Westlife’s most recent record The Love Album included several covers and the group have reportedly admitted they were desperate for new ideas.

Band member Mark Feehily, 25, is quoted as saying: "Our preferred choice would’ve been to record a new studio album. Good pop doesn’t fall out of trees. Not many writers are writing for pop now."

Mika to support Take That? - Jan 26 2007
Comeback group Take That are reportedly lining up pop’s hot new talent Mika to support them on their forthcoming European tour.

Gary, Howard, Jason and Mark are apparently planning a string of shows that will match last year’s sold out UK tour - and they think the Beirut-born singer would be the perfect support slot.

The 23-year-old’s debut outing, Grace Kelly, bounced to the top of the charts on Sunday on the strength of downloads alone and is poised to stay at No 1 next week after the CD hits shops on Monday.

A spokesperson for the singer told The Sun: "There has been talk of Mika joining Take That on tour but nothing has been signed yet."

A source added: "Mika will be huge. All the great bands at the moment seem to be indie bands, which doesn’t fit with Take That, but Mika’s individual pop style is perfect."

Mika uses Freddie’s piano? - Jan 24 2007
Upcoming singer Mika apparently leapt at the chance to use music legend Freddie Mercury’s piano for a recording session.

The singer was so keen to use the ex-Queen frontman’s piano that he had it shipped in for the recording, reports the Daily Mirror.

A source said: "He heard there was a possibility of using the original instrument that Freddie wrote most of Queen’s classics on and he said that he’d move mountains to get his hands on it.

"Mika was adamant that if he was going to do a stripped-down, acoustic version of his song (Grace Kelly) he wanted to get inspiration from Freddie."

The piano, which is valued at almost £1 million, was taken out of secure storage for the track, which is being released on iTunes next Monday, according to the paper.

Speaking about the piano’s affect on Mika, the source said: "He felt totally inspired. He felt the spirit of Freddie surround him and Mika said he felt more creative than he ever had."

The Beirut-born musician’s single Grace Kelly reached No 1 in the UK singles chart on downloads alone following a change in rules.

He’s already been described as the next Freddie Mercury.

Mika hails ’power of online media’ - Jan 23 2007
Newcomer Mika is thrilled to have had the internet at his disposal as he made his way into the charts.

The 23-year-old’s single, Grace Kelly, has ousted X Factor winner Leona Lewis from the top of the charts because of downloads alone - the track gets its hard copy release on January 29.

He says: "I always go on about the power of online media and sharing your music on the internet, and I’m really thankful that now I have some sort of ammunition to prove that everything I’ve been saying about online media, from the smallest blogs to the biggest entertainment fanzines, are really driven by passion.

"It’s going by strength of word of mouth, and people making up their own minds after they’ve listened to the songs online. That’s amazing, particularly since I haven’t won a show, I haven’t got in trouble or done anything particularly scandalous so I don’t have tabloid inches on my heels."