Music News

The Strokes are recording new music.
The band - whose last album 'Comedown Machine' was released in 2013 - have confirmed that they are back in the studio together, working on new material.
Frontman Julian Casablancas told fans at the Landmark Music Festival in Washington, DC on Sunday (27.09.15) that they are making progress and many took to Twitter to share the happy news.
One fan wrote: "we'll be back soon. we'll be back in the studio and s**t" -julian casablancas re: the strokes 09/27/2015 #confirmed (sic)."
Another person tweeted: "At @LandmarkFestDC, @Casablancas_J just confirmed @thestrokes are in the studio" while yet another tweet read: "We'll be back in the studio" - Julian Casablancas :') #thestrokes #LandmarkFestDC (sic)."
Julian, also fronts The Voidz, and previously insisted he would like to work with both bands if he can.
Speaking about getting back in the studio with The Strokes, he said: "It's the first time we've been exclusively writing since 'Comedown Machine'. We're planning on recording stuff. I still think we could do cool things and I'll do that. I'd like to do both [bands] really if I could."

Ed Sheeran says his next album will be even better than 'X'.
Although his second album has been a huge success, selling over 10 million copies so far, Ed is confident that his next few records will be even better.
Speaking about the new material he has been working on, Ed said: "I could probably release one of them tomorrow and have people like it. 'X' was full of good songs and a couple of great songs, and I feel like on the next couple of records there will be more great songs than good songs."
Ed also admitted that he has considered putting a band together but ultimately thinks he is better as a solo artist.
Asked if he had thought about it, he said: "Yeah. And then I kind of was like, 'There's no one else at my level doing what I'm doing, so why would I want to do what everyone else is doing?' Surely it's better to be different. And I know my show can be better when I do it solo than if I do it with a band."
And the ambitious singer/songwriter has big plans for the future.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "I want to do stadiums everywhere, not just certain places. We just did Dallas and Houston, and Boston is next. I want to be able to do a proper stadium anywhere in the world."

Ben Haenow has duetted with Kelly Clarkson on his new single.
The 2014 'X Factor' winner is thrilled to have bagged the 'Stronger' hitmaker - who won 'American Idol' in 2002 - for the track and is excited for people to hear the track and his upcoming debut album.
A source said: "Ben wanted to make a statement with this song and getting someone of Kelly's stature on it is a good way to start."
Reports suggest the track is an upbeat ballad and it will be the 30-year-old's first music offering since he won the race for the UK's Christmas number spot with a cover of OneRepublic song 'Something I Need' last December.
The track overcame competition from Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' eventual monster hit 'Uptown Funk'.
Ben's mentor and Syco Music head Simon Cowell has also backed the track from the duo to do well.
The source told The Sun newspaper: "He wants his debut album to get off to a flier. His label boss Simon Cowell and his team think this is the song to do it."
Meanwhile, Kelly has been forced to cancel all the remaining dates of her 'Piece by Piece' tour this year on doctors' advice as she is needs to go on vocal rest.
The pregnant 33-year-old singer - who already has 14-month-old daughter River with husband Brandon Blackstock - is "bummed" by the news but has no choice but to accept the medical advice.
She said: "This kills me, but doctors are saying I need to rest my voice."

Mumford & Sons joked that the Apple Music Festival was like Reading and Leeds Festivals but with less "vomit and unprotected sex".
Frontman Marcus Mumford spoke of the band's excitement at being back in their hometown as they took to the stage at the Roundhouse in London last night (27.09.15) and admitted they've loved playing more shows in the UK recently but that Reading and Leeds Festivals were slightly less civilised.
He said: "It's nice to be back in our home town. It's good to be playing in the UK again."
Comparing the gig to their appearances at Reading and Leeds in August, he added: "There was a lot more vomit and unprotected sex. I think I prefer ... Oh I don't know."
However, the bands' Ben Lovett was clearly keen to get the crowd involved as he encouraged fans to "get up and dance and throw things".
In addition to their hit songs 'I Will Wait', 'Little Lion Man' and 'Believe', Mumford & Sons also performed an entirely acoustic version of their track 'Cold Arms' as they unplugged their microphones and instruments and sang the lyrics accompanied only by Marcus' acoustic guitar.
The penultimate night of the annual music event - formerly known as the iTunes festival - also saw the band bring opening act Jack Garratt back on stage for a cover of Eurythmics' 'Sweet Dreams'.
Introducing the 23-year-old musician, Marcus said: "He's going to rule the world and we're very happy about that."
Other artists who have appeared at the venue in Camden over the last week include One Direction, The Chemical Brothers and Pharrell Williams while Florence and the Machine are set to take to the stage after opening act James Bay tonight (28.09.15).

Coldplay unveiled a new song at the Global Citizen Festival on Saturday (26.09.15).
The band's frontman Chris Martin curated the event in New York City at the weekend and the group were the first act to take to the stage in Central Park.
Although their set was hampered by a broken piano which meant they had to scrap fan favourites 'Clocks' and 'Paradise', Chris and co sent the crowd wild by debuting the track 'Amazing Day' - which they had only rehearsed at their soundcheck on Friday (25.09.15).
Lyrics contained in the song included "And the view / the whole Milky Way / In your eyes / I'm drifting away" and "In your arms / I just want to sway / Amazing day".
Coldplay were also joined on stage by Ariana Grande for a rendition of her song 'Just a Little Bit of Your Heart', which was written by One Direction star Harry Styles, and they had to quickly improvise the arrangement as they had previously only rehearsed it on piano, which was out of action for their set.
Messages posted on Coldplay's official Twitter account read: "Our piano broke 1 min before going onstage. No clocks, paradise+collaboration with @ArianaGrande rehearsed only on piano #wingingit ... Thanks @ArianaGrande for lighting up our stage. Your voice is a thing of wonder. Beautiful song by @Harry_Styles (sic)"
Ariana also tweeted about the special duet, writing: "thank you @coldplay it was an honor to say the least #GlobalCitizenFestival (sic)"
Despite their piano problems, the band were delighted with how their performance went.
Another Twitter post read: "Thank you New York City for making an incredible #GlobalCitizen festival & for the amazing feeling there all week. (sic)"
Following their set, Chris later joined Ed Sheeran on stage for a rendition of his love song 'Thinking Out Loud'.
As he introduced the track, Ed told fans: "When they asked me to play, they asked me what song fitted in my sort of vibe, I wanted to play a song with someone who I'm a massive fan and admirer of, so I might as well bring him on stage."
Other performers on the day included Beyoncé, Common and Tori Kelly, and there were appearances and speeches made by Leonardo DiCaprio, Olivia Wilde, Salma Hayek and Kerry Washington among others.
Chris is committed to curating the Global Citizen Festival - an annual concert rewarding attendees for their actions in promoting the goal of eradicating global poverty - for 15 years, with the weekend's event being his first one.
Discussing the 'Yellow' hitmaker's involvement, Global Citizen co-founder Ryan Gall said: "Chris didn't want to do just a one-off. He wanted to sink his teeth into it and really do some meaningful work."

One Direction want to collaborate with Little Mix.
Although the group are planning an extended hiatus next year, they have told Little Mix that they want to contribute to their new album.
Jade Thirlwall told The Sun: "We definitely want to collaborate with One Direction.
"We saw Liam [Payne] at the iTunes gig and he said he wanted to write with us for the next album, so that would be good."
Little Mix supported One Direction at their Apple Music Festival gig in London last week.
They also have plenty in common with Zayn Malik quitting One Direction and dumping Little Mix's Perrie Edwards this year.
Meanwhile, Little Mix have revealed that they have sexed up their sound for their third album.
The girl group's upcoming LP 'Get Weird' is packed with raunchy songs that discuss bedding boys and some tracks had to be censored to take out the explicit lyrics before they made the final cut.
Perrie admitted one song in particular left her dad embarrassed.
She said: "'A.D.I.D.A.S' is the most shocking one I think. It stands for 'All Day I Dream About Sex With You', but it's a 'shush' now.
"Literally when my dad heard it he was like, 'No, girls turn it off.' I said, 'Dad I'm sorry we are going to change it, it's just a demo.'"

Mark Ronson made 17 different versions of 'Uptown Funk'.
The chart-topping producer released the hit single with Bruno Mars in 2014 and Mark's revealed he has various versions of the tune featuring "different basslines, different hooks, different programming, different chops, different everything".
He reflected: "The song wouldn't have been as good if it wasn't for Bruno. I think people think I made 'Uptown Funk' and sent it to Bruno to do the vocal.
"But that song is very much his creation. I remember spending three days in Memphis slaving over that song and thinking that we finally had it. I then got a call from him two days later saying, 'No, it's not it.' And I knew deep down it wasn't it either."
The 40-year-old star also admitted his most recent album, 'Uptown Special', marked a landmark moment in his career.
He told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper: "It took me so long to figure out something really obvious.
"That if I wanted to make another album and I want anyone to care then I'd better do the thing that I'm really good at, or the thing that I understand. And that's black American music from the 70s and 80s."

Louis Tomlinson's grandma wears One Direction's perfume.
The 'Little Things' group recently released their new fragrance, Between Us, and it is already a hit with the female members of their families.
Louis said: "I tell you who is a surprising fan of the fragrance - my grandma. She wears it, which is pretty cute."
Asked who should wear the fragrance, Harry Styles said: "I'm gonna say my mum, I feel that's the right answer."
While they have a fragrance collection, the group are not really "into" aftershaves.
Asked who smells the best, Niall Horan said: "I don't think the rest of the band are into aftershave. I don't even think Harry wears it."
Louis added: "I'd probably say Niall. He's just a sweet-looking guy isn't he? I mean, he's irresistible."
The quartet believe their latest perfume has a more "grown up" scent than their previous fragrance.
Louis said: "It's quite personal for the fans and it's a progression from the last fragrance."
Liam Payne added: "This is different from our previous scents, it's more grown-up and evolved, as we and our fans have."

Pharrell Williams performed a career spanning set at the Apple Music Festival in London last night (26.09.15).
The 42-year-old singer and producer gave a rousing performance backed by girl-group The Baes and was joined by his N*E*R*D band mate Shae Haley at the Roundhouse in Camden, as part of the annual music event formerly known as the iTunes Festival.
The 'Get Lucky' singer belted out fan favourites with his old pal including 'Rock Star' and 'Lapdance' but played newer songs early on, such as 'Come And Get It Bae' and 'Good Morning' from his 2014 solo album, 'Girl'.
A hyped crowd were treated to a medley of tracks co-produced by the singer that included Nelly's 'Hot 'n Here', Busta Rhymes's 'Pass the Courvoisier', 'Just Wanna Love You' by Jay Z and 'Hollaback Girl' by Gwen Stefani.
'Blurred Lines' also featured however Robin Thicke's vocals were notably ommited.
Meanwhile, a back drop of stunning footage - in the style of his 'Freedom' music video - and pop-art inspired animated clips of Egypt's landscape played throughout.
Pharrell invited fans onto the stage, danced with a group of children and thanked women everywhere for being the foundation of his success.
He said: "Without women I wouldn't have anything to write about. Without you I wouldn't be here."
The multi-instrumentalist ended the show as he began, with a thunderous performance of his protest song 'Freedom' that made the audience stand and salute the singer during two encores.
1960s rhythm and blues singer Leon Bridges from Texas opened for the headliner and played his 2015 album's title track 'Coming Home' and 'River'.
Other artists to perform at the Apple Music Festival this week have included Carrie Underwood, One Direction and The Weeknd while Mumford and Sons are set to take tothe stage tonight (27.09.15) and Jame Bay and Florence and The Machine tomorrow.