The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

Lady Gaga on Japan: It's safe, food's great

Posted: 23 Jun 2011 04:43 AM PDT

TOKYO (AP): Lady Gaga says that if you want to help Japan recover from its tsunami disaster, come visit.

The flamboyant pop star, in Tokyo this week for a benefit concert for tsunami victims, said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press that she's making a point to get out and enjoy the city and its food, and that her fans should do the same thing.

"I can't say enough to people all over the world that the majority of Japan right now, Japan in general, is very safe," she said. "It's fine to come here. It's beautiful."

Many performers and athletes have canceled appearances in Japan after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that caused widespread destruction and set off a crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant about 140 miles (220km) north of Tokyo.

Tens of thousands of people were forced to leave homes near the plant because of the radiation danger, but even far from the evacuation zone, Japanese tourism has suffered because of the disaster.

Lady Gaga said she couldn't wait for the chance to show her support. "The most important thing, and the best thing, we could do for Japan right now is to boost tourism, and so everyone come to Japan and come enjoy the beautiful country," she said.

The singer received a certificate from the commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency on Thursday, thanking her for her support and money-raising efforts.

After her appearance at MTV Video Music Aid Japan on Saturday, Lady Gaga will move on to Taiwan on July 1.

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Legendary Juan Luis Guerra to make London debut

Posted: 23 Jun 2011 04:41 AM PDT

LONDON (AP): Dominican music legend Juan Luis Guerra is known for his Latin grooves, but he counts the Beatles as one of the primary influences on his signature sound.

The 54-year-old singer, who played his first concert in London on Wednesday, said the iconic group was instrumental in his early days, when he first started seriously composing his own songs.

"When I started to play, I spent time listening to bachata and merengue and the Beatles," he says. "That was the birth of my music, it was a mixture of the Beatles and our traditional music."

Guerra's influences changed when he studied at the Berklee School of Music in Boston and came under the influence of jazz masters Duke Ellington and Count Basie, but he has remained a huge fan of the Beatles.

He won't have a chance to visit Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane or other Beatles landmarks in Liverpool during his brief time in England, but he recently saw Paul McCartney perform in New York and may see him again this summer at Yankee Stadium.

Guerra's music was shaped by his return to the Dominican Republic after his Boston studies. A prodigy who started composing at age 8, he first found a wide audience in 1989 with the release of "Ojala que Llueva Cafe" - translated as "I hope it rains coffee."

The album also included a bittersweet song about Dominicans trying to flee their country, either by legal or illegal means, a phenomenon that continues to this day although Guerra says the economic situation is much improved.

He is hoping to find new fans in England to go along with his strong following in Spain and his growing popularity in France.

"Our music is mostly merengue mixed with jazz and gospel and African music and rock," says Guerra, 54. "In the end we call it modern merengue, with many influences. It's a music that makes people happy, gives them energy. I think it's necessary in these times we live in to have a little happiness."

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Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Khamis, 23 Jun 2011

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

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