The Helping Haiti version of Everybody Hurts has gone straight in at number one in the UK music charts, racking up 453,000 dales in just six days. This makes it the most successful charity single of the century, despite it not actually being very good.

I have mixed feelings on charity records. They raise money for good causes, which is great, yet a lot of them rely solely on that factor to sell, not actually being any good. And they always sell well, regardless of quality.

JLS may have been runners-up on The X Factor 2008 but their success since then has shown what can be achieved if you apply yourself and take the opportunities afforded you. They’re now one of the best pop acts in the country, and their live showing proves as much.

JLS performed exclusively for ‘Nokia Comes With Music’ and ‘T-Mobile’ at a secret, invite-only gig at the Hammersmith Apollo in London on Saturday (Feb. 13). Michelle Kitching attended the gig for Brit Music Scene, and her review of the event is after the cut.

The UK music charts may mean less now than they used to but they’re still an indicator of what’s hot on the popular British music scene right now. This week’s Top 10 singles and Top 10 albums are listed below.

Helping Haiti with the charity version of R.E.M.’s Everybody Hurts has unsurprisingly entered straight in at number one on the singles chart, knocking Owl City to number two in the process. And surely no one can bemoan this, with all the money raised going to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake. Brilliantly. Jedward’s debut single, Ice Ice Baby, fell out …read more

I was a huge fan of Kate Nash’s first album, Made Of Bricks, and have been eagerly awaiting her second album ever since. Thankfully, the wait is almost over. Nash has revealed the tracklisting and release date of the as-yet-untitled LP and even thrown in a free download.

Although the album hasn’t yet got a name, it will be released on April 19, almost a full two years after the release of her debut. I guess that’s what having a celebrity boyfriend (Ryan Jarman from The Cribs) does to you and your sense of timing.
The tracklisting, according to NME, is:
‘You’ll Never …read more

Glastonbury always pulls out massive headliners, and 2010 is no exception. This year’s line-up could even go down in history as the greatest of all time.

The three headliners for the Glastonbury Festival have now been confirmed. U2 will close Friday night, Muse will end Saturday night, and the whole thing will be finished off on Sunday night by the legend that is Stevie Wonder.
U2 were confirmed a while ago, but Muse and Stevie Wonder were just rumors until now.
Unfortunately for anyone who wants to attend the festival on the strength of the headline acts alone, Glastonbury is already sold out. …read more

After reaching Christmas Number One, Rage Against The Machine promised to hold a free gig in the U.K. to celebrate the fact and to thank all the fans who bought Killing In The Name. And they’re now delivering on that promise, with the free gig to be held in London in June.

As you’re no doubt aware, Rage Against The Machine nabbed the Christmas Number One from The X Factor winner Joe McElderry. This followed a grassroots campaign started on Facebook intended to make sure a reputable song made the holiday top spot rather than another one of Simon Cowell’s manufactured …read more

The Kaiser Chiefs have done little for nearly a year, apart from a few festival appearances. But they’re now back, working together on new material which will inevitably form the basis for a new album. Just don’t rush them, OK.

It was last March that the Kaiser Chiefs decided they were taking a break from writing, recording, and playing music. The rumor at the time was that Ricky Wilson was eager to forge a career in television, although that seems to have erroneous.
However, there was probably some truth to the fact that the band wanted to go on musical hiatus after …read more

Noel Gallagher is planning to attend the sentencing of the man who attacked him on stage in 2008. We Brits may forget easily but it takes us a while to forgive. That’s what you get for being a part of a secular society.

In September 2008, former Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher was assaulted on stage by a crazed fan, being pushed to the floor and landing awkwardly on a speaker. Gallagher was badly injured to the point that Oasis had to cancel five gigs.

If you’re not British and have never heard of Jedward before then prepare to bring your dinner up. The novelty act of this year’s The X Factor have released a single. It’s a mash-up of Queen and David Bowie’s Under Pressure, and Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby. And it’s terrible. Unsurprisingly.

We’ve had Darius, we’ve had the Cheeky Girls, and now we have Jedward. All acts from a reality TV show who have defied belief in getting as far as they do on the show before releasing a few pointless and utterly crap records after they were finally booted off.
This isn’t …read more

The UK music charts may mean less now than they used to but they’re still an indicator of what’s hot on the popular British music scene right now. This week’s Top 10 singles and Top 10 albums are listed below.

This week’s singles chart has seen Owl City hold off the challenge of Jedward – that awful twin beast of baloney from The X Factor – for the number one spot. The fact that Jedward can’t even make number one with help from Vanilla Ice doesn’t bode well for their future career. Timbaland and Katy Perry jumped 14 places to number …read more