Music News

Iggy Azalea's second studio album is "finished".
The 'Fancy' rapper revealed last month that the follow up to her 2014 hit record 'The New Classic' will be titled 'Digital Distortion', and has further updated her fans in a surprise Q&A on Twitter by announcing that the LP is all but "ready" and is "weeks away" from being released.
The blonde star - who has 5.9 million followers on the micro-blogging site and is known for replying directly to fans - shared: "I'm ready with my music but I am also trying to restructure some things to work smoother and better for me.
"So we are all kind of still just figuring out how things should work and I'd guess that's going to take a few weeks. (sic)"
It's likely the album will drop early January, however, the 25 year old is signed to UK label Island Records - a subsidiary of Def Jam Music Group who are based in the states - and told one Twitter user it means things have been "complicated" with the record's release.
She said: "Right now I live in America and am very close to the Def Jam team; but I'm actually signed out of the UK. Things are complicated."
Iggy had been fairly silent on social media since November but felt compelled to retaliate after Erykah Badu dissed her rapping skills at the Soul Train Awards on Sunday (29.11.15).
Iggy - who dates rapper professional basketball player Nick Young - tweeted: "We are days from 2016, but I came online today and saw its still cool to try and discredit my 2014 accomplishments. LOL, fucking hell.
"Seems exhausting. Anyway - Ive been enjoying the holiday season and i hope you all have too. (sic)"

Charlie Simpson thought he'd "turn to drugs" if he didn't quit Busted in 2005.
The 'Year 3000' singer has rejoined his former bandmates
Matt Willis and James Bourne in the British pop/rock band and has revealed he was afraid he would become dependent on narcotics and alcohol because he was feeling very "depressed".
Speaking in an interview with Kerrang! about why he walked away from the super-successful group first time round, he shared: "I don't want to sound too extreme but was as close to getting depressed as you could ever get and I was worried I might turn to drunk or drugs or something. It was really nothing to do with Matt and James."
Charlie went on to form alternative rock band Fightstar but always felt guilty about his decision to leave his old friends.
He said previously: "I felt a huge amount of guilt when I left Busted the first time because I knew that they didn't want to stop and that was hard to deal with. We were really good friends and you don't want to upset anyone you care about. But staying in the band at that time could have risked our friendship."
Charlie's bandmate Matt did end up having a stint in rehab to be treated for alcoholism in 2005 following Busted's break-up.
The musician - who is married to Emma Willis - also sought help for cannabis abuse in 2006, but has been clean and sober ever since.

Adele has five "really great" songs leftover from writing her latest record '25'.
The 'Hello' hitmaker spent 2014 locked in the studio penning tracks for the long-awaited album and teased fans for months about its release date, but has now revealed she has a plethora of hits that didn't make the LP because they would have been more appropriate to feature on a future record.
The star shared: "There are definitely four or five other songs that I would definitely revisit. We didn't finish it in time and also it just felt like maybe I should be like, 32, when I do it rather than 27?"
And there's one remaining song that could be a "hit" which she wrote with 'Hello' co-writer Greg Kurstin.
She mused: "It's really, really great actually."
Speaking about her songs from her '21' writing session, she's also confident there's a few gems hidden away in her back catalogue there too.
She told Rolling Stone magazine: "I'm sure they'll see the light of day."
Meanwhile, the multi-million selling artist - who has three-year-old son Angelo with her partner Simon Konecki - is at least sure of one thing, that she's in the music business for the long haul.
She said: "I will be making records for the rest of my life, I think."

Kylie Minogue is reuniting with Stock, Aitken and Waterman (SAW) in a bid to take the Christmas number one spot.
The 47-year-old singer has turned to producers Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman - who launched her pop career in the late 1980s - for help on her track 'Every Day's Like Christmas', bringing the trio back together for the first time in almost 25 years.
Pete said: "The three of us have not done a single for 25 years. We have never fallen out but there was never a purpose where we thought it was worth working together.
"I told the others this is what Kylie wants and they said, 'Let's do it -- return at the top'."
According to the former 'Pop Idol' judge, Kylie approached the trio to work on the track - which was written by Coldplay's Chris Martin - because she and her record company wanted it to be "dead retro" with "nothing modern".
He told The Sun newspaper: "It's a strange question when someone asks, 'Can you step back in time and make a record you would have made in 1988?' But of course we can, and Kylie loved it.
"I did worry about tampering with a Chris Martin song in any way. I wasn't sure Chris Martin and Stock Aitken Waterman would be easy bedfellows but he said it was fine."
And the song could be the start of a full reunion for the producers - who previously also worked with the likes of Jason Donovan, Bananarama, Sinitta and Rick Astley - as they had such a good time.
Pete said: "We enjoyed working together and with modern technology we can do so much more."

New Order say making music without Peter Hook has been a more "pleasant" experience.
The group's original members, singer Bernard Sumner, drummer Stephen Morris and keyboard player Gillian Gilbert, are currently being sued by ex-bassist Peter, who claims they owe him £2.3 million since setting up a new company to handle the band's income from 2011 even though he left in 2007.
The band - also now comprised of Phil Cunningham and Tom Chapman - released their first LP, 'Music Complete, without Hook this year and they admit it was a lot more relaxed in the studio.
When asked if it was easier to lay down the tracks without Peter around, Gillian admitted: "I must admit, yes. I feel like everybody's on an equal footing. I don't know why. I think with the Hooky thing, as you go on you build up your own little, not resentments, but we'd been together for so long. It was a lot more pleasant for me.
"I think we are a new entity in a way, the past is gone a bit. we decided to call it 'Music Complete' because that's what it was, we just thought that's it, that's our music. Complete."
Drummer Stephen insists replacing Peter with Tom has resulted in a change in the band's music.
Stephen told Mojo magazine: "Straight away it was different. When you take something out of the equation and put something else in, you've got to do it differently whether you want to or not."
Since it was ruled that Peter's lawsuit will be heard in court, New Order released a statement on the matter on their official website.
It read: "Obviously the band are disappointed that Peter is pursuing this claim in this particular way. The reports so far take a number of things out of context. Peter still, for instance, receives his full share of all back catalogue royalties. This dispute relates only to the share of income he takes from our work without him since 2011.
"Not much more we can say as nothing has been decided by the Court on the facts other than he has a right to proceed with the claim, so this matter is still in play."

New Order are "disappointed" former bassist Peter Hook is suing them for millions in unpaid royalties.
The 59-year-old musician claims to be £2.3 million out of pocket since he quit the band he co-founded in 2007 and Judge David Cook ruled on Monday (30.11.15) the case should go to full trial.
Hook has filed the suit against "former friends" Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris and Gillian Morris, and in it he accuses the trio of setting up a new company without him to handle the band's income after he left the group.
The trio have now posted a statement on the group's official website on the matter which reads: "Obviously the band are disappointed that Peter is pursuing this claim in this particular way. The reports so far take a number of things out of context. Peter still, for instance, receives his full share of all back catalogue royalties. This dispute relates only to the share of income he takes from our work without him since 2011.
"Not much more we can say as nothing has been decided by the Court on the facts other than he has a right to proceed with the claim, so this matter is still in play."
New Order this year released a critically acclaimed album, 'Music Complete', - their first without the original bassist - and in the wake of Hook's departure they have been a successful touring outfit.
There's no sign of a reconciliation between the quartet and New Order say they're determined to plough ahead with the music.
They added: "We're getting on with life and concentrating on touring and promoting our new album."
Hook has also issued a statement saying he is "delighted" his application was granted and his court fees will be paid by the defendants.
It reads: "I'm naturally delighted with the decision made on my application to the High Court in London last week. It found in my favour and justifies the stance I have taken. The judge made a number of important points when giving his judgement and rejected a lot of the defendants' submissions. Both sides' costs in this case are very substantial. I was obviously pleased that the judge ordered the defendants to pay mine. I'm very happy with the outcome and it bodes well for the future. I am grateful to my legal team for the hard work which went into achieving this judgement."
Hook, Sumner and Morris were all members of seminal indie band Joy Division and went on to create New Order in 1980 after lead singer Ian Curtis committed suicide.
Hook currently tours with a band called Peter Hook And The Light.

James Morrison doesn't want to be thought of as a "boring" artist any more.
The 'Broken Strings' singer is worried his style of music has led some fans to think he is too earnest or "moody" but he hopes they will listen to his latest album 'Higher Than Here' and change their minds.
Speaking to Magic Radio backstage at the station's The Magic of Christmas concert, he revealed: "I said in the beginning I'd like to do something with a bit of a sense of humour. My problem is that I'm quite quiet so I can come across quite moody I suppose and I just wanted to level out people's perceptions of me a little bit.
"I think I've been sort of boring. I think people think I'm really boring! So I wanted to do something that was just fun and takes the mick out of the record industry and out of myself."
The 'Demons' songwriter has made a social media video series titled 'James Morrison vs The Music Industry', a mockumentary which has been dubbed the music industry's answer to 'The Office', and he hopes that will also help him attract a new audience.
He said: "I said in the beginning I'd like to do something with a bit of a sense of humour. My problem is that I'm quite quiet."

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