were thrilled to be asked to be a part of the project, with Liam Payne telling The Sun newspaper: "We've seen it every year on the telly since we were kids.
"And now thinking that we'll be old and grey one day and we'll just pop up. It's amazing."
The video for the single incorporates footage of the celebrities - including Ed Sheeran, Rita Ora, Sam Smith, Coldplay's Chris Martin, U2's Bono and Paloma Faith - recording the track with harrowing footage of West African victims of the virus, and organiser Bob Geldof warned on 'The X Factor' that it was "not suited to an entertainment show".
He said: "Thanks Simon [Cowell] for allowing us to do this, this is hardcore, to allow X factor nation to do this, it is an enormous production, this thing [Ebola] could arrive here on a plane any time.
"This is the most anti-human disease but we can stop it, and we will stop it, and we will support those immensely brave NHS doctors and soldiers who have volunteered, and the government who are leading the world on this."
With the track now available for download, the Boomtown Rats frontman urged people to buy as many copies as possible.
He added: "At 8am tomorrow morning, for the first time this is about us, buy this thing, buy five by ten, it's a great track, we wanted to show you the context of how this was done only yesterday."
Other stars appearing on the track include Seal, Elbow, Emeli Sande, Sinead O'Connor, Bastille and Olly Murs, with the 'Troublemaker' singer describing the recording process as "amazing".
He said: "It was an amazing experience to be part of that, its 30 years ago since 1984, it was amazing to be a part of it, it was brilliant."
Bob and Midge Ure have reworked some of the lyrics for the track, with the most famous line from the original, "Tonight thank God it's them instead of you" - which was performed by Bono on both the 1984 and 2004 versions - changed to "Well tonight we're reaching out and touching you."
The revised line is still sang by the U2 frontman.

Sinead O'Connor has compared U2 to terrorists.
The 'Nothing Compares 2 U' singer has slammed the band's decision to have their latest album 'Songs of Innocence' automatically uploaded into iTunes subscribers' music libraries, describing it as a "badly-judged move" and claiming they have "invaded" people's lives.
She told The Mail on Sunday's Event magazine : "What they did with iTunes was a badly-judged move.
"There was something almost terrorist about it.
"I'm really not a U2 fan but it wasn't at all kosher invading people's lives like that. It was bad management."
The 47-year-old singer accused the band - made up of Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr - of not "standing by their album" and choosing instead to "force it on people who didn't want it in the first place."
Bono previously apologised for getting "carried away" and giving the record away in the way that they did.
He said: "I'm sorry about that. I had this beautiful idea and we got carried away with ourselves - artists are prone to that kind of thing.
"Drop of megalomania, twitch of generosity, dash of self-promotion and deep fear that these songs that we've poured our life into over the last few years mightn't be heard.
"There's a lot of noise out there. I guess we got a little noisy ourselves to get through it."