Music News Headlines - Yahoo! News UK

Daft Punk: One More Time's Romanthony Dies

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:31:27 +0100

Dance music producer and singer Romanthony, who sang on one of Daft Punk's biggest hits, has reportedly died.

Down-on-luck singer steals show in Coen brothers Cannes film

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:09:03 +0100

By Alexandria Sage CANNES (Reuters) - Folk music, Greenwich Village and a quick-footed cat star in the new Coen brothers movie at the Cannes film festival on Sunday, kicking off the first of five U.S. entries with its engaging misadventures of a struggling singer. "Inside Llewyn Davis" by directing duo Ethan and Joel Coen is a delightful tale about the early 1960s folk music scene, a tribute to artists living hand to mouth, and an ode to New York all at once. ...

Berry: My music is not a comedy act

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:23:06 +0100

Matt Berry says people often mistake his gigs for a comedy music act.

Singer George Michael gets medical treatment after car crash

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:54:50 +0100

LONDON (Reuters) - British singer George Michael has received medical treatment after a car crash on Thursday, his publicist said. The 49-year-old former Wham! frontman was being treated for "minor cuts and bruises" after the accident, Michael's spokeswoman said. "George Michael was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a traffic accident yesterday evening, no third party was involved," a spokeswoman said on Friday. "He is being treated for superficial cuts and bruises but is fine." British media reported that the accident occurred just outside London on a motorway during rush hour. ...

Williams joins Rihanna on TV show

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:03:32 +0100

Pharrell Williams is set to join Rihanna as a mentor on the US version of her fashion show, Styled To Rock.

New accuser says Michael Jackson trained him to lie about abuse

Thu, 16 May 2013 21:12:06 +0100

(Reuters) - A close friend of Michael Jackson who had testified in defence of the late pop king at his child sex abuse trial said on Thursday that the singer had intimidated and brainwashed him into lying about years of sexual activity with him. "It was complete manipulation (by Jackson) and brainwashing," choreographer Wade Robson told NBC's "Today" show. "He would role play and train me for these (court) scenarios." Robson, 30, filed a creditor's claim under seal against Jackson's estate earlier this month alleging he had been sexually abused by the singer from age 7 to 14. ...

Emeli Sande wins two top UK singer-songwriter awards

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:47:54 +0100

By Paul Casciato LONDON (Reuters) - An invitation from the White House robbed Emeli Sande on Thursday of the chance to celebrate the latest mark of her success in an unstoppable rise to the front ranks of British female singers. The Scottish singer-songwriter's "Next To Me" single won both the best song and most performed work categories at Britain's 58th Ivor Novello awards for songwriting, putting her on a par with some of Britain's biggest music names. ...

Singer Bob Dylan made honorary member of U.S. arts academy

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:44:24 +0100

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Singer Bob Dylan was made an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, joining the ranks of leading writers, composers and artists in the prestigious 115-year-old group. Henry Cobb, the president of the academy, said honorary members are people of great distinction in the creative arts. ...

Jepsen: Bieber should be Idol judge

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:24:04 +0100

Justin Bieber would make an "awesome" judge on American Idol, according to fellow Canadian popstar Carly Rae Jepsen.

Google launches streaming music service ahead of Apple

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:13:49 +0100

By Alexei Oreskovic and Edwin Chan SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc launched a music service on Wednesday that allows users to listen to unlimited songs for $9.99 a month, challenging smaller companies like Pandora and Spotify in the market for streaming music. With its new service, announced at its annual developers' conference in San Francisco, Google has adopted the streaming music business model ahead of rival Apple Inc, which pioneered online music purchases with iTunes. ...

Music's Dr. Dre, Iovine give $70 million to USC academic program

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:18:45 +0100

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rapper Dr. Dre and music mogul Jimmy Iovine have donated $70 million (46 million pounds) to establish an entrepreneurial undergraduate program at the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles school said on Wednesday. The gift will create a new degree pulling faculty members from the university's business, fine arts, music and engineering departments. The Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation will begin in the fall of 2014 and enrol a first class of 25 students, USC said. Dr. ...

Warner Music wins EU okay for Parlophone buy

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:48:06 +0100

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Warner Music won EU regulatory approval on Wednesday to buy the Parlophone Label Group from Vivendi's Universal Music Group for 487 million pounds ($743.01 million). World No. 1 recorded music company Universal is selling Parlophone, whose artists include Coldplay and Daft Punk, to fulfil a promise to the European Commission for clearing its $1.9 billion buy of EMI's recorded music business. The EU antitrust authority said it did not see any competition issues from the Warner deal. Warner is owned by privately held Access Industries Inc. ...

Google inks music service deals with Sony, Universal - report

Tue, 14 May 2013 23:36:29 +0100

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc has signed licensing deals with Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment to launch a subscription music service that would compete with fast-growing start-up Spotify, according to a report on Tuesday in technology blog The Verge. Google, the world's No. 1 search engine, could unveil the streaming music service at its annual developer conference, which kicks off on Wednesday, according to the report, which cited anonymous sources. ...

Sarah Connolly wins UK classical music's top live singing award

Tue, 14 May 2013 22:05:58 +0100

LONDON (Reuters) - Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly and Scottish pianist Steven Osborne took two of the top awards for live British classical music on Tuesday at the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Music Awards. Connolly, who won the "Silver Lyre" for best solo singer, showed "exceptional musicianship and consistency over an increasingly wide range of styles", the RPS said in a statement. Osborne took the award for best instrumentalist and Kirill Karabits, the Latvian-born principal conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, won the conducting award. ...

Beyonce cancels Belgium gig, citing dehydration, exhaustion

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:32:20 +0100

(Reuters) - Singer Beyonce was forced to cancel her show in Antwerp, Belgium, on Tuesday because of dehydration and exhaustion, her representatives and concert venue Sportpaleis said. "Beyonce has been advised by her doctors to rest as a result of dehydration and exhaustion and will not be able to perform in Antwerp, Belgium tonight," the venue said in a statement posted on its website. It added that the singer was "awaiting word from her doctors before making a decision" on her second Antwerp performance scheduled for Wednesday. ...

Coldplay 'humbled' by music award

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:33:20 +0100

Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin has revealed being named the best British act by a top music charity means a "huge amount" to the group.

Aretha Franklin cancels two U.S. concerts over health issues

Mon, 13 May 2013 22:55:27 +0100

(Reuters) - Soul singer Aretha Franklin has pulled out of two upcoming performances because of health issues, the two concert venues said on Monday. Franklin, 71, cancelled a May 20 concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a May 26 solo performance at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut. "It was cancelled for medical reasons," Foxwoods spokeswoman Dale Wolbrink said, declining to say what health issues caused the "Queen of Soul" to pull out of the May 26 show. ...

Astronaut's 'Space Oddity' music video goes viral

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:14:50 +0100

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A music video shot aboard the International Space Station went viral on Monday, turning an astronaut into an overnight music sensation with his zero-gravity version of David Bowie's hit "Space Oddity." As the first Canadian to command the space station, a $100 million (65 million pounds) project of 15 nations, Chris Hadfield had already earned himself a place in the history books. ...

New apps bring live music into the home

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:09:47 +0100

By Natasha Baker TORONTO (Reuters) - Music lovers wanting to hear live tunes without going to a concert or club or leaving the comfort of their home can use new computer apps that connect them to events in venues around the world. Although event-streaming sites like Livestream offer some live concerts, these apps are tailored exclusively for music and try to capture the atmosphere and social aspects of a live show. "Going to a concert is about the music. ...

Amy Winehouse Statue Gets Green Light

Sat, 11 May 2013 08:14:54 +0100

A life-size statue of the late singer Amy Winehouse is set to be placed near the Camden home where she died after the local council approved the plans.

Michael Jackson: New Child Molestation Claim

Thu, 09 May 2013 10:35:22 +0100

A choreographer who had previously testified that Michael Jackson never sexually abused him has now made an about-turn, launching a child molestation claim against the late pop star's estate.

Michael Jackson lawyer calls new sex abuse claim 'outrageous'

Wed, 08 May 2013 23:38:01 +0100

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The attorney for Michael Jackson's estate on Wednesday described as "outrageous and pathetic" a fresh claim of child molestation against the dead pop star, made by one of his close friends. Choreographer Wade Robson, who testified in defence of the "Thriller" singer in a 2005 child sex abuse trial, filed a creditor's claim against Jackson's estate last week, alleging he had been abused by the singer when he was a minor, according to sealed legal documents seen by celebrity website TMZ.com. "Mr. ...

Dancer 'warned of Jackson health'

Wed, 08 May 2013 20:47:55 +0100

A dancer who worked with Michael Jackson says she expressed concerns about the singer's health as he prepared for a series of planned comeback concerts.

YouTube puts adult-only rating on David Bowie's new video

Wed, 08 May 2013 18:13:16 +0100

LONDON (Reuters) - David Bowie's latest music video featuring him as a Christ-like figure surrounded by women in skimpy outfits and priests in a bar was slapped with an adult-only rating by video sharing website YouTube on Wednesday. The video for the single "The Next Day" was temporarily pulled from YouTube with a screen shot saying it had been removed because its content violated YouTube's terms of service, according to the British singer's publicist. ...

Madonna to be honoured for top grossing tour at Billboard Awards

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:34:07 +0100

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Madonna will be honoured at the Billboard Music Awards show this month for her 2012 MDNA tour, the high grossing concert tour of the year, organizers of the awards show said on Wednesday. The singer will accept the Top Touring Artist award at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 19th for the tour that grossed more than $305 million from 88 sold-out shows and attracted an audience of 2.2 million people. ...

Keirl found audition hard to watch

Wed, 08 May 2013 09:25:40 +0100

Britain's Got Talent singer Alex Keirl says he found it difficult watching his audition back on Saturday night - despite doing so well with the judges.

Stewart overcomes writer's block

Wed, 08 May 2013 09:11:26 +0100

Rod Stewart has revealed writing his autobiography has helped him overcome writer's block as a musician.

Heavy metal singer Tim Lambesis arrested in murder-for-hire plot

Wed, 08 May 2013 04:11:35 +0100

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Tim Lambesis, lead singer for the heavy metal band As I Lay Dying, was arrested in California on Tuesday on charges that he sought the help of an undercover detective to have his estranged wife killed, police said. Lambesis was taken into custody in Oceanside, near San Diego, said San Diego County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Jan Caldwell. Police had previously learned Lambesis was looking for someone to carry out the killing, Caldwell said. "The information came to us late last week. We acted quickly on it. I believe that we averted a great tragedy," she said. ...

Youssou N'Dour's work for harmony lands Swedish music prize

Tue, 07 May 2013 10:52:37 +0100

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour has won a share of Sweden's $150,000 (96,549 pounds) Polar music prize - awarded in the past to Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan and violinist Yo-Yo Ma - for promoting understanding between faiths as well as for his music. The award committee said the Grammy Award-winner was "not just a singer, but a storyteller, poet, singer of praise, entertainer and verbal historian ... (who) has worked to reduce animosities between his own religion, Islam, and other religions". ...

Lauryn Hill: Fugees Star Jailed For Unpaid Tax

Tue, 07 May 2013 07:25:18 +0100

Grammy-winning singer Lauryn Hill has been sentenced to three months in prison for failing to pay about $1m in taxes.

Lauryn Hill gets tax case jail term

Mon, 06 May 2013 23:48:38 +0100

Grammy-winning singer Lauryn Hill has been sentenced to three months in prison for failing to pay about one million dollars (£643,000) in taxes.

Justin Bieber, Usher targeted in copyright infringement lawsuit

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:57:07 +0100

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - One of Justin Bieber's hit songs is the target of a $10 million (6.4 million pounds) copyright infringement lawsuit that also accuses Bieber's mentor, R&B singer Usher, of funnelling the song to the teen pop star. R&B singer Devin Copeland, known professionally as De Rico, and songwriter Mareio Overton filed a lawsuit last week in U.S. District Court in Virginia alleging that they came up with the song "Somebody to Love." Bieber, who is managed by one of Usher's business ventures, released "Somebody to Love" in 2010 with Usher also singing on the recording. ...

Justin Timberlake announces world tour, new album

Mon, 06 May 2013 18:03:35 +0100

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Justin Timberlake will embark on an international tour in October - his first in six years - and will release 10 new songs at the end of September, concert promoter Live Nation said on Monday. "The 20/20 Experience," the singer's first album in seven years, was released in March and topped the U.S. album charts for three consecutive weeks. He is now planning to release 10 news songs, and out-takes from the March release, in a second instalment of "The 20/20 Experience" on September 30, record label RCA said. ...

Lauryn Hill pays tax debt ahead of Monday sentencing, attorney says

Sun, 05 May 2013 23:01:49 +0100

By David Jones NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - Hip hop artist Lauryn Hill, on the eve of her scheduled sentencing on federal tax evasion charges, has paid off the balance of more than $900,000 (578,034.68 pounds) she owed in back taxes and penalties, her attorney said on Sunday. The Grammy-winning musician is scheduled for sentencing on Monday in U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey on three charges she failed to file tax returns on more than $1.8 million between 2005 and 2007. ...

Dennis: I wasted my music career

Sat, 04 May 2013 07:12:32 +0100

Neighbours star Stefan Dennis has confessed he regrets wasting the opportunity to become a successful musician when he had the chance.

Hop Farm Music Festival cancelled

Fri, 03 May 2013 19:25:39 +0100

Hop Farm Music Festival which was to feature acts such as My Bloody Valentine has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

Country music stars come out to bid George Jones a final farewell

Fri, 03 May 2013 01:02:34 +0100

By Tim Ghianni NASHVILLE (Reuters) - Country music legend George Jones' final standing ovation, after a career filled with them, came on Thursday afternoon at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. And the song that brought about 4,000 fans and friends to their feet was Jones' signature song, "He Stopped Loving Her Today," fittingly a tune about both love and death. Alan Jackson, a long-time friend, sang the song, channelling Jones' country traditionalism. ...

Stars Join Global Citizen Ticket Scheme

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:53:24 +0100

Stars like Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, One Direction and Beyonce have signed up to a scheme to give out concert tickets in exchange for social activism.

Laura Bush, top country singers headline George Jones memorial

Wed, 01 May 2013 23:31:35 +0100

(Reuters) - Country music legend George Jones will be remembered in a public memorial service featuring former First Lady Laura Bush and a list of speakers and musical performers including Brad Paisley and Alan Jackson on Thursday at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee. Jones, whose honky-tonk career spanned more than six decades, died in Nashville last week at the age of 81. The memorial service will be open to the public, the singer's publicist announced. ...

Songs of unheralded Nick Drake get a new airing four decades on

Wed, 01 May 2013 16:37:58 +0100

By Jeremy Gaunt LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly four decades after his death, British singer-songwriter Nick Drake has never been as popular. Tribute singers, car and cough syrup advertisements, radio and film documentaries, and word of mouth have combined over time to turn Drake from unheralded 1970s musician into modern-day music lore. Now a new CD of Drake's songs covered by other artists and a remastered boxed vinyl of one of his few albums are set to add to the phenomenon and put his haunting, poetic music into the spotlight. ...