Harry Potter chair sold at auction in the US

The chair that Harry Potter author JK Rowling sat on while writing the first two books has sold in the US for around £280,000.

JK Rowling wrote the first two Harry Potter books in this chair.

She had picked up the chair for free in Edinburgh before the books were published, and then had hand-painted them.

The chair has messages written from JK Rowling, including: "O, you may not find me pretty but don't judge on what you see" and "I wrote Harry Potter while sitting on this chair".

The chair also comes with a letter written by the author, saying that the chair hurt her back.

It reads: "I was given four mismatched dining room chairs in 1995 and this was the comfiest one, which is why it ended up stationed permanently in front of my typewriter, supporting me while I typed out Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. My nostalgic side is quite sad to see it go, but my back isn't."

From CBBC Newsround/ Entertainment

One Direction's Harry Styles corrects fan's grammar

There might be an easy way to get Harry Styles to spot you when you're at a One Direction gig...

Make a mistake on your homemade banner!

A 1D fan had made a sign saying: "Hi Harry, your so nice".

Harry noticed the grammar mistake and corrected it himself!

It happened at the band's gig in Philadelphia.

From CBBC Newsround

The poster with the words written in thick black pen, complete with Harry's autograph, is now hanging on the fan's bedroom wall. 

Amazing artwork on a pencil tip

You might be sharpening your pencils ready for school after the holidays, but check out the way a Russian artist carves his pencils.

Salavat Fidai carefully carves tiny sculptures into the tips of pencils.

To create his miniature artwork he uses a craft knife and magnifying glass.

When the works are completed, he photographs them with a special magnifying camera lens.

He creates all types of sculptures on pencils, including well known characters like Bart Simpson.

And robot WALL-E from the Disney film.

Remember don't try this at home, Salavat Fidai is an experienced artist.

From CBBC Newsround

Katy Perry leads nominations for MTV European Music Awards

Popstar Katy Perry will be competing for the most prizes at this year's MTV European Music Awards receiving seven nominations.

Katy Perry will hope to take home the best song prize for 'Dark Horse'

Ariana Grande follows closely behind with six nominations after a very successful year.

Calvin Harris and One Direction will also go head to head for the best UK and Ireland artist prize.

The winners will be announced at a big show taking place in Glasgow on 9 November.

Six nominations is definitely not a 'Problem' for Ariana

Will Pharrell leave the awards show in Glasgow a 'Happy' man?

Katy and Arianna are both in the running for best pop and best female artist alongside Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift and Beyonce.

Other artists nominated for awards include Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams and Sam Smith.

From CBBC newsround

One Direction announce new single Steal My Girl

One Direction news has come thick and fast in the past seven days.

First, they announced their fourth album, yes they called it Four, then the boys released Fireproof as a free download and now they've named the lead single from their new album.

Steal My Girl, which Louis "absolutely cannot wait for you guys to hear" will have its first play on 29 September.

It will be officially released to buy on 12 October and the boys hope it will become their fourth UK number 1 single.

One Direction were recently given a Guinness World Record for the first UK band to debut at number one with three albums in the US

One Direction have reached the top of the UK charts already with One Way Or Another, Little Things and their 2011 debut What Makes You Beautiful.

From CBBC newsround

Giant climbing frame sculpture opens in London

A giant climbing frame sculpture has been built in London's Kensington Gardens

It's an annual project where the Serpentine Gallery asks an architect to design a pavilion for its gardens.

The Serpentine Gallery Pavillion by the Portuguese architects

 Alvaro Siza e Eduardo Souto de Moura/ with C Balmond /2005

Japanese architect, Sou Fujimoto, is the thirteenth and youngest person to design a sculpture for the gardens.

He has created a giant, cloud-like structure, that looks a lot like a climbing frame! It opens to the public this weekend and is free to visit.

The sculpture takes up over 350 square metres of grass and is made of 20mm steel poles.

Unlike normal exhibitions, visitors are encouraged to go inside and interact with the Pavilion, which will be there for four months until October.

From CBBC News

Adele wins Best Pop Solo Grammy award

Visibly moved and beautiful as usual!

It was a great night for British acts at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

Adele picked up the Best Pop Solo award, while folk rock band Mumford and Sons took home the Album of the Year prize.

The event kicked off with Taylor Swift singing her hit We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.

She was joined on stage by performers on stilts, a White Rabbit and human puppets for an Alice in Wonderland-themed routine.

Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John appeared shortly afterwards to perform Sheeran's single The A Team.

Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys and country star Carrie Underwood also took to the stage to sing.

Other award winners included Gotye featuring Kimbra who won Record of the Year with Somebody that I Used to Know.

Kelly Clarkson's Stronger took the Grammy for best pop vocal album.

From CBBC News

Beyonce may perform at 2013 Brit awards ceremony

There are reports that Beyoncé will be performing live at the 2013 Brit awards ceremony in February.

It will be her first UK performance in nearly two years.

The singer isn't up for any awards but is promoting a reunion single called Nuclear with her former girl band, Destiny's Child. She's also working on her fifth solo album.

The star has recently gone back to work after giving birth to a baby girl named Blue Ivy last year.

Beyoncé last performed at the Brits in 2004, when she was named best international female solo artist.

One Direction, Muse and Mumford & Sons will also be performing at the event. All three bands have been nominated for 2013 British group.

The ceremony will take place at the O2 Arena in London on 20 February.

From CBBC news

Adele and One Direction in top five US albums of 2012

Adele's 21 has been crowned America's biggest album of the year - for the second year in a row!

It sold 4.4 million copies in the US in 2012, adding to the 5.8 million it shifted in 2011.

One Direction had the third AND fifth top selling albums of 2012 across the pond. Up All Night sold 1.6 million and Take Me Home sold 1.3 million.

The 1D boys even kept Justin Bieber's Believe down in sixth place!

In an amazing year for British music, four of the five biggest albums were by UK artists.

Folk band Mumford & Sons' Babel album was placed fourth.

America's top five albums of 2012

1. Adele - 21 (4.4 million)

2. Taylor Swift - Red (3.1 million)

3. One Direction - Up All Night (1.6 million)

4. Mumford & Sons - Babel (1.5 million)

5. One Direction - Take Me Home (1.3 million)

Source: Nielsen SoundScan

Guide: Albums to look out for in 2013

With One Direction, Emeli Sande and Labrinth all releasing massive albums last year you probably thought music couldn't get any better.

Well think again. Because 2013 is going to be huge.

This year will see albums released from some of the biggest artists in the world.

So, check out our guide to the music that you could be dancing around to in your bedroom over the next 12 months.

More to see

From CBBC

One Direction get puppy love for magazine cover shoot

The One Direction boys could be kept Pup All Night with this lot!

It's a close call, but who do you think is cuter - boy band One Direction or this bunch of adorable labrador pups?

Well, now you can have both.

The 1D boys have been getting cosy with trainee guide dogs for the cover of Wonderland magazine, in one of the cutest photo shoots ever.

The puppies were brought in by Guide Dogs, a charity that breeds and trains puppies to become guide dogs for blind and partially sighted people.

'Stupid, immature and quirky'

In an interview for the magazine, the band were asked what they think about their global success.

Harry Styles would to take this little fella home if he could

"The main thing is that we've just kind of been ourselves," says Liam Payne, "that's what people like."

His bandmate Louis Tomlinson agreed: "With previous boy bands, I think they felt they had to meet a stereotype."

"We're just ourselves: stupid, immature and quirky."

From CBBC Newsround 

Beyonce confirms Super Bowl 2013 performance

Super star Beyonce has confirmed she'll be singing at next year's Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl is the one of the top sporting events in the world and is the final of the two top teams in the American National Football League.

The half-time act is the most watched musical act in the US, last year a whopping 112.5 million people tuned in.

In the past mega stars like Madonna and rock legends, The Rolling Stones, have performed.

From CBBC

One Direction fastest-selling US hit by non-US act

The Americans just can't get enough of One Direction - the boys have scored the fastest-selling song ever by a non-US act!

Live While We're Young sold a whopping 341,000 downloads in its first week.

Niall said: "We're so happy with the success of the single in the USA. We can't wait for everyone to hear our new album."

It's gone straight to number one in the digital charts there, and number three in the main Billboard Hot 100 chart.

That also gives them the highest ever first week debut on the Hot 100 chart by a British group!

The Hot 100 chart combines sales, radio play and streaming. Singles generally enter low and climb, instead of going straight in near the top!

Lady Gaga sets Twitter record with 30m followers

Pop superstar Lady Gaga has set a new record by becoming the first person to get more than 30 million followers on Twitter.

Gaga is adding a average of 30,000 followers every day.

Her nearest rival is Justin Bieber, with 28.5 million followers, Katy Perry has 27.2 million.

Rihanna is more popular than Gaga on YouTube and Facebook, but only has 26 million Twitter followers.

From CBBC