Music News

Sophie Ellis-Bextor says playing shows is like dating.
The 35-year-old musician admits she no longer suffers from stage-fright before performing gigs, but does find the process similar to going on a date because there's always the worry of having nothing to say.
She told BANG Showbiz: "I don't get nervous, especially since doing 'Strictly Come Dancing', nothing could be scarier. But it does feel a bit like dating because you always wonder how they will react."
The 'Young Blood' singer - who has sons Sonny, 10, Kit, six, and Ray Holiday, two, with her husband Richard Jones of The Feeling - explained because singing live feels so similar to romancing a partner, her only pre-performance ritual is to think of funny stories or anecdotes to tell while on stage in an attempt to stop her from rambling incoherently.
She added: "Before I go on stage, I'm usually just thinking of things to say. I do tend to think of topics of conversation before I go on stage to talk about with the audience which are interesting, because otherwise I just ramble on."
Sophie Ellis-Bextor is spearheading the latest campaign from Wrigley, 'The Chew O'clock Challenge', promoting the oral care benefits of chewing sugar-free gum, and encouraging parents to get their family chewing gum at 4pm after post-school snacks, when teeth are at risk from lingering foods.

Nicki Minaj thought about cancelling her tour after a member of her crew was killed last month.
The 'Anaconda' hitmaker has confessed she feels as though she's had no time to come to terms with the death of De'Von Pickett, 29 - who was stabbed to death in a bar in Philadelphia in February - because of her busy concert schedule.
She said: "I don't think people understand how fast-paced this business is. You never get a chance sometimes to do what normal people do, like mourn a loss. Everything happens so fast."
The 32-year-old star said Pickett was a part of her "crew" and finds it "devastating to think someone can work somewhere, make a living and then lose their life over absolutely nothing".
Nicki admits it was hard to continue working when she and the rest of her crew were grieving for their late colleague but she claims she decided to go ahead with her Pinkprint tour so Pierce Boykin - the man who has been charged with his murder - doesn't "win".
She told the Metro newspaper: "My band members took it very hard. They were with him all the time and toured with him for years. When I came to rehearsal after he had been killed, the look on everyone's face - it was heart-wrenching."
The raven-haired beauty added: "I can't let anything stop us from putting on the show because that would be quitting. So we're going to continue the tour in his memory."
Pickett was at a bar with his colleague Eric Parker when he was allegedly attacked by Boykin.
Nicki said on Twitter at the time: "Two members of my team were stabbed last night in Philly. One was killed. They had only been there two days rehearsing for the tour (sic)."

Sir Paul McCartney has announced a European tour.
The iconic performer will play a string of live shows later this year, kicking off with a performance at The O2 Arena in London on May 23, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' hit, 'Yesterday'.
Speaking about the milestone and live show, he said: "For me it's a happy coincidence that The O2 show falls at this time. It's great that people all over the world reacted so well to the song, it's all you can hope for! It feels like it has taken on a life of its own over the years. The song still is and always has been an important part of our live show. It's always very emotional for me to hear crowds singing it so loudly at my concerts and I'm looking forward to singing it along with the audience at the O2 in May."
As well as London, the 72-year-old singer-songwriter will visit Birmingham and Liverpool on his 'Out There' tour's UK dates, before heading to France, Holland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden throughout June and July.
Beginning 18 months ago, Paul - who recently collaborated with Rihanna and Kanye West on new single 'FourFiveSeconds' - has performed 64 shows in 12 different countries while on the tour, but is eager to carry on with his European dates.
He explained: "I'm looking forward to taking the 'Out There' tour back to Europe this summer. It's been a little while since I've performed in some of these places so we know it's going to be a fun tour. I hope the audiences enjoy this tour as much as we've been enjoying it ourselves all over the world."

Sir Paul McCartney's 2015 European tour dates:

May 23 - The O2, London, Great Britain
May 27 - Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, Great Britain
May 28 - Echo Arena, Liverpool, Great Britain
June 5 - Nouveau Stade Velodrome, Marseille, France
June 7 - ZiggoDome, Amsterdam, Holland
June 11 - Stade De France, Paris, France
July 4 - Roskilde Festival, Denmark
July 7 - Telenor Arena, Oslo, Norway
July 9 - Tele2 Arena, Stockholm, Sweden

V Festival has announced a new dance tent headlined by Oliver Heldens. The annual festival, sponsored by Virgin Media, has added The Dance Tent for the 2015 event featuring the freshest DJ talent including BBC Radio 1xtra's Mistajam, Hannah Wants, DJ ...

Sir Paul McCartney has recorded a song with supergroup Hollywood Vampires.
The Beatles legend impressed Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp when he came to their Los Angeles recording studio, along with his regular drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., to record a version of 'Come and Get It', the track he wrote and produced for Badfinger.
Joe - who had met but never worked with Paul before - said: "He knew all the chords, the lyrics, everything.
"He didn't have any cheat sheets. It was like he'd been playing it his whole life. Me and Alice and Johnny were standing there and looking at each other and I tell you -- if there's any ego-lever in a room, it's Paul.
"It doesn't matter who you are or what you've done. If Paul's in the room, he's there. It was hard to focus on playing."
According to the Aerosmith star, Paul and Alice shared lead vocals on the track, which is a tribute to Badfinger members Pete Ham and Tom Evans, who both committed suicide.
And the 'Hey Jude' hitmaker won't be the only special guest on the group's album.
Joe told Rolling Stone magazine: "The record is dedicated to all the friends we've lost to drugs and alcohol over the years and getting people to come in and cover the songs their friends wrote."
Though the group currently only have a gig at Brazil's Rock in Rio festival in September in place, Joe says they are planning a tour and he is looking forward to getting on stage with the 'School's Out' singer and the 'Mortdecai' actor.
He said: earance at Rock in Rio in late September. But Perry says a tour that month is in the works and that he's looking forward to playing onstage with Depp. "Johnny's a great guitarist.
"The times I've spent with him, I've always been impressed. To go out and tour with him is going to be a lot of fun. Everybody's really charged about it."

Nicki Minaj says Kanye West is "the king".
The 32-year-old rapper featured on the track 'Monster' alongside Jay Z on Kanye's fifth solo studio album 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy', and has praised him for letting her rap on the song because it helped to give her a platform.
She said: "It's sort of amazing but I keep saying that, Kanye, he gave me an amazing opportunity and because of that I feel like he outshines everyone. He puts people in a position to do better."
The 'Anaconda' hitmaker has since released three studio albums but still has a lot of respect for the 37-year-old musician because he is "selfless" when it comes to helping to promote new artists.
She told Capital FM: "When you are an artist and you can do that for people then you are the king, you are the one, and that's how I look at him.
"He did it in a really selfless way, he didn't have anything to gain from it. And that's what I've always respected and loved him for."
The praise comes just days after the 'Only One' singer spoke about their collaboration during a talk at the University of Oxford in England, joking she "kicked [his] ass" on the track.
He said: "One of the most memorable things about 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' was Nicki Minaj, and the fact that she kicked my ass, on my own song, on one of the best albums...the best album - I'm just saying what the critics said - of the last 25 years. The best album of the past 25 years that I spent a year and a half making, out there. I was exiled from my country, it was a personal exile, but exile. To come back and deliver my magnum opus of a work, and to be outshined...to be beat by a girl, basically."

Lady Antebellum inadvertently helped put The Shires together.
Ben Earle, one half of the UK country duo alongside Crissie Rhodes, had "completely had enough" of trying to make it in the music industry and was "on the brink of giving up", but he was inspired to pen several country tracks after hearing the US group's number one hit 'Need You Now'.
He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I was writing for years and the songs didn't really fit anywhere and I was on the brink of giving up, I'd completely had enough, I was so frustrated. But then I heard 'Need You Now' by Lady Antebellum and it changed my life as a songwriter and a musician.
"That was about three years ago and when I heard that song I wrote about four or five country songs and I put out a Facebook post saying, 'There must be a country singer out there,' and that's how Chrissie and I met."
Crissie added: "Lady A had got quite a lot of mainstream radio play as well which was pretty good. That went really well over here for sure."
The Shires are yet to come face-to-face with the inspiring act but Ben admits he is "nervous" about meeting the band for the first time.
He added: "We haven't met them yet and I'm quite nervous when we do because they are big idols of mine and they always say never meet your heroes."
Ben and Crissie's debut album 'Brave' - which was released on Monday (02.03.15) - has taken the Official UK Albums chart by storm, shooting to number nine in yesterday's (04.03.15) chart update, alongside mainstream pop acts such as Kelly Clarkson, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith.
Official Charts Company Chief Executive Martin Talbot admitted it is "truly remarkable" that the British country act are looking good for a top 10 finish.
He said: "This is a fantastic feat by this young British country act. No country act has ever made this kind of impact on the top 20 before - the fact they are challenging for a top 10 spot is truly remarkable."
The Shires' single 'Friday Night' is also out now and the duo will be playing on the Satellite Stage at country music event C2C Festival - which will also feature a Lady Antebellum performance - at London's The O2, this weekend (07.03.15) and (08.03.15).

Pharrell Williams has told a court 'Blurred Lines' was inspired by Miley Cyrus, not Marvin Gaye.
The 41-year-old musician made the revelation in his hour-long testimony for the chart-topping single's trial, in which Marvin Gaye's children Frankie and Nona claim the writer plagiarised their late father's hit 'Got To Give It Up'.
He explained: "I had Earl Sweatshirt in one room and Miley Cyrus in the other. I was doing a bunch of country-sounding music with Miley."
"It was like blending this country sound with this up-tempo groove."
And while he admitted there were a variety of influences involved in the Robin Thicke hit, which he co-penned in mid-2012, the 'Happy' hitmaker insisted the Marvin Gaye single did not enter his mind during the songwriting process.
He continued: "I must have been channelling that feeling, that late '70s feeling. Sometimes when you look back on your past work, you see echoes of people. But that doesn't mean that's what you were doing."
"[Marvin Gaye] is one of the ones we look up to so much. This is the last place I want to be right now. The last thing you want to do as a creator is take something of someone else's when you love him."
The trial regarding the global hit is expected to last for eight days with further testimonies from rapper T.I. and Robin's ex-wife Paula Patton.

Miley Cyrus and Elton John are set to feature on the new Chic album.
Founding member of the group, Nile Rodgers, is currently completing work on their upcoming ninth studio album 'It's About Time', and has teased the exciting collaborations which he hopes will feature on the collection.
He explained to Digital Spy: "Last week I played with Elton John and he was killing! I've played with Elton 20 times in my life, but it was the first time I played with him with Chic.
"So then he said, 'I would love to work with you', and I said, 'Hey, I have a song written in a four part harmony, and if you sing the baritone part, I'll sing the falsetto top and the bottom below you'. So Elton is probably now going to be on that song."
As well as the iconic singer-songwriter, the 62-year-old star revealed his blossoming relationship with 'Wrecking Ball' hitmaker Miley means the pair have agreed to record together for the LP, which will be the band's first since 1992's 'Chic-Ism'.
He said: "I've also become really good friends with Miley Cyrus, who sings her ass off! All of this stuff just happened in the last few days, and I'm thinking, 'Wait a minute, these people are amazing. Why am I going to fool around?'
"So I just called up Miley and was like, 'Yo Miley do you want to do this?' [And she's like] 'Yeah!'"
Continuing to speak about the record, Nile - who will tour the UK with the band later this month - explained 29-year-old soul singer Janelle Monae has recorded a track, and he has persuaded 70-year-old singer Diana Ross to revisit a song they originally wrote "years ago".
He said: "I'm still going to do the song 'Queen' that I had written years ago for Diana Ross. I played it for her son Evan, who's awesomely cool, who said, 'Mum, you've got to do that song!'"