• The Rolling Stones are planning to release a new album, possibly this year, guitarist Ronnie Wood said Monday. The British rockers last released a studio album in 2005, but Wood said they have been in the studio and recorded some new material and some blues covers. “We went in to cut some new songs, which we did,” the 68-year-old Wood said. “But we got on a blues streak. We cut 11 blues in two days. “They are extremely great cover versions of Howlin’ Wolf and Little Walter, among other blues people. But they really sound authentic.” When asked when the new material would be released, Wood said only: “This year.” “When we heard them back after not hearing them for a couple of months, we were, ‘Who’s that? It’s you,’” Wood said. “It sounded so authentic.”
• Avicii will retire from touring after a final run of concerts this year, the superstar DJ and producer announced in a heartfelt note on his website. After thanking a litany of friends, peers, partners and, of course, his fans, Avicii explained his need to step away from the road. “I know I am blessed to be able to travel all around the world and perform, but I have too little left for the life of a real person behind the artist,” Avicii wrote. “I will however never let go of music — I will continue to speak to my fans through it.”
• WhatsApp has taken the controversial move to add end-to-end encryption to all messages sent by their 1 billion users worldwide. The update scrambles the messages during sending, rendering messages unreadable if intercepted prior to receipt. Advertisement WhatsApp explained the move. “The idea is simple”, a statement said. “When you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message to. No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us.”
• Versace announced that departure of Anthony Vaccarello, the Creative Director of the Versus Versace brand. After a weekend of speculation, Anthony Vaccarello has been appointed as the new creative director of Saint Laurent. The confirmation comes from Kering, the fashion group that owns the French fashion label, only two days after it was revealed Vaccarello had left his previous role at Versus Versace on Saturday. “I am very proud to welcome such a vivid and young force among today’s creative fashion talents to Yves Saint Laurent,” said François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Kering.
• Drake’s “Pop Style” and “One Dance” claimed the chart’s No. 1 and No. 2 spots on Billboard on April 5, becoming the most shared and discussed songs on the social media network after their release.
• Gucci has announced that it will be the latest label to ditch the traditional format of showing two gender-split collections a year and, instead, opt for a unified men’s and women’s show. This follows similar announcements from Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger and Tom Ford. Speaking at the New York Times International Luxury Conference in Versailles, Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri stated that the first combined show will take place at Gucci’s new headquarters at Milan’s Via Mecenate next year - as reported by NYT journalist Lizzi Paton.
• Shah Rukh Khan’s Fan releases on April 15. “Very few people know that the concept of Fan was first narrated to me by Yashji about 10 years ago. While I was excited to explore the idea back then, for some reason it never happened. Today, I’m glad we could bring his idea to life,” Shah Rukh said. Directed by Maneesh Sharma, the film has been shot in various locations in Mumbai, Croatia and Delhi. With the film, Sharma highlights the life of a celebrity and splashes shades of darkness with focus on a fan’s obsession.
Compiled by Mariam Nihal
