Pussycat Dolls Dominate Asia With New Tour
What started as a burlesque dance show in Hollywood has since become one of the pop music world's favorite attractions. The Pussycat Dolls spent the first half of 2009 on tour with Britney Spears, and are currently performing in Asia with Lady Gaga. |
| Pussy Cat Dolls |
"It is definitely worth it," said lead singer Nicole Sherzinger. "When the train is moving, I am truly grateful to be on it, and it IS going. We have been on tour for six months now."
This year marked a first for the Pussycat Dolls. The group was forced to cancel their New York concert at the Nassau Coliseum when Nicole fell ill.
"It was really devastating for me," she recalled. "I was truly sad. I realized then that I was not invincible and I was not super-human. I did not understand that."
One of the things that make The Pussycat Dolls so unique is that they have managed to successfully combine song and dance as a group.
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| Nicole Sherzinger |
In their latest music video for Jai Ho, The Pussycat Dolls combine their moves with their version of an Oscar-winning song from the film Slumdog Millionaire."
"We filmed it in Vienna, Austria," said Nicole. "We were on our European tour and we had one day off [from performing] and it was like negative 40 degrees or something crazy, it was like a snow blizzard going on outside. And [the video] is kind of like an extension of the end of Slumdog Millionaire when they are performing in the train station then you see us do our version of the song through dancing and singing."
Nicole denies the rumor that she will be leaving the band later this year with the release of her debut solo CD.
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| Nicole Sherzinger |
For now, The Pussycat Dolls continue their World Domination Tour singing and dancing their way through Europe and Asia.
Music Icon Tom Jones Remains Sex Symbol After Four Decades
Since 1965, Welsh singer Tom Jones has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Tom says his career highlight was being knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2006. He has influenced many singers in the music industry and has made significant contributions to the industry with his powerful baritone voice and magnetic stage presence. At 69, Tom continues to attract fans of all ages and has no plans to slow down.
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| Tom Jones' soulful voice and sexy stage presence earned fans around the world and helped sell millions of albums |
"It's Not Unusual" sold three million copies. Tom's success led to a U.S. network television show. He was in demand by the day's top songwriters, recording the Burt Bacharach-Hal David song "What's New Pussycat?"
Performer and lover of music
Known for his powerful voice and a sexy stage presence, Tom's legacy is his resilience and versatility.
"I love to listen to music, and I want to know what is going on. I have always been into sound - ever since rock 'n' roll began in 1955. 'Rock Around the Clock' was a great record. The sound was so different… the sound of it was so different from stuff that had been recorded before.
"I listen to the radio a lot, and I am always listening to who's producing what … who's coming up with some interesting sounds. I enjoy that. I do not only do it so I can stay in the business; I do it because I really enjoy it."
Friendships with Presley, Sinatra
Early in his career, Tom was booked to perform in Las Vegas. He became one of the town's biggest attractions, and it led to friendships with Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.
"And I remember once I did an album of standards. Elvis said, 'I do not think you should do that.' He said, 'We do not do that … we leave that to Frank Sinatra.' So I said, 'OK.' He said 'we' so I thought that was great … great company. And then I met Frank Sinatra, and he was telling me I should be singing more big swing songs and more standards, and there is Elvis telling me I should be singing more rock 'n' roll and less standards.
"Coming from two greats like that, both of them giving me advice of what I should be doing … I thought, 'Well, this is tremendous.'"
The song he should have sang
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| Tom Jones missed an opportunity to record Paul McCartney's "The Long and Winding Road," but says he still sings it occasionally |
"Paul McCartney [Beatles] … I was with him in a club in London, and I asked him, would he write me a song? He said, 'OK.' And he sent it to my house, and I have a single [record] coming out on Friday. Paul said, 'If you are going to do it [record the song], it has to be your next single.' The record company said, 'We will have to stop this one [the original song] from coming out now,' and this, that and the other. The song was 'The Long and Winding Road.'
"So, you know, I missed it. After that, I have sung it since … after the fact."
Still crooning at 69 years old
Tom recently released a new album titled 24 Hours.
| Tom Jones co-wrote most of the songs on his new album 24 Hours, a career landmark for him |
This now 69-year-old sex symbol is still drawing audiences and is comfortable with his place in the music industry.
"People tell me that I am not trying to be somebody that I am not. I am not trying to be younger than I am. Kids have told me that as well. 'We like you because you are real … what you see is what you get, and you are not trying to be something you are not.' I think that is it. If you do have what is known as sex appeal, I do not think it goes away overnight because you get older … as long as you wear it well."
Jonas Brothers' Score Another Teen Hit with 'Lines, Vines and Trying Times'
During the past 10 months, the Jonas Brothers have scored two Number One debuts on the Billboard 200 album chart. Joe, Nick and Kevin Jonas are proving to skeptical critics that their teen appeal isn't waning. |
| Jonas Brothers 'Lines, Vines, and Trying Times' album cover |
Joe, Nick and Kevin Jonas say many of the songs they wrote for their fourth album deal with personal experiences. Specifically, their love lives. "Much Better" makes an obvious reference to Joe Jonas' recent breakup with Country superstar Taylor Swift. Nick Jonas' girlfriend, pop star Miley Cyrus, is featured on the track, "Before the Storm."
16-year-old Nick Jonas dated Miley Cyrus for two years before ending their relationship in late-2007. Miley recently announced that she and Nick have "reconnected." One other duet appears on Lines, Vines and Trying Times. "Don't Charge Me For The Crime" features rapper Common.
In only one week, the Jonas Brothers sold close to one million concert tickets for its 2009 world tour. North American shows wrap up in late-August. They'll take about two months off before beginning the European leg in October.
Singer Katy Perry Celebrates Second Number One Hit With 'One Of The Boys'
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| Katy Perry |
Artist has big aspirations
"I want to be the 'what is she doing next' artist," Katy says, "I really do because all of the people that I am inspired by are those type of artists."
Pop star Katy Perry's parents are both ministers, so gospel music seemed like a good fit for the then 15-year-old singer/songwriter.
"I had a very short-lived couple-month career in the gospel music industry. I wanted to be successful but unfortunately my record label that signed me went under (out of business) and so did my record," she said.
This setback did not discourage Katy from seeking to find a niche in the music industry. A move to Los Angeles opened up a new world for her.
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| Katy Perry |
A fondness for sassy provocative lyrics
Her fondness for sassy and provocative lyrics drew the attention of industry veterans. She was signed and dropped by a couple of labels until finally finding success with her debut pop CD, "One Of The Boys".
"I think they (record companies) were actually a little scared of how headstrong I was, and what I wanted to do, and the things I wanted to say. They were scared that it was not going to work, so finally at the third try, they let me do my thing. I am very happy for that," Katy said.
In interviews, Madonna mentioned Katy's 2007 Internet release "Ur So Gay" (You're So Gay) as her favorite song at the time helping to make radio programmers take notice of the CD.
Fashion savvy
Katy has always had a distinctive sense of fashion, and this has had a big impact on her fans. She says although she may have some long range plans in that area, she does not forget what brought her to this point.
"People that have success, they almost become greedy with it. 'Well, now that I am successful, I am going to be an actress and I am going to be a designer of shoes.' They forget why they are even there anymore," she says, "Sometimes they are like so what is your real talent?"
Catchy pop choruses and fun lyrics have brought Katy two Number One hits. She says, it is the live shows, however, where her fans can see her real personality.
"I love playing live because I think people go away with a better sense of who I am, and I love seeing live shows because I really think you get to see the full dimension of who that person really is," she said.
Who Katy is, is a multi-dimensional entertainer, who is having a great time … and it shows.
Singer-Songwriter Richie Havens Remembers His Woodstock
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| Richie Haven's iconic performance as the opening act at the 1969 Woodstock Festival is etched deeply into Americans' memory of the event |
Richie Havens played his now-iconic medley end of the opening act before a crowd of between 300,000 and 500,000 music fans, hippies, counterculture activists and drug-soaked pleasure seekers. Havens was later followed onstage by superstars like Jimi Hendrix, the Who, Ravi Shankar, Santana, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and Janis Joplin. That might also help explain why Havens' long African-style tunic was soaked with sweat during his performance.
Havens recently told this reporter that he had already been onstage for nearly three hours when he played that song, which suddenly sprang to mind from his doo wop and gospel days back in Brooklyn.
"To tell you the truth, I had sung … all the songs I knew, and I am going 'What am I going to do now,'" he said.
At the same time, Havens was deeply moved by the camaraderie and free-spiritedness and of the Woodstock audience.
"And in my mind I'm going 'you know, this is the freedom that my generation is looking for," he said.
Havens was onstage for as long as he was because Woodstock producers were waiting for the other performers to arrive. The roads to the festival site were choked with cars backed up for over 100 kilometers in all directions. So Havens and the others had to be flown in by helicopter.
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| Richie Havens during an interview with VOA |
"And when I looked down and I saw all those colors, I said to myself 'If the newspapers get hold of this shot, we've won,'" he said.
Woodstock was billed as entertainment, not politics. But as it swelled, the watching world was aware that the vision of peace, music and community it represented was a gentle protest against the previous generation's way of life.
But music and rebellion were nothing new, says Havens. "We were protesting in the 1950s!" he said with s smile, and began to sing – in a perfect "doo wop" falsetto "No, no no! I'm not a juvenile delinquent!'" Those lyrics, to his ear, expressed the spirit of youthful protest too. "It was about being something our parents don't understand you are. It's [asserting] the freedom to have a voice!"
With escalating racial tensions and increasing public anger over the Vietnam War, the Sixties was a time filled with strident voices. But Havens says that for those three muddy days at Woodstock, politics and activism took a back seat to peace, love and cheerfully dealing with the rain and mud.
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| Richie Havens hugs reporter Adam Phillips in the VOA television studio in New York City |
As August 1969 fades farther into the past, the Woodstock Festival continues to enjoy a near-mythic status, both for those who were there and for the millions who wish they'd been there. But many of the tens of millions more who've been born since, and who know only the music, the legend and the media hype, are still inspired by the free-spirited and communitarian values that Woodstock has come to symbolize.
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For his part, Havens, now nearly 70, continues to express the Woodstock ethos with new songs like "The Key," which is featured on his new album Nobody Left to Crown, Meanwhile, in a role he seems to relish, Havens will continue to act as a benign, bearded ambassador for the Woodstock state of mind.
Beatlemania Returns With Remastered Album Release, New Video Game
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| People queue outside a HMV music store in London, 9 Sep 2009 |
Fans are lining up to get a copy of the new Beatles box set that includes all 12 of the group's albums.
Engineers have spent four years working to improve the sound quality of the music at Abbey Road Studios in London before releasing the collection.
The new Beatles album set costs about $300, but the music industry is predicting high sales.
In addition, fans can also now buy a new video game featuring the famous pop group, "The Beatles: Rock Band."
The game allows up to six people to play the Beatles' hit songs using controllers that mimic instruments.
The Beatles' company, Apple Corps, has shunned releasing their music in digital formats due to piracy concerns, but "Rock Band" owners will be able to download entire albums
2009 A Busy Year So Far for George Strait
Country star George Strait recorded his last two award-winning albums at Jimmy Buffett's Shrimp Boat Sound Studio in Key West, Florida. He returned there again to work on his new collection, Twang.2009 has been an exciting year for Texan George Strait. In addition to recording his 26th studio album, Twang, he won his first Grammy Award, received the Academy of Country Music's Artist of the Decade honor, and performed a tour that included the first concert at the new Dallas Cowboys' Stadium in Texas.
George recorded his debut album in 1982, and since then has sold more than 67 million records in the United States. Now 57 years old, Strait says he has no desire to stop making music.
"I still really enjoy singing, and that's really who I am. I mean, I love to fish and I love to do all these other things, but my love has been and still is Country music and singing," he said. "So, you know, for as long as I can keep doing it, that's what I'm going to do."
George included two covers on Twang, Delbert McClinton's "Same Kind of Crazy" and the mariachi standard composed by the late Mexican songwriter Jose Alfredo Jimenez, "El Rey."
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| George Strait |
"Bubba started writing probably, oh, I guess, a little over a year ago," George says. "He just started toying with the idea of writing a few songs. I kind of had it in the back of my mind, too, that I wanted to start writing again. So, we just kind of inspired each other. He inspired me, I think, more than me him, but we just decided to see if we could write together. So we wrote a couple of songs. We've written actually a few more that I didn't cut on the album that possibly I will on the next one."
George and Bubba co-wrote the album's first single with legendary Nashville songwriter Dean Dillon. The song took only three weeks to reach the Top 20 on Billboard's Country chart, making it one of the fastest-rising hits of Strait's career. Its success led MCA Records to release Twang earlier than originally planned.
Israeli Film On '82 Lebanon War Wins Venice Prize
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| Director Samuel Maoz holds the Golden Lion Best Film Award for 'Lebanon', at the 66th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy |
The Golden Lion Award for best film went to the Israeli film "Lebanon" by Samuel Maoz. The director shot almost the entire film from inside a tank to communicate the claustrophobia and fear he experienced as a young Israeli soldier during the 1982 war.
Maoz was so traumatized by his memories that it took him 25 years to gather the strength to make the movie. He was a young man when he served in the Israeli armed forces during the invasion. The occupation led to a two-decades long occupation by Israel.
Accepting the prize the director said, "I dedicate this award to all those thousands of people all over the world who come back from the war, like me safe and sound."
He said they appear to be fine but the memory of war remains stuck inside their souls.
Entertainment magazine Variety described the film as the "boldest and best of the recent mini-wave" of Israeli movies. The awards jury, directed by Ang Lee, himself a Golden Lion winning director, announced the prizes at the end of 11 days of screenings.
U.S. director Todd Solondz's dark comedy Life During Wartime picked up best screenplay.
Iranian video artist Shirin Neshat won the Silver Lion for best director for Women Without Men. The film chronicles the lives of four women from different walks of life against the backdrop of Iran's foreign-backed coup in 1953.
Thanking the jury for the award, she said this film has been a labor of love for six years. She said it is a film that speaks to the people of Iran fighting to find democracy and it speaks to the government of Iran. She added, "I plead to this government to give the people what they should have - basic human rights, freedom and democracy. Make peace with the people of Iran."
British actor Colin Firth won best actor - as expected - for his turn as a gay professor mourning the loss of his lover in fashion designer Tom Ford's debut picture A Single Man, based on a novel by Christopher Isherwood.
Russian Ksenia Rappoport picked up the best actress award for her part in Giuseppe Capotondi's Italian competition entry La Doppia Ora.
German director Fatih Akin took the special jury prize for his comedy Soul Kitchen, about a young restaurant owner who struggles to keep his business going while maintaining a long-distance relationship and dealing with his criminal brother.
Lynda Carter Earns Praise for Jazz Release 'At Last'
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| Lynda Carter's 'At Last' CD |
Yes, as Lynda Carter proves, there is life after "Wonder Woman." But, with tracks like "You Send Me," her new album begs the question, when did she start singing?
Lynda Carter was introduced to country, blues and classical music while growing up in Phoenix, Arizona. She became a professional singer at age 14, but after winning the beauty pageant title of Miss World USA, she moved to Hollywood, California, to pursue an acting career.
While her role on "Wonder Woman" as the super heroine Princess Diana took her to dizzying new heights, Carter never gave up on singing. In fact, she performed two songs from her first solo album, Portrait, on an episode of her show.
Life after the series was even busier as Carter continued to work wonders in show business. She acted on stage and screen, hosted her own variety shows, endorsed cosmetics as a celebrity promotional model, contributed voice work for video games, and sang in nightclubs.
At last, at age 58, Carter has a hit record.
When At Last jumped into the Top 10 on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart, Lynda Carter couldn't have been happier. She says, "As someone who started out as a singer, it's always been a dream to be on the Billboard chart."
Carter marked her return to singing with the role of Mama Thornton in a musical production of Chicago in London. Her recent tour of "An Intimate Evening with Lynda Carter" culminated with a performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
On At Last, Carter revives the works of Johnny Mercer, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Helen Humes, and George and Ira Gershwin, as well as the Jimmy Harris melody "Cloudburst."
Obama Continues Push for Health Care Reform
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| President Barack Obama climbs the stairs prior to addressing a health care reform rally at Target Center in Minneapolis, 12 Sep 2009 |
The president is working hard to energize support with community meetings and rallies.
But the opposition is talking just as tough. And tempers on both sides are on display.
The best example of how angry the debate has become - and of the high stakes involved - came Wednesday when President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress.
Obama: " The reforms I am proposing would not affect those who are here illegally."
Wilson: "You lie!"
Republican Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina, who was responsible for that outburst, later apologized to the White House. But Democrats say Wilson broke House rules and should get a formal reprimand.
Wilson says he will not apologize again. He told the Fox News Sunday television program that he still thinks the president is wrong.
"People know my civility," said Wilson. "They know this is a one-time event and it was out of frustration. I believe in the truth. What I heard was not true."
On CBS's Face the Nation, Republican Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine called Wilson's conduct during the speech unfortunate and disgraceful.
"Frankly, if there was more civility, we perhaps could get more done for the American people and that would set an example for everybody else," said Senator Snowe.
But such civility is in short supply these days on Capitol Hill. Snowe is the only member of her party who has indicated she could sign on to health care reform legislation drafted by the Democrats.
Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican is holding firm against it. He told Fox News Sunday he doubts a reform measure will pass this year.
"I really believe that the hard work has to be done," said Senator Hatch. "Hopefully, we can all work together and get it done. But I do not see it with what they [the Democrats] are trying to do."
Perhaps the biggest source of controversy is how big a role government should play in the health care system.
President Obama has talked about a government-run health insurance program to compete with private insurers. But White House advisor David Axelrod told CBS the president will entertain other ideas.
"This is not the whole of health insurance reform and we should not let the whole debate revolve around this one question," he said.
Opponents say any public health insurance option would just open the door to a complete government takeover of the health care system.
Dozens of Taliban Killed in Clash With US, Afghan Forces
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| An Afghan National Army soldier displays his Rocket Propelled Grenade launcher, 12 Sep 2009 |
A World Food Program convoy under Afghan military escort came under attack by insurgents Saturday in the Bala Baluk district in Farah province.
The convoy, which included 14 contracted trucks carrying 500 metric tons of food rations, was targeted by roadside bombs and mortar fire.
U.S. Navy Lt. Commander Christine Sidenstricker tells VOA News that a U.S. quick response force was called in, engaged in combat and then radioed for additional help.
"As the engagement went on and the enemy continued with strong fire, air support was called for," said Commander Sidenstricker. "Helicopters and airplanes came and started first with a show of force. Sometimes simply flying overhead is enough to make the enemy disperse and allow the engagement to end. When that did not happen bombs were dropped and that ended the engagement."
The U.N. World Food Program says none of its trucks were damaged nor any of its personnel injured and the rations were delivered.
Afghan Army and provincial officials say up to 50 Taliban died in the battle, which lasted for several hours.
A woman and a teenage girl are also reported to have died. Commander Sidenstricker says that is under investigation.
"We also have reports of civilian casualties, but the info we have from the Afghan National Army on the ground is that it is believed that that was caused by insurgent mortar fire," she said.
The Bala Baluk district, dominated by the Taliban, has been the scene of previous intense battles, some of which have caused significant civilian deaths.
This latest incident comes at a time when Afghanistan is witnessing its worst violence of the eight-year-long war following the ouster of the Taliban from power in 2001.
U.S. forces make up the majority of the 100,000 foreign military personnel in Afghanistan. The Obama administration is considering an increase in troop levels to counter increased military casualties from improvised explosive devices.
A resurgent Taliban have been able to extend their influence to larger chunks of the country, which is now facing potential political turmoil following a presidential election tainted by allegations of fraud.
Afghan Commission Says 30 Civilians Killed in NATO Strike
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| German ISAF soldiers look out of their jeep during a patrol in a convoy in the area of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, 13 Sep 2009 |
One investigator in the commission, Mohammadullah Baktash, says 69 Taliban also were killed when a German commander ordered the strike on Taliban militants who had seized two fuel trucks.
Initial NATO investigations had already indicated that civilians were among the victims. The commander of the NATO mission, U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, has appointed a board to conduct a thorough investigation into the events that led to the strike.
In related news, Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier says his goal during the next four years is to lay the foundations to withdraw foreign forces from Afghanistan.
German media Sunday quoted Steinmeier as saying he is developing an exit strategy. He did not provide details or dates for withdrawal.
Germans go to the polls to select a new government September 27.
