Sam Smith Page 5

One Direction and Ed Sheeran led a record breaking year for British artists in 2014, who had five of the top 10 best-selling albums worldwide. More than one in seven albums sold worldwide last year were by British artists, giving them a record 13.7% share of the global market.

One Direction’s Four was the highest selling British album of 2014.

One Direction led the way with Four, which was the biggest-selling album by a UK artist in 2014, with 3.2 million in global sales. The boyband came in second over all and were only beaten by Taylor Swift’s 1989 which sold six million copies worldwide.

Continue reading: One Direction And Ed Sheeran Lead As Five Of 2014's Biggest Selling Albums Are By British Artists

British singer Sam Smith has secured his place in chart history, after achieving a record-breaking milestone previously managed only by the Beatles. The singer has become the only artist since the fab five to spend nearly a year in the top five with a debut album thanks to his massively successful, In The Lonely Hour.

Sam Smith has made chart history with In The Lonely Hour.

The singer’s debut album has so far spent 50 weeks in the top five of the UK album chart, according to the Official Charts Company. That’s only one week short of The Beatles’ record, as they managed 51 weeks on the chart with Please Please Me in 1963.

Continue reading: Sam Smith Joins The Beatles In Making Chart History With 'In The Lonely Hour'

It's the first ever Red Nose Day in the United States today (May 21st 2015), and all manner of celebrities are donning the appropriate big red nose to raise awareness. It's one of the UK's most famous charity fundraisers - undertaken mainly for Comic Relief - but this year goes international for a host of charitable foundations.

David Duchovny, 5 Seconds of Summer, John Legend, Sam Smith and Padma Lakshmi on Red Nose Day

Annoyingly, curvy reality star Kim Kardashian is now so good at posing in front of a camera that she even manages to maintain that seductive aura even while holding a novelty clown nose to her face, but many other celebrities provided some well needed laughs on this momentous occasion. 

Continue reading: Red Nose Day America Is Here! And These Stars Are Rocking The Look [Photos]

British superstar Sam Smith has undergone successful vocal cord surgery in Boston and is expected to make a complete recovery, it has been reported.

Massachusetts General Hospital released a statement on Tuesday (May 19th) that read: “Sam Smith underwent vocal cord microsurgery by Dr. Steven Zeitels to stop recurrent vocal cord hemorrhage (bleeding). This condition is the result of unstable blood vessels in the vocal cord that can rupture and prevent vocal performance.”

Sam Smith has had successful surgery on his vocal cords

Continue reading: Sam Smith Has Successful Throat Surgery

At last night’s Billboard Awards, Taylor Swift reached a new milestone in her career, becoming the award show’s most decorated artist. Her eight awards (out of 14 nods), including one for Best Artist, bring her Billboard total to twenty, more than the previous record holder, Garth Brooks.

All of the awards.

Taylor had more than one reason to celebrate on Sunday though, since the award show coincided with the release of her music video for Bad Blood, featuring the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Selena Gomez, Karlie Kloss, Zendaya, Ellie Goulding, Hayley Williams and many more. The video premiered at the awards, after a brief introduction from the woman of the hour. Taylor also won a special achievement award chosen by fan voting.

Continue reading: Billboard Awards: Taylor Swift Wins All Of The Things

It's not often a simple music video receives this much hype before anyone has even seen it - but the video for Taylor Swift's new single 'Bad Blood' looks to be anything but simple. It's a celebrity-packed spectacle with a Sin City-like visual style, and Swift has just revealed the lead actress at the centre of all the drama is Selena Gomez, playing a femme fatale named Arsyn.

Girl power: Swift teams up with other female stars in Bad Blood

Selena Gomez joins Swift (who plays Catastrophe) and a long list of other female stars in the video, including Gigi Hadid (as Slay-Z), Hayley Williams (The Crimson Curse), Ellie Goulding (Destructa X), Lena Dunham (Lucky Fiori) and Jessica Alba (Domino).

Continue reading: Taylor Swift Teases 'Bad Blood' Video One Final Time

As was widely expected, folk-turned-rock group Mumford & Sons have raced to the top of the American Billboard charts, selling nearly 150% more than its nearest rival in the process. Wilder Mind, their third album, sold 249,000 copies in its first week to claim the Number 1 spot, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The figure isn’t anywhere near as large as the first week sales for their last record Babel, which shifted a whopping 600,000 units back in 2012, and remains the biggest sales week for a guitar album this decade.

Mumford & Sons top the Billboard Albums chart once more

Continue reading: Mumford & Sons Score Second U.S. Chart Topping Album

Less than a fortnight after revealing that he’s had to cancel a number of Australian tour dates to have surgery on his vocal cords, Sam Smith has now revealed that he’s suffering from stress.

The 22 year old singer, who is still riding a massive wave of publicity with the success of his debut album In The Lonely Hour worldwide, told The Sun that he had developed a rash on his body in response to the high stress levels that he’s been working under.

“I've been itching all over my body for the past week from stress,” he said. “I'm stressed. I don't know why. I think it's a delayed reaction from the Grammys.”

Continue reading: Sam Smith Is Suffering From Stress

Being a multi-million selling popstar might sound like a dream, but in truth it's not as comfortable a life as it may seem. Sam Smith is living proof of that as he now prepares to undergo throat surgery after pretty much continued touring since the start of the year.

Sam Smith cancels more dates over throat problems

It's obvious that Sam Smith is an extremely hard-working individual, but unfortunately, his hectic schedule has forced him to cancel yet more dates on his first headline tour supporting debut album 'In the Lonely Hour'. Last month, fans everywhere were disappointed to learn that Smith had suffered a mild haemorrhage on his vocal chords and therefore would have to rest his voice for a few dates in a bid to heal them. However, things have gone from bad to worse and he now has to suspend his tour for the next six to eight weeks.

Continue reading: 'Nervous' Sam Smith Suspends Tour For Throat Operation

The line-up for the 2015 Billboard Music Awards was already very impressive, with Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith all set to perform on stage, and officials have now filled a (blank) space by confirming Taylor Swift will be there to debut the video for her new track 'Bad Blood', according to Hollywood Reporter. 

And the singer has teased the premiere of the forthcoming video with a stylish image on Twitter.

Continue reading: Taylor Swift To Open Billboard Music Awards With New Video

There’s change at the top of the American albums chart this week as the Zac Brown Band enters at Number 1 with its fourth LP Jekyll + Hyde.

The eight piece ensemble notched up their third consecutive Billboard chart topper by selling 228,000 copies, including track equivalent and streaming equivalent sales, in the week ending May 3rd, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

These are impressive sales figures for the group, which previously had Number 1 albums in 2012 with Uncaged and 2010 with You Get What You Give. Jekyll + Hyde contains two popular singles already, one being the Chris Cornell collaboration ‘Heavy is the Head’ and the other the country-flavoured ‘Homegrown’.

Continue reading: Third Straight Number One Album For The Zac Brown Band

The biggest selling single of the year so far has seen a significant change to its writing credits. Mark Ronson’s record-breaking ‘Uptown Funk!’ now includes the writers of The Gap Band’s 1979 hit ‘Oops Up Side Your Head’.

It’s not clear as to how this alteration came about – there have been no court cases or lawsuits in the offing – but five extra names are now included on Ronson’s hit, according to Music Week. They are The Gap Band’s three members Ronnie Wilson, Charles Wilson and Robert Wilson as well as producers Lonnie Simmons and Rudolph Taylor.

Mark Ronson has altered the writing credits for 'Uptown Funk!'

Continue reading: 'Uptown Funk!'s Writing Credits Changed To Include The Gap Band

Rock group Alabama Shakes scored their first Number One album in America with their second effort Sound & Color, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

In quite a low-selling week, the rockers sold 96,000 copies of their sophomore effort to reach the top spot in the Billboard 200 chart. The reformed system counts track equivalent sales and streaming equivalent sales, though some 91,000 of Sound & Color’s sales total came from traditional physical sales.

Alabama Shakes’ debut album Boys & Girls won the group a lot of plaudits upon its release in 2012 for its classic rock sound. It peaked at Number 6 in the American charts, nearly a year after its release, due to its three Grammy nominations in 2013.

Continue reading: Alabama Shakes Rock To The Top Of The Billboard Albums Chart

Sam Smith has been forced to cancel the remainder of his Australian tour dates, after suffering a vocal chord haemorrhage. The singer had been due to perform shows in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, as well as appearing at the Logie Awards next week.

Smith has been forced to cancel his Australian shows.

“I am deeply, deeply saddened to tell my Australian fans, I have to cancel my Australian tour,” Smith announced in a statement. “I have been vocally exhausted for a while now however last night in Sydney i had a small haemorrhage on my vocal chords.”

Continue reading: Sam Smith Cancels Rest Of Australian Tour Due Vocal Chord Haemorrhage

Internet sensation Shawn Mendes has completed his rise from a cult following on Vine to chart-topping sensation, as his full-length debut album has entered at Number 1 in the Billboard Top 200. Handwritten sold 119,000 units, including track and streaming album equivalent sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

16 year old Mendes is the youngest person to top the American album charts since 2010, when Justin Bieber – six months younger then than Mendes is now – spent a month at Number 1 with My World 2.0.

Shawn Mendes has scored his first Number 1 album with his debut 'Handwritten'

Continue reading: Shawn Mendes Scores US Chart Topper With Debut Album 'Handwritten'

Some of the biggest British stars of the last year are in the running for 2015’s Ivor Novello Awards. Sam Smith’s ‘Stay With Me’, George Ezra’s ‘Budapest’ and Clean Bandit’s ‘Rather Be’ are all nominated for the most played song of the past year.

The annual awards, which are now in their 60th year, are exclusively voted for by songwriters, making it a rare example of musicians being recognised by their peers instead of by the public. ‘The Ivors’ is a comparatively short and exclusive list of categories, with only three nominations in each.

Sam Smith's 'Stay With Me' is up for Most Performed Work at the 2015 Ivor Novellos

Continue reading: Ivor Novello Awards 2015: Sam Smith, Clean Bandit And George Ezra All Nominated

It’s all change at the top of the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart this week, as rapper Wale claims the Number 1 spot with his fourth LP The Album About Nothing – his second chart topper following his previous effort, 2013’s The Gifted.

Wale’s album, which he has revealed was inspired by Jerry Seinfeld and features the comedian himself, sold 100,000 copies in the week ending April 5th, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The Billboard chart now measures individual track and streaming equivalent sales as well as conventional physical and digital album sales.

The rapper scored his second American Number 1 album this week

Continue reading: Wale Scores Second U.S. Number 1 With 'The Album About Nothing'

The nominations have been released for the annual Billboard Music Awards, and it’s Taylor Swift and Sam Smith who lead the field, with both artists in the running for five of the six biggest prizes.

Swift and Smith, whose respective albums 1989 and In The Lonely Hour are still in the Top 5 of the Billboard Albums Chart well over four months after their release, are both gunning for the Top Artist, Top 100 Songs, Top Billboard 200 Album, Top Billboard 200 Artist and Top Hot 100 Artists categories, while each is up for the Top Artist in their gender-specific prizes.

Taylor Swift scored the most BMA nominations with 14

Continue reading: Taylor Swift And Sam Smith Score Multiple Nominations For Billboard Music Awards

In a quiet week on the US Billboard 200, Kendrick Lamar’s new album To Pimp A Butterfly spends a second week in the Number One spot. The rapper’s third album sold more than double the amount of its nearest rival, the soundtrack to TV drama ‘Empire’, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Shifting 123,000 copies in its second week on sale, including track and streaming equivalent sales figures as well as physical copies, To Pimp A Butterfly is the first album to spend its opening fortnight at the top of the chart since Taylor Swift’s behemoth 1989 at the end of last year. The ‘Empire’ soundtrack was a non-mover in second place, selling 61,000 copies.

Kendrick Lamar spends a second week on top of the US Albums chart

Continue reading: Kendrick Lamar Spends Second Week At The Top Of U.S. Albums Chart

Hip hop sensation Kendrick Lamar has stormed to Number 1 in the US Billboard 200 Albums chart with his third album To Pimp A Butterfly. It clocked up over 363,000 equivalent sales (totalling physical, track and streaming data) despite being released one week earlier than planned, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

To Pimp A Butterfly has the second highest first-week sales of 2015, behind fellow rapper Drake’s recent surprise release If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, which sold 495,000 in its debut week back in February.

Kendrick Lamar is Number 1 in the US Billboard 200 albums

Continue reading: Kendrick Lamar Scores First US Number 1 Album With 'To Pimp A Butterfly'

Outside Lands organisers have finally unveiled the spectacular 2015 line-up for their eighth year, featuring headliners Elton John and Mumford And Sons. The event is set to bring its usual combination of music and munchies to San Francisco this August.

Joining Elton and Mumford are a range of equally exciting acts, both of the veteran and the up-and-coming variety. Man of the moment Sam Smith - whose already bagged a total of six awards this year, including four Grammys - will bring his pop genius to the stage, alongside The Black Keys who released their first chart-topping album last year, and Kendrick Lamar whose highly anticipated third album 'To Pimp A Butterfly' sailed to number one in both the US and the UK last week.

Continue reading: Sound And Sustenance: Outside Lands 2015 Brings Another Weekend Of Cultural Delights

The BBC has announced that their long running top 40 chart show is moving from its traditional Sunday afternoon slot to Friday evening, as a global release date for singles and albums comes into effect. As well as the change of days, the show will also be shorter, meaning that not all songs will be played during the run down.

Artist such as Sam Smith will now hear their official UK chart position on a Friday

From June, Friday will become the global release date for singles and albums, as announced by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which represents the worldwide record industry, last month.

Continue reading: Radio One's Official Chart Show Moves To Fridays, As UK Falls In Line With Global Music Industry

Locals My Morning Jacket lead the line-up for Forecastle Festival 2015, as the first selection of acts entice more and more towards a sun-soaked weekend in Louisville, Kentucky this July. The band will also be joined by Brit singer Sam Smith.

Hot on the heels of their latest album announcement 'The Waterfall', My Morning Jacket return to their hometown for a jam down by Waterfront Park this summer, alongside British superstar Sam Smith who is looking at his most successful year yet with four Grammy wins, a sell-out tour and a number one already with his re-released debut single 'Lay Me Down' featuring John Legend.

Continue reading: My Morning Jacket Return To Louisville For Forecastle Festival 2015 Alongside Sam Smith

Kendrick Lamar has taken the top spot in this week’s Official Albums Chart in the UK, knocking Sam Smith's In The Lonely Hour off the number one position. To Pimp A Butterfly is the third studio album from the Compton- born rapper, following on from 2012's Good Kid, MAAD City.

Cover art for Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly

The album caught fans off guard after it was made available March 16th on iTunes and Spotify, nearly a week before its original release date of March 23rd. Since becoming available on Spotify the album has broken the service’s global streaming recording, notching up over 9.6 million streams on the service last Monday.

Continue reading: 'To Pimp A Butterfly' Gives Kendrick Lamar His First UK Number 1 Album

Sam Smith has scored a rare ‘double Number 1’ in the UK’s Official Charts this week. His recent single ‘Lay Me Down’ sits atop the UK Singles Chart and his debut LP In The Lonely Hour has returned to the summit of the Official Albums Chart as well.

A re-recording of ‘Lay Me Down’ as a duet with soul singer John Legend was released as the official Comic Relief / Red Nose Day single for 2015, and his live performance of it on Friday night helped it achieve sales of 105,000. The song dislodged last week’s Number One ‘King’, by newcomers Years & Years.

Sam Smith sits atop both the UK Albums and Singles chart

Continue reading: Sam Smith Scores Rare 'Double Number 1' With Album And New Single

Sam Smith has taken the top spot in both the official UK singles and albums chart this week, along with setting a new record as the only male solo artist whose album has achieved six different spells at number one in Official Chart history.

Sam Smith is doing the double in this week's UK chart

Smith’s In the Lonely Hour reclaimed the top spot in the album chart this week, knocking Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds’ Chasing Yesterday down to fourth place. The singer managed to beat off some tough competition to grab the top spot, including the latest offering from Madonna, Rebel Heart, which debut in the number two position.

Continue reading: Sam Smith Tops Both The Official UK Singles And Albums Chart

Sam Smith was arguably the music industry's biggest breakout star of 2014, which is proven by the fact that the British singer won four major awards at this year's Grammys, but his journey to success wasn't as easy as people may assume.

Smith recently opened up about being bullied as a youth

Sam first came out at only aged 11 and he quickly experienced what it was like to be picked on for being a homosexual.

Continue reading: Sam Smith Opens Up About His "Mortifying" Homophobic Bullying Experiences

Sam Smith is set to perform a special re-recording of his debut single, 'Lay Me Down', with Oscar winner John Legend for this year's Comic Relief, which will air on BBC One this week under the title 'Comic Relief: Face the Funny'.

Sam Smith and John Legend re-record 'Lay Me Down' for Comic Relief

It may not be among his Platinum selling singles, but Sam Smith is keen to express his attachment to his moving first single. He has re-recorded a rendition of 'Lay Me Down' with John Legend as the official single for Comic Relief, with all proceeds from the sales going to the charity campaign.

Continue reading: Sam Smith And John Legend Duet For Comic Relief's Version Of 'Lay Me Down'

Rapper Big Sean has claimed his first Billboard chart topper with his new album Dark Sky Paradise. His third album beat Kid Rock’s latest offering First Kiss to the top spot by 27,000 units in the week ending March 1st, according to figures by Nielsen SoundScan.

Dark Sky Paradise moved 173,000 units in its first week on sale, a combination of traditional physical sales and track and streaming equivalents. Both of his previous albums, 2011’s Finally Famous and 2013’s Hall of Fame, both entered at Number 3.

Rapper Big Sean has the U.S. Number 1 selling album this week 

Continue reading: Big Sean Scores First Number 1 With Album 'Dark Sky Paradise'

Calvin Harris and Kasabian have been announced as headliners for this year's V Festival. The Scottish DJ and Leicester rockers were head up the bill at Hylands Park and Weston Park and will be joined by Sam Smith, James Bay, Ellie Goulding, The Script, George Ezra, Stereophonics, Olly Murs, Ella Henderson, Kodaline and Cvhrches.

Kasabian will headline this year's V Festival 

Simon Moran, V Festival director, said: "We wanted to champion British talent at this year's festival and with the likes of Calvin and Kasabian leading the way we don't think it'll disappoint. The eclectic mix of established artists and rising stars, with a few more in the pipeline, means that once again there is something for everyone at V Festival."

Continue reading: Calvin Harris And Kasabian To Headline V Festival 2015

Man of the moment Sam Smith makes UK chart history by topping the first Album Chart to also include streams. The star, with his debut album 'In The Lonely Hour', has already had more roaring success this year at both the Brit Awards and the Grammys.

Sam Smith gets 2015 to a very good start

Since the UK's Official Charts Company announced that they would now be including streams, the nation waited with baited breath to discover who would be the first to top the Album Chart in its new arrangement. And we remain unsurprised. Sam Smith has been awarded that victory as both sales and streams from services such as Spotify, Deezer, Google Play, Napster, O2 Tracks, Xbox Music, Rdio and Rara were totted up yesterday.

Continue reading: Sam Smith Is The First UK Album Chart Topper In New Move To Include Streams

Las Vegas rockers Imagine Dragons have landed straight in at the top spot on the Billboard 200 with their second album Smoke + Mirrors. The group, responsible for the enormous 2012 hit ‘Radioactive’, sold 195,000 units of their sophomore effort in the first week, compiled from physical, track and streaming equivalent sales according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The record is also currenly top of the charts in Britain, and is only new entry inside the Top Ten this week. Despite the impressive figures, Smoke + Mirrors has got a way to go before it tops the sales for their first album Night Visions, which to date has sold 2.5 million copies and has only left the Billboard 100 for two of its 129 weeks on sale. ‘Radioactive’, by itself, has sold in excess of nine million copies in the U.S. But that album only made as high as Number 2 during its run.

Imagine Dragons secure their first US Number 1 album with 'Smoke + Mirrors'

Continue reading: Imagine Dragons Enter Billboard Chart At The Top

Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith were the big winners at the Brit Awards. The annual music industry spectacular rewarded the two biggest-selling artists of last year by bestowing two trophies on each on Wednesday night (February 25th).

Sheeran won the two biggest prizes for which he was nominated – those of British Male Solo Artist and Best British Album for his sophomore record X. He beat four other UK Number 1 albums to do so – rival Smith’s In The Lonely Hour, Royal Blood’s self-titled debut, indie stars Alt-J’s This Is All Yours and George Ezra’s slow-burning debut Wanted On Voyage.

Ed Sheeran arriving for Wednesday night's Brit Awards, where he won twice

Continue reading: Ed Sheeran And Sam Smith Win At Brit Awards

Tonight Britain’s finest musical stars (plus a few from across the pond) will gather in London’s O2 for the annual Brit Awards ceremony. With Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Madonna all set to perform, this year’s awards looks to be one of the most star studded in recent years and perhaps even the most memorable.

Can Ed Sheeran expect a big night at the Brits?

The big talking point of the night will probably be the return of the queen of pop Madonna, who will take to the Brits stage to perform ‘Living for Love’ after a 20 year absence from the awards. Always looking for a new way to shock an audience, a source close to the singer told The Mirror last month there was “no better place for a controversy-filled Madonna performance than the Brits.”

Continue reading: So What Can We Expect From Tonight's Brit Awards?

Sam Smith took the music industry by storm in 2014 and garnered a global fan base after the release of his first album, 'In the Lonely Hour' (released May 26th), and after winning four Grammys earlier this month, it seems 2015 is going to be even bigger and better for the British singer.

Sam Smith recently revealed why he is so opne about his personal life

Sam, who is openly gay, recently opened up to the March issue of Vogue magazine about becoming a huge star, what he plans to do in the future and being comfortable about sharing his personal life with the public.

Continue reading: Sam Smith Explains Why Talking About His Personal Life Is “Empowering”

Amazing acts have been announced to perform at this year's T In The Park including Kasabian, Avicii and Fatboy Slim. Despite notorious festivals to match up to, it is looking very likely that this year that T in the Park will blow people away.

T in the Park has moved to it new home in the grounds of Strathallan Castle. Organisers DF Concerts and Tennent's Lager are ecstatic about the festival's first year here, playing host to 85,000 fans this summer. Festival Director Geoff Ellis said: 'This year is going to be a very special one for T in the Park as we make the beautiful grounds of Strathallan Castle our new home, and we're thrilled that some of the biggest artists in the world will be joining us in this historic first year.'

Continue reading: T In The Park 2015 Announces Killer Line-Up For Its New Venue

Has the inspiration behind Sam Smith’s Grammy winning album of heartbreak finally been revealed? Well maybe, as according to reports in UK tabloid The Sun, the unrequited love who inspired many tracks on In The Lonely Hour was none other than the singer’s manager, Elvin Smith.

Has the inspiration behind In the Lonely Hour finally been revealed?

Earlier this month the British singer cleaned up at the Grammys, taking home four awards including Record of the Year, which he dedicated to an unnamed former love. "Thank you so much for breaking my heart because I got four Grammys," the singer said during his acceptance speech.

Continue reading: Was Sam Smith's Manager The Unrequited Love Who Inspired 'In The Lonely Hour'?

Since The Wanted decided to take a lengthy break, the boy band's youngest member Nathan Sykes is currently attempting have a go at being a solo artist and he is in the midst of recording his debut album.

Sykes is currently recording his debut solo album

The 21-year-old singer defiantly wants to make a statement with his first solo venture as he is trying to acquire the help of the recent 4-time Grammy winner, and fellow Brit, Sam Smith for a collaboration.

Continue reading: The Wanted’s Nathan Sykes Hoping To Collaborate With Sam Smith

Sam Smith had a phenomenal year as an artist since bursting on the scene as BBC’s number one Sound of 2014 and it doesn’t look like he’s planning to stop in 2015.

Sam Smith sets out his dreams for gay marriage

His new single, Lay Me Down, a re-release after its first release in 2013, had its video released yesterday which features a funeral and a gay marriage.

Continue reading: Sam Smith Outlines His Dreams For Gay Marriage In Lay Me Down

Sam Smith was arguably the music industry's biggest breakout star of 2014, which is proven by the fact that the British singer has received six nominations for this year's Grammy Awards, but his journey to success wasn't as easy as people may assume.

Smith came out to the world just as his career was taking off last year

Apart from being a very talented performer, Smith was also in the spotlight last year for coming out as a gay man just as his career was beginning to blossom, but when the 22-year-old star recently spoke with Rolling Stone, he revealed that he first referred to himself as a homosexual at 13-years-old.

Continue reading: Sam Smith Recalls Tough Anti-Gay Experience, And Rejection From His First Love

Rockers Fall Out Boy have scored their third US Number 1 album, the latest Billboard 200 chart reveals. The group’s sixth studio album American Beauty / American Psycho shifted 218,000 units across all formats during the week ending January 25th, according to figures given by Nielsen SoundScan.

The new record knocked Meghan Trainor’s debut Title, which sold 86,000, down to Number 3, and fended off non-mover Taylor Swift at Number 2 with 119,000 units. It marks the first time since 2010 that a January sales month, typically a quiet time for major releases, has seen two albums debut at the top with sales of over 150,000.

Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy, who top the US Billboard charts this week

Continue reading: Fall Out Boy Score Third U.S. Number 1 Abum

The 57th Grammy Awards is due to feature a number of high profile collaborations, but the biggest announcement may be still to come. Rumour has it that Rihanna, Kanye West and Sir Paul McCartney will be performing a live rendition of RiRi’s new single ‘FourFiveSeconds’.

The unlikely trio will reportedly take to the stage at the ceremony in Los Angeles next weekend. A source has told ‘The Sun’ newspaper: “Rihanna's seriously pleased to have bagged a big slot at The Grammys and two huge names to kick off her comeback. Paul McCartney's a Grammys regular and it will give Rihanna serious kudos to have a Beatle backing her on stage. It is going to be a huge Grammys moment.”

Rihanna will apparently launch her comeback at the Grammys alongside Kanye and the Beatles legend

Continue reading: Rihanna, Kanye And Macca Rumoured To Perform Together At Grammys

Sam Smith was arguably the music industry's biggest breakout star of 2014, and with becoming a huge success it seems the British singer's confidence is at an all-time high - especially when he talks about his bright future.

Sam wants to be the biggest star in the music industry

After the release of his first album, 'In the Lonely Hour' (released May 26th), which includes the singles 'Stay With Me' and 'I'm Not the Only One,' Sam quickly became a global star. But when the hit maker recently spoke with GQ magazine, he is adamant this is just the beginning.

Continue reading: Sam Smith Opens Up About Career Ambitions: "I Want To Be The Biggest Star In The World"

U.S rocker Tom Petty and ELO's Jeff Lynne have been added as writers of Sam Smith's mega-hit Stay With Me after an out-of-court settlement last October. Both songwriters now hold 12.5 per cent credits each after similarities were discovered between Smith's chart-topping ballad and Petty's chugging rock track I Won't Back Down, co-written with Lynne.

Sam Smith is now listed as a co-writer of Stay With Me, with Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne - who penned I Won't Back Down

"Recently the publishers for the song "I Won't Back Down," written by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, contacted the publishers for "Stay With Me," written by Sam Smith, James Napier and William Phillips, about similarities heard in the melodies of the choruses of the two compositions," a representative for Smith told The Independent.

Continue reading: Why Is Sam Smith Paying Tom Petty Royalties For 'Stay With Me'?

The nominees for this year’s GLAAD Media Awards have just been announced, with Sam Smith, 'Transparent' and The Imitation Game all being recognised. The annual awards, which recognises and honours media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, are now in their 26th year.

Sam Smith has been nominated in the outstanding music artist category

ABC leads as the broadcast network with the most nominations at six, while HBO has the most nods of any cable network with five. For the first time in the award's history the outstanding drama series and comedy series categories have been expanded, taking the maximum nominees from five to 10.

Continue reading: Sam Smith, 'Transparent' And 'The Imitation Game' Lead The Way, As The 2015 GLAAD Media Awards Nominees Are Announced

The 2015 Brit Award nominations have finally been announced with, it seems, a few surprises alongside the obvious candidates. There's no prizes for guessing who's come out on top for this year's list of award-winning possibles.

Sam Smith leads nominations

Awards season rears its ominous head for another year, with some major ceremonies - in both film and music - having already taken place. We've seen prizes sent out for 2014's films; I.e. Golden Globes, the Critics' Choice Awards, People's Choice Awards, AFI Honours; and now it's time for music, with the BBC Sound of 2015 having already taken place and now The Brits and the Grammys have unveiled their candidates.

Continue reading: Brit Awards 2015 Nominations Announced: Sam Smith, George Ezra And Royal Blood Are Major Contenders

It’s been a very good year for British music! For the first time ever, the top ten best-selling albums of 2014 in the UK consists exclusively of home-grown artists.

According to figures compiled by the BPI, the British music industry’s trade body, British artists have enjoyed huge dominance in the charts over the last twelve months. The top spot was taken by a clear distance by Ed Sheeran with his second album X, which is currently sitting at the Number 1 spot in the weekly charts for the twelfth non-consecutive week.

Ed Sheeran was the biggest-selling album artist of 2014, with 1.7 million copies of X sold

Continue reading: British Artists Dominate UK's Top 10 Albums Of 2014

Sam Smith, the multi-award winning British singer, says he never considered auditioning for TV shows like The X-Factor because he caused them "damaging" for songwriters. Smith is one of the most successful artists of the past year and is tipped to be singing the theme song for the next Bond movie.

Sam Smith is one of the most successful British artists of the past five years

Speaking to the Mirror, Smith said it "was a very conscious decision for me not to audition. It is for people, and it isn't for people." The "Stay With Me" singer said the show was "perfect for singers who sing, and that's all they want to do," but that ultimately "[y]ou're singing other people's songs. People are judging you on other people's music."

Continue reading: Sam Smith: "X-Factor Is Damaging For Songwriters"

Hot on the heels of their recent tour supporting chart sensations Sam Smith and Clean Bandit, UK band Years & Years prepare to embark on their own sell-out headline tour in February 2015, while attempting to finish their highly anticipated debut album.

Years & Years have a very busy year ahead of them

Years & Years first started creating a buzz back in 2012 with their debut single 'I Wish I Knew', and while their unique brand of synthpop is truly a breath of fresh air, so is their attitude towards the music industry, having released a series of free downloads alongside their singles in recent times. 'We're precious about what we make but we're not that precious about the internet and stuff because I think that's just the way it is, and it's kind of cool. 'I kind of enjoy that', says keyboardist Emre Turkmen, about giving away their music for free. 'You want people to hear it', frontman Olly Alexander says in agreement.

Continue reading: Years And Years Aren't 'Precious' About Releasing Free Downloads