Music News

Nicki Minaj invited her mother Carol Maraj onstage as she led the winners at the 2015 BET Awards last night (28.06.15).
The 32-year-old rapper showed she hadn't forgotten her roots, as she personally thanked her mum while winning the award for Best Female Hip Hop Artist at the award show held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles to celebrate the achievements of African Americans and other minorities in music and entertainment as well as sports.
Nicki said: "I always talk about my mommy and this is the first time the world is going to see her. I love you so much."
The 'Starships' hitmaker - who, along with Chris Brown, was the most nominated artist of the night with six nominations each - later also took home the Coca-Cola Viewers Choice Award, but had to ask Zendaya, who presented the award, what the actual category was as she went to collect it.
The night also saw P Diddy fall into a hole during his performance of 'It's All About The Benjamins (Remix)', in which he was joined by several artists, including Lil Kim, Faith Evans and French Montana for a medley of his greatest hits to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Bad Boy Records. However, he made a quick recovery and got up immediately.
Janet Jackson also had one of the most memorable appearances during the award show - hosted by Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Rossas - as she received the inaugural Ultimate Icon: Music Dance Visual award.
A video montage of her greatest moments was shown, followed by live re-creations of her iconic dance routines from Ciara, Jason Derulo and Tinashe, and then Janet thanked fans in a speech.
The 49-year-old singer said: "I've missed you so much and I love you so much. Thank you. Thank you BET."

Full list of winners at the BET Awards:

BEST FEMALE R&B/POP ARTIST
BEYONCÉ

BEST MALE R&B/POP ARTIST
CHRIS BROWN

BEST GROUP
RAE SREMMURD

BEST COLLABORATION
COMMON & JOHN LEGEND - 'GLORY' (FROM THE MOTION PICTURE 'SELMA')

BEST MALE HIP HOP ARTIST
KENDRICK LAMAR

BEST FEMALE HIP HOP ARTIST
NICKI MINAJ

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
BEYONCÉ - '7/11'

VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
BEYONCÉ, ED BURKE & TODD TOURSO

BEST NEW ARTIST
SAM SMITH

BEST GOSPEL ARTIST
LECRAE

BEST ACTRESS
TARAJI P. HENSON

BEST ACTOR
TERRENCE HOWARD

YOUNGSTARS AWARD
MO'NE DAVIS

BEST MOVIE
'SELMA'

SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
SERENA WILLIAMS

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
STEPHEN CURRY

COCA-COLA VIEWERS' CHOICE AWARD
NICKI MINAJ F/ DRAKE, LIL WAYNE & CHRIS BROWN - 'ONLY'

CENTRIC AWARD
THE WEEKND - 'EARNED IT' (FROM THE 'FIFTY SHADES OF GREY' SOUNDTRACK)

BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT: UK
STORMZY

Lionel Richie was bombarded with calls about performing at Glastonbury Festival.
The 'All Night Long' hitmaker took to the stage at Worthy Farm, Somerset today (28.06.15) - his first appearance at the festival - where he excited the crowd with a string of his biggest hits.
Addressing the hyped up revellers, he said: "It has been a long time coming but finally I'm here doing Glastonbury. People kept calling me saying have you done Glastonbury yet.
"They said it's gonna be a lot of rain and mud but I've brought the California sun with me. I'm going to try and play you as many songs as I can remember so let's party with some Commodores."
Belting out some of his most iconic tracks including 'Three Times A Lady', 'Easy' and 'Dancing On The Ceiling' at the festival, which is partnered by EE, the 66-year-old star was clearly thrilled by the audience's reaction to his set.
Paying tribute to his biggest fans in the front row, he said: "There's some people here on the front row who know the lyrics better than I do so when I get it wrong they look at each other like, 'That's not how it goes.'
Before adding: "I'm believing most of you came out today not to hear me sing but to hear yourselves sing. You guys are so loud I can't even hear myself!"

Mike Posner doesn't regret giving away his hit singles.
The 27-year-old singer/songwriter has penned chart-topping hits including 'Sugar' by Maroon 5 and 'Boyfriend' by Justin Bieber, but isn't bothered about not keeping them for himself because they wouldn't have fit in with his sound.
Asked if he ever wished he'd kept them for himself, he exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "Um, no. Basically I always write songs for myself and then at some point I base it on whether they fit with the project I'm working on or not, and if the answer is no, I think about who else could possibly sing it."
The 'Cooler Than Me' hitmaker continued to say he actually prefers Maroon 5's rendition of 'Sugar', because he believes it is much more suited to frontman Adam Levine's voice than his own.
He explained: "So in the case of 'Sugar' like, I think that that song is much better sung by Maroon 5 than me."
And while Mike - whose new music can be heard on his 'The Truth EP' - has written for other acts including Nick Jonas and Nelly, he isn't bothered about losing his songs to other acts because he doesn't find it tough whipping up a new track.
He added: "I think the music that I'm releasing now is the stuff I'm supposed to be singing. And the other thing is I write all the time. You only put 12 or 15 songs on an album, but we're making 50 or 100 each year."

Niall Horan insists One Direction are just "normal people".
The 'Little Things' hitmaker has had an "incredible" time since finding fame with the boy band - who were put together on 'The X Factor' in 2010 - but hasn't changed with success.
He said: "What's happened over the last few years has been incredible.
"But I just stay the same person I was and grow up with it.
"We're just normal people doing this abnormal job."
The 21-year-old singer also thinks he is the "worst celebrity on Earth" because he rarely gets photographed when he isn't working.
He said: "To be honest, I don't get that much paparazzi because you can stay away from it if you want to.
"I'm probably the worst celebrity on Earth, cos I don't go to any of those parties.
"I'll just go somewhere where the paps won't look for me. I don't particularly put myself out there."
Though he loves being a member of One Direction, Niall does miss his home comforts.
He told Top of the Pops magazine: "At the moment, if we're not in a hotel room, we're travelling overnight.
"We have bunks on the bus - but it's a bunk, not your own bed. When I go home, I just chill and watch TV. IT's good."

Kanye West brushed off a stage invasion to thrill Glastonbury with a headline set that saw him rap in a crane over the top of the crowd.
During the 'Bound 2' hitmaker's fourth song, an unidentified man - now known to be British comedian Lee Nelson - ran on stage with a microphone, pretending to rap along before being escorted off the Pyramid Stage by security.
Alongside a photograph of him wearing a t-shirt with the word 'Lee-zus' written on it, Lee tweeted: "Some people were saying Kanye shouldn't headline Glastonbury so I thought I'd give him a hand."
The 38-year-old singer attempted to continue the track, 'Black Skinhead', before stopping and asking to start again.
Kanye briefly left the stage at the end of his set before returning and telling fans: "They told me I've got seven minutes left."
As he started the performance of his hit 'Gold Digger', he said: "I'm gonna say this now because in 20 years or 30 years I might not get another chance, I'm gonna say it, you are watching the greatest living rock star on the planet."
Whilst on stage, Kanye also paid tribute to his pregnant wife Kim Kardashian West, revealing she was the inspiration behind one of his love songs.
The star performed mostly on his own as he rattled off some of his recent hits including 'Only One' and 'FourFiveSeconds' on a stripped back stage, complete with a ceiling of hundreds of lights.
The light show provided the perfect atmosphere for Kanye's electric set, ensuring Saturday night (27.06.15) at Glastonbury was a night to remember.

Bradley Cooper and Chris Martin watched Pharrell Williams perform at Glastonbury Festival.
The 'Happy' hitmaker took to the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm, Somerset as celebrity guests watched on from the side of the stage.
Also in attendance with the 'American Sniper' star was a mystery woman whilst Stella McCartney and her daughter were spotted having a good time.
Yesterday's headliner Florence Welch, from Florence and the Machine, also partied with the 42-year-old record producer as well as Formula One star Lewis Hamilton.
In true gentleman fashion, Coldplay frontman Chris let Stella's young daughter sit on his shoulders as they watched Pharrell reel off hit track after hit track.
He told the excited crowd: "You guys are awesome - thanks so much.
"England thank you for making it such a special night."
And before performing his track 'Marilyn Monroe', he paid tribute to the "beautiful women" in attendance.
He added: "One thing about when you go to England, you definitely meet the world's most beautiful women."
Earlier in the day, fashion designer Stella shared a snap of her and the 'Get Lucky' hitmaker.
She wrote: "We know he is going to hit Glasto hard... Be happy! X Stella @Pharrell (sic)"

George Ezra was joined by his father on stage at Glastonbury Festival.
The 'Budapest' hitmaker opened his set on the Pyramid Stage with a performance of his catchy track 'Cassy O''.
Addressing the crowd of revellers, he said: "Hello everybody, my names George Ezra and this is my band.
"We're going to play some lovely songs for you."
Later in his set, George called on the services of his father to help him with a quick guitar change, telling the crowd: "Now he can say he performed on the Pyramid Stage."
The 22-year-old singer went on to perform some of his biggest hits including 'Blame It On Me' and 'Budapest' as well as a cover of Macy Gray's 'I Try'.
George ended his set at the festival - which is sponsored by EE - with an amazing performance of 'Did You Hear The Rain'.
Meanwhile, the singer-songwriter recently admitted it was his dad's music collection which sparked his musical inspiration.
He said: "It's a blessing having the internet, 'cause you Google those names and it points you to Woody Guthrie, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGee, Leadbelly, Howling Wolf, Robert Johnson.
"I was into Kings of Leon and saw a behind the scenes video where they were talking about their influences, and it goes back to the same source, and you realise it's all connected."

Kanye West surprised fans at a footwear store ahead of his performance at Glastonbury Festival.
The 'Bound 2' rapper popped into adidas Originals' London store to personally present some of his fans with their own pair of his newly-released YEEZY BOOST 350 shoes.
The 38-year-old star posed for a photograph with the lucky group of fans whilst some snuck selfies with the father-of-one.
Later in the day, Kanye's wife Kim Kardashian West - with whom he has two-year-old daughter North - shared a snap of the pair in a helicopter as they travelled to Worthy Farm, Somerset.
Captioning the picture, she wrote: "Glastonbury, here we come..."
The star is set to headline tonight's (27.06.15) evening of entertainment at the festival, something which has caused controversy among some loyal Glastonbury goers.
Over 130,000 people signed a petition to request he was replaced by "someone more deserving", which he later insisted was "an insult to music fans all over the world".
Meanwhile, Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis recently teased an "incredible show".
She said: "I think he'll create an incredible show. What he's talking about at the moment is very exciting. I think he's going to take it big."

Florence Welch "didn't know who she was" the first time she played Glastonbury.
The singer's band, Florence + The Machine - who stepped in to headline in place of Foo fighters last night (26.06.15) - performed on the final night of the festival during her first appearance there, but she overdid it for the rest of the weekend and is still amazed she managed to make it on the stage.
She said: "For my first gig at Glastonbury I had to be dragged from someone else's tent by a friend - this was the year of the apocalyptic mud.
"It was the first gig I'd ever done on the Sunday and I arrived on a Thursday, so by the time it came to Sunday, I didn't even know who I was, let alone where I was, whose tent I was in and a friend had to drag me to the gig.
"My guitarist had gone completely missing and Suggs was trying to stall for time by doing an impression of Mick Jagger.
"I don't know how I made it to the Main Stage, because by rights I should've been face down in the mud somewhere."
Despite being a regular attendee at the famous festival, Florence doesn't recommend people ask her for advice as she is so "useless".
She admitted to NME magazine: "I'm not the most practical person to talk to about advice for Glastonbury - I don't know how to pace myself, I don't bring any warm clothes or wet things, I've gone to Glastonbury twice without a tent.
"In fact, I'm useless at giving help."