Music News

Example doesn't like having time off.
The 33-year-old rapper vowed to take a year off in 2014 after his fifth studio album 'Live Life Living' failed to perform as well as his other records, but grew tired of his break after just a few weeks because he yearned to be entertaining audiences.
He said: "I don't really like time off. I always think I want time off. Like last year, I did 126 gigs, and I thought, 'Ah, I can't wait to have time off', and then I had a week off, and I was like, 'I wanna be on stage again!'"
The 'Changed the Way You Kissed Me' hitmaker continued to say he has become much more inspired to write new tunes since he became a father to six-month-old son Evander with his model wife Erin McNaught, following a period when he struggled to write any songs.
He told BBC Radio 1: "In January, I just went away, I was flying back and forth from Brisbane and Sydney, and just wrote like 20 new songs. Last year, I had no inspiration whatsoever, I didn't really go into the studio much. My album came out, and it didn't do as well as the previous ones, because I don't think I was in the right headspace for songwriting. And I just came back in March from Australia, went into Sony, played them a few bits, and one of them's the new single ['Whisky Story'], and they were like, 'This is amazing, we've got to put this out right now!' So, a year off has turned into back on the promotional wagon."

Meek Mill claims Drake doesn't "write his own raps".
The 28-year-old musician has hit out at his fellow rapper claiming the 'Started From the Bottom' hitmaker refused to promote Meek's recent album 'Dreams Worth More Than Money', despite featuring on it, because he was confronted about using other writers.
He tweeted: "Stop comparing drake to me too.... He don't write his own raps! That's why he ain't tweet my album because we found out! (sic)"
Meek - who is dating Nicki Minaj - continued to say he believes artists like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole "really know how to rap", but added he wouldn't have asked Drake to guest on his album if he had realised sooner that someone else wrote his lyrics.
He ranted: "The whole game know forreal they scared to tell the truth! I can't wait tok these guys and sit back and act like they don't know!
"Don't compare me to none of the cats that don't write they own raps either...... Lol
"Kendrick and j cole really know how to rap even tho they in different lanes .... Dude is all the way outta of it lol
"He ain't even write that verse on my album and if I woulda knew I woulda took it off my album..... I don't trick my fans! Lol
"When I get mad I just start saying what's bothering me..... I can't not tell the truth! Lol (sic)."
The hip hop star continued to say he was "mad as s**t" when he realised Drake hadn't penned his own verse on his track 'R.I.C.O.', but by that point it was too late to remove it.
He wrote: "When he said the dream girl shit on Rico I thought he was coming at me lol Then youngbull played me the verse in his voice b4 my album came out I was mad as s**t! Lol (sic)."

Pete Doherty suffered a relapse earlier this year.
The Libertines' musician fell back into old drug habits following the death of his friend and collaborator Alan Wass in April, months after he spent time in a facility in Thailand to get over his addictions.
However, bandmate Carl Barat was on hand to help the 36-year-old musician through his problems and insisted he is now clean again with the band's future inspiring him get through the difficult period.
Carl explained: "We did our best to be around Pete and help him through.
"I don't want to sound all Mother Teresa but the love of the band and the promise of what the future could hold got him back on track."
The rockers - who are joined by John Hassall and Gary Powell in the band - performed a surprise set at Glastonbury festival last month and they explained it was just like the old days following the show as they all enjoyed a drink together.
He said: "We haven't changed anything. We're still the same. We celebrated Glastonbury with drinks on the plane."
The band - who will release 'Anthems For Doomed Youth', their first album in 11 years, on September 4 - are now hoping Pete manages to stay clean for the sake of the band, although Carl confessed they never know how things are going to pan out with the troubled star.
He told The Sun newspaper: "Everything's open with Pete. We're just there for him and we hope for the best."

Kanye West and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon will feature on James Blake's new album.
The 26-year-old musician has announced the 'All Day' rapper along with singer/songwriter Justin will feature on his third studio album, which he recently revealed will be called 'Radio Silence'.
Questioned on whether the pair will appear on the LP during an interview with Esquire magazine, he revealed: "I can confirm that they're on it. Kanye - I'm with him today. We'd already started on something ... today we should nail something down. If it doesn't end up on the album you know it hasn't worked."
The record will be the follow-up to James' 2013 album 'Overgrown' which was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize after receiving critical acclaim on its release.
It's no surprise Kanye has finally stepped into the studio with the electronic musician, having previously invited him to collaborate after calling him his "favourite artist".
However, last year the 'Retrograde' singer confessed it was tricky trying to arrange a track with the rapper - who has two-year-old daughter North with wife Kim Kardashian West - because Kanye insists on being in the same room when he's working with another musician.
James explained: "You know, the way that I like to work is bare bones and personal. I think because Kanye's such an accomplished producer, if I was to work with him, then I think we could do something together, and just together, you know?"

Azealia Banks believes "all" of her videos deserve VMAs.
The '212' hitmaker has hit back at the MTV Video Music Awards after nominations were announced yesterday (21.07.15), claiming she hasn't been shortlisted in any of the categories because of her race, adding she is not expecting to win a Grammy Award for her debut album 'Broke With Expensive Taste' for the same reason.
She ranted on Twitter: "All my videos deserve VMas and my album deserves a Grammy but I'll never get one because America doesn't like opinionated black women. (sic)"
The 24-year-old musician wasn't the only star to suggest the judges had been racist following the nominations announcement, with Nicki Minaj admitting she was furious her video for 'Anaconda' had not been recognised in the Video of the Year category having broken Vevo's record for the most views in 24 hours when it racked up 19.6 million clicks on its first day of release last August.
She raged: "If I was a different "kind" of artist, Anaconda would be nominated for best choreo and vid of the year as well.
"U couldn't go on social media w/o seeing ppl doing the cover art, choreo, outfits for Halloween...an impact like that & no VOTY nomination?
"When the "other" girls drop a video that breaks records and impacts culture they get that nomination.
"Oh but trust me. I'll be on that stage to collect my awards for vid of the year. Feeling Myself & Anaconda.
"If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year
"I'm not always confident. Just tired. Black women influence pop culture so much but are rarely rewarded for it. (sic)"

Will Young thinks Kanye West is "awful".
The 'Pop Idol' winner has insisted he despises the 'Bound 2' rapper for his "audacious and opulent" nature and refused to watch the star perform a recent headline set at Glastonbury Festival.
He blasted: "I was at Glastonbury and I refused to see him. He's awful. What does he stand for? His arrogance completely over-runs him as a musician. He's so audacious and opulent.
"It shows the worst of people who have loads of money. Massive weddings, opulent engagements. Who is this man? And why do we laud these people?"
And until the rapper reduces his "arrogance", the 36-year-old singer has no plans to listen to any of the star's music.
He added to BBC News: "I'm not interested in arrogance. It's just a cover.
"Get rid of the arrogance and show me the frailty. I won't listen to his music."
During the chat, Will shared his favourite albums, with The Beatles' 'Revolver' topping his list.
Speaking about the band's 1966 album, he said: "It was a record that was always played in my house from about the age of 10. It was probably when CDs first came in - my folks got 'Revolver' and 'Abbey Road' and we went away on holiday to South Africa and played it in the house we were staying in.
"Every song was so different. I'd never heard anything like it before - and never since, actually. Paul McCartney is one of my favourite singers. He's got this brilliant vibrato - but he doesn't rest on it. A Jazz singer would use the vibrato a lot, but his projection is quite straight. He passes through it."

Kodaline hid their 'Friends' obsession while working with Courtney Cox.
The Irish rockers spent three days on set with the Hollywood star whilst she directed their music video for the song 'Love Will Set You Free' although the starstruck lads couldn't bring themselves to tell Courtney how much they loved the iconic comedy series - in which she played Monica Geller - until the very last moment.
Drummer Vinny May exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "We kinda waited until the last day of shooting the video, before we said 'by the way we're all massive fans'."
The musicians - who will perform at MTV Crashes Plymouth in Cornwall today (22.07.15) - continued to reveal they even told the brunette beauty they have watched every single episode of the popular sitcom.
He added: "Then yeah, we were like, 'We have all the box sets' and she was like, 'Really?!'"
The former 'Friends' star, 51, ended up directing the band's video after her fiancé, Snow Patrol guitarist Johnny McDaid, 38, co-wrote the track, and now the band are hoping they'll get invited to their forthcoming nuptials.
He said: "It would be an honour to be invited. We've been working with Johnny on some songs, the last song that Courtney shot 'Love Will Set You Free' we wrote with Johnny.
"They're a lot of fun and they're really nice people, really chilled."

Mastodon have cancelled 16 tour dates.
The heavy metal band were scheduled to play a string of international shows including the prestigious Reading/Leeds Festival throughout August and September but have pulled out of all of the gigs citing a "personal family matter".
The group - featuring Troy Sanders, Brent Hinds, Bill Kelliher and Brann Dailor - have not issued a personal statement expanding on what has prompted them to axe the planned dates, which included appearances at Pukkelpop in Belgium, Oya Festival in Norway and Heavy Montreal Festival, where they were due to perform on August 7.
The band were due to headline The Pit at Reading and Leeds Festival but have now been replaced by Swedish metal band Ghost, while their show in Iceland on September 5 will now take place at Reykjavik's Rokkjotnar Festival on December 5.
The outfit released their sixth studio album Once More 'Round the Sun' last year reaching their highest chart positions to date, with guitarist Brent recently joking they chose a lighter sound for the record compared to 2011's 'The Hunter' because he "never really liked heavy metal in the first place."
Mastodon are expected to return to the stage at the Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 25.

Lorde, Tom Waits and Kesha are set to judge the International Songwriting Competition.
The 18-year-old 'Royals' hitmaker along with the iconic singer/songwriter and 'Tik Tok' singer are among some of the many high profile artists who will feature on the panel, along with British band Bastille, Swedish DJ Avicii, R&B vocal group Boyz II Men, 77-year-old legend Bill Withers, 'Somewhere Only We Know' singers Keane, dance-hall rapper Sean Paul and Run D.M.C.'s Darryl McDaniels.
The annual contest, which first launched in 2002, encourages songwriters to create "something truly meaningful" by giving away more than $150,000 in cash and prizes to the 68 winners.
As well as performers, music industry executives will also have their say in judging across the 22 categories, with CEOs from Atlantic, Epic, Sony Music Latin, Warner Bros., and Concord Music Group set to appear alongside the artists on the panel.
The grand prize was won by Australian musician Vance Joy earlier this year thanks to his catchy tune 'Riptide', bagging him $25,000 in prize money and $30,000 in merchandise and services.
Other stars to have previously won in the contest - which is open to both professional and amateur songwriters - include Bastille, Gotye, Kimbra, Passenger, King Charles and Lindsey Sirling.