Flo Rida wants to collaborate with The Saturdays to make amends for beating them to number one in the UK charts twice.

The US rapper’s new track ‘Club Can’t Handle Me’ held the British girl group’s ‘Missing You’ from the number one spot in last Sunday’s (15.08.10) chart.

This is the second time Flo Rida has kept the Saturdays from number one, after his song ‘Round Round’ kept their charity single ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ from topping the UK charts last year.

However, the rapper hopes to apologise by offering the girls the chance to lay down a track with him.

He explained: “If we could make a collaboration happen I would be up for that.

“I don’t know much about The Saturdays but we put smiles on people’s faces when we make music, which counts more than getting number ones.”

Flo Rida has previously rapped on ‘X Factor’ winner Alexandra Burke’s debut single ‘Bad Boys’ and credits her with the success of ‘Club Can’t Handle Me’ – as she introduced him to French DJ David Guetta, the producer behind the track.

He added to the Daily Star newspaper: “David has got a great passion for what he does and he’s very humble. Alexandra insisted I meet him when we did a show together. We kept in touch and decided to work together.”

Kasabian promise their headlining sets at this year’s Virgin Media V Festivals will be a “f***ing rave”.

The rock band are performing at the event’s Staffordshire leg on Saturday (21.08.10) and the Cheltenham stage of the event on Sunday (22.08.10) and have promised to give one of the performances of their career.

Guitarist Serge Pizzorno said: “It’s just going to be a f***ing rave. We’re just going to try and make it the greatest night out anyone’s had this year.

“That’s the sort of idea – just give people something to celebrate.”

After the band headlined this year’s T in the Park festival, the band’s frontman Tom Meighan said he feels the band had always been “destined” to take the headlining slot.

He said: “Kasabian were always destined for it. When I walked out on the T in the Park stage, I felt like I was Julius Caesar when he stood up in Rome!

“People were going mental as we walked out. I think we were always meant for that moment.”

The band – completed by Chris Edwards, Ian Matthews and Jay Mehler – have reportedly finished recording their fourth album and hope to release it next year.

Dizzee Rascal, Cheryl Cole and Gorillaz have been shortlisted for this year’s BT Digital Music Awards.

Nominations for the awards – which celebrates the rising importance of the internet in music – were opened to public vote today (19.08.10), with artists fighting it out in 21 categories.

Cheryl Cole and her ‘X Factor’ protege Alexandra Burke go head to head in both the Best Female Artist and Best Song categories, while rappers Plan B, Chipmunk and R ‘n’ B singer Taio Cruz will go head to head in both the Best Song and Best Male Artist sections.

Lee Thompson, BT Vision’s Head of Music said: “The breadth of incredible new home grown talent that’s emerged in the past 12 months, selling huge amounts of digital audio and video downloads, makes this year’s BT Digital Music Awards nominations list our best ever.”

Other artists gaining nominations include: Ellie Goulding, Chipmunk, JLS, N-Dubz, Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna and Lady Gaga.

2010 also sees the introduction of a number of new categories to the event, including Best Place to Hear, Discover and Buy Music, Best Event and Best Music App.

The BT Digital Music awards will take place at London’s Roundhouse Venue on September 30.

To vote please visit www.btadma.com

Shortlist of nominations open to public vote at the BT Digital Music awards 2010:

Best Female Artist

Alexandra Burke

Cheryl Cole

Ellie Goulding

Florence and The Machine

Leona Lewis

Pixie Lott

Best Male Artist

Chipmunk

Dizzee Rascal

Plan B

Robbie Williams

Taio Cruz

Tinie Tempah

Best Group

JLS

Mumford and Sons

Muse

N-Dubz

The Saturdays

Sugababes

Best Song

Bad Boys – Alexandra Burke ft Flo Rida

Break Your Heart – Taio Cruz

Fight For This Love – Cheryl Cole

Pass Out – Tinie Tempah

She Said – Plan B

You’ve Got The Love – Florence and The Machine

Best International Artist or Group

Alicia Keys

Black Eyed Peas

Glee Cast

Jay-Z

Lady Gaga

Rihanna

Best Independent Artist or Group

Dizzee Rascal

Example

Lostprophets

Prodigy

The Temper Trap

Vampire Weekend

Best Newcomer

Aggro Santos

Example

Joe McElderry

Mumford and Sons

Professor Green

Tinie Tempah

Best Video

Bad Boys – Alexandra Burke ft Flo Rida

Everybody in Love – JLS

Fight For This Love – Cheryl Cole

Good Times – Roll Deep

Pass Out – Tinie Tempah

Say It’s Over – N’Dubz

Best Place to Discover Music

BBC Introducing

Drowned in Sound

Guardian Music

iTunes

NME.com

Resident Advisor

Best Place to Hear Music

BBC 6Music

Last.fm

MySpace

SoundCloud

Spotify

Youtube

Best Place to Buy Music

Amazon

Boomkat

eMusic

iTunes

Play.com

Spotify

Florence Welch will be “banging pots and pans” to write her new album.

The Florence And The Machine singer says her group’s performances at this year’s V Festival will be their last of the summer, before she takes a basic approach to writing the follow up to her debut album ‘Lungs’.

Speaking at the premiere of ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’ at London’s Leicester Square last night (18.08.10), the flame haired singer told BANG Showbiz: “We’ve not got pimped out or anything like that. I don’t like big studios, so I’m just going to go back into the little place in Crystal Palace with Izzy Summers, who I worked on the first album with.

“We’ll just go back to banging pots and pans, nothing’s really changed. We like to start very basic and stripped back.”

When asked if she had any surprises in store for her appearances at V, Florence added: “I don’t really plan sets. We played two new songs at Glastonbury, so we’ll probably include them.”

Florence has previously said she hopes to play more guitar on her second album, which she is expected to begin recording in October.

Florence And The Machine appear at this year’s Virgin Media V Festival in Cheltenham and Gloucester this weekend.

Olly Murs doesn’t believe in himself as a musician.

The ‘Please Don’t Let Me Go’ singer – who came second in UK talent search show ‘The X Factor’, fronted by music mogul Simon Cowell last year – doesn’t have a great deal of belief in himself, but has had “fantastic” feedback for his debut single.

Olly told BANG Showbiz: “I’d always wanted for Simon Cowell to be a part of my deal so I’m over the moon he’s still involved. He has such great belief in me. I’m the only one who doesn’t believe in myself but the feedback for ‘Please Don’t Let Me Go’ has been fantastic.

“We just wanted to do something that was summery, something that was reggae, something that was cool, something that was quirky and fun.

“This single is just a small indication of the album. There’s also a lot of poppy ballads on there and a real variety of stuff – you don’t want it to sound the same all the way through.”

The former call centre worker admitted there is a long list of artists he would love to collaborate with in the future, but thought it was important to make his debut album all his own work.

Olly added: “I’d love to collaborate with other people, I really, really would but I thought it was important not to do that on the first album.

“It would be easy for me to say I want to collaborate with Stevie Wonder or Paul McCartney but let’s be honest, it’s not going to happen. Professor Green and Eliza Doolittle are the ones I’d want to work with at the moment.”

Katy Perry had to return to her hometown in order to write ‘Teenage Dream’

The US singer felt she needed to get back to her roots to write the title track from her second album, so returned to her home town of Santa Barbara, California, away from “exhausting” Los Angeles, where she is usually based.

Katy told MTV: “Well, going to Santa Barbara, which isn’t very far from Los Angeles, it was just like it brought me back home and it took me out of this fast-paced life. Everybody climbing on top of each other to get to that next step on the ladder: sometimes Los Angeles can get exhausting.”

The result was ‘Teenage Dream’, a song about the feeling and experience of first love, which Katy said informed her of how the shape the rest of the album would take.

She added: “I wanted to call the album Teenage Dream because, I wrote that song in Santa Barbara and it was a really pure moment for me because that’s where I’m from. And it was where I started my creative juices, and it kind of exudes this euphoric feeling like everyone remembers what their teenage dreams were.”

Katy added that recording the song – with producers Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Benny Blanco – wasn’t easy, and they re-wrote it a number of times in order to get it perfect.

‘Teenage Dream’ is released on August 24 in the US and on August 30 in Europe.

Madonna could earn $1 billion by signing up for a five year residency in Las Vegas.

The ‘Celebration’ singer is said to be in discussions with promoters to establish a run of shows in the glitzy US gambling capital.

If Madonna signs the deal she will be following in the footsteps of other performers such as Elton John, Cher and Celine Dion, who have all made huge sums through Vegas contracts.

If the rumours of the contract being worth $1 billion are true, it would push 52-year-old Madonna up the list of highest earning females in the world. Currently, with an estimated fortune of £208 million, she is in fourth place behind talk show host Oprah Winfrey, host and publisher Martha Stewart and British ‘Harry Potter’ creator JK Rowling.

It is not known if a Las Vegas residency would conflict with the ‘Material Girl’ singer’s current ten year touring contract with promoters Live Nation, signed in 2007 for a reported £80 million.

Whether she appears in Vegas or not, the singer plans to keep touring and recently auditioned for dancers in London to appear in a proposed tour next autumn.

A source said: “It’s going to be her biggest, most unexpected tour to date. She is going back to her New York City roots, with a street/hip-hop feel, and wants to make it a physical, dance-heavy set of gigs.”

The as-yet unnamed tour – which is part of Madonna’s deal with Live Nation – is expected to net the singer in excess of £100 million.

The singer’s last world tour – ‘Sticky and Sweet’ – finished last September and grossed an estimated $400 million in ticket sales.

Pete Doherty is set to sing on Carl Barat’s debut solo album.

The pair recently reunited their band, The Libertines – putting their differences, which originally caused the group’s end – behind them, and Carl is keen for Pete to provide vocals on the track ‘So Long, My Lover’ on his self-titled album, which will be released in October.

Carl said: “It’s really brutally honest and a truthful telling of a time – I hope people can relate to it.”

The album tells the story of a break-up, but Carl refuses to say whether it is about his split from long-term partner Annalisa Astarita or his fall-out with Pete, who was thrown out of The Libertines for his out-of-control drug addiction.

Carl added to The Sun newspaper: “I’m a happier and more complete person for having made this record. This album is the truth.”

32-year-old Carl will play live with the reunited line up of The Libertines for the first time in six years at the Reading and Leeds festivals in the UK later this month. It is unlikely he will debut any of his solo tracks live however, as they mark a significant departure from the sound he has pursued in other bands.

A spokesperson for the rocker said: “Having released two albums with The Libertines and then a further two with Dirty Pretty Things, Carl was very keen to do his own record and do things his own way.

“It is a departure from Carl’s previous releases, but maintains his ear for melody. The album allowed him to work with new people and try new musical ideas. The result is a very honest and heartfelt record, with upbeat tales of friendship and laments for lost love.”

Klaxons are happy they struggled to make their second album.

The British band – who will release ‘Surfing The Void’ next month -admit they had an easy time with their first album and needed “sorting out.”

Singer-and- bassist Jamie Reynolds said: We don’t look at any of what’s happened as negative. It was important for us to have a slightly difficult time, because we’d been on this breeze, the band was just upwards and upwards and upwards – it never stopped!”

The ‘Golden Skans’ hitmakers also say working with Slipknot producer Ross Robinson gave them some much needed guidance.

Guitarist Simon Taylor-Davis said the unlikely partnership was exactly what the band needed.

He explained: “He started by studying the drums, then he just slowly prised each one of us apart. He said to Steff Halperin, the drummer, just before the first take ‘You are going to die tomorrow and this is what you’ll be remembered for – so let’s do it!’”

Jamie added: “His is a very dramatic approach to finding the moment and making everything feel completely alive and real.”

Kings of Leon deliberately made some songs on their new record worse than they could have been.

The rock group admit struggling with the sound of their next album ‘Come Around Sundown’, and wrestled with making songs either more or less radio friendly.

Bass player Jared Followill said: “Every once in a while, someone would be like, ‘Let’s make this worse than it can be,’ and then there were other times when someone would say, ‘let’s make this more popular than it should be.’

“There was a different type of tension on this record. The only thing I care about is writing good songs. I don’t want to consciously write a popular song, but at the same time, I don’t want us cutting off our nose to spite our face.”

The band – which also includes Jared’s brothers Caleb and Nathan and cousin Matthew – also reportedly didn’t suffer any of the legendary in-fights or fallouts which have occurred during the recording of their other four albums.

Matthew added: “It’s been one the smoothest records we’ve ever made. No arguments, no fistfights. Nothing like that.”