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Lana Del Rey and Courtney LoveLana Del Rey is inspired by Courtney Love.

The "Summertime Sadness" hitmaker has always looked up to the Hole frontwoman and rock 'n' roll legend, so feels proud to count her among her friends these days:

"Courtney Love's a big inspiration. I like her, I talk to her a lot. I just went her show ... when she was playing in London. I like people who are similar to her, like Joni Mitchell types or Stevie Nicks, who are both strong female characters."

The 27-year-old star was strongly influenced by jazz legends Nina Simone and Billie Holliday on her second album Ultraviolence, and hopes she has done their musical legacy justice. Speaking on France Inter radio station's Laura Leishman Project show, she said, "It has a Pacific coast feel to me, I think it's guitar driven, there are references to Nina Simone. That's why I ended the track listing with a cover of 'The Other Woman.' I am inspired by early jazz culture. It's a West coast jazz fusion with a little bit of East coast fever."

Gallery: Courtney Love Inspires Lana Del Rey


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AdeleAdele has finished work on her third album.

The "Skyfall" singer has been busy in the studio, and fans won't have to wait long for her much-anticipated new record with reports it has been completed and is ready for release.

"The album is written, recorded and finished. Theoretically it could be released tomorrow if she wanted," a source said.

It is said Adele and her label are considering bringing out the album with little fanfare and no "publicity campaign," in a similar way to how Beyonce released her self-titled record earlier this year. "The plan is to release internationally on iTunes as a complete surprise without any previous promotion or build-up publicity campaign. The shock tactics worked amazingly well for Beyonce and the feeling is Adele's new album is so widely anticipated it doesn't need a long promotional build-up," the insider added.

Click to continue reading Adele Finished Recording Third Album

Gallery: Adele Finished Recording Third Album


Prince Rita Ora

Prince's new album features a duet with Rita Ora.

The "Purple Rain" hitmaker gave one lucky reporter from the Minneapolis Star Tribune a preview of his as yet untitled upcoming album, which is expected to be released later this year and includes a "rare rap song" he recorded with the British pop sensation. Prince went on to reveal he wants to release the track, described as "aggressive and menacing," as soon as possible for it to stay current because "time is money" for celebrities like Rita who could make cash "walking out of the house wearing a certain kind of makeup or sunglasses."

Click to continue reading Prince Recorded Rap with Rita Ora

Gallery: Prince Recorded Rap with Rita Ora


LordeLorde claims she's working on a new album which is "totally different" than her debut record.

The 17-year-old singer, who achieved global success with her album Pure Heroine, feels she has grown as an artist and writer in the past year and thinks her new material is more mature.

"I think I've learned so much as a songwriter, there's going to be so much of an improvement because of that. I'm working on stuff quite tentatively, it's definitely still at the beginning and yeah, it's totally different," she said.

The star claims she wrote her debut album about her life in New Zealand before she became famous and people who have always been close to her, whereas her new material looks at a time after she found success and how she is now part of the showbiz world: "I wrote the last album about that world which was the suburb where I grew up and populated by my friends and people who were really familiar to me. Now I'm in a different place every day and I'm with new people every day and it's a different vibe."

Gallery: Lorde: My New Material Is Totally Different


Pharrell Williams Prince

Pharrell Williams wants to work with the Prince.

The "Happy" hitmaker insists it would be a dream to team up with the "Purple Rain" hitmaker and get into the studio to work on material: "I'd love to work with Prince. I would love to work with Steely Dan, Donald Fagen, I'd love to work with Elton John ... [Prince] makes us wonder why we all do this."

Click to continue reading Pharrell Williams: I Want to Work with Prince

Gallery: Pharrell Williams: I Want to Work with Prince


MIranda Lambert and BeyonceMiranda Lambert wants to duet with Beyonce.

The country star's ideal team up would be with the "Single Ladies" star, as she's blown away by her vocal abilities. When asked about her dream duet, she replied, "Beyonce! I've seen her in concert five times."

However, for her new record, Platinum, the "Automatic" singer was very happy to sing with fellow country beauty Carrie Underwood on "Something Bad." She explained, "I sent her a rambling email asking her to do it. I figured she'd think I was crazy, but she wrote straight back saying she was in. I was so nervous the day she ended up coming to the studio. We ended up having a blast."

The 30-year-old singer also sings about putting on weight in the track "Gravity's A B****," but says she wrote the track to stay ahead of the game: "My fans expect me to lay it all out! I've always been happy with myself. But when I hit 30 I thought, it's not getting easier. So I chose to get ahead of it. There's still nothing I love more than a bag of Cheetos though."

Gallery: Miranda Lambert Dreams of Beyonce Duet


Lady GagaLady Gaga wants Justin Bieber's manager to help save her career.

The "Do What U Want" hitmaker is considering getting help from Scooter Braun, who helped Justin to become a global superstar, after being left disappointed by the sales of her last album Artpop, while her latest track "G.U.Y." didn't even made the American Top 40.

"If anyone can help Gaga now it's Scooter. He's one of the smartest blokes in the music industry and made Bieber into the biggest pop star on the planet. There are a few options for her but Scooter is one of them," a source said.

The 28-year-old singer parted ways with her former manager Troy Carter last year citing "creative differences" and she hired Bobby Campbell, who used to work for her original team.

Click to continue reading Lady Gaga to Call in Bieber’s Manager

Gallery: Lady Gaga to Call in Bieber’s Manager


Taylor SwiftTaylor Swift has canceled her upcoming concert in Thailand due to the political unrest in the country.

The "I Knew You Were Trouble" singer was due to perform in Bangkok on June 9 but has decided to pull the plug on the show now the Far East nation is under military rule following the army's coup last week.

Taylor, 24, took to Twitter to express her regret over the canceled concert, tweeting, "I'm sending my love to the fans in Thailand. I'm so sad about the concert being canceled."

Concert promoter BEC-Tero posted a statement on its website confirming that Taylor would not be appearing in Bangkok. The statement revealed that "due to recent events in Thailand" the musician would not be coming to Bangkok but it was "a difficult decision for all parties."

The next stop on Taylor's Red Tour is the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, on May 30.

Gallery: Taylor Swift Cancels Concert in Thailand


Quincy JonesQuincy Jones has blasted the new Michael Jackson album Xscape.

The legendary producer - who masterminded some of the late singer's biggest hits - thinks the posthumous recording was only released to "make money."

"It's about money. They're trying to make money. And I understand it. Everybody's after money, the estate, the lawyers. It's about money," he said.

Quincy admitted it "bothers" him to see so much of the 'Thriller' star's previously-unreleased music being made public but has learned to accept it has nothing to do with him. When asked if he was bothered by the recordings, he told Jian Ghomeshi's Q talk show on CBC Radio, "Yeah, but it's not my business anymore. They're not our business."

Quincy's comments come months after he launched a $10 million breach-of-contract lawsuit in relation to the recordings released after the "Billie Jean" star's death in June 2009. He alleged master recordings he had worked on were wrongfully edited and remixed so as to deprive him of back-end profit participation. He also claimed he had been denied credit for his work and that MJJ Productions and Sony Music have entered into deals taking profits that should have been included in the calculation of royalties.

Gallery: Quincy Jones Blasts Michael Jackson Album


One DirectionOne Direction have announced a new tour for 2015.

The "You & I" heartthrobs - who are currently on their Where We Are stadium world tour - are set to visit South Africa and the United Arab Emirates for the first time next year as part of their On the Road Again tour. The jaunt marks the group's second stadium tour and will kick off in Australia in February 2015 for their first shows in the country in two years.

The boys - Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson - will perform in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, before jetting off to Asia at the end of February for gigs in Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia. March will see the "Best Song Ever" hitmakers visit South Africa for the first time to perform two gigs at Johannesburg's FNB Stadium, followed by a concert at the Cape Town Stadium in Cape Town. On April 4, 2015, the boy band will head to Dubai for their first gig in the country.

The busy stars recently kicked off their third world tour in South America and are due to begin the UK and Ireland leg this week. The latest tour will travel across Europe and North America over the summer, culminating in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 1.

Gallery: One Direction Announces 2015 Tour


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