Justin Bieber focusing on 'deep-rooted issues'

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Last but not least today, US toymaker Mattel has unveiled a collection of BTS dolls - and it is fair to say the response has been mixed.

Fans of the K-Pop supergroup have set the internet aflame with fevered discussion of the South Korean boy band's miniature effigies.

Since the first images of the dolls were released on Monday, the online army of BTS fans have propelled the toymaker's name into the top global Twitter trends.

And while much of the reaction has been supportive, some are less than happy with what they have seen.

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Ari' surprised fans by performing her unreleased track, She Got Her Own, (previously teased on Snapchat) on Monday night in Washington DC.

The singer was joined by longtime collaborator Victoria Monet at the city's Capital One Arena where she was performing as part of her Sweetener tour.

She posted a short clip on Twitter (above).

The London VagabondCopyright: The London Vagabond

Going by Suzi Wu's latest EP and music videos alone, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Londoner spends her days staggering around town in a hungover daze, or peering through bloodshot eyes as she emerges from another Dante's Inferno-style house party.

That, however, was the old Suzi.

As the 21-year-old tells MNL, these days her time is spent on more artistic endeavours, alongside her "ridiculously creative" friends.

"Honestly, there’s a lot less house-partying and more creative work getting done," says Suzie.

"We just invite all our mates over and we do big art days and draw and tattoo and all sorts.

"There’s so much fun to be had - it’s just that little bit less chaotic now."

Rather than acting as a mirror to her external reality, Suzi uses shocking lyrical imagery - such as the Grim Reaper - and discordant electronic beats like those found on the title track of her new EP, Error 404, as a metaphor for her own innermost angst.

"I set out to be realistic to be honest," she says.

"Depression and anxiety. I definitely struggled because my parents were very ill when I was 16, they were both basically terminal and both survived and [it] led to me having mad anxiety issues, of course.

Quote Message: There's all sorts of kids who go through things so young and they feel violent and chaotic and shocking. I want them to know that a lot of people feel that way.

There's all sorts of kids who go through things so young and they feel violent and chaotic and shocking. I want them to know that a lot of people feel that way.

Quote Message: That’s what the whole Grim Reaper video is about, me feeling trapped in my own anxieties and the Grim Reaper following me around - and breaking out of the other side of it.

That’s what the whole Grim Reaper video is about, me feeling trapped in my own anxieties and the Grim Reaper following me around - and breaking out of the other side of it.

Her favourite track on the EP though is Highway (above), which she suggests hints more at the direction she will go on her forthcoming debut album.

The video was filmed and edited by her "talented" housemate, Piers, and dreamed up in their house-share in Stoke Newington.

"I don’t think either of us ever switches off, so it works perfectly, We have ideas from the moment we wake to the moment we sleep".

For S-Wu there's no time left to waste on hangovers or any other tired pop star cliches.

"I don’t know what the life of the pop star is because I don’t really feel like one," she declares.

"I don’t think I am one, I don’t think anyone is anymore.

"The day of the pop star is dead. Now we’re all genre-less.

"It's going back to such experimental vibes, everything feels a little different."

Speaking of Highway, the singer/songwriter fashioned her pop sensibilities on long journeys up the M6 to her birthplace, Blackpool, to visit family.

"On the motorway trips up was where I got my musical education.

"My mum would make these really big mix-tapes for the car with every genre on there and I'd be dancing in my seat.

"Everyone from the Beastie Boys to Dolly Parton... and a lot of Bowie - who didn’t grow up with Bowie?

Quote Message: That was when I realised what I wanted to do - like this is what life’s about: feeling you have to move because you're so happy with the music and the stories being told.

That was when I realised what I wanted to do - like this is what life’s about: feeling you have to move because you're so happy with the music and the stories being told.

"That’s all I want really," she adds, "other people to have that lovely feeling".

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Suzi, of course, is now old enough to drive herself up north, but last year "couldn't get in any of the bars" when BBC Music Introducing selected her to go to South By Southwest in Austin, Texas.

More recently she spoke on a panel at BBC Music Introducing LIVE back in her home city about the gender imbalance in the music industry.

"As much as I love the boys who produce the things for me in my life [including producer Dave Bayley from Glass Animals]," says Suzi, "just trying to get a picture of what you want on your own is so hard for women.

"There’s a generational gap of knowledge; women weren’t allowed to be out and about playing electric guitar on stage - some still did - but it was not considered something you should be socially doing.

Quote Message: It's the same with production; music technology wasn’t really something women were allowed or encouraged to do, so we look to our elders to teach us but we don’t have any, in the same way that boys have brothers and fathers.

It's the same with production; music technology wasn’t really something women were allowed or encouraged to do, so we look to our elders to teach us but we don’t have any, in the same way that boys have brothers and fathers.

"Girls don’t have the same experience of sitting in [music] rooms with a bunch of girls. So it's about trying to foster that sisterhood and it's beginning to happen - and I'm really excited."

Pop star or not, there are a few miles left on the sonic highway for Suzi this year.

So she'd best keep a clear head for the trip.

Error 404 is out now and Suzi plays Annie Mac's AMP show tomorrow night in east London.

Read Newbie Tuesday #69: How The Lemon Twigs became Jackie Cohen's backing band

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Kansas City rapper Tech N9ne has been assuring fans - and even his own family - that he is indeed alive and well, after a similarly-named rapper, Tech 9, died over the weekend.

"This Tech N9ne is going through Customs," tweeted the rapper (below), whose real name is Aaron Dontez Yates, from a US airport.

"My family's calling my phone wondering if I'm OK."

Tech N9ne began the tweet by offering his condolences to the family and friends of the Philadelphia-based battle rapper - real name Akeem Mickens.

Watch below.

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Pop star Olly Murs and former England footballer Rio Ferdinand have picked a poem about diversity by a class of five-year-olds as the winner of a national competition.

The pupils at St Finbar's Catholic Primary School in Liverpool beat 25,000 entries to be named the winners of the Premier League's Writing Stars with a poem called Being Different.

Watch Olly's rendition below - we reckon he'd be near the top of that class. Maybe.

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Regina Spektor is coming to a stage near you.... if you live in New York, that is.

The singer-songwriter will perform a new series of shows on Broadway over five dates in June.

Spektor said she wanted to "pay homage to Broadway", re-imagining her songs and giving her the chance "to explore theatrical elements within my concert show".

"I am thinking up some fun ways to incorporate special guests as well," she teased, in a press release.

Whoever could she mean?

Tickets go on sale at 15:00 GMT today.

Yep - theatrical musical star Michael Ball is heading for his first number one album as solo artist since his 1992 self-titled debut.

According to the Official Charts Company, the singer's album, Coming Home To You, has edged ahead of chart rival Jack Savoretti's Singing To Strangers by just over 4,000 combined sales.

Coming Home To You follows on from the success of his two albums with Alfie Boe - Together and Together Again both peaked at Number 1 on the UK's Official Albums Chart.

No wonder he's keeping his (emoji) fingers crossed...

20TH CENTURY FOX/NEW REGENCYCopyright: 20TH CENTURY FOX/NEW REGENCY

Oscar-winning Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody was released in China on Friday, but references to the Queen singer's sexuality and AIDS diagnosis were censored.

Several minutes of footage were edited out of the film, including scenes of two men kissing and the word "gay".

There has been significant reaction to the film's release online. More than 50,000 users have posted reviews on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like micro-blogging platform.

Though some users complained of "half watching and half guessing" as a result of the deleted scenes, others were pleased the film had been released at all.

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KT Tunstall struts onto the stage with her guitar, in sparkly trousers with a grin on her face, announcing herself delighted to be at London's Camden Roundhouse.

Surrounded by her all-woman band, she launches into In This Body, blasting any Monday cobwebs away with the guitar-heavy opener.

It's from Wax, her sixth studio album (as she mentions during the show, some people in the audience weren't even born when she had her first hit, Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, back in 2004).

"Do we want something more familiar? Do we need a security blanket?" she teases, before dedicating Other Side of the World to anyone who knows just how rubbish it is being in a long-distance relationship. KT gets everyone to hold their phones aloft, creating a sea of pretty lights.

It sets the tone for a night - sprinkling tracks from her newest album with some of her bigger hits, mixing the rock with the smoother and slower songs, the jumping-up-and-down tempered by the bits that give you goosebumps.

From Wax - the second in a trilogy on the spirit, body and mind - The River stands out like a pinprick of sparkling light, its visceral energy channelled into a rollicking anthem of a song.

Then there's The Night Bowie Died, co-written Nick McCarthy (formerly of Franz Ferdinand), who produced the album, bringing a quieter moment of introspection in a thoughtful song about love and loss.

Lauren Turner / BBCCopyright: Lauren Turner / BBC

KT has an easy energy, chatting with the audience between songs like we're old friends, throwing out the sweary - and very funny - anecdotes along with the plectrums. She urges us to retweet kitten videos and pictures of cute dogs to counteract all the turmoil in the world - and who could refuse?

Her voice is the star of the night, soaring, yearning and strong, most notably in the moving Heal Over.

The acoustic section sees it shown off in all its beauty, especially when we get a surprise cover of Heaven is a Place on Earth.

Again the energy is changed up here, with KT and her brilliant band sitting down to create what she calls a cosy campfire vibe. Those close enough to the front could see there was an actual mini campfire (no real flames, health and safety guys).

The loop pedals come out for Black Horse - and yes Ed Sheeran fans, KT got there first - there's also a segue into Black Betty, complete with harmonica.

We're sent out into the night, what feels all too soon, with fizzing renditions of Push That Knot Away and then Suddenly I See.

One of KT Tunstall's songs talks about everyone being connected by a Little Red Thread, and on a grey March night it felt, for a few hours, like we were.

It feels like a while since we've had any music-related baby news for you and today we have two for the price of one.

The Californian singer welcomed newborn daughter, Adeya, into the world this weekend.

Kehlani, 23, tweeted that the wee bairn was “perfectly healthy and full of wonder”, before thanking everybody for their love and support.

Meanwhile, Canadian singer Alanis Morrisette has a baby of her own brewing.

The 44-year-old posted the below baby bump pic to Instagram, alongside the caption "so much NEWness... ❤️❤️❤️❤️"

Alanis and husband Mario Treadway have two children already.

Congratulations one and all.

Two new tours to tell you about now from two old favourites.

First up, everybody's #1 party band from Athens, Georgia (sorry R.E.M), The B-52s have announced details of their European Farewell Tour.

Your last chance to shout "Rock Lobster!" in the band's direction on UK soil begins on 29 June at the Gateshead Sage, before gigs in London and Nottingham.

It culminates with a gig at Manchester's O2 Apollo on 3 July.

The GossipCopyright: The Gossip

Next up, noughties indie provocateurs The Gossip are marking ten years of their fourth album Music for Men, by taking it on tour.

Their first proper European tour, since their hiatus in 2012, will make stops in London, Glasgow and Manchester in July, as well as a Dublin date in August.

Tickets for both tours go on sale on Friday.

UB40 saxophonist Brian Travers has been diagnosed with a brain tumour, forcing him to pull out of the band's 40th anniversary tour.

Scans revealed the founder member of the band, which formed in Birmingham in 1978, has two tumours - after he suffered a seizure at home on 19 March.

He will undergo surgery on the day he was due to begin the tour.

The musician said he would "be there in spirit" and the only thing left on his bucket list was returning to music.

UB40 confirmed the tour, which begins on Friday in Portsmouth, would go ahead in Travers' absence.

A band statement said: "We're deeply saddened that Brian, our lifelong friend and founding member of UB40, is unable to join us for our celebratory UK tour.

"We know he will be missed by all, but his health and well-being come first, and we are sure our friends and fans will join us in wishing Brian a full and speedy return to health, and return to us."

Read more

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A tape featuring 10 pre-Foo Fighters demos by Dave Grohl has sold on eBay for $565.55.

On the auction website, the seller described the tape as a “rare cassette (purchased in 1994 via mail order) of songs that Dave Grohl demoed, some of which would be re-recorded for either Nirvana or the Foo Fighters."

Originally called Pocketwatch, the collection of songs was later released under the name Late!

They were recorded in 1992 when Dave was still the drummer in Nirvana but clearly future-proofing his musical career.

He went on to form the Foos in 1994, following the death of Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain.

The rest is rock 'n' roll history.

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Stevie Wonder has been announced as the final headliner of this year's British Summer Time gig series in Hyde Park London.

The Motown legend will bring his 'Stevie Wonder Song Party' to the UK capital on Saturday 6 July, for what's being billed as "a celebration of love, life and music."

He's bringing one of his famous friends with him too, in the form of Lionel Ritchie.

It's tricky to dance on the ceiling of an open air gig - but we're sure they'll give it a good go.

Tickets go on sale on Friday 29 March (we wondered why that date was ringed in the diary...)

Already announced for BST 2019 are Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Florence + The Machine, The National and Robbie Williams, as well as Bob Dylan and Neil Young.

Check out your personal invitation from Stevie - who brought his Songs in the Key of Life tour to London three years ago - below.

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Beliebers everywhere are reaching for their tissues...

Justin Bieber has announced he is taking a break to repair some "deep-rooted issues".

In a wayward post on his Instagram, the 25-year-old pop singer said he was unhappy during his last tour and needed time to focus "so that I don’t fall apart, so that I can sustain my marriage and be the father I want to be".

"Music is very important to me but Nothing comes before my family and my health," said the star, who earlier this month told fans he was "struggling a lot" with his mental health.

Better news, however, is that JB has vowed to return "with a kick ass album ASAP".

"My swag is undeniable and my drive is indescribable his love is supernatural his grace is that reliable... the top is where I reside period whether I make music or not the king said so."

His wife, Hailey - whom he married last year - responded to the post with the words: "That’s right ❤️❤️ love you so much it hurts!!!" while his manager, Scooter Braun, merely wrote: "Yes sir!!!"

Bieber's latest post bears striking similarities to events in 2017, when he cancelled the remaining dates of his Purpose world tour telling fans he wanted his career to be "sustainable".

"I want my career to be sustainable, but I also want my mind, heart and soul to be sustainable," he wrote on Instagram at the time.

"So that I can be the man I want to be, the husband I eventually want to be and the father I want to be".

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has confirmed that Michael Jackson will remain one of the inductees and that the singer's memorabilia will continue to be displayed at its Cleveland museum.

It follows the broadcast of the four hour documentary, Leaving Neverland, in which Wade Robson and James Safechuck alleged that they were sexually abused by the pop star when they were children.

In a statement to Pitchfork, a representative of the Hall of Fame said Jackson was recognised for his "musical excellence and talent" and his memorabilia is displayed alongside artifacts from many artists' lives.

"There are no plans for this to change," the statement concluded.

The Jackson Estate has called the documentary “unvetted propaganda” and described the alleged victims Robson and Safechuck as "two perjurers".

Quote Message: As with all of our inductees, Jackson was recognised for musical excellence and talent as well as having a significant impact on rock’n’roll. from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

As with all of our inductees, Jackson was recognised for musical excellence and talent as well as having a significant impact on rock’n’roll.

MIchael Jackson, who died in 2009, was inducted into the Rock Hall twice - once as a solo artist in 2001 and once with the Jackson 5 in 1997.

Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first commercial recording.

Jackson was nominated "by a diverse voting body of historians, fellow musicians, and music industry professionals".

His sister, Janet Jackson, is due to be inducted into the Rock Hall’s Class of 2019 later this week.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

The stage collapse that killed a Radiohead drum technician caused "immeasurable pain and grief" for the band, a Canadian coroner's inquest has heard.

Radiohead drummer Philip Selway told the inquest that the 2012 incident still haunts them.

Scott Johnson died at Toronto's Downsview Park when the stage collapsed an hour before the gates opened.

An Ontario coroner is conducting an inquest into the deadly incident.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Radiohead were set to perform a sold-out show when the stage's metal scaffold roofing collapsed onto crew members on stage at the time.

Johnson, a native of Doncaster, was killed and three other people were injured.

In testimony on Monday in Toronto, Mr Selway described the "anger and frustration" felt by the UK band, its crew members and Johnson's parents in the wake of the incident.

He said they have been left with a sense of a "complete failure of the justice system" in the case.

Read more.

Morning everybody and welcome back to Music News LIVE.

Coming up today, between now and 16:00 GMT:

• The coroner inquest into the Radiohead stage collapse begins
• Justin Bieber says he's taking a break from music to focus on repairing "deep-rooted issues"
• Dave Grohl’s rare 1992 solo album is being sold on eBay

• Plus later, our Newbie Tuesday #70 declares the day of the pop star is dead

While we get up and running, check out the story of Rosana Garcia (above), who used to play violin for a philharmonic orchestra in Venezuela, but is now busking on the streets of Bogota.

She left Venezuela with other musicians because of the worsening humanitarian and political crisis in the South American nation.

Now in Colombia they have formed a group and perform on the streets of the capital, Bogota.

She told BBC Minute that she hopes one day to return home to play in Venezuela.