So we'll keep this brief.

Thanks for joining us today. Scroll down for the lowdown on the Westlife reunion - straight from the horse's mouth, Halsey's problem with definitions of sexuality, Mariah's festive classic hits a chart milestone, Morrissey gets on his soapbox and there's a beautiful Cure cover courtesy of Kate Rusby.

If you're having a night in front of the telly, U2 at The BBC is on tonight.

The one-off special is packed with classic hits and new songs from the Irish rockers, as well as a cosy chat about how four Dublin school friends have managed to rock the world for nearly 40 years.

The show sees presenter Cat Deeley follow the band on tour in Brazil.

Watch above as some of their dirty touring laundry gets aired in public - quite literally. But go easy with that there drum kit Bono will you please?

Tune in to BBC One tonight at 21:00 GMT.

Image source, PA

Diane Abbott appeared on last night's Newsnight and spoke about the abuse she has suffered online and in writing during a "difficult" 2017.

The London MP however also said she had received plenty of support too and she can certainly count on grime star Stormzy.

He's responded online to tell Dianne that she's 'a G'.

Gangs, Signs and council meetings.

BBC 6 Music

We're asking you so many questions today. But do you have the answers?

Guessing most of you will have compiled your top 10 albums of the year by now (if you haven't then you'd better get a move on).

But has anyone considered what the best film soundtrack was in 2017?

Well, yes in fact and we're glad you asked as 6 Music's Friday Film Club have been looking into just that. Film buff Chris Hewitt joined Lauren Laverne to share his top five musical moments from the silver screen this year including Sufjan Stevens, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and some Guardians of the Galaxy / ELO madness.

Listen above.

We know it's been on your mind all day?

Which of the sweet 16 from the BBC Sound of 2018 shortlist above are more to your musical needs.

Are you an Alma male or a Pale Waves girl? Maybe neither and Ynxg Bane is more your bag.

Well there's only one way to find out (aside from listening to them all of course, which you can just as easily do) as BBC Music have created a handy and fun quiz for us all to determine who will be soundtracking our 2018.

Previously winners have included Adele, Haim and Sam Smith, remember.

Just saying.

Take the quiz

That's all we can tell you really.

He's tweeted out the lyrics to Annie and Dave's classic Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), external.

Who are we to disagree?

The Oscar longlist for best song may be out today but Tears for Fears have released a pretty cinematic new music video of their own for their track I Love You But I'm Lost.

It's one of two new songs that feature on their latest greatest hits album Rule The World, which is also out now.

The guys popped into Radio 2 for a special concert to mark its release.

We spoke to them ahead of the show about they intended to return "all guns blazing".

Image source, WEST MIDLANDS POLICE

A "human deposit box" stashed more than 50 phones stolen at a Royal Blood gig in a body-length swimming costume, police said.

Alin Marin, 22, of no fixed address, took the phones during the Brighton rock duo's performance at the Arena Birmingham on 18 November.

West Midlands Police said the Romanian stole 53 phones from people in the mosh pit, then hid them in the swimsuit.

The construction worker was jailed for three years after admitting theft Birmingham Crown Court on Monday.

Image source, Getty Images

The force said it had information that thieves had targeted fans of the band at performances earlier this year, and undercover officers were in the crowd on the night.

Marin was arrested in nearby Broad Street shortly after leaving the gig and the (probably really sweaty) phones were found in a nearby car park.

Image source, Getty Images

The Barbadian singer appears alongside a star-studded all-female cast in the follow-up to the Ocean's trilogy, which sees a criminal mastermind and seven other women attempt pull off the heist of the century.

Ringleader of the heist girls Sandra Bullock asks Bad Girl Ri Ri - who plays a mean-looking computer hacker - what her name is, to the reply "Nine ball" .

"What's your real name?" she asks again.

"Eight ball..."

Only one out then.

The film, which also features Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and James Corden, is out in June but you can view the trailer below now.

Kev Geoghegan
Music News LIVE reporter

Naaz is a 19-year-old Netherlands-based singer whose family roots lie in the middle east, in Kurdistan.

The region borders Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey and it's this culturally conservative background which has made the path to her fledgling music career a little rockier than most.

"I'm Kurdish and, in my past I wasn't really allowed to do this whole music thing I'm doing right now," she told us. "To me it's a miracle that I'm getting to do it and I'm grateful every day."

Naaz released the debut video for her self-produced song Words (above) in June and is playing next year's Great Escape festival in Brighton.

She comes from a musical background, her father had to hide his own accordion-playing from his father, her mother enjoys singing and both her brothers can play instruments and sing, and even gifted her her first keyboard.

But the family was still reticent about Naaz's ambitions to make music her life.

She adds: "It's a cultural thing, it's also driven by fear and no parent wants their kids to be unhappy and parents who come from a country where, if you don't get a good job, you end up on the streets.

"It was driven mostly by love and then secondly fear."

Naaz shared her initial songwriting efforts on social platforms like YouTube and SoundCloud, which brought her to the attention of a manager, also Kurdish, who asked her to record a song about the plight of her people when so-called Islamic State began moving into the area.

Ultimately, it was this which helped convince her parents to let her follow her own path.

Her brand of poppy R&B seems to be about spreading messages of positivity and inclusivity, perhaps sorely needed in an age of Twitter spats and beefs.

But she says the inspiration for her work rarely comes from trying to enforce her own ideals on audiences.

"You could say that the music I make is maybe inspirational but that's the last thing I think about. A lot of times when I make music it's the thoughts that I have in the moment, You make so many songs and so few of them actually come out.

"I never want to shove it down people's throats, like; 'Here is my vision,' because we all have different visions, like in Words, I write about how I want to see life through more than one pair of eyes, I want to experience other perspectives."

The singer performed her first London Show at the Great Escape First 50 event in November (below) in front of around 50 people.

"When I found out we were playing the show, I was completely starstruck, it was a super-insane moment.

"Also, being in Holland, a lot of people share that joy with you, they're so proud and happy. It makes it even more special."

We might be waiting for a debut album as the precocious teen is insistent that she wants a record that she will hear and still love "when I'm like 90-years-old".

Until then, her debut EP Bits of Naaz will have to suffice.

"I don't ever want to release music with the intention of it doing well, it should feel just as good even if it's flopping by industry measures."

We don't see that being a problem for Naaz.

Read more: Newbie Tuesday #6 The Modern Strangers

Image source, SNL

The Foo Fighters singer does like to dress up and it's no more evident in this un-aired Saturday Night Live sketch.

He's apparently guarding the door to a rather exclusive speakeasy on New Year's Eve.

Check him (and his two lines of dialogue) below, once you get to the "sort of white void infinite space area."

You'll see him. Briefly.

The Academy has announced the 70 tracks eligible for best original song at the next year's Oscars.

There's no guarantee that any of these will make the shortlist when it gets whittled down in the New Year but it's certainly one for them all to excitedly debate with their loved ones over Christmas dinner.

The list includes Taylor Swift and Zayn's I Don't Wanna Live Forever (above) from the 50 Shades Darker soundtrack.

Also in the mix are Mary J. Blige and Nick Jonas - already both Golden Globe-nominated -, Sufjan Stevens, Common, and The Black Keys' frontman Dan Auerbach.

The 90th Academy Awards take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on 4 March 2018.

Read the full list here., external

BBC Radio 2

It's nearly lunchtime so we strongly recommend that you take a moment to enjoy this breathtaking cover by Barnsley singer Kate Rusby.

She told Radio 2 DJ Jo Whiley that she selected the song as it's 25-years-old, matching how long she's been in music herself.

It's shamelessly Yorkshire in sound and beautiful in every way.

Listen above.

Image source, PA

Like The Queen each December, Morrissey (who would not thank us for the comparison) has addressed the nation with a festive speech.

Festive only in that it comes the week before Christmas and is promoting something.

In the above video, which begins with a written apology for Moz suffering with a spot of the flu, he claims that "haters" are preventing his new album Low in High School from getting any airplay and that his recent controversial and "regrettable" interview with German publication Der Spiegel resulted in him being cross-examined by the US Authorites.

The former Smtihs crooner bitterly claims that the newspaper - who subsequently published the audio - got the tone of their "pleasant" interview all wrong and left a bitter taste.

He said:

"Of course, none of those assumptions are true. I do not sympathize with anything like that. You can hear it in the tone of my voice..."

Watch the video below.

Billboard magazine

As hard as it is to believe, the holiday classic, first released in 1994, has never held a spot in the US top ten singles chart.

Until now.

While Ed Sheeran and Beyonce continue Ed's domination of the chart with their version of Perfect, Mariah has jumped from number 11 to nine.

We should, in fairness, point out that it wasn't actually released as a single in her native States back in '94 and has become a staple of festival charts since then.

Still, reason enough for a merry Christmas

"This is such an amazing Christmas gift!," she told , externalBillboard.

"I honestly never thought we'd be talking about this happening, but I'm so thankful to everyone who embraces this song as part of their holiday tradition.

"It truly warms my heart, and I am proud of this song that I wrote basically as a kid on my little Casio keyboard."

The Business Insider , externalhave been speaking to Walter Afanasieff, who co-wrote the song and he gives a slightly different version of how the the Xmas hit came about.

An update now on the death of Korean pop star Jonghyun

A note said to have been written by the singer has been posted on social media by his close friend, revealing a struggle with depression.

"The depression that was slowly devouring me at last consumed me," said the note, posted by fellow singer Nine.

Jonghyun, 27, was found dead on Monday in a suspected suicide.

He was the lead singer of one of South Korea's biggest pop groups Shinee and his death has triggered an outpouring of grief from fans around the world.

Read more.

Warning: Distressing scenes in the above video.

A DJ has been killed at a festival in Brazil after high winds destroyed the stage during his performance.

Kaleb Freitas lost his life after extreme weather hit the The Atmosphere EDM Festival in Esteio in Brazil.

The site was subsequently evacuated.

The festival released a statement, external, saying "we always cherish the safety of our public", adding "we lost a friend, an artist.

"Our priority is to assist the wounded and their families."

TMZ

Image source, PA

Casey Daniel, who records under the name White Hinterland has dropped her legal action against Biebs over his global hit Sorry.

TMZ, which broke the original story in 2016, says she has filed to have her complaint dismissed, external.

She had initially suggested the song contained, "unique characteristics of the female vocal riff" which were similar to a single she recorded, external two years prior.

Bieber's producer Skrillex denied the claims, even posting a video on Instagram showing how he made the intro using the vocals of singer Julia Michaels.

Image source, Getty Images

US singer Halsey is challenging perceived wisdom about about what it is to be bisexual.

She says perceptions about her sexuality are constantly being challenged depending on the sex of her current partner and that people view her as either straight or gay at any given moment, when she is in fact neither.

She thinks she has come up with a solution though (if not a potentially problematic one) about how to be a "true bisexual".

Many people online recognise this situation themselves.

Top marks in the pun stakes from Selene (below), who doesn't seem to be taking Halsey's point as seriously as others.

BBC Radio 2

Louis Walsh got fans of the early noughties Irish boyband all in a tizz when he suggested the band were ready to reunite, external for the 20th anniversary of getting together.

The band went their separate ways in 2012 after enjoying 14 number one singles.

But speaking to Michael Ball on Radio 2, Mark Feehily admitted nothing is planned and he's not sure the time is right anyway.

I think at some point we will. We released out first album in '99, so that's when I would see the anniversary.

"There's no plan for marking any kind of number, the most important thing is that it's right for us.

"Five years doesn't feel that long."

Morning all and welcome back to Music News LIVE.

Today we shall lay the foundations for the days news with a bit of The Architecht from Jane Weaver's recent BBC Scotland's Quay Sessions.

Coming up, a Brazilian music festival ends in tragedy, reports an indie pop singer has dropped her copyright action against Justin Bieber, rapper Mystikal pleads not guilty to rape and kidnapping charges, Dave Grohl is a wolf man in an unaired TV sketch while Westlife fans may have to wait for a reunion.

Plus Morrissey says his album campaign was derailed and damaged purposefully "by the haters."

We'll have a quiz to help you discover your next favourite artist from the BBC Sound of 2018 and later we'll suggest another for you with our final Newbie Tuesday of the year.

That's our plan for today but anything could happen on site, so please wear your protective hard hats.