Music News

Taylor Swift can "barely function" because she is excited about touring.
The 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' hitmaker recently took a break from her music career to shoot her debut movie role in 'The Giver' and though she enjoyed the experience, she can't wait to get back on the road.
She told Us Weekly magazine: "I would never say I'd never do another movie, but then again, I know I'm going to be touring for the next two years pretty soon, and I'm so excited about that I can barely function."
The 24-year-old singer admitted she was in awe of her 'Giver' co-stars Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep, but was too jetlagged to be
intimidated by them.
She said: "To be honest, I was so jet-lagged that my entire time on set slipped away and the days would fade into each other. But the numerous breaks in between takes were the best. Jeff and I held jam sessions in his dressing room with his drums, guitars and keyboard. We'd play, then everybody joined in whether they knew the song or not."
But she added: "Even getting to meet Jeff Bridges is a crazy thought to me. And actually getting in the scene with him was so far above and beyond what I could expect for what's essentially my first role in a major movie."

James Arthur was "unprepared" for the music industry.
The 26-year-old singer - who shot to fame after winning 'The X Factor' in 2012 - was recently dropped from record label Syco following a string of controversies but he insists he is not going to dwell on his "mistakes".
He admitted: "When you know who you really are, you can definitely be more yourself. I was unprepared for the music industry.
"I've made mistakes but I'm really not going to dwell on that anymore. I'm looking to give people new music whether they want it or not, and it will be the best music I'll ever create."
The 'Impossible' hitmaker has been battling anxiety and depression but says he is now "very happy" and in a "great place" to make music again.
Speaking to heat Radio at the Virgin Media V Festival, he added: "I'm in a great place to make music and be an artist and public figure again. It's been the biggest fight of my life - I've come up against it with anxiety and depression but I'm come out of it and on the other side, and I'm good...I'm really really happy.
"I didn't know the magnitude of that disease until it really set in for me, and people who have it don't early know how to talk about it, or feel afraid to talk about it.
"And as soon as I did, it changed completely. I opened up to a few people and I'm now very happy with the person I am today.
"I think people expect me to be really controversial and that guy that was on Twitter when I was being early negative. I'm not that person anymore....I don't think I'd be very entertaining."

Manic Street Preachers were forced to cancel their performance at the Virgin Media V Festival last night (16.08.14).
The Welsh trio had been due to perform on the MTV stage at the Chelmsford leg of the event, but scrapped the show after getting stuck in Budapest following their appearance at the Sziget festival on Friday (15.08.14).
They announced on their twitter page: "With huge regret, Manic Street Preachers announce the cancellation of their scheduled V Festival show in Chelmsford today (August 16th)...
"After 5 hours on runway at Budapest Airport following Sziget Festival last night, MSP were informed the BA plane they were on would not fly
"The band made every endeavour to get back to the UK in time to play. The band apologise to their fans at V Chelmsford for the cancellation.(sic)"
Bassist Nicky Wire later issued a personal apology to fans after arriving back in the UK following the "worst travel day" in their career.
He wrote: "After 18hrs of travelling+waiting we arrive in birmingham hotel-worst travel day in 22yrs of the band-deepest apologies we tried everything
"So sorry to cancel show at chelmsford-totally GUTTED-xxx (sic)"
The 'Walk Me to the Bridge' hitmakers' performance at the Staffordshire leg of the festival will go ahead today (17.08.14).

Justin Timberlake posed for selfies with a fan during his headline show at the Virgin Media V Festival last night (16.08.14).
The 'Mirrors' hitmaker was stunned here were "so f***ing many" people gathered at the main stage in Chelmsford's Hylands Park to watch him perform, and after seeing one audience member holding a sign explaining it was their birthday and they wanted a selfie with him, the former N*Sync star was happy to oblige.
Justin - who donned a pork-pie hat and Tom Ford suit for his appearance - thrilled fans with a set which included his classic hits 'Cry Me A River', 'SexyBack' and 'Take Back the Night', as well a snippet of his Jay-Z collaboration 'Holy Grail' and a cover of the Jacksons' 'Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)'.
At the end of his performance, the singer thanked the other artists on the bill, which had included Kaiser Chiefs, Example and Bastille, and made a special mention of Ed Sheeran, who had performed directly before him, as he hailed him his "brother from a redheaded mother, a baaad motherf****r".
The festival continues today (17.08.14) in both Chelmsford and Stafford, with The Killers topping the bill in Essex and Justin leading the line-up at the Weston Park site.

One Direction like to watch a film together after a show.
The 'Best Song Ever' hitmakers are currently in the middle of their stadium world tour 'Where We Are', but they admit they find it hard to sleep after they've been jumping around on stage all evening, so they try to unwind with a movie.
Liam Payne said: "It's quite hard to sleep afterwards, so we usually have a late night and sleep together."
Louis Tomlinson added: "And maybe watch a film."
The hunky five-piece - also consisting of Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik - have a ritual before they go on stage as well, which involves them huddling together and gearing themselves us for the buzzing crowd.
Niall explained: "We do this huddle where we all put our hands together and say something, but we change it up with every continent we go to. For South America it's been 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'. "
Liam added: "We are quite strange."
Meanwhile, the 'Little Things' stars - who shot to fame on 'The X Factor' in 2010 - believe performing in a stadium gives off a different "vibe" to singing in front of an arena audience and they find it more daunting.
Liam said: "We've played at arenas before, but never any stadiums, so it's very different this year when we walk out and it's open air. It has a festival vibe."
Harry added to Top of the Pops magazine: "When you're doing these big stadiums, you're so conscious that if you stand still for more than a few seconds, you think, 'This stage is so big and I'm so small ... so I look really bad.' "

Miley Cyrus is desperate to play her Dolly Parton on the big screen.
The 'Wrecking Ball' hitmaker is concerned the role in the highly-anticipated biopic about her godmother will go to actress Scarlett Johansson and is doing everything she can to convince the 'Jolene' singer she is the right person to play her in a movie about her life.
A source said: "Miley is bugging Dolly for the role."
But Dolly refuses to play favourites, even though Miley has been bombarding her with audition tapes.
The insider added to America's Star magazine: "This movie is her legacy, and she told Miley she doesn't have the acting chops to pull it off."
The '9 to 5' hitmaker still isn't sure who she wants to take on the role and is considering a number of stars who she thinks could successfully pull off the right portrayal.
The source added: "Dolly is holding out, though, and isn't 100 percent on Scarlett either. She'd consider Kristin Chenoweth or even Jessica Simpson."

Lea Michele says live singing is her ultimate love.
The 27-year-old - who achieved international fame on musical comedy 'Glee', in which she plays Rachel Berry - can't wait to take her album 'Louder' on the road and get back to her original passion.
Asked what she is currently working towards, Lea said: "I can't wait to tour with my album. I grew up on the stage singing live and that I what I love most.
"To go overseas and perform my songs in a concert setting would be so cool."
Lea explained the album - which reached the top spot in the US album charts and the top 20 in the UK - was inspired by "a very special time in her life".
She added: "It has some hard stuff I there, but also some very happy moments. When I heard the album was number one, I was like, 'What? Are you kidding me?' I couldn't believe it. I am so proud of this record."
Lea recently released her autobiography 'Brunette Ambition', which also features lifestyle tips, and hopes readers find it useful.
She explained to Britain's HELLO! magazine: "I put things in the book that I really live on a daily basis. I'm not perfect, but at the end of the day it is this lifestyle that enables me to do what I do."

Lenny Kravitz was inspired to record a new album by 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'.
The 50-year-old rocker got into acting later in his life landing roles in 'Precious', 'The Butler' and 'The Hunger Games' franchise.
While he was working on 'The Hunger Games' sequel his creative impulses were sparked and he began to "dream" about new songs which eventually comprised his LP 'Strut'.
In an interview with The Sun newspaper, he revealed: "I was filming 'Catching Fire' and had a rigorous schedule. I had to be up at five in the morning but I couldn't sleep at all at night. I was dreaming of this music. And so that was it. I made this album as I had no choice. It was there, in my dreams. Strut literally jumped out of me.
"Taking those years off and dropping into films has fuelled the fire in me to make music ... I've taken this to the next level, creatively challenged myself and improved my craft by taking each song as it came to me. I'm really pleased with the record."
Kravitz is excited about playing his new material live but although he loves performing he doesn't enjoy life on the road much.
The 'Fly Away' hitmaker loves seeing the diverse fans that come to his shows, revealing his shows attract music lovers of all ages.
Describing the rigours of touring, he said: "It's not that I hate touring. I love being on stage playing. It's just that touring itself is hard work. Anyone who tours can tell you that, no matter how glamorous it may seem ... My fans are anything from six to 60 years old. Isn't that crazy? They'll want to go through my back catalogue but I find that interesting as that's how I discovered David Bowie ... That's why making music is so important to me compared to acting. My design company is going well and when there is a good break I will do another movie. But music is my passion and what I really do."

Lily Allen has announced a UK tour for this winter.
The 'URL Badman' singer will play nine shows in support of her 'Sheezus' album, starting at the Glasgow O2 Academy on November 22.
Other stops on the tour Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham, Brighton, Plymouth, Portsmouth and London with the run of shows concluding on New Year's Eve (31.12.14) with a headline set at the highly prestigious Edinburgh Hogmanay Show in Scotland.
The concerts conclude a busy year of touring for Lily, who has performed at several festivals, including Glastonbury, and has just finished supporting Miley Cyrus on the latest leg of her 'Bangerz Tour'.
Lily, 29, played her final support slot last Sunday (10.08.14) at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, posting on Twitter: "Last night of my leg of the #BANGERZ tour tonight went off!! Thanks St. Louis. See you again soon, America!! (sic)"
The pop star will take to the stage at the V Festival this weekend.
Tickets for Lily's UK tour go on sale on Friday August 22 at 9am.

Lily Allen UK tour dates:

NOVEMBER:
22 GLASGOW 02 ACADEMY
23 SHEFFIELD 02 ACADEMY
25 MANCHESTER 02 APOLLO
26 BIRMINGHAM 02 ACADEMY
27 BRIGHTON CENTRE
29 PLYMOUTH PAVILLIONS
30 PORTSMOUTH GUILDHALL

DECEMBER:
12 LONDON 02 BRIXTON ACADEMY
31 EDINBURGH HOGMANAY 2015 CONCERT IN THE GARDENS (www.edinburghshogmanay.com)