By Pocholo Concepcion
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–All the chatting and nibbling stopped as women rushed forward with their cameras and men craned their necks for a better view of the good-looking Josh Groban, guest of honor at the inauguration of MTV Philippines’ new office at the Silver City Mall in Pasig City.

Groban, the 26-year-old American singing sensation whose expressive tenor and lyrical baritone has sold some 15 million records worldwide, is due to perform Wednesday night and Thursday night at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.

Wednesday night’s show is strictly invitational. Those watching Thursday’s performance should be shelling out as much as P5,000 to P20,000 apiece.

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By Jeannette Andrade
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–It is not the type of music that sticks in your head.

But it is a melody that the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) Philippines hopes will sensitize a society that has become insensitive to privation.

In launching the song “Poverty Requiem” locally, GCAP Philippines aims to join the worldwide call on Wednesday — the International Day of Hunger and Poverty Eradication or the Whiteband Day — to eliminate destitution through positive action.

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By Associated Press

HONG KONG–Beyonce is coming to China.

The American R&B star will perform in Shanghai on November 3 at the Grand Stage, according to an international tour schedule on her official website Monday.

The news came after Beyonce scrapped a planned performance in Muslim-majority Malaysia amid speculation that she objected to a strict dress code banning sexy attire, replacing the stop in Kuala Lumpur with Jakarta. Indonesia is also Muslim but has less stringent rules governing how performers dress and behave.

Chinese officials are also sensitive about the propriety of Western acts. They told the Rolling Stones not to sing some of their racier hits and canceled a performance by Beyonce’s boyfriend, rapper Jay-Z, after deeming his lyrics “vulgar.”

But Shanghai has also played host to Christina Aguilera, who caused a stir with the accompanying sexual imagery and bad-girl attitude from her 2002 album “Stripped.”

Beyonce kicks off her world tour Wednesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, followed by stops in Cluj, Romania, Istanbul, Mumbai, Bangkok, Jakarta, Shanghai and the southern Chinese gambling enclave Macau, where she will perform at the new Venetian casino resort.

MUSICIANS and music publishers had mixed feelings about Radiohead’s experiment. The experiment involved allowing people to download and chose how they opt to pay the British band’s new album In Rainbows.

Excerpt from an AFP story:

British rock group Radiohead have drawn a mixed reaction from fans and fellow musicians with an experiment letting listeners decide the price of their latest album, reports said Thursday.

Other artists are said to be studying the novel sales strategy — labelled a publicity stunt by some — of allowing fans to pay whatever they want for “In Rainbows,” which which went on sale online on Wednesday.

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By Agence France-Presse

LOS ANGELES, California–The parent company of Britney Spears’ record label filed a lawsuit Thursday against online gossip website PerezHilton.com after the blog leaked recordings from the pop star’s new album.

A statement from Zomba Recording, which owns Spears’ Jive Records, said the website had illegally obtained and posted material from Spears’ new album “Blackout,” to be released later this month.

The lawsuit accused the website’s owner, Mario Lavandeira, of breach of copyright after 10 completed tracks and unfinished demos from Spears’ comeback album appeared on the blog.

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