Music News

B.B. King has left hospital.
The blues legend has thanked his fans for their concern and insisted he is well again after he was admitted to a medical facility over the weekend, suffering with dehydration linked to his type II diabetes.
In a statement posted on his official website on Tuesday (07.04.15), he wrote: "I want to thank everyone for their concern and good wishes. I'm feeling much better & am leaving the hospital today."
The 89-year-old musician was taken to the facility near his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, due to health concerns although his daughter Claudette King soon admitted he was already feeling "much better" when asked about his condition on Monday (06.04.15).
The 'The Thrill Has Gone' hitmaker suffered a similar health scare last October leading to the cancellation of eight tour dates, although he joked about his hospital admission days later insisting he was busier while resting at home as people kept checking to see if he was all right.
B.B. - who was born Riley B. King and is often referred to as the King of Blues - has toured for more than 65 years, and would play more than 300 shows each year at the peak of his career.
However, his hectic schedule has slowed down in recent years, having not released a record since his Grammy Award-winning 42nd studio album 'One Kind Favor' in 2008.

Sir Mick Jagger doesn't have any plans to retire.
The 71-year-old rock star - who's best known as the lead singer of The Rolling Stones - has revealed he's focusing his attention on the band's tour of North America and also says he has new music ready to record.
Asked if he has plans to retire, Sir Mick said: "Nah, not at the moment. I'm thinking about what the next tour is.
"I'm not thinking about retirement. I'm planning the next set of tours, so the answer is really, 'No, not really'."
He also said it'd be "very nice" if the band recorded a new album.
Sir Mick told Rolling Stone magazine: "It would be very nice and I've got a lot of new songs and songs I've written over the last couple of years. I've done really good demos for all of them, which I would love to record. So, let's hope so."
And asked if he's thought about making another solo album, the rock icon said: "I haven't, really. I'd love to record a Stones album. If that doesn't happen, then yes. That's a truthful answer.
"I've got songs that would be great for the Stones, and I've got songs that wouldn't be perfect for the Stones."

Sky Ferreira has named her new album 'Masochism'.
The 22-year-old singer has confirmed the title of the LP to music website MuuMuse following fan speculation online and a post on the site speculating about the possible name of the record.
After confirming the title, Sky then took to her Twitter account to reveal how she came up with it, admitting it was a very different process to how she named her 2013 album 'Night Time, My Time'.
She posted: "I've known the album title since last May (I was on a flight from Seattle to Dublin) & wrote the song onboard next to @SirJohnnyDanger ... Aka the complete opposite of how I named Night Time, My Time lol (sic)"
'Masochism' doesn't currently have a release date, but it is known that Sky has been working with Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie and Andrew Innes on the record.
Previously speaking about being in the studio with Bobby and Andrew, she said: "The reason I like working with them is because there's absolutely no pressure. [Bobby's former group] Jesus and Mary Chain is one of my favourite bands ever, so at first I was a little nervous. It's really nice to meet with someone and not be disappointed by it, to have them meet every expectation."
Sky has been playing her new song 'Guardian' on her most recent tour of North America, and it's likely to be on the 'Masochism' tracklist.
A fan uploaded a video of Sky singing the new track online in November 2014, and then the singer shared a studio version of the song on Instagram.
Along with a clip of the song, Sky wrote: "Part of the 'Guardian' demo. I'll put the actual song out early next year with a SICK video by @grant_singer. MORE TO COME! (sic)"

Frank Ocean will be releasing a new album and magazine in July 2015.
The 27-year-old hip hop star is simultaneously bringing out his third LP and a magazine this summer, his representative has confirmed.
Ocean's album was confirmed after he took to Tumblr to post a photo of himself looking down at two stacks of magazines, and hinted his record may be called 'Boys Don't Cry'.
The photo - which also appeared on his official website - was captioned: "I got two versions. I got twoooo versions. #ISSUE1 #ALBUM3 #JULY2015 #BOYSDONTCRY (sic)"
According to Billboard, the 'Pyramids' singer collaborated with Hit-Boy, Rodney Jerkins, Happy Perez, Charlie Gambetta and Kevin Ristro on the album
Ocean's first full-length major label album, 'channel ORANGE', was released in July 2012 to critical acclaim, and earned him a Grammy award for Best Urban Contemporary Album.
In the three years since, Ocean has collaborated with Jay Z on 'Magna Carta Holy Grail' and Beyoncé on 'Superpower', as well as Brian Wilson on his 11th solo album, 'No Pier Pressure'. However, he was cut from the former Beach Boys star's record due to creative differences.
Wilson previously said: "Well, Frank Ocean didn't want to do the song. He wanted to do rap, so we cancelled him."

Taylor Swift and Sam Smith lead the early nominations for the Billboard Music Awards. The 'Shake It Off' hitmaker and the British singer are both in the running for four of the five biggest prizes at next month's ceremony, rapper Ludacris and Fall Out...

One Direction have returned home to work on their album.
The group - featuring Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan - jetted back to the UK over the weekend after finishing the Asian leg of their 'On The Road Again Tour', and are planning on completing their fifth studio album before their next string of dates begin in June.
Louis tweeted: "This leg of the tour really has been amazing !! Looking forward to start working on the new record but gonna miss the shows big time !!! (sic)"
Echoing his pal's sentiments, Liam, 21, explained they would be spending the break penning hits to follow-up their successful singles such as 'Steal My Girl' and 'Night Changes'.
He wrote: "Now in home I just wanna thank everyone for an amazing start to the tour now it's album writing time then back to it! Wish us luck 😀 (sic)."
However, having only just landed following weeks of shows and controversy following Zayn Malik's departure from the band, Louis admitted he was looking forward to ordering a Domino's pizza before creating more music with his bandmates.
He added: "Gonna order a fat dominos when I get home !! Been toooo long (sic)."
The four-piece group - who released their last record, 'Four', in November - confirmed in December they would be releasing a fifth album, and have since been spotted writing with rapper Juicy J and Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger.

Madonna claims working with Kanye West is a "bit of a bullfight".
The 'Living For Love' hitmaker has revealed their strong personalities can result in tension when they work together in the recording studio.
She confessed: "It's a little bit of a bullfight, but we take turns.
"He knows that he's walking into a room with a person with a strong point of view, and I do, too."
However, the 56-year-old singer - whose track 'Illuminati' was produced by the musician - insisted they are able to co-operate even if they disagree, because they are aware of each other's talents.
Speaking in the 50th anniversary issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, she said: "I listen to what he has to say, take it in, and he listens to what I say and takes it in. We didn't agree on everything, but he has good ideas."
However, the musical icon - who released her 13th studio album 'Rebel Heart' last month - previously spoke in admiration of the 'All Day' rapper, describing him as a "brilliant madman" and the "black Madonna".
She said: "He's a brilliant madman. He can't help himself. Like, he doesn't have the same filters other people have.
"Kanye is the new Madonna. Kanye is the black Madonna.
"We're comrades in the envelope-pushing genre."

B. B. King has been hospitalised.
The iconic blues musician was rushed to a medical centre near his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, after suffering from dehydration linked to his Type II diabetes over the weekend.
The 89-year-old star has battled the illness for more than 20 years, and despite his latest health scare, his daughter Claudette confirmed to the Los Angeles Times newspaper he "is much better".
The incident follows previous problems with the 'Three O'Clock Blues' singer, who cancelled the remaining eight dates of his US tour last year after receiving a similar diagnosis following a show.
A statement posted on his website in October read: "Mr. King did not feel well enough to continue his performance last night, Oct. 3, 2014, at the House of Blues in Chicago.
"He was immediately evaluated by a doctor and diagnosed with dehydration and suffering from exhaustion whereby causing the eight remaining shows of his current tour to be cancelled."
However, a few days later, the star joked about the incident in a separate statement in which he said his home life had become even more hectic than his time on the road because so many people had been getting in touch to see how he was feeling.
He wrote: "I'm back at home now listening to music, watching movies and enjoying some down time.
"I think I'm busier at home now than on the road talking to friends calling to check up on me. I do appreciate everyone's calls and concern. I want to tell you, I'm doing alright."

Plain White T's have had "so many fistfights".
The five-piece pop-punk band - featuring Tom Higgenson, Dave Tirio, Tim Lopez, Mike Retondo and De'Mar Hamilton - revealed their 18 years in a band together have mostly been harmonious, but have been littered with violent arguments which have made them question their future as a group.
Speaking to BANG Showbiz at an event celebrating the launch of Lipton Ice Tea's #BeMoreTea campaign, bassist Mike admitted: "We've had some big arguments, but we're like brothers and all brothers fight. There've been fistfights."
The 'Hey There Delilah' hitmakers - whose new album 'American Nights' is out this week - admitted the spats have been difficult to cope with, although the band members who weren't involved have always tried to keep out of the confrontations to stop them from escalating further.
Guitarist Dave Tirio continued: "There have been so many fistfights, to the point where I remember one time I was brushing my teeth on the other side of a wall from a fistfight happening, and I didn't even give a s**t. I was just brushing my teeth like, I'm not breaking it up. Let them go."
However, lead singer Tom insisted there haven't been as many clashes as his bandmates suggested, although even one violent feud seems like "a lot".
He added: "By so many, he means like three, but one is a lot in my opinion.
"We're like brothers, but not actual brothers, so we don't fight that much!"
Plain White T's have partnered with Lipton Ice Tea for the video to their new single 'Pause', inspiring people to take time out to embrace the things they love. Watch the video here: http://youtu.be/vAnChA7HrbU