The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

No more free shows by Lady Gaga, police tell fans

Posted: 12 Jul 2011 02:29 AM PDT

SYDNEY (AP) - Lady Gaga may have surprised fans with two unexpected gigs in Australia, but don't expect a third free show.

Police are urging ticketless fans not to throng the downtown Sydney area on Wednesday night, when she is scheduled to perform at a private concert for invited guests only.

"If you don't have a ticket, stay at home," said Superintendent Mark Walton, the police commander of the city's central district. "Don't waste your time coming to town and stand out in the cold to look at a sandstone wall."

He said Lady Gaga will not be making a public appearance before or after the concert, and it will not be broadcast on live screens outside the venue.

"Parents are urged to not allow their children to attend the city if they don't have a ticket," he said in a statement Tuesday.

The American pop singer drew more than 1,000 fans to Oxford Street in downtown Sydney when she gave unscheduled performances at two gay clubs, Nevermind and ARQ, on Monday night. She let her fans know about her impromptu plans via Twitter, where she has 11.5 million followers.

Fans queued for up to seven hours to see the singer perform three songs from her latest album - "Born This Way," "The Edge of Glory" and "Judas" - at both venues.

Police are concerned that teenagers will once again come to the city with false hopes and be left to wander unsupervised, a situation that could lead to trouble.

The pop idol, who has used her music to push for gay and lesbian rights, is on an Asian tour that took her previously to Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. She arrived in Australia on Saturday.

Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Days of delight

Posted: 12 Jul 2011 01:42 AM PDT

Alicia Keys has gone from minor to major star since the release of her debut 10 years ago.

MUSIC critics are invited to see burgeoning singer-songwriters almost every day. But when a request came across this writer's desk to see a young singer-songwriter at an intimate showcase 10 years ago, it carried with it high expectations.

Backed by music mogul Clive Davis, Alicia Keys was billed as a cross between Lauryn Hill and Whitney Houston, a gritty, cornrow-wearing R&B singer who was a brilliant, classically trained pianist with both a stunning voice and beauty. She was going to be big. Bigger than big. Grammy Awards and multi-platinum sales were more than hoped for, they were expected.

Keys delivered on the all hype when her debut, Songs In A Minor, was released in 2001. The album established the 20-year-old as one of the most influential artistes of her generation. Looking back, however, Keys says she did not expect the album would make her a superstar.

"This had been a lot of years of me struggling to put out any music, and there had been multiple times where we were like, 'Oh, it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen,' and it didn't. So in a lot of ways in my mind, I think maybe I was protecting myself," she recalled.

Now, the 30-year-old Keys can celebrate. The album has been re-released with special editions that include previously unreleased tracks and video footage. Keys, who married music producer Swizz Beatz and gave birth to a son last year, also performed songs from the album last Thursday in a concert at New York's Beacon Theatre.

"There are certain things you have to celebrate, like certain birthdays are more special than the others, just because they kind of represent a growth, so for me, that's what this is," she said in a phone interview last week. She talked about that milestone album and how she has evolved over the decade.

Had you been thinking about the anniversary?

I didn't even really realise it; somebody else kind of brought it up to me. ... (But) as I started thinking of it, and we started talking about it, I knew there were loads of songs from that time that I didn't put out. I didn't do anything with (them) because it wasn't right for the time, but I thought, 'How crazy would it be to go back and listen to them and figure out which were ones that I'd love people to hear.' There are songs that I did when I was 16, 17. It's really, really cool.

In the video that accompanies the re-release, you talk about how you weren't the refined girl people expected. What were the adjustments that you had to make over the years, and how have you changed?

I was straight off the streets of Harlem and Hell's Kitchen. ... I'm a real New York girl. So I think that was kind of a bit of a shock for people, especially back then, to see a real New York girl, and here I was doing all of these interviews. ... When I look back at them, I'm like, 'Damn, Alicia, you could have been a little gentler.' I just had a certain kind of roughness to me. That was just because that's the way I associated with people at the time; that's the way that I spoke. ... I remember reading a couple of things where they literally kind of criticised the way that I used my hands, or the way that I spoke, or say that I was whatever because I spoke a certain way. There were a lot of judgments, I think, that definitely made me conscious about how to start to maybe be a little bit more aware of how I was coming off ... but I'm still the same me.

How have you musically evolved?

(What) I really learned about music is that you don't understand it. That's the part about it. There really is no formula, ... it's all about a gift, it's like a moment, and you don't know when that moment is going to come. ... (Also) I've been able to be more experimental and just more open and more driven to do things that are new and different from me, because as an artiste, you just always want to do things that are like unique and new and fresh. You don't ever want someone to say, 'Oh yeah, that's that same thing that she does.' For me, I want it to always be new.

How has marriage and motherhood changed you?

It's made me so much stronger, it's made me so much more powerful. First of all, I'm having more fun than I've ever had in my whole life. I'm happier than I've ever been in my whole life. And I also realise more the importance of time, and I realise the importance of really, really making sure that you dedicate certain times to the people that you love. Back when I was younger, I was so focused on doing whatever it takes to get noticed, or getting a chance to have my music be heard by people, I didn't recognise how much time was valuable. ... It helps me make more clear and concise choices.

Do you miss your cornrows? That was your signature look.

I do miss my braids so much. ... Sometimes I'm like, 'I'm gonna throw them back in!' – AP

■ Alicia Keys' Songs In A Minor 10th anniversary edition is released by Sony Music.

Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Selasa, 12 Julai 2011

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

0 ulasan:

Catat Ulasan