Music News

Rita Ora insists she is not a traitor to women for collaborating with Chris Brown.
The 'Poison' hitmaker has come under fire for teaming up with the 26-year-old star - who was convicted of assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009 - on 'Boy on Me' but insists his background has nothing do with the track as she just wanted to work with someone whose vocals suited the song.
She said on Free Radio: "I've been such a supporter of females for such a long time, you know, look at any of my interviews. I think the song speaks for itself.
"His voice really suited this record and I approached it with that in mind. I really just went into this collaboration with a clear mind of what vocally will sound the best, and what musically works. That, to me, made the most sense."
The 24-year-old star previously spoke out about her reasons for working with the 'Loyal' hitmaker, saying he is "important" to her both "personally and professionally".
She said: "(He's) strong, powerful and someone that is important to me personally and professionally. The discrimination and all what people think? If you have a great song then no one cares."
However, critics of 'Body on Me' have slammed the star on social media and reminded her of the incident in 2009 when Chris attacked Rihanna following a pre-Grammy awards party in Los Angeles.
The singer was sentenced to five years' probation, domestic violence counselling and community service.

Aretha Franklin has cancelled a concert in Las Vegas due to exhaustion.
The 73-year-old singer was due to perform at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Friday (14.08.15), but has pulled out after driving from Detroit to California for three shows.
She said in a statement: "I thank all of my fans, friends and supporters who bought tickets and hope to see you all soon. I extend my sincerest regrets."
Last year, Aretha threatened to sue author David Ritz - who ghostwrote her 1999 autobiography 'From These Roots' - over his unauthorised biography 'Respect'.
She said: ''There's a very trashy, trashy book on the street . . . It's lies, lies, lies and then more lies.
''I'm talking to a criminal attorney. If this isn't defamation, I don't know what would be.''
Aretha is believed to be upset about claims made about her sexual promiscuity on the 1950s gospel circuit, but the author - who narrates the new book through interviews with friends, family and associates - claims the material was cut from her autobiography.
Fellow singer Etta James is quoted as saying: ''I can understand Aretha not wanting to talk about that . . . Who wants to admit that you're praising the Lord at the 8 p.m. service and servicing some drop-dead gorgeous hunk of a singer an hour later? Aretha and I started out before we were teenagers . . . we wanted to experience it all. I wouldn't use the expression sexually active, I'd say sexually overactive.''

Phil Rudd thinks it will take "five minutes" to persuade Angus Young to allow him back in AC/DC.
The former 'Highway to Hell' drummer pleaded not guilty to breaching his home detention sentence after being arrested for drinking alcohol last month and eight days after he was given an eight-month home detention sentence for drug possession and making threats to kill.
Now, he thinks his bandmate and AC/DC guitarist will let him back in the band because "he knows" the band would be "better" if he was there and is determined he will return.
Asked if he is still in the rock band, Australian-born Phil said: "Me and everyone else says that, but that's not what Angus says. I don't want to upset Angus by saying the wrong thing. Me and Angus kicked serious ass and he knows if I was there, it would be better."
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "I know he knows that, because I've proven it before. Just give me five minutes in a room with him and I'll get my job back. I promise. I was doing hard personally and did some things I probably shouldn't have done. We've all got our cross to bear."
However, a spokesman for the band said there's no way he will playing on their forthcoming New Zealand tour.
A spokesperson said: "All I can say is that Phil will not be playing the New Zealand concerts."
Chris Slade who replaced Phil many years back will continue to be their drummer.

Jess Glynne found her vocal surgery "traumatic".
The 'Rather Be' singer underwent an operation on her vocal cords earlier this year after suffering issues with her voice and has revealed she found the procedure "one of the most terrifying things" because her whole life revolves around her ability to sing.
She said: "I have to be honest with you, it's probably one of the most terrifying things I've gone through. It's pretty traumatic knowing that your instrument that's your career isn't working and you've got to have an operation. In every operation there's a risk, and you don't know whether it's gonna ... you know, obviously there's that 95 per cent chance, whatever they say, they can never say 100 per cent you're gonna be better. But the concern and the worry is the worst thing."
The 25-year-old star previously revealed she took advice from fellow singing sensation Sam Smith prior to her surgery as he had undergone a similar operation, although she decided against using the same speaking app which the 'Stay With Me' hitmaker used.
Asked if she also used it, she said: "I did have that app, but I didn't really like it because it wasn't loud enough, so I just used a whiteboard!"
And after securing her first solo number one single back in March with 'Hold My Hand', Jess said she felt "overwhelmed" because it was such a special moment.
In an interview to be broadcast at 7pm this evening, she told Free Radio's Adam Wilbourn: "It was the best feeling ever, I have to be honest. Having your own number one, I don't know how to explain how that felt.
"It was the most emotional I've been in my whole career to date! I was just in tears, I was so overwhelmed."

Katy Perry is making a Christmas song.
The 30-year-old star has teased she will be releasing a festive tune later this year by revealing she has been in the studio writing a seasonal song with her "squad".
She wrote on Instagram: "When your derp squad writes a Christmas song in August (sic)."
The 'Dark Horse' hitmaker previously alluded she may be working on a holiday hit when she tweeted about an incident in the studio which ended with her falling flat on her face, ending the message with Christmas tree, prayer and musical notes emojis.
She wrote: "Ya know yer sanging good when ya lose yer balance & fall over in the vocal booth (sic)."
Katy - who released her fourth studio album 'Prism' in 2013 - has not confirmed when she will release the project, although if she puts it out this year it will coincide with H&M's Christmas campaign, which she previously revealed she will be the face of.
Other musicians set to put out new seasonal tunes this Christmas include Mariah Carey who is re-working her 'Merry Christmas' collection, and Kylie Minogue who is rumoured to be creating a disco-inspired record.

Sigma think Pharrell Williams is an alien.
The drum and bass duo - Cameron Edwards and Joe Lenzie - spotted the 42-year-old musician backstage at Glastonbury festival where they were both performing back in June and said while it was "cool" to see him, they are convinced he must be an extra-terrestrial because of his ever-youthful appearance.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, Joe said: "I think Pharrell was on [stage] just after us so I didn't get a chance to talk to him but to see him in person was quite a cool experience because he's an alien. He's looked the same for about 30 years, I don't know how he does it!"
However, the 'Nobody To Love' hitmakers - who recently released their new single 'Glitterball' featuring Ella Henderson - admitted they didn't approach the singer and producer because they find it embarrassing when musicians beg for collaborations.
Asked if they spoke to Pharrell about teaming up, Joe explained: "I think I'm past that stage because I've had people come up to me in the past and I don't want to be that guy, even though I am a massive fan of Pharrell. I love all of his stuff but I wouldn't want to be the guy walking up to him trying to sell myself to him."

Meghan Trainor will have vocal surgery.
The 'All About That Bass' hitmaker has suffered another vocal haemorrhage, forcing her to axe the remaining 15 dates of her North American tour as a result of the painful issue, which she will now undergo surgery for to fix "once and for all".
In a heartfelt message posted on Instagram, she wrote: "To all my fans - I was being careful and taking precautions, but I have hemorrhaged my vocal cord again. I got bronchitis & have been coughing a lot & that pushed it over the edge. Sadly, I will need to cancel the remainder of my tour and get surgery to finally fix this once and for all. I am devastated, scared, and so sorry. I LOVE touring and seeing your beautiful faces every night. I am determined to do what it takes to get better and come back around stronger than ever. I love you, and thank you for all of your understanding, love and support. (sic)"
The 21-year-old star cancelled a number of dates at the beginning of July after suffering a similar incident but was given the all-clear to continue performing a fortnight later.
However, she will now have her vocal cords operated on - as fellow musicians Sam Smith and Jess Glynne have also had this year - and as well as apologising to her fans Meghan has said sorry to her support acts Charlie Puth and Life of Dillon.
In another Instagram post, she wrote: "I'm sorry to my amazing openers that we had to cut it short.@charlieputh @lifeofdillon you guys put on great shows every night with big smiles and I will be forever grateful that you were a part of this experience, even though it was cut too soon. Thank you and your teams for everything (sic)."

Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars have been accused of plagiarism.
The pair have come under fire from Serbian singer Viktorija - whose real name is Snezana Miskovic - who claims their chart-topping collaboration 'Uptown Funk' is a rip off of her 1984 single 'Ulice Mracne Nisu Za Devojke', which translates as 'Dark Streets Are Not For Girls'.
She said: "Their song 'Uptown Funk' contains 80 per cent of my tracks. How much of it are you allowed to take as inspiration for your song?"
Despite claiming the song is "80 per cent" hers, the 56-year-old star insisted she has not yet decided whether to sue them and instead just wants to have her contribution appreciated.
She told the Daily Star newspaper: "I'm in no hurry to sue them, these processes take a long time, and my life and career does not depend on lawsuits.
"For these lawsuits, there should be a lot of money, the lawyers are working on a percentage.
"If I still decide to sue them and I win, I have to figure out what to do with that money."
The news comes five months after Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were ordered to pay $7.3 million in copyright infringement due to similarities between their number one single 'Blurred Lines' and Marvin Gaye's 'Got To Give It Up'.
However, both Robin and Pharrell denied any wrong-doing and insisted they would battle the decision.
Their lawyer, Howard King, said at the time: "We owe it to songwriters around the world to make sure this verdict doesn't stand.
"My clients know that they wrote the song 'Blurred Lines' from their hearts and souls and no other source.
"We are going to exercise every post trial remedy we have to make sure this verdict does not stand. We look at it as being in the seventh inning of a game that could go into extra innings."

Noel Gallagher no longer receives fan mail.
The former Oasis rocker used to spend hours responding to letters from thousands of fans but said he doesn't get any gushing notes in the post anymore because people can just speak to him online instead.
He said: "It has all stopped. I remember getting sacks of the stuff. That doesn't happen any more. Now there's no need to reply as the fans are online talking to each other."
The 48-year-old star - who released his second studio album as Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, 'Chasing Yesterday', earlier this year - continued to say it isn't just how he communicates with people who love his music which has changed, as the entire industry is completely different from when he released his debut album with the defunct band in 1994.
He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Since 'Definitely Maybe' the industry has changed beyond all recognition. The music business we signed into doesn't exist any more."
And although he may be glad to see the back of fan mail, Noel recently berated the industry's streaming revolution, specifically branding Apple Music "Orwellian".
He ranted: "Apple Music, world radio: is that some sort of George Orwell s**t going on? How can you be so arrogant that you can say, 'We now f***ing own world radio.'
"It's not playing the Kinks. Unless there's a f***ing section that says 'Noel Gallagher's music collection' then I won't be listening to it."