The 'Lean Back' hitmaker once tipped the scales at a staggering 450lbs and revealed to CNN that his hip-hop lifestyle encouaged him to over-indulge:

"[I thought,] I'm rich now, I can go to Mr. Chow's and eat me all the lobster and steak I want… And I always took pride in being fat, that's why my name was Fat Joe. I think I weighed about 450, 460 at my heaviest."

He opened up about losing six of his overweight friends to heart attacks and explained that the untimely deaths gave him the wake up call he needed to change his own lifestyle and eating habits:

"Last year alone, I had six friends die of heart attacks. Most of them were younger than me, but they were my same size. So I had one friend who was funnier than me. He was cooler than me. Obviously God loved him and he still died."

"I realized at a certain point, all my big people were dying. I couldn't see a clearer picture, what's the difference between me and him, of me being in a casket? I was diabetic for 16 years and being that I lost weight, no more diabetes."

Watch part of his revealing interview on CNN here:

The 40-year-old star, at his heaviest, tipped the scale at a whopping 300lbs but revealed that after seven of his friends died from heart attacks in their thirties he has become increasingly aware of the damage he's doing to his body.

Speaking to the New York Daily News, he explained it was time to change his lifestyle and, consequently, his health:

"What's the difference between me and them? Health doesn't discriminate just because I'm famous. I can't leave my daughter behind. I want to be here for her; I don't want to die on her... I'm addicted to food; I love food. It's like a crack addict - he hits rock bottom and he says, 'All right, forget it. I'm not going to get high anymore.'"

Joking about his rap moniker, Fat Joe, he added that people are pushing him for a name change:

"They're all trying to alter my name, but I can't see myself as anything else. I think I gotta ask Diddy what my new name is."

Watch his new video for 'Drop A Body', in which he presents his new physique, here:

The atmospheric collective, fronted by Justin Vernon, will perform gigs around the country in late autumn to celebrate the release of their self-titled sophompore album, which is due to be released on June 20.

Catch the 'Skinny Love' folk act at the following venues:

• October 19 - Manchester Apollo
• October 22 - Edinburgh Usher Hall
• October 24 - London's Hammersmith Apollo
• November 9 - Birmingham's O2 Academy
• November 10 - Leeds O2 Academy
• November 11 - Bristol's Colston Hall

Tickets will be put on sale from 9am on Friday, May 20 and the group's first single, 'Calgary', from their new album can be heard here:

The producer and rapper created a line of Reebok trainers, that he called Kamikaze, and after being put on sale last week (May 13) were a phenomenal hit and sold out in record time.

His wife, Grammy award-winning singer Alicia Keys publicly congratulated him on Twitter, writing:

"Congrats 2 @THEREALSWIZZZ 4 selling out the Kamikaze's n 10 MINS!!!! But the ladies need these ASAP please!"

Watch the teaser trailer for his footwear range here:

The 'Always On Time' star was convicted of weapons charges following his arrest in 2007 and is due to begin his 2 year sentence in June. Speaking to MTV News, Ja Rule, real name Jeffrey Atkins, explained:

"I'm disappointed. I'm mad at myself. My daughter, she's 15 right now. These are her last couple of years. She's about to graduate from high school, and she's going to college. She needs her father. My boys really need me right now too, as well as my wife. They need Daddy, and Daddy f**ked up."

Watch him talk about his forthcoming album, 'Believe', here:

The Compton rapper had been scheduled to play a string of dates in Canada but was detained at the border.

According to the tour’s promoter, Substance Entertainment Group, his alleged affiliation with LA gang, The Bloods, was what prompted officials to refuse Game – real name Jayceon Taylor – entry into the country.

However, the ‘Dreams’ hitmaker looked unperturbed when he made an unscheduled performance with Lil Wayne at LA’s Staples Center.

Afterwards he tweeted, "Happy to be home !!! S/O to [Wayne] for lettin a n**ga rock out."

Check out fan footage of the surprise performance here:

The group had been scheduled to play a matinee show at the Village Underground in Shoreditch next Friday, April 29, followed by the Relentless Garage gig. It is not known yet if the earlier performance will go ahead.

According to the Relentless Garage, they are “in the dark” as to why the show was axed.

Watch the video for Odd Future member Tyler, The Creator’s ‘Yonkers’ here:

The controversial couple met and fell in love on the set of TV movie ‘Northern Lights’ in 2008, despite both being married to different spouses at the time. 

“LeAnn and Eddie were happily married surrounded by their closest family and friends,” a spokesperson for the singer said. “They thank everyone for their well wishes.”

Watch LeAnne Rimes perform ‘Can’t Fight The Moonlight’ live here:

The actor, rapper and husband of a very pregnant Mariah Carey presents a show on New York’s 92.3 NOW FM and was jokingly telling listeners that he’d like to stay in touch while on paternity leave.

After making the announcement, Cannon’s home was inundated with calls from fans who got to speak to a bemused Mariah. 

"Thanks to my amazing wife for being a good sport and allowing me to make good radio. @MariahCarey you are the best!" he tweeted afterwards.

Listen to the couple’s personalised voicemail message below.

Stills from the shoot show the pair, dressed head to toe in black, standing back to back in a studio looking pensive, while Lopez filmed some more colourful solo scenes in Mexico’s Chichen Itza last week.

The video is expected to drop on May 2, the day before JLo’s seventh album, ‘Love?’ is released. However, the song has already leaked online.

Listen to it here:

The talented 10-year-old will join Colbie Caillat and Greyson Chance in entertaining some 30,000 invited guests. 

The theme of this year’s event is Get Up and Go! and is close to First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! iInitiative for which Beyoncé re-recorded her song, ‘Get Me Bodied.’

Watch Willow perform ‘21st Century Girl’ live in London here:

The show doesn’t premiere until next Tuesday, but Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton pre-recorded the performance to give auditionees an idea of what they’re looking for.

‘The Voice’ will see each star selecting a group of contestants to compete for a $100,000 recording contract with Universal Republic.

Watch the coaches’ performance below.

“The only person who had a dumber name than me was the Fresh Prince,” the ‘All Summer Long’ hitmaker has confessed. “Hey, it sounded like a cool rap name when I was 16, but it stuck, and now it's me. I'll be an 88-year-old man…'Call me the Kid!'”

Rock started out in the music biz rapping with a Michigan hip-hop crew but more recently has explored the country genre.

Watch Kid Rock perform ‘Bawitaba’ live here:

“I wrote and recorded what I thought was going to be the first single off of my new album: a parody of ‘Born This Way’ called ‘Perform This Way,’” Yankovic writes on his blog. “But after hearing it, Lady Gaga decided not to give me permission to release the song, so… it won’t be coming out commercially anytime in the near future. Sorry.”

Known for his musical parodies, Weird Al has covered a range of artists from Michael Jackson to Nirvana, counts Madonna among his celebrity fans and has won two Grammys for his work.

TMZ.com is reporting that Gaga is not trying to block the release of the song and hasn’t even heard it yet.

Check out Weird Al’s ‘Perform This Way’ here:

The bassist was diagnosed with lung cancer last month and had been receiving and responding well to treatment.

“We are very sad to announce the death of our beloved friend and bandmate, Gerard Smith, following a courageous fight against lung cancer," the group said in a statement posted on their website. “Gerard passed away the morning of April 20th 2011. We will miss him terribly."

TV On The Radio’s latest album, ‘Nine Types of Light,’ was released on April 12.

Watch the Brooklyn rockers perform ‘Will Do’ last week on ‘Late Night with David Letterman’ below.