Letters home give a revealing insight into Janis Joplin, a complicated woman.

Two attractive new releases feature Valencia, alongside Katherine Austin, mining the repertoire for cello and piano, both substantial and stocking-filler.

I'm tempted to borrow a phrase from French composer Francoise Sagan and greet Nicola Benedetti and Leonard Elschenbroich with a cheery "Aimez-vous Brahms?" as the couple are about to play Sagan's Double Concerto.

Bruce Springsteen has cancelled a North Carolina show in protest of the law banning anti-discrimination ordinances.

He was named Time magazine's most influential teen, with more than four million YouTube subscribers. Now, Australian singer Troye Sivan is set to perform in New Zealand for the first time.

There was plenty of noise in the studio during the recording of the Sacramento rockers' latest album.

After 15 seasons, American Idol is coming to an end. Here are the best and worst contestants from the show.

Jennifer Lopez has unveiled the artwork for her new single Ain't Your Mama online, but it hasn't taken long for fans to pick up on one detail from the stunning single cover.

Sad Ben Affleck has given Simon and Garfunkel new life on the music charts.

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.

Lena Dunham felt she was "in the presence of otherworldly greatness" when she attended Rihanna's ANTI tour this week.

Singer-songwriter-mother Anika Moa tells Greg Bruce why she doesn't like happy endings.

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.

Half of couple behind Low says musings on relationship bring depth to latest songs.

Kiwi fans didn't get to see Noel Gallagher on his recent tour down under - if they had, they might have witnessed an outburst like this.

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.