Lana Del Rey Page 5

We really didn't have to wait long for Lana Del Rey's accompanying video for new single 'Love', which came out over the weekend. The video dropped yesterday (February 20th 2017), after the singer announced that it was on the way via an Instagram video stream.

Lana Del Rey releases the video for 'Love'

The video starts off in black and white, with Lana singing away with flowers in her hair before coloured images of various couples hanging with their friends appear, all in full vintage gear. Then things transcend into the supernatural as all characters in the visual explore outer space.

Continue reading: Lana Del Rey Explores The Stars In Retro 'Love' Video

Lana Del Rey returns with a hypnotic new single entitled 'Love'; the first release from her upcoming fourth major label studio album, the details of which will be announced later this year. It's a soaring, ambient, rhythmic anthem about the sanctity of youth.

Lana Del Rey launches a new single entitled 'Love'

The song was unveiled over the weekend, with Emile Haynie, Benny Blanco and Kieron Menzies among the producers, alongside Rick Nowels with whom she has worked on since her 2012 major label debut 'Born to Die'.  Expect the official video for 'Love' to be released very soon. 

Continue reading: Lana Del Rey Has The World In 'Love' With Her New Single

Model Karlie Kloss led the way at the annual Elle Style Awards last night, oozing glamour on the red carpet before accepting her award for Inspiring Woman of the Year. The stylish event also saw models Jourdan Dunn and Suki Waterhouse honoured, as well as Eurythmics’ singer Annie Lennox.

Karlie Kloss was named Inspiring Woman of the Year at the Elle Style Awards.

Kloss was the first ever recipient of the Inspiring Woman of the Year award, which she won for her entrepreneurial and philanthropic work. The former Victoria’s Secret model is also the founder of 'Code With Karlie', a scholarship programme which encourages girls to get involved with computer science.

Continue reading: Karlie Kloss, Liv Tyler And Jourdan Dunn Lead The Fashion Pack At Elle Style Awards [Pictures]

10. Belle & Sebastian - 'Girls In Peacetime'.
A glorious return to top form for Belle & Sebastian. 'Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance' contains all the bands trade mark signatures as well as introducing a few new ones. The generally up beat, playful tone of the album is full of pathos, dark humour and heartfelt musings. This is Belle & Sebastian back to their creative best. With an arty intellect and a wry take on life they have combined some of their most varied musical scores to date with more of their joyous lyrics.

9. Girl Band - 'Holding Hands With Jamie'.
A wake up call that needs to be heard. 'Holding Hands With Jamie' is a shot in the arm; a torrent of musical mayhem and magnificent noise. Distorted and unrelenting, 'Holding Hands..' is an unapologetic onslaught to the senses and a nerve tingling jolt of excitement. A quite brilliant debut.

Continue reading: Andrew Lockwood's Top 10 Albums Of 2015

With the release date of Tim Burton’s newest film, Big Eyes, looming large on December, 25, fans have been given another teaser with the release of the title track with the same name from Lana Del Rey. Lana’s Big Eyes has been partially released and will accompany her second tune for the film, I Can’t Fly.

Burton's Big Eyes has got Lana Del Rey's voice on the title track

Burton’s Big Eyes is a very big deal across Hollywood with the film sniffing around award-winning potential with its Oscar award winning and nominated cast including Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams.

Continue reading: Lana Del Rey Showcases The Title Track Of Big Eyes

Lana Del Rollercoaster: Lana Del Rey has had a week she'll never forget. The pop star's new album, Ultraviolence, has been met with positivity by critics and has earned Del Rey her first Billboard 200 number one. However, the singer's album publicity has risked being blighted by certain comments Lana made in a recent interview in which she appears to glamorise the troubling trend of musicians dying young. Decide for yourself here. Kurt Cobain's daughter, Frances Bean, lashed out at Lana over her words. Find out what went down.

Gary Oldman Blunder: Silly, silly Gary Oldman. The actor has earned himself a reputation as one of Hollywood's thinkers but his thoughts on political correctness caused a stir this week. In a Playboy interview, the 56 year-old referenced Mel Gibson's infamous 2006 run-in with the police where he voiced an anti-Semitic view. In an attempt to play down Gibson's words, Oldman ended up sounding an awful lot more anti-Semitic than his fellow actor. Find out what was said. Oldman did release an apology, which can be read here.

Continue reading: A Week In News: Silly Celebs Special - Lana Drama, Shia's Arrest, Oldman's Foot-In-Mouth

Lana Del Rey has managed to land her first album to top the Billboard 200 with her new release, Ultraviolence. The follow-up to 2012's well-received Born To Die, the album, which was released June 17, sold 182,000 in the week ending June 22, according to Nielsen SoundScan, via Billboard.

The figure represents her best sales week yet and also the largest sales week for a female artist since the week ending Dec. 29, 2013, when Beyonce's self-titled a surprise release shifted 310,000 copies in its third week in the charts.

Although Born To Die was a commercial and critical success that put Del Rey firmly on the pop map, the highest position it could manage in the chart was second with 77,000 sold in its first week ending 5th February 2012. However, the album has since proven its longevity by surpassing one million sales as of February this year.

Continue reading: Lana Del Rey Scores First Billboard 200 Number One With 'Ultraviolence'

On Tuesday (June 24th) Lana Del Rey seemed to have confirmed that she is now a single woman.

The 28 year-old singer confessed to have separated from Barrie James O'Neill, whom she dated for three years, when speaking in an interview with Switzerland's 20 Minuten newspaper.

Lana called time on their turbulent romance because she apparently wants time apart to feel ''free''.

Continue reading: Lana Del Rey's Longtime Boyfriend, Barrie James O'Neill, Denies Split

Lana Del Rey has responded via Twitter to Frances Bean Cobain after the daughter of the late artist, Kurt Cobain, criticised her for "glamorising" dying young.

Lana Del Rey has made amends with Frances Bean Cobain.

In a recent interview with the Guardian, Del Rey discussed her musical idols including Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain. She reportedly said "I wish I was dead already," a remark which prompted Cobain to point out her own personal tragedy. Cobain was less than two years old when her father Kurt died at the age of 27. 

Continue reading: Lana Del Rey Responds To Frances Bean Cobain Criticism, Blames Newspaper For "Sinister" Agenda

It's not been a good week for Lana Del Rey. The Ultraviolence artist has separated from Scottish singer Barrie James O'Neill and has been seriously chastised by Frances Bean Cobain owing to Del Rey's comments about her father's death.

Barrie James O'Neill and Lana Del Rey have split after nearly three years together.

Del Rey announced her separation from O'Neill in a recent interview with Switzerland's 20 Minuten magazine, published on Monday (23rd June). Responding to a question about the possibility of an engagement, 28-year-old Del Rey said "We are currently not together." She continued to vaguely explain the reasons behind their split which apparently result from O'Neill's unspecified issues. She said "He is a wonderful person. But there are some things which he has to deal with. I will not explain in detail. This was hard on our relationship, I no longer felt free."

Continue reading: Lana Del Rey Splits With Boyfriend & Angers Frances Bean Cobain

Lana Del Rey is now a single lady.

The 28 year-old singer recently separated from her longtime love, Barrie-James O'Neill, after getting together around three years ago.

Lana called time on their turbulent romance because she apparently wants time apart to feel ''free''.

Continue reading: Lana Del Rey Confirms Split From Longtime Love Barrie-James O'Neill

Frances Bean Cobain, the daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, has lashed out at pop star Lana Del Rey over quotes printed in a recent interview with The Guardian in which Del Rey expresses a desire to be dead.

In a conversation discussing Lana's heroes, including Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse, who happen to be dead, Lana revealed her disenchantment with fame and attraction to death. "I wish I was dead already," she said, adding "I don't want to have to keep doing this. But I am."

On Sunday, Frances Bean, who lost her father to suicide at a young age, called out Del Rey in a series of strong, but not overly harsh, tweets. "The death of young musicians isn't something to romanticize," she warned.

Continue reading: "Embrace Life": Frances Bean Cobain Warns Lana Del Rey Over Death Wish

Lana Del Rey’s sophomore album (post-transformation, that is), Ultraviolence, is finally out after some questionable promotional tactics. The album is now up for the top spot in the iTunes chart and LDR has her work cut out for her in competing with Sam Smith’s debut record In The Lonely Hour.

Lana Del Rey returns as a perfectly crafted drama queen in Ultraviolence.

Besides her competition, Del Rey is up against some unfortunate odds; her previous album, Born to Die, was panned by just about every critic in the Western Hemisphere and a good chunk of the hipster crowd.

Continue reading: Reviews: Lana Del Rey, The Concept, Hits Her Stride With "Ultraviolence"

To some, the life of a pop star on the rise might seem like the dream – Lana Del Rey is not one of those people. The singer, best known for her song Video Games, as well Young and Beautiful, off the soundtrack to last year’s The Great Gatsby adaptation, is just about to release her sophomore studio effort, Ultraviolence. Before we go any further into the story, this is probably a good time to insert a massive trigger warning for mentions of suicidal thoughts and depression.

Lana Del Rey revealed a much darker side of her life and personality in a recent interview.

She is currently doing a the press rounds, as you do, but her depressing Guardian interview borders on disturbing.

Continue reading: Lana Del Rey's Ultra Worrying "Ultraviolence" Interview Raises Eyebrows And Questions

Lana Del Rey and The Black Keys' guitarist and vocalist Dan Auerbach have decided to work together after enjoying each other's company in an unusual location - a strip club. 

Lana Del Rey and Dan Auerbach ended up in a New York strip club.

It seems the pair had not previously met but were aware of each other's music. In an interview with The Sun, the singer described her meeting with Auerbach in New York and how the pair had met for dinner and wound up in a strip club. She said ''Dan and I weren't friends before this. We both knew each other's music, but it's not that we listened to it a lot of the time. The thing that was fun about Dan was we went out one night for a meal and ended up in a strip club in New York."

Continue reading: Lana Del Rey And Dan Auerbach's 'Ultraviolence' Conceived In New York Strip Club

We've been seriously pushing US and UK music festivals this year but, it has to be said, there's nowhere quite like Europe.

The continent is home to some of the most unique music events in the world and, looking at what's on offer this year, it seems that the festival season is the best time to experience cultural diversity to the nth degree. Whether its sun or snow you're after, rock or dance music, indoor or outdoor, Europe has it all and with the summer quickly approaching, it's time to get on a plane and take the best vacation of your lives as we guide you to the most exciting countries you can hope to visit this year.

Belgium
- Pukkelpop (August 14th - 16th): This Belgian weekend remains seriously cool having first began in 1985 and always playing host to some of the world's best alternative music with early performers including Ramones, The Jesus And Mary Chain and Iggy Pop. Nearly 30 years on, Pukkelpop maintains its excellence with 2014 seeing the likes of Clean Bandit, Gogol Bordello and Die Antwoord on the bill.
- Tomorrowland (July 18th - 20th and July 25th - 27th): If you want to feel like you've entered a fantasy world for a weekend (or two), Tomorrowland is definitely for you. Taking place in the town of Boom, you'll be rocking out against a backdrop of incredible art installations of gargantuan proportions - it really isn't a sight to be missed.

Continue reading: Head To Europe This Year For The Best Summer Festival Experiences!

Not very much actually. We’re vaguely aware Kanye West will be marrying Kim Kardashian sometime this month but that’s about as far as it goes. The rumour mill has been working overtime meaning the event is clouded in an air of secrecy, quite an impressive feat for a family who broadcast their lives on national television!

Kimye are not releasing any details of the wedding.

Here’s what we know so far:

Continue reading: So, Where Are Kim Kardashian & Kanye West Getting Married? What We Know So Far

Lana Del Rey’s upcoming album hasn’t really matched the buzz of her debut record so far. Things might be about to change, however, with the reveal of the cover art for Ultraviolence. Along with the cover – a black and white shot of the singer looking as pouty as we remember – the album release date was announced for June 16.

pic.twitter.com/M93p4wMd61

— Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRey) May 9, 2014

Continue reading: "Ultraviolence" Cover Revealed. Yep, That's Definitely Lana Del Rey

Sweetlife festival proved its worth with a fantastic day of quality music and incredible food at the weekend, with Foster The People and Fitz & The Tantrums among the clear highlights of the Maryland event.

We're tempted to jump on the pun bandwagon and talk about how 'sweet' Sweetlife festival was last weekend - but we'll try and avoid it. Though speaking of such, the food was an important feature of the whole day (May 10th 2014) with one memorable fact being Astro Doughnuts' batch of 2,000 of their famous sugary treat. Obviously, there were plenty of happy faces before the music even began.

Continue reading: Fitz And The Tantrums And Foster The People Rocked Up A Treat At Sweetlife 2014

Lana Del Rey has just dropped the brand new video for her song 'West Coast.' In short, the clip is classic Del Rey video material with artful shots of Lana's eyes closed, rebel guys, beaches, and cigarette smoking.

Lana Del Rey Has Released Dreamy & Tragic New Video, 'West Coast.'

Shot mostly in black and white, the video begins with rolling waves and scenes of palm tree-lined roads before we see Lana canoodling on the sand with a long-haired actor. The pair have a great time playing in the water underneath the bright sunshine and we're lead to believe that this scene is in the character's past.

Continue reading: Lana Del Rey Is On Fire In Surreal 'West Coast' Video...Literally

Billed as 'a music and food festival', Sweetlife 2014 is set to offer the best of both with their single day event this weekend (May 10th 2014) at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.

With the grand setting of masses of surrounding forestland, Sweetlife has developed into a much-loved annual party since its inception in 2010 when it was simply a small event held outside the Sweetgreen food destination in Dupont, Washington DC. And yet, it has maintained its solid ethics of green living and healthy eating, enforcing this with offers of local produce and green set-ups such as solar powered stages, composting waste disposal and recycling units. To make it even better, all proceeds from the event go to a very worthy charitable cause!

Continue reading: Lana Del Rey And Foster The People Headline Sweetlife 2014 This Weekend!

What’s in a name? Well for some celebrities things might have been very different if they hadn’t have changed theirs. Think Stefani Germanotta sounds like a star? What about Caryn Johnson? Things might have been very different for these 10 celebrities if they hadn’t found the perfect name to launch their careers.

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, my how you've changed

Lady GaGa

Continue reading: From Bruno Mars To Lady Gaga: Ten Celebrities Who Have Changed Their Names

It's just over two months until Disney's Maleficent is released and we get to experience the story of Angelina Jolie's wicked villainess told in a compelling new way. Ever since the movie was first announced, the big tease has been Jolie's costume and director Robert Stromberg and his team haven't disappointed. Black horns, fiery eyes, chilling cheekbones and blood red lips all give Jolie's dark fairy maximum impact on screen.

Angelina Jolie Is An Image Of Pure & Unbridled Evil In 'Maleficent.'

In a new promotional banner, we see Maleficent with her mighty pair of black raven-esque wings unfurled as she glowers menacingly. Having watched the trailer, we have already learned that Jolie will be using an English accent in the upcoming fantasy film and that the movie will at least in part follow the traditional Sleeping Beauty tale that Disney first adapted in 1959.

Continue reading: Angelina Jolie Embodies Evil In New 'Maleficent' Poster [Trailer]

Lana Del Ray has managed to accomplish nearly the impossible.

The 27 year-old has kept a huge aspect of her private life secret from the press.

Lana and her boyfriend Barrie-James O'Neill have been secretly engaged since last summer according to Us Weekly. 

Continue reading: Lana Del Ray Secretly Engaged To Boyfriend Barrie-James O'Neill

In the lull between big awards shows, media attention turns to Super Bowl halftime performances and adverts, while award-nominated actors and filmmakers travel around the world to squeeze in their next projects before Bafta and Oscar nights. Judi Dench is in India filming The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2 with the reunited cast from the original. Chiewtel Ejiofor is in New Zealand filming something top-secret. Cate Blanchett is taking a well-deserved holiday. Meanwhile, Ben Stiller and Robin Williams have been snapped on the streets of rain-swept London filming scenes for Night at the Museum 3. We braved the British weather to snap the filming in action.

We got our first glimpse of the comedy-drama A Long Way Down this week, with a new trailer that plays up the film's black humour and warm emotion. Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Aaron Paul and Imogen Poots play four people who meet as they're planning to end it all by leaping from a London skyscraper. In the media circus that follows, they make a pact to live for at least one more month. It looks funny and rather sweet, with the terrific cast on great form. It's out in March. Watch 'A Long Way Down' Trailer here.

Continue reading: A Week In Movies: Stiller And Williams Film In Rainy London, While Trailers Debut For Brosnan, Owen, Rio And Maleficent

Lana Del Rey's short film Tropico is finally ready to watch in its entirety online for free which is exciting news on its own but the singer has made sure that all eyes are on her as we move into 2014 with another special announcement.

Lana Del Rey Announces New Album At 'Tropico' Premiere.

Though we were lead to believe that the 'Born To Die' singer was planning on retiring after one album, she has announced and named her follow-up to her 2012 chart-topper.

Continue reading: Lana Del Rey Names New Album As 'Tropico' Short Arrives [Trailer]

Miley Cyrus has scored her first UK number one single with 'We Can't Stop,' which incidentally is her first Top 10 hit in the country.

The 20-year-old sold 128,000 copies of her new single last week to reach the top spot, ousting Swedish DJ Avicii and his hit track 'Wake Me Up'.

Miley had previously peaked in the UK singles chart at number three with See You Again in 2008 and at 11 in 2009 with The Climb and Party in the USA.

Continue reading: Surprised? Miley Cyrus's 'We Can't Stop' Is Her First Ever UK No.1

The nominations for the MTV Video Music Awards 2013 have been announced, with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Justin Timberlake leading the field. Armed with their videos for 'Can't Hold Us' and 'Thrift Shop,' the hip-hop duo will square off against JT at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on August 25, 2013.

Both acts received six nominations, with Timberlake getting nods for his 'Suit and Tie' and 'Mirrors' promos. Elsewhere, Bruno Mars appears to have every chance of taking home the prize of 'Video of the Year' with 'Locked out of Heaven,' though Robin Thicke's controversial clip for 'Blurred Lines' and Taylor Swift's 'I Knew You Were Trouble' will also be popular.

The VMAs - one of the biggest events on the pop music calendar - represents the first time a major awards show has been held in Brooklyn. The place has been a mecca for art and culture for years, though the Barclays Center appears to have truly put it on the map.

Continue reading: MTV Video Music Award Nominees: Will Macklemore Clean Up?

This Week In Albums... There was only album anyone was really talking about wasn't there? Daft Punk's much anticipated fourth LP Random Access Memories was streamed early after it leaked on the internet allowing the world's media their chance to get in quick with their gut-check reactions. Our man Joe Wilde was a little more reflective in his assessments though, and found much to love about the French duo's comeback - even if hasn't ended up being the classic that so many people were hoping for. He wrote: "Guy-Manuel and Thomas are perfectionists in every sense, and whilst the album itself isn't a perfect listen, it is still a thoroughly rewarding and worthwhile one; and what more could we and the robots have asked for?"

There were some other much-vaunted French types releasing their comeback album this Spring too; it's a case of if it ain't broke don't fix it for Phoenix. Hoewever that means we once again get an LP of intelligent pop that's as catchy as it is inventive. Jim Pusey found it to be an enjoyable listen, although he felt it lacked something that its mainstream-breaking predecessor Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix had; he commented "There's much here to like, but it lacks some of the charm that made Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix quite so endearing."

Continue reading: A Week In Music - Daft Punk Get Lucky, Lana Del Rey Soundtracks Gatsby And Rod Stewart Shocks Us All

Maybe Jay Z isn’t the typical name you’d expect to see on the soundtrack of a film set in the 20s, but after the initial surprise, it turns out that the mogul and The Great Gatsby have more in common than you’d think. Both Jay’s (Z and Gatsby) are cool, aloof, sharply dressed types. Both are rich and both swim in luxury and glamour. And ok, maybe that’s where the similarities end, but you can see how Mr Carter is actually a fitting choice to work on the modernized soundtrack for the upcoming film. The rapper released “$100 Bill” today, to go “hand in hand” as he put it with the movie adaptation. But it’s not your typical soundtrack, oh no – after all, when have you heard of Jay Z doing anything typical? As the man himself put it for Blacktree.tv:

"It's not the typical soundtrack, or a standalone piece. The songs are pretty much in the film, so it goes hand in hand with each other. It had to fit pretty snug, it wasn't an afterthought."

Now he’s got us all eager and excited to hear it (well, and see the film obviously), especially considering that the full soundtrack will feature songs by Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey, Jack White and even Beyoncé. It sounds like an eclectic mix of styles, all united under the decadent splendor of the jazz age. Who could resist! For a teaser of things to come, you can check out “$100 Bill” here, or watch the "Gatsby" trailer below.

Continue reading: Jay Z's "$100 Bill" Is The Perfect Track To Capture The Empty Splendor Of The Jazz Age

Excitement mounts as a sampler for the Great Gatsby soundtrack has been released online. Fans of Jay Z and Beyonce may find themselves disappointed though, as neither of their tracks are included on the sampler. Beyonce covers Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back to Black’ and jay Z also performs ‘$100 Bill’ for the soundtrack, though neither are present in the online selection.

Of course, they’ll be wanting to leave fans hungry to hear the two tracks that are clearly going to be the most highly anticipated of the lot. A press release revealed some of the treats that are in store and the detail of the work that went into compiling the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann’s reimagining of F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, set in 1922. “Jay Z (with collaborator and the film’s executive music consultant Jeymes Samuel) has worked with Luhrmann and his team on the project over the past two years, translating the Jazz Age sensibility of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel into the musical equivalents of our own times, through the blending of hip-hop, traditional jazz and other contemporary musical textures,” the press release reveals.

The sampler does contain snippets of other tracks from the soundtrack, including Emeli Sande’s re-working of Beyonce’s Crazy In Love (with the Bryan Ferry Orchestra), Together by The XX and ‘Young and Beautiful’ by Lana Del Rey. 

Continue reading: The Great Gatsby Soundtrack Sampler Released Online

Summer is almost upon us, and Beyonce is making sure we all know it. The R&B superstar recently signed up to be the face of high-street store H&M and the brand has released the first images from Bey's new summer campaign. The singer models an array of bikinis and beachwear, which will no doubt fly off the shelves following its release in May.

Beyonce Modelling Some Pretty Swanky Looking Beachwear For Her New H&M Range

Beyonce, who launches her Mrs Carter tour in Serbia this week, appears to be the perfect match for the Swedish retailer. "What makes these [H&M] pieces even more special is that Beyoncé herself had input into the design, and they are full of her own personal style," Ann-Sofie Johansson, head of design at H&M, told The Telegraph. The print shows were shot by photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, while an upcoming commercial was helmed by Jonas Akerlunda and features a brand new Beyonce track "Standing on the Sun." 

Continue reading: Wowzers! Beyonce Sizzles In H&M Summer Campaign Snaps (Pictures)

Beyonce has been unveiled as the new face of the Swedish fashion brand H&M and will feature heavily in the chain's global summer campaign. Rumors first arose when the R&B superstar was spotted posing for a tropical shoot in the Bahamas in the New Year, while her dancer Kimberly Gipson tweeted, "First day of trial in the Bahamas! H&M all set . go," before deleting the tweet, presumably after getting an ear full from an H&M executive.

Now, Beyonce has announced her collaboration with the brand. "I've always liked H&M's focus on fun and affordable fashion. I really loved the concept we collaborated on to explore the different emotions of women represented by the four elements - fire, water, earth and wind. It was a beautiful shoot on a tropical island," she said in a statement. For the new campaign, Beyonce - who released her new track Bow Down/I Been On to mixed reviews this week - was shot by photography duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinnodh Matadin in the Bahaman capital city of Nassau. A new television ad has been directed by Jonas Åkerlund, the man behind videos for the Rolling Stones, U2 and Madonna, while Standing On The Sun provides the soundtrack. 

The 31-year-old reportedly had a hand in the design process of the summer pieces, which includes a bodycon dress, a flowing sun dress and a bikini. "What makes these pieces even more special is that Beyoncé herself had input into the design, and they are full of her own personal style," said Ann-Sofie Johansson, head of design at H&M. 

Continue reading: Done Deal: Beyonce Is Bringing R&B To H&M

The One Direction boys seemed in pretty high spirits at the BRIT Awards in London last night. There was Harry, dancing around the stage like a lunatic, Louis helping himself to the complimentary fizz, Zayn looking all mysterious and broody, and the little Irish fella was presumably just happy to be there. But what about Liam? Something appeared to have riled our Liam, and we may have found the answer. Ready for this? Deep breath.

Liam Payne Incurred The Wrath Of Boy George At The Brits

80's pop star Boy George - who debuted a slimmer, altogether healthier look this week - was at the bash with his young niece, getting snaps with her favourite pop stars. Now, there appears to have been some confusion when the One Direction boys came there way. Later on Twitter, the Karma Chameleon hit-maker wrote, "Top marks to Harry Styles for stopping for a picture with my niece and B*llox's to Liam and the disrespectful w**ker of a minder!" adding, "Stars of the night, Harry Styles, Lana Del Rey, Jessie J. Too many drug f**ked twits to mention elsewhere! Emily Sande (sic) was great!" George later suggested Harry Styles would leave the band, saying, "You heard it here first!" 

Continue reading: Unpick This One! Liam Payne Brands Boy George "Weird" In Bizarre Twitter Spat

This year’s Brit Awards nominations look as though they were concocted by a group of strangers, with wildly different cultural backgrounds, on a drunken night out. Is this a sign that the mainstream music world is finally starting to accept that it’s becoming more and more acceptable to have diverse musical tastes? Or are the organisers of the BRITS simply trying to spark controversy? have they lost the plot? Or is this an honest reflection of the mindset of a 2013 British music buying public? Let’s take a look at the evidence, and scrutinise some of the more baffling categories…

British Female Solo Artist Nominees – One of the more sensitive and contentious issues, here, in the British female solo artist category. Of the five nominees, only four of them were alive this year. We understand that Amy Winehouse has a lasting legacy in British pop music. We understand that she was – and, in many ways remains - a tour de force. But, for the sake of the awards, we simply have to ask, at the risk of sounding flippant, what has Amy Winehouse done for British music in the last 12 months? Sadly, nothing. Her posthumous album (released in December 2011, we should add), Lioness: Hidden Treasures was politely and quietly denounced for being little more than cuttings from the studio floor. We simply can’t get our heads around her inclusion on this list. With Bat For Lashes throw in as the ‘alternative’ wild card, to lend a touch of outsider cool to the category, it’s between Emeli Sande, Paloma Faith and Jessie Ware to catch this one, we reckon. 

Watch Jessie Ware's video for 'Sweet Talk'

Continue reading: BRIT Awards 2013 Nominees Announced: Diverse? Or Just Weird?

Claude Nobs, the founder of the Montreux jazz festival, has died, following a ski accident, which resulted in him being in a coma for several weeks.

The Guardian reports that Nobs was cross-country skiing in the village of Caux, near to Montreux and Lake Geneva. His accident happened on Christmas Eve (2012), the festival’s secretary general Mathieu Jaton confirmed on Monday (January 7, 2013).

Claude – who was aged 76 when he died – began the legendary and highly respected festival back in 1967, whilst he worked at the tourism office at the Swiss resort. Some of the world’s biggest stars have played at the festival, including Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan and Prince. He’s not been afraid of taking risks and potentially upsetting the jazz fraternity; last year, the ‘love her or hate her’ singer Lana Del Rey was one of the lead artists performing at the festival. His renown amongst musicians is widespread and Deep Purple even immortalised the man in song, referring to him as ‘Funky Claude’ in their song ‘Smoke on the Water.’

Continue reading: Montreux Jazz Festival's Claude Nobs Dies After Ski Accident Coma

When Mumford & Sons performed at the iTunes Festival, they probably didn't expect some of the U.K's biggest stars to attend, but that's exactly what happened according to The Sun.

Adele, Chris Martin, Simon Pegg and Emma Watson were all in attendance as the folk-pop quartet bashed out tunes from their latest album, Babel. Company indeed! "We've been all around and now we're home, it feels so good," said Frontman Marcus Mumford. "This is our album launch party, celebrate with us." The band have been touring for years now, and experienced some tough times in some of the far corners of the earth, so they'll be glad to be playing in front of home crowds again. A review of their Roundhouse gig in The Telegraph says: "The show's highlights were when the band loosened their grip on the anthemic jugular. A shimmering Timshel was played unplugged, and the band displayed an enviable mastery of the crowd, who fell deathly silent." Their new album, Babel, which the band describes as "an advert for our live shows" has received mixed reviews, to put it lightly. The Guardian gave their follow up to the incredibly popular debut album, Sign No More, 2 stars. But over in America, where the band is making significant inroads, The Huffington Post described it as "a joy".

The iTunes festival represents 30 days of free music in London, with fans vying for tickets on a competition basis. Acts include One Direction, Lana Del Ray and Plan B.

Lana Del Rey’s latest single ‘Ride,’ has made its way online. The track is taken from the ‘deluxe’ edition of her debut album, ‘Born To Die.’ Never one to be deterred by constant criticism, Lana is pushing her album once more and this time, there are eight new tracks for fans to listen to. Since she hit the big time with her track ‘Video Games’ late last year, Lana Del Rey has divided opinion across the globe. Whilst many are in awe of her David Lynch-esque imagery and dusky vocals, others have lashed out at her awkward live performances and dismissed the hype surrounding her as unfounded.

Just a few lines in and ‘Ride’ contains some trademark Lana Del Rey lyrics. Think what you like about her; the fact that she even has a ‘trademark’ so early into her career is probably a sign that we haven’t seen the last of her just yet. ‘Born To Die’ – The Paradise Edition will be released on November 23, 2012. The original track-listing remains intact but eight bonus tracks will be added to the CD and vinyl versions of the album. A special box set will also include a remix album and DVD, according to Billboard.com

As for the song itself, ‘Ride’ – which was written by Lana Del Rey and Justin Parker and produced by Rick Rubin – feels more accomplished than some of her previous efforts and makes the most of her voice, rather than showing up its flaws. All that doe-eyed “you can be my full-time daddy / baby” shtick is going to start getting a little tired pretty soon, though, we reckon.

One Direction almost caused a riot at the iTunes Festival at London’s Roundhouse on Thursday evening (September 20, 2012) just by, err, being there. The Press Association reports how fans “squealed and cried” as the boy-band took time out from their set to answer ‘Twitter questions’. Some of their answers were inaudible due to the high pitched din that enveloped the historic venue.

The question-and-answer session was an intriguing affair; for example, we found out that Zayn things Harry is sexy, and that Liam thinks Niall is cute. Oh wait, and Louis thinks Zayn is kind! Anyway, after that, the audience were treated to a blistering set from the group, who performed some of their biggest hits – You Don’t Know You’re Beautful, One Thing and Moments – as well as some of the tracks they performed while on The X Factor. Their cover of Kings Of Leon’s ‘Use Somebody’ went down a storm, as did The Zutons’ ‘Valerie’ and The Black Eyed Peas’ ‘I Gotta Feeling’. It’s safe to say One Direction have been one of Simon Cowell’s biggest success stories, topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and selling out huge venues with ease. Addressing the band’s storming success across the pond, Louis (who said Zayn was nice, remember!), told fans, “We have spent time outside of the UK and it is incredible to be back in London.”

The iTunes Festival continues throughout the month with Muse, Alicia Keys and Lana Del Rey set to perform, though Contactmusic.com recommends checking out Willie Mason (24th) and Hot Chip (29th).

It's the MTV Awards 2012 season and, with the VMA 2012 winners have recently been announced, attention is now turning to another continent and the MTV Europe Music Awards. The nominations have been announced for the event that's taking place in Frankfurt, Germany on November 11th, and it looks like it's going to be 24 year-old pop star Rihanna who is going to be the one to beat.
RiRi is up for six nominations; Best Female, Best Pop, Best Look, Best Video, Best Song and Biggest Fans. She's pretty much out of the running already in the latter, with a fan-vote seeing rivals One Direction and Justin Bieber skyrocketing ahead of the competition. As for the rest though she stands every chance, although she'll have to do battle with Taylor Swift in the first three of those categories; the country star is up for two additional nominations too in Best Live and Best World Stage.
Behind the two female stars, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry are up for four categories, whilst a host of stars are up for three, including Lady GaGa, Nicki Minaj, Lana Del Rey, Carly Rae Jepsen and Fun. A few wins for Rihanna will certainly put an upward swing on a turbulent year for the pop star who has found herself mired back in controversy after forgiving a seemingly unrepentant ex-boyfriend Chris Brown after his physical assault on her three years ago.

Rihanna has received 6 nominations for the MTV Europe Music Awards; more than any other act, reports The Telegraph. Muse, Coldplay and One Direction also pick up nominations.

The 24-year Barbadian star has been shortlisted for the awards for best song, best video, best female, best pop, biggest fans, and best look. Both ‘best song’ and ‘best video’ were for the same song, ‘We Found Love’ and ‘best look’ is a brand new category. She is up against Taylor Swift in the female, pop and look sections, whilst Swift was also nominated for best live and best world stage act. Other acts to be recognised, or at least they hope so, are Lana Del Rey, Nicki Minaj, Jay Z and Kanye West, all of which garnered three nominations each. Lady GaGa dominated last year's awards - held in Belfast - coming away with four awards and performing ‘Marry the Night’. This year she is also nominated for three categories.

Given the name of the awards, one would be forgiven for thinking that European acts are the most prominent, but it’s the Americans that continue to dominate year after year, and despite being held in Germany this year, that trend is set to continue. Great Britain represents the biggest European contingent with Muse Coldplay, Rita Ora, One Direction, Florence and the Machine, and M.I.A all hopeful to take home an award come November 11, 2012.