TNL Onstage 2007

It’s about time of the year that music lovers from all parts of the island gather around to witness some of the best talents Sri Lanka has to offer. The all important final of TNL Onstage 2007 gets underway on November 10, 2007 (Tonight) @ SLECC with all glitz and glamour.

The grand finals of TNL Onstage 2007 promises to be bigger, better and more explosive than ever as six amateur bands, six amateur solo artistes and four hip-hop outfits take the centre stage.

Finalists
The following bands and Hip-hop acts have got through to the finals.
Bands: Merlock / Wagon Park / Icarus / Gray Mind Domain / Hollow / S.A.M.
Hip-hop Acts: Nouty Coast / Dirty 4 Four / Kavisha / Sheaam

Categories of TNL Onstage 2007
* Most Outstanding Band
* Most Outstanding Soloist
* Most Outstanding Hip-hop/R&B Act
* Most Outstanding Musician
* Best Original Song

Awards and Prizes
The Most Outstanding Band will walk away with the coveted title of TNL Onstage 2007. Apart from that, winners will receive…
* Awards for each category
* Sound equipment from Swedish Trading Audio Visual worth half a million rupees
* APPLE products from the EPSI iStore
* Cash prizes for the most outstanding Sprite Theme Song

Guest Performances
There will be a guest performance by the last year’s onstage winners Fuzz MechanX.

Fan Merchandise
The Sunday Leader Rock & Roll special and a compilation CD featuring songs of all the finalists will be issued free with the ticket.

The live broadcast of TNL Onstage 2007 will be beamed to the whole island on 101.7FM in Colombo, 87.9FM Down South, 98.2FM Kandy and 90FM Islandwide.

TNL Onstage 2007
Date: November 10, 2007
Time: 8.30pm onwards
Venue: SLECC
Tickets: Rs.650

Go see it for yourself and be apart of the biggest musical phenomenal of the year.

TNL Onstage
TNL onstage is a musical milestone that is anxiously awaited year after year by aspiring musicians and local talent thirsting crowds.

Since its first appearance back in 1999, TNL Onstage has galvanized to become the music authority on upcoming artistes in the local music industry. The competition has spawned artistes who have now become the corner stone of the original music scene and have in turn inspired young bands to come out of their closet and promote their own music among the audiences. TNL Onstage is a platform which gives local artistes the opportunity to be more confident when it comes to developing their public image, putting out albums & singles and releasing the material to local media.


This post will be updated with photos and a low-down of winners. Make sure you check back…
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The most buzzed about grand finals of TNL Onstage 2007 which held at the SLECC on November 10 came to an end with a big bang. As mentioned earlier six bands, four hip-hop acts along with six soloists battled it out in front of a packed audience to grab hold of the titles for Winner- Onstage 2007, Most Outstanding Hip-hop Act and Best Soloist respectively.

The band Hollow was crowned the Best Band of the night and walked away with the prestigious title Winner - TNL Onstage 2007 together with more merchandize from the event partners and sponsors. The five piece heavy-metal outfit performed one of their originals “Sweet Betrayal” followed by a stunning cover of Queens “The Final Countdown” which got the crowd going really well. In the meantime, the band Merlock was named the first runner up in the band category.

The solo round was not that interesting. A couple of individuals tried so hard to imitate some international artistes by covering commercial hits such as Makes Me Wonder, Summer Love and Umbrella. Not sure whether such songs are suitable for a professional competition like TNL Onstage. They could have found better numbers. Chrishantha who probably gave the best performance of the night when it comes to the solo category had chosen the most outstanding Soloists. He took the audience on a ride with his cover of Scott Stapp’s “Great Divide” and heart-felting rendition of Evanescence’ classic “My Immortal”.

As for the Hip-hop acts, there were two Hip-hop crews namely Nouty Coast and Dirty 4 Four. With all the shades and blingz, they brought glamour to the show. The competition between these two acts was so tight. Both displayed original compositions. At the end, Nouty Coast who did a remake of the club banger “Tambourine” by Eve bagged the award for the most Outstanding Hip-hop act. Even though, it should be mentioned that both acts deserved the title. The other solo participants in the category didn’t make a huge impression among the audience.

The stage looked extremely good. There were two LCD screens carrying artist clips & interviews, intros and promotional material from the sponsors. The venue has also been designed to give the audience the perfect atmosphere. The panel of judges included some of the biggest names in the local music industry including Natasha Jayasuriya, Bathiya, Iraj Weeraratne and Ashanthi. It was a great show. And the talent this year was out of this world. An audience of over 3000 people turned up at this year’s TNL Onstage to support Sri Lankan originality.

Following is a low-down of the event……

Winners
* Most Outstanding Band / Winner: TNL Onstage 2007 – Hollow
* Most Outstanding Band (1st Runner up) – Merlock
* Most Outstanding Musicians – Dilshan (Drummer – Hollow)
* Best Original Song – Crimson Skies (Merlock)
* Most Outstanding Soloist – Chrishantha
* Most Outstanding Hip-hop/R&B Act – Nouty Coast
* Sprite Theme Song – Thirst (Icarus)

Here’s a list of songs performed by the each individual….

Songs performed by the winners/contestants
Band
* Hollow – Sweet Betrayal / The Final Countdown (Queen)
* Merlock – Crimson Skies
* Icarus – Your Lullaby / Run (Snow Patrol)
* Wagon Park – Jingy Bingy Blues / Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd)
* Gray Mind Domain – Into My Mind / Layla (Eric Clapton)
* S.A.M – I’ll Catch You If You Fall / When The Sun Goes Down (Arctic Monkeys)

Solo
* Chrishantha – Great Divide (Scott Stapp) / My Immortal (Evanescence)
* Mariam – Every Breath You Take (Sting) / Umbrella (Rihanna)

Hip-hop
* Nouty Coast – Shawty Goffta / Tambourine (Eve)
* Dirty 4 Four – Dirty CMB /

Guest Performances of the Night
Guest performances of the night saw the up and coming band Thriloka and last year’s Onstage winners Fuzz MechanX.
* Thriloka – Opening Act
* Fuzz MechanX – Final Performance

Media
Here, I’ve got some original music from the artistes who took part for TNL Onstage 2007. The following tracks are getting a fair amount of airplay on local radio. The tracks can also be found in TNL Onstage Compilation CD. Happy listening…….
* Hollow – Sweet Betrayal (Acoustic) (DOWNLOAD)
* Dirty 4 Four – Dirty CMB (DOWNLOAD)
* S.A.M. - Catch You If You Fall (DOWNLOAD)

Last updated: Nov 24, 2007

Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 on YES FM

Rick Dees Weekly Top 40, the longest running modern radio chart show which captivated music lovers around the globe is coming to the airwaves of 89.5 YES FM this November.

YES FM will be airing the "Hit Radio" version of the show which is designed for contemporary radio stations. The four-hour countdown based on radio playlists showcases 40 of the biggest hits in the nation along with music news, up-close celebrity sleaze, guest appearances and competitions.

Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 countdown is currently heard on over 350 radio stations in the US as well as in 177 countries worldwide. The internationally syndicated show reaches 30 million people every week. Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 is available in three different formats- Hit Radio, Hot Adult and Rhythmic. The chart show is hosted by the legendary radio presenter Rick Dees. He has been named Billboard Magazine’s number one radio personality in America for the past eleven years. Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 is a production of Radio Express.

Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 was previously aired on TNL Radio.

Rick Dees Weekly Top 40
First Airing: Saturdays 4 – 8pm
Repeat: Sundays 10 – 2pm

Website: http://www.rick.com/

Mary Wilson of The Supremes to perform in Sri Lanka

Mary Wilson, one of the original/founding members of the legendary 70’s Motown Pop outfit The Supremes is scheduled to perform in Sri Lanka this November in aid of Sri Lanka’s landmine victims.

The Black & White Evening with Mary Wilson of The Supremes gets underway on Saturday 03rd November 2007, 7.30pm at the Oak Room – Cinnamon Grand. Mary Wilson will be accompanied by a seven piece orchestra to sing at the concert.

Taking a look back at her fascinating time with The Supremes, Mary Wilson was the only member of The Supremes who remained in the band until the very end when they called it a day in 1977. Along with her fellow members of the band Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Cindy Birdsong, she counted a total of twelve US number-one hits. The Grammy Award winning singles include “Stop In The Name Of Love”, “I’m Every Woman” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. Several songs have been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. The magazine Rolling Stones ranked the band #97 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time”. The band inspired people around the world. And The Supremes are one of the most influential bands in the Retro era.

In addition to her singing career, she authored the autobiography "Dreamgirl: My Life As A Supreme" which describes her life with The Supremes. It remains one of the best selling Rock-and-Roll autobiographies of all time. In the early 90’s, she penned a follow-up entitled "Supreme Faith: Someday We’ll Be Together".

Mary Wilson became the Mine Action spokesperson for the Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI), a NYC based non-profit organization forging innovative public-private partnerships designed to help solve specific international problems. HDI is implementing multi-million dollar mine clearance and development and education projects in Sri Lanka. And Sri Lanka is the first mission undertaken for HDI by Mary Wilson to raise awareness about landmines and unexploded ordnance.

Apart from the charity concert in Colombo, she will be down in the island by October 31 to review HDI’s mine clearance and dairy development program in the Jaffna Peninsula. Wilson will also meet with individuals whose lives have been impacted by landmines.

The event is organized by The Humpy Dumpty Institute in partnership with One Sri Lanka Foundation.

The Black & White Evening with Mary Wilson of The Supremes live in Colombo
Date: Saturday 03rd November 2007
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Oak Room – Cinnamon Grand
Tickets: Rs.10,000 / 7500 inclusive of dinner
Sponsors: Sunday Times / Daily Mirror / YES FM / MTV

HDI’s Mine Action Program for Sri Lanka
http://www.thehdi.org/srilanka_description.htm

Mary Wilson official website
http://www.marywilson.com/

Blood Brothers

Blood Brothers – Their lives were worlds apart…..their destiny joined them together…..

Blood Brothers is a musical/theatrical play which tells the captivating tale of two brothers, born as twins but separated at birth and never told the truth of their kinship until the day they die. The brothers grew up separately, one in a poor family and other with a rich background. As the days go by fate brings them together and finds some sort of bonding. This growing relationship between two brothers which was harmless in childhood causes complications in later adult life with some tragic consequences. And surprisingly, they both fall in love with the same women. The play chronicles around the struggling lives of each boy and their relationship with their mothers.

Mrs. Johnstone, Mickey, Eddie, Sammy, Linda, Mrs. Lyons and Mr. Lyons are the main characters of the play. The narrator of the musical mainly represents fate and inevitability. The music plays a significant role on the production. The tearful tunes such as Bright New Day, Long Sunday Afternoon, Easy Terms, I’m Not Saying A Word and the emotionally charged hit Tell Me It’s Not True give the performance the right impression.

The musical ‘Blood Brothers’ was originally written by Willy Russell back in the early 80’s. The production has scooped up four awards for the best musical in London and seven Tony award nominations on Broadway. And it is one of the longest running productions of all time. This critically acclaimed world-wide smash has now passed its 20th phenomenal year and it continues to draw the crowds across the globe.

The local play was directed by Jerome De Silva. According to him, the story can be related to any era. The story concerns one Mrs. Johnstone, a harassed mother of six, whose husband deserts her while she is pregnant with twins. Facing a dreadful struggle to keep her family fed and clothed, she is persuaded by her employer – the rich and childless Mrs. Lyons to let her take one of the twins and pass him off as her own. And swearing on the bible, Mrs. Johnstone agrees, on the promise of being able to see him grow up. But due to Lyons' fear that she will at one point reclaim the child, she's then sacked and denied access to her son.

Blood Brothers, a story about love, sacrifice and friendship performed by the Workshop Players goes onboard at the Lionel Wendt Theatre from September 14 – 23 at 7.30pm onwards which means it’s on for another four days. So go and see it for your self if you haven’t done so already. Tickets are available at the entrance. It was mentioned that the play contains some violence and explicit language. It may not be suitable for younger viewers.

Review on the Mirror Magazine
Another treat for theatre-lovers this September

Radio Trailer
http://www.zshare.net/audio/37639581bffae2/

The All New E! FM

E! FM has changed for good. The station took on a whole new look last week with a concept of lifestyle radio. And the station has been tagged as ‘Your Lifestyle Radio’. The much publicized change of E FM came to effect on the 12th September. Prior to that both TV (ETV) and print media along with E FM itself were carrying promotions and trailers about the launch of new E FM.

The all new E FM went on air for the first time at around 7 in the morning along with the commencement of newly set-up Morning show. Almost everything has changed. As you see in the image, a new logo has been made. The logo contains the station name (E FM), city frequency (100.4FM) and the tag line (Your Lifestyle Radio). It looks pretty neat. But I believe the black and yellow logo that they used to have is more recognizable.

A bunch of high-profiled DJ’s from the local entertainment scene have joined with E FM. Several well-known radio personalities have also moved over from other stations. The present line-up includes Mark Kross (YES FM), Lenny G (GOLD FM), Diamon Deen (LITE 89.2), Brad Stevens (YES FM) and a few newbies as well. It was nice to hear from people like Lenny G after a long time.

The station now caters to a larger audience as they intend to play music from the 80’s, 90’s and today. The most talked about Morning show renamed Morning Show Gram is now presented by Mark Kross, the former co-host of YES FM’s morning show and Lenny G, the veteran DJ of Sri Lanka’s only retro station GOLD FM. So listeners will no doubt get to hear some first class music especially in the morning beam. The revamped Drive-time show is called Rush Hour which is hosted by LITE 89.2’s long-time DJ and the former host of Lite Drive Diamon Deen. Brad Stevens who did fairly okay on YES FM’s main request show TRS now handles E!’s newly introduced request show Radio Active which airs on weekdays from 1 to 5pm. It was mentioned that all communication paths- SMS, Call-in, E-mail and Fax will be opened to reach this particular show. The station’s mid-afternoon show Perk @ Work has been replaced with Work Daze with Andy. Wind Down Zone, E FM’s highly popular late-night show has been given a new twist and it is now hosted by one of the sweetest voices on today’s radio none other than Sherone together with Tony Tony putting the finishing touches for the day.

On Friday nights, the station back-tracks tunes from the past with a bit of a weekend flavor on Weekend Warm Up. The all important chart show is called E! Most Wanted and it count downs 30 of the most wanted hits on E FM. Jamming the fattest club beats in town, the Club Connection on Saturday night is the guide for clubbers. On Sundays, E FM mostly plays nothing but the best in chilled-out music, starting with Sunday Chill which gives some perfect music to relax on your way back from church followed by Sentimental Sunday. This special 3 hour show takes you way back in time with the best in oldies and retro music. If you’re hoping to tune in, Sentimental Sunday and Ethnosphere are just a couple of interesting shows that one with a good taste in music should look out for. It is pretty understandable that the priority has been given to the new set of DJ’s. but the station’s long time E-Jays namely Andy, Sherone, Josh and a few others still exist. The bottom line is unlike some of the other stations E FM always had some high quality Deejays.

New Program line-up
Weekdays 5 – 7am: The Early Bird Show (Josh)
7 – 10am: Morning Show Gram (Lenny G / Mark Kross)
10 – 1pm: Work Daze (Andy)
1 – 5pm: Radio Active (Brad Stevens)
5 – 8pm: Rush Hour (Diamon Deen / Shama)
8 – 12mn: Wind Down Zone (Tony Tony / Sherone)
12 – 5am: Drift (Graham)

Saturdays 6 – 10am: The Brad Stevens Show (Brad Stevens)
10 – 1pm: E! Most Wanted – Top 30 Countdown (Diamon Deen)
1 – 5pm: All Request Saturday (Shama)
5 – 8pm: Saturday Drive
8 – 12mn: Club Connection (DJ Alec)

Sunday 7 – 10am: Sunday Chill (Andy)
10 – 1pm: Sentimental Sundays (Lenny G)
1 – 5pm: Sunday Breeze
6 – 8pm: Ethnosphere (Skinny Don)
8 – 12pm: Wind Down Zone (Tony Tony)
12 - 5am: Drift (Graham)

The station has also introduced an array of new promos and competitions. Most of the old promos including the infamous Rick The Rooster have been dropped. The news from the other side is that they plan to bring some international artistes down here. Talking about that, credits should go out to E FM for bringing down the first ever international act to Sri Lanka- Shaggy, back in 2000 which was one of the biggest concerts Sri Lanka has ever seen. E FM was doing extremely well along with other stations during the course of that time. After that the station had to undergo several changes.

The playlist which is the most important thing for a radio station has been given a total makeover. As I mentioned earlier E FM now plays a wide variety of music covering all genres from R&B and Pop to Alternative with a touch of Rock, Adult Contemporary and Gospel to all time favorites. The current playlist contains more soothing and easy-going tunes instead of more upbeat and dance oriented music that the station was known for. Also some amazing Alternative and classical tunes are being air-played. Let me tell you that E FM has never sounded this good! So get the best out of it… They are also giving out CD’s courtesy of M Entertainments.

The frequencies to be locked on are 100.4FM in Colombo, 93.2FM in Kandy and 104.5FM Down South. And you can listen in live from anywhere in the world by simply login onto efm.lk. They have introduced SMS facilities as well. The new SMS number for the studio is 071-8336336. It was a pleasure seeing E FM with this new music format. Because Since of late a lot of people I know were fed up with what is being played on local radio. And more people were craving for a new station to begin operations in the country.

If E FM continues to stay with the present music format, the station will definitely attract new fans. But first they need to focus on their coverage as well. Then the station will have a lot of potential to become one of the best music playing radio stations in the country. The brand-new Website for the re-formatted E FM is now officially up and running. You can become a member of the exclusive lifestyle section Club E! which at the moment allows you to request, rate and personalize the music that the station plays. Go ahead and discover your new lifestyle radio as it is here to stay….

Visit http://www.efm.lk/

Beni-Suef Troupe for Folk Dancing in Concert

An Egyptian dance performance featuring Beni-Suef Troupe for Folk Dancing which has been organized to promote the greatness of Eastern culture among Sri Lankans will go onboard at Galle Town Hall from 6.30p.m onwards on July 21(Today).

The Beni-Suef Troupe had been established since 1995 and consists of 60 members among them a female and male dancer, popular musicians, singers and a choral. Some dances of the troupe are Pharonic, Alexaldrial, The wheat, Hummer your Bread and Hania.

The event is made possible by Arab Republic of Egypt in association with Ministry of Culture, General Organization of Culture Palaces and Enlargement Cairo & North of Upper Egyptcuitural Region.

SUN FM Big Nine Birthday Bash

SUN FM’s ninth Birthday Bash went down in style at the SLECC last Friday. I was there. Well, I reached the venue at around 8pm. It wasn’t crowded. The party was yet to start. People were still getting in. DJ behind the console was spinning some music.

Moving on to the performances of the night, the line-up included Stigmata, X-It, Section 8, Iraj, Ashanthi and Elephant Foot. The show finally got going at 8.30pm. The headlining performance of the night came from none other than Stigmata, one of the very few bands that I admire when it comes to local music scene. As usual they played their originals. They performed songs from both albums, mainly from ‘Silent Chaos Serpentine’ including ‘My Malice’ and concert favourite ‘The Jazz Theory’ plus some new materials. It was the longest set. And this is probably the best Stigmata performance I have ever seen. It was f**king awesome. Mosh pits among the crowd began happening. The performance looked like a never seen before footage. It was electrifying. Unfortunately, I missed a few minutes of their performance. Coz I had to go outside for something.

After Stigmata’s electrifying performance, Shafi took the stage along with his band Section 8. The set was all about covers. But they got the crowd going really well. They started the set by covering Rascal Flatts’ rendition of ‘Life Is A Highway’ which almost everyone in the crowd enjoyed. I totally adored it. Then, they performed a couple of laid back Alternative tracks including ‘Speed Of Sound’ and later moved on to all-time cult favourites such as ‘Summer Of 69’, House Of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ and a few others. I was under impression that they tried to play more well-known stuff which is slightly disappointing. But except for Stigmata’s unforgettable performance, this would be the highlight of the entire night.

It’s obvious that half of the crowd were expecting some Hip-hop music. That’s exactly what they witnessed next. Ashanthi, the self-proclaimed queen of Sri Lankan Hip-hop accompanied by Randir and the guy from Cilent Project appeared on stage. They had a pretty strong performance, although the audience didn’t really accept them first. Ashanthi mainly performed tracks from her debut album. She has the potential to please anyone with her style. So everything went smoothly. But she could have done an acoustic rendition of a song or something. Coz parties are not all about thumping dance music.

Next up was Iraj accompanied by Killer B. It was pretty sad to see Iraj all alone without the company of fellow members such as BK, Krishan and Sesh. However, Iraj no doubt tried to give his best shot for the time being. They started things off with the breakthrough single ‘Roots’ which made a huge impact in the Sri Lankan urban scene. They also preformed ‘J Town Story’ and some materials from Iraj’s upcoming album. The reaction from the crowd was overwhelming this time.

The final act in the line-up was Elephant Foot, a bunch of amazing drummers from my side of the country- Hikkaduwa. Their performance was limited for a few minutes with just two percussion sessions. One of these compositions is included in their debut album, if I have not mistaken. I have got myself a copy of their album. But I didn’t give a full listen yet. With that breath-taking performance by Elephant Foot, the party came to an end at around 2am.

Apart from all these performances, there were some dance features as well. There was a fire dance courtesy of some traditional artistes. That was a big no-no…Why do we have to see traditional stuff being thrown at a Western based event? Another dance troupe consisting of about seven young ladies did their thing for the track ‘Chori Chori’ by Aneela. It was quiet okay though. I think an original station like SUN should introduce novelty into these events other than relying on ordinary shit. Talking about the music provided by SUN FM deejays in between the performances, it was noticeable that they haven’t made a proper playlist for the evening…

The quality of the event was not upto standard comparing to previous parties organized by SUN FM. Believe it or not, the smoking inside the premises was not allowed by these security personals, although there was no mention about that in the ticket or invitation. There were only three food and drink stalls located inside- KFC, the Beer outlet and another one for Soft drinks.

The atmosphere was kinda good this time. It was darker. They have brought themes like the beach and the jungle inside the SLECC. Even the sound system was working properly. And it’s always a pleasure to attend to events which feature all sorts of music, so big props out to Sun FM for making it possible. ‘Variety’ should be the key word when it comes to organizing musical events in this part of the world. The choice of venue was okay. But you can’t expect much glamour with this kind of a place. Back in the days, they used to host the B’day Bash at Taj North Lorne which is perfect for parties.

I have got some photos of the Birthday Bash. Will upload them later…

Live Earth kicks off today

The much anticipated 7.7.07 is finally here. People all across the planet earth get ready to embark upon a 24 hour 7-continent concert series called LIVE EARTH that will bring together more than 150 musicians to inspire a global movement to combat the global warming….

Official Concerts and schedules

CITY - LOCAL TIME - EDT
Live Earth Sydney - 11:10 a.m. 7/7 - 9:10 pm 7/6
Crowded House / Jack Johnson / Wolfmother / Eskimo Joe / Missy Higgins / Sneaky Sound System
Live Earth Tokyo - 12:00 p.m. 7/7 - 11:00 p.m. 7/6
Linkin Park / Rihanna / Xzibit / Ayaka
Live Earth Shanghai - 7:00 p.m. 7/7 - 7:00 a.m. 7/7
Sarah Brightman / 12 Girls Band
Live Earth Hamburg - 2:00 p.m. 7/7 - 8:00 a.m. 7/7
Chris Cornell / Enrique Iglessias / Katie Melua / Shakira
Live Earth London - 1:30 p.m. 7/7 - 8:30 a.m. 7/7
Genesis / Damien Rice / Duran Duran / Metallica / Red Hot Chilli Peppers / Foo Fighters / Madonna / Beastie Boys / James Blunt / Keane / Snow Patrol / Razorlight / Pussycat Dolls
Live Earth Johannesburg - 6:00 p.m. 7/7 - 12:00 p.m. 7/7
UB 40 / Joss Stone
Live Earth New York - 2:30 p.m. 7/7 - 2:30 p.m. 7/7
The Police / Roger Waters / Bon Jovi / Dave Mathews Band / Keith Urban / Kelly Clarkson / Smashing Pumpkins / KT Tunstall / John Mayor / Taking Back Sunday
Live Earth Rio de Janeiro - 4:00 p.m. 7/7 - 3:00 p.m. 7/7
Lenny Kravitz / Macy Gray

The Sydney leg of 'Live Earth' has already been started. Tribal leaders with white-painted bodies and shaking eucalyptus fronds were the first of more than 150 performers at the nine concerts, 24-hour series to raise awareness about climate change. The newly reunited 80’s Pop outfit Crowded House is also scheduled to perform at the Sydney concert. 'Live Earth London' is probably the most talked about concert music-wise as the line-up includes some of the biggest names in the industry such as Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Gray, Duran Duran, Damien Rice, Foo Fighters, Keene, Snow Patrol, Razorlight and Kasabian. This is a must see, if you are an Alternative music fan…

Organizers say the series of concerts will be as green as possible, with a tally of energy use being kept. In addition to these official concerts, there are over 8000 'Live Earth Friends' events happening worldwide.

Live Earth will be beamed worldwide, from eight continents (New York, London, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, and Hamburg) by the Intelsat using its industry-leading network of Satellite and terrestrial facilities in standard and high definition, across multiple media channels – Radio, TV, Internet and Wireless channels.

People in Sri Lanka will be able to catch this monumental event through the following Media outlets.
Radio: YES FM 7.7.07 @ 4.30pm (SL)
TV: VH1 7.7.07 @ 2.30pm (SL)
Online: MSN @ http://www.liveearth.msn.com/

YES FM to air LIVE EARTH

The seventh month of the year 2007 has just arrived. And something very important is taking place on the seventh day of this month. It’s none other than the much-anticipated Live Earth. People from every corner of the world will get together to find an answer for the climate crisis...

YES FM has acquired the broadcast rights to air Live Earth in Sri Lanka. YES FM will join an international movement that will bring together more than 150 artists and two billion people worldwide in an effort to combat the climate crisis.

::LIVE EARTH::
Live Earth is a 24-hour 7-continent series of 9 concerts taking place on 7.7.07 that will bring together more than 100 music artists and 2 billion people to inspire a global movement to 'Answer the Call' and combat global warming. Official concerts will be staged at the following venues…

• Live Earth New York at Giants Stadium
• Live Earth London at Wembley Stadium
• Live Earth Sydney at Aussie Stadium
• Live Earth Rio de Janeiro at Copacabana Beach
• Live Earth Tokyo at Makuhari Messe
• Live Earth Shanghai at Oriental Pearl Tower
• Live Earth Johannesburg at the Cradle of Humankind
• Live Earth Hamburg at HSN Nordbank Arena
• Live Earth Istanbul at Inonu Stadium

Some of the artists confirmed to perform at "Live Earth" include Dave Mathews Band, Smashing Pumpkins, Bon Jovi, David Gray, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Duran Duran, Madonna, Damien Rice, Snow Patrol, Linkin Park and KT Tunstall. The concert series will kick off with the Australian leg. The newly re-formed Crowded House along with a host of homegrown acts will take the centre stage.

Live Earth will reach the worldwide audience through an unprecedented global media architecture covering all media platforms – Radio, TV, Internet and wireless. Live Earth is the first ever international concert event to be broadcast completely in High Definition and will be seen in more than 100 countries.

The live broadcast on YES FM will commence on 7.7.07 at 4pm onwards. The station will allow access to the full event including all 9 concerts. Tune into 89.5 in Colombo, 88.2 in Kandy & Down-South and 101 Islandwide. VH1 will carry the official Cable television coverage of the event. And Live Earth concerts will also be streamed live worldwide by MSN at http://www.liveearth.msn.com/

A full list of concert lineups, locations and more, including detailed information about the campaign, is now available at the official Live Earth Website
http://www.liveearth.org/

Anusha

This post is about an R&B artist by the name of Anusha Navaratnarajah. She is half Sri Lankan and half Mauritian, although she was born in Wales. She’s only twenty-one years old. She has attended the same school as some of the big names in the music industry including Gem and Charlotte Church.

As a child Anusha was raised listening to an eclectic range of music, due to her mother and father being passionate music fans. From the sweet soul sounds of Stevie wonder to the rocky sounds of Queen. Her passion for performance was ignited. Anusha was born in Cardiff, on a frosty, harsh December evening 1983, to Nava Navaratnarajah and Margaret Hermance. Her father Nava was raised in Sri lanka. Her parents were keen travelers and so Anusha was exposed to cultural diversity at an early age. As she reached her teens, Anusha grew to become a serious music fan. She later started to guest vocal on several garage and R&B tracks with local artists in London but decided it was time to step out as a solo artist.

She has already released two singles. The debut single titled “Freeze” featuring Jerrel was released on May 21st. “Freeze” is a sexy laid back R&B anthem with subtle instrumentation and a catchy mellow beat. It was written & produced by Chris Rockizm Patrick - the force behind artists like Naila Boss and Jayme ‘Blue Jeans’. The track is said to be gaining a fair amount of Radio airplay over there. It has reached no.9 in the Urban radio and Club charts.

The much anticipated follow up single is called “Are You Ready”. The video for the song which is still in the production will be launched soon.

In addition to these two single, Anusha has posed for the cover of Eastern Eye magazine. And her music has been reviewed by several sources. All the tracks are available at her MySpace profile for streaming.

Download Anusha’s new Single “Are you Ready”
http://www.zshare.net/audio/25405504389aef/

Watch the Video for “Freeze”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_s0aWp2yJM

Log on to the official Website to check out her sexy photos and purchase materials.
http://www.anushaonline.com/

MINISTRY OF SOUND in Sri Lanka

The finest in dance music, Ministry Of Sound from London will be down here in Sri Lanka for the biggest club night of the year!! The party takes place on the 23rd of this month at H2O.

The line-up comprises DJ’s from MOS and Sri Lanka, dancers and even celebrities. The event has divided into four categories – Percussion, Global Presence, Local Flava and Jaw dropping Moves.

Here’s a lowdown of the announced line-up…
Dipesh Parmar – DJ and A&R for Ministry Of Sound’s annual releases such as Clubbers Guide, 21st Century Disco, Trans Nation and The Chillout Session. He’s the brainchild behind some of the biggest club anthems in 2007 including Destination Callabria (Alex Gaudino), Creeps (Camilla Jones) and Boogie 2Nite (Booty Luv). The man has performed all over the world. And he is currently touring with Groove Armada.
Kelly – A stunning dancer who just returned from the US after touring with Snoop Dogg and P.Diddy.
Franky Wedge – The well known blonde celebrity/model/entertainer who has been featured on music videos, movies, magazines and numerous promos. She recently appeared in the sexy video for Eric Prydz’ "Call On Me". She also made the cover of FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women. Other appearances include Ford Mondeo TV commercial, Maxim, Loaded, Front Mag and the latest being Napster Girl online promo video.
DJ Prasadh - The former resident DJ of the club Tabu. He has been in the scene for over 10 years.

The tickets are priced at Rs.1500 and will be available at the entrance. You receive a free Axe Deo with every ticket.

The event is made possible by Action Station, AXE, Red Bull & Wrangler.
Official hospitality partner: Trans Asia
Official Radio Station: YES FM
Official Print Media: Sunday Times & Daily Mirror

You can refer the following event partners’ links for further information…
MOS Website: http://www.ministryofsound.co.uk/
Action Station: http://www.actionstation.lk/
H2O: http://www.h2olanka.lk/
YES FM: http://www.yesfmonline.com/
Sunday Times: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/

Aerosmith to perform in India

Aerosmith, the bad boys of Rock N’ Roll are scheduled to perform in India for the first time on June 2nd. The venue happens to be the Palace Grounds, Bangalore. The concert is a part of the Asian leg of the legendary rock outfit’s Greatest Hits 2007 World Tour. And it’s their first world tour in nearly a decade.

The band Aerosmith has a loyal fan base in India. In their first ever concert in the country, the band would be in non-stop action for a 2 hour long concert. The band is all set to perform some of their best compositions including “Crazy, I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing, Dream On, Walk This Way, Janie’s Got A Gun and Livin’ On The Edge”. The organizers of this mega event anticipate an audience of about 25000 people. The tickets are priced at Rs.1800 and 1200.

The band Aerosmith comprising the frontman Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford and Joey Kramer has always been in the news in India. The members of the band have visited the country several times on personal trips. The band has even got a song titled “Taste Of India”. It’s off their twelfth studio album “Nine Lives” released back in 1997. The six minutes long track contains elements of Indian cultural music along with driving guitar riffs. Surprisingly, the song has not been performed live since their “Nine Lives” tour. But according to band’s official website, the band is expected to reprise the song in their Indian concert.

India is now regarded as a regular destination for top notch gigs. The country is claimed to be the main interest among the artistes when it comes to Asian tours. A number of high profiled artistes in different musical genres have performed in India during the last few months. The list included Iron Maiden, Sepultura, Deep Purple, Roger Waters, Shakira & Paul Oakenfold.

Aerosmith, who have been performing as the original lineup for the past 34 years, have sold over 140 million albums worldwide, 65.5 million albums in the United States alone, making them the bestselling American hard rock band of all time. The band has scored 27 Top 40 hits.

Apart from India, the band will also appear in United Arab Emirates for the first time ever.

It is reported that Sri Lankan airlines offer a tour package for Sri Lankan Aerosmith fans to travel up to Bangalore to be a part of the event. The package includes return economy class airfare, two nighs hotel accommodation and concert ticket equaling to Sri Lanka Rs.4500 (front row standing). The dedicated flight UL171 will take the fans from Sri Lanka on June 1 and return journey will be on June 3 at 21.15hrs.

The concert will also be screened live at some of India's popular night-spots.

Official Event Website
http://dnalive.indiatimes.com/

Tickets
http://www.ticketpro.in/

Official Band Website
http://www.aerosmith.com/

American Idol - Season 6 concludes

The finale of American Idol’s sixth season was held last night at Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre. The seventeen year old Jordin Sparks from Arizona was crowned as the winner of this year’s American Idol. She became the youngest contestant in American Idol history to ever win the title.

Last night, Singer Jordin beat out fellow beatboxer Blake Lewis to become the sixth American Idol. She had even received the majority of a record 74 million votes. Jordin now contributes to the throne that Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantacia, Cariie Underwood and Taylor Hicks built.

On the finale, Jordin and Blake kicked off the performance segment with a duet of the Beatles classic “I Saw Her Standing There”. Next up was a guest performance featuring Gwen Stefani. She performed her new single “4 In The Morning” via satellites from her “Sweet Escape” tour. Then the original American Idol or I should say the most successful winner up to date, Kelly Clarkson returned to the idol stage to sing her new single “Never Again”. After that, the season’s top six male and female finalists made appearances separately. The fourth season winner of American Idol, none other than Carrie Underwood performed a stunning cover of “I’ll Stand By You” making it one of the best moments of the finale night. And she was honored legendary music mogul Clive Davis for reaching nearly six million sales of her debut album “Some Hearts”. Finally, Billie Joe Armstrong and the band Green Day took the night to another level by performing their rendition of “Working Class Hero”. One of the signature moments was that Blake teamed up with veteran rapper Doug E Fresh on stage. The finale was lasted for approximately two hours and ten minutes.

In my opinion, Jordin is a great singer with soul. But Blake has the potential to sell many records. Coz Jordin is not a kind of person who’s gonna stick to the industry for a while……