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    Legendary 90s RnB singer, 43, has barely aged a day 26 years after number 1 smash, tragic lover’s suicide and three kids

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    GRAMMY-award winning American singer-songwriter Monica Arnold, appears to have found the elixir of eternal youth in new fabulous Disney World snaps.The nineties R&B icon had a fun day out last month with friends and family in the popular amusement destination Disney World in Orlando, Florida. R&B queen Monica left fans in awe when she posted pics of her recent Disney World trip – appearing to not aged a day over 90s fameCredit: instagram/monicadeniseIn 1997, the ageless artist became the youngest artist ever to achieve two number 1 hits on the Billboard R&B singles chart in the same yearThe Disney World enthusiast has endured many of life’s roller-coasters – many of which she details in her extensive catalogue of musicMonica and fellow 90s music teen idol Brandy have their first and only Grammy-award together, for 1998 smash hit duet: The Boy Is MineCredit: AlamyThe Georgia-born singer, 43, best known for her Brandy duet The Boy Is Mine, posted gorgeous pics on Instagram of her latest adventure to Disney World in Orlando, Florida last month.In the pics, the Billboard-award winner who graced numerous classic R&B and pop hit songs of the 90s and 00s, can be seen enjoying Disney’s Dash & Dodge roller-coaster with her friends and family.The ageless singer soaked up the sun with her blonde waves – no longer sporting her signature 90s pixie cut hairstyle music lovers initially knew her when she launched her career back in 1991.Fans stormed the comment section of the Don’t Take It Personal singer’s social media accounts to comment on her luminous appearance in the pics.Read More Sun StoriesOne fan wrote in her Instagram comment section: “You look so pretty! I thought this picture was your daughter!”Another fan chimed in with the comment: “You do not age! You look the same [since 90s fame]! You’re like fine wine that gets better with age! Love that you’re making memories for them [her kids].”The Atlanta-based songstress responded to the fan, and replied: “Thank you! Gotta make memories with them!”Monica took some much needed downtime from recording music and touring, which she has consistently done since she launched her career over 30 years ago.Most read in ShowbizHer body of work includes hit songs such as Angel of Mine, So Gone and, of course, her global number 1 smash with chart rival, singer Brandy, 45.MONICA’S EARLY BEGINNINGSThe multi-award winner began singing at 4-years-old, and released her 1st album, 10 years later at the young age of 14Credit: GettyMonica was born and raised in College Park, Georgia and began singing at the age of 4, and eventually joined a travelling gospel choir at the age of 10.Kobe Bryant and Brandy Norwood arrive at 1996 prom and star in sitcom ‘Moesha’In 1993, Monica signed a record deal with pop tycoons TLC and Madonna’s record producer, Dallas Austin, 53, who had been looking for a promising new talent to launch his label, Rowdy Records.She gained prominence following the release of her debut studio album, Miss Thang, which was released in 1995 when she was just 14-year-old.Miss Thang was a runaway success, selling an estimated 4 million units worldwide, and producing hit singles Don’t Take It Personal, Before You Walk Out of My Life and Why I Love You So Much.She would follow up this success with her sophomore effort The Boy Is Mine, named after the hit single, which to this day, sold 16 million singles worldwide.The R&B superstar released 5 albums since then: 2002’s All Eyez On Me, 2003’s After the Storm, 2006’s The Makings of Me, 2010’s Still Standing, 2012’s New Life and 2015’s Code Red. She’s also ventured into the acting world, with TV roles in sitcom Living Single back in 1996 and a film role in 2000 comedy film Boys and Girls.In 2010, Billboard magazine listed Monica at number 24 on its list of the Top 50 R&B and Hip Hop Artists of the past 25 years. Monica has sold over 25 million records worldwide.BRANDY AND MONICA ‘RIVALRY’Then teen stars Monica, Brandy and the late R&B singer Aaliyah are cited by music critics and fans alike for ushering in a new era of popular music in the 90s and 00sCredit: ReutersThe four-time Grammy-nominee, won her first and only Grammy-award for Best R&B performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for her duet with Brandy, back in 1999. Initially, the then teen-stars teamed teamed together to record the song, in an effort to diffuse any conversations around a music rivalry. It had even been rumoured that an alleged verbal fight turned into a physical one between the two young stars, backstage at the 1998 VMA’s. The singers never spoke directly about the alleged incident, but spent many years speaking of each other publicly in the press.However, they reunited in 2012 to but any perceived animosity aside, to record their second duet called It All Belongs To Me.The singers bonded during the singles promotional run, often laughing and making positive comments towards each other in interviews.That same year, the two supported each other through the loss of their shared mentor, the late pop queen Whitney Houston. In 2020, the R&B starlets broke the internet when they both participated in now viral Verzuz battle, where they took turns to play their beloved hit songs to the delight of fans.Their timeless duet, The Boy Is Mine is both Brandy and Monica’s highest streamed song on Spotify, with an astounding 234 million streams.MONICA’S HIGHS AND LOWS The singer has experienced many ups and downs personally and professionally, including the loss of boyfriend Jarvis WeemsCredit: GettyMonica has three children, including two sons, Rodney, 18 and Romelo, 16, with former boyfriend rapper and producer Rodney Ramone Hill Jr, 44.She also has a 10-year-old daughter, Laiyah Shannon with ex-husband, professional basketball player Shannon Brown.The R&B crooner met Rodney Ramone shortly after the suicide of her boyfriend Jarvin Weems.She credits Rodney for helping her heal after experiencing severe trauma back in 2000, from watching Jarvis commit suicide using a gun in front of her at the grave site of Jarvis’s brother.The singer channelled the sudden loss into critically-acclaimed album After The Storm in 2003.Monica and Rodney became engaged in 2007, before splitting in early 2010. In June 2010, she met NBA player Shannon Brown in a quest to cast a love interest for her 2010 song Love All Over Me.In October 2010, she announced their engagement on X formerly known as Twitter. The two got married in a secret ceremony at their LA-home November of that same year.They divorced after almost a decade together, in October 2019.CURRENT PLANS Monica considered one of the R&B’s most successful artists of the past 3 decades having sold 25 million records worldwideCredit: GettyThe So Gone singer released the single Letters, last year in June.She also collaborated with rap queen Nicki Minaj, 41, and fellow R&B singer Keisha Cole, 42, on the song Love Me Enough that same year. Monica is currently on the US leg Nicki’s Pink Friday 2 World Tour, which will be arriving in the UK at the end of this month, including a stop May 28th at the London’s 02 arena.In October 2023, news about Monica dating TV executive producer Anthony Wilson became public. READ MORE SUN STORIESLast month For You I Will singer opened up about the new relationship to blog HelloBeautiful.She said: “I’m enjoying being supported and loved in a way that allows me to be a lot softer than I typically am.”The mother-of-three is still releasing music and touring, including recent tour with rap queen Nicki MinajCredit: Getty More

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      Baywatch star Jeremy Jackson’s ex wife Loni Willison rummages through litter bins and holds a ‘pipe’ on streets of LA

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      BAYWATCH star Jeremy Jackon’s ex wife Loni Willison has been spotted rummaging through litter bins in a series of shocking pictures.The former swimwear model, 40, who has been homeless since 2016, could be seen clutching what appeared to be a pipe in her painful looking hands. Baywatch star Jeremy Jackson’s ex-wife Loni Willison was seen going through a binCredit: TheImageDirect.comLoni was seen pushing a trolley through the streets of LACredit: TheImageDirect.comLoni’s fingers looked very soreCredit: TheImageDirect.comLoni with her ex Jeremy JacksonCredit: GettyLoni, who was wearing very large, ripped trousers, was pushing a shopping trolley full of her worldly possessions.The heartbreaking images show her searching in the large bins, presumably for something to eat or help make her life easier.It’s not the first time Loni – who is now completely unrecognisable from her glam bombshell days – has been seen walking the streets looking for food.Downward spiralThings took a downwards turn in 2016, when Loni – who was an assistant at a cosmetic surgery center in Los Angeles – reportedly had a mental breakdown.Read More on BaywatchShe lost her job, apartment, and car due to the crisis and was forced to live on the streets.Loni began using drugs and battled an addiction to meth and alcohol.Heartbreakingly she once claimed she makes herself look as dirty as possible to avoid being sexually abused on the street.“I get robbed all the time. People take my stuff. I basically make myself as dirty as possible so that no one attacks me,” she told the Daily Mail.Most read in Celebrity“The dirtier I am the better. Smelly, too. If I do those two things, that seems to work.“I cut off my hair, too, to look different. I cut it myself. But I have been attacked, that’s bound to happen, too.”Baywatch star Jeremy Jackson’s ex-wife Loni Willison pushes cart in alley as she smokes a cigarette while homeless in LAHer once stunning looks have become ravaged by addiction and she has lost several teeth.Showbiz marriagePrior to her homelessness, Loni was married to actor Jeremy Jackson.Jeremy played Hobie Buchanan in Baywatch from 1991 to 1999 alongside his onscreen father David Hasselhoff and stars like Pamela Anderson, Donna D’Errico, and Yasmine Bleeth.The former child star, already had a history of drug addiction when he met Loni, which had begun during his time as a teenager on Baywatch.Loni could be seen pushing along all her belongingsCredit: TheImageDirect.comLoni has spoken out about her life on the streetsCredit: TheImageDirect.comHe had been arrested for manufacturing methamphetamine at 19, had spent 90 days in jail for possession and completed five stints in rehab.Loni was a model at the time, who graced the cover of fitness magazines in skimpy sportswear and swimsuits.Sad endThe two wed in 2012 and split in 2014 after Jeremy’s alleged attack on her at their West Hollywood home.She later claimed he strangled and beat her, leaving her with two broken ribs, an injured neck, and scratches on her face and body.They split after the alleged attack but she decided not to press charges.While Loni is still battling her addictions, her ex-husband is managing to stay clean and is now a leading figure in LA’s fitness scene, posting musclebound pictures on his Instagram page.He has refused to comment on his ex-wife’s plight when asked on previous occasions but another ex, Cindy Kovacs, slammed the actor for refusing to help Loni after their split in 2014.READ MORE SUN STORIESShe told the Sun: “It’s really sad what happened to Loni and she never got the help she needs.“He didn’t do anything. It was worth nothing to him. He didn’t give a s**t. It was appalling, sickening.”The star looked very different during her modelling daysCredit: FacebookLoni was married to Jeremy up until 2014Credit: Getty More

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      Bitter love split, spats with sons & burning through her £50m fortune – how Britney Spears’ life has gone into free fall

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      IT was a court case that raged on for years, as #FreeBritney campaigners fought for pop superstar Britney Spears to be released from a legal arrangement that gave her little power over her own life.But two and a half years after she was freed from her 13-year conservatorship, which had given her father Jamie control over her personal life and finances, there are major questions over whether throwing her back into the deep end of life without any help was the right thing to do.Britney Spears pictured in 2018Credit: GettyFans wave #FreeBritney placards but sources say the singer has no one looking out her nowCredit: AlamySince November 2021, the Toxic singer has been hit by disaster after disaster and things have gone from bad to worse.Britney, 42, married third husband, actor Sam Asghari, 30, in June 2022, after they began dating in 2016. But they split 13 months later amid allegations she attacked him as he slept and left him with a black eye and bite marks.Then her sons Preston, 18, and Jayden, 17, moved to Hawaii with their dad Kevin Federline, 46, and publicly begged their mum to stop stripping off and dancing in videos posted on Instagram.Read More on ShowbizThe pop favourite, who has sold more than 150million records, is now living an increasingly “dysfunctional and isolated” life according to sources in the US.And there are concerns she is burning through her £50million fortune, splashing her cash on eye-wateringly expensive luxury holidays.Yesterday, US gossip website TMZ claimed she has been spending millions of dollars on regular trips to French Polynesia every couple of months, blowing the money on private jets, luxury hotels and staff.Then there have also been monthly trips to Hawaii, costing £280k a pop, where she stays in the presidential suite at the Four Seasons.Most read in CelebrityA source said: “There is no one looking after Britney. “Her life is in freefall. Britney Spears dances in teeny black bikini inside LA mansion as she gushes she was ‘feeling herself’“She has no focus and no one is telling her that she is at risk of flittering away all of the earnings she worked so hard for. “She is living like there’s no tomorrow.”There were allegations of financial mismanagement during her conservatorship.She was forced to perform several lucrative tours and Las Vegas residencies, released four albums, appeared as a judge on the X Factor USA and launched a string of products but despite her heavy workload, the numbers did not add up to the huge sum she should have earned, while her father was paid £12,000 per month.But the source continued: “Her finances were so tightly watched when she was in the conservatorship.“There were times when she had to ask her backing dancers to pay for dinner and she was basically given meagre pocket money from her own accounts.“Now it’s like she’s gone from one extreme to the other. “It’s worrying to think what could happen in just a few short years if she blows through her fortune.”Although the conservatorship was legally terminated in 2021, only last week did the legal wrangle over the intricacies finally come to an end. It was decided she would have to pay £3.2million in fees to her lawyer Mathew Rosengart and a further £1.6 million for her father’s legal costs.But an emotional Britney hit out at her dad Jamie, 71, and mum Lynne, 68, who she has also had a rocky relationship with, claiming they ought to face “justice”.In a post on her Instagram page on Sunday night, before she deactivated her account yesterday, she wrote: “There has been no justice and probably never will be!There is no one looking after Britney, her life is in freefall. No one is telling her that she is at risk of flittering away the earnings she worked so hard for’Inside source“The way I was brought up I was always taught the formative of right and wrong but the very two people who brought me up with that method hurt me!“I am so lucky to be here! “It’s funny ’cus till this very day I haven’t told them face to face!“I text through IG but I honestly believe it will not be so safe if I ever did go face to face!”Her lawyer Mathew seems to be one of the only people acting in her best interests, after deciding it would be better to end the legal battle with Jamie.The Sun’s insider said: “Britney told Mathew that she wanted justice and her day in court with her dad.“She urged him to push the case that Jamie effectively stole money from her, while running the estate as her conservator but he has strongly denied any wrongdoing.“Jamie’s lawyers have had the right to make Britney sit in front of them for depositions about many of these matters — and it would cost many more millions. “If that had happened, she would have been filmed answering hours of questions about the darkest times in her life including drug problems, mental health woes and personal dramas.The star wed husband number three Sam Asghari in June 2022 but they broke up 13 months laterCredit: Instagram/Sam AsghariSinger Britney won back control of her finances and personal life from dad JamieCredit: AFP“Mathew’s focus has been protecting his client.”However, the source, based in Las Vegas and who has worked with Britney for many years, stated: “Jamie has pretty much had all his expenditures examined by the LA Superior Court and signed off by a judge. “The overarching observation is that Jamie saved Britney’s finances from ruin.“She was at one point down to £2.5million and he helped her to rise up to more than £50million.”While Britney has struggled since the conservatorship was terminated, many are convinced it was how she was treated during the arrangement which did irreparable damage.During interviews in the UK in 2016 during a press tour for her ninth album Glory, she appeared present and witty. A few years later it was a different story.In early 2019, she pulled out of a Las Vegas residency and announced an indefinite hiatus from music.Sons Preston and Jayden have begged Britney to stop posting revealing picsCredit: Refer to CaptionOne of Britney’s erratic and worrying social media postsCredit: Instagram/britneyspearsIt is believed to have been axed after she refused to take medication and she was carted off to a live-in rehabilitation centre, leading fans to question where she was, having not been pictured for months.At that point, she was forcibly given lithium to treat her bipolar disorder, as well as a cocktail of other prescription medications.Speaking in court in 2021, she said: “Lithium is a very, very strong and completely different medication compared to what I was used to.“You can go mentally impaired if you take too much, if you stay on it longer than five months. But he put me on that, and I felt drunk.”In summer 2021, Jamie’s lawyers made it clear that much of her private health information had been kept a secret from the public as he tried to protect her.Documents filed in court said: “There is no doubt that the Conservatorship saved Ms Spears from disaster, supported her when she needed it the most, protected her and her reputation from harm, and facilitated the restoration of her career.”But now she is out on her own, she appears far more erratic and vulnerable, with distrust for the system which was supposed to look after her.I was always taught the formative of right and wrong but the very two people who brought me up with that method hurt me! I am so lucky to be here!’ Britney on Sunday on InstagramIt has also been more than two years since she has seen her sons, who did not attend her wedding to Sam. Speaking in 2022, Jayden said of his relationship with his mum: “I 100 per cent think it can be fixed, of course. “It’s just going to take a lot of time and effort. “I really want to see her again.”But about her social media, he added: “It’s almost like she has to post something on Instagram to get attention.“There’s a high chance that this is never going to really stop, but I’m hoping for me, maybe she will.”There is once again a discussion over whether Britney could ever return to music. Aside from one-off collaborations with Sir Elton John and Will.i.am, she has not released her own music in eight years.Last year, her management started assembling a team to write for a new Britney album. But after she got wind of the plan, she hit out online and said she had no ambition to ever return to pop.Now there are fears she might have to do it because she needs the cash. But the music industry is not an easy place to navigate and is quick to build people up and spit them right back out again.READ MORE SUN STORIESWhat Britney needs right now is some proper TLC. Her father clearly isn’t the one to give it to her, but someone needs to step in. More

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      Britney Spears ‘upset  & dejected’ after reaching settlement with dad who controlled her life for 13 years

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      SINGER Britney Spears said she felt “hurt” after failing in a bid to hold her father accountable for ­controlling her life and cash for 13 years.Lawyers last week reached a settlement over her conservatorship and she must foot Jamie’s £2million legal bills.Britney Spears is ‘upset and dejected’ after failing to hold her dad accountable for controlling her life for 13 yearsCredit: Getty Images – GettyBritney’s dad Jamie managed her financial and personal affairs after she was put under a conservatorship in 2008Credit: Refer to CaptionYesterday she wrote on Instagram: “My family hurt me! There has been no justice and probably never will be!”The Sun can reveal the reason it didn’t go to court was over fears that Britney, 42, would be put on the stand and forced to re-live her most embarrassing moments.Amid concerns for her mental health in 2008, she was put under a ­conservatorship, with her dad managing her financial and personal affairs. It was in place until 2021.READ MORE IN SHOWBIZA source said: “Her legal team decided the focus should be on ­protecting her from ­reliving the traumas of her ­conservatorship.”“[But] her legal team decided the focus should be on protecting her from reliving the traumas of her conservatorship.”In a statement in court in 2021 before the conservatorship was revoked, she said: “My dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship, including my management… they should be in jail.”Britney and Jamie are yet to comment on the legal settlement.Most read in CelebrityInside Britney Spears’ year of turmoil since she won freedom from her dad, as fans ask was she better off in his care More

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      With Vampire Weekend there’s no rules…we want to get out there & everyone go wild with us, says Ezra Koenig on UK tour

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      FOR Ezra Koenig, the critical response to Vampire Weekend’s new album has been more than satisfying.Their fifth album Only God Was Above Us has been met with heaps of praise.A dog, held by Ezra, gives Chris Baio a kiss and, right, Chris TomsonCredit: Michael SchmellingKoenig says: ‘I can’t deny it’s a good feeling to know people have connected with the music and they get it’ as the band’s album has been praisedCredit: Michael Schmelling“I don’t want it to be important to me. But I can’t deny it’s a good feeling to know people have connected with the music and they get it,” says frontman Koenig.It’s been five years since the band from New York put out Father Of The Bride, essentially a solo record by Koenig.“It doesn’t feel like five years,” he tells me via a video call from his home in LA.“Not at all. I was just doing an interview with Rick Rubin for his podcast and we went through our entire career, album by album.READ MORE IN SHOWBIZ“I remember how much pressure I felt to get Contra out within two years of the first album. Back then it felt like a long time but now, even though I’d like to release music more often, five years feels like nothing.”Only God Was Above Us is the first album Koenig has written since he became a dad. He and his wife, actress Rashida Jones (daughter of music legend Quincy), had Isaiah five years ago.“It’s always been important to me to come back to normal life as I don’t like to feel like a full-time musician,” says Koenig. “With these long breaks, you get a chance to go back into regular life and being a parent is the ultimate regular life.Most read in Music“You’re engaging in family life and responsibility. This will be an interesting year because I haven’t toured much since he was a baby.“But, even back in the day, if I got home from tour, I’d be back to the laundromat or the supermarket to feel like I was connecting with real life again. Taylor Swift’s new album takes aim at ex boyfriends”But even that’s not quite as real as waking up early the next morning to drive to school.“Our son is aware of what Mum and Dad do. My wife has done voices on some kids’ shows. There’s a cartoon of the Grinch where she does a voice and he got really obsessed with that for a while.“And part of the reason the album took a long time is there were long periods where I’d go with my family to London and Tokyo, because Rashida had work in those places.“I feel like I’ve really defeated my workaholism. Now, when I have time off, I really want to hang out with my family, and take long walks and read rather than lock myself in the studio.”I feel like I’ve really defeated my workaholismKoenig Sonically, the new album is “dark and light” and the “most aggressive record Vampire Weekend have made”.But Koenig says: “This album contains some of our most positive messages and my most optimistic worldview as a lyricist.”The contrast can be heard on album opener Ice Cream Piano which begins with a muttered “f*** the world” before it transitions into a galloping indie romp.The record finishes with the eight-minute epic Hope with its gentle message of acceptance and repeated refrain of “let it go” delivered with warming brass lines and a piano riff. It’s a heavenly album.Koenig says: “I love having the dark and light together not because I like to be a smart ass but because I believe that’s the real texture of life. That’s what being human really feels like.”The album is like a journey from a kind of uneasy attitude towards a type of acceptance and hope.As a staunch supporter of US leftwinger Bernie Sanders during both his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, how does Koenig feel about the possible return of Trump as President?‘Lot of admiration’He says: “It’s nothing but chaos but whatever happens it’s about accepting the things you cannot change.“I’ve never been in AA, but I know people who are and have a lot of admiration for it and I think whether you’re an alcoholic or not the Serenity Prayer can be very meaningful to all people.“So many people on this planet have been through so many things and we have thousands of years of human history to take inspiration from.”Father Of The Bride, Vampire Weekend’s 2019 album, was essentially a solo record by Koenig. But for this new release drummer Chris Tomson and bassist Chris Baio are back on board, again working with producer Ariel Rechtshaid.The singer tells me: “This album is the first time CT and I have a song, Gen-X Cops, we wrote together on it.This album contains some of our most positive messages and my most optimistic worldview as a lyricistKoenig “Over the course of the band, I’ve been lucky that I’ve received a huge vote of confidence from both Chrises. They trust me, as a songwriter and as a leader to take the band to good places.Vampire Weekend’s fifth album Only God Was Above UsCredit: Michael SchmellingKoenig and his wife, actress Rashida Jones (daughter of music legend Quincy), have a son togetherCredit: Getty“That stuff’s not always easy when you’re in your 20s. Famously, so many bands have personality conflicts, but I think we’ve reached a place where they have put their faith in me and I’ve put my faith in them.“Over the course of five albums, we’ve done it so many ways. “We’ve done four guys in a room; the singer and the producer hunched over a laptop, I did that with Rostam Batmanglij and I did it with Ariel.”Vampire Weekend is always going to be a community and it’s not just three of us. It’s the live members and the team we work with including producers.”The Surfer is another album standout that Koenig had originally worked on with former band multi-instrumentalist and producer Rostam.We have thousands of years of human history to take inspiration fromKoenig “Yes, that was one that Rostam and I started a long time ago and it was pretty different,” says Koenig. “The album version was more like Ariel and I working on new music.“I’d never quite found the right place for it on an album, but I found myself returning to the lyrics I’d written and it was suddenly darker and slower and took on a life of its own. That song was kind of reborn.”On the harmonious Prep School Gangsters — inspired by a New York magazine cover story from the 90s — Blood Orange aka Dev Hynes plays drums. Koenig is a huge fan.He says: “I’ve just always loved Dev, he’s a great person to talk to. Whenever we’re in the same city, we love to hang out and catch up.Psychedelic playfulness“This time, me and Ariel were working in New York and Dev stopped by. He’d just broken his arm playing football and had a cast on. So, he played on the album with his broken arm.”New single Mary Boone is another Vampire Weekend classic which celebrates the legendary New York art gallery owner with a psychedelic playfulness and shuffling percussion lifted by a sample of the drum loop from Soul II Soul’s Back To Life“That sample was Ariel’s idea,” explains Koenig. “And when it comes in, it’s 100 per cent worth it and we’re lucky we were able to clear it.“A big part of what Vampire Weekend does is push our music as far as it can, while having a sense of familiarity. That’s the frequency we’re trying to operate on.”Since making Only God Was Above Us, which comes from a New York Daily News headline on the album’s cover, Koenig says he’s only concentrating on Vampire Weekend.A big part of what Vampire Weekend does is push our music as far as it can, while having a sense of familiarityKoenig Past extracurricular activities have included creating an animated series for Netflix, Neo Yokio, and writing and producing songs for Beyonce, Liam Gallagher and — for the Peter Rabbit soundtrack — James Corden.But he says: “Lately, I feel mostly excited about continuing to work on my albums but I enjoy working and writing for others. “Liam was a great experience and I could listen to him talk forever. He’s such a funny guy.”After two years of not touring, Koenig has been enjoying getting back on stage and played a special show in Texas to celebrate the solar eclipse — also the day of his 40th birthday — plus a “last-minute addition” to the Coachella line-up where Paris Hilton joined them for the end of their set.“Playing a release show in Texas and then Coachella was a good week. It felt like our community coming together,” says Koenig.“Seven years ago, at the last total eclipse, I’d made a mental note that the next one was coming and it was my 40th birthday. “We’d booked the show and because it was a show in the day it meant I could enjoy myself with my family and friends. You don’t want to party at midnight when you’re 40!”Vampire Weekend will be in the UK touring in December but before that you can see them at Radio 1’s Big Weekend on Sunday, May 26, at Luton’s Stockwood Park.Koenig says: “We can’t wait. And it’s funny it’s in Luton, because I just went there for the first time in February — I went to see a Luton match.I feel mostly excited about continuing to work on my albums but I enjoy working and writing for otherKoenig “My manager is involved with the team so we got to meet some of the players and we had a great time. Harry Styles was also there.“We can’t wait to play London in December as well as we’re doing four different shows which also gives us a nice opportunity to switch things up. It’s been fun to rehearse the new album and breathe some more life into it and at the same time go back to some of the old songs.“With Vampire Weekend there’s no rules. We just want to get out there and everyone go wild with us.”READ MORE SUN STORIES
      Only God Was Above Us is out now. Vampire Weekend play Radio 1’s Big Weekend on Sunday, May 26.

      VAMPIRE WEEKENDOnly God Was Above Us★★★★★ More

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      Katie Price sparks concern as she shares post about ‘mental breakdowns’ and ‘week of isolation’ amid double bankruptcy

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      KATIE Price sparked concern as she shared a post about ‘mental breakdowns’ and a ‘week of isolation’ amid her double bankruptcy.The former glamour model, 45, has been declared bankrupt twice due to sky high debts that have even brought collectors to the door.Double-bankrupt Katie Price has sparked concern with her latest postCredit: PAShe’s also been open about her mental health struggles, claiming her string of famous exes put her in therapy.But in a new Instagram post from her podcast’s account, Katie appeared to poke fun at her struggles with a photo of a Bratz doll looking dishevelled.The meme said, “Me coming out of my room for food after a week of isolation and subsequent mental breakdowns.”It emerged last month the former glamour model had been made bankrupt for a second time over a £750k tax debt.read more on Katie PriceThe London Insolvency and Companies Court was told that Katie owes £761,994.05 to HMRC.This was after she was previously declared bankrupt in 2019 with debts of £3.2million.But this time around, the former I’m A Celebrity campmate admitted she was “dealing with serious stuff.”When The Pricey was questioned by the Daily Mail podcast and was told there was breaking news about her, she remarked: “Has it? Oh get lost… Are you actually serious, while I’m sat here? What have I done now?”Most read in ShowbizWhy is Katie Price bankrupt?

      Reality star Katie Price was declared bankrupt in November 2019 and blew her £45million fortune.
      What is bankruptcy?
      Bankruptcy is a legal status whereby debts cannot be repaid.
      In the UK being bankrupt is limited to applying to individuals but in the US and some other countries, it can be applied to companies as well.
      The word itself is derived from the Italian phrase banca rotta meaning “broken bank”.
      In the modern world, it normally involves a restructuring of debts in an attempt to rehabilitate those who owe the money and sometimes continue with their business.
      In most jurisdictions, people or companies are declared bankrupt by a court order.
      Is it the same as insolvency?
      Bankruptcy is just one type of insolvency in the UK.
      There are two legal definitions of insolvency in the UK with one being where a business or individual’s liabilities (what you owe) exceed your assets (what you own), or, where you are unable to pay your debts as they fall due.
      Additionally, there are several different types of insolvency, only one of which is bankruptcy, these include:

      liquidation (applies to a limited company or partnership)
      administration (applies to a limited company or partnership)
      company voluntary arrangement (applies to limited companies)
      partnership voluntary arrangement (partnerships)
      individual voluntary arrangement (individuals who can also be made bankrupt)
      debt relief order (where an individual owes less than £15,000)

      She explained to the pre-recorded podcast: “I know I had court, I think it was last week or the week before.”Because of what’s going on in my life, I’ve actually been signed off because… I’m dealing with serious stuff.”There’s all different kinds of bankruptcy, I think they just use the word ‘bankruptcy’. No-one actually knows the ins and outs of everything.”And trust me, I don’t get away with stuff either. Like, you can’t, like tax, you can’t ever run away from, you have to pay. Don’t think I sit and don’t pay stuff, because I do.”The former Loose Women star reportedly did not even send a lawyer to the latest hearing, which is part of a long string of financial woes.She now faces losing her £2million Sussex pad or she could see bailiffs come around to repossess anything that could help pay back the debt owed to the government department.Court Judge Sebastian Prentis said she had not responded to HMRC over the debt and declared her bankrupt.Everything you need to know about Katie Price Step inside the life of former glamour model Katie Price
      He commented: “There has been no response from the debtor. The papers are in order.”There is substantial debt due from Ms Price to HMRC and therefore I will make a bankruptcy order.”READ MORE SUN STORIESKatie’s ex-fiance Carl Woods, 35, claimed earlier this year that he had been tasked with hiding her signature pink Range Rover from debt-collectors.She’s now in a relationship with Married At First Sight star, JJ Slater, 31.She shared a meme about ‘mental breakdowns’ and a ‘week of isolation’Credit: instagram/@thekatiepriceshowLast month, she was made bankrupt for a second time over a £750k tax debtCredit: PAKatie is currently dating Married At First Sight star, JJ SlaterCredit: Splash More

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      This is rawest thing I’ve done… the message is we only have one life — so we better live it, says St Vincent on album

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      “I WOULDN’T really call this a pop record,” says St Vincent describing her new album All Born Screaming.“I did call it ‘post plague pop’ at the start but I then retracted that idea as I wouldn’t call this ‘pop’ in a straightforward sense,” claims the singer, AKA Annie Clark of her seventh album.This is a more serious-looking Annie Clark from the look of her last album, 2021s Daddy’s Home, where she playfully donned a blonde wig and Seventies-style green suitCredit: Alex Da CorteClark says her new album is divided into two moods and two distinct partsCredit: Alex Da CorteThe album cover for All Born Screaming shows Clark on fireCredit: Alex Da Corte “It’s the rawest thing I’ve ever done. Artists are the psychic mirror to the culture they live in.“I don’t mean to sound too highfalutin, but we’re like little weathervanes. We catch wind of the feeling of where something’s going. It’s a violent world and you have to make sense of that in some form and keep going.“Songs have a premonitory power in my experience.”We meet at the three-time Grammy winner’s central London hotel. Dressed in a red polo neck jumper, black leather jacket and with her dark hair scraped back, this is a more serious-looking Clark from the look of her last album, 2021s Daddy’s Home, where she playfully donned a blonde wig and Seventies-style green suit.READ MORE BIG INTERVIEWSThe prodigious US musician and singer, 41, who has been compared to Prince and David Bowie, says her new album is divided into two moods and two distinct parts.‘Dave is my buddy, so I just called him up’ “Without tying the record up in too much of a bow, it’s a more brutal first half and then there’s hope.“It’s a season of hell to get to the people we love — which is all we have. The message is we only have one life — so we better live it.”The superb All Born Screaming is a collaborative album and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and the band’s new drummer Josh Freese, Cate Le Bon, Beck/Nine Inch Nails producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen and War-paint drummer Stella Mozgawa.Most read in Music“Dave is my buddy, so I just called him up,” says Clark of the Foo Fighters singer who plays drums on first single Broken Man. Clark played with Grohl when she fronted the remaining members of Nirvana at their 2014 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.The electricity is actually coming through your fingers. It’s Dave Grohl’s touch in the room and the way he playsShe says: “I sent him Broken Man and called him up. I was like, ‘Hey, are you around anytime? Can you come over to the studio?’“And yeah, he’s Dave Grohl so he rolls up in his truck. Smokes some Parliaments has some coffee tells more stories, we laugh and then he’s like, ‘Great, I’m ready to go’. And then he plays the song, and it sounds like Dave f***ing Grohl. And it’s so exciting.“It was the first song that people heard from the record and I wanted to be shaken around like a rag doll by music and Broken Man does that.“The electricity is actually coming through your fingers. It’s Dave Grohl’s touch in the room and the way he plays.“And the guitar! The noise took me back to my first band when I played guitar in a band called Skull F***ers. That was my first foray into how the guitar is a violent noisemaker. There wasn’t any jazz fingerstyl! I just made a cacophonous hellscape unto the Lord.”Grohl and Meldal-Johnsen also appear on St Vincent’s new single, Flea, playing drums and bass. Clark says: “When I was listening and heard Dave coming through, I immediately stood up, just because there’s so much energy. It’s so exciting.‘A greatest hits of people I love’“That track is a homage to every one of my musical heroes. There’s a nod to Joni Mitchell’s Free Man In Paris, there’s PJ Harvey’s Rid Of Me; there’s a Tori Amos nod in there; there’s Blood Roses, there’s a bit of Sleater-Kinney and Steely Dan’s Aja in there and Dave Grohl is playing on it!“From the music nerd perspective Flea is a greatest hits of people I love.”All Born Screaming is St Vincent’s first self-produced record. She produced Sleater-Kinney’s 2019 album, The Center Won’t Hold, and co-produced her previous two albums Daddy’s Home and 2017s Mass- eduction with Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey producer Jack Antonoff.“I definitely think collaboration is so exciting, and I love doing it but I just needed to make this one on my own,” says Clark.“I’ve co-produced all my records and I’ve been recording myself since I was 14 in my bedroom, first on a four-track Tascam cassette recorder and then on early versions of digital audio.“Spending a lot of time alone in the studio and honing my chops playing with my esoteric drum machines and modulars. That’s how I learned to write and find out what I was thinking.“You feel like you’re a god harnessing electricity. I definitely put the hours in. It’s nerdy s**t for sure.“That’s how I learned to arrange, so producing is a very natural process for me because I started young. But kids can do it now because they have access to the software and tools and, of course, more women should. And when other women say I’ve opened doors for them it’s so cool and makes me want to cry.”You feel like you’re a god harnessing electricity. I definitely put the hours in. It’s nerdy s**t for sureClark credits friend Cate Le Bon as influential on the record. Not only does she appear on the seven-minute title track, she also lifted Clark when she was going through a period of self-doubt.“Yeah, I was petulant with the music,” admits Clark. It just wasn’t right and I got very adolescent and petulant with it. Cate came in and was like, ‘Calm it down. This is exciting. Calm it down’.“With the song, All Born Screaming, I had a programmed beat and a guitar line. And I told Cate I’d tried seven different feels, but I couldn’t quite crack the code.“Cate was like, ‘You go take a nap. Give me a beer, a bass, and two hours’. And in two hours, the good Welsh girl that she is came back and had written that bassline. I was like, ‘Uh huh?’ She helped get me back on track. And she helped me with the album title.“I was tossing out various titles and one was All Born Screaming. Cate was like, ‘All Born Screaming is it!’. We are all born screaming — it’s the most primal sound of life ever. And it can mean protest. It’s a title which can be as profound or as flippant as you want it to be.”The album cover for All Born Screaming shows Clark on fire.‘I’m not really interested in playing a persona’“Oh that’s me on fire all right,” she says. “Fire means so many things. Historically, whether you’re Icarus or you’re a Phoenix, or it’s like cleansing, you have to walk through it to get to something, you know, to the other side. And life is a fire dance which is both destructive and constructive.“I tried to build a world instead of just building the music part. I’ve worked with my friend, artist Alex Da Corte, on the creative direction of this record. He’s major in the art world and I can’t believe he’s slumming it with me in music, to be honest.“For a number of records, I was very into metaconcept and iconography. I’d think that was what it was to be a modern pop star and play with idolatry.“For this album I’m way less interested in playing with that construct. This is just me. At this point, I’m not really interested in playing a persona.“If the work is good, and the songs speak to people, you don’t need much of a narrative.”There’s a tremendous amount of anxiety in music and I’ve had an anxiety disorder since I was eight. It never stopped me from doing anything, it just robbed me of the joy of doing itNext month, Clark plays two dates in the UK, including a night at London’s Royal Albert Hall. She says: “It’s going to be hard-hitting. The show will have an element of ‘Just don’t stop the groove!’, which is something I learned from DJing.“You get a whole new level of respect for the groove when you DJ, because a groove is so exciting, but also so comforting.St. Vincent performs onstage in LA earlier this monthCredit: GettyNext month, Clark plays two dates in the UK, including a night at London’s Royal Albert HallCredit: Getty“If there’s a groove and people feel good and feel safe they can relax, and enjoy themselves. And as an artist, feeling the energy of the crowd is exciting and drives you too.“There’s a tremendous amount of anxiety in music and I’ve had an anxiety disorder since I was eight. It never stopped me from doing anything, it just robbed me of the joy of doing it. And with music you’re metabolising the chaos of the world anyway so with a show you leave all your blood, sweat and tears on stage and get it all out.READ MORE SUN STORIES“So when people get to see this show, I hope they enjoy it.”ST VINCENTAll Born ScreamingSt Vincent’s new album All Born Screaming is out on April 26Credit: Supplied★★★★★ More

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      Inside Hollywood superstar Zendaya’s quiet life in Britain after THAT threesome trailer sent film fans into meltdown

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      SHE has reached such a stratospheric level of fame that Zendaya is exclusively referred to by her first name only.But the Hollywood beauty is not at risk of falling into the trappings of superstardom — as she has swapped sunny California for good old Blighty.Zendaya has become one of Hollywood’s most famous women in recent yearsCredit: GettyZendaya is dating actor Tom Holland who she met on the set of 2016’s Spider-Man: HomecomingCredit: GettySince shacking up with Tom Holland in West London, Zendaya is more likely to be spotted shopping at Waitrose than at an A-list partyCredit: MJ-Pictures.comSince shacking up with British Spider-Man actor Tom Holland in South-West London, the 27-year-old is more likely to be spotted shopping at ­Waitrose than at an A-list party.Despite her scene-stealing role in Dune: Part Two — the highest-grossing film of 2024 at the worldwide box office — the actress is now said to spend her free time on guided tours of Hampton Court Palace and popping to trendy London bakery Gail’s.As if to hammer home her soft spot for England, Zendaya stepped out in a Wimbledon-themed dress at the UK premiere of her new movie, Challengers, last week.Released on April 26, she plays Tashi Donaldson, a former tennis player turned coach, who finds herself in a love triangle with The Crown’s Josh O’Connor and Tony Award-nominee Mike Faist.read more on zendayaThe trailer sent the internet into meltdown with a steamy scene of the trio getting intimate in a hotel room.A source who has worked with Zendaya says the star picks her roles carefully to avoid being typecast.Now worth an estimated £17million, the former Disney Channel star was 19 when she played MJ in the first of three Spider-Man movies alongside Tom as the superhero.The source told The Sun: “Once she signs on to a job, she gives it her all.Most read in Celebrity“On Challengers that means graphic sex scenes and some heavy and ­emotionally complex dialogue as well.“She’s earning a reputation for never ‘phoning it in’ and always giving 110 per cent, and that’s going to make her a lot richer if she keeps picking hits at the rate she has.”Zendaya stuns in futuristic fashion, Dune Part Two premiereAt the premiere, Zendaya revealed it was a “challenge” to play Tashi.She said: “She is so complex, complicated and messy, and I appreciate that about a character.“I don’t think you always love her. I don’t think you always hate her either, and that was my challenge — to make sure that she has the fragility and sensitivity as well as harshness and directness.”Zendaya added: “I don’t necessarily always play the good guy.“I like to believe I have characters that are multi-faceted and multi- dimensional in some kind of way, and I think she is the most unapologetically cruel and direct character I’ve ever played.”The starlet, whose full name is Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman, grew up in Oakland, California, with her parents Kazembe Ajamu Coleman and Claire Stoermer, both teachers.Asked why she chose to drop her last name, she said in 2016: “I just thought it was cool, like Cher or Prince.”Zendaya was 14 when she shot to fame in the Disney Channel’s Shake It Up, playing Rocky Blue.Yet she has escaped the so-called “Disney Curse,” which has seen many former stars, including Britney Spears and Demi Lovato, battle mental health issues, meltdowns and addictions.Zendaya credits her parents for instilling “core values” that helped her to avoid a “wild” phase so often associated with young stars.I have complicated feelings about kids and fame and being in the ­public eye, or being a child actorZendayaOn growing up in the public eye and becoming the family’s main breadwinner, she told Vogue: “I don’t know how much of a choice I had.“I have complicated feelings about kids and fame and being in the ­public eye, or being a child actor.“We’ve seen a lot of cases of it being detrimental. “I felt like I was thrust into a very adult position: I was becoming the breadwinner of my family very early. “There was a lot of role-reversal happening, and just kind of becoming grown, really.”It gave the teenager the courage to stand up for herself on set, bravely telling producers she would not have her first kiss on screen.Zendaya recalled: “I remember being on Shake It Up and being like, ‘I’m not gonna do this. “I’m going to kiss him on the cheek because I haven’t been kissed yet, so I don’t want that kiss to be on camera’.”And during talks for Disney’s 2015 spy series, KC Undercover, the actress — whose dad is African-American — fought for more representation on the channel, insisting producers cast black actors to play her on-screen family.She has said: “That was my first time realising that I could have a little bit of power and request things that I wanted.“It was hugely important to me that it was a black family being showcased.”Already a successful TV star in the US when she signed up to Marvel reboot Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017, Zendaya watched boyfriend Tom catapulted to superstardom.ROMANCE UNDER WRAPSShe has said: “We were both very, very young, but my career was already kind of going, and his changed overnight.“One day you’re a kid and you’re at the pub with your friends, and then the next day you’re Spider-Man.“I definitely watched his life kind of change in front of him.”Greatest Showman star Zendaya is said to have been a positive influence on Tom over the years as he played the superhero in two more stand- alone films and Marvel’s Avengers.On the couple — who kept their romance under wraps for four years until a fan caught them kissing in Tom’s sports car in Los Angeles — our source says: “Tom’s head got a little swollen after he started having all these huge superhero hits and, ultimately, it’s been Zendaya who has brought him back down to Earth and really transformed him into a humble, grateful and mature person in the process.“They’re together all the time and extremely supportive of one another, but you can tell that it’s Zendaya who’s steering the relationship in this steady, stable direction.“She just hasn’t let childhood success turn her into a damaged monster in early adulthood and is very good tempered and agreeable. “People love working with her for the calmness, professionalism and integrity she brings to every project she signs up for.”It is this professionalism that led to Zendaya making history in 2020.At 24, she became the youngest recipient of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series for her role in HBO’s Euphoria.The teen drama saw Zendaya play drug addict Rue Bennett, who hits rock bottom as she goes through the painful physical and mental effects of withdrawal.The trailer for Challengers sent the internet into meltdown with a steamy scene of Zendaya and two men getting intimate in a hotel roomCredit: Warner BrothersZendaya had a scene-stealing role in box office smash Dune: Part TwoCredit: GettyTwo years later, after the release of the second series, Zendaya won another Emmy, making her the youngest two-time winner and the first black woman to win the award for lead actress in a drama series twice. In her acceptance speech, she said: “My greatest wish for Euphoria is that it could help heal people.”She has since starred as Chani in the hugely popular film versions of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi Dune novels, alongside Timothee Chalamet, Josh Brolin and Jason Momoa.The second movie, Dune: Part Two, has taken £480million at the box office since its release in March, breaking several box office records.Following its success, director Denis Villeneuve has signed up to shoot a third movie.The films have helped Zendaya’s Instagram following jump to a whopping 184million.Despite her megastar status, she remains humble — and that means doing her own grocery shop. Locals have spotted Zendaya with wet hair and wearing a casual jumper and jeans at Waitrose, in New Malden, South-West London.She lives with Tom in a £2.5million house in nearby Richmond, a few miles from Kingston-Upon-Thames, where Tom grew up.I don’t necessarily want my kids to have to deal with this fameZendayaAnd the actress has even been trying to get to grips with Cockney rhyming slang.She told us: “I love the ­British accent, but as much as Tom tries to explain it to me, I will never understand rhyming slang.“Like I understand the concept — but what do apples and pears have to do with stairs?“It’s cute when he tells me all the different phrases — but I really don’t get it.”Having remained coy about their relationship over the years, in a recent joint interview with the US and British versions of Vogue magazine, Zendaya did discuss the prospect of starting a family.She said: “I don’t necessarily want my kids to have to deal with this fame. READ MORE SUN STORIES”And what does my future look like? Am I going to be a public- facing person forever?”No doubt whatever she does next, it will be game, set and match win for the talented star.Zendaya with her mum Claire Stoermer and dad Kazembe ColemanCredit: GettyZendaya at the Greatest Showman premiere in 2019Credit: GettyZendaya in a green, sparkling dress for the Challengers premiere in Sydney, AustraliaCredit: SplashZendaya in a white gown for the Challengers’ London premiereCredit: RexZendaya attends the photocall for Challengers in Milan, ItalyCredit: Getty More

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      Million-selling Brit dance music stars devastated as health battle forces them to cancel tour

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      A POPULAR British dance music duo have been forced to cancel their plans to tour and release new music owing to a secret health battle.The performers made the announcement in a lengthy statement to their fans on X – formerly Twitter – as they addressed their “radio silence”.Maribou State have been rocked by some horror health newsCredit: AlamyChris (left) underwent brain surgery last year and is currently in recoveryCredit: YouTubeMaribou State are a duo consisting of Chris Davids and Liam Ivory who have been creating electronic music since 2011.As well as working on their own tracks, they have worked with A-list music superstars including Fatboy Slim and Lana Del Rey.However, a horror health diagnosis for Chris has forced the band to postpone all their future plans in order to allow him to recover.In a heartbreaking post, Chris revealed that he had been diagnosed with a rare brain condition called Chiari Malformation.Read More on Music UpdatesHe addressed the duo’s absence from the music industry by admitting to “hiding away” to work on their third album after having received his diagnosis in 2022.Chris went on to say: “It had been the cause of a mix of symptoms including: debilitating headaches, insomnia and bad mental health, which have been hugely impacting my life and productivity in the studio.”After trying a variety of conservative treatments I made the difficult decision to undergo brain surgery in November last year.”The surgery, for the most part, was successful and the symptoms have now either been resolved or are in remission, however there were multiple complications that have since slowed down my recovery and presented me with new challenges, that five months on, are still ongoing.”Most read in MusicChris then made the heartbreaking announcement that these complications had been the cause of deciding to cancel the duo’s upcoming tour.He continued: “We are therefore very sad to say we are cancelling all our live shows this year and postponing the release of any new music.”Love Island’s Wes Nelson forced to postpone music tour as he apologises to fansOn a positive note, Chris insisted he was getting better and that Liam was able to continue DJing in the meantime.He said: “On a more positive note, I AM making progress, Liam IS in good health and able to continue DJ’ing, we DO have a finished third album; one we’re both incredibly proud of and excited to share with you all, and the live band WILL be getting back together as soon as the albums released.”The duo have performed at iconic London hotspot Boiler Room in the past and have built up a sizeable reputation in the dance music world.Chris was met with overwhelming support after opening up on his health woes as fans raced to share their messages of encouragement.One fan said to the star: “Sending sooooo much love. Your music is always a pick me up, always my go to when I’m feeling down, I absolutely love it.”The duo have worked with some major music artistsCredit: YouTubeAnother added: “Get well soon. No rush to release music that will ultimately prove to be timeless.”READ MORE SUN STORIESBefore a third wrote: “Wow. A journey that will no doubt lead to even more creative genius. Your music is timeless and excellent, everything can wait for good health…”As a fourth went on to add: “Health first always. We will dance again.” More