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Christopher Lee Releases Metal Abum to Celebrate 92nd Birthday

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Rock, New Releases,

Christopher LeeChristopher Lee has released a heavy metal album to celebrate his 92nd birthday.

The legendary actor reached the enviable age yesterday, and to mark the special occasion has brought out Metal Knight, a seven track collection which features two covers from the Man Of La Mancha musical which is based on the fictional character Don Quixote.

Speaking about the inspiration for the LP, Lee revealed, "As far as I am concerned, Don Quixote is the most metal fictional character that I know. Single-handed, he is trying to change the world, regardless of any personal consequences. It is a wonderful character to sing."

Lee - who is famous for his portrayal of Count Dracula in several Hammer Horror films and roles in the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings franchises - has posted a video on YouTube in which he explains the motivation for the tracks with of the featured songs being a metal cover of Frank Sinatra classic "My Way."

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Beyoncé: I Was Really Nervous About Releasing New Album

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gossip, Music Videos, The Charts, Pop, R&B / Soul, iTunes, New Releases, Sales,

BeyonceBeyonce was "really nervous" about the surprise release of her self-titled LP.

The "Drunk in Love" singer, who is celebrating selling more than one million copies of her fifth studio record, admits it was a "huge risk" releasing it without any prior promotion. She answered fans' questions via her Instagram account at the weekend at a screening for the record's accompanying music videos.

"I was terrified. I was so scared. I already envisioned like the worst things that could happen. Honestly, I was at a point where I felt like, you know, everything feels the same. That's how I felt and if I could not challenge that, then maybe it's time for me to do something else or develop more artists, which is something I want to do," she posted. "I just hope that I continue to move forward and challenge myself, and I think now that I've become a mother, I just want my legacy to inspire people."

Meanwhile, retailers such as Amazon and American company Target are refusing to stock Beyonce after it was released exclusively on iTunes. The digital giant were given a one week exclusive window to sell the 14-song, 17-video album, which features contributions from Drake, Jay Z and Justin Timberlake.

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Beyonce Releases New Album on iTunes

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hip-Hop & Rap, Pop, R&B / Soul, iTunes, New Releases,

BeyonceBeyonce has surprised fans by releasing her fifth studio album on iTunes today.

The "Grown Woman" singer shocked her loyal fan base - who have been eagerly anticipating her new record for some time - by unveiling her self-titled "visual album" exclusively on iTunes in the early hours of Friday morning.

The record, which is being labelled as Part 1, features 14 songs and 17 accompanying music videos. Collaborations on the album include Beyonce's husband Jay-Z, her daughter Blue Ivy Carter, rapper Drake, Justin Timberlake, and her former Destiny's Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

Beyonce announced the album on Instagram with a teaser video, which she simply captioned, "Surprise!"

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Britney’s Album Set to Flop?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gossip, The Charts, Pop, New Releases,

Britney SpearsBritney Spears is facing embarrassment over sales of her new album.

According to early figures, Britney Jean, the singer's eighth studio album shifted just 6,400 copies on its first day of release, including pre-orders. The record, which features her single "Work B*tch," is currently at number 14 in the UK Album Chart and was released on Monday after being streamed on iTunes for a week for fans.

Critics have described the songs as "disappointing," but the 32-year-old singer said she is proud of the effort. In an open letter on her website, she said, "I poured my heart and soul into this album. I know I keep telling you it is my most personal record yet, but it's true and I'm really proud of that. I have been through a lot in the past few years and it has really inspired me to dig deeper and write songs that I think everyone can relate to."

The pop star, who will start her Las Vegas residency at Planet Hollywood this month, sold more than 30 million copies worldwide of her debut record Baby One More Time, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.

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Sweden Inspires Katy Perry

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Pop, New Releases,

Katy PerryKaty Perry's Prism is strongly influenced by Sweden.

The "Unconditional" singer started work on her fourth studio album in her home town of Santa Barbara but Swedish producer, Klas Ahlund says working with her in his home country helped bring a different feel to the record.

"We did most of our stuff actually in Stockholm and I totally think that affected how it came out. When you move around the planet, the vibe of the place you're making the music in definitely makes an imprint on whatever you're writing," Ahlund said.

According to Ahlund, it was the stark difference between American and Swedish folk music that impacted on Katy's work - and he believes the "melancholy and lonely" tones of traditional Swedish melodies combined with Katy's bubbly persona were the lightening force behind the new album; inspiring songs such as "Roar."

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Fleetwood Mac to Release New EP

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Concerts / Tours, Rock, New Releases,

Fleetwood MacFleetwood Mac will release a new EP later this week. The band will be putting out their first new material since their Say You Will album from 2003, including new track "Sad Angel."

The band - Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks - debuted both that song and another, "Without You," last Thursday at the opening of their 2013 tour in Ohio, US. Lindsey announced news of the new release to the crowd at another show in Philadelphia. "One of the things we thought would be a good idea before we hit the road would be to go into the studio and cut some new material. So last year we did that. It's the best stuff we've done in a long time and in a few days we're going to drop an EP of new stuff," he said.

Ex-band member, Christine McVie - who left the band and retired from music in 1998 - has also said she would like to perform with the band at one of their London dates if they will allow her: "If they wanted me to, I might pop back on stage when they're in London just to do a little duet or something like that."

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David Bowie Single Banned from Charts

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: The Charts, Dance, Electronic, Rock, iTunes, New Releases, Sales,

David BowieDavid Bowie's new single has been banned from the UK charts.

The legendary singer released "Where Are We Now?" - his first track in 10 years - on Tuesday to coincide with his 66th birthday and it shot straight to the top of the iTunes downloads chart. But as well as being sold, it is also being given away to fans who pre-order his album, so chart bosses say it cannot be counted.

The Official Charts Company said, "It is not possible to distinguish album sales from track sales from the retail data."

Bowie's album, The Next Day, is out in March but already tops the iTunes chart with advance orders.

Yesterday, it was revealed Bowie wanted his new album cover to be as "minimal and undesigned as possible." The main picture on The Next Day was made by the singer with design company Barnbrook, and features the cover of his 1977 album Heroes in black and white, with the middle part obscured by a white block featuring the album's title.

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Bob Dylan’s Rare Album

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Folk, Rock, New Releases,

Bob DylanBob Dylan has produced just 100 copies of his new album.

The 71-year-old singer's record label, Sony, decided to create the super-limited edition four-CD album, entitled The 50th Anniversary Collection, to avoid losing control of the songs under European Union copyright rules. The album features 86 live tracks and studio outtakes recorded by Dylan in 1962-63, including a previously unheard version of his classic "Blowin' In The Wind."

According to sources at Sony, the compilation isn't really meant for mass consumption and is just an attempt to keep the tracks from entering the public domain. "This isn't a scheme to make money. The whole point of copyrighting [this material] is that we intend to do something with it at some point in the future. But it wasn't the right time to do it right after [Dylan] released Tempest," a source explained to Rolling Stone.

The 100 copies have been sent to specialist record collector shops in Britain, Germany, France and Sweden, and the rare item is already being sold for $1,600 on eBay.

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Beck Wants Jack White to Cover His Song

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Alternative, Blues, Covers, New Releases,

Beck and Jack White

Beck wants to hear Jack White perform one of the tracks from his Song Reader album. The "Devil's Haircut" musician's latest album is only available as sheet music, as he wants to hear other people's interpretations of his tracks before he releases any recordings of his own, and he's particularly interested to hear Jacks' take on the track "I'm Down."

"Initially, I'm curious to hear what other people do with the songs. I don't want to throw my hat in until later. I sent the songs to Jack White and he was very encouraging. He liked 'I'm Down,'" Beck said.

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Rihanna Announces ‘777’ Tour

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Concerts / Tours, Hip-Hop & Rap, Pop, New Releases,

RihannaRihanna is to perform seven concerts in seven days in seven different cities.

The "Diamonds" singer has announced her 777 tour which will kick off in London on November 14 and will then stop at Paris, Toronto, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm and New York. Rihanna will travel on a special Boeing 777 jumbo jet for the shows which are being held to mark the release of her seventh album Unapologetic.

The plane will be able to carry 200 people and the 24-year-old pop superstar has invited 150 journalists from 82 countries and a lucky group of Rihanna Navy fans to join her and her entourage on the whistle-stop tour which concludes on November 19. Rihanna has also already ordered a champagne-filled rider for the plane and has promised her fans she will perform mid-air.

"Rihanna has asked for hundreds of bottles of Armand de Brignac champagne. She has pledged to get on the loudspeaker during the trip and perform on the plane. She's also asked for blankets and pillows branded with her logo," a source told The Sun.

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