Foxx is currently working on his fourth LP but bosses at J Records/RCA were said to be unhappy with some of the material, so asked Timberlake for his input.
A source said: “There were some issues with Jamie’s album. Bosses at the label were not happy with the initial tracks, so Justin was asked to help co-write and perform on more songs.
“Timberlake has collaborated on at least three tracks - including the first release, titled ‘Winner’, which is now getting a good reaction on radio play.”
Bosses were reportedly concerned Oscar-winning actor Foxx would be offended by the ‘SexyBack’ singer having greater involvement, but he is said to have taken it quite well.
The source added to the New York Post: “There was some worry that upping Justin’s input would upset Jamie’s famous ego, but so far it has gone well. But he was a little upset the label chiefs were insisting on changing his material to ensure there were more hits.
“The album has been delayed twice. It was due for release in April, then pushed back to June and then delayed again.”
A J Records said: “Jamie started working on this album last November, and Justin was involved from the start. Jamie and Justin have completed three tracks. The album has been delayed to July 20, but everyone is happy with the material.”
The ‘Rude Boy’ singer is a huge fan of British producers - collaborating with drum and Bass duo Chase and Status on her present album ‘Rated R’ – and is looking forward to working with Taio after he got the seal of approval by Def Jam records executive L.A Reid.
She told the Daily Star newspaper: “We will start recording when we get back to Los Angeles. Taio has been signed by L.A Reid and I think he’s great.”
Taio - who has scored a number one single in the UK and US with ‘Break Your Heart’ and written tracks for Will Young and Cheryl Cole – wants to take Rihanna away from her present rock-influenced sound and back to the pop sound of her third album ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’.
He said: “I really like her single ‘Please Don’t Stop the Music’, so the tracks I’ve written for Rihanna are in that vein.”
The ‘Umbrella’ hitmaker is presently on the European leg of her Last Girl On Earth tour and playing to sold out arenas. Her campaign in the US is not said to be going as well however, and according to gossip blogger Perez Hilton, she is reportedly suffering from poor ticket sales.
He tweeted: “Europe is a big success for her. In America, she’s going to LOSE a lot of money because her show is so expensive to put each night and ship around the country. They are going to lose A LOT of money, I’m told.(sic)”
Rihanna’s comes to the UK on May 7.
The ‘Born Free’ singer appealed for fans to help her come up with a name for her third album through her twitter account, shortly after releasing its full track listing.
Suggestions from fans have so far included ‘Libertad’, ‘Flack’, ‘M.I.A 4 Life’, ‘Mamma’ and ‘Trivandrum’.
One working title for the album was ‘Compliations’ because of its long gestation period, according to producer Rusko, who worked on the album with the singer.
He told BBC6 music: “We wanted to call it ‘Complications’ because it took so long. It wasn’t a nightmare, but we’re both perfectionists.
“I’m like a mad perfectionist so the final versions we sent off were version eight and version nine. The song’s had all been changed and changed, but that’s good.”
The producer also credited M.I.A – real name Maya Arulpragasam - as one of the most creative people he has ever worked with, and has an unusual artistic approach to creating her songs.
He added: “It’s crazy. It’s like mad distorted and hectic. She’s super creative. She’s one of my favourite people I’ve ever worked with.
“She makes the picture before the lyrics. It’s kind of all a bit crazy. She’s got a kid, a little one year old baby, and we recorded his heart beat. We’d just think of crazy ideas.”
The psychedelic pop duo admit they took the wrong approach to the track sent to them to work on by the rap mogul for his last album ‘The Blueprint 3’ – and it was subsequently rejected.
Band member Andrew VanWyngarden said: “We were under the impression they wanted us to go crazy.”
The duo – which is completed by Ben Goldwasser – has come under fire recently for their second album ‘Congratulations’ not including any pop hits, akin to the songs which made them famous, including ‘Kids’ and ‘Time To Pretend’ - but they feel those songs were nothing revolutionary.
Andrew added: “We used to think about how to make the most stereotypical pop song and that’s the ones we did. You can break it down. That repeating progression has been used in a gajillion pop songs.”
MGMT also claim their stance on music is widely misunderstood, but have done little to help their own image.
Andrew said: “We were portrayed in a lot of articles as these partying-obsessed dance music fanatics. Which we thought was funny at first, and then we realised not many people understood what we are really trying to do.”
The multi-instrumentalist said he rules the six-piece drum and bass-metal crossover group – which also includes MC Verse, Paul Harding, KJ Sawka, Perry ap Gwynedd and Gareth McGrillen - with an iron fist, and is solely responsible for most of the band’s output.
Referring to the famous Communist leader, he said: “It’s a totalitarian f***ing dictatorship and I am Stalin. I’ll pretty much write a bunch of demos and from there I’ll seek Gareth’s opinion. I’ll then see what the manager thinks and from that we’ll take some stuff back to the studio and me and Gaz will finish it from there on in.”
Rob, 27, also admitted he gets infuriated when people confuse him with the group’s frontman MC Verse – real name Ben Mount – even when they claim to be fans of the band.
He added: “People seem to know the name Pendulum but they get confused as to who’s who. I mean there are so many f***ing photos on Google images where it says ‘Rob Swire’ and it’s a picture of Ben. It’s unbelievable.”
The former Beatle and solo artist –responsible for some of the most enduring pop songs to date including ‘Yesterday’, ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘Eleanor Rigby’ – admits that when it comes to songwriting he does it without thinking about the process, and never analyses his work.
He said: “I’m still intoxicated by the fact I can do it. If I were to try and answer how I do it, I couldn’t.
“I saw a guy on TV dissecting ‘Penny Lane’. He said, ‘McCartney starts off in this key and then he modulates down to sing higher’. I’m going, ‘did I? Brilliant, well done, lad!’ It’s all instinct. I just sort of do it.”
Paul, 67, also said that while he’s enjoyed a career spanning over 40 years he still has a hunger to keep furthering himself - and that over time perspective changes his views of his earlier work.
He added: “Most artists I know feel like they have something to prove. That’s what keeps you going, that sense you can do it better. I mean, I remember not really liking the vocal on ‘Eleanor Rigby’, thinking I hadn’t nailed it.
“I listen to it now – and it’s very good. It’s a bit annoying when you do ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and you’re not happy with it.”
The ‘Long Road To Ruin’ rockers - led by singer and guitarist Dave Grohl - have made good headway with their seventh album, but are taking their time to perfect their sound for the album before entering the recording studio.
Drummer Taylor Hawkins told website spinnermusic.co.uk: “In all honesty, Dave’s got 15 or so song ideas that are awesome and we’ve already demoed some of them twice even.
“But it’s definitely in the fetal stages. We do a lot of demoing, it’s a large process for us. It takes a long time to do it.
“We don’t just say, ‘OK, let’s go make a record’, and pop in the studio and record it just like that.”
The band’s follow up to 2007’s ‘Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace’ is due next year, but in the meantime Dave has been working with supergroup Them Crooked Vultures. Taylor also has his own side project, The Coattail Riders.
He added the side projects are good for Foo Fighters - which also includes Chris Shiflett and Nate Mendel - as they mean they are able to get a perspective outside of the main group.
Taylor added: “All that stuff in the past, it’s proven to be recharging.
“You need everybody to really want to be doing it. Especially Dave, because they’re his songs. If he’s excited - and he appears to be - we’re in great shape. We’ll have a new record in a year.”
The ‘Rocket’ singer admitted she finds it hard to meet other famous people - which can lead to her accidentally looking rude.
She explained: “I’m always quite starstruck. The first time I met Madonna, I couldn’t actually get off the chair to shake her hand. It must have appeared really rude but it was because I was totally gobsmacked that she’d just walked in and made a beeline for me.
“I don’t think I actually managed to get any words out; I just sort of froze and grinned inanely.”
Alison also tipped Lady Gaga to replace Madonna as the “Queen of Pop”, even though she finds the ‘Telephone’ singer’s outrageous fashion choices more interesting than her music.
She added to Time Out magazine: “She’s definitely taken the crown as the Queen of Pop. She’s the new Madonna, I think. Lady Gaga is passionate about what she does - it’s extreme and really good fun. Personally I think the clothes are a lot more interesting than the music. But who knows?
“She’s obviously really talented, so it’ll be interesting to see where her career goes. I think her success is also to do with timing: we all want something to escape to.”
Goldfrapp - which also includes multi-instrumentalist Will Gregory - released their latest album ‘Head First’ last month.
Shakira’s ‘Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)’ has been named official song of this year’s soccer World Cup.
The Columbian born ‘She Wolf’ singer will also fly out to the opening of the tournament – which is being held in South Africa - on June 10 to perform at a concert which will also feature Alicia Keys and Black Eyed Peas.
Shakira said: “I am honored that ‘Waka Waka’ was chosen to be part of the excitement and the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
“The soccer World Cup is a miracle of global excitement, connecting every country, race, religion and condition around a single passion.”
The song will also be featured on the soundtrack to the tournament, called ‘Listen Up! The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Album’, which will be released on May 31, with proceeds from its sale going to various African charities.
Also on the bill at the opening concert – held at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg – are R’n'B singer John Legend, Mali’s Amadou and Mariam, Beninoise singer Angelique Kidjo, South African rock group BLK JKS, Columbian rocker Juanes, South African indie group The Parlotones, Saharan desert musicians Tinariwen, Malian singer and guitarist Vieux Farka Toure, and South African artist Vusi Mahlasela.
The concert is expected to be attended by an audience of 30,000 at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg.
The new band, which is made up of the musician and his wife Mariqueen Maandig, have launched their website and released a 40 second video clip, which introduces an ambient, heavy electro sound, and shows a woman’s hand - believed to be Mariqueen’s – working a synthesiser.
The only statement released so far by the band reads: “Self-titled 6-track EP out this summer. Exact date TBA.”
Multi-instrumentalist Trent– who retired his band Nine Inch Nails from playing live last year - has previously promised he will release new music this year, saying in December last year he will be working on projects: “Including new material from Nine Inch Nails and something else that isn’t Nine Inch Nails.”
One of Trent’s friends, electro-rocker Gary Numan, recently said the new material will be a departure from the polished industrial metal sound of Nine Inch Nails.
He said: “I went out to dinner with Trent and he said then that it’d be great to do something very different from what both of us have done before, which sounds very exciting. I know he’s been back in the studio working on stuff. He works constantly.”
The ‘Fix You’ rockers – consisting of Chris Martin, Will Champion, Jonny Buckland and Guy Berryman - are currently working on their fifth studio LP and have already penned over 50 tracks.
Now they must decide which songs make it, by grading the tunes A,B and C on the specially-made wall.
A Coldplay roadie said: “The names of every idea have been written down – each on their own piece of card. Inevitably, there’s a huge number of cards. From tiny moments that were played only once to things that have been playing for months now, they’re all up there.
“The cards are first arranged on the wall in terms of A, B and C. The A list are songs that have to go on the record. The B list are songs that might or might not. The C list contains things that are being left.”
‘The Beehive’ is a follow-up to 2008’s ’Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends’ and is set to be released by the end of the year.
