Music News

Wretch 32 tried to emulate Gary Barlow with his new single '6 Words'.
The rapper has revealed he attempted to develop an anthemic sound for his new track - taken from his upcoming third album 'Growing Over Life' - like that of the British bands Take That and Coldplay.
In an exclusive chat with BANG Showbiz, he said: "The inspiration behind it is listening to Coldplay records, listening to Gary Barlow records like 'Greatest Day', stuff like that, and just trying to put my spin on it.
"I wanted to put out my version of those big songs, one of those feel good records.
"You know like when you listen to 'Greatest Day' by Take That, when that chorus comes in, it just feels like you want to open your arms and sing, so it's just about making songs that connect with people on the biggest scale."
The 29-year-old musician - who rose to fame with his hit 'Traktor' in 2011 - will release '6 Words' on Sunday (09.11.14), and thinks that the 43-year-old Take That frontman will feel threatened when he eventually hears the song.
He added: "When Gary Barlow hears that song, he's going to know, 'That guy's a problem.'
"I might not be on his radar to write with. Chris Martin knows about me from my rap stuff, but when they hear that they'll be like, 'Ah this kid, he's done something!'"
Mentioning the personal message behind the song's lyrics, the father-of-two added: "It's about everything that I couldn't buy, that makes me feel special, so my children, my music, my career. Things like that."

A murder charge against AC/DC's Phil Rudd have been dropped.
The 60-year-old drummer was charged with attempting to procure murder, making threats to kill and possession of illegal substances on Thursday (06.11.14) following a raid on his New Zealand home, but the murder-related charge has now been dropped due to a lack of evidence.
In a statement from Rudd's lawyer Paul Mabey, he said: "I was advised by the Crown Solicitor, [Greg] Hollister-Jones, that he had reviewed the police file and the available evidence to support the charge of attempting to procure murder.
"He had formed the view that there was insufficient evidence to justify that charge. He has now withdrawn the charge."
However, the musician still faces charges pertaining to drug possession and threatening to kill.
Court documents had accused Rudd of attempting to a hire one person in September to kill two others, with a ruling yesterday (06.11.14) forbidding him from leaving the city of Tauranga or having any contact with any individuals related to the charge.
The rock band - one of the highest grossing musical acts ever - is due to launch their new album 'Rock or Bust' on December 2, with the star's next court date set at November 27.
In a statement on their website released yesterday (06.11.14), the 'Back in Black' hitmakers confirmed their imminent plans will not be affected by the allegations against their drummer.
The statement read: "Phil's absence will not affect the release of our new album Rock or Bust and upcoming tour next year."

U2 will perform at the MTV European Music Awards on Sunday (09.11.14).
The iconic rock band have joined the line-up to perform at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, following the release of their thirteenth studio album 'Songs of Innocence' in September.
The ceremony will be hosted by 'Superbass' singer Nicki Minaj, and will also feature performances from Ariana Grande, Calvin Harris, Ed Sheeran, and Charli XCX amongst others.
'The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)' singers first performed at the annual event in 1997 when it was held in Rotterdam, but have since featured in two further ceremonies, singing their hit single 'Beautiful Day' in Stockholm in 2000, and most recently playing 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' with Jay Z at 2009's Berlin event.
The ceremony - which awards fan-voted prizes to the biggest names in music - has already announced that Black Sabbath rocker Ozzy Osbourne will be honoured for his contribution to music at the event, picking up the Global Icon Award.
U2 - comprised of Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. - were criticised earlier this year when they made their record available for free through all Apple devices, and the frontman has since apologised for their quirky method of releasing the album.
Responding to comments from Facebook users, he said: " Oops ... I'm sorry about that. I had this beautiful idea. Might have gotten carried away with ourselves. Artists are prone to that thing."

Nick Mason believes Roger Waters will be "charmingly disapproving" about the new Pink Floyd album.
The 70-year-old drummer has reconvened with guitarist-and-singer David Gilmour to make group's first new LP for 20 years, 'The Endless River'.
Mason is sure his ex-bandmate Roger Waters - who left the prog rock band in 1985 - will be unimpressed by the album, in the nicest possible way.
Speaking about his possible reaction, the musician quipped: "I think Roger will be charmingly disapproving."
Mason insists he and Gilmour never considered inviting Waters to play on 'The Endless River' because most of the music was originally recorded with late keyboard player Rick Wright for 1994 release 'The Division Bell', which the bassist didn't play on.
It has been claimed that Waters was a domineering force over the band, but Mason insists he is still his good friend, despite their issues over the years.
In an interview with The Sun newspaper, he said: "To be fair, I occasionally make cracks about Roger being like Stalin. But in reality, it's a joke. Roger is one of my oldest, dearest friends. I would have loved to have had him playing on this album.
"It would have been great but this was all about 'The Division Bell' and all about Rick. I don't think Rick would have found it easy to come back to that (working with Roger). So it was never really an option now."
'The Endless River' - which comes out today (07.11.14) in some countries and on November 10 in the UK - has become the most pre-ordered album on Amazon.co.uk and Mason admits he does still feel a lot of pride about the achievement, even though he has enjoyed success for decades.
He said: "Part of me wants to say, 'I'm old enough to have grown out of all that nonsense.' But once you get to 60, and you're still not tired of showing off, it means it's never going away. I do worry about what people will think of it and I don't want my kids to be embarrassed by having to deal with a father who is out there selling some old tat."

Sam Smith performed an emotional homecoming show in London on Thursday night (06.11.14).
The 22-year-old singer took to the stage at the sold-out Eventim Apollo to perform hits from his critically-acclaimed debut album 'In the Lonely Hour', and seemed overwhelmed by the excited audience reaction.
Shortly after arriving on stage, he exclaimed: "I'm completely speechless right now. I've managed to keep my cool until now but I'm s****ing myself right now. Being here today is very, very surreal so thank you for that."
The musician - dressed in a slick suit - was accompanied on stage by an eight-piece backing band which included a string quartet, helping him to create reworked versions of his hits.
The singer/songwriter played tracks including 'Leave You Lover', 'I'm Not The Only One', and a version of his breakthrough hit 'Money on my Mind' which was remixed with the 1991 single 'Finally' by CeCe Peniston.
Talking to crowds at the iconic venue, the star also joked that he was glad people liked his music, because some of the songs he made when he was younger were "awful".
He quipped: "When I got signed two years ago I thought I was Lady Gaga or Beyonce and I was making awful music. I hope it never gets out!"
Elsewhere in his set, the soul singer performed a cover version of Whitney Houston's classic single 'How Will I Know', Disclosure track 'Latch', and a toned down piano-led version of his Naughty Boy collaboration 'La La La'.
The soul singer ended his set with his chart-topping single 'Stay With Me' adding: "I hope you know how much it means that you're all here tonight!"
Sam will perform at the venue again this evening (07.11.14).

Debbie Harry wants to collaborate with Kanye West.
The Blondie star has confessed she's a huge fan of the controversial rapper and admits US Vogue editor Anna Wintour even put them in contact with one another so that they could discuss ideas.
Debbie said: "I spoke to him on the phone and he seemed so normal and easy to talk to. He didn't seem like a jerk at all."
The 'Heart of Glass' singer claims Anna wanted them to collaborate at her annual Met Gala last year, and although they failed to do so, she insists she's still keen to get back in touch with him.
She added: "It would be fantastic to work with him - maybe one day."
Blondie co-founder Chris Stein agreed with his bandmate, revealing he too is a massive fan of the 'No Church In The Wild' hitmaker.
He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I was surprised about how chilled and nice he was, because I didn't know what to expect from him. He's a lovely guy.
"I listen to the 'Watch The Throne' record frequently and we talked about potentially doing something with him."

Trent Reznor finds scoring movies "educational".
The Nine Inch Nails frontman has enjoyed working with Atticus Ross in creating music for movies including 'The Social Network' and 'Gone Girl' and has found it a "positive" and fulfilling experience.
He said: "[Scoring] has been inspirational, educational and interesting to apply my skill set into a different medium.
"It's affected me in a lot of ways -- mostly positive."
While the 'Hurt' hitmaker has previously only worked on David Fincher's movies, he is keen to work with other directors and would be interested in turning his skills to something radically different, like an animated family adventure.
Speaking at the Billboard/ Hollywood Reporter Film & TV Music Conference, he said: "I'm open to any possibility. I'm trying to keep film work for me as something that feels like a thing on the side -- a special treat to be able to do -- and not necessarily try to fill my schedule with project after project.
"The artist in me is interested in seeing what I'm capable of. I can hear a score like 'Despicable Me' and be amazed of what it is and be appreciative of it. I don't know if I can do that. The technician in me, the person that wants to learn things and try new methodologies is interested to see if I'm capable of doing that, but I have no idea if I could."

AC/DC insist Phil Rudd's arrest will "not affect" their future plans.
The 60- year-old drummer has been charged with trying to have two people murdered, threatening to kill and possessing drugs following a raid on his New Zealand home early this morning (06.11.14), but his bandmates - Brian Johnson, Angus Young, Cliff Williams and Stevie Young - will still go ahead with releasing new album 'Rock or Bust' later this month, and heading out on the road in 2015.
A statement on the group's website said: "We've only become aware of Phil's arrest as the news was breaking. We have no further comment.
"Phil's absence will not affect the release of our new album Rock or Bust and upcoming tour next year."
Following his arrest, Rudd appeared in Tauranga district court but didn't speak during the hearing and has been bailed until 27 November, with the terms of his bail including having to stay in Tauranga and have no contact with anyone relating to the procuring murder charge.
The drummer doesn't feature in promotional material for 'Rock or Bust' and was not a part of two video shoots in the last few months.
Singer Brian reportedly told fans at one of the shoots that the drummer was missing due to a "family emergency".
Rudd joined AC/DC in 1975 but was dropped in 1983. He rejoined in 1994.

Ne-Yo took a break because he felt "underappreciated".
The 'She Knows' singer has been on hiatus for two years as he felt he needed more recognition for his pioneering sound and was happy to see people still "cared" while he was out of the spotlight.
Asked for the reasons behind his hiatus, he said: "You want to give people the chance to miss you, especially if you're in a place where you feel underappreciated, which I gotta say is something I dealt with.
"Because I'm not this super-boisterous guy who runs around telling people [what I've done], people forget.
"Before 'Closer', there was no R&B cats doing EDM or dance music, it just wasn't happening, 'Closer' was the first one.
"I didn't get any credit for that, I'm not crying or complaining but when you don't feel like people are paying attention in the way they should, you go away to see if they care - and people cared, so I'm back."
Ne-Yo's latest music video for 'She Knows' is set in a strip club and the 32-year-old singer wanted to show how pole dancers are "athletes" who can do things that "average women" can't.
Speaking to 'BBC Newsbeat', he said: "Everybody has seen a strip club video.
"The track, when I first heard it, I was like 'This is something I have to hear in a strip club'. So we knew we wanted to go down that route, but we didn't want it to be typical.
"And on top of that, we wanted to show the art form that is pole dancing, it is not as easy as they make it look, those women are athletes, the average woman can not get up there and do that."