From the reggae-rock punch of the title track to the closing caress of the lullaby-soul Dream, this is an album Smith is running on best instincts.

A Japanese girl group that mixes heavy metal riffage with pop choruses has made their US television debut.

Country giant Merle Haggard, who rose from poverty and prison to international fame through his songs about outlaws, underdogs and an abiding sense of national pride in such hits as Okie From Muskogee and Sing Me Back Home, has died at 79, on his birthday.

Among the stars of a local Bowie tribute show is one who recorded with him and one who had him as a babysitter.

Blues-rock guitar fans will be delighted to hear that prolific New York artist Joe Bonamassa is returning to NZ for one show, at the ASB Theatre in Auckland.

R&B star Tinashe has pulled the plug on her upcoming New Zealand concert, but says fans can ask her why through Facebook.

AC/DC's Phil Rudd has been named one of the top 100 drummers of all time.

Dr Luke has branded Kesha's claims she was offered her "freedom" in exchange for saying she lied about him sexually abusing her a "publicity stunt".

Taylor Swift paid a gushing tribute to boyfriend Calvin Harris at the iHeart Radio Music Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Kesha has suggested she would be allowed out of her recording contract - if she admitted she "lied" about being sexually assaulted.

Leonardo DiCaprio was "a great sport" about James Corden's Carpool Karaoke prank.

The former One Direction star's Mind of Mine has hit the top spot on the Billboard 200 albums countdown with sales of 157,000.

The veteran American singer-songwriter's Auckland show didn't just cater to his older fanbase.

Jennifer Lopez is the latest celebrity to take the passenger's seat alongside talk show host James Corden in his wildly popular gig "Carpool Karaoke".

A 70-piece LA-based orchestra will perform a mash-up of the works of Ludwig van Beethoven and Kanye West to create, Yeethoven.

Lukas Graham might be on the cusp of world domination right now and they're no overnight sensation.

Paramore star Hayley Williams has been slapped with legal action from former bassist Jeremy Davis.

Hans Zimmer has been slammed over his score in Batman v Superman, but the composer has hit back, saying cinema sound quality is to blame.

Mind of Mine may suffer from this lack of variety, but Malik pulls off his transformation into a brooding, tattooed loverman.

Fellow contestants better have a few tricks up their sleeves if they want to compete with what's undoubtedly the strangest entry in the 2016 Eurovision competition.

Hollie Smith talks to Russell Baillie about the fraught recording behind her new album - and the surprising results.

Faith Evans, the Notorious B.I.G.'s widow, has revealed she is in talks with a company about creating a photographic recording of her husband - who murdered in a drive-by shooting in 1997 - and is keen to perform with the figure.

Shihad are about to kick off New Zealand Music Month in the best possible way by playing three shows in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

He's given up being Jack Bauer on hit show 24, so Kiefer Sutherland's had some spare time on his hands. He's spent it creating country music.

Pre-loading patrons are being blamed for long-lasting consequences faced by a Hawke's Bay winery after a reggae concert.

Disturbed have announced plans to return to New Zealand after cancelling a show here earlier this year.

Reports have surfaced that Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose could be filling in for the band's ailing lead singer, Brian Johnson, in their upcoming shows.

Kiwi musician Lorde is in the middle of writing her new album, and she's enlisted the help of a famous friend for the project.

Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy brought his other band to town for a show that delivered low-key magic.

It was 1962. In London, a group of young musicians hastily named the Rolling Stones took to the stage for the first time.