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Dermot O’Leary will return to host the sixth series of The X Factor, it has been announced.

The presenter is the latest addition to the line-up for the ITV show, which will be screened later this year.

Simon Cowell said: “Dermot has done a brilliant job for the past five years – he is Mr X Factor.”

Gary Barlow, Louis Walsh and Tulisa Contostavlos have already been confirmed to return to the judging panel.

But the fourth seat is still empty, less than a week before the judges head out to see the hopefuls at the auditions.

O’Leary said: “I just love the gig.

“I hope The X Factor 2012 continues to bring a sense of fun to Saturday and Sunday nights and gives the nation a show that they can laugh, cry and sometimes scream at.”

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/18104916#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

17 May 2012
Last updated at 19:55 GMT

Jane Lovering has previously written novels titled Vampire State of Mind and Slightly Foxed

Author Jane Lovering has won Romantic Novel of the Year for her novel Please Don’t Stop The Music.

“Jane’s voice was fresh and new with an unexpected hero”, a panel of judges, including WH Smith’s Matt Bates and The Bookseller’s Sarah Broadhurst, said.

Lovering’s Please Don’t Stop the Music triumphed over nominations from better known authors such as Katie Fforde and two-time winner Rosie Thomas.

The award, which recognises excellence in romantic novels, began in 1960.

Lovering will receive her prize from news anchor Kay Burley at the annual ceremony in London later.

‘Narrow choice’

The winner was chosen from a shortlist compiled of category winners from the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s annual RONA awards, which took place earlier this year.

Judges said it was “a narrow choice” between Lovering – winner of the Romantic Comedy Novel award – and Thomas’s The Kashmir Shawl, winner of the Epic Romantic Novel award.

Ultimately, Please Don’t Stop the Music was singled out by judges for its “dark undertones” – adding “it engaged with issues a lot of people recognise”.

Chairman of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Anne Ashurst, said: “Warmest congratulations to Jane and my personal thanks for making me hoot with laughter.

“What an achievement to become Romantic Novelist of the Year with one’s first novel for talent-spotting publishers Choc Lit. A great read and well-deserved success.”

Lovering lives in Kirkbymoorside in Yorkshire with her five children, and works part-time as a science technician in a school.

She joins a roster of winners including 2011 winner Jojo Moyes, Julia Gregson, Freya North and Philippa Gregory.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18104922#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

17 May 2012
Last updated at 09:34 GMT

Chuck Brown received his first Grammy Award nomination in 2010

Guitarist and singer Chuck Brown, who mixed funk, soul and Latin styles to help create the upbeat “go-go” scene in Washington DC in the 1970s, has died.

Known as the “godfather of go-go”, Brown’s biggest hit was Bustin’ Loose, which spent a month at the top of the US RB chart at the end of the 1970s.

Brown, 75, was known for performances that did not stop between songs and could go on for several hours.

He said the style was named go-go because “the music just goes and goes”.

Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray was among those paying tribute.

“Go-go is DC’s very own unique contribution to the world of pop music,” he told the Associated Press news agency. “Today is a very sad day for music lovers the world over.”

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Chuck Brown took BBC World News to his favourite jazz club in 2009

Brown got his first guitar after trading five cartons of cigarettes for the instrument in prison, while serving eight years for murder in the 1950s and 60s. He shot a man in what he said was self-defence, according to the Washington Post.

With his group the Soul Searchers, Brown combined funky horns with lively percussion and his own deep vocals to create vibrant club tunes.

Go-go struggled to make a global impact and got overtaken by the burgeoning hip-hop movement as the 1980s wore on.

Fans gathered outside the Howard Theater in Washington DC to remember Brown

But Brown’s influence was felt more widely, with samples of Bustin’ Loose used in rap star Nelly’s 2002 chart-topping single Hot in Herre, while rapper Eve sampled Brown’s song Blow Your Whistle in her single Tambourine.

In the ’90s, Brown helped launch the career of singer Eva Cassidy when the pair performed together on the album The Other Side. It included her solo rendition song Over The Rainbow, which was to become her signature track when posthumous fame came after her death in 1996.

Meanwhile, Brown was nominated for his first Grammy Award in 2010, for best RB performance by a duo or group with vocals for Love, a collaboration with singer Jill Scott.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18101017#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

17 May 2012
Last updated at 18:40 GMT

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An emotional Adele was presented with an award by Annie Lennox

Adele has picked up two prizes at the Ivor Novello songwriting awards – but missed out on two more top trophies.

The star was named songwriter of the year and her song Rolling in the Deep was the most performed work of 2011.

However, Ed Sheeran’s The A-Team beat Rolling In The Deep and Florence and the Machine’s Shake It Out to be named best song musically and lyrically.

And PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake won the album award, beating Adele’s 21 and Kate Bush’s 50 Words For Snow.

The annual awards – in their 57th year – are highly regarded within the industry because they are voted for by songwriters and composers.

Accepting her songwriting award from Annie Lennox, a tearful Adele said she had learned from the reviews of her first album.

She said: “The main thing was the songs weren’t as good as my voice, and I took that on board and now I’m winning songwriter of the year.”

Eurythmics singer Lennox said she had been struck by Adele’s talent when they had performed on Later With Jools Holland.

Ed Sheeran won the Ivor Novello award for best song musically and lyrically

“It was like lightning had struck,” said Lennox. “She doesn’t need talent shows and competitions and hype – this is the real deal.”

In the category for most performed song, Adele had two of the three nominations – for Rolling in the Deep and Someone Like You – with the shortlist completed by Take That’s The Flood.

Accepting the award for Rolling in the Deep, with co-writer Paul Epworth, Adele joked that she never expected it to be a hit.

“No offence Paul, I didn’t think it was going to do anything, anywhere!”

But the song has helped the north London singer become the world’s biggest pop star, with global sales of 18 million for her second album 21.

The album was pipped to the Ivors’ best album prize by singer-songwriter PJ Harvey, who also beat Adele to the Mercury Music Prize last September.

Kate Bush had also been in the running for best album at the Ivors, with her concept album 50 Words For Snow – making it the first time the album shortlist had been exclusively female.

‘Outstanding contribution’

There were also awards for Take That who were honoured for their outstanding contribution to British music, and Lana Del Rey and her songwriting partner Justin Parker, who won best contemporary song for Video Games.

Take That’s Gary Barlow told the audience: “There’s nothing like winning an Ivor as a songwriter.”

Ed Sheeran said he was shocked to win an Ivor Novello award for best song musically and lyrically for The A Team because he was convinced Adele would win.

Howard Donald, Gary Barlow and Mark Owen from Take That

The award for best television soundtrack went to Martin Phipps for BBC Two drama The Shadow Line, while the film award went to Alex Heffes for the score for The First Grader, about an 84-year-old Kenyan villager who fought for his rights to go to school for the first time.

A number of honorary awards were presented by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (Basca), which organises the ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.

The accolade for outstanding song collection going to Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp, who described it as “the greatest honour of my career”.

He added: “It makes me feel very happy for that 12-year-old boy in 1972 who wrote songs on his bed and thought he might be weird.”

Siouxsie Sioux was named the Ivors Inspiration, the lifetime achievement gong went to Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, and veteran pianist Stan Tracey won the Ivors’ first jazz award.

Musical maestro Andrew Lloyd Webber was given a Basca Fellowship, joining names including Elton John, Paul McCartney and Tim Rice.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18107224#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

17 May 2012
Last updated at 18:23 GMT

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The BBC’s David Sillito looks back at Donna Summer’s contribution to music

US singer Donna Summer, famous for disco classics including I Feel Love and Love To Love You Baby, has died at the age of 63.

Summer was one of disco’s biggest stars and also had a huge influence on the synth pop and dance music scenes.

Her family said they were “at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy”.

Stars including Kylie Minogue, Sir Elton John and Mary J Blige have paid tribute.

RB singer Blige said on Twitter that Summer was “truly a game changer”, while producer Quincy Jones said her voice “was the heartbeat and soundtrack of a decade”.

Summer’s is known for the global hit I Feel Love

Minogue described her as “one of my earliest musical inspirations”, while Dionne Warwick said she was sad to lose a great performer and “dear friend”.

Summer, who was reported to have had cancer, had been living in Florida with her husband Bruce Sudano.

A statement from her family said: “Early this morning, we lost Donna Summer Sudano, a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her faith.

“While we grieve her passing, we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy. Words truly can’t express how much we appreciate your prayers and love for our family at this sensitive time.”

Elton John said Summer was more than the “queen of disco”, adding: “Her records sound as good today as they ever did.

“That she has never been inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame is a total disgrace especially when I see the second-rate talent that has been inducted.”

Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes said: “It’s extremely rare that you hear one song that completely changes the way you perceive music. I Feel Love achieved that.”

Singer Marc Almond recalled how Summer’s work with Italian synthesiser pioneer Giorgio Moroder had “changed the face of music and changed my life”.

Summer performed on American Idol in 2008

“I Feel Love was a truly original and barrier breaking record, and Now I Need You and Working The Midnight Shift are simply some of the best euphoric electronic tracks ever,” he said.

BBC Radio 2 presenter Paul Gambaccini said I Feel Love was “one of the key records in the history of electronic dance music and will always be recognised as such”.

Summer grew up in Boston and started singing in her church’s gospel choir before starting to perform in stage musicals.

It was her work with the Moroder that led to her pop breakthrough with Love To Love You Baby in 1975 – the first of 29 UK top 40 singles.

Her expressive vocal style, coupled with Moroder’s pulsating rhythms, made the song a big club and chart hit – as well as leading it to be banned by several radio stations for its suggestive overtones.

Giorgio Moroder (right) produced some of Summer’s biggest hits

Between 1978-80, her career hit its commercial peak with a string of US hit singles including Last Dance, MacArthur Park, Bad Girls and Hot Stuff.

She won five Grammy Awards and had a further 12 nominations, becoming the first black artist to win a Grammy in a rock category – taking best rock vocal performance for Hot Stuff in 1979.

Her influence stretched across musical boundaries, with Madonna, Whitney Houston and David Guetta among the artists who sampled her, while Bruce Springsteen wrote songs for her.

Producer Pete Waterman, who worked with the singer on tracks including This Time I Know It’s for Real in the 1980s, told BBC News: “She was the icing on the cake. We were at the top of our game when we worked with her. She was just fantastic.

“Donna was unique,” he added. “Donna did things Donna’s way. One of the first things she said to me was, when you work with me, you work on Donna time… She wasn’t a diva, she was inspirational. Her talent came from God, she knew she couldn’t just turn it on.”

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18109654#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

17 May 2012
Last updated at 07:09 GMT

Ken Bruce has been at BBC Radio 2 since 1982

Radio 2 DJ Ken Bruce has pulled in the biggest audience of his career, according to new figures from Rajar.

The data shows the 61-year-old reaching a record high of 7.72 million in the first three months of 2012 – up almost 400,000 on the same period of 2011.

“Obviously I’m a late developer,” joked the broadcaster, who joined Radio 2 30 years ago, adding he was “delighted”.

Overall, though, fewer people are listening to BBC radio stations than at this time last year.

The total number of people tuning into the corporation’s network radio output in the first three months of 2012 was down 2.2% on the same period in 2011.

Chris Evans’ Radio 2 breakfast show now commands a weekly audience of 9.2 million

The most pronounced decline was felt by BBC Radio 3, whose listening figures have dropped 15.8% over the last 12 months.

The fall follows several years of BBC stations improving their audience share at their commercial rivals’ expense.

Radio 1 has seen its listenership fall by 5.8%, while Radio 4 recorded a 4.8% drop-off in its overall audience compared with this time a year ago.

Radio 2 – whose breakfast show, hosted by Chris Evans, remains the nation’s favourite morning listen – saw its overall audience rise, though only by 0.2%.

Bruce was not the only DJ at the station to record record figures, however.

Reason to celebrate

After 22 years on the air, Brian Matthew’s show Sounds Of The 60s achieved its best-ever audience, too – with 3.7 million people tuning in on Saturday mornings.

There was more heartening news for the BBC’s local stations, which saw their weekly reach increase by 263,000 listeners on the previous quarter.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis
Torin Douglas Media correspondent

It’s been a good week for the BBC’s local radio stations. On Monday night, two pensioners from Radio Humberside, Betty Smith and Beryl Renwick, won a gold at the Sony Radio Academy Awards.

Yesterday, the BBC Trust confirmed that planned cuts in local radio in England were being halved, after protests from listeners.

Now the latest audience figures show that a quarter of a million more people are tuning to those local stations – and listening for over 10 hours a week, an hour longer than a year ago.

Radio 4′s audience went down, to 10.3 million, after a period of steady increases, and listening to Radio 3 also fell.

But Radio 2′s audience was up, with two of its best-established presenters, Ken Bruce and Brian Matthew, attracting more listeners than ever before.

• Read more from Torin

People are also listening to the BBC’s regional output longer. The average hours listened per listener per week is now 10 and a half, compared to nine hours and 12 minutes one year ago.

And digital station 6 Music posted record listening figures, just two days after it was named UK Station of the Year at the Sony Radio Academy Awards.

Rajar figures showed it reached 1.45 million people every week, up from 1.3m last year and 1.44m last quarter.

6 Music was saved from closure in 2010 after a campaign by its listeners.

Audience numbers for commercial radio stations remain relatively stable, with only a 0.3% drop-off on this time last year.

But the Absolute Radio network has particular reason to celebrate, having increased its reach by more than half a million listeners over the last 12 months.

Rajar’s figures show that internet radio listening is now at an all-time high, with 42 million hours being consumed each week online.

The share of all radio listening via a digital platform now stands at 29.2%, compared with 26.5% for the corresponding period last year.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18083857#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

17 May 2012
Last updated at 11:01 GMT

The original film version of Priscilla won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design in 1995

The Broadway production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert is close after months of weak ticket sales.

Last week, audiences dipped below 50 per cent, with the show earning £337,221 from a potential £918,731.

The stage adaptation of the award-winning 1994 film will close on June 24 after 23 previews and 526 performances.

With a score of disco-friendly crowd-pleasers, the show follows the story of three drag artists who travel through the Australian outback in a tour bus.

Award success

The production opened in March 2011 and was met with acclaim, winning the Tony award that year for costume design.

In addition, Tony Sheldon, who played leading character Bernadette in the US, Australia, Toronto and London’s West End, was nominated for leading actor in a musical.

In the UK, the show enjoyed a three-year run, clocking up more than 1000 performances and winning an Olivier award for best costume design.

Previous cast members have included singer Jason Donovan, Sheldon, Don Gallagher and Home and Away actor Ray Meagher.

The hit Australian film, entitled The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, featured Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp. It won an Oscar for best costume design at the 1995 Academy Awards.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18102097#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

17 May 2012
Last updated at 10:36 GMT

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The Wiggles ‘hang up their skivvies’

Three of the four members of Australian children’s entertainers The Wiggles are to leave the group, paving the way for the quartet’s first female performer.

Jeff Fatt, Murray Cook and Greg Page said they would hand over their purple, red and yellow pullovers to a “new generation” at the end of a 2012 tour.

Remaining member Anthony Field will then continue with a new line-up that will include 22-year-old Emma Watkins.

Founded in 1991, the group have sold more than 30 million albums and DVDs.

They topped BRW’s annual list of Australia’s 50 richest entertainers for four consecutive years – from 2004-2008 – and last year were ranked at number two.

In a statement, Cook said “entertaining children around the world for 21 years” had required the band to spend “a long time away from our own families and friends”.

“It’s important that we plan for the future so that The Wiggles can keep wiggling in the years to come,” the 51-year-old continued.

Watkins and fellow newcomers Lachlan Gillespie and Simon Pryce will join the original line-up on a ‘Celebration Tour’ that begins in Singapore at the end of May.

The Wiggles will travel to the UK, the US, Canada and New Zealand before returning to Australia in November, after which the departing members will step into “backstage creative roles”.

Apart from singer Kylie Minogue, made an honorary ‘Pink Wiggle’ in 2009, the children’s favourites have never had a woman among their ranks.

The announcement follows Page’s return to the line-up in January after a five-year absence due to illness. Sam Moran, his replacement, was asked to stand down to accommodate his comeback.

“It’s been so great having Greg back with us so far this year,” said Fatt, 58. “To finish our time on stage all together again seems so fitting.”

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18101469#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

17 May 2012
Last updated at 09:10 GMT

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Glamour on the Cannes red carpet

Jane Fonda, Eva Longoria and Lana Del Rey were among the famous faces on the red carpet at the opening night gala of this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

They and a host of other stars were on hand to see Moonrise Kingdom, the new film from US director Wes Anderson, launch the annual cinema showcase.

Bruce Willis, Bill Murray and Britain’s Tilda Swinton joined other cast members at the movie’s glitzy premiere.

The film is one of 22 in contention for Cannes’ prestigious Palme d’Or award.

Reactions to Anderson’s latest have been broadly positive, with The Guardian‘s Peter Bradshaw saluting “a soufflé of strangeness [that] rises superbly”.

The Telegraph’s David Gritten was similarly effusive, describing it as “a mood elevator of a movie” and “an ideal opener” for this year’s event.

Moonrise Kingdom was a suitable curtain-raiser for a festival in which US films and directors are heavily represented.

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The main competition line-up contains six US-based movies, among them a new thriller starring Brad Pitt and an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s seminal novel On the Road.

“American cinema is back in force,” said Cannes’ artistic director Thierry Fremaux, when he announced the programme last month.

The US invasion continues on Friday with an out of competition screening of the latest DreamWorks animation, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted.

Only one British film – The Angel’s Share, directed by Ken Loach – is up for the Palme d’Or. Yet British talent is well represented in other areas.

On Thursday the Critic’s Week sidebar launches with Broken, a London-based drama from acclaimed theatre director Rufus Norris, starring Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18101464#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

17 May 2012
Last updated at 02:34 GMT

The producer and TV star says he is “lucky, hard-working and weird”

The X Factor’s Simon Cowell says he is “puzzled” about why BBC One’s The Voice is not on the radio instead of TV.

Cowell told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme that if the BBC’s show was “all about the voice” then “what’s the point of looking at them?”

He also said it had become similar to The X Factor with its use of dancers and stage presentation.

The Voice’s creation was a “roll your sleeves up” time for him, because it was competition for his shows, he said.

Cowell, who described himself as “lucky, hard-working and weird”, said: “Suddenly I’m watching it a week, two weeks ago. It’s the same as X Factor.

“You know, they’ve got dancers behind them. They’ve got graphics, lights. Same show.”

‘Punch-up’

Early on the success of The Voice – which is reported to have cost the BBC some £22m – in a ratings battle with Britain’s Got Talent led to Cowell writing a congratulatory message to the BBC on Twitter.

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But early in May, Britain’s Got Talent triumphed in the ratings for two consecutive weeks.

He said: “When The Voice came along it’s kind of like, ‘roll your sleeves up, we’re in for a bit of a punch-up here’.

“I’m smiling now because we’re winning at the moment. I wasn’t so happy three weeks ago. But not to the point of any silliness.”

He said his attitude in response to the competition was: “OK. They are beating us. We’ve got to make our shows better.

“And that’s all we did. We just tried our best to make them better.”

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

I see a lot of shows trying to rip us off”

End Quote
Simon Cowell

As to the allegation that his shows were like circuses which sought to exploit vulnerable people, Cowell told Today’s James Naughtie: “I think what I’ve learned is, there are people who like to show off who aren’t very good and I don’t have a problem with that.

‘Getting nervous’

“I think after Susan Boyle you can feel it around you on the show. Everyone is very, very, very more aware of whether this person is up for this or not. If we don’t think they’re tough enough they really aren’t allowed to audition.

“But people do get through the net. But we don’t sit there and go, ‘let’s try and find someone vulnerable and weak to exploit today to make fun of them.’

“You’ve got to also try to retain a balance and a sense of humour.”

Mr Cowell, who says he sees “a lot of shows trying to rip us off”, was then asked about his own future.

Cowell was interviewed by the Today programme’s James Naughtie

“I’ll know when it’s time A, for me to leave the shows or B, not to make these shows anymore, simply because people won’t be interested,” he said.

“I’m not going to self-destruct.”

And he was bullish about the success of his programmes, which also include American Idol.

“I’d like to know what is the alternative to what we put on at the moment as an entertainment show.”

Yet Cowell did say that he had previously worried about the future of his shows when they had failed to find credible acts.

He said: “We had this conversation about two or three years ago where, with the exception of Leona Lewis, I was getting nervous.

“I thought, if we don’t find real stars from these shows after all the razzmatazz, all the promises, all the hype and you end with somebody who’s going to put out a single and then go away it’s a waste of time, a waste of my time and everyone’s time.”

Mark Linsey, the BBC’s controller of entertainment commissioning, has previously said: “I think other formats it’s about the look, the shape of the person.”

With regards to The Voice, he continued, “it’s about whether you’ve got what it takes vocally.”

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18093927#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa