True blue Italian

By SHEELA CHANDRAN

Italian singer Patrizio Buanne has carved a name as the ambassador for romantic Italian songs. He speaks about his latest album Forever Begins Tonight.

ITALIAN crooner Patrizio Buanne looked exhausted before this interview began. He had touched down in Kuala Lumpur the night before and the very next morning, had undergone a series of press conferences and interviews with journalists with various print media and TV stations.

Despite his fatigue, Buanne stood up and greeted this writer with a kiss on her hand when she walked into the room. He held her hand and led her to her seat before proceeding with the interview. Talk about a romantic soul.

Sporting a navy blue Hugo Boss velvet coat, black Gucci shirt, black jeans and two pepperoni-shaped pendants around his neck (a protector from evil according to the Italians), Buanne looked like a million bucks. With his deep voice and dark green coloured eyes, it’s no surprise why he has fans (young and old) swooning around him all the time.

“I don’t mind if my fans are young or old women, although I like the younger ones better (laughs). People love my music because I sing romantic Italian songs, which is different in the entertainment industry. What’s really important is they appreciate my music,” said the 29-year-old during an interview in Kuala Lumpur recently.

Buanne’s repertoire ranges from the golden vocal days of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Top-notch singers including Paul Anka, Tom Jones, Dean Martin and Engelbert Humperdinck are his primary inspirations.

While his peers would prefer to focus on catering to current listeners’ needs (pop, rock or R&B), Buanne prefers to focus on his repertoire. “I am doing what I like best. It’s good there’s not much competition as I’m one of the few Italian singers that sing romantic songs,” he added.

With this mind frame, it’s no wonder why this charmer has carved a name as the ambassador for Italian romantic songs.

His debut album, The Italian (2005), gained a large following with sales surpassing the one million mark. Some of his famous hits from the album include Il Mondo, A Man Without Love, Come Prima, My Love Forgive Me and Parla Piu Piano. The album secured number 10 on the pop charts in Britain and also received double platinum status in Australia.

Recently, he has launched his second album, Forever Begins Tonight, which has 12 tracks in English and Italian. “My Malaysian fans are very enthusiastic and want to know more about the latest album.

“This is my third trip and it feels great being here. Malaysia has been a good territory as I have the support from listeners,” said the crooner whose mother had accompanied him on the trip.

For Buanne, his second album is an extension, or rather continuation, of his first. “The Italian reaped over one million sales worldwide. It would be stupid to change my concept,” said Buanne, who has had an audience of famous leaders like the late Pope John Paul II and President George Bush.

Forever Begins Tonight comprises his remake version of Un Angels or Angels (Robbie Williams) and Solo Tu or Only You (The Platters). Original tracks include Forever Begins Tonight, Sorridi and Bella Bella Signorina.

“Angels and Only You are some of my favourite songs. I decided to record these songs in Italian so that listeners would know how beautiful Italian really is. Only You was the first English song I sung, when I was 12-years-old.”

In the studio, Buanne worked with Christian Seitz in producing both his albums.

Barely three years in the industry and Buanne has already created waves, especially in Europe and Australia. When it comes to success, this humble singer admitted not knowing the recipe of success. “All you need to do is be honest with people. In Italian, there is a saying that lies have short legs and won’t get you far. I hold this motto close to my heart.

“No one discovered me, neither am I from a talent show. It has always been my dream to record an album of songs that I grew up listening to. It is important to be sincere and focussed in one’s career,” elaborated Buanne, who speaks fluent Italian, German, French, English, French and Polish.

As for expanding his music fan base, he plans to reach out to listeners in the United States. “I performed at a public broadcasting programme in the US recently. Thankfully, the audience liked my music … I believe good applause is the bread (and butter) of an artiste.”

The American dream beckons as Buanne hopes to work with producer David Foster for his future albums.

In Buanne’s third album, fans can expect more romantic numbers and songs from different languages. Don’t be surprised if he decides to attempt a couple of songs in Mandarin.

taken from thestar.com.my

Chrisette Michele

January 02, 2007,
Singer Gets Religious With Hip-Hop
Ayala Ben-Yehuda, L.A.
It was after church on a Sunday, and Chrisette Michele had God and hip-hop on her mind. The 23-year-old Long Islander was on her way to a studio to write and record the hook for “Lost One,” the first single off of Jay-Z’s album “Kingdom Come.” She hadn’t heard the rest of the song yet, but the deacon’s daughter wondered if it might be too explicit for her strong moral code.

“I was preparing in my head how I would say, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t do this,’” says the singer-songwriter of her meeting with the hip-hop mogul.

But after Jay-Z played the track, which deals with commitment, friendship and death, “I looked at him and said, ‘Yo, this song is spiritual.’ This song is about self-respect.” Chrisette pauses for a moment. “He’s a preacher.”

That’s quite a statement for someone with a family full of clergy, who led the gospel choir in high school and college but never got a CD until she was 17.

Still, Chrisette Michele describes herself as “a kid of the hip-hop culture” who didn’t have MTV, but sang and freestyled in impromptu rap circles at school.

She also has a neverending stream of songs in her head that she attributes at least in part to attention-deficit disorder, a condition that she calls “a gift.”

But it wasn’t until the day a high school track coach stopped her in the hallway — Chrisette had been jogging down the corridor singing — that her artistic fate was sealed. The coach gave her a CD of Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz’ “The Girl from Ipanema,” a song that would establish her love for mixing jazz melodies with what she grew up with: gospel vocals and hip-hop beats.

“I went up to my jazz teacher in school, and said, ‘I need you to give me some more of that,’” she says, recalling the discovery of a cabinet full of classic jazz music. “Every day after that, at lunch period, I would go into the piano room and practice those songs.”

With Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday as newfound heroes, Chrisette went on to major in music at 5 Towns College. A show at New York City’s Village Underground led to opening gigs for India.Arie, and eventually a contract with Island Def Jam. “Lost One,” her collaboration with Jay-Z, has been climbing Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop songs and Hot 100 charts, where it now stands at No. 21 and No. 73, respectively.

Chrisette, who is finishing up her own album on IDJ, was featured on the Heineken Red Star Soul tour this fall and performed onstage with Jay-Z at his Radio City concert.

She also wrote and sang hooks on Nas’ album “Hip-Hop Is Dead,” including on single “Can’t Forget About You,” a nostalgic reminiscence that’s bubbling under the R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart.

Being on Nas’ album had particular significance for Chrisette, whose mother was raised in the same Queensbridge housing project as the rapper.

Childhood memories of her own, particularly of the homeless women and girls her family took into their home, inspired her own album. Themes include self-esteem, commitment, and abstinence.

“I don’t want to come off preachy, but I’m not afraid to be a Christian in this industry and to really believe what I believe in,” says Chrisette a stance made easier to take with respectful and respected artists like Nas and Jay-Z behind her.

“He curses,” she says of the latter, smiling audibly. “He didn’t say the curses when I was in the room, but he curses. But that’s okay.”

Article taken from BillBoard.Com

Concerts galore

These are a few of the artiste that are coming down in the month of January and February:


For more ticket info please go to axcess.com.my

Contributions needed

Dear blog reader,

Please be inform that anyone of you out there can contribute to this blog. Any cool music or album out there or any songs that you want me to write about,you can do so by emailing me at the following e-mail address :

gurgle_86@hotmail.com

contributions are highly appreciated

from,

sully86

January 2007 upcoming releases

All dates are for U.S. releases unless otherwise noted. Release dates are subject to change, and often do.

16 Jan Tuesday
The Autumn Defense The Autumn Defense
22 Jan Monday
Field Music Tones Of Town UK only; US tbd
23 Jan Tuesday
Arbouretum Rites Of Unconvering
The Brokedown I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On
Clinic Visitations US release; already out in UK
Deerhoof Friend Opportunity
Julie Doiron Woke Myself Up
The Earlies The Enemy Chorus
Exploding Star Orchestra We Are All From Somewhere Else
Ghost In Stormy Nights
The Good, The Bad & The Queen The Good, The Bad & The Queen
Kristin Hersh Learn To Sing Like A Star
Menomena Friend And Foe
Of Montreal Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
The Shins Wincing The Night Away
Six Parts Seven Casually Smashed To Pieces
29 Jan Monday
Gruff Rhys Candylion UK only; US tbd
30 Jan Tuesday
Lily Allen Alright, Still US release; already out in UK
Bracken [Hood's Chris Adams] We Know About The Need
Busdriver RoadKillOvercoat
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Some Loud Thunder
Hella There’s No 666 In Outer Space
Norah Jones Not Too Late
Skinny Puppy Mythmaker
Youth Group Casino Twilight Dogs

List taken from metacritic.com

New Avril Lavigne Album Due In April

December 18, 2006, 10:05 AM ET

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Avril Lavigne’s third studio album has been christened “The Best Dam Thing” and will be released in April via RCA. First single “Girlfriend” will hit U.S. radio outlets in February. “I promise you guys will LOVE this record — it is my favorite one,” she writes on her MySpace.com site. “And I can’t wait! It is really fast, fun, young, bratty, aggressive, confident [and] cocky in a playful way … all the good stuff.”

Lavigne says she was inspired to make a more up-tempo album after spending “so much of my time playing live shows. I wanted to make sure the songs were fun — fun for the fans and myself. I will only have like three slow songs on the record.”

“The Best Dam Thing” will be the follow-up to 2004’s “Under My Skin,” which debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and launched the Hot 100 hits “My Happy Ending” (No. 9) and “Don’t Tell Me” (No. 22). The album has sold 2.93 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Lavigne also contributed the new song “Keep Holding On” to the RCA soundtrack for “Eragon,” which just opened in U.S. theaters.

article taken from BillBoard.com

From Joshua Trees To Palm Trees

After Record Grosses And A Few Major Snags, U2’s Vertigo Tour Winds Down In Honolulu
Jonathan Cohen
You can’t blame promoter/producer Arthur Fogel for wondering just how gargantuan U2’s Vertigo tour could have been if the band simply kept on playing. After all, not one ticket went unsold for the 131 shows on the trek, which began March 28, 2005, in San Diego and wrapped Dec. 9 in front of 47,000 fans at Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium.

Having been on the road in fits and starts since March 2005, U2 was clearly in a celebratory mood in Hawaii, as Bono danced onstage with a woman from the crowd during “Mysterious Ways” and even pulled a lucky guy out of the audience to play piano with the band during “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses.” Whether waving the American flag high above his head amid opener “City of Blinding Lights” or writhing on the stage blindfolded for “Bullet the Blue Sky,” the frontman was holding nothing back.

The evening reached an emotional climax during “One,” when Bono encouraged the audience to hold their cell phones aloft and light up the venue “like a Christmas tree.” Fans were also asked to send a text message of support to the One campaign to end world poverty, with some names of participants in the audience chosen to be listed on the backdrop.

When all was said and done, Vertigo clocked in as the second-highest grossing tour of all time: $389 million from an astonishing audience of 4,619,021, second only to the Rolling Stones’ concurrent A Bigger Bang trek, which may continue into 2007, and has grossed more.

“I sometimes try and visualize, what would be the universe?” Fogel muses to Billboard. “In other words, what if you could just play and play and play? We sold over four-and-a-half million tickets on this tour, but we still underplayed basically everywhere we’ve gone.”

Vertigo visited arenas in North America through late May 2005, then played stadiums in Europe throughout that summer. In the fall, it was back to North America for a run that included six shows at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre and six at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

February and March took U2 to South America, which was originally to be followed by dates in Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Those shows, however, were postponed until the fall due to a serious illness that struck within the immediate family of a band member. Details have never been publicly disclosed.

Getting Vertigo back on track was the final hurdle for Fogel, who has been associated with U2 in a promoter capacity since 1981 but has produced the band’s last three world tours via his TNA organization. He and U2 manager Paul McGuinness admit they’re always thinking about the tour in one way or another, even a year before the first fan has filed into a venue.

“We’re in contact all the time,” McGuinness tells Billboard of Fogel. “As the record develops, the production develops. And depending on when the record is finished, we have an imaginary start date. That’s subject to change, but the thinking about the production is always simultaneous with the making of the album.”

The Vertigo stage set was designed by Willie Williams and was marked by an ellipse-shaped extension that allowed band members to travel far into the general-admission crowd on the floor. It required 30 semi trucks to get from place to place, according to stage manager Rocko Reedy. On a good day, it took two-and-a-half hours to assemble, but that duration could nearly double depending on weather and venue configurations. After being loaded post-show onto the trucks, the stage was packed onto three 747s to travel to the next venue.

Early in the tour, U2 performed in front of seven see-through LED curtains, onto which images and patterns were projected. Later, a giant, super high-tech LED screen was used instead to form the backdrop.

“All the stuff we use is always serial number 001,” Reedy says proudly. “The first time they create this type of technology, it’s U2 that uses it. Then everybody else under the sun goes out and gets it, so we just have to come up with something new.”

That said, Vertigo has not been without its share of drama. The tour got off to a rocky start after a disastrous presale for paid members of u2.com in January 2005, when demand far exceeded the ticket allotment, prompting shut-out fans to blast management and even band members themselves on Internet forums.

“The demand was artificially stimulated because, quite honestly, a lot of ticket scalpers had joined u2.com planning to trade the tickets,” McGuinness says. “It was clear very early those tickets would have a higher resale value than face value. We got caught by that, and we certainly underestimated the demand that would arise through the fan club. We did the best we could to meet it. But we’ll be a little more careful next time.”

Then, in the wake of the postponements in Japan and Australia, Fogel spent months dealing with insurance fallout. “That process took a very long time and was very difficult and complex, but ultimately resulted favorably,” he says. “That probably was a much greater challenge than the actual logistics of bringing the production and personnel back together.

“We had a few venue issues [rescheduling] in Japan, because originally we were playing outdoors at Yokohama Stadium,” he adds. “Given we were now in early December, the weather is such that we had to then look to go indoors. So, we had to basically refund 60,000 tickets and then resell for three shows at an arena.”

But, to the surprise of nobody, the fans were still right there waiting to attend the makeup dates. “In Australia, even though we were postponing the shows by six months or so, almost no customers asked for a refund,” McGuinness says. And indeed, the time off allowed U2 to rejigger the tour set list, as well as record “The Saints Are Coming” and the new song “Window in the Skies” with producer Rick Rubin. Both were released on the compilation “U218 Singles” in November.

Summoning inspiration for new material never seems to be a problem for U2. How long it takes to translate those ideas to tape is another matter.

“I always try and have a guitar around, because you never know when a song is going to hit you over the head,” the Edge told Billboard in an interview last November. “I subscribe to the Keith Richards theory of having a guitar by the head of your bed when you’re asleep, because you might wake up and you just never know.”

Vertigo has also spawned a DVD, “Live in Chicago,” which is the top-selling U2 DVD with sales of 285,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

While it may have been tempting to entertain adding still more shows to the itinerary after the fall leg, McGuinness says this was “a logical point to stop. We’re obviously aware we could go on and on and on, but selling out is actually more important to us than the gross.”

So where does the U2 touring behemoth go from here? The first step is the band returning to the recording studio, which it will do sometime next year with an eye on releasing a new album by the end of 2007. McGuinness predicts the next tour will then begin in 2008.

“All I can say is it will be completely different the next time, but it will be big,” he says. “I think our audience expects very big productions. We’ve become good at doing that, and I think it is part of U2’s reputation.” The band may even experiment with commercially releasing select concerts as downloads shortly after their completion. “That’s something we’re exploring,” McGuinness acknowledges. “In the future there will be more what we call ‘band-to-fan activity.’ “

One thing that won’t change is the alliance between McGuinness and Fogel. “Their organization contains extraordinary expertise,” McGuinness says of TNA. “That is really the key to it — knowledge of venues and markets absolutely worldwide. I really can’t imagine doing a U2 tour without it.”

Article taken from, Billboard.Com

Switch Foot New Album Release

The Other Foot
While recording Switchfoot’s new Columbia project, “Oh! Gravity,” lead vocalist Jon Foreman says part of the goal was to erase the boundary between artist and audience. So the band devised ways to make the fans part of the process. “In music, the band is only half of the equation,” Foreman says. “The other half is the listening public. The word fan is awkward … For me, it’s a partnership.”

The band launched a contest offering one fan the chance to play cowbell on the song “Amateur Lovers,” garnering 22,000 entries. A webcam was also set up to allow for 24-hour access into the studio sessions. “The whole cowbell contest was about how do we blur the line between who we are as a band and the people who listen to us,” Foreman says.

“Oh! Gravity,” which streets Dec. 26, is the San Diego-based band’s sixth studio album and its third for Columbia. The band is also distributed to the Christian market through EMI Christian Music Group. Switchfoot’s first Columbia effort, “The Beautiful Letdown,” has sold 2.6 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, spawning the hits “Meant To Live” and “Dare You To Move.” Last year’s “Nothing Is Sound,” has sold 549,000 units.

The new album contains the same caliber of thought-provoking, articulate lyrics that the band has become known for, but it rocks harder and has a more aggressive sound. Such songs as the title track and “American Dream” have an edgy, punk rock intensity, while “30 Second Hands” boasts an alt-country rock vibe.

Taken from Billboard.Com

Sound of 2007: Mika

Find out more about this upcoming act by clicking the following link:
Sound Of 2007

The arrival of all about songs

I am here to announce the arrival of my  new blog.It mostly about music reviews ranging from almost all the genre. Anyways the year 2007 is still new, so for now there is no updates. I will be looking around the music sphere for new songs and artiste that will hit it big and do a review about them and their songs. So stay tuned for more updates till then take care