OHMYGOSSIP — Depeche Mode have dismissed speculation Alan Wilder is set to rejoin the band in place of the late Andy Fletcher.
The ‘Walking in My Shoes’ hitmakers were left stunned last May when the keyboardist died suddenly at the age of 60, and since then, fans have questioned whether the former member, who quit in 1995, will be returning to perform alongside Dave Gahan and Martin Gore.
Martin told The Sun newspaper: “I try to block it out — it’s just fan stuff. The fans love us, but we can never win.
“We haven’t spoken to Alan about it and I don’t think Alan would even want to rejoin. We haven’t even considered it.”
The duo admitted the death of their friend and bandmate still hasn’t sunk in.
Dave said: “It still doesn’t feel real. Every time we do something, I expect Fletch to walk in the room. Doing a TV show, having photos taken or making a music video with Anton Corbijn, all these things are now very different.”
Martin added: ” “Andy was my best friend — I’ve known him for so long.
“We went to school together before the band, so I’ve known him for 50 years.
“His death came completely out of the blue — no health issues that anybody knew about.
“It’s hard for those left behind to deal with it.”
Meanwhile, Dave admitted he had questioned whether the group still had a future before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
He said: “There’s a point where you feel it’s enough and maybe the band is coming to an end. And I felt like that before we started this record.
“Being in this band is a tall order for family and friends, too. You’ve got to throw your whole self into it — I can’t do it any other way. I set the bar so high myself when it comes to making music and going on tour.
“And a Depeche Mode tour is like f****** a military operation. Everything about the show takes all of me. I don’t have any energy for anything else and that affects my family too.
“So that was something I had to consider like, ‘Guys, what do you think?’”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Demi Lovato is releasing a rock version of their pop hit ‘Heart Attack’.
The 30-year-old star swapped pop for rock on their latest LP, ‘HOLY FVCK’, and now they are set to release a new cut of the 2013 track from their fourth album ‘Demi’ in that vein.
Fans can get their ears around the heavier version on Friday (24.03.23).
Alongside a clip of the old version spun into the rock cut, Demi tweeted: “Heart Attack, but make it Rock. 3.24.”
Demi – who uses both they/them and she/her pronouns – revealed they was back in the studio in December, just three months after releasing their record.
Around the release of their album, Demi revealed their “dream collaboration” is still Hayley Williams.
The ‘Sorry Not Sorry’ singer was inspired to switch up their sound by noughties pop rock stars Kelly Clarkson, Ashlee Simpson and Hayley’s band Paramore.
And while discussing the heavier direction of their LP, Demi put it out into the world that they would still very much like to duet with the ‘Misery Business’ group’s lead singer.
Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, they said: “One influence that really changed where I wanted to go directionally into music was Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Since U Been Gone’. It was a monster record. And I saw the transformation of her as an artist go from R’n’B soul pop to pop rock. And I was like, wait, that’s what I want to do. And there’s also Ashlee Simpson ‘LaLa’, and I was like, I want to do that. So I got inspired and then I found bands like Paramore and Flyleaf. I’ve known Hayley since … I think I met her when I was 15. She seems like the type of person that would be pulling for me during those times. But yeah. I didn’t get to know her that well, but she’s one of my biggest influences vocally. Oh my God. I mean she’s still my dream collaboration. It’s never happened, but she’s still my dream collaboration. To be honest, I gave up on that dream collaboration. So I didn’t say it for years, but that’s always been my dream collaboration.”
Demi admitted the album gave them the “freedom to express” themself in ways they “didn’t know were possible”.
In a typed-out note to fans on Twitter, Demi said: “HOLY FVCK gave me the freedom to express myself in ways I didn’t know were possible and find joy I’d been missing when making music.
It’s cathartic and grounded, yet exhilarating and a hell of a good time.
“I don’t know where I’ll be in life in a year, or in five or 10 years – but what I do know is that this record is exactly where I am now, and I am damn proud of it. I hope everyone who listens is too. (sic)”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Madonna is working on new music with Max Martin.
The Queen of Pop has been penning new tunes with the Swedish producer and songwriter – who has written and produced hits for the likes of Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Adele, Katy Perry, and The Weeknd – ahead of ‘The Celebration Tour’.
In a message to her critics, Madonna tweeted alongside a studio snap of the pair: “When in doubt go to work.
“Nothing shuts down the noise or the naysayers More then being in the creative process !! (sic)”
The ‘Frozen’ hitmaker’s last studio album was 2019’s ‘Madame X’.
‘The Celebration Tour’ is due to kick off on July 15 in Vancouver, Canada.
And Madonna recently teased that she is set to add more dates to her global jaunt to mark her 40th anniversary.
The ‘Vogue’ hitmaker is already set for a mammoth greatest hits run across the US, Canada, Europe, and the UK, but more dates are expected to be added.
Alongside a clip of the star strutting to The Queens’ remix of Beyonce’s ‘Break My Soul’, Madonna teased in the caption: “New tour dates being announced soon……… !!#madonnacelebrationtour.”
The ‘Material Girl’ hitmaker is putting “everything” she’s got into the show.
A source said recently: “Madonna is putting absolutely everything into this show and is laser-focused on making it a spectacle which the fans will adore. Every single detail is being thought over at length. It will be well worth the wait.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Nelly Furtado has returned to the studio.
The ‘I’m Like a Bird’ hitmaker hasn’t released an album since 2017’s ‘The Ride’.
However, over the weekend she shared a studio clip with Canadian artist Charlotte Day Wilson – who is known for her collaborations with Daniel Caesar, River Tiber, and BadBadNotGood.
Nelly, 44, could be seen swinging in a chair as Charlotte sang at the piano on the Instagram Story.
She sang: “Slow, slow, slow it down.”
Nelly mouthed the lyrics and captioned the clip: “GOAT energy.”
The ‘Say It Right’ hitmaker’s last album was released on her own record label, Nelstar Music.
Nelly previously explained how she believes feeling “broken” led her to “write good stuff”, which she is “hands down more proud” of than anything she has penned before, on ‘The Ride’.
She said in 2017: “I came [into the studio] broken. I came there really empty. As cliché as it is, when you’re really going through it, it can be so good for songwriting. I hate saying that, because then people feel like they have to go through adversity to write good stuff, which I don’t think is true … but I’m hands down more proud of these lyrics than any lyrics I’ve ever written.”
Meanwhile, the Grammy winner previously vowed to continue “following [her] heart” and be “authentic” so she doesn’t end up with any regrets.
She said: “I’m definitely not into regret as a concept. I’ve always pretty much tried to live by following my heart, and I feel like if you’re following your heart and you’re being authentic in the moment, you can’t ever really regret anything.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Raye wants to form a rock band with Charli XCX, Rina Sawayama and Ivorian Doll.
The ‘Escapism’ hitmaker – who became an independent artist after parting ways with her former record company Polydor – has admitted she would love to team up with the alternative pop pair and rapper on a rock supergroup.
Speaking to POPSUGAR, she said: “Rina Sawayama, Charli XCX, and Ivorian Doll. I feel like that would be a really dope, brilliant rock band.”
The 25-year-old star admits being an independent artist is exhausting – but she is loving every second.
She said of the success of her debut album ‘My 21st Century Blues: “It felt and feels amazing. A long time coming.
“I’m honestly just really grateful – tired – but very, very grateful. It’s been very overwhelming, but beautiful.”
After the success of the hit single ‘Escapism’ with 070 Shake, Raye admits she’s not giving herself any “expectations” and is just enjoying herself.
She explained: “I think I set my expectation before this year on not to expect anything, to just have a good time, and then everything’s blown up in a great way.
“So I’m so grateful, but I just want to make sure I enjoy myself. There’s a lot of work coming in and it’s a dream to be booked and busy. There’s no point doing all of this work if I’m not enjoying it too and taking it in, and reflecting on how far we’ve come.”
Raye departed the major label after she claimed bosses stopped her from releasing her debut album for several years.
She alleged that she would have only been allowed to put out a full-length LP if her single, ‘Call On Me’, did well in the charts.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Busted have teased a big announcement this Friday (23.03.23).
The pop trio – comprising Charlie Simpson, James Bourne and Matt Willis – have changed all of the band’s social media banners to include the date of March 23, cryptically teasing that they are set to announce their comeback later this week.
The ‘Year 3000’ hitmakers went back to their pop punk roots on their latest LP, 2019’s ‘Half Way There’, but freshened up their sound.
James was previously asked how they can top the record – which reached number two in the Official UK Chart – and he explained that their new music will be even “better” as they are enjoying being in the band again.
When one fan asked when their next record will be out, he replied on Twitter: “Our albums will keep getting better. Trust me on that. I feel like we’re just finding our rhythm.”
And when another said: “How can they honestly get better than they are now? HALF WAY THERE IS THE BEST! (sic)”, he wrote back: “They will get better.”
Another user tweeted that they hope they don’t “lose their Busted vibe”, to which he replied: “The vibe is here to stay.”
Busted got more experimental on ‘Night Driver’, which came almost 11 years after they first split up, and they previously admitted that their latest record is the album they always wanted to make.
Appearing on ITV’s ‘This Morning’ in 2019, he said: “We had a great time, there’s a lot of fond memories. But I think doing it again now, I feel like we’re having a much better time because we’re completely in control with what we’re doing.
“To be honest, this album has been a bit of a moment for us. We sort of made the album that never was, I feel like this is the seminal Busted album.”
Fans recently saw Charlie, 37, on ‘The Masked Singer UK’, which he won as Rhino.
James, 39, released his latest solo album, ‘Sugar Beach’, last year.
And Matt, also 39, has continued working in theatre and TV and has opened up about his experiences with addiction in the BBC documentary, ‘Matt Willis: Addiction And Me’.

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OHMYGOSSIP — BRIT Award-winners FLO have teamed up with Missy Elliott on their upcoming track.
‘Fly Girl’, which is released on Thursday (23.03.23), samples the rap legend’s 2002 hit ‘Work It’ and also features Missy, 51, herself.
Sharing their iMessage conversation with the hip-hop icon, the girls teased on Twitter: “You ready @MissyElliott?”
The ‘Cardboard Box’ hitmakers – comprising Stella Quaresma, Jorja Douglas and Renée Downer – asked: “We’ve been thinking… It’s time to drop this.”
And Missy replied: “Let’s go!”
Meanwhile, the ‘Losing You’ singers have set their sights on a headline slot at America’s Coachella festival, and back home, they’d like to see themselves on the cover of British Vogue magazine.
Renée said of their aspirations in an interview with Metro’s Guilty Pleasures column: “Headline Coachella. Ooh, cover of British Vogue. Edward Enninful, if you’re listening, get in touch.”
FLO were “so shocked and grateful” to be honoured with the BRITs Rising Star award earlier this year.
They said in a statement: “From growing up watching the BRITs, to finding each other and forming FLO, releasing our first body of work in 2022, and winning a BRIT award in the same year! We are so shocked and grateful. We are the first group to win the BRITs Rising Star!
“We’ve just made history and couldn’t have done it without our wonderful fans and supportive families. It’s truly a dream come true. We feel so empowered creating the music we love and we hope others feel that too.”
The group rose to prominence after releasing their 1990s-influenced debut ‘Cardboard Box’ last year.

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OHMYGOSSIP — The 1975 are “more than ready” to take on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.
The pop rock band – which consists of Matty Healy, Adam Hann, Ross MacDonald, and George Daniel – has enjoyed huge success with five number one albums over the last decade and an insider has now claimed that it is almost certain that they will be taking to the main stage at the annual Worthy Farm festival in 2024.
An insider told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “The 1975 have wanted to play Glasto for a couple of years and feel they’re more than ready for the Pyramid stage. The Arctic Monkeys were booked for this year so it wasn’t possible for them to be on the line-up. Glasto boss Emily Eavis is keen to have them on board too. Fans will have to wait until this time next year to get the official nod on it but it’s pretty much a done deal.”
The ‘About You’ hitmakers have played the festival a total of three times, including on The Others stage in 2016, but lead vocalist Matty previously explained that getting the chance to stand on the Pyramid stage – which has seen the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Diana Ross and Kylie Minogue perform on it in recent years – would be a turning point for them as a band.
He told Radio 1: “It’s such an amazing thing to do as a band. That would probably be the only gig I feel like we need to do before it kind of all changes.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Sir Elton John had no idea what his mega-hit ‘Rocket Man’ was about until just recently.
The 1972 pop classic was co-written with the 75-year-old music legend’s long-time songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, who has shared with the ‘I’m Still Standing’ hitmaker the astronaut story that inspired the space-themed song, some five decades after its release – and Elton confessed he “never knew that”.
In a clip shared on the ‘Tiny Dancer’ hitmaker’s Instagram page, Elton said: “‘Rocket Man’ was our first-ever number-one record I think. And it was on the ‘Honky Chateau’ record.
“It was a pretty easy song to write a melody to because it’s a song about space so it’s quite a spacious song.”
Bernie, 72, then shared: “It was actually a song inspired by Ray Bradbury from his book of science-fiction short stories called ‘The Illustrated Man’.
“In that book, there was a story called ‘The Rocket Man’, which was about how astronauts in the future would become sort of an everyday job so I kinda took that idea and ran with it.”
A surprised Elton replied: “Do you know, I never knew that…”
Bernie’s ‘Rocket Man’ revelation comes after it was revealed he is set to lift the lid on his career with Elton in a new book.
Elton previously wrote about their songwriting partnership in his 2019 autobiography ‘Me’, and now, Bernie is to tell his side of the story in ‘Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton, And Me’, which is described as a ‘nonlinear’ recollection of his time in the music industry.
Bernie said of the book: “It was never my intention to write a traditional A to Z autobiography. I began a few years back composing essays and observations on my life that ultimately gained momentum and started to look like a book. From then on, it became a long, arduous task that was both exhilarating and liberating. It was also a lot of fun and immensely beneficial in blowing the dust off a lot of what I’d forgotten about.”
He added of the finished product: “Hopefully, there’s something in it for everybody. It’s contemplative, self-assessing, and attempts to stay off the beaten path in not regurgitating what’s already been written. Nonlinear, it’s an exploratory trip bouncing back and forth along the decades.”
His publishers added in a statement: “Readers visit Los Angeles with Bernie and Elton on the cusp of global fame. We spend time in Australia at an infamous rock ‘n’ roll hotel in an endless blizzard of drugs and spend late-night hours with John Lennon, Bob Marley, and Frank Sinatra. And beyond the world of popular music, we witness memorable encounters with writers like Graham Greene, painters like Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali …
“And of course, even if they’re not famous in their own right, they are stars on the page, and we discover how they inspired the indelible lyrics to songs such as ‘Tiny Dancer’, ‘Candle in the Wind’, Bennie and The Jets’, and so many more.”
The tome is due for release in September.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Halle Bailey has reassured fans she and her sister Chlöe Bailey are still a duo “musically” and have a new album on the way.
The 22-year-old singer-actress has been focused on her acting, including her upcoming titular role in ‘The Little Mermaid’ remake, while her 24-year-old sibling is preparing to release her debut solo album, ‘In Pieces’, at the end of the month.
Chloe x Halle’s last studio album was 2020’s ‘Ungodly Hour’, and they are reuniting to work on a follow-up.
Halle told POPSUGAR: “My sister and I are very, very excited to work on our new album together, as well as just let these amazing solo projects come out for both of us.”
The sisters are each other’s biggest supporters.
On their respective solo ventures, she said: “This journey has been a really beautiful one. My sister and I are so close, she’s like my arm … And she’s my biggest supporter. I’m her biggest supporter. We’re just really excited to be able to be doing all of this together and for this all to be happening. I’m so proud of her. And her album comes out March 31, ‘In Pieces,’ and everyone should be so hyped for it.”
Meanwhile, Halle said she would love to collaborate on music with her ‘The Color Purple’ co-star H.E.R..
She gushed: “I really am adoring what the women of today are doing, like Summer Walker, H.E.R., and my sister Chlöe.
“There’s so many amazing Black women that are just killing it right now that I would love to collaborate with in the

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OHMYGOSSIP — Ed Sheeran is going to leave a posthumous album in his will.
The ‘Bad Habits’ hitmaker has revealed he is going to continue adding songs to his final record, which will be released once he’s left this world.
Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, he said: “I want to slowly make this album that is quote-unquote ‘perfect’ for the rest of my life, adding songs here and there. And just have it in my will that after I die, it comes out.”
The 32-year-old pop megastar made the admission as he spoke for the first time about having suicidal thoughts following the deaths of his best friends Jamal Edwards and Shane Warne within weeks of each other.
‘The A-Team’ singer was left devastated by the February 2022 passing of music producer Jamal – the son of ‘Loose Women’ star Brenda Edwards – who died after a cardiac arrest brought on by cocaine and alcohol, and has now said the death a month later of his cricketer pal Shane aged 52 left him feeling like he was “drowning” in his life-long fight with depression.
The dad-of-two – who has daughters Lyra, two, and 10-month-old Jupiter with his 30-year-old wife Cherry Seaborn – also told Rolling Stone about how he developed an eating disorder as he compared himself to toned pop stars such as Justin Bieber.
He told the publication: “My best friend died. And he shouldn’t have done. I’ve always had real lows in my life. But it wasn’t really till last year that I actually addressed it.
“I felt like I didn’t want to live anymore. And I have had that throughout my life.… you’re under the waves drowning.
“You’re just sort of in this thing. And you can’t get out of it.”
Ed added being depressed made him feel “selfish” as a father.
He said about seeking help: “No one really talks about their feelings where I come from. People think it’s weird getting a therapist in England…. I think it’s very helpful to be able to speak with someone and just vent and not feel guilty about venting.
“The help isn’t a button that is pressed, where you’re automatically OK. It is something that will always be there and just has to be managed.”
The pop star said he struggled with his body image after collaborating with the likes of Justin and Shawn Mendes and admitted he started “gorging” on food before vomiting it up.
He added: “I’m self-conscious anyway, but you get into an industry where you’re getting compared to every other pop star.
“I was in the One Direction wave, and I’m like, ‘Well, why don’t I have a six-pack?’
“And I was like, ‘Oh because you love kebabs and drink beer.’ Then you do songs with Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes. All these people have fantastic figures.
“And I was always like, ‘Well, why am I so… fat?’ So I found myself doing what Elton (John) talks about in his book — gorging, and then it would come up again.
“I have a real eating problem. I’m a real binge eater. I’m a binge-everything. But I’m now more of a binge exerciser, and a binge dad. And work, obviously.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Bastille are marking the 10th anniversary of their debut album ‘Bad Blood’ with a special performance at Kew Gardens.
Dan Smith and co will play the summer concert series Kew the Music in South London on July 11 to celebrate the acclaimed 2013 LP.
Gig-goers can expect to hear the album performed in its entirety alongside other fan-favourites.
This year will also see performances from Jack Savoretti, The Human League, Haçienda Classical, and Jools Holland and His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, with further artists to be announced.
The pop group – also including Kyle Simmons, Will Farquarson and Chris ‘Woody’ Wood – were catapulted into the limelight when ‘Bad Blood’ and its lead single ‘Pompeii’ shot to the top of the charts, and they’ve insisted from the very start that they never set out to seek fame.
Speaking to Southampton’s community-run site In Common previously, frontman Dan said: “That’s been a preoccupation of ours, right from the beginning.
“We never expected to be a mainstream band. Obviously, we wanted people to listen to our music and come to our shows, but we didn’t think we’d ever be in the charts. When ‘Pompeii’ and the first album blew up, it was such a shock and it didn’t feel that real, and I think it was a preoccupation of ours to sort of separate that from our actual lives.”
Tickets for Bastille’s Kew the Music show will go on sale at 10am on Thursday (23.03.23) via KewTheMusic.org.

The line-up so far:
TUESDAY 11TH JULY – BASTILLE
THURSDAY 13TH JULY – JACK SAVORETTI
FRIDAY 14TH JULY – THE HUMAN LEAGUE
SATURDAY 15TH JULY – HAÇIENDA CLASSIÇAL
SUNDAY 16TH JULY – JOOLS HOLLAND AND HIS RHYTHM AND BLUES ORCHESTRA

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OHMYGOSSIP — Boy George and his Culture Club bandmates have been ordered to fork out £1.75 million to former bandmember Jon Moss in their High Court battle.
Last year, Moss – who was a founding member of the ‘Karma Chameleon’ hitmakers – alleged that the 61-year-old singer, guitarist Roy Hay, also 61, and bassist Michael Craig, 63, had defrauded him out of $246,000 (£201,000), after being expelled from the group in 2018 by their manager.
Moss claimed he was owed the “outstanding balance” under the contract he signed for their ‘Life Tour’.
He then claimed each band member would receive a fee of $600,000 (£491,000) for up to 80 concerts.
Moss also stated he had run up legal costs amounting to £1 million and accused the trio of being “determined to keep (him) out of sums to which he is entitled, reflecting decades of service for the band, for as long as possible.”
Culture Club were set for a six-day trial next week to establish how much Culture Club has profited and how much Moss is owed.
However, a court order was issued on Tuesday (21.03.23) meaning they will have to pay the hefty sum to the 65-year-old former drummer.
Further to this, Mrs. Justice Joanna Smith said Moss will not be allowed to use the Culture Club name.
This means the musicians will no longer have to fight it out in court.
Moss starred in the band for 37 years, and he previously claimed that he was responsible for the Culture Club name.
He said: “It was Caravan Club and then it was something unmentionable. Then I came up with Culture Club because of all the different people in the band.”
Mos and George – real name George O’Dowd – embarked on a relationship at the height of Culture Club’s success in the 1980s, although the romance was kept under wraps at the time.
Their relationship ended in 1986 just before the group split.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Alice Cooper is featured on his touring guitarist Nita Strauss’ new song ‘Winner Takes All’.
The axe-slayer says it’s “truly an honour” to have her “boss and friend” sing on the “modern rock track” from her upcoming second album – a follow-up to 2018’s ‘Controlled Chaos’ – which is out now.
Nita said in a statement: “When we were working on the music for this album, there was no question that I wanted to create a song to collaborate with my longtime boss and friend, the legendary Alice Cooper. I think the track accomplishes what we set out to do — showcase Alice’s voice and signature style on the backdrop of a heavy, modern rock track. After many years of lending my style of playing to Alice’s music on stage, it was truly an honour to work together and hear his voice on one of my songs!”
Nita has just re-joined the ‘Poison’ hitmaker’s touring band.
The 36-year-old rocker was part of the group – which also includes Ryan Roxie, Tommy Henricksen, Chuck Garric, and Glen Sobel – from 2014 until 2022, but took time out to be part of pop star Demi Lovato’s touring line-up.
Alice and Nita will reunite on the ‘School’s Out’ rocker’s upcoming ‘Too Close For Comfort’ North American tour, which kicks off on April 28 in Michigan.
Alice and co will also hit the road with Rob Zombie on the ‘Freaks On Parade’ tour.
The 75-year-old rocker said of Nita’s return: “She’s Back! Nita asked for a leave of absence to work with someone else, something I always encourage my band members to do. I like them to challenge themselves and try new things. I’m thankful to my old friend Kane Roberts for stepping up and filling in for her, but she’ll be back with us for the new tour that starts up in late April. It’s going to be great to have her back.”
Nita added: “From the studio to the stage, it’s always an immense honour to make music with Alice Cooper!! I’m very excited to be re-joining the band on the road for the 2023 dates, and so I’ll see you on the road in April. Let the nightmare return!”
Meanwhile, Alice’s Hollywood Vampires are to tour the UK this summer.
The rock supergroup – which also comprises Hollywood actor Johnny Depp and Aerosmith rocker Joe Perry – are to play shows across the UK and Europe in 2023 after being forced to cancel dates in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The trio – accompanied by guitarist Tommy Henriksen – play songs in tribute to the “great lost heroes of music” and perform original material from their two album releases.
The run kicks off on June 8 in Bucharest, Romania and wraps in Slupsk, Poland on July 22.
They play The O2 arena in London on July 9.

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OHMYGOSSIP — The Weeknd has been crowned the most popular artist on the planet, according to Spotify data.
The Guinness World Records has compiled streaming data from the globe’s biggest stars, and the ‘Blinding Lights’ hitmaker has come out on top with a whopping 111.4 million monthly listeners.
Miley Cyrus is in second place with 82.4 million monthly listeners
Followed by Shakira (81.6 million), Ariana Grande (80.6 million), Taylor Swift (80.2 million), Rihanna (78.5 million), and Ed Sheeran (77.5 million).
It comes after the 33-year-old superstar – whose real name is Abel Tesfaye – trumped Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape Of You’ after ‘Blinding Lights’ became the most-streamed song of all time on the streaming platform.
The report comes after the Canadian artist’s ‘Call Out My Name’ copyright infringement case was settled.
The ‘Creepin” singer and co-defendants Nicolás Jaar and Frank Dukes were sued by producers Suniel Fox and Henry Strange in 2021, who claimed the track from the megastar’s 2018 debut EP ‘My Dear Melancholy’ was “strikingly and/or substantially similar, if not identical” to their unreleased track ‘Vibeking’.
However, on March 17, Fox and Strange’s attorneys filed papers confirming both sides had reached a settlement, meaning the case is likely to be dismissed.
The filing, as seen by Rolling Stone, read: “Because the parties are still in the process of formalising, executing, and consummating that settlement, Plaintiff respectfully requests that the Court take all dates off calendar and set a date in 30 days for the parties to file a joint status report if the case has not already been dismissed.”
Jaar had insisted that he had no hand in co-writing the track as The Weeknd used an interpolation of his 2016 song ‘Killing Time’.
Fox and Strange – who make up the duo Epikker – argued that the songs contained “quantitatively and qualitatively similar material in their respective lead guitar and vocal hooks, including melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements distinctive to ‘Vibeking’.”
Despite ‘Vibeking’ never being released, the pair claimed the ‘Die For You’ hitmaker had heard their song.

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OHMYGOSSIP — A KISS biopic is heading to Netflix in 2024.
The band’s manager, Doc McGhee, has revealed the film, which was first talked about in 2021, will follow the first four years of the glam metal legends.
The ‘Rock and Roll All Nite’ rockers formed in New York City in 1973, with a line-up comprising Paul Stanley (vocals, rhythm guitar), Gene Simmons (vocals, bass), Ace Frehley (lead guitar, vocals), and Peter Criss (drums, vocals).
Speaking on ‘The Rock Experience with Mike Brunn’, Doc said: “It’s a biopic about the first four years of KISS. We’re just starting it now. We’ve already sold it, it’s already done, we have a director, McGhee [Entertainment]. That’s moving along and that’ll come in [2024].”
The confirmation comes after it was reported that Netflix had all but signed a deal for a biopic called ‘Shout It Out Loud’.
Deadline reported at the time that the movie will focus on the story of Gene and Paul meeting in Queens in New York and forming the band with Ace and Peter.
Joachim Rønning was said to be on to direct with a script from Ole Sanders, who was working from an earlier draft penned by William Blake Herron.
However, it’s not known if that’s still the case.
The biopic won’t be short of material, Gene grew up as a Hasidic Orthodox Jew and attended the Jewish religious school, Yeshiva Torah Vodaas, before transferring to a public school and attending colleges in the Big Apple.
The 73-year-old rocker once recalled: “I remember walking out onto the street, seeing this Spanish girl jumping rope across the street, and staring at her long black hair slapping against this great butt.
“It occurred to me this was better than religion. How could I get near that?”
He’d later choose the stage name Gene Simmons in homage to the rockabilly star Jumpin’ Gene Simmons.
While they both have their differences, the pair shared the desire to join a band to attract attention from the ladies.
Paul, 71, previously recalled: “I was deaf in one ear and had a slight deformity that made me look different.
“I was this short, fat kid, and music became my salvation, a place to hide and dream. And when I played music, there were always girls around.”
KISS – which now comprises Gene, Paul, Eric Singer, and Tommy Thayer – still have the rest of their farewell run, the ‘End of the Road World Tour’ to complete, which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is set to wrap with two nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden on December 1 and 2, bringing them full-circle.
Since forming, the ‘I Was Made for Lovin’ You’ rockers have sold more than 75 million records worldwide. The four original members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

Source: IconInsider.com