Music News

will.i.am always knew he'd be a successful music artist.
The 39-year-old rapper and businessman - who has collaborated with some of the world's biggest artists - has revealed that he was "practising" music from a young age with his fellow Black Eyed Peas rapper, apl.de.ap.
He said: "I was hyper as a kid. Apl and I were always 'practising' music.
"From the age of 15 to 22 we would get together and dance, free style, write raps. We were talking about it the other day and laughing like, 'What the hell were we practising for?'.
"I knew back then if I kept talking about something every day then it's going to be a reality."
The 'It's My Birthday' hitmaker also revealed that even if he hadn't of become famous, he'd still be in a creative industry.
Speaking of his school days, he said: "I was good at creative writing - anything that required me coming up with ideas. I was popular.
"And I was the student who got along with my teachers. I'd be the one cleaning the black board after class."
He added to Notebook magazine: "If I wasn't famous, I think I would still be creative. My core love has changed through the years - and computer electronics is my current passion.
"I think I'd be creating technology in some capacity, even if people didn't know I was.
"Being able to create whatever I want to create excites me - whether that's shoes, music or a new type of technology."

Mark Ronson found making 'Uptown Funk' so stressful it caused him to faint.
The 39-year-old producer made the chart-topping tune in collaboration with Bruno Mars, 29, but says getting the song to his liking caused him to feel ill.
He revealed: "We did 45 takes of it and I just couldn't get it, it sounded like horrible bull***t, so we went to lunch, walked down to a restaurant. Everyone was saying: 'Dude, what's wrong with you? You've gone totally white.'
"Because I was going on pretending everything was just fine; you don't want to admit that you're just not there, you're not where you want to be. And I went to the toilet and just ... fainted. I threw up, and fainted. They had to come and carry me out of the toilet."
Mark - who is best known for his collaborations with Amy Winehouse - admits his career had "gone cold" prior to the success of 'Uptown Funk'.
He told The Observer newspaper: "You know you're cold, industry-wise, because you see all the gigs going to your friends. OK, I understand, so they think that I'm just the guy that did [Amy's album] 'Back to Black' six years ago, and that's pretty much all.
"I don't know, it's probably all my weird hangups and neuroses, a lot of it."

Idina Menzel has defended her ability to perform live.
The 'Frozen' star came in for some severe criticism for failing to hit a note at the end of 'Let It Go' on New Year's Eve in Times Square, but she's responded to her critics by citing an interview she gave last year.
In the interview, which she's republished on her Twitter account, the 43-year-old star said: "There are about 3 million notes in a two-and-a-half-hour musical; being a perfectionist, it took me a long time to realise that if I'm hitting 75% of them, I'm succeeding.
"Performing isn't only about the acrobatics and the high notes: It's staying in the moment, connecting with the audience in an authentic way, and making yourself real to them through the music.
"I am more than the notes I hit, and that's how I try to approach my life. You can't get it all right all the time, but you can try your best.
"If you've done that, all that's left is to accept your shortcomings and have the courage to try to overcome them."
'Let It Go' won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2014.

Kid Rock is "loaded".
The 43-year-old star has earned a fortune through the course of his career, but insists he isn't embarrassed about his wealth because he has amassed his earnings in an honest way.
He said: "I'm not just wealthy, I'm loaded. I can say that because I'm not embarrassed - I've made a f***-ton of money, but I've never made a dishonest dollar. I try to do right by the people around me."
The musician, who was once married to actress Pamela Anderson, has a son from a previous relationship, Robert Jr, and has revealed he's "excited" by the prospect of becoming a grandfather.
He told The Guardian newspaper: "I'm 43 and about to become a grandfather, but it keeps my redneck street cred up. I could be a great-great-great-grandfather by the time I'm 80. I am excited, but also nervous for my son. He was dropped on my doorstep at six months when I had no money and was trying to be a rock star. I didn't have a clue.
"The partying gene skips a generation. I was really wild and I never saw that in my son. He'll have a few drinks, but that's it. He'll say: 'Right, I'm going home,' and I'm like: 'Ha! We're just getting warm.'"

Fleetwood Mac's new album and upcoming tour will be their last.
The news has been confirmed by the band's guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, who revealed that the group will cease to make music together in 2015 or soon afterwards.
He said: "We're going to continue working on the new album, and the solo stuff will take a back seat for a year or two. A beautiful way to wrap up this last act."
The group's original keyboardist and songwriter Christine McVie returned to the fold in 2014 and Lindsey was delighted by her return.
He said: "She gave me a bunch of stuff to take home. I worked on it, came back, and she loved it. We went into the studio and came out with the best songs we've co-written in years.
"Christine really fills the gap of the polarity that might exist otherwise, and helps things breathe."
He does, however, admit to being initially sceptical about Christine's return.
Lindsey told PBS: "My initial reaction was, 'OK - we have to take this with baby steps.' The want to return doesn't mean you can repeat history; it doesn't mean all the tools, all the reference points are still there for it all to work."

The UK's 10 best-selling albums of 2014 were all made by British artists for the first time ever.
Singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran topped the list with 'X', which sold 1.7m copies whilst Sam Smith's debut LP, 'In The Lonely Hour', claimed second spot after selling 1.25m copies.
George Ezra's first album, 'Wanted on Voyage' and Paolo Nutini's 'Caustic Love' placed third and fourth respectively.
Other artists to feature in the list included Coldplay, One Direction and Take That.
Pink Floyd - who released their first album in 20 years in 2014 - placed ninth whilst the only female artist to make the list, Paloma Faith, had the sixth best-selling album with 'A Perfect Contradiction'.
Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI and Brit awards, praised the success of the top three artists for "catching fire around the world".
The 'Thinking Out Loud' hitmaker and the 'Stay With Me' singer retained their positions of number one and two when it came to the UK's most-streamed artists, after receiving over one billion streams.
One Direction, Coldplay and Calvin Harris, too, all achieved the same feat whilst Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' track 'Uptown Funk' broke the record as the most streamed track in a single week. The number one hit achieved 2.5 million plays in the last week of December.

UK official artist albums chart 2014:
1. Ed Sheeran, 'X'
2. Sam Smith, 'In the Lonely Hour'
3. George Ezra, 'Wanted on Voyage'
4. Paolo Nutini, 'Caustic Love'
5. Coldplay, 'Ghost Stories'
6. Paloma Faith, 'A Perfect Contradiction'
7. One Direction, 'Four'
8. Olly Murs, 'Never Been Better'
9. Pink Floyd, 'The Endless River'
10. Take That, 'III'

UK official charts most streamed artists 2014:
1. Ed Sheeran
2. Sam Smith
3. Arctic Monkeys
4. Eminem
5. Calvin Harris
6. Coldplay
7. One Direction
8. Beyoncé
9. Katy Perry
10. Bastille

Rita Ora thinks it's "harder to be a female" in the music industry.
The 'I Will Never Let You Down' hitmaker - who has scored three UK number one singles and a UK number one album - believes it is tougher for women to have success in music.
She said: "Without pulling the female card, I think it has always been harder for females in all aspects. Whenever we have an opinion, it always seems to be taken out of proportion ...
"I think people take the word 'feminist' really seriously and I think people are scared to use that word. In this industry, all the heads of labels are men. I have always been very vocal about the women sticking together."
The 24-year-old singer - who will be taking a seat on the judging panel of British talent show 'The Voice' alongside Sir Tom Jones, Will.i.am and Kaiser Chiefs' Ricky Wilson - also revealed that she is "proud" to be able to prove herself on the show.
She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "As a woman in this industry, it has always been a bit about proving yourself, so I'm proud to be on a panel with such successful men."

Taylor Swift topped the United States' best-selling album list of 2014.
Figures provided by Nielsen Music show that the 25-year-old singer's fifth studio album, '1989', sold 3.66 million copies, beating the 'Frozen' soundtrack to the crown.
The movie's hit album - which ended the year with 3.53 million sales - topped the tracking list every week of the year until a sudden surge of sales of '1989' - 326,000 copies in the week ending December 28 - meant the title was easily secured for the singer.
Both albums were the only two to sell more than three million copies in 2014.
Sam Smith's debut LP, 'In The Lonely Hour', was the third-best selling album of 2014 in the United States, shifting 1.21 million copies.
Beyoncé, Lorde and One Direction also appear in the list as well as Barbra Streisand and Pentatonix.
For the first time in Nielsen Music history, Disney Music Group has two albums in the top five - the soundtracks of 'Frozen' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy'.
It is not the first year Taylor has been handed the accolade for best-selling album; in 2009, her second studio album, 'Fearless', shifted 3.22 million copies.

US official artist albums chart 2014:
1. Taylor Swift - '1989'
2. Disney Music Group - 'Frozen' soundtrack
3. Sam Smith - 'In the Lonely Hour'
4. Pentatonix - 'That's Christmas To Me'
5. Disney's Hollywood Records - 'Guardians of the Galaxy' soundtrack
6. Beyoncé - 'Beyoncé'
7. Barbra Streisand - 'Partners'
8. Lorde - 'Pure Heroine'
9. One Direction - 'Four'
10. Eric Church - 'The Outsiders'

Kanye West and Sir Paul McCartney have released a song together.
The 'Stronger' hitmaker and The Beatles frontman have collaborated on 'Only One' - which pays tribute to the 37-year-old rapper's late mother, Donda West.
Sir Paul plays an accompaniment whilst Kanye sings from the perspective of his mother - who tells her son to "tell Nori about me", referring to his 18-month-old daughter, North, whom he has with Kim Kardashian West.
In a statement released by Kanye's label, the creative process behind the song was revealed.
It read: "In early 2014, Paul McCartney and Kanye West first began working together in a small bungalow in Los Angeles. The process that would result in 'Only One' began with a simple brainstorming session between the two.
"When they played back the recording afterward, something remarkable happened. Kanye sat there with his family, holding his daughter North on his lap, and listened to his vocals, singing, 'Hello, my only one...' And in that moment, not only could he not recall having sung those words, but he realised that perhaps the words had never really come from him ...
"And he understood in that moment that his late mother, Dr. Donda West, who was also his mentor, confidante, and best friend, had spoken through him that day."
Kanye sang from the perspective of his mother - who died in 2007 from surgery complications - with heartfelt lyrics including: "Remember how I'd say one day / You'll be the man you always knew you would be / And if you knew how proud I was / You'd never shed a tear / Have a fear / No you wouldn't do that."
Kim, 34, also praised the song, taking to Twitter to admit it's her favourite song of his.
She wrote: "People always ask me what my favorite Kanye song is and it's Only One. Kanye feels like his mom sang thru him to our daughter.
"I cry every time I hear this song (sic)"