Congratulations one and all.

We've made it through to the end of 'Blue Monday' - apparently the saddest of all the days.

In case you've been sleeping through it, scroll down for Posh's thoughts on the Spice Girls reunion tour, Maroon 5 defending their Super Bowl half-time performance and poor Mike Skinner having his dislocated shoulder popped back in.

Plus loads more besides.

We'll leave you with a Radio 1 feelgood mix to help beat what's left of the Monday blues and a video for that most potent of 'total choons'

See you tomorrow, when Blue Monday will be 364 days away.

Image source, Getty Images

Alexandra Burke is to return to her recording career when she finishes her current theatre run.

The former X Factor winner is starring in a UK tour of The Bodyguard, in the lead role of Rachel Marron (played by Whitney Houston in the 1992 movie).

She told Hello magazine: "As much as I love theatre, you don't have time for anything else."

The 30-year-old released her third album, The Truth Is, in March last year.

She also added that - due to their workloads - she and fiance, stage manager Joshua Ginnelly are in no rush to get hitched.

"If you're only going to do it once, you may as well make it as perfect as you can," she said.

Image source, Getty Images

Well, that's according to the son of disgraced former Death Row Records boss, Suge Knight.

Suge J Knight, who has form in this area - previously claimed Tupac Shakur is alive and living in Malaysia. Now he's gone one better and has said he is in the studio with the legendary rapper.

We all thought 2Pac died following a drive-by shooting in 1996.

“I got Pac back in the studio. New music coming,” he wrote on Instagram, adding the caption: “This ain’t a joke”.

We bet it ain't and we can't wait to hear that Pac/Elvis collab coming soon.

Image source, Classic FM

Classic FM has announced a new 10-part podcast series aimed at introducing children to classical music.

The first episode of David Walliams' Marvellous Musical Podcast will be available on Monday 4 February.

Each edition will introduce kids to composers but will also cover topics like ballet and the world's strangest instruments.

This summer's BBC Proms will also feature a Cbeebies prom.

Read more, external

After a week or so of audio-visual teases, the Oxford band have announced a "new tune" which will be played on Radio 1 tonight.

Tune into Annie Mac's show tonight from 19:30 GMT to hear Exits and find out more.

Frontman Yannis Philippakis is ready - are you?

Last week, Foals said their new project, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost, is set to arrive in two parts - the first of which is in March.

You've got through the most miserable morning (and a little bit of the awful afternoon) of the year, so well done.

Some of the music news stories today may even have made you a little angry too...

Now to help release some of that tension, here's New Order talking about their angriest ever performance of their rather topical track, Blue Monday.

Keep calm and watch above.

The Cuban star tweeted the above picture suggesting that they could be about to make some sweet music together.

The pic was captioned Feelings & Consequences, which in truth sounds like it should've been a record by The 1975.

Cami released her self-titled US #1 debut album last year and is up for a couple of Grammys next month, where she'll also perform.

Mr Ronson has his own record (featuring the likes of Miley Cyrus) of "sad bangers" on the way.

Sandal-wearing Led Zeppelin soundalikes Greta Van Fleet have made their debut on the weekend show, with performances of their songs Black Smoke Rising (above) and You're the One.

The band - who hail from the brilliantly-named Frankenmuth, Michigan, are nominated for four awards at next month's Grammys, including best new artist.

They arrive in the UK for a tour in March - so select your outfit wisely if you're going.

Rapper MHD, one of the biggest names in French music, has been charged over a brawl that led to a young man's death.

The 24-year-old Parisian denies any involvement in the death of the 23-year-old, who was stabbed and beaten on 6 July last year.

According to police, the fight was between gangs from Paris' 19th district, where Sylla grew up, and the adjacent 10th district.

MHD, whose real name is Mohamed Sylla, "denies any involvement in this brawl," his lawyer Elise Arfi said in a statement to AFP.

The artist is known for blending west African music and trap-style hip-hop.

Image source, Getty Images

The Streets mastermind has shared exactly what happened after his crowd dive went a tad awry on Saturday night in Birmingham.

Posting on his Insta, fan-shot footage shows Skinner jumping into the audience of the O2 Academy as their 2004 hit, Fit But You Know It, rings out, then cuts straight to a scene in hospital where he's found inhaling laughing gas while the medical team attend to his dislocated shoulder.

"Thank you so much to everyone at Birmingham City Hospital for putting my arm back in," says a delighted-if-not-delirious Skinner afterwards.

It looks painful but we suppose it was better than the alternative which was to leeeave it ouuuut...

We can't say it any other way.

All six of the band's songs on the long-running US music show are available to watch on its YouTube channel, external.

Alex and the lads open up with Crying Lightning and close their set with AM banger R U Mine (above).

Newcastle United FC owner, Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley, has placed a bid to buy music chain HMV.

HMV collapsed last month, its second administration in six years, risking 2,200 jobs at 125 stores.

Ashley owns more than 60% of Sports Direct, and recently bought the House of Fraser department store chain and Evans Cycles.

Sports Direct have not made any comment on the reports.

Read more

Image source, Getty Images

The US rapper is accusing viewers of both new documentaries looking into the infamous failed festival of being fooled into thinking he was also to blame.

Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened appeared on Netflix last week, telling the story of the expensive Caribbean event that saw organiser Billy McFarland imprisoned for multiple counts of fraud.

Ticketholders, promised luxury, were greeted with a campsite resembling a refugee camp.

A second film called Fyre Fraud was also released on rival streaming service Hulu.

Now Ja Rule, who co-founded the festival with McFarland, has tweeted his frustrations, saying he "never got paid one dollar" from the event.

Ja, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, claims he lost "plenty" and that he too - to paraphrase Malcolm X - was "hustled, scammed, bamboozled, hoodwinked," and "lead astray."

Read more

Image source, Getty Images

The US singer faced an online backlash after taking a moment out of her gig in Kelly's hometown Chicago to say a prayer and send "unconditional love" to the singer, who is accused of a series of sexual assaults.

"I hope he sees the light of day if he’s done all those things that we’ve seen on TV and heard those ladies talk about," said Eryka - according to TMZ, external - with reference to allegations - denied by Kelly -made in the recent surviving R. Kelly docu-series.

“I hope he sees the light of day and comes forward.

“What if one of the people that was assaulted by R. Kelly grows up to be an offender, we gonna crucify them? I mean how do we do this? Just something to think about."

Some fans have pointed out it isn't the first time Eryka has held a controversial view, external.

The 47-year-old took to Twitter after the gig to clarify her comments.

“I love you. Unconditionally. That doesn’t mean I support your poor choices," she wrote.

R. Kelly denies the allegations of abuse but has seen several of his former collaborators including Lady Gaga, Celine Dion and Chance the Rapper distance themselves from him by removing the music they worked on together from streaming services.

It has also been reported the beleaguered singer has been dropped by Sony Music.

Variety said Kelly had been removed, external from the RCA Records website, external, on Friday.

Sony has declined to comment.

Maggie Rogers' fairy tale-like music journey began in 2016, when she was still a student at NYU's Institute of Recorded Music.

Her electro folk track Alaska, which left celeb guest Pharrell Williams utterly astonished went viral and she found herself in the middle of a record label bidding war.

But the two years following left her "scared and overwhelmed."

"So much happened so quickly," she told out music reporter Mark Savage.

She released her debut album, Heard It In A Past Life, last week.

"It's crazy because people are like, 'You really took your time with the record' and I'm like, 'When the hell else would I have made this thing?' I wrote and recorded this record in four months. I can't imagine doing it any faster."

Read more

Image source, Getty Images

The rapper recently hosted another "inspirational jam session" alongside a gospel choir, where he performed a new track reportedly called We’ll Find a Way.

West sat on a stool in the middle of the most part, offering renditions of his back catalogue and delivering Ye-isms in sermon fashion.

After performing his 2018 track, Ghost Town, Kanye declared: "They say: ‘You can’t do this. You can’t do that, you’ll lose your career'... but I’m still here!”

Image source, YouTube / DREAM TV

The service, which has been uploaded, external by Dream TV, concluded with the choir performing the Michael Jackson song Will You Be There.

David Letterman was reportedly in attendance, amid reports the rapper is about to feature, external on the US chat show host's series, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.

The Guardian

Image source, Getty Images

Posh Spice, as her friends probably don't call her, has been talking about her former bandmates' 2019 reunion gigs and poured cold water on rumours she may join them.

The erstwhile singer is now better known for her fashion label and being part of the steering committee of brand Beckham.

In an interview with the Guardian, external, she said: "What I do now is my passion and a full-time job. I’m excited to see it, though.

"I’m sure when I’m there and they are on stage, there will be a part of me that feels a bit left out. Because even after all this, a part of me will always be a Spice Girl.”

The Spice Women kick-off their comeback tour in Coventry on 3 June and there were rumours that Victoria might make a cameo at one of the London legs at Wembley Stadium later that month, but this seems to suggest not.

If you're reading this Vic, here's something just for you, if you Wannabe sentimental...

The Spice Girls, themselves are in the firing line after a damning report in the same newspaper, external, which says T-shirts produced on their behalf and sold to raise money for a Comic Relief campaign were manufactured in a Bangladesh factory accused of "inhuman conditions".

A spokesman for the band said they were “deeply shocked and appalled” while Comic Relief said it was “shocked and concerned”.

The singer was on hand to help his old mucker kick-off his new radio show on Virgin radio, with a performance of his verve classic Lucky Man.

The former Radio 2 breakfast host said: "it's so great to be back on Virgin". as he launched his new breakfast radio show; his first since he exited BBC Radio 2 on Christmas Eve, after nine years.

"There's been a lot of talk about the first song I'm going to play," Evans said before he introduced the singer.

"But I press buttons, I don't play songs, musicians play songs. Why don't we get a musician to play a song live, how about Richard Ashcroft?"

If you didn't catch the live version, treat yourselves to the original, from 1997,above.

Read more

People

Image source, Getty Images

The keyboard player for the pop rock band say they are "not focusing on the negatives" ahead of their controversial performance at the 'Greatest Show on Earth.'

More than 90,000 people have signed a petition asking them to cancel the show while other big stars, thought to include Rihanna, turned the gig down in solidarity with players who have been censured for protesting during the national anthem.

Player Colin Kapaernick has been without a club since 2016 after famously taking a knee to protest in support of racial injustice.

But in an interview with People, external, Maroon 5’s keyboardist, PJ Morton (pictured above, centre), said: "I think there are plenty of people - a lot of the players, to be honest - who support Kap and also do their job for the NFL.

Reacting to the backlash, he added: "You can get bogged down by those things, we’re not focusing on the negative now.

“We’re blocking out the noise. We’re just doing what we do. We look to have a good time.”

Image source, Getty Images

Maroon 5 will be supported by rappers Travis Scott and Bog Boi.

Last week, as we reported here on MNL, soul legend Gladys Knight will perform the national anthem.

The NFL announced on Sunday that Grammy-nominated R&B group Chloe X Halle will perform America The Beautiful ahead of the game on 3 February.

Our music reporter Mark Savage spoke to them late last year about being mentored by Beyonce.

Image source, Getty Images

The singer broke off from singing her song, Million Reasons, on Saturday night during her Enigma show in Las Vegas to criticise Donald Trump for the continued government shutdown.

She called on the "president of the United States... please put our government back in business.

“There are people who live paycheck to paycheck and need their money."

Some of the 800,000 federal government employees who have been going unpaid since 22 December are in increasingly dire straits as the shutdown enters its fifth week.

Gaga also ripped into US Vice President Mike Pence, after his wife Karen returned to teaching at a Christian School in Virginia, which bars LGBTQ students or employees.

The VP has called criticism of his wife's decision "deeply offensive", saying it amounted to an "attack" on religious education.

"To Mike Pence, who thinks it’s acceptable that his wife work at a school that bans LGBTQ, you are wrong,” said Gaga.

“You say we should not discriminate against Christianity; you are the worst representation of what it means to be a Christian. I am a Christian woman and what I do know about Christianity is that we bear no prejudice and everybody is welcome."

There is a video of Gaga's statements but it comes with a language warning, external.