Last night rock music came to town with the NME awards in London. Interestingly, awards magnet Amy Winehouse did win, but perhaps not in a category she had hoped to score in – the Worst Dressed star of the year. The bee-hived singer was beaten to the Best Solo Artist award by Kate Nash, while Mercury Music winner’s the Klaxons picked up the Best Album gong for Myths of the Near Future. The big winners on the night were those Sheffield scruffs the Arctic Monkeys taking home both Best British Band and Best Track for Fluorescent Adolescent.

Las Vegas band The Killers were awarded the Best International Group honour, while newcomers The Enemy were hailed as the Best New Band. The Godlike Genius award went to Welsh rockers The Manic Street Preachers but there were plenty more prizes served up on the night. Click over to the NME website to catch up with all the winners in full.

She might have missed out at the BRIT awards, but X-Factor winner Leona Lewis looks set to secure another mammoth hit with her hew single Footprints in the Sand. It’s a rousing ballad that starts quietly only to build to an emotional climax and again firmly establishes the young singer as a warbler up there with the likes of Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion.

It is the official Sports Relief song and will be a double A-side with Better in Time. It isn’t out until March 10th, but for those Leona lovers that need their fix now watch the new video below. Like Bleeding Love, it looks set to hit the top spot and nestle there for a good long while. See Leona’s website for more news on the singer.

She’s back! Pop superstar Madonna has confirmed the title of her album will be Hard Candy. The album is due out in the States in late April (hows about a UK date?), with the first single to be released a duet with Justin Timberlake called Four Minutes. The trouser snake will feature on a number of the album’s tracks with current flavour of the month Timbaland, accompanied by Pharrell Williams and Nate “Danja” Hills, providing producer duties.

So why the sugary title? Madonna’s rep Liz Rosenberg explains: “It’s about the juxtaposition of tough and sweetness, or as Madonna so eloquently expressed ‘I’m gonna kick your ass, but it’s going to make you feel good.’” The Material Girl is said to “love candy”, with her tribute to her own sweet tooth continuing with another track called Candy Store. For more news on the Queen of Pop, visit her official site.

You’re probably all aware of OneRepublic because of the uber-successful single, ‘Apologize’, a collaboration with Timbaland, but have you heard their other music?

The American based band from Colorado, are huge across the pond and will be just as big here. The new album titled ‘Dreaming Out Loud’ from OneRepublic will be released on the 10th of March 2008 and hosts some brilliant songs. The new ‘Stop and Stare’ song is great and available to purchase on iTunes now, but listen to ‘All We Are’ – its amazing. Similar to Snow Patrol their music is easy to listen and chill out to.

Pre-order your copy from Amazon for £8.98.

You may have heard of Imogen Heap, either because of her soft and flawless voice or because many of her songs can be heard on tv shows or films.

Take ‘The O.C’ for example, Heap’s songs can be heard in both the memorable season finales of season 2 and season 3. These songs are called ‘Hide and Seek’ and ‘Speeding Cars’. As well as taking her solo artist name she forms part of the band Frou Frou who produced ‘Let Go’ heard on the movie ‘The Holiday’. The album ‘Speak for Youself’ is simply fantastic. The mixture of addictive music sounds are catchy and original. Listen to ‘Hide and Seek’ and ‘Goodnight and Go’ – great tracks.

You can purchase ‘Speak for Yourself’ by Imogen Heap at Amazon for £9.98.

If you weren’t lucky enough to acquire Spice Girls Tour tickets over the winter then invest in their brand new album.

Have your own Spice Girls evening and listen to the greatest hits including Wannabe, Say You’ll Be There, Who Do You Think You Are, Stop, Too Much and their come back single, Headlines (Friendship Never Ends) which was for the charity Children In Need. Geri, Emma, Mel B, Mel C and Victoria have made headlines, critically acclaimed for their uber successful tour and of course their private lives.

Spice Up Your Life with a copy from Amazon for £8.98 eligible for Free UK Delivery when you spend over £15 with Super Saver Delivery.

Tune in to Channel Four tonight at 10pm to have a very entertaining Christmas build up by watching the Friday Night Project with special guests Girls Aloud.

Cheryl, Nadine, Nicola, Sarah and Kimberley will join Justin Lee Collins and Alan Carr to put on a nativity play. If that’s not enough Girls Aloud for you then you can also catch them going back to school in the new film St Trinian’s. The movie has a great line up of actors including Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Mischa Barton, Russell Brand and even model, Lily Cole. The film is about the infamous school for young ladies facing problems which the pupils will join together to solve. An enjoyable looking chic flick, out in cinemas today, nationwide.

Check out the new band, The Pierces. The New York based band has had a string of records but their most successful and most recent one is called ‘Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge’.

Sisters Catherine and Allison Pierce form the two piece band and have recently made their debut into popular television on the American CW television show Gossip Girl. The new album ‘Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge’ has been well reviewed especially for the single ‘boring’ which imitates celebrity socialites in a humorous way. The album is quite cool and edgy with some great songs like ‘Three Wishes’ and ‘Secrets’.

Preview their music on their UK website and purchase their album at Amazon for £9.97.

Britney Spears made her come back with ‘Gimme More’ this year and to follow up that catchy tune she is releasing a second single from her new album ‘Blackout’ called ‘Piece of Me’. The new video sees Brit back with her abs of steel and all the glamour as she bites back at the paparazzi who always want a piece of her.

Catch the brand new music video on www.youtube.com and on one of the many music channels available with Sky, digital and Virgin. You can also buy the song individually on iTunes for £0.79 now or as part of the album online at Amazon for £8.98 and in music stores now.

If you’re a music fan you are bound to be at least a little bit interested in the battle for Christmas number one this year. Will it be a classic manufactured pop track or a humorous one-off made to raise money for charity like Bill Nighy’s ‘Christmas is all around’. According to William Hill bookmakers strong contenders include the X factor winners, Leona Lewis and the Sugababes. If you fancy making a bet yourself you can visit www.oddschecker.com to find out more about who’s favorite to reach the top spot. You can also see a list of previous artists to reach Christmas number one here.

Personally I’m not inspired by much in the charts at the moment. I’d love to see a complete random enter the competition with a ridiculous song. One such band called Reuben are aiming to get in the charts this year with a very funny track called ‘Chirstmas is Awesome’. They have obviously put some thought into this and the video is great (see below). The music might not be everyones cup of tea but you’ve got to appreciate the comedy value. I would love to see this at number one this Christmas. You can support Reuben by buying their song from iTunes for less than a pound or if you are a Facebook user you can find more independent artists to support by joining a group like this.

I must admit it has been too long since the once pop princess, Britney Spears has graced our screens with her fab abs and girly charm.

I’ll be honest I was always eager to see what her next music video would be, so I was pleased to find out that all her music videos released before her come back this year are available on DVD.

Watch her from the very beginning in Baby One More Time, to the racy I’m A Slave 4 U and then finally to My Prerogative the last single released before the beginning of family life.

Get your copy for £6.97 from Amazon.co.uk.

How exciting, MTV are looking for a new presenter and are using MySpace to help with their recruitment process! All you have to do is upload a video of yourself to the Random Report Page and you could be the next Trevor Nelson or Edith Bowman. If you fancy yourself as a bit of a TV presenter, watch the clip below to find out how to go about it!!

Ever wondered what it takes to create the beauty and elegance of the Girls Aloud girls, Nadine, Cheryl, Kimberley, Sarah and Nicola? Wonder no longer as the new DVD Girls Aloud Style presents an insight into how the looks are created.

Sharing their own tips in fashion and beauty the girls give great advice on how to rock a look. Watch Sarah and Nadine shop, Cheryl share secrets, Nicola find the perfect jeans and Kimberley talk through Internet shopping and the benefits.

Plus have some of the girl’s best music videos on hand to watch and dance to, such as Sound of the Underground; See the Day, Long Hot Summer, Biology and Sexy! No No No, to name a few.

Buy the new DVD from Amazon.co.uk priced at £10.98, plus postage and packaging.

Exciting news, Girls Aloud are on tour in 2008. Nadine, Cheryl, Nicola, Kimberley and Sarah will be joining together for a huge tour with lots of dates in May 2008 to please fans all around the country.

Beginning on the 7th of May 2008 in Glasgow the girls will be making stops in Bournemouth on the 11th of May, London on the 17th of May, Cardiff on the 18th of May, Sheffield on the 21st of May, Newcastle on the 25th of May and Manchester on the 31st of May to name a few.

Book your tickets at www.seetickets.com. Tickets start at £26 plus a booking fee and transaction fee. Also if you’re a big fan of Girls Aloud check out their 2008 calendar at Amazon, currently on sale for just £4.99.

Check these out - funky pink headphones that double up as ear muffs ready for those long cold days we have recently been experiencing.

I’m not normally a fan of large headphones, I much prefer the subtle look of my iPod earphones that are thin, white and hide away nicely in your ear, but I have to admit there is something very appealing about Skullcandy. I think it could be the fun pink colour, the use of fur and the fact that they actually look and give the same quality as pro DJ style headsets that I find so irresistible.

Get these over your ears and keep warm whilst bopping. Experience how music should sound and log on to www.catapult.co.uk and get your very own Skullcandy for £52.99.