I opened an envelope the other day and Emeli Sandé turned up. OK, an old joke, but they keep coming. Only last week, some wag tweeted "Which song is Emili Sandé singing at Thatcher's funeral?" For most of last year, it seemed that Sandé – who at the start of it was just another name on those Brightest Hopes/Sound of lists – was inescapable. You couldn't switch on, say, the Olympics opening ceremony, the Olympics closing ceremony, The X Factor, The Voice or even BBC Sports Relief without seeing her bleached quiff, or hearing her signature tune "Next to Me".

Announcement follows tickets for earlier show selling out in matter of minutes

On Radio 1 this week, Yeah Yeah Yeahs unveiled “Sacrilege”, the first song from their April-released fourth album, Mosquito – their first LP in some four years. Whereas on their last effort, 2009's well-received It's Blitz!, the New York trio tuned their guitars, drums, synths and vocals to a more dance-oriented sound, on “Sacrilege” at least, they've moved their focus again. Here, on a song produced by Nick Launay and regular collaborator Dave Sitek, a big rock sound prevails with the high-pitched vocals of Karen O (pictured) augmented by a large chanting gospel choir. Hear the track streaming at yeahyeahyeahs.com.

Reg Presley was the singer and principal songwriter of the Troggs, the group that put the Hampshire town of Andover on the pop map with 1966's "Wild Thing". He was also the member best placed for a solo career and a retirement rich in material comforts, principally through Wet Wet Wet's No 1 revival of Presley's "Love Is All Around" – written in under 20 minutes one Sunday afternoon – for the soundtrack of Four Weddings And A Funeral in 1994.

Jenni Rivera, who died in a plane crash on 9 December, was at the peak of her career as perhaps the most successful female singer in grupero, a male-dominated regional style influenced by the norteno, cumbia and ranchero styles. A 43-year-old mother of five children and grandmother of two, the woman known as the "Diva de la Banda" was known for her frank talk about her struggles to give a good life to her children despite a series of setbacks.

Veteran country music star Emmylou Harris is teaming up with London folk band Mumford & Sons to explore their shared love of high harmony, sad songs and the oft-belittled banjo on a US TV show.

Nineties punk band Green Day have confirmed they will play their breakthrough album Dookie in full at Reading Festival this weekend.

The Fiction Uncovered prize is an unusual one, in that it selects eight titles instead of one winner each year. Its remit is quite simple: to “uncover and celebrate our best British writers”.

When Apple used her quirky 1234 in an ad, Feist's popularity soared. Now she's ready to go  deeper, she tells James McNair

When Apple used her quirky 1234 for an ad campaign, Feist's popularity soared. But now she’s ready to go a little deeper, she tells James McNair

Time was when a rock star wasn't an authentic rock star unless he or she drove a pink Cadillac into a hotel swimming pool, or appeared on stage in a foul-mouthed, drunken mess or, at the very least, insisted on a rider that every pack of Smarties in the dressing room had the blue ones removed.

When former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger performed a solo show in London last week, possibly even more surprising than her managing to fill the Hammersmith Apollo was the discovery that her fans have their own name: Killer Lovers (a play on the title of her album, Killer Love).

Flamenco singer-dancer La Shica performs a traditional Sevillanas, moving with courtly seriousness. Then she and her band add a bassline, teasing rhythms and shapes. She turns to the audience, with beaming delight: “Now you understand why some purists in my country think I am Satan’s daughter!”