Her Throat will go on . . to Kuala Lumpur
The Celine Dion Beijing concert scheduled for April 13 has been cancelled.
According to a Reuters report, there remains confusion over why exactly the French Canadian singer's gig has hit an iceberg. On Tuesday the Beijing Evening News said the real reason for the cancellation was a lack of proper government approval, and that the concert's organizer "had sold more than 10,000 tickets, having not carried out the approval process."
The Beijing Evening News also reported a spokesman for the singer denying earlier reports that the cancellation was due to her doctor's apprehensions regarding our flavorful capital city air, but according to Reuters the statement claimed that “Celine Dion will solve (the issue) through legal channels.”
However, the Ministry of Culture's statements seem to contradict the statements made by Dion's spokesman. According to Reuters, an official at the Ministry told them “The concert was approved. You should check with the organizers," so now all parties are looking to Emma/Ticketmaster for an explanation, who on their website merely claim the show “needs to be cancelled”and are offering refunds for purchased tickets.
According to Reuters, officials at Emma/Ticketmaster were not available for comment, but added that staff contacted at the company's sales hotline said Dion's concert had been "postponed for health reasons". Ticketholding fans of the singer await further clarification from the promoter on what exactly caused the cancellation
This is just the most recent controversy for Emma/Ticketmaster, after the hullabaloo surrounding Bjork's Shanghai concert last month left many of China's music promoters wondering if more rigid rules and regulations regarding foreign artists performing in China were to be implemented.
Considering the painful ubiquity of Dion's impassioned warbling throughout China, the Canadian chanteuse's Worker's Stadium show should have been a commercial slam dunk. With the fallout from from Bjork's Shanghai gig allegedly contributing to a disjointed Harry Connick Jr. gig last month, and now Dion's cancellation, these remain turbulent times for foreign artists performing in China.
The thighs have it. . On a lighter note, Dion's recent performance in Tokyo revealed the singer can still dazzle the crowds with her intense performances . . and hirsute thighs, according to the Daily Mail. Intense back lighting revealed the star's grooming oversight, but according to the Celeb Online Blog, by the next gig in Seoul she had gone smooth once again. Is this an understandable oversight or should a performer like Dion know better? Either way, the most minute details are always exposed by the ever probing, intense eyes of the web.
http://www.reuters.com/article/peopleNews/idUSPEK8703520080402 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=529448&in_page_id=1773
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Guilty as charged.
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What do you think? Was it pollution or poor planning?
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i think it was the hirsute thighs
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I, too learned the hard way to be sure to shave before wearing a short skirt on stage.
I'm interested in hearing what comments Emma has on the cancellation.
Would our Beijing air really have a dramatic effect on a singer performing outdoors for only a few hours?
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Performance Crack Down
Recent controversies over the content of live music performances leads to crippling restrictionsAfter an Icelandic songstress uttered a few choice words during the performance of an "unauthorized" encore song entitled "Declare Independence," there's been a lot of speculation as to what the reaction would be. Initially it seemed to be just a slap on the wrist as the Chinese Culture Ministry uttered that the incident "broke Chinese law and hurt Chinese people's feelings." But, despite promising that this would not result in a ban on foreign performers in China, the additional restrictions on performances tentatively set down by the Shanghai Cultural Bureau are tantamount to a straight jacket.
Artists coming to perform in China already face stringent guidelines. Content that harms "national unity" is banned and promoters must submit set lists and lyric sheets prior to any concert. But the backlash to this most recent controversy casts an uneasy shadow across the international music scene. As reported by China Music Radar, performances will be closely monitored to ensure adherence to the provided set lists and artists will not be allowed unapproved encores. Not so bad? Here's the big one. In addition, organizers must front 50 percent of the total potential box office as a deposit paid in full to the Cultural Bureau. If a performer breaks the law, the deposit is retained by the government in addition to any other fines. Organizers must also sign guarantees that performers will not make political comments on stage.
Imagine a promoter trying to fill the seats at Shanghai Stadium. With a potential 43,000 seats, that's an extraordinary request, even for the most successful promoters, to fulfill. With Nas recently receiving the go-ahead to perform in China, there is reason to be hopeful, yet it remains to be seen whether or not these new restrictions spell out a glum future for the Fuxing Music Festival and other large events planned in the fall.
[pull quote] Organizers must front 50 percent of the total potential box office
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