During a revealing interview with Billboard for the new issue's cover story, the 'Thrift Shop' hitmaker confessed that he was taking part in street rap battles when he was a youngster to try and gain respect from those already in the game: "This was pre-Internet as a way to get your music out. So I had to do shows, but I was too young. Freestyling on the street or in the park was where I honed the craft."

He went on to unveil his dark past, talking about how he often preferred drugs to school: "It was pre-gentrification of Seattle's Central District. And I wasn't going to class and I was doing a bunch of drugs and drinking. So my parents put me in a predominantly white school in the North End and then I did a program called Running Start, which was like a community college. I never got a chance to climb any kind of social ladder anywhere. I was more into making music-and doing hallucinogenic mushroom voyages."

Discussing his recovery, Macklemore (pictured below with Ryan Lewis) added that while he's clean now he still struggles with 'overindulging': "I tend to be an overindulger in general. Like I've just eaten two bags of chips and I had a shitload of candy from a gas station last night."

"I don't have moderation in my life. I really have to work on it. So with drugs and alcohol, I had no moderation. Smoking weed and drinking hindered my creative process. They were the veil over my eyes. It never really worked for me, in terms of being prolific."

Watch Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's video for 'Can't Hold Us' below:

The star already has 4 of his own clothing lines, namely Billionaire Boys Club, Billionaire Girls Club, Bee Line, ICECREAM, and will now join as a mentor on the show, which features 12 contestants who will take on challenges over 10 weeks for the chance to win the opportunity to design outfits for celebrities.

Salaam Coleman Smith, president of Style Media, spoke about the addition to the panel in an official statement: "We are delighted to have Pharrell, who is a driving force in both the music industry and fashion world, serve as a mentor on Styled To Rock."

"Pharrell's unique aesthetic and commitment to individuality combined with Rihanna's vision for this series will enable our aspiring designers to hone their craft and learn from the very people who set the trends."

Meanwhile, Rihanna's summer collection for River Island will hit stores next week (May 15) and she explained that it was inspired by the style of her own team: "I made a piece for everybody in my crew, we all have different body types and different tastes - some are braver than others. I think like that because that's how women in the world are. We're all different, we like different things, we have different occasions and different moods."

Watch a trailer for Rihanna's 'Styled To Rock' below:

During an interview with Billboard, the 'I Knew You Were Trouble' songstress explained that she loves Icona Pop's 'I Love It', which became popular after it was used in an episode of 'Girls':

"I’m also absolutely smitten with 'I Love It' by Icona Pop. It’s the way reckless abandon sounds in my head. I play it right before I go onstage."

She confessed to loving ballads and named collaborator Ed Sheeran as one of her favourite artists of the moment: "I love that ballads became huge hits this year and that unexpected songs and artists got lots of airplay. Ed Sheeran, the Lumineers and fun. are some of my favorites right now, and they’ve all had big hits with songs that have substance and real instruments. I like it!"

When asked if she's into EDM or house music, Swift added: "I don’t like to feel like I’m in a club when I’m in my car and I turn on the radio. Anything that ceases to be a song and just sounds like house music kind of stresses me out."

Watch Icona Pop perform their smash hit single, 'I Love It', below:

The news that the heartthrobs revealed was of a stadium tour that will take them around the world next year, called the 'Where We Are' tour, and so far dates have been confirmed in South America, the UK and Ireland.

Following the announcement, the hashtag '#onebigdisappointment' made it into the Top 10 worldwide trending topics list as fans shared their disappointment at the lack of more international concerts.

In just 80 minutes after the news was unveiled, over 1 million tweets had been uploaded about the stadium tour and to put that information into context, it took 4 hours for the same amount of tweets to be shared about the death of Margaret Thatcher last month.

The lads have been expressing their excitement over the 'Where We Are' jaunt on their individual social networking pages and member Niall Horan updated his Twitter account last night (May 16), writing: "We are a family! We stick together forever! Love you all! Best fans on the planet."

Watch part of the boys' press conference about the tour here:

He revealed this afternoon that he will bow out of the sport when his season ends with Paris Saint-German in two games' time, and in a statement thanked his wife and family for 'everything':

"I wouldn't have achieved what I have done today without my family. I'm grateful for my parents' sacrifice, which made me realise my dreams. I owe everything to Victoria and the kids, who have given me the inspiration and support to play at the highest level for such a long period."

Fashion designer and Spice Girl Victoria took to her official Twitter page earlier, writing a message of thanks to her fans: "Thank you for all your lovely messages, we are so proud of you David x vb."

She also shared a personal snapshot of herself posing with Beckham, which can be seen above left. Together, the couple have three sons, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz, and one daughter, Harper.

Watch part of Beckham's retirement speech here:

The 'Promise This' songstress took to her official Twitter page and wrote: "Dear @kimkardashian. Hi Gorgeous lady! Just wanted to send you a tweet to say I think you are an incredibly beautiful woman inside and out."

"I can only imagine how tough it is to be heavily pregnant and feeling extremely vulnerable on top of some of the daily criticism you take! I admire your tenacity and send you my best wishes with the rest of your pregnancy #enjoyyourblessing x"

Upon seeing the message, Kardashian (who is expecting her first baby with rapper Kanye West) replied and thanked her for the 'touching' words:

"@CherylCole your message really touched me! Thank you so much for the support & positivity! Its so important for women to feel confident & at peace during this amazing time! Your sweet tweet really made me smile! Xoxo"

Watch Cole's recent interview with MSN here:

Anxiety psychologist Dr Becky Spelman, from the Private Therapy Clinic in London, conducted the research and it commissioned by Spotify. It shows that music can stimulate the part of the brain responsible for rationalising stress and nervousness, which in turn works with fears. Spelman explains: "Travel anxiety is caused by irrational thoughts where the threat is exaggerated and inappropriate. "

"Music that stimulates both the logical left and emotional right sides of the brain is said to stimulate the limbic system, which processes negative memories and emotions, which in turn helps people think in a more balanced, rational way suppressing anxiety."

Spotify's Angela Watts also spoke about the findings, adding: "We all have a strong personal and emotional connection to music so its power when it comes to anxiety control is no surprise. It's comforting that music can help more people enjoy their dream holiday without the fear of the journey at either end. Listening to Coldplay's 'Paradise' might actually get you there."

The songs highlighted as being the most useful in eliminating flight-related anxiety are as follows:

• 'Someone Like You' - Adele
• 'Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)' – Enya
• 'Piano on The Beach' - Liborio Conti
• 'Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major ("Elvira Madigan") K. 467' - Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus
• 'Better Together' – Jack Johnson
• 'Pure Shores' - All Saints
• 'Buffalo Soldier' - Bob Marley
• 'Scar Tissue' - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
• 'Paradise' - Coldplay
• 'As I Lay Me Down' - Sophie B. Hawkins
• 'Inside Out' - Britney Spears
• 'Ignition' - R Kelly
• 'Flaws and All' – Beyoncé
• 'The Christmas song' - Nat King Cole
• 'Space Oddity' - David Bowie

During an interview with MTV, the star explained that it's not just a rock group as there are more elements to what they do than just the music:

"We've always thought about 30 Seconds To Mars not just as a band but an art project."

"A place where we would make music, we would make books, we would make art in general, short films, documentaries."

The 'Kings and Queens' hitmaker added: "I mean really the music is the glue that binds it all together but its certainly not just about the music, it's about community, it's about a life."

30 Seconds To Mars recently unveiled their extended music video for new single 'Up In The Air', which clocks in at just over 8 minutes long and features a cameo from beauty Dita Von Teese. Their new album, 'Love Lust Faith + Dreams', will be released on May 20.

The group are due to kick off their 'Where We Are' tour next year with a run of dates in South America, Ireland and the UK, and at the press conference member Liam Payne confessed that the venues are so big they're now concerned that the shows might not sell out:

"We're looking at the pitch out in Wembley and we've got no idea how we're going to sell the tickets."

Louis Tomlinson added that the news is so huge they're now working hard to keep their feet firmly on the ground: "We're just trying to keep our feet on the ground. But right now we just take each day as it comes and get ready for the stadiums. I can't believe I just said that!"

Singer Niall Horan joked that he's particularly looking forward to the South American dates as he loves to party: "We're big into partying and Brazil are big into carnivals so we're excited to get involved."

Watch a clip from one of the boys' recent concerts here:

During an interview with Hollywood Life, the 'Call Me Maybe' beauty explained that she believes he would rock the panel: "I think [Justin] would be great! I’m sure he’d be awesome."

When asked what skills the 'Boyfriend' star would bring to the show, Jepsen revealed that he understands what's current and relevant: "He’s got lots of great opinions when it comes to the music world, and he’s very experienced, especially for someone so young."

She then joked that she would be a terrible judge as her 'motherly' instinct would kick in and she would struggle with giving contestants criticism: "I think I would be terrible. For me, I think I would be too motherly and I would be like, ‘You should all go through! You did a great job! Let’s be friends…’”

Watch Jepsen's audition for 'Canadian Idol' below: