Music News

Wiz Khalifa's pre-concert ritual is to "smoke a lot of weed".
The rapper likes to sit and relax with plenty of marijuana before he takes to the stage, after claiming he gets the drug for free because he has his own brand.
During a chat on US talk show 'Chelsea Lately', he said: "I listen to old-school music and smoke a lot of weed."
Wiz previously claimed he spent about £10,000 a month on weed before going into business, although he insists he still takes his music seriously.
He explained: "I'm really into what I do just in general. I love music. I love creating and just being around creative people.
"My team and producers and just my fans always, they're just driving me to do bigger and better things. That and my family of course."
The star previously insisted just because he smokes weed doesn't mean he encourages anyone else to take the drug.
He said: "I don't say, 'Yo, get up and do that.' I said that's what I do, and I tell you what I do while I'm doing it. I'm not trying to push drugs on anybody.
"I thought weed was bad for a minute. When I was younger, I thought it was bad, but I got to a point where it worked for me. It don't work for everybody else."
He added: "People gotta stay free, people need jobs, people got parents that probably wouldn't be with it, so don't ruin your life trying to be like me. That's my advice."

Emeli Sandé and the Arctic Monkeys have each been nominated for a prestigious prize at this year's Ivor Novello Awards.
Emeli is up for the PRS for Music Most Performed Work award for her song 'Clown' and she will battle Passenger's 'Let Her go' and 'Troublemaker', performed by Olly Murs and Flo Rida, for the gong.
Arctic Monkeys - fronted by Alex Turner - have been named in the Album Award category for their acclaimed LP 'AM' and will need to beat 'Push the Sky Away' by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Laura Mvula's Sing to the Moon to take home the trophy.
Other categories include Best Song Musically and Lyrically which will see Palma Violets' 'Best of Friends', John Newman's 'Love Me Again' and London Grammar's 'Strong' all nominated, while Everything Everything's 'Kemosabe', Disclosure's 'Latch' and James Blake's 'Retrograde' are all up for Best Contemporary Song.
London Grammar band member Hannah Reid is very proud the trip-hop trio are up for an Ivor because the awards are so highly regarded among musicians.
Hannah told BANG Showbiz: "It's the most prestigious, it's the one more focused on songwriting ... it's the award that everyone wants.
"When I first wrote the melody (to 'Strong') I loved it, I was actually a bit cocky about it and thought it was great. But I fell out of love with it halfway through because people kept trying to change it. But I love it again now, it's got a strong message."
The 59th Ivors - which will be held on Thursday May 22 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London - will also honour a number of artists with awards highlighting their contribution to British music.
These special accolades include recognition for International Achievement, Lifetime Achievement, Outstanding Song Collection, PRS for Music Outstanding Contribution to British Music, PRS for Music Special International Award, The Ivors Classical Music Award, The Ivors Inspiration Award and Songwriter of the Year.

The 59th Ivor Novello Awards nominations:

Best Song Musically and Lyrically:

'Best of Friends'
Written by Will Doyle, Sam Fryer, Chilli Jesson and Pete Mayhew
Performed by Palma Violets

'Love Me Again'
Written by Steve Booker and John Newman
Performed by John Newman

'Strong'
Written by Dominic Major, Hannah Reid and Daniel Rothman
Performed by London Grammar

Best Contemporary Song:

'Kemosabe'
Written by Jonathan Higgs, Jeremy Pritchard, Alexander Robertshaw and Michael Spearman
Performed by Everything Everything

'Latch'
Written by Guy Lawrence, Howard Lawrence, James Napier and Sam Smith
Performed by Disclosure ft Sam Smith

'Retrograde'
Written and Performed by James Blake
Published in the UK by Universal Music Publishing

PRS for Music Most Performed Work:

'Clown'
Written by Shahid 'Naughty Boy' Khan, Grant Mitchell and Emeli Sandé
Performed by Emeli Sandé

'Let Her Go'
Written by Mike Rosenberg
Performed by Passenger

'Troublemaker'
Written by Claude Kelly, Oliver Murs and Steve Robson
Performed by Olly Murs ft Flo Rida

Album Award:

'AM'
Written by Alex Turner
Performed by Arctic Monkeys

'Push the Sky Away'
Written by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
Performed by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

'Sing to the Moon'
Written and Performed by Laura Mvula

Best Original Film Score:

'Captain Phillips'
Composed by Henry Jackman

'Gravity'
Composed by Steven Price

'The Epic of Everest'
Composed by Simon Fisher Turner

Best Television Soundtrack:

'Mr Selfridge'
Composed by Charlie Mole

'Ripper Street'
Composed by Dominik Scherrer

'The Thirteenth Tale'
Composed by Benjamin Wallfisch

Ian Anderson insists his record making it into the Top 20 in the charts doesn't mean anything to him.
The Jethro Tull frontman, whose recent album 'Homo Erraticus' reached number 14 in the UK Album Charts, admits he doesn't care about doing well in the charts, although it's nice to "pop in" to let people know he's still around.
He told BANG Showbiz: "Charts are just not my thing. It doesn't mean anything to me at all, quite frankly.
"Of course, what it's about is a loyal group of fans rushing out to buy the album as soon as it's made available to them.
"And I thoroughly appreciate the anxiousness to acquire it before anybody else does, but it will be a short-lived chart position. After some 45 years, I know for sure [it will be]."
But the 66-year-old flutist and singer thanked his team for working hard to promote the record, his highest-charting album since Jethro Tull's 'Songs From The Wood' in 1977 and his highest charting solo album to date.
He continued: "People working with me on the promotion of the album have worked very, very hard to do their best to let people know it's coming out."
Ian claims he doesn't plan to use the Jethro Tull name much in the future and prefers to use his own name for concerts and albums.
He said: "It's a brand name, I own the copyright, but it's not something I'd choose to use very often.
"If it was 'The Best of Jethro Tull' concert, that broad selection of historical music, then there would be justification.
"But I prefer to use my own name [now] in the twilight years before I snuff it. I'd rather people got used to me as the guy on the ticket."

Chris Martin has praised One Direction.
The Coldplay frontman described the 'Kiss You' hitmakers as "brilliant" and admits he is a big fan of the pop group - which is comprised of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson - during an in-depth a BBC Radio 1 interview with Zane Lowe, due to air next Monday (28.04.14).
Chris says: "I'm saying One Direction are brilliant. I'm not kidding."
This isn't the first time that Chris has gushed about his love for the teen heartthrobs, as he covered the band's debut hit, 'What Makes You Beautiful' during a concert in Florida two years ago and recently told a contestant that they should use Harry as inspiration during his appearance on 'The Voice' USA earlier this month.
During the Q&A the 'Magic' singer also alludes to the recent upheaval in his personal life following his separation from his wife Gwyneth Paltrow.
He says: "Everyone in their live goes through their challenges - whether it's love or money or kids or illness."
Meanwhile, Coldplay have been announced as the headline act for Radio 1's Big Weekender in Glasgow, Scotland
The free-ticketed festival, will run on Saturday May 24 and Sunday May 25, with the band performing on the Saturday night.
The group will also release their sixth studio album 'Ghost Stories' on May 19.

Avril Lavigne has defended her new music video for the track 'Hello Kitty' claiming it is not racist.
The 29-year-old pop star released the promo, on Tuesday (22.04.14), which sees her singing Japanese phrases surrounded by an group of Asian dancers, but it was later deleted due to the controversial content, and now the singer insists the video was specifically for Japanese fans.
Avril took to Twitter today (24.04.14) to defend the video, posting: "RACIST??? LOLOLOL!!! I love Japanese culture and I spend half of my time in Japan. I flew to Tokyo to shoot this video ... specifically for my Japanese fans, WITH my Japanese label, Japanese choreographers AND a Japanese director IN Japan. (sic)"
The clip has since reappeared on YouTube today and has received hundreds of 'dislikes' in terms of its disapproval rating, while Billboard slammed the "trainwreck" video for its "Japan fetishisation".
The publication called Avril out for "parading around with four identical, creepily expressionless Asian women ... performing mind-numbingly generic dance moves, in locales like a bedroom, a candy store and a street."
But fans took to Twitter to defend the promo, with one posting: "They don't understand that a large majority of your fanbase is Japanese. THEY'RE the racist ones for calling it "weird" ! (sic)"

Rita Ora wants her new album to be a "work of art".
The 23-year-old singer, who recently unveiled 'I Will Never Let You Down' as the first single from her second studio effort, is eager to create a timeless piece of work with her new record and was more concerned with recording songs she felt strongly about rather than lining up big collaborations.
She explained: "It's got a lot of honest truth. It wasn't about collaborations for me - this album was about a work of art and a body of work from Rita. Everyone on the record is there for a reason.
"We have some great producers: DJ Mustard, Diplo's on there.
"I got the honour of seeing Prince work his magic in Paisley Park in Minneapolis. I honestly have to say it was probably one of the best experiences of my life. I want his whole wardrobe! He wrote this incredible poem that I've turned into a song."
Rita also says the laidback vibe of her video for 'I Will Never Let You Down' is reflective of her attitude on the album, which she claims is more liberating than her first record.
She added to Fuse TV: "I didn't want to think too much about it. I just wanted a couple of hot girls and wanted to just dress up and dance on the streets and basically feel free. That's what this album was about and that is what the video was about."

Slipknot's Paul Gray was being prescribed Xanax in the weeks leading up to his death.
Doctor Daniel Baldi is on trial for the death of the group's bassist, who overdosed in May 2010, along with eight others, after allegedly giving him the drug despite his history of addiction.
A court heard on Tuesday (22.04.14), the musician spent his final weeks in a "blur" of extreme drug abuse which could have been prevented.
Paul's widow, Brenna Gray, questioned why Doctor Baldi was continuing to prescribe him the anti-anxiety drug when he was an addict in a downward spiral.
According to the Des Moines Register, she told the court: "I just knew it was his drug of choice, that he'd struggled with it.
"So I just wasn't really sure why he was on it, why he needed it along with the medication he was taking for addiction."
Brenna claimed she had showed his doctor photographs of Paul after he'd passed out in the hope he would take his drug abuse seriously and insists she tried to get his Slipknot band mates to stage an intervention but "none offered to help."
She made the claims during testimony at the trial at Polk County District Court in Iowa, after her husband was found dead at an Urbandale motel due to an overdose of prescription drugs morphine and fentanyl, which Baldi did not prescribe.
He denies nine counts of involuntary manslaughter and his lawyer claims he didn't prescribe the drugs that caused the deaths.

Robert Plant has ruled out a reunion show with Led Zeppelin.
The legendary frontman claims there is "zero" chance the band will come together for a live performance anytime soon, but guitarist Jimmy Page is confident fans would be keen for another show.
Jimmy told the BBC: "I'm sure people would love to hear it. I'm not the one to be asking, I don't sing."
The comments will come as a disappointment for fans who had hoped the group - also made up of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones - would do a repeat of their last big show at the 02 in December 2007, where they were joined by drummer Jason Bonham, son of the band's late John Bonham.
Meanwhile, the band are set to unveil a string of unheard tracks and early recordings when they reissue their first three albums on June 7.
Jimmy explained he felt "reassured" listening back to the group's early recordings, as he mused: "It's undeniable that we're good, the band was the real deal."
He also promised there will be "lots of surprises" on the reissues when the group's final three albums are re-released in 2015.

Lily Allen asks for the pop crown in the video for her new track 'Sheezus'.
The 'Hard Out Here' singer, who is about to release her new album 'Sheezus' after a four-year hiatus, appears in the new promo for the title track under a blue light, wearing a hoodie and gold chain with glowing eyes, as she sings about wanting to be number one in the pop world.
In the video, she gives a shout out to her fellow female pop stars, including Lorde, Rihanna and Beyonce, singing: "Riri isn't scared of Katy Perry's roaring/ Queen Bey's gone back to the drawing/Lorde smells blood, yeah/ She's about to slay you/ Kid ain't one to f**k with when she's only on her debut."
Lily adds: "Second best will never cut it for the divas/ Give me that crown b**ch/ I wanna be Sheezus."
She also describes Gaga as a "martyr" and talks about the difficulties of staying ahead of the rest in the music industry, singing: "I'll take the hits, with the punches/ I'll get back up/ It's not as if I've never done this/ Then again, the game is changing/ Can't just come back jump on the mic and do the same thing."
Lily adds: "Wish me luck/ I'm gonna need it/ I'll see you on the other side if I'm still breathing."
Lily's new album 'Sheezus' is out on May 5 via Regal Recordings.