‘Game of Thrones’ enlist Florence Welch for ‘Jenny of Oldstones’

As the second episode of Game of Thrones came to an end, fans were quickly trying to figure out which of their favorite characters will die following the “calm before the storm” episode. As the credits rolled, a female voice can be heard singing the tune Podrick (Ser Brienne of Tarth’s squire) belted while the fireside group of former foes sat by and drank wine. Who’s haunting voice was singing “Jenny of Oldstones,” you may ask? Well, none other than Florence Welch.

According to a press release from HBO, the television series’ creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss reached out to Welch to see if she would be interested in covering the song for the series. As evident by its placement, the singer agreed. As noted by Weiss and Benioff, this isn’t the first time Welch has been linked to the show. Her song “Seven Devils” was used in the trailer for the show’s second season.

“We’ve always been huge fans of Florence’s music, and the season 2 trailer with her song ‘Seven Devils’ was possibly the most powerful we’ve ever had,” Benioff and Weiss explained in a statement.

“So the opportunity to hear her otherworldly voice on our show was always at the forefront of our minds. We’re still pleasantly shocked that she agreed to sing ‘Jenny of Oldstones,’ and we’re in love with the result.”

Welch added: “When I first heard the song it sounded like a Celtic lullaby to me. Celtic music has always been in my blood, so I felt like I could do something with it. The magic and ritual in Game of Thrones, not to mention the costumes, have always appealed to me. I am honoured to be a part of the final season.”

“Jenny of Oldstones” was written by Weiss, Benioff, Ramin Djawadi, and Game of Thrones mastermind George R.R. Martin. The song was produced by Thomas Bartlett.

Watch the lyric video for “Jenny of Oldstone” above.

Florence and the Machine have been a little quiet lately, but that’s about to change. Next month Welch and company will kick off their High As Hope North American tour. The outing begins on May 10 at the FORM Arcosanti in Mayer, Ariz. and concludes on June 9 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. The full list of tour stops can be found here.

Florence and the Machine to reportedly release new music on Thursday

It’s been a few weeks since Florence and the Machine unleashed their much-anticipated new song, “Sky Full of Song.” Now, it looks like fans should get ready for another new tune before the week is over. On Monday (April 30), frontwoman Florence Welch uploaded a photo on Instagram with the band’s initials, the word “hunger,” and the date May 3. In the accompanying caption, she simply posted: “VIDEO @a.g.rojas, PHOTOGRAPHY @vincenthaycock, More .@florenceandthemachine.”

If you click on the band’s Instagram handle, it will take you to their official Instagram page where a total of three images appear. The caption on all three images are the same: “HUNGER, Single out May 3, Video directed by AG Rojas, Photos by Vincent Haycock.” Check out the band’s profile here.

“Hunger” will be the second new song from the band since the release of 2015’s How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. While the group released “Sky Full of Song” as a Record Store Day contribution, it will most likely end up on their widely speculated new album.

Earlier this month, NME claimed that the group’s fourth studio album will be titled High As Hope and see a release date of June 29. If the band is aiming to release new music in June, that will be perfect timing on their part since they have been confirmed for several music festivals this summer including Poland’s Orange Warsaw Festival, Germany’s Melt! Festival, and Spain’s Bilbao BBK Festival.

The new music speculation began in February when Virgin Records CEO Ted Cockle revealed in an interview that a handful of artists on the label will be releasing new albums before the end of 2018.

“We are looking forward to great new music from Florence + the Machine, Blossoms, CHVRCHES, James Bay, and Shawn Mendes.”

Currently, CHVRCHES, James Bay, and Shawn Mendes have all confirmed the release of new music, so Florence and the Machine should not be too far behind.

Florence and the Machine Perform “What Kind of Man” on ‘ Jools Holland’

Florence and the Machine frontwoman Florence Welch might have been dealt a crappy hand during the first weekend of Coachella when she broke her foot, but that’s not stopping her from putting all her energy into her newly toned down performances.

During Coachella weekend two, the songstress was confined to a stool and a few weeks later, it looks like the stool has become her partner for her live performances.

Last night, Welch and the rest of the band performed on British late night show, Later….with Jools Holland. Welch, who is known for her showmanship, sat on her trusty stool to sing “What Kind of Man.” We can only assume it took all of her energy to remain seated since you can clearly see her bouncing up and down, frantically, to the song.

Watch the performance on the show below.

According to Welch, her broken foot should be healed by the time the band are scheduled to perform at Glastonbury at the end of June. We’re sure she’ll be getting enough rest in the meantime because the band’s schedule seems to be light this Summer.

Their next gig is on May 9 where they will be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live and then after that, they will have a big break before heading to New York’s Randall’s Island for the Governors Ball.

“What Kind of Man” is the lead single to How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, due out June 2nd.

Florence Welch Breaks Foot at Coachella

How do you know that you’ve put on a hell of show for a sea of loyal fans? When two days later you find out you have a broken foot and that’s exactly what happened to Florence and the Machine’s frontwoman, Florence Welch.

Yesterday afternoon, the songstress took to the internet to reveal to fans that she had sustained a broken foot during the closing night of the first weekend of Coachella. During the band’s performance, Welch had jumped off the stage and apparently things didn’t go as planned which resulted in her busted foot.

But for those wondering how the injury will affect her upcoming tour schedule, including another round at Coachella, she reassured that she’ll still be performing, though a little restraint.

“Unfortunately while this heals, my performances will have to be somewhat stripped back. I’m so sorry, I’m pretty devastated, but I still want to do the shows. I understand this is not what you were expecting, but I hope it’s just as enjoyable.I’m going to try and make it super special for you.”

On the upside, she said she’s hoping to be back on her feet (pun intended) by the time the band is scheduled to play Glastonbury at the end of June.

For now, check out the band’s tour schedule which picks up tonight at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles.

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE’S 2015 TOUR SCHEDULE:

04/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Ace Hotel
04/19 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
06/05 – New York, NY @ Governors Ball Music Festival
06/09 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
06/10 – Boston, MA @ Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
06/14 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music Festival
06/19-21 – Scheeßel and Neuhausen ob Eck, DE @ Hurricane and Southside Festivals
06/24-28 – Pilton, UK @ Glastonbury Music Festival
06/25-28 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter
06/27-07/04 – Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival
07/05 – Lyon, FR @ Théâtre romain de Fourvière
07/16-19 – Benicàssim, ES @ Primavera Sound
07/18 – Lisbon, PT @ Super Bock Super Rock
07/31-08/01 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Festival
08/02 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/03 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
08/10-17 – Budapest, HU @ Sziget Festival
08/11-15 – Oslo, NO @ Oya Festival
08/13-15 – Göteborg, Sweden @ Way Out West
08/14-16 – Helsinki, FI @ Flow Festival
09/04-06 – Stradbally, IE @ Electric Picnic

Florence Welch Channels “St. Jude” in New Video

Florence and the Machine are giving their fans the perfect cure to another dreary Monday; a new music video.

The video is for the track, “St.Jude” which made its debut earlier this month during a London show (fellow new song “Third Eye” also made its debut that night). Now, the video is out and features Welch soaking wet and roaming alone as she sings about the patron saint of lost causes. True, she looks like she could be said saint.

Watch the video below.

The video was directed by Vincent Haycock who directed the video for How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful’s lead single “What Kind of Man.” For those who don’t read the captions or descriptions on YouTube, you might miss a very important piece of information; “St. Jude” is the second chapter of the How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful odyssey meaning we could totally be getting a mini movie out of this album.

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful is set to be released on June 2.  

Florence + the Machine Drop New Album Info

After releasing what was believed to be the lead single from their upcoming new record, Florence + the Machine have given fans something to look forward to in the Summer; the name and release date of said album.

The duo’s third studio album will be titled How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, just like the song they released earlier this week. The record will be released on June 2 through Republic Records.

The first official single, as it turns out, is a track titled “What Kind of Man” just like iTunes had “mistakenly” posted on Monday.

Watch the music video which  was directed by Vincent Haycock (he also directed the video for “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful”) for “What Kind of Man” below.

The record was produced by Markus Dravs who has a great track record previously working with acts like The Arcade Fire, Coldplay, and Björk.

In a statement about the record, songstress Florence Welch said the following about the producer: “Markus has done a few Arcade Fire albums and he’s done Björk’s Homogenic, which is a huge record for me. And I felt he had that balance of organic and electronic capabilities, managing those two worlds…I wanted to make something that was big but that had a gentleness to it. That had a warmth, that was rooted. I think that’s why we went back more to the live instruments. Something that was band-led almost.”

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful is the follow-up to Florence + the Machine’s highly successful 2011 record, Ceremonials. “What Find of Man” is currently available on iTunes while the record can be pre-ordered over at Florence + the Machine’s website.

BBC Form Supergroup to Cover Beach Boys Song

What happens when you get together tons of musicians for a worthy cause? Usually one hell of a song.

Thanks to the BBC, tons of musicians were asked to come together to cover the Beach Boys “God Only Knows” from Pet Sounds to officially launch of BBC Music. The TV spot featuring the reported 27 artists began to air yesterday (Oct. 7).

Pharrell Williams, Elton John, Chris Martin, Florence Welch, Stevie Wonder, Brian May, One Direction, Chrissie Hynde, Baaba Maal, Sam Smith, Lorde, Dave Grohl and many more can be spotted in the video. Also making the list of performers was Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys; how else do you pay homage to the guy (or band) that wrote and the song.

As if the long list of singers on the track wasn’t enough to get your head spinning, the BBC also used their 80-piece BBC Concert Orchestra on the song.

We warned you, epic might be an understatement. Give the track as listen.

When asked by The Guardian about the remake of the song, Wilson said: “All the artists did such a beautiful job. I can’t thank them enough. I’m just honored ‘God Only Knows’ was chosen. ‘God Only Knows’ is a very special song. An extremely spiritual song and one of the best I’ve ever written.”

The cover will be released as a single to raise funds for the BBC’s Children in Need charity. This isn’t the first time the BBC has done such a supergroup for charity. Back in 1997, the network released a version of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” featuring Elton John, Bono, and Reed himself.

Florence and the New Music

Could a new Florence + the Machine album be on the way soon? That’s what things are starting to sound like. Musician and producer MNEK hit Twitter a few days ago tweeting, “In studio with @flo_tweet for the next 3 dayzzz,” and that was all that was need to get the rumor mills started about a new album from Florence Welch.

MNEK who has worked with Little Mix and Rudimental as well as helped produce remixes of songs by Olly Murs and  Tinie Tempah, might seem like the most unlikely collaborator for the songstress, but anything is possible, especially when trying to outdo the album before.

While no official word has been confirmed on whether Welch is working on a new album currently, but she did contribute a new track, “Over the Love,” earlier this year for Jay-Z’s The Great Gatsby Soundtrack.

Welch may not be in the middle of a tour a of now or a new album on the way, but it doesn’t mean that the redheaded crooner has not been in the new. When it was announced that there would be a Star War: Episode VII, talk was circulating that Welch was being considered for a role in the franchise. The Sun has reported back at the beginning of June that executives were considering her for a major role; taking a complete opposite turn than using A-list actresses.

“She has done some acting but it was her singing onstage that initially caught the eye,” an unnamed source confirmed to the paper. “Almost every actress in Hollywood wants a role in the new movies but we are keen to cast people who are unexpected. Florence is being considered for a major part that would turn her into an A-list actress overnight.”

No matter what she does, the unanimous thought is that it will probably be great.

Florence Welch Covers Daft Punk

Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine is known for her amazing voice, but in this new video that has surface online, we see the “Dog Days” singer with a shot of Tequila in one hand and crooning out some of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” alongside The Gossip’s “The Way of Control.”

Welch was present at a show that cover band, Sourberry,were performing at when she hopped on stage and started to sing along to Daft Punk’s Summer hit, along with the band.

Watch the red-headed singer do her drunken version of both songs below:

‘Great Gatsby’ Soundtrack Revealed

Earlier this week it was confirmed that Beyonce and Andre 3000 would be contributing music to the Leonardo DiCaprio starring film which will be released next month. The two would be performing a duet of the Amy Winehouse hit song, “Back to Black.”

Now, the newly released list shows that musicians such as Jack White, Q-Tip, Florence Welch, Lana Del Ray and the xx will also be featured. Jack White will cover U2’s “Love is Blindness” and Emeli Sandé taking on fellow album contribute, Beyonce’s, “Crazy in Love.” The soundtrack will also feature some original songs including the xx’s “Together” and Florence and the Machine’s “Over The Love.”

Watch the trailer for The Great Gatsby including snippets of “Back to Black,” “Young and Beautiful” and “Over the Love” here:

TRACKLIST:

1. Jay-Z – “100$ Bill”
2. Beyoncé and André 3000 – “Back to Black”
3. will.i.am – “Bang Bang”
4. Fergie, Q-Tip, and GoonRock – “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)”
5. Lana Del Rey – “Young and Beautiful”
6. Bryan Ferry with The Bryan Ferry Orchestra – “Love Is The Drug”
7. Florence and the Machine – “Over The Love”
8. Coco O. of Quadron – “Where The Wind Blows”
9. Emeli Sandé and The Bryan Ferry Orchestra – “Crazy in Love”
10. The xx – “Together”
11. Gotye – “Hearts a Mess”
12. Jack White – “Love is Blindless”
13. Nero – “Into the Past”

The soundtrack is set to be released on May 7.