Music News

Ed Sheeran performed new material at a secret gig in London yesterday (05.05.14).
The 'Drunk' hitmaker took to the stage at Koko in Camden to play songs from his second album 'x' and fans packed into the 1,500-capacity venue after scrambling to get tickets.
Dressed in his usual low-key attire, the star wore a red t-shirt, black jeans and combat boots and wowed the crowd with his rap skills during an extended version of 'You Need Me (I Don't Need You)', before performing his hit 'Lego House'.
Fans already knew the lyrics to new track 'Don't', about a singer who cheated on Ed in a hotel room with his friend.
Girls in the back of the venue whispered about reports it is written about Ellie Goulding but Ed kept quiet on the subject matter.
The singer-songwriter went on to perform hits 'Drunk, 'Gimme Love' and ' I See Fire' from 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug', along with new ballad 'Tenerife Sea', a stunning love song written at the Grammys.
He explained how he went to the ceremony with his parents and felt out of place. The song's honest lyrics make it one of the best tracks he's played so far from the new record.
Ed spoke to the crowd in hushed tones and got fans to quietly sing along, before whipping them into a frenzy with his impressive falsetto, harmonies and rap beats layered with a new loop pedal.
"I want you to act as if it's a festival Sunday", he told the crowd, after thanking them for giving up their bank holiday to watch him play.
He slowed things down again with 'One' and 'The A-Team', which still never fails to bring tears to your eyes, before bowing out with 'Sing', his up tempo new single produced by Pharrell Williams, which had the crowd singing the track's riff on repeat until the lights came up, and no doubt until the next morning.
The concert was the second of three secret 'Multipy' gigs after he performed at a pub in Ipswich and later headed to Dublin.

Calvin Harris insists he can still live a normal life despite being famous.
The superstar DJ, who has a weekly residence at Hakkasan club in Las Vegas, claims he only really gets noticed in the UK and America when he's with his pop star girlfriend Rita Ora.
Calvin explained: "I need to be in LA because I have a gig in Las Vegas every week.
"Now I have to cope with all this hot weather and sexy people.
"I'm lucky I can get to do music and do well and still do normal stuff unless I'm out with the missus - then I get a lot of attention."
But the star, who has been dating the 'R.I.P' hitmaker on/off since May last year, insists he doesn't have to deal with being in the spotlight too much because the couple don't see each other very often.
He told the Daily Star newspaper: "We see each other like four days every two weeks, so it's like an issue when she's around. We'd probably get sick of each other if we had a whole month (together)."
Meanwhile, the 30-year-old DJ is celebrating his sixth UK number one with new track 'Summer', which sees him return to the microphone.
He explained: "I had two albums out before the last one, where I used to sing every song.
"(Now) if I have a song that I think suits my voice, I'll just do it myself. Most people don't even know it's me who sings."

Lady Gaga kicked off her 'ArtRave: ARTPOP Ball tour' in Florida on Sunday night (04.05.14).
The 'Applause' hitmaker ditched her usual grunge style and took to the stage in a cute polkadot latex leotard and fishnet tights at the BB&T Center in Fort Lauderdale before going through a number of costume changes.
She later opted for a shoulder-length platinum blonde wig and futuristic white gown, a jewelled leotard with a blue orb in the centre of her chest, and also dressed up as a giant squid in another polkadot number.
The 27-year-old star, who is touring to support her 'ARTPOP' album, took to Twitter ahead of her first show and posted: "I can't believe the show is tonight, been dreaming about it since I wrote the first song for the album. I love you monsters. LETS PARTY (sic)."
Gaga performed hits such as 'Just Dance', 'Bad Romance', 'G.U.Y', 'Swine', and 'Applause', along with her new song Donatella, which she sang for the first time in honour of her fashion designer friend, Donatella Versace, and another new track, Partynauseous.
The singer later described her sold out show as one of the "most incredible experiences of my life" and praised her fans, nicknamed 'little monsters'.
Gaga wrote: "I have to hand it to little monsters in ft Lauderdale. Your fashun was AMAZING MAGICAL AND I WAS SO HAPPY TO SEE YOUR PRETTY FACES. (sic)"
The singer will continued her tour tonight (06.05.14) in Atlanta, followed by a number of US shows in the likes of Madison Square Garden in New York and the Staples Center in Los Angeles before moving onto the UK.

Lily Allen wanted to return to music using her married name.
The singer, who has children Ethel, two, and Marnie, 15 months, with husband Sam Cooper has released her comeback album 'Sheezus' after a four-year hiatus and wanted to use his surname before being persuaded against the idea by management.
She told Q magazine: "You pick your battles. At the time I would have [changed my name], but in retrospect I quite like having Lily Allen back."
Talking about her new record, she said: "This album's like a vomit of stuff that's happened to me over the last four years.
"It felt like a fair representation of everything that's happened since I've been away."
Lily admits she can be an "argumentative little sh*t" with a self-confessed "mass of contradictions" but insists she's not as bad as she used to be.
Lily explained: "When you're a parent your ego is halved. The things that affected me were like, 'I can't believe people are saying horrible things about me'. But as long as people are saying horrible things about me and not my children. It's not about me. I'm not even a real person any more. I'm just their mum."

Jennifer Lopez will receive the Icon Award at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards.
The 'On The Floor' hitmaker is set to become the first woman to be honoured for her lifetime achievement to music at the ceremony held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 18.
The star is the only the fourth recipient of the Icon Award ever, following on from Neil Diamond, Stevie Wonder and Prince.
Larry Klein, producer of the Billboard Music Awards, commented: "Jennifer Lopez is one of the most iconic performers of her generation.
"We are thrilled to honour her historic career with the 2014 Icon Award and will be on the edge of our seats like everyone else when she takes the stage."
The sexy songstress is also going to take to the stage during the ceremony to debut her FIFA World Cup anthem 'We Are One (Ole Ola)' with Pitbull, as well as performing her new single 'First Love'.
The 'American Idol' judge took to Twitter over the weekend to reveal her upcoming eight studio album will be called 'A.K.A.', as well as sharing the artwork for the new record, which shows her clad in a bondage-style red leather dress.

Keith Urban would encourage his daughters to go into showbiz.
The 'American Idol' judge has two children, Sunday, five, and Faith, three, with his actress wife, Nicole Kidman, and likes the idea of them following in their footsteps - but only if they are willing to work hard, and says they are already showing signs of being talented performers.
Asked if he would allow them to go into showbiz, he said: "Absolutely, if they're willing to work for it. It's not just about having talent, bit having passion. They both sing and dance, but who knows? They may go into acting or music.
"They have an iPod in their room. There's music coming from their bedroom all the time."
The country singer is already giving Faith guitar lessons and is impressed with her skills.
He told America's OK! magazine: "She mimics what I'm doing strumming-wise. That's what I'm trying to teach her. I love how she gravitates toward the guitar. She'll go get her little pink guitar, and hold it - she sits with it right, and she strums with it right. I hope she keeps going."

Miranda Lambert would love to record a duet with Beyoncé.
The 'Automatic' hitmaker is a huge fan of the pop superstar but admits she would be too nervous to ask the 'Drunk in Love' singer to go into the recording studio with her.
Asked who she would like to collaborate with, she said: "Kelly Clarkson is a friend of mine. And I'm a huge Beyoncé fan, but I would never dare tread that water because I'd be too nervous."
Meanwhile, Miranda says she finds it hard to relax.
The country music star - who is married to Blake Shelton - admits she is very nervous about releasing her new album, 'Platinum,' next month and is trying to embrace any quiet moments away from technology.
She told People magazine: "I do have trouble putting down [my iPhone], but I'm getting better about it. I think it's important to take a minute and breathe: no TV, no computer, no iPhone, no iPad. You have so many gadgets today, and everyone is over stimulated all the time."

Kelis doesn't feel she needs to "prove" herself any more in the music industry.
The 34-year-old singer - who released her new album 'Food' this month, her first on UK indie label Ninja Tune - doesn't worry about chart success anymore and is happily "out of the race" when it comes to competing with other pop stars.
She explained: "I have far-exceeded anything that I could possibly imagine in my career and I feel really blessed and really honoured to be upheld with such super, super, super, talented people.
"So that being said, I don't know if I'll ever stop, but I dropped out of the race a long time ago, know what I mean? I don't feel competitive at all. I don't feel the need to prove myself. I have proved myself far beyond - I could go on forever, you know."
The 'Milkshake' singer - who has a four-year-old son Knight with ex-husband Nas - feels "really grateful" to have had such a successful career and doesn't feel like she's "running on that rat wheel still".
She added to SPIN magazine: "Right now, my responsibilities are to be sane, happy, and blessed. I feel very blessed, I have a child who requires a rational, sane thinker. He deserves that, so I can't afford to care that much about things that don't actually deserve caring."

Aloe Blacc doesn't believe you have really made it in the music business until you've recorded four albums.
The 35-year-old singer insists longevity is the key to being a respected musician but he is worried new artists aren't going to get the chance to develop over several records.
Blacc said: "I don't think you've made it in the music industry unless you've got four solid albums and maybe three bona fide hit songs from each album. That's making it in the music industry, and not many artists are going to have that chance ever again because of the metabolism of the music industry right now. It's so quick and that's just the way that the marketplace works. I'll be lucky if I get a second hit."
Aloe worked with Pharrell Williams on his track 'Love is the Answer', which features on his new album 'Lift Your Spirit', and he admits he was pleased to be able to give the producer a chance to be involved in something less controversial than Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines'.
He told BANG Showbiz: "I was happy to work with Pharrell to then give a chance for Pharrell's production to stand for something positive. At the time he told me he was working on 'Happy' so I was really excited to know that he was working on the same thing. To create music that was going to open people up to positivity."