Rapping and singing mogul Nicky Minaj has seen her career go from strength to the strength over the past couple of years and has expressed her determination to go on to nothing but bigger and better things.

The usually flamboyant and controversial female star has made it clear that she is looking to enjoy fame and fortune to the max, and has stated that she never intends to be poor ever again. Speaking on her difficult childhood and how it has given her the motivation to succeed in such a difficult industry, Nicki was reported to have said: ‘If you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth and you come into this business you’re going to get let down a lot. And it will probably send you crazy. This is only for the mentally strong…’

It is widely known that the unusual singer suffered a difficult childhood which even saw her own father trying to burn down the family home, with her mother in it. Despite this, the fiery artist has always used her troubling past to fuel her desire for success and money – and has succeeded.

Minaj’s second album ‘Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded’ debuted straight at number one in the UK charts earlier this month, following the astounding success of her first album ‘Pink Friday’ which gained the rapper the fame and success that she had worked so hard for.

If you are a big admirer of the larger-than-life star then you are in luck, as she has announced that she will be having a short UK tour which is to begin in June.

Much to the shock and delight of his family and doctors, the Bee Gee star Robin Gibb has woken from a coma after doctors had warned his family that he was ‘in God’s hands now’.

The star, who had been in a coma for twelve days, had previously been given only a 10 per cent chance of survival from doctors, who had even suggested that his family start preparing for his passing.

The musician has been known to be critically ill for some time now, having been diagnosed as suffering from colorectal cancer. However, the musician took a turn for the worse after contracting pneumonia which resulted in what was believed to be a coma from which he would never awake.

Clearly shocked and overjoyed, the 62 year old singer’s wife spoke to the press of her joy and how the star came to beat the coma that no-one thought he would overcome. His wife, Dwina Gibb, talked of how the Bee Gee singer’s family had kept a constant vigil by his side and had been playing his favourite music when the singer finally awoke.

Speaking on when his father woke up, Robin-John, the singer’s son said ‘…the first thing he said to me was ‘Hi R-J, can you tell them my back hurts?’…they gave him an under 10% survival chance and he has beaten the odds…he really is something else.’

The remarkable recovery of the brave star is a testament to his extraordinary strength, and here at the UK Top 40 office we can only hope that it is a sign of positive things to come for the much-loved singer.

Until recently, you would not be blamed for not recognising the name Carly Rae Jepson. But within the space of a few weeks, the Canadian singer is now a household name with a chart topping debut single which looks set for world domination.

The 26-year-old singer has shot to fame in shocking time, thanks to the unbelievable success of her debut single ‘Call Me Maybe’ which has rocketed to the top of the charts in both the UK and US. To date, the single has been labelled as the fastest selling single of 2012 – which is quite a feat for a singer who only a matter of weeks ago was virtually unheard of.

However, the secret behind the young songstress’s success is said to be a result of the hard work of the massive teen star Justin Bieber. It is reported that the young male heart-throb first heard Jepson’s catchy tune whilst it was being played on the radio. Bieber then went on to sign the shocked artist to his label, ‘Schoolboy Records’, before helping her to take the now hugely successful track ‘Call Me Maybe’ to the top of the charts.

On his decision to sign the Canadian singer, sources suggest that this may have been a way of ‘paying it forward’. This is because similarly to his own protégée Bieber was also scouted by another star, R&B singer Usher, who decided to sign him to his record label after hearing him sing on the radio.

The album will be their second, following their hugely successful debut album ‘Sigh No More’. The first album was released in 2009 and since its release the band have been rocketed to stardom – with the album even making it to the top spot as best-selling rock record in the U.S.

But what will the band’s second album have in store for us? As a result of the huge success of ‘Sigh No More’ no one could blame the band for being cautious with this second album, but the boys from London have seemed particularly eager to push on with perfecting the final tracks for the album in order for a speedy release.

Speaking of their expectations for the album, Ben Lovett from the band explained that ‘We just want to make a record that’s cohesive and one that we feel represents us best right now…But we’re being urgent with it, we’re trying very hard.’

Some American fans have also been lucky enough to preview sample tracks from the band’s latest material, which the boys choose to premiere at a couple of their U.S gigs.

For the rest of us Mumford & Sons fans, we can only hope that the wait isn’t too long!

The British girl band announced that they were taking a one year break back in 2009, but since then the years have slipped by and the girls have seemed more eager to pursue their own individual careers rather than reform.

However, the seeming black sheep of the band – Nadine Coyle, who over the past couple of years has been reported as becoming increasingly alienated from her fellow band mates, has recently announced that the girls are to reunite for a 2012 arena tour to celebrate their 10^th anniversary.

Nadine made the remarks during an Oscar fundraiser for the Elton John Aids Foundation, and mentioned that fans could expect not only a possible arena tour but also new songs to go with it.

Speaking candidly, Nadine spoke of the band’s reasons for regrouping. ‘At the end of the year it would have been 10 years and it feels like the right time to regroup…It will be arena dates at the start of next year and we will have new music to go with it.’

It seems that despite talk of a ‘rift’ developing between band member Nadine and the rest of the girls, that the possibility of a near future reunion looks very promising, as the girls are still contracted to provide their label with another album.

The festival is known to be one of the most exciting musical events of the year, and throughout past years has drawn in thousands of fans who travel from across the world to watch their favourite acts.

This year’ V festival line-up is set to be as star-studded as ever, with acts such as The Stone Roses, Olly Murs, Nicki Minaj and Ed Sheeran are confirmed to perform for the crowds. Much to the excitement of many, including fellow acts such as Noel Gallagher, The Stone Roses are reported to be headlining the festival on its final night. The band, who fell apart in 1996, announced that they had reformed last October – much to the delight of fans everywhere.

The festival director Simon Moran announced that organisers of the festival were ‘…really delighted with the line-up this year’ and spoke of how ‘…the mix of established and exciting breakthrough acts promised to give festival-goers a cracking weekend.’

If you are one of the many lucky ticket holders to this year’s V festival, then it sounds like you are in for a treat! The music will be kicking off on Saturday 18^th August, so hopefully the sun will be shining over the hundreds of happy campers who will be braving the campsites this year.

The UK based dance DJ’s have spoken openly on their wish to work on a collaboration with the ‘Umbrella’ singer, admitting that they have a great deal of respect for the Barbadian singer.

Talking about the beautiful singer, the boys told interviewers ‘ We saw her recently and caught up with her at the O2 a while ago and we talked about it then…She’s always looking to write on interesting sides of music. It’s just finding the time really; we’re still artists as well as producers.’ The two stars were then quick to add ‘We love what she does and any chance we’ll get, we’ll take.’

The beautiful Rihanna has  never been one to turn done an opportunity to collaborate with well-known artists in the past, having previously teamed up with stars such as David Guetta, Eminem and Coldplay – which suggests that the pair from London may be in for a chance!

Controversially, Rihanna’s latest collaboration has been with her ex, singer Chris Brown. The former lovers have sparked up recent outrage by choosing to feature together on a track titled ‘Birthday Cake’, in which the two are heard singing explicit lyrics which have definitely caught the attention of fans everywhere. In light of their violent history, many people have expressed their disappointment at the two R&B singers’ latest antics and hope that their latest single doesn’t spell out a possible romantic reunion.

The four hour service was described by family members as a celebration of Whitney’s ‘return home’, but few could hold back their tears as friends and family reminisced over the star’s short but star studded life.

Among the mourners in attendance of the funeral, were stars such as Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Chaka Khan, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder and Oprah Winfrey.  Furthermore, during the service the well-known actor Kevin Costner paid tribute to the ‘Dance With Somebody’ star, who he described as his friend. Whilst giving what can only be described as an emotion-fuelled speech, Costner urged the world to ‘dry our tears, suspend our sorrow and perhaps our anger’.

Also in attendance at the funeral was Whitney’s ex-husband Bobby Brown, who split from the singer back in 2007. The two were known for having an extremely volatile relationship and many people have even blamed Bobby for introducing a life of drugs and excess to Whitney, who famously battled an addiction to both drugs and drink. However, in the months leading up to her death it had been reported that Whitney was slowly overcoming her demons.

Whitney was found dead in the bathroom of her hotel room, the night before the Grammys. The exact cause of her death is still yet to be determined.

The stunning ‘Someone Like You’ star had recently arrived back in the UK after attending the highly prestigious Grammy Awards, where she picked up a whopping SIX awards. The star, who appeared absolutely ecstatic with her overseas triumph, arrived back in the UK before heading straight over to the equally as esteemed Brit Awards show – with her new beau Simon Konecki in tow.

However, despite going on at the Brit Awards to achieve even further success, picking up the awards for both ‘Best Female Artist’ and ‘Album of the Year’, the singer’s night took a sudden turn for the worse. After being announced as winner of ‘Album of the Year’ for her highly acclaimed album ‘21’, Adele took to the stage amongst an uproar of cheers from the crowds. However, within moments of taking to the microphone to give thanks to the fans that had voted for her, an apologetic looking James Corden approached the stage to cut her speech short.

On realising that she was being asked to leave the stage, a shocked looking Adele was heard to ask ‘Are you about to cut me off?’ Before adding, ‘Can I just say then, goodbye and I’ll see you next time around’. Controversially, the singer from West London then proceeded to show cameras her middle finger before leaving the stage.

Despite apologising later for her actions, claiming that the gesture was intended for the show’s producers, Adele was relieved to learn that the majority of fans and celebrities supported her in her actions, believing that the star had been treated unfairly by the show.

R&B and Blues singer Etta James was diagnosed with leukaemia earlier in the year and finally passed away on the 20^th January 2012 at the age of 73, much to the sadness of her fans and friends everywhere. James was hailed by many as ‘the greatest of all modern blues singers’ and despite having a somewhat troubled life that was plagued with bouts of drug dependency, enjoyed a musical career that spanned almost six decades – a triumphant feat for a female R&B star.

After her death, scores of celebrities and like-minded divas choose to pay tribute to the ‘At Last’ singer, with celebrities such as Beyoncé and Adele opening up within days of her death to talk of how the sultry singer had influenced their own careers.

Speaking on her blog, Beyoncé told of how ‘Playing Etta James taught me so much about myself, and singing her music inspired me to be a stronger artist.’

Superstar Adele also took to her blog to write ‘What a lady Etta James was. She was the ultimate original.’

Several stars including Christina Aguilera and Stevie Wonder attended the singer’s funeral, which was conducted at Los Angeles’s City of Refuge church. During the service a rendition of the much-loved classic ‘At Last’ was sung by an emotional Christina Aguilera.

The service was finished poignantly with cries from Reverend Sharp of ‘Etta, you made it, you’re going home. At last! At last! At last!’