Grammys fashion ranges from surreal to sublime

The show must go on. Despite Whitney Houston's shocking death a day earlier, music stars came out to celebrate Sunday's Grammy Awards with typical red carpet flash and over-the-top fashion.

Several artists exuded glamour, including Carrie Underwood, nominated for best country solo performance, who arrived shimmering in a silver Gomez-Garcia gown with a Swarovski black clutch. Other musicians raised eyebrows, including up-and-coming Russian-born singer Sasha Gradiva, who wore a soft pink mermaid shaped gown that featured a machine-gun adorned sleeve.

"I think in the last five to seven years the Grammys have become a showcase for the most outlandish look in fashion. If an artist comes in couture, it is usually accompanied with a statement," said style expert and TV host Sam Saboura.

And that was exactly what Black Eyed Peas frontwoman Fergie appeared to be going for when she appeared wearing a designer gown that left little to the imagination. The 36-year-old singer wore a blood orange peek-a-boo Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture gown revealing black bra and panties beneath.

She took a page from other pop stars like nominee Katy Perry who famously arrived last year in a Giorgio Armani dress embellished with angel wings.

This year, Perry arrived wearing sky-high blue hair that complemented a full-length baby blue sparkly gown with plunging back.

Hip-hop rapper Nicki Minaj, nominated for best new artist and other awards, arrived sporting a red Versace couture hooded cape on the arm of an escort dressed in a pope outfit.

Lady Gaga strutted into the show in a black Chanel gown adorned with silver chains and dramatic net over her face.

Grammy spotlight shines on Adele

The Grammys in recent years have targeted young audiences even as older acts won key awards to the surprise of some music fans, but this Sunday's honors will shine its spotlight on Adele, whose popularity crosses all age boundaries.

The soulful British singer, whose album "21" has spawned massive hits like "Rolling in the Deep" and topped charts for 19 weeks, enters music industry's biggest awards with six nominations, second only to rapper Kanye West with seven.

But all ears will be tuned in to Adele, 23, who is scheduled to give a Grammy performance that is her first since undergoing throat surgery late last year. And everybody -- young and old -- wants to know if 2011's top-selling performer has recovered.

"My eight-year-old daughter sings Adele songs, and my friend's 75-year-old grandmother sings Adele songs," said Nic Harcourt, former radio host at KCRW, who is among those credited with helping put the British chanteuse on the U.S. music map.

Adele's voice was a breath of fresh air in 2011 for a struggling industry. "21" album sold more copies in one year than any other act since Usher's "Confessions" in 2004. Its current U.S. sales total is roughly 6.3 million copies.

In years past, the Grammys have often seen relative newcomers in top categories like album of the year face off against veteran acts, only to see the older performers win, shocking the youth-driven industry. Herbie Hancock's 2007 jazz album, "River: The Joni Letters," was among the recent surprises.

Mary J. Blige to pen song for Sundance documentary

PARK CITY, Utah  — Mary J. Blige is lending her support — and her voice — to a documentary showing at the Sundance Film Festival about sexual assault in the U.S. military.

Blige attended the Friday world premiere of "The Invisible War." Producer Amy Ziering says the multiple Grammy winner would write an original song for the film after the Sundance festival.

Blige's song, "Need Someone," plays over the closing credits of the film.

Written and directed by Kirby Dick, "The Invisible War" examines the trauma suffered by female and male victims of rape at the hands of their military colleagues and the difficulty they have in prosecuting their attackers.

Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio also attended the premiere.

Broadway's 'Spider-Man' musical earns new record

NEW YORK — Look who's sporting a big smile behind his mask on Broadway — none other than the once-mocked Spider-Man.

The Broadway League reported Tuesday that "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" took in a whopping $2,941,790 over nine performances last week, which is the highest single-week gross of any show in Broadway history.

The musical shattered the old record held by "Wicked," which last January recorded the then-highest one-week take on Broadway with a $2,228,235 haul, though over an eight-show week.

"We knew the possibility," said Michael Cohl, one of the lead producers of "Spider-Man" along with Jeremiah "Jere" Harris. "I don't think that Jere or I really thought we'd ever get there but we're ecstatic that we did."

While the eight-versus-nine show disparity gives "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" something of an asterisk, the Spider-Man producers pointed out that head-to-head last week with "Wicked" over nine shows each, their musical handily won. "Wicked" took in $2,712,535 last week.

Both shows' haul reflect the use of premium seating, in which producers charge higher prices for certain days and certain seats. Also, "Wicked," which is performed at the Gershwin Theatre, has about 100 seats less than the 1,930-seat Foxwoods Theatre, home of the superhero musical.

The stunt-heavy Spider-Man show, which at $75 million makes it the costliest ever on Broadway, muscled to the top despite a turbulent history, including injuries to actors, delays in opening night, poor reviews and a record-breaking preview period. Many professional critics predicted its quick death.

Taylor Swift, T-Bone Burnett on 'Hunger Games' album

Country singer Taylor Swift will lead a host of musicians collaborating with Oscar-winning artist T. Bone Burnett for a companion album to the upcoming film, "The Hunger Games."

Movie studio Lionsgate said on Friday that Burnett has joined forces with Swift, The Decemberists, Arcade Fire and The Civil Wars to create original songs for the film, set for release in March 2012.

"We are thrilled to have such a hauntingly beautiful companion album taking shape," said Joe Drake, co-COO of Lionsgate.

Swift and The Civil Wars' collaborated together on the single "Safe and Sound," which was released on iTunes on Friday and topped the iTunes songs chart.

"The Hunger Games," starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson, is based on the young adult series of novels, and tells the story of teenage boys and girls fighting to the death on a nationally televised event in a country called Panem, built on the remains of North America.

The film is set for release in U.S. theaters on March 23, 2012.

Solid Soul

Jazz legend George Benson rocks Macao's Venetian Theater and tells Rebecca Lo why digital downloading is killing the industry for established recording artists.

He began the familiar ballad, putting his own unique stamp on The Greatest Love of All while conjuring up ghosts of Houston's more popular cover version. The Venetian Theatre became choked with emotion as every member of the more than 1,000-strong audience keenly relived the tragic loss of Houston earlier this year. As he sang the last ballad, his voice broke and he stated: "This is hard for me to sing" and walked off the stage without another word.

His band, professional to the last note, proceeded to finish the song, packed up and followed Benson. We were all feeling the love by that point. Benson is the kind of man to inspire emotions, and those emotions transfer to songs that sell like hot cakes.

Born in Pittsburgh, Benson famously began his musical career on the ukulele at the age of seven. He grew up during the golden age of Motown and at a time when records sold in the millions. Though he has been making music as diverse as jazz, adult contemporary and pop for decades, he still loves what he does and still retains a wide-eyed wonder at being able to do what he loves best.

"I never expected to do any of this stuff," he admits in the green room before his Venetian Theatre's one night only show. "I always felt like a scientist when I was a kid-I love solving problems. The song may have a good melody and good harmony, but it needs some excitement. I hear the boring parts of a song and I think, let me fix this."

Illustrating his point, he sings: "They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway," and continues speaking, "and I would change what Quincy Jones had done. I didn't want to record it because I had such great respect for his voice. But the song bored me, so I changed it from a one bar phrase to a two bar phrase, then added my improvisations."

Art beat: Festival

Sea breezes, local cuisine, beer and music - the best way to spend a summer night. To enjoy all that, head down to the annual White Dolphin Music Festival for a three-day party at Guanyinshan Beach in Xiamen, Fujian province from July 27-29.

Besides rock bands like last year's festival, the audience will be able to enjoy music of other genres, including dynamic hip-hop, emotional ballads and sweet pop. Popular singers who are based in Taiwan including Stanley Huang, Penny Tai and Ding Dang will also be attending.

The third Dalian Summer International Arts Festival will be launched on July 27 in Dalian, Liaoning province.

Themed "Sound of Yida", the organizers have lined-up a wide spectrum of performances such as Peking Opera, cross talks, musical drama presented by artists from China and other countries, including Belgium, Croatia, England, and Japan. The festival will run until Aug 12.

Singer starts world tour in Beijing

The singer and actress Li Yuchun has begun her 2012 world tour, named Crazy World, in Beijing.

Traveling from Beijing to Shanghai, Guangzhou and London, the 28-year-old will demonstrate how she has gone from being the winner of an amateur singing competition to a professional musician.

Since 2006, Li has recorded four studio albums and has tried out incorporating elements of various music genres, such as electronica, jazz and rock, into her music.

Apart from music, her style of dress is to be another attraction in the world tour. When she met the French stylist Jean Paul Gaultier at his Beijing show in May 2012, she invited him to design clothes for her 2012 world tour. He exceeded her expectations and designed six costumes within a short time. Those have helped Li give the lie to the idea that she is a tomboy.

The first stop in Li’s world tour will take place on Aug 26 at Beijing’s Mastercard Center, the former Wukesong Arena.

One Direction Heading On Florida Holiday To Record

One Direction is planning on recording the next album while enjoying a holiday in Florida.
The band - which consists of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne - are joining forces with their old support group to shake up their image and will be heading to America to do so.

The boys are writing with soft-rockers Boyce Avenue for their second LP and plan on hanging out on the beach as they make the record at a studio on the East Coast.

Boyce Avenue's Daniel Manzano claimed that they will invite the X Factor 2010 contestants to their base soon.

The 'Broken Angel' singer said: "We're meeting up to see what they think of some ideas we've got for them.

"We've got a studio right by the beach, so it's a cool place for bands to come and write with us."

However the 31-year-old musician admitted that One Direction may not get the best pick of their tracks.

Daniel and his band members 28-year-old Fabian and 25-year-old Alejandro admitted they sometimes keep their best ideas.

Alejandro told the Daily Star newspaper: "We were meant to write for a singer we won't name.

"We fell in love with the song ideas ourselves and ended up putting them on our album."

About 30,000 people showed up on the peak third day of the four-day festival, according to an estimate from Lu Zhongqiang, director of the 13th Month music company. However, just 13,000 tickets were sold for the entire festival, according to statistics from Chen and damai.com, the online contracted ticketing company.

How did the rest get into the International Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Park of Chengdu where the festival was held? According to people who went to the park, you could buy a ticket from a hawker for a small part of the original price, or you could bribe the security guards to take you in without buying a ticket.

The set price for a day was 298 yuan, and a four-day pass was 800 yuan, making Big Love the most expensive festival in China. Although the lineup was worth the money, Chen apparently over-estimated the purchasing power of people in Chengdu.

But still, the biggest problem was management. When you can bribe security guards to get in for a much-reduced price, even those who can afford tickets won't spend the money.

Almost all the artists who performed at Big Love had high opinions of the festival, because it provided the best sound equipment and rest camp, as well as accommodation at a five-star hotel.

That Adele's "21" will rank as the year's top-selling album is no surprise - the English singer-songwriter's hits "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You" dominated playlists in 2011. What is surprising is that "21," released by independent British label XL Recordings, sold more than 5 million copies.

The last time an album topped the year-end chart with more than 5 million copies sold was in 2004, when Usher's "Confessions" moved 7.9 million, according to Nielsen Soundscan, which supplied all sales data for this story.

Indeed, music sales overall are expected to end 2011 up more than 3 percent from last year. Not coincidentally, the last time overall music sales rose by so much was in 2004 as well.

The resurgence in sales is welcome news for the music industry. A meager 1 percent increase in digital sales last year created widespread panic that the format had already plateaued.

Nielsen analyst David Bakula attributed the rebound to a strong release slate, plus retailers getting more aggressive with pricing and promotions.

For instance, Lady Gaga's album "Born This Way" was priced at 99 cents - less than one-tenth the price of most albums - in a special deal, helping drive sales beyond her core fans, he said. The promotion on Amazon.com angered other retailers who were selling the album at full price, however.

His strategy for building up the label is corporatizing concerts.

Song's first move will be staging 10 shows by rock singer-songwriter Wang Feng. Wang staged eight performances nationwide in 2011. Evergrande will hold 10 concerts for Wang within five months in 2012 - at least two concerts a month, Song says.

"The systematic management of concerts not only promotes the musician and his music but also builds up the organizer's image in the concert sector," Song says.

The gurus say they'll not only host performances by established stars but will also discover new talent.

The company's first new singer-songwriter is 16-year-old Zhou Ziyan, who rose to fame by playing guitar in online videos. She will release four albums under the label.

The company will recruit musicians and producers with whom they've long cooperated, Wu says.

Evergrande Music's chairman Wu Xuedan says the real estate company's investment "sustains the music industry's future".

The label isn't the company's first non-real estate venture. In 2010, it bought the Guangzhou Football Team for 100 million yuan and renamed it the Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club. The soccer team is the current Chinese Super League champion.

"Jazz and rock are my favorite genres. I always wanted to have a hoarse voice," she says, giggling. "This album contains lots of jazz and strong beats, which satisfied me."

Por Una Cabeza, which was a song from Scent of a Woman, has been a Zhang favorite since she was at high school, and it has been interpreted accompanied by violin and piano.

Unlike her other albums, which required her to undertake serious planning and discussion beforehand, this time she gave herself a break and flew to Las Vegas to see Cirque du Soleil's The Beatles Love.

Inspired, she called Lee in Taiwan.

"All of a sudden, I came up with an idea, and I sang to him on the phone," Zhang says, laughing. "Working with Jim was very relaxing. We could chat on the phone about everything, gossiping and joking."

Lee, who has been producing albums for more than 20 years, says: "The best thing about working with Jane was that I could feel her real love for singing."

Li Xincao (principal conductor of China National Symphony Orchestra) and the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra will perform in China in August to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea.

After the Beijing show on Aug 3, Li and the orchestra will perform at Guangzhou Opera House on Aug 8.

South Korea's rising violinist Kim Bomsori, who won first prize at 2011's China International Violin Competition, is going to play one of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius' violin concerto.

Li will also present Shostakovich's Symphony No 10 in E Minor.

8 pm, Aug 8. Opera Hall, Guangzhou Opera House, Exit B1 of Zhujiang New Town subway station, the interchange of subway line 3 and line 5, Guangzhou, Guangdong province. 020-3839-2888.

Speaking at a forum hosted by Zhejiang Satellite TV, Gao Changli, an official from the administration, endorsed the show as a role model for incorporating the stories of common people.

But stories are only a tool to attract viewers. Culture critic Tan Fei says ultimately, talent shows' main aim should be to help the aspirants develop a singing career.

In recent years, there have been a growing number of talent competitions in China, after the Super Girls produced a few star singers. But none of the other shows has attained equal success. When the bustle is over, many young dreamers are again left in the cold.

"But after all, TV stations are not part of the music industry. They are incapable of taking follow-up action such as packaging and promotion," Tan says.

But Lu Wei says this year, they plan to follow in the footsteps of their foreign counterparts where contestants' live songs are recorded into albums and sold via app stores. Lu says they will produce their young hopefuls' live performances into paid ringtone music via China Mobile.

Some songs are expected to be downloaded millions of times. Those proven to be popular on the mobile platform, Lu says, will receive help to produce their own original music albums. "Hopefully, some super stars will emerge from our show," he says.

That same ideal used to comfort Liu Yue every time her confidence was shattered by failure. But her passion is running thin. Moreover, as a concert planner for years, she has seen people coming in and out of the revolving door of the music industry.

Liu knows that the road to success is steep - these days, album sales are so difficult that singers celebrate when they are able to sell 50,000 copies.

"It's definitely a luxury to have your own album," she says. "But I've learned to be practical. As long as more people hear my voice, that's good enough."

The event's proceeds will go to three charities: Operation Smile, the Shanghai International Film Festival and the Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation Safety for Mothers and Infants Project.

Aznavour, a French-Armenian dual citizen, admits his main reason for agreeing to do the fundraiser was not exactly altruistic. Singing in Shanghai, he says, is a chance to cross off a name from the short list of countries he has not yet visited.

The China he has found in Shanghai, however, turned out to be at least half a century ahead of the China he envisioned.

"Very modern," the grandfather of three says in an exclusive interview at the presidential suite of a boutique hotel along The Bund, Shanghai's famous waterfront of concession architecture that faces 21st-century skyscrapers.

"It's not disappointing. It's only that I had the idea - the very romantic idea - to find out about the old China," he says.

"Through movies and documentaries and expositions, like we had in France in 1937, I had another vision of China."

Though this is Aznavour's first time in the country, his music is no stranger to the Chinese.

She, which topped the UK Singles Chart in 1974 and was covered by Elvis Costello for the soundtrack of the romantic comedy Notting Hill, was one of the songs Aznavour performed at the Shanghai charity ball.

The album's producer Mike Posner, who has his own solo career with hits such as "Please Don't Go," worked with Bieber on the debut single, "Boyfriend".

The result is a slow tempo beat with Bieber softly rapping "If I was your boyfriend, I'd never let you go, I can take you places you ain't never been before." The song, released in March, peaked on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at No. 2.

OLDER BUT STILL YOUNG

While "Boyfriend" reveals an older Bieber in a more intimate setting, Posner said "Believe" wasn't meant to show Bieber all grown up just yet.

"I wanted to make songs that were reflective of who Justin was when I met him in the studio, not when he was 13. We're not trying to grow him up too much because he's not 25, he's 18, but he's a young man that's living life and having fun, and the music reflects that," Posner told Reuters.

Moving away from pop, Bieber fuses electronic dance music with R&B throughout "Believe," specifically in tracks such as the club-friendly "All Around The World," which sees Bieber team up with rapper Ludacris. and "As Long As You Love Me" featuring another rapper, Big Sean.

The singer embraces R&B influences in songs such as the romantic "Catching Feelings," "Right Here" featuring fellow Canadian star Drake, and the Motown-inspired upbeat track "Die In Your Arms."

Near the start of the documentary, Down: Inside Rock in the PRC, co-director Andrew David Field asks Kang Mao, the outspoken female lead singer of the Subs: "So, what do you think of Cui Jian?"

"Cui Jian is handsome. Cui Jian is the godfather," the singer replies.

"How about the Subs? Ever heard of that band?" Field continues.

Kang says: "Nobody has heard of the Subs. People just know Cui Jian. The Subs are a bit strange."

The filmmaker was on a train with the Subs to Changsha, capital of Hunan province, where they would perform with Cui Jian, who's known as the "godfather of Chinese rock", in 2007.

Field has been in China on and off for more than 25 years, since his first visit in 1988. He has long been familiar with Shanghai's jazz scene and watched some Chinese rock bands in Beijing in 1996. Most were cover bands, doing renditions of songs by such Western bands as Nirvana and Oasis.

It was a far cry from his experience on the road for two years with the Subs, with whom he traveled to such cities as Hubei's capital Wuhan, Changsha and Shanghai.

He became very familiar with how the Subs traveled and were treated by concert organizers.

John Mayer, in a week of slow sales, notched his second week at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart with his album "Born and Raised".

Mayer's album, his fifth done in a studio, sold 65,000 copies to keep the top spot, the first time the American singer has held the top position for more than one week. British singer Adele's "21," which sold 58,000 copies, retained the No. 2 spot, boosted by NBC television's "Adele: Live In London" special, which aired over the weekend.

Three new albums debuted in the top 10 this week, with singer-songwriter Regina Spektor's sixth studio album, "What We Saw From The Cheap Seats," taking the No. 3 position after selling 42,000 copies, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan.

Alternative rock group Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros took the No. 5 spot with "Here," while Icelandic band Sigur Ros scored their first ever top 10, at No. 7, with their sixth studio album, "Valtari."

British boy band One Direction saw a surge in sales for their former chart-topping album "Up All Night," taking the No. 4 spot after selling 41,000 copies, boosted by their "Up All Night: The Live Tour" DVD, released last week.

"You can call it magic or destiny," Melanie says. "When we first started, Justine was just 7 and Sofia was 13. But our family's history has always been clear to us."

Their singing touches people's lives.

They have sung in church for the fire fighters and volunteers who had the noble task of searching for victims of the Sept 11 tragedy in the US.

They have sung in orphanages in Rwanda and when they sang the country's national anthem, President Kwita Izina, was so moved that he gave Justin a cow from the royal herd.

"Touring lets us see the world and how The Sound of Music has affected people's lives," Amanda says.

Even as they travel, the Von Trapps do not neglect their studies and they have enrolled at major music schools - Sofia studying at Berklee College of Music and Melanie at Grove City College.

When asked if they ever wish to do something "cooler" than folk-singing, they say they are mostly into classical folk songs, though they like all genres.

They also do a bit of songwriting and improvise on old folk songs.