Music News

John Newman rejected the chance to work with Will Smith.
The 'Come And Get It' hitmaker was in talks to record with 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' star for his second studio record 'Revolve' but revealed he decided to bin the potential collaboration in favour of an album introduction from 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom' actor Idris Elba.
He explained: "It's weird. I was actually in talks with Will Smith about doing it. And it never came through, but then the more I thought about it, I was like, I'm gonna look like Johnny big balls here, and I didn't wanna do that. I didn't wanna go to LA and make a record and turn around and go, 'I've worked with Michael Jackson's musicians in the studio and then got Will Smith on a track'. It's a bit like, just remember the music and the artist and stuff. And that's not slating Will Smith, he's just very, very famous and very successful! Whereas Idris Elba is Idris Elba."
The 25-year-old musician chose to work with Idris instead because he felt he was more suitable for the record because he is so "talented".
In an interview airing tonight (26.08.15) at 7pm on Free Radio, he said: "He's a serious man! And what I mean is, I wanted somebody that did it justice in every sort of way for this piece of work, and Idris was that guy! He's a very talented and lovely person."

Conor Maynard wants to become a YouTube vlogger.
The 22-year-old singer has been working on the follow-up to his debut studio album 'Contrast' for over a year but hinted his fans might need to wait even longer for the LP because he's so keen to branch out and become famous on the video-sharing site.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, he said: "I'm friends with a lot of great YouTubers like Caspar Lee and Joe Sugg and I'm really looking to get into the whole YouTube world, because you know obviously that's where I came from initially."
The 'Can't Say No' hitmaker originally got discovered from uploading videos of himself singing onto the site but feels like he's "neglected" his original fans on the site since signing his record deal.
He explained: "I kind of neglected it over the last few years and I kind of really want to get back into it and start being much more active on my YouTube channel so, that's kind of what I'm planning to do."
The singer/songwriter - who was speaking prior to his Island Beats show at Thorpe Park - recently appeared on Caspar Lee's channel, which has more than five million subscribers, and now feels like he wants to follow in his footsteps by making kooky videos in which he can play pranks on people.
He added: "I did a recent video with Caspar, like pranks, that kind of thing. We did a public busking prank which was really fun, I really enjoyed doing that with Caspar, so doing maybe a few more pranks with Caspar on my own channel would be really fun."
Union J will headline the final night of Thorpe Park's Island Beats on Saturday (29.08.15).

Sugababes singer Jade Ewen is bankrupt.
The 27-year-old star - who replaced Keisha Buchanan in the group in 2009 - reportedly owes thousands of pounds to the tax office and has declared the legal status because she cannot repay the debt owed.
And it is believed the star's money woes began when she "fell victim" to the natural shelf life of the band because she joined when the music had dried up.
A source told The Sun: "Jade put her all into her music but sadly things simply haven't gone well.
"She joined the Sugababes full of optimism and had high hopes given the band were very much established in the charts. But it seems she fell victim to their shelf life expiring."
In 2013 Jade revealed the band - who had five members during their 13 year run and a string of UK hits including 'Round Round' and 'Freak Like Me' - were not getting back together after "fizzling out two years ago".
She said: "I kind of was unlucky in that I came in [to Sugababes] towards the end of the cycle when things naturally came to the end."
Original member Mutya Buena also declared herself bankrupt last year after blaming an administrative error for not paying tax.
However it looks like Jade won't be poor for long and has since made the jump into movies.
She said on Twitter: "On my way to Romania to shoot my first ever action movie 'End Of A Gun' with Steven Seagal! Wish me luck.(sic)"

Justin Bieber and Skrillex are working on "timeless" music.
The 'Boyfriend' singer and the 'Bangarang' hitmaker collaborated with Diplo on the track 'Where Are U Now' and have reunited again to work on more music together.
Skrillex said: "We're writing great songs, take all the production away and just break it down to the melody and the vocal ... we're writing really great songs.
"For me, at least, I feel like 'Where Are U Now' was his first step into real songs, almost like timeless songs. No matter what you think about who he is, you can't deny that he wrote a great song and that's what we're doing, and that's what the goal is for this record."
But the 27-year-old music producer believes the 21-year-old singer took the "biggest risk" releasing the track as his first new piece of music since December 2013.
He added to MTV: "I think he already took the biggest risk releasing his first single in a long time with Diplo and myself, and it had such a great response, and now it's just very freeing because that's what we're chasing after, just making good songs.
"I think that when you hear his voice... there's something that happens. I really like the stuff that we worked on together and we'll see what the world thinks when it comes out."

Kanye West will receive the Video Vanguard Award at the 2015 MTV VMAs.
The 38-year-old rapper will be honoured with the prestigious accolade at the awards ceremony on Sunday (30.08.15), which will be presented by Miley Cyrus.
Announcing the news on Twitter MTV wrote: ".@KanyeWest will receive the Video Vanguard Award at the 2015 #VMAs this Sunday at 9/8c! (sic)"
The prize, also known as the Lifetime Achievement Award, has previously been won by acts including Michael and Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, U2 and George Michael, with it last being presented to Beyonce in 2014.
The 'All Day' rapper is familiar with the award, having given it to his friend and long-time collaborator Hype Williams in 2006 for his achievements as a "film maker".
Kanye - who has two-year-old daughter North with his wife Kim Kardashian West - previously performed at the event in 2013 when he played 'Blood on the Leaves' and although no performance has been confirmed for this weekend's ceremony at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, it has become the norm for recipients to take to the stage for an extended medley.
Back in 2013, Justin Timberlake reunited with his *N SYNC bandmates for a 15-minute set while Beyonce sang several tracks from her self-titled fifth studio album last year.
Taylor Swift leads the nominations for the MTV VMAs with 10 nods, while Ed Sheeran is up for six awards and Kendrick Lamar is in the running for four.

Christian O'Connell will host the Q Awards 2015.
Q Magazine has announced the Absolute Radio DJ will return as the host for the prestigious awards ceremony after the huge success of last year's event.
Talking about returning to the job the Winchester-born comic joked about being devastated at the news One Direction are planning on splitting up before saying how he was "looking forward" to taking up the offer to present again.
He said: "I'm in a world of pain right now with the news One Direction are breaking up in 17 years time. I cried myself to sleep last night into my 1D pillowcase.
"Looking forward to coming back to the Q awards stage again, not too often you see a knight of the realm falling over drunk and actually forgetting who they had come on stage to present an award to. More of that please".
Last year's event saw Sam Smith pick up the Best New Act award and Kasabian win the Best Act in the World accolade while there were also wins for Jamie xx, Elbow, Paolo Nutini and Ed Sheeran.
The star-studded event will take place on Monday 19 October with voting for the seven categories already open through the magazine's website.

Tyga reportedly raps about sex with Kylie Jenner in his latest song.
The 'Rack City' hitmaker released the mixtape track 'Stimulated' earlier this week and it's been claimed the lyrics refer to his bedroom activities with the 18-year-old 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' star.
He raps: "I'm stimulated, I'm at the bank, I'm penetratin', I'm puttin' in, I'm penetratin', I'm gettin' big, she stimulated.
"They say she young, I shoulda waited, she a big girl, dog, when she stimulated."
The 25-year-old musician previously denied he was dating the reality TV star but, after celebrating her 18th birthday earlier this month, they appear to have confirmed their relationship with a number of public displays of affection.
And it now seems he's comfortable telling the world about their intimate relationship.
The track continues: "F**k what they talkin' about, I do what the f**k I wanna do.
"She a big girl, dog, I'm puttin' in, yeah, I'm penetratin', I'm gettin' big, yeah, I'm stimulated.
"Might take her home, gonna dinner plate it, I don't heat it up, I don't microwave it, she already hot, she sizzle, baby.
"No salt-n-pepper, she been the flava, I'ma stimulate her."
However, it's not the first time one of Tyga's explicit raps has been linked to Kylie.
After singing about "catching a felony" in his single 'Pleazer' it was claimed he was referring to the fact it was illegal for him to have sex with the brunette beauty while she was still just 17 years old.
He rapped: "T nasty, 'bout to catch a felony for it."
However, the 'Ayo' rapper later denied the claims, insisting he was still with the mother of his son King Cairo, Blac Chyna when the song was recorded.

Ellie Goulding's new single is "very different".
The 28-year-old star is gearing up to release her third studio album later this year and has teased fans can expect a new sound from the LP's first single, which has been created with top pop producer Max Martin.
She hinted: "The first single? I really like it, it's very different for me.
"But I think it's a good different. Max Martin [produced it]."
The 'Love Me Like You Do' hitmaker continued to say the track will be accompanied by a 'Thelma & Louise'-style video, which she promised will be released in the next month.
She told Capital FM: "Well it involves me and another girl who's really hot and we're sort of like 'Thelma & Louise'.
"I guess [you'll see it] in about a month's time. I'm very excited about it."
Ellie - who has been dating McBusted's Dougie Poynter for the last 18 months - recently revealed she had almost completed the album and would be releasing it before the end of the year.
She said: "I don't really know why this word seems appropriate but it's definitely bigger.
"Whether that means it's more adventurous, or a bit more ambitious, or a bit more daring, I don't know. But I'm certainly taking on something a lot bigger than I have before and sonically it's a lot bigger.
"So that album is coming out and what people make of it I don't know, but it is coming. It's nearly finished and it will be out this year. Even if it's out on December 30, which is my birthday, it will be out this year."

Ed Sheeran has revealed details about his new label, Gingerbread Man Records.
The 'Thinking Out Loud' hitmaker has launched his own record label - which is a subsidiary of Warner Music UK LTD - and has expressed his excitement about working with up-and-coming artists.
Ed said: "I'm extremely excited to be starting-up my own label. It's something I've been planning for some time. I've always loved endorsing acts from the very beginning and I get to work with artists I truly believe in."
The 24-year-old star - whose second studio album 'x' is the most streamed record on Spotify ever - has also revealed the details of his first signing, Jamie Lawson, who he recently championed at a tiny show in London and who will release his album later this year.
He added: "My first signing is Jamie Lawson - he's an incredible talent, who I've known for a couple of years, and we've actually been on tour this year across Australia and the UK/Europe. Jamie's self-titled album is coming on October 9 and I can't wait for you to hear it."
The four-time BRIT Award winner will release Jamie's first video through the label's new official YouTube channel, which fans can subscribe to now: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfLAzLhQsUOYIAq02LB32nQ