‘I thought – if I die, I’ve had a good innings’: producer James Ford on life, death and making an album from his hospital bed

The Arctic Monkeys, Pet Shop Boys and Pulp collaborator was Britain’s most in-demand producer when leukaemia struck. ‘I realised life is exceptionally fragile,’ he says

‘Have I tried having sex to my own music? God, no!’: Natalie Imbruglia’s honest playlist

The singer was wooed with some knocked-off Joni Mitchell and might even be persuaded to sing Torn at karaoke. But what fan comment winds her up the most?

Family affair: how pop-star siblings Audrey Hobert and Malcolm Todd stormed the charts in parallel

Following in the footsteps of Michael and Janet Jackson, and Kylie and Dannii Minogue, the Hobert siblings have simultaneously struck pop gold – with no rivalry

Add to playlist: the heartbreak post-mortems of Cape Town’s Rowlene and the week’s best new tracks

The South African singer has been a memorable guest artist, but the unhurried, emotional tracks on new album Some Strings Attached show she’s ready for the spotlight

‘It was lonely being a young queer artist’: Sam Smith on finding health, happiness – and their hazel-eyed fiance

On their new album, Smith is subverting their singer-songwriter roots to tell a queer love story. They talk about their shifting fanbase, the nasty undercurrents of fame – and finding sanctuary in New York City

Chelsea Wolfe: The Dark review – existential reflection goes from whisper to gothic scream

The genre-blending Californian artist casts off past toxic influences with a powerful set of tender, brooding and emotionally charged songs that wouldn’t feel out of place as festival anthems

James: Getting Away With It review – hippies, hardnuts and dreamers unite

Auto-hagiography it may be – most of the interviewees were in the band at some point – but this portrait of the seminal Manchester indie group is charming stuff

Countries in ‘armed conflict’ barred from hosting Eurovision

Organisers says new rule will ensure contest provides ‘safe and welcoming environment’ for participants

Post your questions for Amy Lee of Evanescence

The metal icon is here to answer your questions about the band’s 90s origins, MTV fame and being trailblazer in a male dominated genre

‘Today’s Brazilians have no idea what it feels like to lose democracy’: Joyce Moreno on her battles to become a Latin musical great

After her defiant femininity outraged many in Brazil, she lived through a military dictatorship and was boycotted for years. But after more than 30 albums, she explains how she kept going

Rod Stewart cancels farewell tour dates after undergoing successful heart procedure

The singer said that he was ‘already feeling better’ but forthcoming dates on his mammoth farwell tour will not now go ahead

The astonishing voice of Grace Cummings: ‘The peace I found in music is a legitimate lifesaver’

The Australian singer-songwriter, whose remarkable sound has been likened to Nina Simone and Nico, is back with a new album shaped by a few years of ‘incredible pain and change’

Nimrods review – Green Day’s early years inspire teenage kicks in amiable punk road movie

San Francisco’s pop-punk pioneers Green Day loom large in this fun, puppyish film about a scrappy band desperate to meet their idols

William Orbit obituary

Musician and record producer who reignited Madonna’s career with his work on her 1998 album Ray of Light

My Brilliant Career: inside Netflix’s horny, ‘bonkers’ take on an Australian classic the world is about to love

Starring Philippa Northeast and an extremely buff Christopher Chung, Miles Franklin’s 1901 novel has been adapted into a spirited series ‘unashamedly intended for women’