‘Good girl’ Stefani wows Malaysia

By Agence France-Presse

KUALA LUMPUR–All dolled up but barely showing any skin, US pop star Gwen Stefani made true to her promise to be a “good girl” at a concert that wowed conservative Malaysians.

Stefani covered her tight-fitting tops in jackets, and sported leotards under her dresses and mini-skirts during the two-hour Kuala Lumpur leg of her “Sweet Escape” tour late Tuesday.

“I am practically Malaysian,” Stefani told 10,000 screaming fans, including Muslim mothers in traditional headdress toting their young daughters, and members of a militant student group which had initially protested her concert.

“I just want you to know I am very inspired tonight,” she said. “You are a very, very amazing audience.”

She said she has a special affinity for Malaysia because her rocker husband Gavin Rossdale had relatives in Kuala Lumpur. She then waved a miniature Malaysian flag, and said thank you in the local language.

Stefani averted a potential disaster when she promised to dress modestly after the 10,000-member National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students said her normal skin-baring act could erode Islamic values.

The opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party also accused her of promoting promiscuity and corrupting the country’s youth.

But talking to a local entertainment magazine before the show, Stefani said she has never encountered such an opposition to her performances in the past.

“I’ve been in the music industry for 20 years and this is the first time that I’m facing opposition from people who have misunderstood me,” she said.

“I’m not a bad girl,” she said.

Share This