Music News

The Black Keys have slammed Michael Jackson's posthumous album 'Xscape', calling it "bullsh*t".
The 'Fever' hitmakers, who released their new album 'Turn Blue' on Monday (12.05.14), the same day Michael's record came out, aren't impressed by the decision to release the album after his death in 2009.
In the new issue of Rolling Stone magazine, drummer Patrick Carney said: "[It's] some f**king bulls**t that sucks so bad that it took them three years after he died to make it listenable.
"Like he had to be dead for three years for it to be released."
Patrick hit out at executive producer LA Reid, claiming he only decided to release the album, which was also worked on by Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, because he "needed a new boat".
Meanwhile, Patrick also voiced his opinion on pop star Justin Bieber earlier this week, describing him as an "irresponsible a**hole after a throw away comment to TMZ resulted in Justin telling his fans on Twitter the musician should be "slapped around".
He said: "Justin Bieber, like a f***ing irresponsible a**hole, sicced 40 million Twitter followers on me because I paid him a compliment he didn't understand.
"He shouldn't be f***ing telling his followers to slap me, and then also be doing anti-bullying bullsh*t. It's so irresponsible.
"Honestly, I feel bad for him. Every single person who works with him should f***ing be embarrassed that they don't. . . No one is doing him any favours, you know?
"And honestly, I don't dislike his music. I don't listen to his music, but he needs to not conduct himself that way. Like, really, you make millions of dollars playing music, you should feel f***ing lucky."

Shakira is a fan of Coldplay.
The 'Can't Remember To Forget You' singer, who has been inspired by stars of the past, including Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, also loves listening to Coldplay, in particular their hit 'In My Place'.
Talking about the band's frontman, she said: "Chris Martin has one of my favorite male voices of all time - so emotive and incredibly honest."
Discussing her love of Billie, she also said: "Billie Holiday has one of the most timeless voices out there and is always something that puts me in a tranquil mood.
"I think although the lyrics are probably meant in a romantic context, for me there are some that make sense coming from a mother to her child as well - the idea of surrendering all of oneself to a love bigger than the individual.
"Ella Fitzgerald is another classic voice that has a soothing quality. Perfect to listen to at the end of a long day."
Meanwhile, when she's not downloading music old and new, she is on her mobile phone recording voice memos and playing around with ideas for future records.
She said: "This is one [app] I use in the studio a lot, to help me capture melodies, create references for arrangements, and work remotely with producers or musicians so they can hear the same thing I'm hearing."
To download Shakira's music visit itunes.com/shakira.

Calvin Harris is at the centre of a Las Vegas bidding war.
The Scottish DJ has been offered £7 million by the MGM Resort and Hakkasan nightclub to extend his two-year residency, despite only being midway through his current contract, as they fear he will be offered more money by another venue.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "Calvin has been a real hit at Hakkasan. His nights are complete sell-outs and there is so much demand we could book him out twice over and still have a waiting list. We are a year into the deal and we want to make sure that we don't lose him.
"He has said he is happy here, so we are keen to get an extension deal done.
"Other venues have been trying to tap him up to get him on board there, but we are hopeful to secure a deal."
Partygoers splash out £70 a ticket for Calvin's nights and there is a waiting list for tables - which cost a staggering £5,000 each - for his popular Friday night gigs and the venue are keen to reflect his popularity with a huge pay offer.
The source added: "We are looking at around £7 million on the table, and it is worth every penny in our eyes."

Rita Ora wowed an intimate crowd at a secret gig in London on Tuesday night (13.05.14).
The 23-year-old pop star performed a short set of hits from her first album 'Ora' for competition winners at Mode in west London and latest single 'I Will Never Let You Down'.
During her rendition of 'How We Do (Party)' Rita's band played Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' as the singer jumped up and down on stage prompting her fans to do the same.
Rita joking told off her fans for not telling her she had bright rouge lipstick on her teeth and face.
Before fetching a tissue to clear up her make-up mishap, she said: "Oh guys, has it been on my face the whole time? Why didn't you tell me!"
Before playing her last song 'I Will Never Let You Down', Rita thanked fans for their support and told the noisy crowd they all had "loud mouths" like her.
As the concert came to an end purple ticker tape exploded from the ceiling covering the crowd.
Before leaving the stage Rita - who is dating Calvin Harris - posed for several selfies with her fans and was showered with various gifts including a T-shirt.
She later took to Twitter to praise the fans who came to watch her, writing: "Thank you for winning tickets to my secret gig BOTS! #back2westlondon #iwillneverletyoudown (sic)"
Later in the evening, the singer - who had changed from her stage outfit into a red floral print dress - headed to the Chiltern Firehouse hotel, bar and restaurant for drinks.

Pharrell Williams has a "weird" way of making music.
The 'Happy' hitmaker, who wrote and produced his entire second album 'G I R L', admits he used to "overthink" elements of his work.
He told Notion magazine: "I used to always overthink it because I'm trying to produce myself.
"I'm having to draw from myself, which is so weird, so I'd always overshoot."
He insists he feels "comfortable" singing and performing 'Girl' because it's not about him.
The 41-year-old singer added: "What's made me feel comfortable about making an album is because it's not about me. It's about girl. I feel comfortable singing it and making it and performing it."
'G I R L' was released on March 3, 2014 and Pharrell previously said the capitalisation and double-spacing of the record's title reflects society.
Quizzed about the title, he explained: "Because when you look at it, it looks a little weird [...] because society is a little unbalanced."
The lead single from the album is Academy Award-nominated 'Happy', from the 'Despicable Me 2' soundtrack, and it was commercially successful, peaking at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Rock band The Neighbourhood smoke "a lot" of weed and claim it helps them creatively.
The American act - made up of Jesse Rutherford, Jeremy Freedman, Zach Abels, Mikey Margott and Bryan Sammis - admit using the drug helps them to write good music and don't blame Miley Cyrus for smoking it so much.
Frontman Jesse told BANG Showbiz: "We didn't really f**k around with any of that stuff until about a year ago and started every day getting into it.
"It does help us creatively. When we haven't smoked for a while, we'll smoke and I think all of our ideas are the best ideas ever. My mind is always going, like a gazillion miles a f***ing minute, I need to calm down and concentrate.
"It makes me focus a lot and less paranoid. It's really interesting with me, it balances me. I hate the fact that a drug does that to me, but, it's f***ing weed, I don't blame Miley for telling everybody about it. I think it's the best thing in the world. I like getting high. I don't drink at all."
The band saw Miley perform in Oklahoma and couldn't believe how good to the 'Wrecking Ball' hitmaker was live.
Zach said: "The show was so cool, I couldn't even believe it, I was like, 'It's really good'."
Meanwhile, The Neighbourhood are pleased they've been able to build on their fan base in the UK as well as America, after their single 'Sweater Weather' went double platinum in the US and their album 'I Love You' was a success over the pond, and they're now looking ahead.
Jesse said: "Those songs are old to us now, we want to move out. We're constantly writing stuff, we're about to release a free mixtape and it's almost ready to get put out. We're thinking a year ahead."

Jennifer Lopez found it difficult filming the video for her track 'First Love'.
The 44-year-old singer, who shot the promo for her song in the desert in California, wasn't a fan of the drop in temperature and claims it was one of the most difficult experiences of her career.
Speaking to New York radio station Z100, she said: "We just shot the video for 'First Love' in the desert in California. It was the hardest video shoot of my life - it was freezing!"
Jennifer releases her new album 'A.K.A' on June 17, which features collaborations from Iggy Azalea, Rick Ross, Sia, T.I., and insists she still puts in 100 per cent for her fans when it comes to new music and live shows.
She explained: "As a performer you have to know how to turn it around and bring it back in big way with the audience on your side.
"I had my eye on Iggy Azalea for about a year. I've never collaborated with a female rapper before and I've always wanted to."
Meanwhile, the 'I Luh Ya Papi' singer, who will be honoured with ICON Award 2014 at the Billboard Music Awards on May 18, also spoke about her shock in being told she will receive the accolade.
She said: "It's kind of overwhelming and surreal to me to get the ICON award. I'm very humbled and super excited for it."

Ricky Wilson doesn't need surgery on his injured eye.
The Kaiser Chiefs frontman arrived at The 2014 Radio Academy Awards in London on Monday night (12.05.14) wearing an eye patch over his left eye.
Ricky suffered the "minor accident" filming the fairground-themed video for his band's next single 'Meanwhile Up in Heaven' while riding a dodgem, however, it should heal on its own over the next few weeks.
When asked if he would require an operation to fix his sight, Ricky said: "I don't need surgery and I've still got one good eye, and two good ears."
The 36-year-old singer also revealed he is excited about playing live with the band this summer and on tour next year, and is looking forward to playing to the new fans he has attracted from his judging role on 'The Voice' UK.
He said: "We're doing loads of festivals this year as many as we can. Our own tour starts next February. I'm so excited about the tour, it's what it's all been about, we spent the last year-and-a-half recording our album and we're so proud of it and we didn't know whether our fans were going to come out and support us but they came out in force and they came out fighting for us. We didn't want to pre-empt it by booking a big tour before it was out, just because I was on 'The Voice' but it came out and was received very well and the word of mouth is just making it grow and grow ... Our fans were pretty diverse in the first place and I think we're back there again, of course 'The Voice' has helped but we kind of had a inkling it might."
The Kaiser Chiefs performed three songs at the awards ceremony at The Grosvenor House Hotel and guests included Myleene Klass, Kian Egan, Alfie Boe - who also played live - and Pixie Lott.

Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs claims Liam Gallagher would have told him if Oasis were reforming.
The 48-year-old guitarist reckons he'd be the first to know if the warring Gallagher brothers had put their feud behind them and were reforming the Brit Pop band.
Liam sparked speculation the band were getting back together when he took to Twitter to individually tweet a letter of the band's name every half an hour, sending the internet into meltdown.
The musician told The Sun newspaper: "Everyone hopes it happens, but there's nothing going on. I met Liam in the pub that evening he tweeted the letters spelling the band and he didn't mention he'd done it. Next thing, reunion talk everywhere."
However, Bonehead refused to rule out the possibility altogether, adding, "Never say never."
The mysterious posts came just two months after Oasis announced they are re-releasing their debut album 'Definitely Maybe' with previously unheard tracks to celebrate the LP's 20th anniversary on May 19.
The band split in August 2009 after Liam, 41, and his brother Noel, 46, had a huge backstage bust-up at a festival near Paris, France.
The pair were spotted avoiding each other this month at the Etihad Stadium, where they watched Manchester City win against West Ham to clinch the Premier League title.