Mbop Music News: The Helping Haiti single hit number one in the UK after selling 450,000 copies in its first week of release.
The track - recorded by a host of top artists including Rod Stewart, Alexandra Burke and Susan Boyle, and helmed by ‘X Factor’ mogul Simon Cowell - has become one of the biggest selling songs of the last decade already by the time it hit the top spot yesterday (14.02.10), raising a large amount of money for aid relief in the earthquake stricken state.
Alexandra Burke – who flew to Haiti to help the aid effort – said: “It’s fantastic the single is at number one and that helping Haiti is on everyone’s agenda.
“I’ve seen where this money will go and that it will really make a difference and help those who need it.
“Thank you to everyone who has bought this single.”
‘Happy’ singer Leona Lewis said that the single, a cover of R.E.M. song ‘Everybody Hurts’, selling so many copies – 453,000 according to official chart figures – was a great achievement, but encouraged people not to stop buying and downloading it.
She said: “I’m so pleased that so many people are supporting this record.
“There are still so many in Haiti that need our help so please keep giving.”
All money raised from the single will go directly to helping victims of the earthquakes, after the British government waived VAT on the single and REM said they wouldn’t collect writing royalties on the song.
Mbop Music News: Ellie Goulding is unprepared for the BRIT Awards.
The hotly-tipped singer, who won the BRITS 2010 Critics Choice Award in December 2009, admits she has not had time to prepare for the event, which take place on February 16.
She said: “God, I haven’t even started getting ready for that! I haven’t got a speech, haven’t got a dress… I haven’t even had time to talk to anyone about it.
“I’m meant to be getting sorted out on Sunday, but if that doesn’t happen then it’s just straight into the wardrobe for something.
“How are you supposed to prepare for that sort of thing anyway? I’m not exactly going to go there and go, ‘Right, tonight, I will be noshing with celebrities’.”
Despite being the most critically acclaimed artist of 2010 so far, Ellie admits that her music taste in the past has not always been so stellar.
She admitted to website The Quietus: “My first record? I’m not really sure, my memory’s terrible… I think it might have been a Spice Girls tape. I think I bought everything, though – lots of dance, Simply Red’s ‘Fairground’, bit of Blur, The Verve, Supergrass, a lot of classical.”
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La Roux’s Elly Jackson wants to get in the studio with Heaven 17.
The ‘Bulletproof’ singer, who recently revealed that she would be teaming up with the 80s synthpop band, said that her and musical partner Ben Langmaid would love to work more with them after collaborating for BBC 6 Music.
She told the radio station: “We’d definitely be up for it. If you respect each other and like making music it’s only ever a matter of time and schedule unfortunately, which is annoying.
“For us, we’ve got to write our second record but we don’t have any time to get into the studio until August.
“We’ve got to get some time but if we have time we will definitely, definitely do something with Heaven 17. Ben would die to do something with them.
“I just wanna hang out with them as well, they’re just funny people.”
Heaven 17’s Glenn Gregory added: “The least that could happen is that we should work together on one song together, because I think there’s something special going on with those voices and it would be really nice.”
Mbop Music News:
The Editors plan to release some new songs for the summer.
Singer Tom Smith – who admitted the indie foursome weren’t really fans of festivals – said they’d been in the studio recently and would hopefully have some new songs ready for the summer.
Speaking on Absolute Radio, he said: “Severe, severe danger of Editors new material… we’ve just been in the studio because we had a couple of songs left over from… not left over, that makes them sound second-rate, we didn’t quite get them right so we left them until later.
“We’ve been having a go at them and they’re really good, so maybe they’ll come out before… or maybe we’ll start playing them before, at least before the summer or by the summer.”
Tom said he thought the new songs would at least “make the festivals more bearable” and guitarist Chris Urbanowicz added: “No mud and no other bands.”
Mbop Music News: Blur will perform together again.
The band’s drummer, Dave Rowntree, suggested that he hoped that the band would perform again following on from successful gigs last summer.
When asked if they would be the last shows, he said: “I hope not. We’ve never said anything like that, that would be a crazy thing to say. I’m sure we’ll play together again, why wouldn’t we.”
Discussing last summer’s shows, Dave added: “It was great, the sun was shining, I was out with my mates on the road just like the old days. I’d die a bitter man had I not been able to play in front of hundreds of thousands of people!
“I don’t know why, maybe that makes me weird, maybe that’s quite selfish of me but I would.”
The drummer also told Absolute Radio that he does not listen to the band’s old music.
He said: “Why would I do that? I listen to new music. No you don’t revisit stuff like that unless you have to do you?.”
Mbop Showbiz News: Simon Cowell has vowed to help N-Dubz crack the US.
The music mogul spent time with hip-hop star Dappy – real name Dino Contostavlos - in Barbados over Christmas and the New Year and has offered to help the ‘I Need You’ hitmakers become a success overseas.
A source told The Sun newspaper: “Dappy has been partying with Simon, who has been turning on the charm with him. N-Dubz have their sights set on America and Simon has made it clear that he could make it happen for them over there.”
However, Dappy has reportedly left their manager Jonathan Shalit reeling at the thought he and his bandmates Tulisa and Fazer might be tempted to leave him and join Simon’s record label Syco.
Shalit has been further angered by the fact he financed the 22-year-old singer’s lavish trip abroad with his girlfriend.
The source added: “Shalit is livid. He paid for Dappy and his girlfriend Kaye to go away for Christmas and New Year. He didn’t expect his golden goose to be tempted elsewhere.”
Mbop Showbiz News: Pete Doherty has been charged with heroin possession.
The 30-year-old Babyshambles rocker was arrested yesterday (21.12.09), shortly after appearing in Gloucester Crown Court on other charges, and must now appear in court in January over the new offence.
A spokeswoman for Gloucester police confirmed: “The 30-year-old man from Wiltshire arrested in Gloucester yesterday has been charged with possession of heroin. He was bailed to appear at Gloucester Magistrates Court on January 27.”
It has also emerged the singer could also be charged with offences linked to a hit-and-run which left a pedestrian in a critical condition.
His manager, Andrew Boyd, 42, of north London, has already appeared in court charged with a number of offences relating to the incident which took place in Hadleigh, Suffolk, in September.
It is believed that the car involved in the accident was a Jaguar belonging to the rocker.
Yesterday, Pete was fined £2,050 and given an 18-month driving ban after pleading guilty to drink-driving and careless driving following a concert in July.
Mbop Showbiz News: Pete Doherty has been arrested - moments after leaving a court hearing today (21.12.09).
The 30-year-old Babyshambles singer was escorted from Gloucester Crown Court to a local police station by officers on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance.
A spokeswoman for Gloucestershire Constabulary confirmed: “A 30-year-old Wiltshire man has been arrested on suspicion of being in possession of a controlled substance. He is currently assisting police with their inquiries.”
It has not been revealed what substance he was believed to have been in possession of when he was arrested.
Earlier, Pete had pleaded guilty to careless and drink driving charges and received a £2,050 fine and an 18-month driving ban, despite having already been banned from driving in 2007 and never renewing his license.
The charges related to an arrest in June, when he was caught driving away from a concert after consuming more than half a bottle of rum on stage.
The court heard the rocker had 21 previous drug offences and six previous motoring offences. He had no convictions for driving.
Mbop Showbiz News: Susan Boyle is being tipped to record the next James Bond theme song.
The Scottish star – who shot to fame earlier this year after finishing runner-up on UK reality TV contest ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ – is said to be thrilled at the prospect of being chosen for to lend her voice to the movie, which stars Daniel Craig and is due out in 2011.
Monty Norman, composer of the classic 007 theme music, thinks Susan would be a “great” choice.
He said: “They’ll think seriously because she’s got the right kind of sweeping voice”.
Lee Pfeiffer co-author of ‘The Essential James Bond’ book, described Susan as “a throwback to those great days when the likes of Dame Shirley Bassey would be asked to sing”.
Some of the world’s biggest music stars have recorded theme songs to Bond films, including Bassey, Sir Paul McCartney, Madonna and Duran Duran.
The 48-year-old star has already shattered all chart records with her debut album ‘I Dreamed a Dream’.
The LP sold an astonishing 411,000 copies in the UK in one week and over 2 million copies worldwide - making it the fastest-selling debut album by a woman ever.
It is still clocking up sales at an incredible rate.
