iqra

Ronan Keating says the late George Michael has been the biggest influence on his life.
The Boyzone frontman was a huge fan of the ‘Careless Whisper’ hitmaker – who passed away in December 2916 – when he was growing up and was pleased to call him a friend and mentor later in his life.
He said: “The most influential person in my life had been George Michael.
“He was very important to me and was one of my musical heroes growing up.
“Then he became a friend and mentor and someone I’d lean on.”
The 42-year-old star still struggles to “understand” the deaths of his beloved mother Marie and former bandmate Stephen Gately.
He said: “The toughest challenges I’ve faced are the deaths of my mother and Stephen Gately.
“My mum had cancer so you’re kind of building walls and preparing to protect yourself, but with Stephen it was so out of the blue.
“He was so young – it was the craziest thing ever in our lives. It’s still hard to understand.”
The ‘Life is a Rollercoaster’ hitmaker was just a teenager when he found fame and he wishes he’d enjoyed the early years a bit more than he did at the time.
He told new! magazine: “I’d tell my 16-year-old self don’t take yourself so seriously and just have fun.
“I worked hard in making sure the band worked, but those six years went by in the blink of an eye and I wish I had enjoyed it a bit more.”

will.i.am wants to work with Madonna.
The Black Eyed Peas star – who has previously collaborated with the likes of Britney Spears and Justin Bieber – thinks the ‘Ray of Light’ hitmaker is “the queen” and though he’s got the means to contact her, he won’t broach the subject of a collaboration until he sees her face-to-face.
He said: “I’d love to work with Madonna. It’s like, Madonna! The queen!
“I’ve got her number so I could WhatsApp her but things like that you’re supposed to do right in front of their face.
“I don’t want to go through a phone and let some other company have my conversation. I’d want to do it in person.”
These days, the 44-year-old star and his Black Eyed Peas bandmates, Taboo and Apl.de.ap, lead quiet lives and things don’t get too raucous backstage at their gigs.
Taboo told Closer magazine: “None us drink so there won’t be champagne. There’ll probably be tea, I really like tea.”
will added: “There’ll be some nice vegan food, because I’m vegan.
“Probably fruits, vegetable platters and salads.
“I really like ginger too so I hope there’s some of that. We can have fun without alcohol.”
will recently admitted he is keen to work with Cheryl – who he managed until 2013 – again in the future and they have been discussing the possibility of a collaboration.
He said: “We talked about it at a Post Malone concert.
“I would love to work with Cheryl again, she is awesome.”

Kate Nash “lost [her] mind” on tour.
The ‘Foundations’ hitmaker admitted life on the road isn’t very glamorous and she’s grown to accept there will always be a point where she goes “insane”.
She said: “There is a point on tour when you go insane.
“Especially when you have to deal with a rank dressing room, like we did in Boston. I actually lost my mind a little bit.
“I opened my towel and a gigantic clump of other people’s hair fell on me.
“The routine is not glamorous. There’s a stage where you can’t get clean. Even after a shower you think ‘Well that was pointless, it’s in my pores.’
“You’re just dirty and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
But the 32-year-old star loves the camaraderie between herself and her band.
She told Grazia magazine: “Living on a tour bus is like being at a teenage camp, you revert back to really silly jokes and weird routines.
“Once we bought these kids torches that had dinosaur shapes at the end.
“We would shine them on the roof of the bus and everyone would have to make up stories.
“You bond so much because you end up having so many deep and meaningful conversations.
“I love my band – they’re like my sisters.
“I feel lucky that I have a job where I get to spend so much time with people I really love.”
Kate struggles to sleep and often worries it’ll impact on her shows.
She said: “After I finish a performance on tour I’ll be buzzing until 3 or 4 am. I definitely can’t sleep straight away. You have to get rid of that energy…
“I’ve had really bad insomnia since I was 14. I’ve been scarred from being a teenager!
“But I can do a lot in little sleep – it’s what gets me through tour.
“I get nervous and think I’m going to crash before the performance.
“I always think, ‘F**k, how am I going to move my legs and do the show?’ but then right before you go on, you get this crazy adrenaline rush and it all kicks in.”