Music News

Akon claims his record label cut ties with Lady Gaga because her career is on the decline.
The 'Senegalese' hitmaker, who initially signed Gaga to his Kon Live Distribution record label under Interscope in 2007, claims he "cashed out" on the 'Born This Way' singer because he felt her career had hit a "peak".
In an interview with US DJ Sway on Sirius XM, he was asked if he was "still involved with the star", to which he responded: "Actually I cashed out. I got out while the gooding (sic) was hot. It's like a business, you build it to sell it.
"When I got it to the peak of where I felt it couldn't go nowhere, and there was nowhere left to go but down, I cashed out."
He added: "In other words I sold my share and got out before it was too late."
During the earlier years Akon was involved in Gaga's first album 'The Fame' and co-wrote her hit debut single 'Just Dance.'
When another DJ sitting in on the chat suggested her recent 'ARTPOP' album didn't live up to the success of her previous records, Akon reiterated: "That's why I got out."
The 27-year-old star has previously been forced to defend her new music and claimed she has lost friends throughout her career due to "greed."
Writing on her Little Monsters website, she said: "I never thought after all the years of hard work that those I called friends and partners would ever care so little at a time I needed them the most. I have lost loved ones to the greed of money."

Kaiser Chiefs want their track 'Coming Home' to be England's unofficial world cup anthem.
The Football Association have selected Gary Barlow's 'Greatest Day' - featuring former Spice Girl Mel C, Pixie Lott, Katy B and Gary Lineker - as the official 2014 song ahead of the competition in Brazil in June, but Kaiser Chiefs are hoping fans will be playing their track.
Bassist Simon Rix told The Sun newspaper: "Hopefully, 'Coming Home' will be played when England are carrying the World Cup on the plane back home."
Frontman Ricky Wilson joked: "We could always do a special edition - 'Coming Home Early!'"
The 36-year-old singer revealed the band - also made up of Simon, Vijay Mistry, Nick 'Peanut' Baines and Andrew White - were asked to write a World Cup song in 2006 but turned the opportunity down, which Ricky admits was a mistake.
He said: "We were asked to do a World Cup song but we said no. We said we didn't have the time. But you can make some time for something like that.
"When the World Cup was on, we were all sitting in the pub going, 'We could have been doing this'."
Instead, fellow Yorkshire rockers Embrace ended up recording the official song 'World At Your Feet'.
Meanwhile, the Kaisers have released their new track from their latest album 'Education, Education, Education & War', which was recorded at a studio they used to work in when they were just 17.
Ricky said: "It was kinda inspiring, it was just us boys in a room, making a racket."

Cher relaxed by taking a bubble bath after the first shows on her 'Dressed to Kill Farewell Tour'.
The 'Turn Back Time' singer needed to unwind after a less than perfect start to her live shows and admitted she had sore muscles after just a few days on the road.
She took to Twitter last night (25.03.14) to tell fans about her after show ritual, writing: "Jumped out of Clothes after Show..,AND Jumped into HOT Bubble & Epsom Salts bath & Sank Down To Chin ! Ahh (sic)"
The 67-year-old singer opened her latest concert series in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday (22.03.14) and admitted it had been emotional after some of her costumes didn't fit and she had reportedly forgotten the lyrics to a few of her songs, according to Billboard.
Sources claim the star was even seen "sobbing" backstage after the show.
But she worked out the issues and tweeted yesterday thanking her crew for their dedication and making sure everything ran smoothly.
"I WANT 2 THANK MY"ENTIRE" WORK CREW..& 'EVERYONE' INVOLVED WITH MY SHOW EVERYONE HAS GONE WAY BEYOND WHATS POSSIBLE THEY R THE BEST (sic)"
Cher will perform in Dallas, Texas tonight (26.03.14) before travelling between the US and Canada and taking to the stage for her final show in San Diego, California on July 11.

Damon Albarn has written songs about drugs and pornography for his debut album.
The Blur frontman, who is set to release his first solo record 'Everyday Robots' next month, explores his own life experiences on songs such as 'Lonely Press Play' - which is about the X-rated material available on the internet - and says the world has changed since he grew up.
He told Q magazine: "When I was a kid, it was so different. I can't imagine now what it's like for teenage boys with pornography on the internet. It's f***ing unbelievable. When I was a kid, the only place we could find porn was in a ditch with a burnt-out copy of Razzle mag.
"That's the way it was, so that's how my generation gained our first exposure to those sorts of things. It certainly wasn't on the television, really, and I just can't believe the way things have changed.
"It's an extraordinary and kind of terrifying thing, isn't it? But if we'd had the internet when we were growing up, we'd have been on it, believe me."
The 46-year-old rocker also sings of his hell-raising days with Blur on a track called 'You and Me', and candidly recalled his first experience of heroin.
He said: "It's what I found going on in the front room. The telly was on and I just thought, 'Why not?' I never imagined it would become a problem."

Nile Rodgers and Chic will play Croatia for the first time later this year.
The 'Le Freak' hitmakers have been added to the bill for Unknown Festival 2014, which will take place in September, along with London Grammar and Disclosure.
The disco king, who recently had a hit with Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky', will be joined by his band for the five day line-up in Rovinj on Croatia's sunny coast.
Jamie XX, Clean Bandit and Moderat will also be among the 50 artists already confirmed, along with Chvrches, Wild Beasts and Mount Kimbie.
Meanwhile, Nile, 61, found a collection of lost material that disco group Chic recorded nearly 30 years ago and plans to release the songs.
He said "I'm doing a new Chic album now. When I was working on my solo album and David Bowie's solo album back in 1883, I was cutting demos with my old band.
"I like to affectionately call it the 'Lost Chic Tapes' because they just disappeared until recently. I've already written hooks to five of the songs. They're so amazing."
Unknown Festival 2014 takes place from September 8 to 12 on the coast of Camp Amarin in Rovinj.
Tickets without camping are £129 plus booking fee, with camping passes priced between £179 and £229, visit virtualfestivals.com/unknown-festival-2014.

Gary Barlow admits he still gets "nervous" before releasing new music.
The 'Let Me Go' singer claims he still worries about what his fans will think before he brings out new material, despite having conquered the charts as both a solo artist and with his band Take That.
He told 'This Morning': "I'm always nervous around the release of anything because it's your latest work, you've tried hard, you've taken a year to make it or something and you're just giving it and saying 'do you like this or not?'..."
The 43-year-old star has also announced his next single will be 'Face to Face', a collaboration with Elton John, which was recorded at the famous Abbey Road studios in London earlier this year.
He said: "It was my idea ... I was ringing him up pestering him! But for me, because he's my idol, he's the reason I first sat on a piano stool and it was just such a treat to be with him and record a duet. It was fantastic."
Speaking about touring without his Take That band mates - Robbie Williams, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Howard Donald - he insists he still enjoys the shows.
He said: "I actually really enjoy touring by myself, you know, it's all on your shoulders and I quite like the pressure. But I'm really looking forward to playing all these new songs. And some of the old stuff as well."
Gary added: "I've videoed Elton singing the song [Face To Face], so he's going to be on the big screens, although I said to the production man 'don't make him bigger than me, it's my show remember!'"
When asked if he'd ever pose naked, Gary also laughed and said: "No! Definitely not. I'm trying to keep hold of my fans, not lose them."

Jason Derulo thinks being on tour is like a "vacation".
The 'Talk Dirty' singer insists he has fun on tour despite his hectic schedule and isn't "miserable" like a lot of artists who perform many dates in different countries because he drinks alcohol and doesn't promote the gigs much.
He told BBC Radio 1: "I'm on this world tour, it's like a vacation. I don't do any promo. It's always just about the tour, it's a lot of fun. I get lots of sleep, I work out and do a show. It's like heaven."
The 24-year-old star is currently on his 'Tattoos World Tour' and told presenter Nick Grimshaw he's looking forward to heading to Australia in coming months.
He said: "We've been on the European run for about two months now. We got about two more months left doing Australia and New Zealand and all that.
"It's amazing, it's [my popularity] spread out pretty well, I've been truly blessed. [But] Australia is a little different, I think I've had about 25 Top 5 records there. I don't know what it is about Australia."
Meanwhile, Jason has cut out meat in order to shape up even more for the rest of his live dates, after being encouraged by his backup dancers.
He said: "For the past two weeks I've stopped eating meat all-together. I got a couple of dancers that don't eat any meat and I was on stage one day and I was like, 'Wait a minute, these guys are trying to upstage me', their bodies were starting to look different, so I like, 'Let me try this'.
"It's been kind of hard because everyone around me eats great stuff ... chicken [and] burgers, but I'm starting to like fish a lot more now."

The Rolling Stones will resume their world tour in Israel this summer after postponing dates following the death of Sir Mick Jagger's girlfriend L'Wren Scott.
The 'Brown Sugar' hitmakers have confirmed they will perform in Tel Aviv, after moving dates in Australia and New Zealand to October, as part of their '14 ON FIRE' tour, after L'Wren committed suicide at her New York apartment on March 17.
Promoter Shuki Weiss announced today (25.03.14) that the Rolling Stones will be gracing the stage at Park Hayarkon in Tel Aviv on June 4.
In a statement, he said: "This is a historic and very meaningful visit. In these days when we hear calls for boycotts from around the world, it's not taken for granted that a band of this magnitude will come to Israel."
Shuki has worked with the likes of Madonna and Depeche Mode in the past but claims persuading the Stones to sign up for the show has been his biggest challenge.
He admitted: "The longest negotiation I ever conducted is coming to an end."
The band - also made up of Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards - were recently confirmed for Denmark's Roskilde Festival which takes place from June 29 to July 6.
Meanwhile, preparations are being made for L'Wren's funeral, which will take place in Los Angeles in coming days after her body was moved to the Hollywood Forever Funeral Home and Cemetery.

Kanye West thinks he has found the next Rihanna.
The 'Blood On The Leaves' singer is reportedly working in the studio with "hip" 17-year-old singer Pia Mia Perez and he is hoping to transform her into a star like the 'Diamonds' hitmaker who has achieved global chart success.
A source told Radar Online: "Kanye is producing some tracks for her and he's quite involved. He believes she could be the next Rihanna. [He] thinks she's young, fresh and hip - totally his target audience.
"He's been consulting her on a lot of his creative projects, including the Kanye x APC collection."
Pia - who is best friends with Kylie Jenner - first stepped into the spotlight last year when a video of her singing Drake's 'Hold On We're Going Home' in front of the Canadian rapper and Kanye at a dinner party hosted by Kylie's family, including Kanye's fiancee Kim Kardashian, went viral on the internet.
It's claimed Pia - who signed a deal with Interscope Records in February - is also becoming Kanye's most trusted adviser, which is rumoured to have annoyed Kim.
The source added: "Kanye's creative team was pretty shocked that he would use a teenager as his confidante.
"And Kim was actually kind of agitated by it, because he doesn't usually want her input on design stuff. She was a little jealous."