Music News

Rita Ora thinks it's "harder to be a female" in the music industry.
The 'I Will Never Let You Down' hitmaker - who has scored three UK number one singles and a UK number one album - believes it is tougher for women to have success in music.
She said: "Without pulling the female card, I think it has always been harder for females in all aspects. Whenever we have an opinion, it always seems to be taken out of proportion ...
"I think people take the word 'feminist' really seriously and I think people are scared to use that word. In this industry, all the heads of labels are men. I have always been very vocal about the women sticking together."
The 24-year-old singer - who will be taking a seat on the judging panel of British talent show 'The Voice' alongside Sir Tom Jones, Will.i.am and Kaiser Chiefs' Ricky Wilson - also revealed that she is "proud" to be able to prove herself on the show.
She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "As a woman in this industry, it has always been a bit about proving yourself, so I'm proud to be on a panel with such successful men."

Taylor Swift topped the United States' best-selling album list of 2014.
Figures provided by Nielsen Music show that the 25-year-old singer's fifth studio album, '1989', sold 3.66 million copies, beating the 'Frozen' soundtrack to the crown.
The movie's hit album - which ended the year with 3.53 million sales - topped the tracking list every week of the year until a sudden surge of sales of '1989' - 326,000 copies in the week ending December 28 - meant the title was easily secured for the singer.
Both albums were the only two to sell more than three million copies in 2014.
Sam Smith's debut LP, 'In The Lonely Hour', was the third-best selling album of 2014 in the United States, shifting 1.21 million copies.
Beyoncé, Lorde and One Direction also appear in the list as well as Barbra Streisand and Pentatonix.
For the first time in Nielsen Music history, Disney Music Group has two albums in the top five - the soundtracks of 'Frozen' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy'.
It is not the first year Taylor has been handed the accolade for best-selling album; in 2009, her second studio album, 'Fearless', shifted 3.22 million copies.

US official artist albums chart 2014:
1. Taylor Swift - '1989'
2. Disney Music Group - 'Frozen' soundtrack
3. Sam Smith - 'In the Lonely Hour'
4. Pentatonix - 'That's Christmas To Me'
5. Disney's Hollywood Records - 'Guardians of the Galaxy' soundtrack
6. Beyoncé - 'Beyoncé'
7. Barbra Streisand - 'Partners'
8. Lorde - 'Pure Heroine'
9. One Direction - 'Four'
10. Eric Church - 'The Outsiders'

Kanye West and Sir Paul McCartney have released a song together.
The 'Stronger' hitmaker and The Beatles frontman have collaborated on 'Only One' - which pays tribute to the 37-year-old rapper's late mother, Donda West.
Sir Paul plays an accompaniment whilst Kanye sings from the perspective of his mother - who tells her son to "tell Nori about me", referring to his 18-month-old daughter, North, whom he has with Kim Kardashian West.
In a statement released by Kanye's label, the creative process behind the song was revealed.
It read: "In early 2014, Paul McCartney and Kanye West first began working together in a small bungalow in Los Angeles. The process that would result in 'Only One' began with a simple brainstorming session between the two.
"When they played back the recording afterward, something remarkable happened. Kanye sat there with his family, holding his daughter North on his lap, and listened to his vocals, singing, 'Hello, my only one...' And in that moment, not only could he not recall having sung those words, but he realised that perhaps the words had never really come from him ...
"And he understood in that moment that his late mother, Dr. Donda West, who was also his mentor, confidante, and best friend, had spoken through him that day."
Kanye sang from the perspective of his mother - who died in 2007 from surgery complications - with heartfelt lyrics including: "Remember how I'd say one day / You'll be the man you always knew you would be / And if you knew how proud I was / You'd never shed a tear / Have a fear / No you wouldn't do that."
Kim, 34, also praised the song, taking to Twitter to admit it's her favourite song of his.
She wrote: "People always ask me what my favorite Kanye song is and it's Only One. Kanye feels like his mom sang thru him to our daughter.
"I cry every time I hear this song (sic)"

Mark Ronson always hoped 'Uptown Funk' would be a "New Year's Eve jam".
The 39-year-old music producer - who collaborated with Bruno Mars, 29, on the track - admitted that they aimed to make it the first hit of 2015.
He explained: "It's the ultimate 2015 jam. When we started writing it I remember Bruno saying, 'If we get this right then this is going to be the New Year's Eve jam'.
"But then it took so long to put together and had so many different incarnations we forgot how it started.
"It wasn't even supposed to come out until after New Year's, so the fact that we were like there is like wow, amazing."
The track's release was brought forward after a contestant on 'The X Factor' performed the song in December.
The song was beaten to Number One on its first week of release by the talent show's winners single but 'Uptown Funk' secured the top spot in the UK charts the week after.
Speaking about the song's chart success, Mark told the Daily Star newspaper: "I couldn't be disappointed. I love that people get so excited about music here and you can bet on No1s over the festive period.
"They treat it like an election and just to be part of that is exciting.
"But the fact that people were jamming and listening to the song at their New Year's Eve parties was awesome, it's everything you want."

Rixton enjoyed an impromptu karaoke session with Psy.
The band - made up of Jake Roche, Charley Bagnall, Danny Wilkin, Lewi Morgan - were joined by the 'Gangnam Style' rapper in a rendition of the Beatles classic 'Hey Jude' at a Korean restaurant in the early hours of the morning.
The 'Me and My Broken Heart' hitmakers described the duet as "quite a moment" despite the 37-year-old star's attempts to steal the spotlight.
Jake said: "We sung Hey Jude with him at 1am. He kinda stole the mic.
"It was quite a moment. He's got an incredible voice."
The boys - who released their debut single in March this year - also confessed to being left starstruck when they met Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks at a house party.
Jake told The Sun newspaper: "We met Tom Hanks at a house party.
"We're four normal guys from Manchester and meeting an icon like him is incredible."
The band are set to release their debut album, 'Let the Road', in January and have been spending much of their time in the US for the last few months.
Jake, 22, confessed it has been difficult to kick-start their career in the country because it takes so long for music to be played on the radio.
He explained: "We spend a lot of time over there - everything takes longer in America. In terms of the radio process, you start your song, you service it and it will take three months to hit its pinnacle. It's huge."
While the guys - who will be supporting 'Love Me Harder' hitmaker Ariana Grande on her tour of North America and Europe in 2015 - are thrilled with the reaction they have been receiving, the frontman insists they always look forward to returning to the UK.
He said: "We have been accepted really well out there and we love it but we love coming home as well, even if it's for just 12 hours."

Katy Perry wants to duet with Pharrell Williams at the Super Bowl half-time show.
The 'Dark Horse' hitmaker was confirmed as the headline act for the coveted gig in November last year and it's now been reported she wants the 41-year-old star to join her on stage.
A source revealed: "Katy is a huge fan of Pharrell and knows that having him duet with her on one of her songs during her performance will make all the difference."
The 30-year-old singer will put on a show for an estimated audience of 115 million people in the United States alone when she takes to the stage at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on February 1 and is said to be hoping the 'Happy' hitmaker will take some of the pressure off her.
The source added to the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Her people are already in early talks with people about setting it all up.
"He is tempted as he knows it will be an amazing, slick, professional show.
"He is trying to work out how it will fit in around his own branding and commitments. But he is also touring in the summer so he knows that it will be great publicity for him too."
Katy is set to follow in the footsteps of Bruno Mars and Red Hot Chilli Peppers, who wowed the crowd at the 2014 Super Bowl, and 2013 headliner Beyonce.

Kesha dropped the dollar sign from her name in a bid to be taken more seriously.
The 27-year-old singer decided to change the stylisation of her name from Ke$ha earlier this year because she wants to be perceived as a serious recording artist rather than a "one-trick pony" party animal.
The star's friend Lady Lloyd exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I hope she goes back to her old ways when we go out because we have a great time, but I think she's now trying to change her image because she doesn't get to release the best songs.
"On her albums, there's gorgeous ballads but she hasn't released one yet! The management [stop] her and don't her release them, but that damages her sales a bit because people think she's a one-trick pony.
"That's why she's dropped the dollar sign in her name because she's going for a bit more of a [mature] image. It's all about proving yourself and she wants people to see she can be deeper."
Lady Lloyd is relieved Kesha is doing better following her stint in rehab for an eating disorder this spring and says the 'Timber' hitmaker is fully focused on making a musical comeback now her health is in check.
The drag queen said: "I speak to her a lot, she wasn't very well recently but she's much better now. She's back on track, she's writing new songs, she's so talented, but people sort of take the p**s.
"Same with Miley Cyrus. People don't take them seriously because of the things they get up to, but at the end of the day, they write those songs themselves."

Clean Bandit think some of the Band Aid 30 artists had bad attitudes.
The 'Rather Be' hitmakers - Grace Chatto, Milan Neil Amin-Smith and Jack and Luke Patterson - were among a host of music stars to re-record Bob Geldof's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' to raise money for Ebola victims, and have hinted they didn't get along with everyone involved.
Quizzed on who the last "Clean Bandit" - a Russian phrase meaning "total bastard" - they'd met was, Milan said: "There were some of those at the Band Aid 30 recording. I couldn't possibly name anyone, but I suspect they'd be quite proud to be called a clean bandit."
However, despite not seeing eye-to-eye with all of their collaborators, Grace insists she's glad they were involved in the track because of what Geldof's motivation was to get the track out.
Speaking to the new issue of Loaded magazine - which is out now - she explained: "I understand why people thought there are problems with Band Aid 30's politics, but the difference the song tried to make outweighs that.
"It's complicated, because I understand why people said no to being on the song. But Ebola is something that's been eradicated in Nigeria, and it's something Band Aid can have a massive influence on."
Among the other artists to feature on the Band Aid 30 song were Chris Martin, Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, One Direction, Rita Ora, Guy Garvey, Ed Sheeran, Seal, Bono, Sinead O'Connor, Emeli Sande, Paloma Faith and Olly Murs.

Michael Stipe has made a surprise return to live performing.
The former R.E.M. frontman was an unannounced support act for his friend Patti Smith's gig at New York's Webster Hall on Monday (29.12.14) and treated fans to a short six-song set.
In his first concert since his group split three years ago, the 54-year-old singer was backed by two musicians and played keyboards as he sang four covers - ate singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt's 'Lucinda Williams'; Patti Smith's 1996 song 'Wing'; Frank Sinatra's classic 'New York, New York' and Perfume Genius' 2012 single 'Hood' - and two rarely-heard R.E.M. tracks, 'New Test Leper' from 1996 album 'New Adventures in Hi-Fi' and 'Saturn Return', which appears on 2001 LP 'Reveal'.
Michael's shock performance came just a few weeks after he admitted he was planning to return to music - though he said it wouldn't be in the near future.
He said: "That's maybe an exclusive, but I think I will sing again. Not soon, maybe...I don't know.
"I love my voice and I think it's still... I think it actually got better as I got older.
"I sing in the shower. And I'm not bad. You would be surprised at my play list."
The 'Losing My Religion' singer also admitted he most misses performing when he watches other people's gigs.
He said: "I just needed to step away for a while. [But] when I go to see bands perform live, that's when it's hard for me. I look up on the stage and I think, 'I wish I was there.' "