Music News

Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran were the big winners at tonight's (25.02.15) BRIT Awards with MasterCard.
The 'Money on My Mind' hitmaker received the British Breakthrough Act gong as well as the Global Success Award for his international accomplishments whilst the 'Thinking Out Loud' hitmaker ensured his wins tied with Sam, beating him for both the prestigious MasterCard British Album of the Year award as well as British Male Solo Artist.
Speaking after his win, Sam told BANG Showbiz: "This is déjà vu, I was here last year. This is amazing and [the trophies] are so beautiful."
The 22-year-old singer also praised his fellow artist, Ed Sheeran, adding: "I'm so happy that Ed Sheeran won those awards, I truly think he deserves them."
Fans were treated to performances from some of the music industry's top artists including BRIT Award 2015 winners Royal Blood and Paloma Faith.
Taylor Swift - dressed in a formal black outfit - kicked off proceedings with 'Blank Space' whilst later on, Kanye West provided a memorable performance of 'All Day', complete with fire cannons.
Madonna ensured the event ended with a bang with a rendition of her track 'Living For Love'.
Meanwhile, Ed, 24, admitted winning wasn't what he was "used to" and thought Sam would was guaranteed to pick up the awards he ended up winning.
He told BANG Showbiz: "I win now and then but winning isn't really a thing I'm used to.
"To be honest I thought Sam was going to get Album or Male, so it's nice to get both."
And he couldn't be happier to win the prestigious Album of the Year gong, after previously losing out to Adele.
He added: "I think this is the award that every British musician who's ever been up for a BRIT would like.
"I was up for it before but Adele was up for it as well so that was a written off thing. I'm glad this time I won."

The full winners list for the 2015 BRIT Awards with MasterCard is as follows:

British Male Solo Artist - Ed Sheeran

British Female Solo Artist - Paloma Faith

British Group - Royal Blood

British Breakthrough Act - Sam Smith

Critics' Choice - James Bay

British Single - Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars, 'Uptown Funk'

Mastercard British Album of the Year - Ed Sheeran, 'x'

British Artist Video of the Year - One Direction, 'You & I'

International Male Solo Artist - Pharrell Williams

International Female Solo Artist - Taylor Swift

International Group - Foo Fighters

Global Success - Sam Smith

Ne-Yo doesn't think he'd exist without Usher.
The 32-year-old singer explained the 'Climax' hitmaker has been a huge influence on his career and believes he has helped other R'n'B musicians including Chris Brown and Trey Songz to flourish.
Speaking about Usher after he was presented with the BET Honors Musical Arts Award, he said: "I feel that without Usher, there would be no me, there would be no Chris Brown, there would be no Trey Songz. He paved the way for us, so for him to get that honour was kind of special for me. I feel that he actually deserved it."
The 'Let Me Love You' singer - who recently released his sixth studio album 'Non-Fiction' - has previously been rumoured to be feuding with the 36-year-old star, although as well as praising him, he played down speculation by explaining there is no rivalry between the pair.
He added: "Usher getting honoured was kind of dope for me because a lot of people kind of want us as R&B males to be at each other's throats. I don't know why that is. They want this competition between us, but I don't feel any competition towards Usher."
The BET Honors will air on Saturday February 28 at 9pm on BET.

Ed Sheeran has teased a "surprise performer" for the BRIT Awards.
The 24-year-old singer has revealed he knows about a secret performance which will happen at the prestigious ceremony at the O2 Arena in London this evening (25.02.15) but is not prepared to reveal the act's identity.
Speaking to Capital Breakfast with Dave Berry and Lisa Snowdon, he revealed: "There is a surprise performer that I know about, only because their manager emailed to say they were in town, and I was like, 'Oh, really?!' So yeah, there is a surprise performer."
The 'Thinking Out Loud' hitmaker will perform his new single 'Bloodstream' at the televised event - while other confirmed acts include Madonna, Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Royal Blood, Take That, George Ezra and Paloma Faith - and admitted he is looking forward to singing, but isn't too keen on finding out whether he has been victorious in any of the four categories in which he is nominated, including MasterCard British Album and British Male Solo Artist.
He explained: "Performing for me is like the bit I really enjoy. The bit I hate is sitting there waiting to see whether you've got validation by the industry that you fund! That's what I don't like!"
And while he isn't yet sure whether he will have anything to celebrate, the star will be heading to an after party with his family and girlfriend, model Athina Andrelos, following the ceremony, but is nervous about ending up surrounded by strangers.
He added: "I'll hang out with them and my friends. I think the worst case scenario is that I'll end up surrounded by well known people, who I have no idea who they are. You know ... I do know who they are, but I don't know them. I think that's my worst case scenario to be honest with you, I wanna celebrate it with people I love."

Backstreet Boys will record new music this year.
The five-piece band - featuring J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell - released 'In a World Like This' in 2013, and have promised to get back into the studio later this year.
They revealed: "Our music is always evolving. We're getting ready to go back into the studio later this year."
As well as a new album for their fans, the 'I Want it That Way' hitmakers admitted they recently agreed to a deal with concert promoters Live Nation to perform 150 tour dates around the world in the near future.
They added: "We just signed a deal with Live Nation to do 150 shows in the next three years."
The group - whose movie 'Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of' will hit UK cinemas tomorrow (26.02.15) - added their best piece of advice for new boy bands is to always communicate with their bandmates.
Speaking on ITV's 'Loose Women', they added: "Communication was probably the biggest saviour for us. We all came from individual backgrounds, but when you're in a team, it's not about 'I', it's about the 'we'. There's a lot of give and take, you have to become almost selfless when you're in a group."

Hideout Festival's full line-up has been announced. Maceo Plex, Apollonia, Bicep and 30 more artists have been added to the line-up for the beach-based festival in Croatia, which will feature headline performances from Duke Dumont, Eats Everything, Go...

The Libertines will headline the Reading and Leeds festivals this year.
The 'Don't Look Back Into the Sun' hitmakers - who reunited to perform at the event in 2010 - have been unveiled as the final act to top the bill at the three-night, dual-site festival, which takes place over the weekend of August 28-30.
In an exclusive video message, Pete Doherty said: "I've just woken up and I can't stop thinking about playing at Reading & Leeds."
And the group - who have previously played the event in 2003 and 2004 - will use the festival to showcase some of their new material.
John Hassall said: "Really excited to be playing Reading and Leeds this year. There is a great vibe in the band and we should be doing some new songs too. So it'll be the best Reading and Leeds ever!"
The Libertines join previously-announced headliners Metallica and Mumford & Sons at this year's event.
And organisers also announced another 50 acts who will perform across the weekend, with the likes of All Time Low, Kendrick Lamar, The Maccabees, Limp Bizkit, Tyler, The Creator, Everything Everything, Jamie XX, Boy Better Know, New Found Glory, Mastodon, Django Django, The Wombats, Frank Turner, Ash, and Azealia Banks joining the bill.
Festival boss Melvin Benn said: "I'm excited to announce over 50 other phenomenally talented acts today who will bring amazing performances for our fans. I really think we've got the ultimate line-up this year. Where else can you see Kendrick Lamar on the same day as Deadmau5 and Years & Years, or Marmozets on the same day as Azealia Banks or Metallica, or All Time Low on the same day as Knife Party or Mumford & Sons!
"It's almost exactly six months to the Festivals and I already can't wait until August Bank Holiday weekend."

Paloma Faith has criticised the BRIT Awards for ignoring women.
The 'Changing' hitmaker is nominated for British Female at this evening's event (25.02.15) but has slammed the ceremony for shunning women in the majority of the categories, especially British Album, which she believes she should be up for with 'A Perfect Contradiction', instead of the five all-male nominees.
She said: "I was the only female in the top 10 selling albums. All the rest were men.
"I'm a bit miffed about the album category, but beggars can't be choosers and I am a beggar. I don't know why it isn't there."
However, the 33-year-old star believes the bias - which has meant 18 female artists versus 87 male acts have been nominated - is part of a wider problem within the music industry which is stopping women from succeeding.
She continued: "It's funny how everyone went absolutely nuts for about three years at how women are ruling the music industry.
"And then they were like, 'We've give them three years so let's suppress them for another 400."
And although she has never felt pressure to strip off to sell records, Paloma added she believes more women are desperately trying to carve out a successful music career by using their bodies.
She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It feels like there is a lot of celebration of women using their sexuality to sell their music as well.
"There are people like Blondie and Bjork who haven't stripped off and they've been celebrated.
"I have never been put under pressure to do it. I guess it's a social pressure, and you do or don't choose to adhere to it.
"I also don't think people would like it if I did it, because I don't have a body worth showing."

Chris Brown has cancelled his Canadian tour dates after being refused entry to the country.
The 'Loyal' hitmaker was turned away from the North American country due to his previous criminal convictions forcing him to abandon his scheduled 'Between the Sheets Tour' shows.
Breaking the news in tweets, which have since been deleted, he wrote: "Unfortunately I will not be able to perform in front of sold out crowds in Montreal & Toronto."
The ruling means the 25-year-old rapper had to cancel his shows with Trey Songz in Montreal (24.02.15) and Toronto (25.02.15), although he remains positive about returning to the country to perform later in the year.
He added: "The good people of the Canadian government wouldn't allow me entry. I'll be back this summer and will hopefully see all my Canadian fans!"
Tour promoter Live Nation has since released a statement confirming "immigration issues" were responsible for the cancellation of the show.
However it is believed the tour will continue as usual back in the US state of Illinois on Friday (27.02.15), following previous disputes last month which forced him to postpone selected US dates due to a court dispute.
The musician previously told fans on Instagram: "I would first like to apologize to all the fans and people who have been supporters of me and all the music over the years. The beginning of the BTS tour has been moved to later dates now. The judge would not sign off on my travel to do the tour until I finish these last 100 hours of community service. (sic)"

Rihanna has pulled out of performing at the BRIT Awards.
The 'Four Five Seconds' singer was reportedly set to take to the stage at the prestigious music awards in London tonight (25.02.15) but appears to have dropped out at the last minute after failing to show up for rehearsals earlier this week.
A source shared: "Everything was prepared for Rihanna's performance but she was a no show.
"The organisers are furious as she was one of their biggest coups."
However, in a bid to rescue the show from disaster, Kanye West has now been persuaded to perform instead and will reportedly unveil a new song with the help of an elaborate stage show and a huge team of backing dancers.
The source added to The Sun newspaper: "Kanye is just as big a star as Rihanna and is always good value at awards shows."
The news of Rihanna's cancellation hasn't upset the award show's hosts Ant & Dec, however, as they're now hoping to witness one of Kanye's famous meltdowns first hand.
Anthony McPartlin joked: "Come on, give us a Kanye moment!"
Confessing he's not brave enough to interrupt the 'Black Skinhead' rapper if he does go off on a rant, Declan Donnelly added: "As hosts, we just need to keep things moving.
"We're not going to wrestle anybody to the ground or stand in their way.
"As long as nobody dies, we should be all right."
Meanwhile, Madonna is also set to perform tonight (25.02.15) and is said to be planning an amazing show for her first appearance at the annual ceremony in twenty years.