Music News

The Spice Girls could be set to sign a multi-million pound deal to play gigs as a foursome in Las Vegas.
Victoria Beckham has given her blessing to let band mates Mel C, Mel B, Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell perform without her as she continues to focus on her fashion career.
A Las Vegas source told the Daily Star newspaper: "Mel B has been working on her contacts for weeks now.
"Victoria has not budged on her stance to not join them, so they are planning to go out as a foursome.
"It will take them a good 18 months to get all the parts in place if they want to do a residency and possibly a tour to follow."
The band mates have been discussing a residency at Planet Hollywood, following in the footsteps of Britney Spears, and the shows are being planned for 2016, which marks the 20th anniversary of the band's hit 1996 song 'Wannabe'.
The concerts could earn the band up to £20 million but Victoria, 39, feels her days on stage are over and Mel B, 38, is taking the lead on the project, while promoters are said to have approached Backstreet Boys to perform as a support act.
Brian Littrell allegedly said: "We are actually in early talks about maybe doing a world tour together with the Spice Girls", before the band denied the claims.

Kanye West has postponed his tour of Australia to work on his new album.
The 36-year-old rapper was set to perform seven dates in the country in May, but they have now been delayed until September.
The news was announced by Live Nation Australia today (01.04.14), and promoters confirmed it wasn't an April Fool's joke.
A statement read: "Due to unexpected timing requirements to finish his highly anticipated new studio album, scheduled for a 2014 release, Kanye West regretfully announces the postponement of his upcoming tour dates in Australia."
Kanye, who has been spending time with his family, including fiancee Kim Kardashian and nine-month-old daughter North, will juggling his career, released 'Yeezus' last year and the current tour is to promote the chart-topping record.
His upcoming seventh studio album will be produced by Rick Rubin, who also produced 'Yeezus', along with MC Q-Tip and others.
During the upcoming concerts, Kanye is likely to play tracks from his previous record and the as-yet-unnamed new album.
Live Nation insist all tickets bought for the dates in May can be used for the rescheduled shows and anyone unable to attend on the new dates is asked to contact Ticketek before April 30 "to arrange a refund".

The new dates meanwhile are as follows:

Sept 5 - Perth, Perth Arena
Sept 7 - Adelaide, Entertainment Centre
Sept 9 - Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
Sept 10 - Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
Sept 12 - Sydney, Qantas Credit Union Arena
Sept 13 - Sydney, Qantas Credit Union Arena
Sept 15 - Brisbane, Entertainment Centre

Backstreet Boys' Howie Dorough says One Direction remind them of the "mania" in their heyday.
The boy band - who were catapulted to the spotlight in the 90s - warn Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne not to "burn out" and "pace" themselves since it's easy to get "lost" in the excess of the music industry.
Howie told the Daily Star newspaper: "One Direction remind me so much of us back in the day, all that mania.
"It's a marathon, not a sprint, so pace yourselves so you don't burn out too quickly.
"They have credited us as their inspiration, which is very flattering, but I can see how people get lost in this business when it comes to excesses in fame, success and money."
Howie - who was catapulted to the spotlight alongside band mates A. J. McLean, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell - insists 1D should "keep their feet on the ground" if they want long-term success.
He added: "If we give 1D advice, would they even want to take it? I don't know if we would've at their age.
"But people who keep their feet on the ground don't go away, so they need a good support system around them.
"If they write great, timeless music and be good to their fans long career."

Adele will deliver her next album "at her own pace."
The 'Skyfall' singer, who is recording the follow-up to her chart-conquering album '21', has worked with OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder on new tracks and he claims she is not rushing the release.
He told MSN Music: "I haven't heard everything she's done, but I've heard everything we've done and I'm as proud of it, or prouder of anything we did on the first album, and she is sounding even better than ever.
"She will deliver the album on her own timetable, at her own pace, and the only person that will ever declare it finished will be her, when she decides it's finished."
The 25-year-old singer had to cancel tour dates in 2011 to undergo throat surgery and later took time out after giving birth to her son Angelo in 2012, with boyfriend Simon Konecki.
Asked about rumours she's nervous to perform live again, Ryan replied: "I personally wouldn't use the word fear, from conversations I've had with her. I don't think she has a fear of it.
"She's a mother, she has a young kid. When you sell 30 million albums, on one album, she can do whatever the hell she wants to do until forever."
Talking about reports of a possible world tour, Ryan also said: "If she decided to tour I'm sure it will be the most incredible tour ever and if she decides not to, it will have no bearing on how amazing the album itself is because she's one in a million, one in a hundred million, one in a billion."

A new Michael Jackson album will be released in May.
The LP, titled 'Xscape', will include eight unheard tracks from the late singer's vaults and is in conjunction with his estate and Epic Records, who announced the news on his official website today (31.03.14).
Label boss L.A. Reid took the lead on the album, which will be out on May 13, and went about "contemporising" each of the recordings.
He said in a statement: "Michael left behind some musical performances that we take great pride in presenting through the vision of music producers that he either worked directly with or expressed strong desire to work with," adding, "We are extremely proud and honoured to present this music to the world."
Timbaland is the lead producer for the record, while Rodney Jerkins, Stargate, Jerome 'Jroc' Harmon and John McClain have also worked on the surprise record.
L.A Reid added: "'Xscape' continues the tradition of naming Jackson's albums after one of its songs. The title track was written and produced by Jackson and Jerkins, who recorded the original with the singer."
Epic will release a deluxe edition of the record which will include all the sourced recordings in their original form.
Meanwhile, the singer's track 'Slave to the Rhythm' featured in an advert for Sony.

Rita Ora was "nervous" about working with Calvin Harris.
The 23-year-old singer, who has been dating the superstar DJ on/off for a year, chose him to produce her latest single 'I Will Never Let You Down', which she claims is a "love song you can dance to".
When asked if she can concentrate in the recording studio with Calvin, she told BBC Radio 1's Nick Grimshaw: "No, no I can't. Do you know, funny story, I was actually again a bit nervous, because he's never seen me in work mode. I was like, 'What if I riff a bit bad?'
"But literally just ten minutes in he was so blunt, I think it's the Scottish-ness in him, he was just like 'no' etc and it happened so quick. It was a very good experience.
"It's about having fun ... and cos I take everything so seriously, I'm always a bit like work, work. He's like, you really need to just enjoy it. And I agree, so I'm just enjoying it right now. And I'm happy we kinda did it together. (sic)"
She added: "It's a nice little feeling for me, it makes it personal."
The 'R.I.P' hitmaker, who also launched her single by releasing dozens of balloons in London's Leicester Square today (31.03.14), will perform at a number of festivals this summer is looking forward to sharing her new music with her fans.
She said: "Summertime is the time when people want soundtracks of summer. People just want to listen to music and feel good and have a barbecue, sit in the grass, rub their bottoms on the grass, and you know, just feel life. And that's what I think everybody needs.
"I love performing live really, it's my favourite thing. You see people, you can do what you want and get away with it on stage.
"The five seconds before you go on stage [is the best bit], and the five minutes after the comedown when you come off stage... For me that's the worst part."

Lily Allen claims the music industry today is "beige".
The 'Air Balloon' singer has admitted to being "f**king frustrated" at the direction her musical comeback has gone in, after a four-year hiatus, and says she feels creatively controlled by her record label Warners.
Speaking at the VOGUE Festival, she revealed: "I experience it at the moment re-entering the music industry. What you have heard on the radio station so far, the contribution of my album is very much the more beige, saccharine elements to what I have made.
"The reason for that is because the people in control of the radio stations, the people that are in control of the record companies, are too scared to put themselves on the line in case someone gets offended.
"If I said to my record company I really want to go with this song, they would say, 'Sure, here is £5 for the video'."
The no-nonsense star also discussed how her family life with her husband Sam Cooper and their daughters Ethel, two, and Marnie, 14 months, had transformed her into a more optimistic person.
She said: "My music has changed because I am happier. Beforehand on my last record I was a young woman who didn't know what the future held for her.
"Now I am very much in love, I'm married to a man that I'm pretty sure I'm going to spend the rest of her life with, I have two children who I love and adore so my writing comes from a more confident and settled and stable place. But I don't know if that makes it more tasteful."

The Cure's new album is a "sore point."
Frontman Robert Smith has revealed he is unsure about their upcoming record '4:14 Scream', the band's first LP in six years and follow-up to 2008's '4:13 Dream', and claims he is barely "convinced" that it is worthwhile releasing it.
He told radio station XFM: "[This is] the second half of what is an effectively an album that came out in 2008."
The record features Robert, along with bassist Simon Gallup, drummer Jason Cooper and guitarist Porl Thompson, who no longer plays with the band and has been replaced by Reeves Gabrels, along with keyboardist Roger O'Donnell, who joined them at the recent Royal Albert Hall gig in London.
Robert, 54, continued: "[4:14 Scream] is a bit of a sore point, really, to be honest, amongst this current line-up.
"We're in a weird predicament in that ... [it] was made by a band that no longer exists."
Initially, both parts of the record were meant to be two halves of a double album and Robert previously said he should have "stuck to his guns" but was influenced by "f***ing idiots around me at the time."
He revealed the new album was only completed 18 months ago, explaining: "I just never sang it because I couldn't be bothered. I just didn't think the words were good enough."
The 'Friday I'm In Love' hitmaker has since rewritten those lyrics and the band will "probably" release the record this year - "in that summer 'dead air' period for albums".
Meanwhile, the new line-up do plan to record their own new album and insist it will be something "that's really different to anything else we've done".
He added: "I'm very bad at planning long term. I'm at an age where I'm enjoying what I'm doing ... [and] I don't feel such a strong urge to beat people over the head with new stuff."

Gary Barlow says it's "too early" for One Direction to consider splitting up.
The 43-year-old singer - who was catapulted to the spotlight as part of boy band Take That - admits groups often have disagreements but insists Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne must "look after one another".
He told The Sun newspaper: "There will be rows in a band but you are brothers.
"They might be close sometimes and sometimes not, but it's part of the foundations -- the boys have to take care of one another and look after one another.
"You are having an amazing run and it's brilliant. You can't walk away from that -- why would you?
"Whenever I've met them they seem incredibly adult about the whole thing.
"I think it's brilliant there is such a group representing Britain. If there's any suggestion of trouble, they need to hang on in there. It's way too early to be thinking about splitting up."
Gary kicked off his 'Since I Saw You Last' tour in Belfast on Saturday night (29.03.14), and reminisced about performing in the city with Take That - which also includes Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams.
He added: "We started the 'Beautiful World' tour here with Take That and I'm a bit superstitious. It felt right and it felt like a good place to start. Two hours is a long time for me to be up there by myself, but we'll get there."