Donald Glover will ‘probably’ make a mixtape with Chance the Rapper

OHMYGOSSIP — Donald Glover will “probably” release his long-awaited mixtape with Chance the Rapper.
The 33-year-old actor – whose rap name is Childish Gambino – has previously spoken about a potential collaboration between himself and Chance, and after collecting two gongs at the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night (17.09.17), Donald spoke about a potential return to the music business.
Speaking backstage at the awards bash, Donald shared: “I feel like if I don’t make a Chance the Rapper mixtape, like a double mixtape, a bunch of 14 year olds will kick my ass.”
Donald previously announced he was walking away from his hip-hop career to focus his attention on acting.
But he has now revealed he is likely to make his return alongside the 24-year-old star.
He said: “I feel like I’ve gotta do something. I probably will.”
The rapper’s comments have already been retweeted by Chance, suggesting the ambition might be realised in the near future.
By contrast, Donald previously insisted he was walking away from music following the release of his album ‘Awaken, My Love!’ in 2016.
Of his decision to retire from making music, he previously said: “There’s nothing worst than like a third sequel, like a third movie and we’re like, ‘again?’
“You know, I like it when something’s good and when it comes back there’s a reason to come back, there’s a reason to do that.”
He also claimed that continuing his career under the name of Childish Gambino might compromise his “punk” approach.
Donald explained: “Like I feel like there’s gotta be a reason to do things and I always had a reason to be punk.
“Being punk just always felt really good to me and we always looked at ‘Atlanta’ as a punk show and I feel like the direction I would go with Childish Gambino wouldn’t be punk anymore.”

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Nothing But Thieves want to pen Bond theme

OHMYGOSSIP — Nothing But Thieves want to pen a Bond theme.
The ‘Amsterdam’ rockers would jump at the chance to join the likes of Sam Smith, Adele and Chris Cornell in recording a soundtrack for the spy thriller franchise.
In the meantime, the group – also comprised of Joe Langridge-Brown, Dominic Craik, Philip Blake and James Price – have set their sights on selling out arenas.
Asked if he’d like write a song for 007, frontman Conor Mason said: “I would do it tomorrow.
“I’d like to think we’ll be playing Wembley Arena in two years, and the O2 in five.
“Any band that says they don’t like playing big venues are idiots.
“Who wants to play in a tiny club for the rest of their life?”
The 24-year-old singer would also like to collaborate with two female pop stars, Lana Del Rey and Pink.
He told the Daily Star newspaper: “I’d love to write and perform with Lana Del Rey. “And this is going to sound really random, as I’m not a big fan of her music, but I love Pink’s voice.
“I heard her do a song with Aerosmith when I was younger and thought: ‘Holy s**t!'”
Conor might be in luck as Daniel Craig, who will return as the suave secret agent in the upcoming 25th film in the series,
reportedly wants the new theme to feature an indie band.
The 49-year-old actor is believed to have been more involved in the production side this time round, including picking an artist to record the track.
Daniel is a big fan of the band Car Seat Headrest and after playing a major part in getting Adele to do ‘Skyfall’ in 2012, he could get his way.
An insider said previously: “Daniel is a big music fan and loves Car Seat Headrest. Part of signing on for more Bond was more involvement in all aspects of production, including the theme song.
“Daniel was instrumental in getting Adele to sing ‘Skyfall’ and suggested Radiohead for ‘Spectre’ too, whose song did not get used in the end.”
The ‘Casino Royale’ star took the cast of his recent movie ‘Logan Lucky’, including Jack Quaid, to see the ‘Something Soon’ rockers.
Jack said: “Daniel Craig took us out to go see Car Seat Headrest – it was one of the best nights of my life.”

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Lorde opens up about her career struggles

OHMYGOSSIP — Lorde felt pressured to take on “everybody’s voice” with her debut album ‘Pure Heroine’.
The 20-year-old singer – whose full name is Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor – has admitted when she released her first LP at the age of 16 she felt very overwhelmed because she was hailed as the “teenaged perspective”, a title she felt she was too young to be associated with.
Speaking in the October issue of Vogue Australia, the brunette beauty said: “People decided I was the teenaged perspective, and I was like: ‘Ah, I’m just one kid! I can’t be everybody’s voice, you know?
“The hard thing was when people would ask me: ‘Do you feel 16?’ and I’m like: ‘I don’t know, I’ve never been 40.’ It was really confusing.”
The ‘Royals’ hitmaker has revealed last year when she turned 19 her entire world was “up in the air” and became “really crazy”, as she split from her boyfriend, James Lowe, and moved out.
Although the musician felt she was “totally having [her] mind blown”, she channelled those “new things” in her life into her music.
Speaking about her creative process, she said: “I basically turned 19 and the world was like: ‘Alright, we’re going to toss everything up in the air and it’s all going to come down in a really crazy way.
“All of a sudden I moved out of home, I went through a break-up. It felt like every day and every night I was totally having my mind blown by all these new things. I just couldn’t write it all down fast enough.”
But speaking out about her problems is a topic Lorde will never shy away from, as her recent single ‘Green Light’, which is from her second studio album ‘Melodrama’, was inspired by her determination to push her artistic boundaries.
She previously said: “I always want to run toward the thing that feels challenging and scary and exciting, and that didn’t feel like a drum beat and a vocal anymore. Because those types of songs had been number one on the charts for two years.”

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Zayn Malik snubbed Tyler, the Creator

OHMYGOSSIP — Tyler, the Creator claims Zayn Malik “flaked” on recording a song with him.
The 26-year-old rapper wrote, ‘See You Again’, a song from his latest album ‘Flower Boy’, for the former One Direction singer but after the British star snubbed him on numerous occasions, he decided to keep it for himself.
Tyler tweeted: “see you again is getting played on a few stations, awesome, hope i catch it at some point
“Fun fact. I wrote ‘see you again’ for zayn but that bitch flaked on studio time twice, so i kept the ref for myself, worked out actually. (sic)”
Tyler first reached out to Zayn for a collaboration in 2015.
He tweeted at the time: “HI @zaynmalik. I HAVE BEAUTIFUL INSTRUMENTALS AND YOU HAVE A VOICE LETS FIGURE THIS OUT MY GUY . EPIC ALBUM CUTS THO NO RADIO. (sic)”
And the 24-year-old singer was quick to accept the offer.
He replied: “sounds sick BRO let do some s**t.(sic)”
Last summer, Tyler remixed Zayn’s single ‘Pillow Talk’.
Meanwhile, the ‘I Don’t Wanna Live Forever’ hitmaker recently promised to tour his second album as he finally thinks the time is right to go on the road.
Asked why he didn’t tour his first solo LP, he said: “We did a few auditions for the band, and we got a band together, but I just wasn’t feeling it.
“The first record, I didn’t feel like there was enough material to do a proper show. So I just waved it off until the second album, so I can get the best of both.
“I think my confidence is definitely improved now, so a tour is definitely on the cards. I’m excited to start rehearsing.”

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Emeli Sande wants Bond theme job

OHMYGOSSIP — Emeli Sande wants to sing the next James Bond theme.
The ‘Next to Me’ singer’s team have reportedly reached out to producers to ask for plot details of the upcoming 25th film in the series – which will again star Daniel Craig as 007 – so she can pen a special track.
However, the 30-year-old star faces competition from Beyonce to land the coveted job.
A source told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: “While Beyonce is the favourite for the job, it’s not a done deal yet. It’s looking like a two-horse race between the American and British vocal powerhouses.
“Emeli is a huge Bond fan and knows that scooping the soundtrack would massively elevate her career.
“Bosses are ­currently debating whether to stick with the trend for a ­British singer so if they do opt for Beyonce they are likely to encourage her to work with a British producer.”
However, it was recently claimed Bond actor Daniel has his own ideas of who he’d like to see record the iconic theme song.
The 49-year-old actor is a big fan of the band Car Seat Headrest and after playing a major part in getting Adele to do ‘Skyfall’ in 2012, he could get his way.
An insider said: “Daniel is a big music fan and loves Car Seat Headrest. Part of signing on for more Bond was more involvement in all aspects of production, including the theme song.
“Daniel was instrumental in getting Adele to sing ‘Skyfall’ and suggested Radiohead for ‘Spectre’ too, whose song did not get used in the end.”
The ‘Casino Royale’ star recently took the cast of ‘Logan Lucky’, including Jack Quaid, to see the ‘Something Soon’ rockers.
Jack said: “Daniel Craig took us out to go see Car Seat Headrest – it was one of the best nights of my life.”

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Dave Grohl ‘fell into depression’ after he broke his leg

OHMYGOSSIP — Dave Grohl “fell into depression” after he broke his leg two years ago.
The 48-year-old singer and songwriter suffered the terrible injury during after he fell 12 feet off of a stage when him and his fellow Foo Fighters band mates were performing in Sweden in 2015, which saw him “snap” the bone, dislocate his leg and tear “all” of the ligaments in the limb.
The rocker decided to carry on with the “60 more shows” they had lined up, but once the group had finished their string of concerts they decided to take a break, during which time Dave struggled to cope with his recovery and life without the band and music.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, the ‘Everlong’ hitmaker said: “I didn’t just snap the bone, I dislocated it and tore all the ligaments. But we had 60 more shows and after I came out of surgery we sat in my hotel room and had a meeting to decide what to do. Everyone wanted to make sure. I was OK and that we weren’t pushing it too hard. So I said what would it be like if I had to sit in a ridiculous f***ing throne every night and play to thousands of people?
“I imagined there would be a solid year of no music but I didn’t realise how bad I’d damaged my leg until I was with a physiotherapist three months after I had surgery.
“I’ve got a beautiful life outside of the band, but music really is what keeps my f***ing blood pumping.
“After about six months, with no band or no music, I really fell into a depression where I felt empty.”
And the rest of the rock band, which includes Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jafee, were “really worried” about Dave and the future of the group.
Hawkins said: “We were worried about Dave. I never question any decisions by him because he seems to have the best rock ‘n’ roll compass for our band. But this time it was, ‘Oh f***. We might be done. I was really worried we might be over.”
But the ‘Sound City’ director has revealed returning to the studio to continue making music boosted his morale and helped his recovery.
He explained: “When you take music away you don’t realise how important or necessary it is until it’s gone.
“Dipping into my studio and playing around with the drums. Then returning a week later and picking up the guitar all helped.
“Time went by until I really felt that fire of recording.”

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Big Sean credits Kanye West for his success

OHMYGOSSIP — Big Sean has credited Kanye West for “changing [his] life”.
The 29-year-old rapper – whose full name is Sean Michael Leonard Anderson – has hailed the ‘Famous’ hitmaker for his success and for helping him break into the music industry after a chance meeting in 2005 at 102.7 FM radio station , which saw Big Sean perform for “10 minutes” in front of the 40-year-old.
Speaking to Billboard Online about the musician – who has four-year-old daughter North and 21-month-old son Saint with his wife Kim Kardashian West – the ‘Dance’ hitmaker recalled: “[Big Sean asked Kanye] ‘Can I rap for you?’ He [Kanye] told me I had 16 bars. I ended up rapping for 10 minutes and it changed my life.”
Big Sean was then signed to Kanye’s record label GOOD Music two years later.
The American star has hinted prior to meeting Kanye his time studying at the Detroit Waldorf School, where he was forced to write poetry, inspired him to think outside of the box as he was the “only person” to translate his poems into rap music.
Speaking about his education, he said: “It was a school that just specialized in being like in tune with yourself, expressing the artistic side of yourself, the poetic side. So, we did poetry. I was the only person in the school turning those poems into raps.”
And now Big Sean has become a successful artist he believes his “greatest honour” is being able to share his tracks and perform to his loyal supporters.
He said: “That’s the greatest honour any artist can have is to share that [with your fans].
“It’s an energetic exchange of people who got love for you, people who know every single word.
“My fan base is G’d up. You know, they downtown. They think they bosses. They’re people who got my back no matter what. They’re beautiful people, and I love every single one.”

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Brandon Flowers never felt like a frontman

OHMYGOSSIP — Brandon Flowers never thought he’d be as good a frontman as Morrissey.
The Killers singer was always reluctant to take the mic when the band formed because he idolised the Smiths legend so much and it took “a long time” before he felt comfortable being the focus of people’s attention.
Drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. said: “Brandon was a reluctant frontman. He was very uneasy about the whole thing. He used to just scream into the mic, out of nerves. He always had something but he couldn’t quite spell it out. It was definitely cultivated and fostered.”
Brandon admitted: “It took a long time because I had such reverence for singers. I idolised Morrissey. I know everybody says that but I really, really did.
“So I felt what right do I have to grab a microphone? If you’ve seen ‘Morrissey Live in Dallas’, why would you even attempt to be on a stage? You’re not gonna look that good, you’re not gonna have that admiration from a bunch of people.
“So it took me a long time to get over things like that. Every today, we just saw Depeche Mode in Bilbao, Spain, and I saw things they did and walked out of the gig with my tail between my legs.”
The band formed in 2001 via a newspaper advert and think it’s “f***ed up” that they still didn’t know one another very well when they achieved huge success with their debut album ‘Hot Fuss’ in 2004.
Ronnie told Q magazine: “It was so fast. I love that it happened but we weren’t prepared for it and, as a band, we didn’t really know each other.
“We met, we spent a year making songs and then you’re suddenly tied to this rocket with three other guys and you learn about each other real quick.
“It’s dreadful. It’s f***ed up. I still think we’re normalising a little bit from that.”

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Jessie J announces world tour

OHMYGOSSIP — Jessie J has announced her first world tour in over a year for 2018.
The 29-year-old singer will head out in support of her new album ‘R.O.S.E’, kicking off in Birmingham in Northern England on October 10 and wrapping up in San Fransisco on October 28.
The first single, ‘Think About That’, is out now and is the most poignant on the album as Jessie had decided she was done with writing music until producer DJ Camper showed her the beat.
She explained: “I didn’t want to write any new songs.
“Camper said ‘OK’ then before he left the room, he put the beat for ‘Think About That’ on a loop. “The lyric and melody just starting falling out of me, and 15 minutes later when he returned I had a song. He laughed and said: ‘See.'”
The ‘Price Tag’ hitmaker has named her record after her mother Rose, but it’s also an acronym for Realisations, Obsessions, Sex and Empowerment, for which Jessie has created a song for each word.
In a video, she says: “My mother is called Rose, she gave me the gift of life. A rose is at its most beautiful when budding. I rose above the pain.
“We give roses or a single rose as a gift with so many different feelings. This is my gift to you.
“For each letter there is a word and for each word there’s a song I will share with you.”
The pop star recently opened up about how “lost” she felt after her last record, 2014’s ‘Sweet Talker’, under-performed, but ultimately nothing could tear her away from her passion which is her bloodline.
In a video promoting her new project, which sees her walking through a field, Jessie says: “I tried to stop and I didn’t know how to because it’s impossible to walk away from true love. Art, emotion, lyrics, music, feeling is what I need to survive.
“I don’t do this because I want to do it, I do it because I have to.”
Speaking of her break from the spotlight, she explains: “I lost my passion to create, to draw a line between business and art.
“I’d fallen into darkness and allowed myself to be led by fear. The fear was keeping other people happy who didn’t ever care about me and I was running deeper into something and someone I wasn’t.
“The music I said I didn’t want to make is what brought me back to life.
“The anger, the honest, the heartache, the pain, the joy, the strength, the love, it all happened for a reason.”
Jessie J’s world tour dates are as follows:
10/8 Birmingham, UK Birmingham Institute
10/9 Manchester, UK Manchester Albert Hall
10/11 London, UK KOKO
10/14 Cologne, GR Live Music Hall
10/16 Amsterdam, NL Paradiso
10/17 Berlin, GR Huxleys Neue Welt
10/23 Toronto, ON Mod Club
10/24 New York, NY La Poisson Rouge
10/25 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge
10/27 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
10/28 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall

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Niall Horan’s debut solo LP ‘Flicker’ coming in October

OHMYGOSSIP — Niall Horan’s debut solo album ‘Flicker’ will be released on October 20.
The ‘Slow Hands’ hitmaker dropped new single ‘Too Much To Ask’ on Friday (15.09.17) and announced the release date for his record a day after his 24th birthday.
He wrote on Twitter on Thursday night (14.09.17): “it’s been a long time coming but I’m delighted to announce that my new album ‘Flicker’ is out on the 20th of October . I hope you enjoy it (sic)”
Niall received rave reviews for his first single ‘This Town’ and ‘Slow Hands’ and previously teased that the record has an “80s funk rock” vibe to it.
He said: “I listen to a lot of 80s funk rock, and I started playing on the piano and that came up … and hopefully the album will be later this year. I’m still trying to come up with the name, we’ve only recently just finished recording it.”
Meanwhile, the Irish hunk has confessed that his first gig with One Direction was “the worst night” of his life and that he and his bandmates – Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and formerly Zayn Malik – have never spoken about it before because it was such a “disaster”.
He told the BBC: “I never want to talk about that gig again. Worst night of my life. The worst One Direction show ever.
“We’ve refused to talk about it ever since. It was a disaster. We were just a joke.
“Anything we rehearsed just went out the window. It was our first ever gig and we just didn’t know what the f**k was going on.”

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Kendrick Lamar’s first concert was his own

OHMYGOSSIP — Kendrick Lamar’s first concert as a punter was his own gig in 2006.
The ‘DNA’ rapper has revealed that he was so poor growing up that he never got the opportunity to go to any shows, and so he decided to become a musician so he could witness what it’s like for the audience and as a performer.
He told Billboard magazine: “When I went on tour with The Game [and Jay Rock, in 2006] – that was my first show. “That sh*t cost money. Gas money. Me being onstage is me fulfilling two ­different things – performing and getting to enjoy it like the people enjoying it.”
Now, Kendrick is a worldwide superstar who recently bagged six prizes at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards.
He went home with Best Video of the Year, Best Art Direction and Best Hip-Hop, after opening the awards bash at The Forum – which was hosted by Katy Perry – with live performances of his hits ‘DNA’ and ‘HUMBLE’.
Kendrick – whose set featured news footage of police brutality – also claimed the prizes for Best Visual Effects, Best Direction and Best Cinematography.
The chart-topping hip-hop star only dropped his third album ‘Damn’ – the follow-up to 2015’s ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ – in April, but it doesn’t look like he’s planning to take a break any time soon as shortly after the record came out he teased that he’s got more content on the way.
The 30-year-old hunk let the cat out of the bag while he was talking to a fan at an in-store signing at Best Buy in Compton.
At the time, he said: “I got more music. Ya hear what I’m saying.”
‘Damn’, which features 14 songs including ‘Loyalty’ with Rihanna and ‘XXX’ with U2′, received rave reviews from fans.

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Naughty Boy wants Justin Timberlake for Motown project Naughty Town

OHMYGOSSIP — Naughty Boy is hoping to get Justin Timberlake and Robbie Williams on his Motown covers project ‘Naughty Town’.
The 32-year-old producer – whose real name is Shahid Khan – announced the compilation on Thursday (14.09.17), which includes a reworked version of The Jackson 5’s hit ‘Dancing Machine’ by Laura Mvula, but he is looking to bag some even bigger superstars for the album and has his sights set on the ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’ hitmaker and the 43-year-old Brit.
He told the Daily Star newspaper: “It’s about introducing Motown to a new generation.
“Justin Timberlake is a big Motown fan so we are in talks to do something with him.
“I want to do one with Robbie Williams, I’ve had a chat with him about it – he’s a fun guy.”
Ella Eyre has also been involved and has recorded a version of Steve Wonder’s ‘Signed Sealed Delivered’, and the ‘La La La’ star is even keen to put a Spanish spin on a Motown number.
He said:”I’ve done ‘Signed Sealed Delivered’ with Ella Eyre and I want to do a Spanish Motown song.”
The ‘Running’ hitmaker was inspired by Motown Records founder Berry Gordy to start the project after he saw ‘Motown The Musical’.
He said: “I went to see the Motown Musical with Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson. I’m not from that generation so I wanted to understand Motown more, the struggle they faced to get black music played on radio, the music was bringing people together.”
Shahid was a little apprehensive about remaking such iconic songs, but as a music lover he’s sure he’s done them justice.
Of the project, Naughty Boy said: “Motown is so iconic, at first I didn’t want to interfere in case I upset the millions of Motown fans. It took me a while to think I can do this, I can deliver. I realised it’s the coming together of music lovers and great songs.”

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Take That give up on Jason Orange rejoining

OHMYGOSSIP — Take That have given up hope on Jason Orange rejoining the band.
The ‘Giants’ hitmakers have been keen to get the 47-year-old singer – who quit in 2014 – and part-timer Robbie Williams, 43, on board to mark their 30th anniversary in 2022, but Gary Barlow has given up on the idea of Jason coming back as, despite still being involved in the background, Jason isn’t keen on returning to music.
Speaking about Jason not working with them on their musical ‘The Band’, Gary told The Sun newspaper: “He didn’t want creative involvement because we’re day-to-day on this and he wanted to leave.
“This has been weird with the whole Jason thing. He’d told us for a while, ‘I don’t want to be in music anymore, I don’t want to do this anymore’, and we’d push, push, push.
“At the end of the day you’ve got to accept someone doesn’t want to do what you’re doing anymore.
“He wanted to go off, live his life, and good luck to him if that’s what he wants to do.
“He’s spent a big part of his life being in the band, but he doesn’t want to do it anymore, it’s that simple.”
Whilst Gary says Jason is kept up to date with everything they are doing, Howard Donald says he’s not very good at keeping in touch regularly and can take months to respond.
He added: “We’re to and fro with emails. It’s a difficult one really. He’s involved in everything that goes on and he is sent every draft. .. but you can send Jason an email and you get one back a month later.
“That’s how chilled he is — or he’s that far behind with technology.”
It’s a change of tune for Gary, as he said earlier this year that he thinks Jason could return for a ‘greatest hits’ tour and possibly a record to mark the three-decade milestone.
He said: “We are looking to do something, hopefully maybe get Robbie on board, and Jason.
“I don’t think anything we do with Rob is going to relate to like a big 25-year project.
“In fact, I’ll tell you this for the first time, we’re looking at 30 years.
“We’re planning something to do for the 30-year all together.
“We’re looking that far ahead, something big, maybe a new record, maybe a greatest hits with a big tour.”

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Craig David: I’m waving the flag for UK RnB

OHMYGOSSIP — Craig David will be “waving the flag for UK RnB” with his new album.
The 36-year-old singer-songwriter is set to release his new record, ‘The Time Is Now’, in January next year, and Craig has revealed the album will mark a return to his early career sound.
He explained: “This is authentic me, doing what I love, just like I did when I was an unknown artist – that kid from Southampton making mixtapes in his bedroom and taking risks.
“TS5 has had a whole new meaning this year, for all of you that have been with me on this adventure, you’ve all played a huge part in how this album turned out.”
Craig, whose new single ‘Heartline’ is out now, admitted playing his new music has helped him to recapture his enthusiasm.
He shared: “Playing this new music live, I got the same buzz I did DJ’ing in clubs back in the day, testing the new tracks in my live sets – that was the making of ‘Born To Do It’.
“This album is me going back to those days of simple story telling and waving the flag for UK RnB. It is for all of you that have been with me since those days, everyone that’s joined along the way and is here now.”
Craig also admitted his career ups and downs have led him to appreciate his recent success.
He said: “If the last few years have taught me anything, it’s that life can change in a moment and you’ve gotta make the most it!
“Just in the same way my life was flipped upside down all those years ago, I’m genuinely so grateful to be standing here today doing what I love the most.
“By doing the simple things that enrich my heart, I’ve found the same magic that got me into making music as a kid.”

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Sampha wins Mercury Prize

OHMYGOSSIP — Sampha has won the Hyundai Mercury Prize.
The 28-year-old singer – whose full name is Sampha Sisay – picked up the award at London’s Eventim Apollo on Thursday (14.09.17) evening for his critically-acclaimed debut album ‘Process’, beating the likes of Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, The xx, Blossoms and J Hus, to take the accolade.
Speaking after he picked up his £25,000 from actor Idris Elba, Sampha said: “I feel like I am dreaming a little bit, this is incredible. I’d like to dedicate this award to my parents.
“I’d like to thank all my brothers for always giving me encouragement and making me believe in myself.
“I am so thankful for this. Thank you so much.”
Earlier in the evening, Sampha – who has previously worked with the likes of Beyoncé, Drake, Solange and Kanye West –
performed his single ‘(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano’ to huge cheers from the audience.
As well as performances from a number of the nominees, which also included Glass Animals and Kate Tempest, last year’s Mercury winner, Skepta, also took the mic, performing ‘Man’ before the winner was announced.
The prize is decided by a panel of judges, which this year included musicians Ella Eyre, Jamie Cullum, Marcus Mumford and Lianne La Havas, DJs Clara Amfo and MistaJam, journalists Harriet Gibsone, Will Hodgkinson and Phil Alexander, Radio X’s head of music Mike Walsh, Jeff Smith, head of music at BBC 6Music and Radio 2, and EMI CEO Tony Wadsworth.
Speaking about their deliberations – which the evening’s host, Lauren Laverne, said had been the longest ever – Marcus quipped he didn’t have a lot to say.
He told the BBC: “We were only allowed to talk about positive things. So I shut up quite a lot.”

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Seal slams the music industry

OHMYGOSSIP — Seal thinks music has become “empty” over time.
The 54-year-old singer and songwriter has “never” wanted to be considered a celebrity but a musician who has a special talent to do “something exceptional”, but he believes artists nowadays are too consumed with the fame that they do not produce music of any substance.
Speaking to the Metro Online, the ‘Kiss From A Rose’ hitmaker said: “The thing of celebrity… I’ve never been attracted to that. I don’t like that word ‘celebrity’. It implies famous for the sake of being famous.
“That’s never appealed to me. I consider myself a musician and a singer. I like that. It pertains to talent and having an ability to doing something exceptional.
“For the most part, I find the stuff I hear on the radio is just empty.”
And the star has slammed the entertainment business for not having the finance to make great records with an interesting story behind the tracks.
He explained: “There just isn’t the money to make records like before. Now you have this dominant factor of people making what they feel is music but it has no story in it.”
Although Seal – whose full name is Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel – has only ever wanted to be known for his musical ability, he didn’t want to fall into the category of being just a “pop artist” as he wanted longevity with his hit records.
He said: “I always wanted to be a recording artist. I didn’t want to be a pop star. I didn’t want to have hits. As far as I was concerned I gained access to the rest of my life in music.”
Meanwhile, Seal – who has Helene, 13, Henry, 12, Johan, 10, and Lou, seven, with his ex-wife Heidi Klum – believes social media has brought out a “dysfunctional side of human nature”, which has encouraged people to become “obsessed” with fame.
He said: “With social media, it has been exemplified and it is at an all-time high. It’s also brought out the dysfunctional side of human nature. People are obsessed with being famous rather than obsessed with being known for doing something that contributes to the betterment of the world.
“The celebrity thing … I just find it vulgar. Today more so than ever before.”

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