Music News

Susan Boyle is learning to write her own songs.
The former 'Britain's Got Talent' star has amassed a £75 million fortune from recording albums of cover tracks, but the 53-year-old singer is now keen to pen her own music.
A source said: "Susan loves singing but she has decided that she wants to change direction with the music she is putting out there and write it herself. So she is learning how it's done properly.
"She will be putting original hits on her seventh album, and she has already began work on it.
"She is taking lots of advice and is being taught how to do it so it can be the best standard possible for her fans.
"So far all of the songs she has put out there have been written by others and as much as she wants to continue to belt out songs she loves, she knows musicians have to evolve.
"Susan is the last person to be motivated by money - she doesn't spend what she's got already - but her new plan will make her millions."
But Susan - who recently revealed she has found her first boyfriend, a US doctor - isn't planning a radical change in musical direction as she still wants to keep her existing fanbase happy.
The source added to the Daily Mirror newspaper: "She is also looking to find some brilliantly talented singers to collaborate with. Susan knows who her fans are, she's not looking for a new fan base, she just wants to give them something different."

Lionel Richie is to perform at Glastonbury next year.
The 'All Night Long' hitmaker has confirmed he will follow in the footsteps of country singer Dolly Parton by playing in the Legends' slot at the English music festival next summer.
He said: "I'm really excited to play Glastonbury next year as it's one of the most iconic festivals in the world.
"It has a phenomenal history. The alumni of artists that have previously played is incredible, I'm so honoured to be joining that club.
"It will be a really special moment for me and I can't wait to share it with everyone. I can now say, 'Yes, I'm playing Glastonbury'."
The 65-year-old star - who is playing a number of dates in the UK and Europe next year - is the first act announced for the 2015 line-up so far.
Festival organiser Emily Eavis shared her excitement, saying: "He's one of the great soul legends. He's got some incredible songs and I think he will get people on their feet. There will be a lot of love out there for Lionel."
The singer-songwriter previously revealed his interest in playing the festival earlier this year after hearing Dolly had drawn in a crowd of 175,000 people.
Other artists rumoured to be in talks to perform at Glastonbury next year include Taylor Swift, Foo Fighters, Fleetwood Mac and Oasis.

FKA Twigs doesn't care if people don't like her music.
The 'Two Weeks' hitmaker - whose real name is Tahliah Debrett Barnett - claims she can handle being criticised for her image or her music on social media but refuses to accept being abused because of the colour of her skin.
The 26-year-old beauty - who is of English, Spanish and Jamaican descent - admitted: "Obviously I know if you're putting yourself out there saying, 'Hey! Listen to my music!', with pictures of yourself in the magazines, then people are going to judge you.
"'I hate her music. I hate her hair. I hate her production. I hate her videos'. Fine: don't care. That's the great thing about art, it's not for everyone. But when it comes to racism, really? In this day and age? Pick that?"
Tahlia also confessed that despite having bagged herself a superstar boyfriend in 'Twilight' actor Robert Pattison, she's wary of becoming complacent.
She explained to the Observer newspaper: "Oh, I'm nothing. I'm nothing right now. I think it's easy to sit in this trendy café, in a trendy little area of New York, and say, 'Ooh, I'm FKA Twigs'. But outside of these four blocks, does anybody really give a s**t? Probably not."
The 'Water Me' singer added: "I'm appealing to people who want something different. But the world, on the whole, doesn't really embrace different things. Not on the whole."

Bob Geldof enlisted Carla Bruni to write a French version of Band Aid 30.
The 63-year-old singer has revealed he has been involved in the translation of the classic Christmas song 'Do They Know It's Christmas?', which raises money to help fight Ebola in west Africa, to both German and French, and even got some help from the wife of the former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The former Boomtown Rats frontman said: "In the past Band Aid was essentially Anglo-American vocals, but we've just finished recording Band Aid Germany featuring their stars and I'm going to France to record Band Aid there.
"Carla Bruni has rewritten their lyrics and my missus [Jeanne Marine], who's French, says they're brilliant. Then the Norwegians called up, and everybody's snowballing into recording their own version of the song."
The British version of the tune features the vocal talents of One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Jessie Ware and U2's Bono among other stars, and Bob believes there could be several solo versions of the tune released.
He told HELLO! magazine: "A lot of the artists sang the whole track so they could get into their line. So bnow we can put out some of these different versions - solos, duets, an all-girl or all-boy mix.
"I genuinely think this is an absolutely brilliant recording, and people all around the world are talking about it now, which makes it political."

Taylor Swift works out to improve her "endurance" on stage.
The svelte blonde beauty has admitted to disliking her punishing spin classes at the gym but explained that they have helped her deal with her crazy dance routines.
The 'Shake It Off' singer said: "I work out. I do spin classes, which are hard and I don't like doing them but I like how I feel afterwards. The reason I work out is because I work out is because I want to have endurance and I want to be able to hop on stage and sing a song and dance and not be winded."
When she isn't working or in the gym, Taylor, 24, loves indulging in some retail therapy or decorating her home.
When asked what she gets up to in her spare time, she said: "I enjoy shopping of course - I am female! And I've enjoyed furnishing my new place and working through the rooms to give each an individual feel. Whichever country I am in, I will try and see some of the city I am staying in and try and shop, though the busier I am, the more difficult this gets."
Taylor also shared how her retro-inspired album '1989' has changed the way she approaches getting ready.
She told Britain's HELLO! magazine: "I think there was a freedom to the clothes then and I see how that era had inspired modern fashion trends. So I'm wearing shorter skirts and things I would never have worn three years ago."

Boy George is "devastated" Culture Club have postponed their tour.
The 'Karma Chameleon' group axed a string of comeback shows in both the US and UK after the singer was diagnosed with a throat problem that would have meant irreparable damage if he had continued to sing, and though he didn't want to take the "risk", George admits he is still upset to have had to put the gigs on hold.
He said: "I've got a polyp on my vocal chords. The doctor tells me singing would cause irreparable damage, and that's not a risk I am prepared to take.
"He put a camera down my throat, and it transpired that I have an enlarged polyp which has haemorrhaged.
"So everything is on hold until it gets better. I don't know how long that will take, and to say I am devastated barely touches how I feel."
The 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me' singer had been experiencing problems with his throat for some time but initially dismissed the pain as due to tiredness.
He admitted to the Daily Mail newspaper: "I'd been having trouble with my voice for some months, but in true British fashion I ignored it, thinking the problem might just be tiredness, hoping it would go away."

Ray and Dave Davies have been recording together.
The Kinks disbanded in 1996 partly due to creative tension between the pair, and though guitarist Dave has said he is concerned a reunion show would only focus on his singer brother, Ray "doesn't understand" his worries.
He said: "I don't understand what that's about. If we do a Kinks show, we're the Kinks. Ray stands on the right of the stage and Dave stands on the left.
"Look, my brother is very intelligent. He's a good writer. We actually put down a few demos last Christmas. He came to see me, and he played me a couple of new songs."
Asked if there is any chance of a tour, the 'Waterloo Sunset' singer admitted it might be difficult because he is working with the group's former drummer Mick Avory, who also doesn't get along with Ray.
Asked if there will be a tour, he told Rolling Stone magazine: "I can't think that far forward. Over the years, I've been doing a few new tracks with Mick, our original drummer. You know about the war between Dave and Mick.
"I don't work for the United Nations. I'm just a musician. I had a drink with Mick last week, and I asked, 'What happened to you guys?'
"They shared a house in the 1960s. I think some things went on there that created a rivalry."

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