Elvis Presley is coming back from the dead – with his back catalogue being revamped by chart stars
THE King may have left the building decades ago, but his music is returning with gusto.
I can reveal Elvis Presley's estate has given the green light for plans to revamp his biggest hits for a new generation.
A raft of current chart stars, including US rapper Doja Cat, have signed up to cover his songs for a new compilation album.
It is expected to be released in June to coincide with the biopic Elvis, from kooky director Baz Luhrmann.
Doja will cover his 1956 song Hound Dog while rapper Swae Lee, who has previously worked with Madonna, is also on board for the project.
However, the move risks infuriating diehard fans, who believe the chart legend’s music should not be tampered with simply to get cash from beyond the grave.
A source told me: “It’s hugely controversial. Elvis fans are diehard and see any tampering as sacrilege, but Warner Bros wanted to bring his music to a new audience. He is one of the most successful musicians of all time, but this album will help introduce his music to a new generation of kids.
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“The hope is that the record, along with the film, will help bring his music back to the masses again and kickstart a huge increase on streaming services — which is what happened with Queen music when the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody came out.”
The top-secret soundtrack is yet to be announced, but I can confirm the album is set to drop in early summer.
The accompanying film, featuring actor Austin Butler playing the rock’n’roll icon and singing his songs, will premiere at Cannes Film Festival next month before being released on June 24.
TOM HANKS will play Elvis’s manager Colonel Tom Parker in the film, which was shot in Australia in early 2020.
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Despite Elvis’s estate giving the album the go-ahead, his ex-wife Priscilla is apprehensive about the film.
Speaking during a recent trip to Australia, she said: “I promised Baz I wouldn’t see it unless he was there because he asked me.
“He said, ‘Please don’t see it. I want you to see it with me.’ He’s very nervous. He’s very nervous’
On Austin playing Elvis, she added: “I don’t mean this to be an insult, but I don’t know anyone who could fit in his shoes.
“I haven’t seen anyone who can portray Elvis. But I heard he did a great job.”
I’m yet to hear the cover tracks so I could be proved wrong, but sometimes I think it’s best not to tamper with a great artist’s legacy.
I’m a lover not a fighter, but if George Michael's estate tried to get a bunch of rappers to cover Careless Whisper, I’d have to rethink my position.
Box office take beastly
THE future of the Fantastic Beasts franchise is on the line, as Warner Bros has yet to give a fourth film the green light.
The studio is waiting to see how the film performs at the box office before confirming it will make a follow-up, but the signs are not good.
The latest instalment, The Secrets Of Dumbledore, took just £5.8million at the UK box office in its opening weekend.
That is less than half the £12.3million made by The Crimes Of Grindelwald.
Go mad and get the Beers in
SHE has vocals to rival Ariana Grande, more break-up songs than Adele and fans who scream like they are at a One Direction concert.
But Madison Beer took it all in her stride as she dominated the stage at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in West London on Tuesday evening, during the latest stop on her Life Support tour.
Nine years have passed since she was discovered by Justin Bieber on YouTube, but this show proved she has come into her own as a fully fledged pop star.
She fitted in an impressive four costumes, including this pink frock, during the concert – all backed by futuristic visuals to make the show a real production.
Speaking about one of the videos playing behind her during the show, she told me afterwards: “We had to shoot that at 7am in my pool – I directed all of the visuals.”
Her relatable lyrics have made her a gen Z icon and the princess of break-up anthems, from Blue with the line “I know when to run, when my make up does” to Boy**t, where she sings “I can’t understand you because I don’t speak boys**t.”
A few more crossover pop hits and the world will be screaming her name.
★★★★☆
Slim Will
WILL Young might look different next time you see him, as he has shed a stone by quitting booze.
He said: “I have now stopped drinking – I did that before Christmas and I feel really good. My next thing is I halved my smoking and I’m not long off stopping now.”
Speaking on The Mid Point podcast with Gabby Logan, he continued: “I’m noticing more what my body likes, probably since stopping drinking. Since I stopped I’ve lost over 1st. That was a beer stone.”
The singer returns today with a song called Why Does It Hurt, which he wrote for Dua Lipa but then decided to keep for himself.
It will feature on his album 20 Years – The Greatest Hits, out on May 27.
George: My 2020 was a right off
GEORGE Ezra feared he wouldn’t be able to write his long-awaited third album after the world shut down in 2020.
While many singers enjoyed the downtime to get creative without the distractions of events and promo appearances, the Shotgun hitmaker usually gets his inspiration from travelling the world.
Speaking at the London Palladium this week, George, said: “In the past I have relied on my travels and my adventures. I fill up these diaries. When I get home I skim through them and pull bits out and write songs.
“We played our last show of our last record in London at the Royal Albert Hall. After that I had this whole adventure booked – I’m sure we all did for 2020 – but we couldn’t do our plans.
“For me – writing – I was like ‘Oh shoot, that’s your whole schtick. That is what you do. Now you can’t do it.’
“So I started to flick through old journals to see if anything else came to mind.”
Luckily for us, George was able to work his magic again – with comeback single Anyone For You landing him with another hit.
His second, Green Green Grass, looks set to do the same when it is released next week, ahead of album Gold Rush Kid, which is out in June.
Charli xxx-cx
CHARLI XCX’s career as a pop star is going from strength to strength but she could easily switch jobs to become a dominatrix judging by this photo.
The Beg For You singer wears this raunchy leather and string outfit, complete with a lock on the front, in the video to her song Used To Know Me. It will be released on YouTube tomorrow – and teasing it on TikTok, she said: “Video is coming and it’s insane.”
Her album Crash went to No1 last month and is the sixth best-selling vinyl of the year so far in the UK – and the only entry in the top ten from a female act.
That bodes well for her UK tour, which kicks off in just four weeks’ time.
No mixing with fans, girls
LITTLE MIX’s fans have waited a long time to see their idols on the twice-delayed Confetti Tour, which kicked off in Belfast last weekend.
But anyone hoping to get close to Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, will be disappointed, as they have been banned from accepting gifts from concert-goers over fears they could catch Covid.
The group, which Jesy Nelson quit in 2020, will go their separate ways when the tour ends next month and are determined not to let anything cause them to cancel any of the shows, because they would be unable to reschedule.
However, that means they are having to be vigilant and keep only a tight team around them. A source said: “Management are so worried the girls could catch Covid that they have been told not to get near any fans, or even accept presents from them. They have also ruled out any official meet-and-greets while on the road.
“A lot of the summer is already mapped out with their solo careers so the girls have been told that even pictures with fans must be socially distanced.
“When they were four of them in the group, they performed as a three a handful of times, but to go down to two would be impossible.”
With 24 shows still to go across the UK, they have a gruelling few weeks ahead.
Colin spies role of a lifetime
COLIN Firth plays a spy who managed to trick Hitler in his new movie Operation Mincemeat, but he reckons he would be hopeless if he was a real-life 007.
Asked if he is good at keeping secrets, he said: “Yes, I am actually – it’s the only bit of spycraft I think I might be good at.
“I’m not clever enough really to be a spy but I think I can keep a secret.”
He plays Navy intelligence expert Ewen Montagu , who helped create a plan to mask the invasion of Sicily in 1943 by persuading the Germans that the Allies would invade Greece instead.
They equipped a dead body with false papers and left it for the Germans to find, who then passed on the fake information to their own intelligence services, fooling them into thinking that the Allies did not intend to attack Sicily.
The film, out tomorrow, had its premiere in London on Tuesday and Colin said it will go down as one of his favourite roles. He said on the red carpet: “I really admire this man I’m playing and it is a very exciting and very unusual story, so I think this is a role I will cherish.”
Brit's baby is 'overdue'
BRITNEY Spears’ fiancé believes the superstar’s pregnancy should have happened years earlier.
Speaking in a new interview conducted before Britney announced the happy news on Monday, Sam Ashgari told BBC Persian: “I mean, this should have happened three years ago. When you’re in a relationship with someone that you’re truly in love with, you want to recreate.”
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Britney previously claimed to have been forced to use a contraceptive device while in her conservatorship, which gave her father control over her life.
Social media influencer Sam, who has been dating the star since 2016, proposed last September.