Music News
Music News
Beyoncé and Jay Z are reportedly planning a joint tour.
The 'XO' singer and her 'Holy Grail' rapper husband are said to be getting ready to announce that they will be doing a joint tour of the United States after making a number of surprise appearances at each other's gigs, according to the New York Post newspaper's Page Six.
The couple - who recently wrapped on their own individual tours, with Jay performing 52 dates in support of his 'Magna Carta...Holy Grail' album and Beyoncé concluding her 'Mrs. Carter Show' world tour last month - are expected to play at 20 stadiums across the US this summer with a New York date of July 4.
Beyoncé, 32, and Jay Z, 44, have performed their hit single 'Drunk in Love' at a number of high-profile events including the Grammy Awards, a Super Bowl party and one of Beyoncé's O2 Arena gigs in London, in recent months.
The hip-hop pairing - who have 2-year-old daughter Blue Ivy together - also took to the stage individually at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California at the weekend with Beyoncé joining her sister Solange for a surprise rendition of 'Losing You' while Jay performed alongside fellow rappers Nas and Diddy.
Beyoncé and Jay Z to do joint tour?
Beyoncé and Jay Z are reportedly planning a joint tour.
The 'XO' singer and her 'Holy Grail' rapper husband are said to be getting ready to announce that they will be doing a joint tour of the United States after making a number of surprise appearances at each other's gigs, according to the New York Post newspaper's Page Six.
The couple - who recently wrapped on their own individual tours, with Jay performing 52 dates in support of his 'Magna Carta...Holy Grail' album and Beyoncé concluding her 'Mrs. Carter Show' world tour last month - are expected to play at 20 stadiums across the US this summer with a New York date of July 4.
Beyoncé, 32, and Jay Z, 44, have performed their hit single 'Drunk in Love' at a number of high-profile events including the Grammy Awards, a Super Bowl party and one of Beyoncé's O2 Arena gigs in London, in recent months.
The hip-hop pairing - who have 2-year-old daughter Blue Ivy together - also took to the stage individually at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California at the weekend with Beyoncé joining her sister Solange for a surprise rendition of 'Losing You' while Jay performed alongside fellow rappers Nas and Diddy.
Music News
DJ Cassidy was determined to get Jessie J to perform on his debut single because of her "electric" personality.
The DJ-and-producer has recruited a number of stars for his debut album 'Paradise Royale', including R. Kelly and John Legend, but he was desperate to get Jessie to provide vocals on 'Calling All Hearts' after being introduced to her by songwriter Claude Kelley.
He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "Claude obviously has worked with Jessie his whole career and had many number one records with her.
"He always said to me, 'We need to get Jessie,' and he was dead on. Her voice is so uniquely powerful and uniquely soulful and her personality is just electric and she just lifted this song up."
Cassidy finally got to pitch his idea to Jessie, whilst she was eating a sandwich during a break in the recording sessions for her last album 'Alive'.
He said: "When she came to New York to finish her album with Claude, Claude said come to the studio, we're having lunch, it's the perfect time to pitch. I ran to the studio and whilst she was eating her sandwich, I pitched her the project."
Jessie was so excited by the track - which also has Nile Rodgers on guitar - that she insisted they record it straight away.
Cassidy - who has deejayed for some of the world's most famous and important people, including President Barack Obama, Jennifer Lopez and at the wedding of Jay Z and Beyonce - added: "I played her the demo of 'Calling All Hearts' and she said, 'I want to record it right now. Two hours later, the song was done."
'Calling All Hearts' also features Robin Thicke on vocals and the 'Blurred Lines' hitmaker was just as keen as Jessie to get on board with the project once he heard the song.
Cassidy revealed: "I'm playing Andre Harrell, legendary R&B mogul, my album and he says, 'How come Robin's not on this f***ing album?'. And I said, 'Well, I first played some tracks for Robin when I started and he had sketched out some things which never panned out.' He said, 'I'm calling Robin right now; he happens to be in New York.' So he calls Robin and at one in the morning I go to the hotel and I play Robin my album. I get about halfway through before I play 'Calling All Hearts', after one verse, he stops it and says, 'I'm recording this song with her.' Next day, he flew to LA and recorded the song."
'Calling All Hearts' is available to download from this Sunday (20.04.14).
DJ Cassidy was determined to work with ‘electric’ Jessie J
DJ Cassidy was determined to get Jessie J to perform on his debut single because of her "electric" personality.
The DJ-and-producer has recruited a number of stars for his debut album 'Paradise Royale', including R. Kelly and John Legend, but he was desperate to get Jessie to provide vocals on 'Calling All Hearts' after being introduced to her by songwriter Claude Kelley.
He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "Claude obviously has worked with Jessie his whole career and had many number one records with her.
"He always said to me, 'We need to get Jessie,' and he was dead on. Her voice is so uniquely powerful and uniquely soulful and her personality is just electric and she just lifted this song up."
Cassidy finally got to pitch his idea to Jessie, whilst she was eating a sandwich during a break in the recording sessions for her last album 'Alive'.
He said: "When she came to New York to finish her album with Claude, Claude said come to the studio, we're having lunch, it's the perfect time to pitch. I ran to the studio and whilst she was eating her sandwich, I pitched her the project."
Jessie was so excited by the track - which also has Nile Rodgers on guitar - that she insisted they record it straight away.
Cassidy - who has deejayed for some of the world's most famous and important people, including President Barack Obama, Jennifer Lopez and at the wedding of Jay Z and Beyonce - added: "I played her the demo of 'Calling All Hearts' and she said, 'I want to record it right now. Two hours later, the song was done."
'Calling All Hearts' also features Robin Thicke on vocals and the 'Blurred Lines' hitmaker was just as keen as Jessie to get on board with the project once he heard the song.
Cassidy revealed: "I'm playing Andre Harrell, legendary R&B mogul, my album and he says, 'How come Robin's not on this f***ing album?'. And I said, 'Well, I first played some tracks for Robin when I started and he had sketched out some things which never panned out.' He said, 'I'm calling Robin right now; he happens to be in New York.' So he calls Robin and at one in the morning I go to the hotel and I play Robin my album. I get about halfway through before I play 'Calling All Hearts', after one verse, he stops it and says, 'I'm recording this song with her.' Next day, he flew to LA and recorded the song."
'Calling All Hearts' is available to download from this Sunday (20.04.14).
Music News
Ice Cube claims he's finding it difficult to cast the right actors in the 'Straight Outta Comptom' movie.
The rapper has been working on the N.W.A biopic about the iconic 80s hip hop group and has spent months trying to find the right stars to play the lead parts.
He told Collider.com: "We've been casting for six months now, so we're still in that process of finding the right people to represent the world's most dangerous group.
"We're telling the story from the inception of NWA to the death of [rapper] Eazy-E, that's the story."
The parts of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, MC Ren and Eazy-E, who died in 1995 of AIDS-related pneumonia, are all expected to be cast.
Ice Cube is producing the film along with Dr. Dre and F Gary Gray will direct.
Asked if the film would be better as four-hour miniseries than a two hour film, Ice Cube said: "I would love for it to be a miniseries because there's so many nooks and crannies to the story but it's a feature film and we'll try to tell the story - not try, we actually will tell the story within that two [to] three hour time period."
He added: "We will be filming this year, definitely. We're schedule to film and start production in July."
Ice Cube: It’s tough to cast for N.W.A biopic
Ice Cube claims he's finding it difficult to cast the right actors in the 'Straight Outta Comptom' movie.
The rapper has been working on the N.W.A biopic about the iconic 80s hip hop group and has spent months trying to find the right stars to play the lead parts.
He told Collider.com: "We've been casting for six months now, so we're still in that process of finding the right people to represent the world's most dangerous group.
"We're telling the story from the inception of NWA to the death of [rapper] Eazy-E, that's the story."
The parts of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, MC Ren and Eazy-E, who died in 1995 of AIDS-related pneumonia, are all expected to be cast.
Ice Cube is producing the film along with Dr. Dre and F Gary Gray will direct.
Asked if the film would be better as four-hour miniseries than a two hour film, Ice Cube said: "I would love for it to be a miniseries because there's so many nooks and crannies to the story but it's a feature film and we'll try to tell the story - not try, we actually will tell the story within that two [to] three hour time period."
He added: "We will be filming this year, definitely. We're schedule to film and start production in July."
Music News
Chris Brown has teased his long-awaited track with Ariana Grande.
The R&B singer, who is currently in a Virginia jail awaiting trial for an assault charge, has collaborated with the young star on new song 'Don't Be Gone Too Long' and his representatives have posted a black and white clip of a new promo, lasting three minutes and 25 seconds on his Twitter account.
It shows the 24-year-old star performing a freestyle dance routine with a spotlight on him while Ariana's voice can be heard.
The 20-year-old beauty doesn't appear until later on in the video in a shot similar to a movie poster, which shows her embracing the 'Fine China' singer.
The song's release has been pushed back a number of times while Chris dealt with court appearances.
Ariana previously tweeted: "My brain hurts, so much happens in a day lol. I'm going to be just as surprised as you guys for these next few days. expect the unexpected. (sic)"
Responding to a question about the release from a fan, she also wrote: "I get a call that the song was pushed back... then I get a call that it isn't... gonna take the back seat with this one. (sic)"
Meanwhile, Chris stands accused of breaking Parker Adams' nose when he tried to insert himself in a photograph the singer was taking with two female fans outside the W Hotel in Washington D.C. last October.
Chris Brown teases Ariana Grande duet
Chris Brown has teased his long-awaited track with Ariana Grande.
The R&B singer, who is currently in a Virginia jail awaiting trial for an assault charge, has collaborated with the young star on new song 'Don't Be Gone Too Long' and his representatives have posted a black and white clip of a new promo, lasting three minutes and 25 seconds on his Twitter account.
It shows the 24-year-old star performing a freestyle dance routine with a spotlight on him while Ariana's voice can be heard.
The 20-year-old beauty doesn't appear until later on in the video in a shot similar to a movie poster, which shows her embracing the 'Fine China' singer.
The song's release has been pushed back a number of times while Chris dealt with court appearances.
Ariana previously tweeted: "My brain hurts, so much happens in a day lol. I'm going to be just as surprised as you guys for these next few days. expect the unexpected. (sic)"
Responding to a question about the release from a fan, she also wrote: "I get a call that the song was pushed back... then I get a call that it isn't... gonna take the back seat with this one. (sic)"
Meanwhile, Chris stands accused of breaking Parker Adams' nose when he tried to insert himself in a photograph the singer was taking with two female fans outside the W Hotel in Washington D.C. last October.
Music News
Robert Plant stunned fans by performing at a village church at the weekend.
The Led Zeppelin frontman played a set at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Northleach, Gloucestershire to help raise money for The Children's Society, Christian Aid and Open Doors.
The 65-year-old singer joined Steve Winwood from Traffic, Bill Hunt from Wizzard and Tony Kelsey from The Move at the event, which was organised by musician Gordon Jackson, who went out of his way to get Robert to play.
Gordon, 71, told the Gloucestershire Echo newspaper: "I had his contact details, so I sent him an email asking him if he fancied playing, and got one back within an hour saying yes.
"Robert performed 'Nobody's Fault But Mine', and he asked Steve if he wanted to sing a verse or two. So they duetted, I don't think they've ever done that before."
More than 400 villagers piled into the small venue after news spread of the performance.
Gordon explained: "We had about 220 people last year, 240 the year before and the church can only seat 250.
"This year, at 410 people we decided we couldn't let any more in, though a few did sneak in so it was well over 400 people in there. It was packed."
The retired gardener is determined to make next year's event even bigger and joked he'll be arranging for the late Elvis Presley, who died in 1977, to play a set.
The concert raised a £5,000 which will see £1,100 given to the church and the three charities.
Robert Plant plays village charity concert
Robert Plant stunned fans by performing at a village church at the weekend.
The Led Zeppelin frontman played a set at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Northleach, Gloucestershire to help raise money for The Children's Society, Christian Aid and Open Doors.
The 65-year-old singer joined Steve Winwood from Traffic, Bill Hunt from Wizzard and Tony Kelsey from The Move at the event, which was organised by musician Gordon Jackson, who went out of his way to get Robert to play.
Gordon, 71, told the Gloucestershire Echo newspaper: "I had his contact details, so I sent him an email asking him if he fancied playing, and got one back within an hour saying yes.
"Robert performed 'Nobody's Fault But Mine', and he asked Steve if he wanted to sing a verse or two. So they duetted, I don't think they've ever done that before."
More than 400 villagers piled into the small venue after news spread of the performance.
Gordon explained: "We had about 220 people last year, 240 the year before and the church can only seat 250.
"This year, at 410 people we decided we couldn't let any more in, though a few did sneak in so it was well over 400 people in there. It was packed."
The retired gardener is determined to make next year's event even bigger and joked he'll be arranging for the late Elvis Presley, who died in 1977, to play a set.
The concert raised a £5,000 which will see £1,100 given to the church and the three charities.
Music News
Muse will begin working on their seventh album next month.
The rock band - made up of Matt Bellamy, Dominic Howard and Chris Wolstenholme - are planning their next release and hope to complete it by the end of 2014.
Drummer Dominic told radio station KROQ: "We're going to go back in May and start working on some new stuff, so I think we'll start recording it this year.
"If we can get something out this year, that would be great, but definitely next year."
The 'Madness' hitmakers, who performed at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival over the weekend in Indio, California, previously said they want the follow-up to 2012's 'The 2nd Law' to be more "stripped back".
Matt said: "I have a strong feeling that the next album should be something that really does strip away the additional things that we've experimented with on the last two albums, which is electronics, symphonics and orchestral work and all that kind of stuff."
Meanwhile, Muse have spoken out about the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death and how Nirvana inspired the band during their early years.
Howard said: "They were massively influential to us when we were growing up.
"They're one of the reasons we picked up instruments and decided to start a band in the first place."
Muse to start work on new record in May
Muse will begin working on their seventh album next month.
The rock band - made up of Matt Bellamy, Dominic Howard and Chris Wolstenholme - are planning their next release and hope to complete it by the end of 2014.
Drummer Dominic told radio station KROQ: "We're going to go back in May and start working on some new stuff, so I think we'll start recording it this year.
"If we can get something out this year, that would be great, but definitely next year."
The 'Madness' hitmakers, who performed at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival over the weekend in Indio, California, previously said they want the follow-up to 2012's 'The 2nd Law' to be more "stripped back".
Matt said: "I have a strong feeling that the next album should be something that really does strip away the additional things that we've experimented with on the last two albums, which is electronics, symphonics and orchestral work and all that kind of stuff."
Meanwhile, Muse have spoken out about the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death and how Nirvana inspired the band during their early years.
Howard said: "They were massively influential to us when we were growing up.
"They're one of the reasons we picked up instruments and decided to start a band in the first place."
Music News
Olly Murs has collaborated with former Kaiser Chiefs star Nick Hodgson.
The 'Trouble' hitmaker paired up with the the former drummer, backing vocalist and lyricist for the 'I Predict A Riot' rockers - who now works as a producer and song writer at his Chewido studios in London - after being introduced by The Ordinary Boys frontman and former 'Celebrity Big Brother' star Preston, who has been writing for Olly since he was runner up on 'The X Factor' in 2009.
Nick told the Daily Star newspaper: "I've known Preston since the Kaisers supported The Ordinary boys when we started out.
"He phoned to see if I fancied writing with them, and it was an interesting idea.
"We got a great song out of it."
The 36-year-old musician - who parted ways with the Kaiser Chiefs in 2012 - confessed that although Olly, 29, has a very different style, he enjoyed working on the song for the pop heartthrob's new album.
He added: "I hadn't met him before, but I liked Olly a lot."
Olly has previously stated that his new album is to be released this summer.
Olly Murs collaborates with former Kaiser Chief Nick Hodgson
Olly Murs has collaborated with former Kaiser Chiefs star Nick Hodgson.
The 'Trouble' hitmaker paired up with the the former drummer, backing vocalist and lyricist for the 'I Predict A Riot' rockers - who now works as a producer and song writer at his Chewido studios in London - after being introduced by The Ordinary Boys frontman and former 'Celebrity Big Brother' star Preston, who has been writing for Olly since he was runner up on 'The X Factor' in 2009.
Nick told the Daily Star newspaper: "I've known Preston since the Kaisers supported The Ordinary boys when we started out.
"He phoned to see if I fancied writing with them, and it was an interesting idea.
"We got a great song out of it."
The 36-year-old musician - who parted ways with the Kaiser Chiefs in 2012 - confessed that although Olly, 29, has a very different style, he enjoyed working on the song for the pop heartthrob's new album.
He added: "I hadn't met him before, but I liked Olly a lot."
Olly has previously stated that his new album is to be released this summer.
Music News
Indie band Dexters will support The Enemy next month at KOKO in London.
The London band, who have just wrapped up their UK tour, will join the 'Gimme The Sign' hitmakers in May and are thrilled with the reception to their debut album 'Shimmer Gold'.
Frontman Tom Rowlett told BANG Showbiz: "I'm really happy with the reaction, a lot of the online stuff and fans. I try not to look at reviews, though. But I did have an argument with one guy who told me it was better than 'Definitely Maybe' [Oasis debut]. I was like, 'Wow, thank you very much, I'll take that as a compliment, but it ain't'. Maybe our next album, will be but he was like, 'No, this one'. I just said, 'Alright, bruv'."
The band - also made up of Chris Heggie, Ben Debo and Vincent Dignan - finished their headline tour at The Garage in Islington with an incredible live set, which included new song 'Nature Of The Beast' along with fan favourites.
Tom continued: "It's building, you can see it everywhere we go, playing bigger venues, a lot of the shows are sold out, it's great. We're looking forward to supporting The Enemy and we also have a gig with the Kaiser Chiefs coming up."
He quipped: "I'm now hoping to making some money. We're still skint. It's not why I do it. But I just want to go bowling in between gigs ... get a few strikes."
Dexters will support The Enemy at the Camden venue on Wednesday, May 28.
Dexters to support The Enemy in London
Indie band Dexters will support The Enemy next month at KOKO in London.
The London band, who have just wrapped up their UK tour, will join the 'Gimme The Sign' hitmakers in May and are thrilled with the reception to their debut album 'Shimmer Gold'.
Frontman Tom Rowlett told BANG Showbiz: "I'm really happy with the reaction, a lot of the online stuff and fans. I try not to look at reviews, though. But I did have an argument with one guy who told me it was better than 'Definitely Maybe' [Oasis debut]. I was like, 'Wow, thank you very much, I'll take that as a compliment, but it ain't'. Maybe our next album, will be but he was like, 'No, this one'. I just said, 'Alright, bruv'."
The band - also made up of Chris Heggie, Ben Debo and Vincent Dignan - finished their headline tour at The Garage in Islington with an incredible live set, which included new song 'Nature Of The Beast' along with fan favourites.
Tom continued: "It's building, you can see it everywhere we go, playing bigger venues, a lot of the shows are sold out, it's great. We're looking forward to supporting The Enemy and we also have a gig with the Kaiser Chiefs coming up."
He quipped: "I'm now hoping to making some money. We're still skint. It's not why I do it. But I just want to go bowling in between gigs ... get a few strikes."
Dexters will support The Enemy at the Camden venue on Wednesday, May 28.