Music News

Jessie J wanted to "show what music can do" with her American Music Awards (AMAs) performance on Sunday (23.11.14).
The British singer walked through the crowd at Los Angeles Nokia Theatre as she kicked off a rendition of 'Bang Bang' - her collaboration with Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj - and felt doing that echoed the celebratory nature of the evening.
She said: "I just want people to see how much I love to sing... I just wanted to show people what music can do. You know, from the little girls in the front row that were turning around and taking pictures with everyone who I observed the whole night, to the Kardashians, to Taylor Swift, to everyone that's in this industry in different ways and how they [got into] it.
"It's a celebration, and that's what I wanted to be a part of. I wanted to walk around, you know, from my boyfriend Luke James who I went up to, my manager was in the shot.
"It's about celebrating all the people who make this happen for me."
The 26-year-old singer enjoyed getting chance to watch the other performances on the night and particularly enjoyed Taylor Swift's rendition of 'Blank Space'.
She told 'Access Hollywood': "Taylor Swift's performance was incredible. I think the production was one of the best I've seen.
"Sam Smith is one of my good, good friends. His voice sounds like it's recorded all the time. I've, who else did I enjoy? I love 5 Seconds of Summer, I think their energy is amazing. I enjoyed everyone. Iggy was great."

Bob Dylan played a gig for just one person on Sunday (23.11.14).
The legendary singer took to the stage at Philadelphia's Academy of Music with his touring band to sing Buddy Holly's 'Heartbeat', Fats Domino's 'Blueberry Hill', 'It's Too Late (She's Gone)' by Chuck Willis and an unidentified blues jam for 41-year-old Fredrik Wikingsson, who sat alone in the second row.
The fan said: "I was smiling so much it was like I was on ecstasy. My jaw hurt for hours afterwards because I couldn't stop smiling."
The special show was part of a Swedish film series, 'Experiment Ensam' ('Experiment Alone'), where people experience things alone which are usually undertaken by large crowds, such as karaoke bars or comedy clubs and Dylan was paid an undisclosed sum for taking part.
TV personality Wikingsson applauded after the first song, then found he couldn't hold himself back.
He laughed to Rolling Stone magazine: "Nobody took notice of me [when I clapped].
"I figured that maybe it just sounded phony or weird. During the second song, 'Blueberry Hill,' I realised I had to say something. It was just too weird. I screamed out, 'You guys sound great!'
"That caused Dylan to burst out laughing. Now, I have two kids and their births were great, but him laughing onstage at some lousy f***ing comment of mine was unbelievable..."
"When the show ended Dylan said, 'Swing by anytime.' He was highlighting the fact this was a weird thing that will never happen again. It was just so f***ing great."
Despite the empty theatre, Wikinsson - who admits to being a "wreck" before the show - spent a lot of time considering where to sit.
He explained: "I thought the first row might freak him out.
"I was like a guy picking the next-to-most expensive bottle of wine in a restaurant, which is a very Swedish thing to do. I figured the second row would be ideal."
A 15-minute documentary of the event will debut on YouTube next month.

The Libertines are set to headline Glastonbury.
The 'Time For Heroes' rockers - who got back together last year for a string of shows - are reportedly at the top of organisers' wish-lists for the annual event, which takes place at Worthy Farm, Somerset, South West England, in June 2015, though it is unclear whether they would perform on the main Pyramid stage or another platform elsewhere on the site.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "The Libertines have been on Glastonbury's wishlist for ages but shot straight to the top when they saw the appetite for them.
"They are still deciding if the band will headline the Pyramid or the Other Stage."
If The Libertines do get a headline slot, they are expected to join Foo Fighters and Fleetwood Mac at the event, though both bands have insisted they are not performing there next year.
Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood recently said: "A lot of folks think that we are, so loud and clear: we love Glastonbury and all the surrounding history of such a lovely festival but we're not playing it. No bad faith for Glastonbury, because I just don't want people thinking it's us ... But never say never."
However, the band's schedule for their 'On With The Show Tour' in Europe has a gap over the weekend of June 26 to June 28 when Glastonbury takes place.
And Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl insisted he hasn't been asked to perform, but would be happy to take to the stage.
He said: "[Michael Eavis, organiser] hasn't called me. I mean, I don't want to give out my phone number on air, but I like playing shows! I've been to that festival before. It's pretty fun. We'll see what happens. We'll get a conference call happening, we can work this out."
Oasis - who split in 2009 - have also been speculated to be reforming for the festival.

Gorgon City will start work on their second album next month.
The electronic music duo have revealed they will begin writing the follow up to their debut record 'Sirens' - which was released last month - in December, and are looking forward to getting back into the studio.
Matt Robson-Scott from the group exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "We're kind of going to be really getting into writing album two, probably next month, so it's all very exciting to get back in the studio and start working with new people."
The two musicians - who released their first EP together in 2012 - have had a year of relentless touring, but admit they have used their time well and have lots of ideas for their sophomore record.
He added: "I think me and Kyle [Gibbon] are always making new music when we're on the road so we've got ideas that we've been working on already for the second album.
"Also we love writing club music and house music that we get to play when we DJ so we're always coming up with new ideas. It's fun to be able to get back in the studio again because we've been touring really hard."
The band will release their next single, 'Go All Night' featuring Jennifer Hudson in December, and said they are on the hunt for other vocalists to appear in their new music.
He said: "We're always looking for new vocalists, and undiscovered people which is why there are a lot of people like that on the album, people who you might not know yet, so we're always looking for new people."
Speaking of their hit track 'Ready For Your Love' which featured rising star MNEK, Matt said he expects the singer will feature in more of their tracks in the future.
He added: "I'm sure we'll be working with MNEK again and whoever really, we're up for meeting new people and seeing what happens."
Gorgon City will perform alongside Jessie Ware at MTV Crashes Cork - a special one-off gig this Thursday November 27. The show will then air on MTV Music on December 12 - see mtv.co.uk/cork for more details

Ed Sheeran was "never really happy" with his image.
The 'Thinking Out Loud' star used to be overweight because of his poor eating habits and alcohol consumption but feels much better about himself after changing his diet.
He said: "I was never really happy with my image and then I realised it was because I was eating fried food and drinking beer every day. You don't have to kill yourself by getting into shape. Just eat right and don't drink every day."
The 23-year-old redhead admits he would still like to be healthier but doesn't enjoy working out in the gym so needs other exercise options.
He said: "I'd like to be healthier but I just don't enjoy working out. I enjoyed dancing and I lost weight while dancing. I could play football, I could do badminton. I just don't enjoy running on a treadmill or doing weights or doing sit-ups. It feels like it's quite a vain thing to do too much. I think if you do it for health reasons, then it's great but if you do it for image reasons, purely image reasons, I don't think it makes sense."
And the 'Drunk' hitmaker insisted he doesn't feel any pressure to look a certain way in his career.
Speaking to The Hits Radio for their 'State of Mind' campaign, he said: "There's enough fat people in the industry and there's enough skinny people in the industry and there's enough ginger people in the industry. There's enough everyone in the industry and usually the ones that aren't attractive are the ones that do the best"
Ed was talking to The Hits Radio for their 'State of Mind' campaign with charity YoungMinds, to help raise awareness for mental health issues suffered by today's youth. Listen to the show on 30 November at 10pm.

Liam Payne claims there were "divas" at the recording of the Band Aid 30 single.
The One Direction singer insists he and his bandmates - Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan - weren't in the studio for long enough to mingle with their fellow stars on the latest recording of 'Do They Know It's Christmas Time?' but says the charity track's organiser Bob Geldof "wasn't happy" with some of those who took part.
He told BBC Radio 1's Scott Mills: "We actually managed to get in the recording booth first so we were done in like an hour so we left. I missed all the drama.
"Bob did a little speech at the start. I say a little speech but it was the most epic thing I've ever heard in my life.
"He said to our manager, 'There are so many people here and you guys are the least fussed'. And I was like 'Yes. we're not divas. That's so good'."
"I'm not going to repeat the word he used to describe them but he wasn't happy with some people."
Liam's comments come after one of the singers on the track, Emeli Sande admitted she felt they should have recorded a different song to raise money to tackle the Ebola crisis in West Africa and apologised for causing offence with the lyrics.
She tweeted at the weekend: "Yes, I agree the lyric needs changing. In fact I feel a whole new song is required. Angelique Kidjo and I made and sang our own edits. Unfortunately, none of these made the final cut...
"I apologise if the lyrics of the song have caused offence. I wish the changes had been kept but that is out of my control. The sole objective is to raise awareness and money to provide medical aid to those suffering the Ebola outbreak, which is being worsened and amplified by poverty. Thank you so much for your support."
Meanwhile, Lily Allen has branded the project "smug" and said she would rather donate money directly than have taken part in the recording.
She said: "I got an email asking me to do it. It's difficult to explain why I didn't do it without sounding like a complete ****.
"I prefer to do my charitable bit by donating actual money and not being lumped in a with a bunch of people like that.
"It's like the success club and I'm not really in that club. I don't think I'm above it all - I'm way below it. But there's something a bit smug about it."

Fergie suffered a wardrobe malfunction as she performed at the American Music Awards (AMAs) last night (23.11.14). The 39-year-old singer perfotmed on the roof of a party bus on stage at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre to showcase new single 'L.A. Love (La...

Bob Geldof has urged people to delete and re-download the Band Aid 30 single.
The Boomtown Rats frontman is pleased 'Do They Know It's Christmas Time?' single - which is raising money to fight Ebola in West Africa - has topped the charts in 61 countries after selling over 300,000 digital copies in a week but is concerned the falling price of music means it won't make as much money as the 1984 original, which made £8 million for famine relief thanks to sales of 3.7 million.
He said: "In 1984 a single was £3.50, today it's 99p...That worries me.
Even if you already have it, delete, download again."
"We need to sell 300% more than we did then [in 1984] to even begin to make up the cash figure."
A physical CD version will be released on 8 December and the organiser admitted this was a "bright spark" to raise more money.
The track - which features stars including One Direction, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith - outsold the rest of the top five singles in the UK combined with over 312,000 copies shifted but Bob admitted he was nervous about the response the song would get.
He explained to BBC Radio 1: "Did I expect it? Yes I expected it but did i expect it in such vast, willing numbers? No I didn't.
"You just can't assume anything... You don't know if the audience is interested in this.
"Certainly they like the artists but are they interested in seeing the artist do just one or two tracks?"

Joni Mitchell believes she is a better musician than Bob Dylan.
The 71-year-old singer explained that she is far more creative than her fellow music maker, despite being in a male-dominated industry.
When questioned about comparisons to the 'Blowin' In The Wind' crooner, she stated: "I am much more original musically, and a much more original thinker."
The star - who is known for her hit singles including 'Blue' and 'Both Sides Now' - continued to slate the music business as a whole, scalding the "oppressive" men who "exploit" musicians.
She said: "I'm a woman in a man's world. There are hardly any women in my business. There are oppressive men and exploitative men."
However, the acclaimed musician later acknowledged her love for men, and admitted she enjoyed being on tour with men during her younger years.
She added: "It's all male-dominant, and you're always with them. I'm on the road with 21 guys, and I love men's company, don't get me wrong. Even when they're stupid little boys, I still like them. I mean, love the sinner, hate the sin."
The artist - who released her last studio album, 'Shine', in 2007 - also asserted she was never a hippie, despite being known for tracks like 'Woodstock', and explained she was only in it for the fashion.
She told The Sunday Times newspaper: "The hippie values were not mine, they were naive, they had no place, they were childish: the politics were stupid.
"I was in it for the costume show."