Music

Brit Awards: Harry Styles and Wet Leg lead male-dominated nominations

Stormzy, Cat Burns, The 1975 and dance producer Fred Again are close behind with three apiece.

BBC reports Beyoncé and Taylor Swift will fight it out in the international categories, while Sam Ryder is in the running for best new artist.

He is the first Eurovision act ever to be recognised in the category.

"Well, I never knew that," Ryder told BBC News. "So the shock and awe on my stupid face is completely legitimate. That's amazing."

The star added that he had had a "funny relationship" with the Brits in his formative years as a musician.

Hidden gorge turned into natural amphitheater

Ormiston Gorge, 130 kilometres west of Alice Springs in the West MacDonnell National Park, became a natural amphitheatre for the concert.

It was one of the final events for the 10-day Desert Song Festival, and director Morris Stuart said it was a big turnout.

"The crowd is up and happy and positive, so it's a wonderful way to round off the 2017 Desert Song Festival," he said.

"I think we had well over 1,000 people here today which put a bit of pressure on us, but logistics apart, beautiful afternoon, wonderful contribution from singers and from musicians as well.

Nina Nesbitt returns with Rihanna's backing

It's after Nina's song got sent to the star's management, who said they loved what she'd written.

"Apparently she (Rihanna) said it was beautiful and it gave me a confidence boost. It made me think, 'Maybe I'm alright at this after all.'"

Nina is now back with her first full album in three years.

In that time she's changed record label and has spent a lot of time "hiding away in a little cave in a little studio" like a "gremlin".

Pink: ban racism, sexism - all the isms'

Pink returned to the pop world in August with her single, What About Us, which she says was inspired in part by the state of current world politics.

She released her sixth album, The Truth About Love in 2012, when Barack Obama was the US president.

Her seventh, Beautiful Trauma, is released in October among political unrest in America and across the world.

But as an artist who has recorded anthems for underdogs throughout her career with hits such as Don't Let Me Get Me, Raise Your Glass and So What, she says she is still fighting "an old fight."

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Former medic becomes hip-hop artist to help fellow veterans

"It was a kinetic and violent deployment. The conditions were pretty austere," Todd said. "My roommate was killed on the first day. ... It shook us pretty bad."

He got his second nickname, "Doc," serving as a Navy corpsman, essentially a combat medic, for the 2nd Battalion 8th Marines in Helmand province in 2009.

"Over there, we were just worried about water, survival, ammunition, food and God," Todd said.

His job was to assist with trauma and injuries on the battlefield. In the end, it was Todd who needed help.

Djs gather 50 years on to mark the golden age of British pirate radio

And the British government was furious.

Back in the 1960s, when pop and rock were taking over the music scene, British teenagers had to turn to pirate radio stations to hear bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Barred from broadcasting from land, stations such as Radio Caroline and Radio London had taken to the water, using rusty old ships moored in international waters to broadcast to millions of eager listeners across the UK.

'Music videos are such an amazing art form': Shae

Prior to his chat with RNZ Music’s Yadana Saw he gives a quick masterclass on how to film this interview for radio:

Shae is happy to give us a crash course in expanding our content making skills.

It seems he is completely unfazed by the obstacles and quirks of his chosen profession: evading the attention of armed security guards; trawling Craigslist for vintage cars or maintaining control of wayward tractor tyres.

“It’s such an amazing art form, you’re so free to do what you want” enthuses Shae.

Dropping beats not bombs

"It happened quite a number of times that a friend or colleague was killed," he says. "Fortunately I still have my fingers and toes."

Samhat cleared mines in the south of Lebanon, the home nation of his parents before they moved to Los Angeles, California, where he was born. He also supervised teams in Sudan, Cyprus and Kosovo.

Yet away from this perilous work, Samhat was grafting at another passion that has since become his life -- dropping beats for music fans across the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and promoting local musical talent.

UK singer: I was deported for impersonating Trump

Peter Bywaters, of Peter & The Test Tube Babies, claims he was detained when he flew in for a festival.

He said he was interrogated for six hours by border control staff and shown photos of himself dressed up as Donald Trump on tour in Germany last year.

However, US Customs and Border Protection officials say he was deported for having the wrong visa.

'All the bowling ladies': Beyonce anthem used in bid to save Melbourne club

Three ladies from the Chadstone Bowls Club — Terry Foster, 82, Janine Hall, 82, and Wyn Hewett, 72 — star in a video featuring them dancing to Beyonce hit Single Ladies.

But instead of singing about break-ups and sisterhood, the trio sing about their love for the club and ask Stonnington Council to "pay attention".

"Cause we're bowlers and you can't take this away from us," the chorus goes.

"Now we're mad and you won't get away with it."