Music News

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."

Zayn Malik wants to make "awesome music" with Zendaya.
The 18-year-old singer has caught the attention of the former One Direction star, 22, who apparently wants to work with her musically because he digs her sound and he particularly "really likes" her single 'Replay', according to reports.
A source said: "Recording together is most likely -- he really likes 'Replay,' as well as her sound, and would like to see if they could create some awesome music together."
The British heartthrob apparently thinks they should work in the studio because of their "similar R&B vibe".
A source previously told The Sun newspaper: "He [Zayn] said they should get in the studio together as they both have a similar R&B vibe, and he's been talking about fashion as she's in London working with Vivienne Westwood."
However, it's not just her vocals he is taken with, Zayn who recently dumped his Little Mix fiancé Perrie Edwards by text, also thinks the Disney actress is "stunning" and "loves how intelligent she is for her age.
The source told Hollywood Life: "He thinks that she is stunning. He loves that she is very smart and her maturity for her age is off the charts. She really is a cool girl, and he really respects the person that she is."

Alexa Goddard found choosing just 12 songs "one of the hardest things" when making her upcoming debut album.
The 26-year-old singer - who is signed to Jay Z's record label Roc Nation - said after spending so long working on her record, she would have preferred to put all of the tracks she's made on it rather than trying to narrow down the list.
Speaking about her tracks, she exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "There's so many, cutting songs is one of the hardest things, because obviously you write a load of songs, you record a load of songs, but then realistically on an album you put, maybe, 12 songs, on average? So, it's so difficult. If it was up to me I'd honestly put out like 35 songs on an album, but, that's just not how it works."
However, the star - whose new single 'We Broke The Sky' is out on August 28 - continued to say she's pleased with the collection now she has whittled down the tracks and worked on it some more, having felt ready to release it last year.
Asked if the album is finished, she explained: "If you had asked me about a year ago, I'd have said yes, that it was done. But I'm at a point now where because I have grown quite a lot as an artist and developed quite a lot, I'm really happy with where my album is at, but I feel like there's just a couple of finishing touches that I want to make. Like, there are a couple of things that are missing; that I know that once they're on there it will feel complete."

Tyler, The Creator wants to work with Zayn Malik.
The controversial rapper has reached out to the former One Direction star to work on new music together, insisting they would be making "epic album cuts" and not radio-friendly tracks though.
He tweeted: "HI @zaynmalik I HAVE BEAUTIFUL INSTRUMENTALS AND YOU HAVE A VOICE LETS FIGURE THIS OUT MY GUY . EPIC ALBUM CUTS THO NO RADIO SINGLES (sic)."
The 22-year-old heartthrob - who recently dumped his Little Mix fiancée Perrie Edwards - has not yet responded to the 24-year-old de-facto leader of Odd Future, but has recently been working on his debut solo album with Frank Ocean's producer, Malay.
Last month, he signed a solo record deal with RCA Records, making him label mates with Miley Cyrus, Foo Fighters and A$AP Rocky, stating at the time that the deal would finally allow him to make "real music".
He said: "I guess I never explained why I left , it was for this moment to be given the opportunity to show you who i really am! #realmusic #RCA (sic)."
And Tyler isn't the only artist to have announced their ambition to work with Zayn, with Chris Brown and 50 Cent also having revealed they would like to collaborate with him.

Taylor Swift has vowed to collaborate with Madonna again.
The 25-year-old star joined the 'Rebel Heart' hitmaker on stage at the iHeartRadio Music Awards earlier this year for a live rendition of Madonna's track 'Ghost Town' and now she has vowed to work with her again to dispel any myths of tension between the pair.
She said: "Madonna and I will collaborate again and then [the media] will realize there was no weird tension or competitive factor."
Speculation of the musicians' souring relationship came about with the release of their 'Bad Blood' and 'Bitch I'm Madonna' videos, both of which featured a flurry of other famous faces, sparking rumours they were competing against each other with the clips.
However, Taylor insisted they are still close saying: "I felt so much resentment that they would take two women who made ambitious music videos and use that as a qualifying factor to comparing and contrasting them.
"I hated that because Madonna and I have gotten along and been fans of each other and performed together, and I didn't want to see that, and there was nothing I could do, and there's nothing she could do, because that's the way the world works right now."
And the 'Shake It Off' singer - who is dating Calvin Harris - said they are so close, Madonna even sent her a gift following their performance together back in March.
She told Vanity Fair magazine: "When I went into her dressing room, I complimented this candle and this diffuser she had, because her dressing room smelled like a magical woodland forest.
"A week later, I get this box in the mail, and she had sent me the same diffuser, and all these essential oils, and the exact candle I had complimented."

Shane Filan will release his new album next month.
The former Westlife star will release 'Right Here' on September 25 with the record's lead single 'Me and the Moon' being released today (10.08.15).
Speaking about the single, he said: "It's a great example of where I want my music to be at.
"It's very current, it's quite pop but there's a bit of an edge to it, and it's a big song vocally. What I love about it is that it has a universal meaning. It's about losing someone you love, but it could be that you've lost a relationship, or someone has passed away, or you could be miles away from your loved ones on the other side of the world. I can really relate to it in that sense."
The 36-year-old star - who released his debut solo album 'You and Me' in 2013 - recorded the collection in London and Denmark with collaborators including Cutfather (Kylie Minogue, Pussycat Dolls) and Jez Ashurst (Will Young, Gabrielle Aplin).
Meanwhile, Shane's former Westlife bandmate Markus Feehily has also announced his new solo album, 'Fire' - his first since the group disbanded in 2012 - which will be released just three weeks after Shane's, on October 16.
Markus - who premiered his debut single 'Love Is A Drug' earlier this year - has worked with Mojam (Emeli Sande, Sam Smith), Jim Eliot (Ellie Goulding, Olly Murs), Nexus (Lana Del Rey, Hurts) and Jakwob on the collection.