Music News

Andrea Bocelli
The O2 Arena, London

Bocelli is a surprisingly understated performer for one so renowned.
There remains a subtlety and delicacy that at times gives the O2 arena an intimacy that belies its 20,000 seat capacity.
A wide range of ages gathered to welcome back the Italian supremo, who looked to have lost a few pounds since Music-News.com last met him at the 'Love In Portofino DVD premiere, but none of his charisma.

The choir opened proceedings with Verdi’s ‘Vedi le fosche notturne’ before the man himself was led onto the stage by the conductor for Puccini’s ‘Donna non vidi mai’.

A variety of guests took to the stage throughout the two set performance with dancing violinist Lindsey Sterling amazing the crowd with her ballerina moves whilst delivering an accomplished rendition of ‘Take Flight’ from her recently released second album 'Shatter Me'. (Check out our exclusive pre-gig interview with Lindsey here). The children's choir who supported him with gusto (not always at the right time) were clearly having a great night as was Britain's Got Talent graduate and Classical Chart Number 1 Lucy Kay. 

The set contained all the popular classics you might expect from a wide variety of musical genres with stand out tracks including ‘Brindisi’ from La Traviata, Rossini’s ‘La danza’ and ‘Funiculi funicula’. Whilst at the other end of the spectrum were ‘Love Me Tender’ and ‘Can’t help falling in love’ made famous by Elvis Presley. His ability to modulate his tone to suit these lighter pop classics is an unusual trait amongst big voiced operatic stars.

A man of few words, Bocelli let the music do the talking in a night of nostalgia and romance delivered by one of the finest tenors of the generation. 

Closing with the enchanting ‘I found my love in Portofino’, his signature ‘Con te partirò’ and ‘Nessun dorma’ the crowd showed their appreciation and bid Bocelli a warm farewell with a standing ovation. 

Andrea Bocelli UK 2014

Set 1
(In apertura Carisma)
G.VERDI Il Trovatore Vedi le fosche notturne C
G.PUCCINI Manon Lescaut Donna non vidi mai A
G.VERDI Il Trovatore Di quella pira AC
C.GOUNOD Romeo et Juliette Ah, je veux vivre S
J.RODRIGO from “Sentimento” Aranjuez con tu amor AVl
F.P.TOSTI from “Sentimento” La serenata AVl
G.BIZET Carmen Les toreadores Car
C.FRANCK Panis Angelicus (con coro bambini ) A cc
F.SCHUBERT Mille Cherubini in coro (“””””””””””””””””) Acc
G.VERDI La traviata Brindisi ASC

Set 2
N.ROTA Amarcord O
R.LEONCAVALLO from “Sentimento” Mattinata AVl
G.ROSSINI La danza A
L.STIRLING from “Shatter me” Take flight Vl
S.GASTALDON from “Sentimento” Musica proibita AVl
L.DENZA from “Incanto” Funiculi funicula AC
ROSSINI-BRITTEN from Soirée musicales Tarantella O
from “Passione” Love me tender A
E.PRESLEY from Can’t help falling in love Apg
F.SARTORI from “Vivere” - Canto della terra ApgC 

Encores: 
I found my love in Portofino AVl), Quizas,quizas,quizas ApgVl, 
Vivo per lei Apg, (ev natalizia) -
Con te partirò ASCcc - 
Nessun dorma (with finale O sole vita eternita) AC

A=Andrea
S=Soprano
Vl=Lindsay Stirling
Car=Carisma
O=Orchestra
cc=children’s choir
C=Coro

Source:  http://www.music-news.com
 

Tags: Andrea · Bocelli · music · Elvis · presley · Classical · pop

Mary J. Blige on getting sober & helping Amy Winehouse

In this week's Billboard cover story (image below, on newsstands Monday 11.24), Mary J Blige talks getting sober, her new musical direction and why she could have helped Amy Winehouse.

Blige ​, who​ spent most of her adult life struggling with alcohol and cocaine ​, has strung together two solid sober years since last drinking. But she knows herself well enough not to rest easy. 

"I've done those things for so long," she says. "I would stop drinking and then I'd start again. This is the second time that I've stopped drinking. It's peaks and valleys, peaks and valleys."

Blige also says she felt "connected to [Amy Winehouse] in terms of the darkness", and still believes she might have helped her. 

"I would tell so many people, 'I need to talk to her, I need to get to her,' " she says. "Especially when my life turned around and I chose life. I wanted to somehow get to her, to tell her, 'It's OK to choose life.' "

Source:  http://www.music-news.com
 

Tags: Mary · Blige · Billboard · Amy · Winehouse · music · new

Annie Mac announces new Malta festival

Tags: Annie · Mac · Lost · Found · Festival · BBC · Malta

Taylor: I know nothing about love!

Taylor Swift 'knows nothing' about relationships.

The 24-year-old singer has a colourful romance history, having enjoyed dalliances with stars including Jake Gyllenhaal and Harry Styles. However, Taylor insists she is the wrong person to ask about the other half, because none of her partnerships have ever lasted. 

'I used to believe that you find the one and that's it: Nothing's difficult after that,' Taylor admitted in a new interview with Lucky magazine.

"But then again, I know nothing now. I know legitimately nothing about lasting relationship experiences because I don't have them."

Taylor also revealed that while a long-lasting relationship is something she hopes for in the future, she has another love in her life right now.

The Shake It Off singer joked that her day-to-day existence is mainly fuelled by coffee.

"Coffee's a big part of my life,' Taylor said. 'Skinny caramel lattes are a daily thing that I get excited about and I never stop being excited about."

"So if I could just find one person who I felt that way about - the way I feel about coffee - then I think I'd be in a content relationship."

Taylor's comments come after it was reported this week she had rekindled her relationship with One Direction singer Harry.

The pair famously ended their romance on bad terms, but are recently said to have patched things up, and were even allegedly seen at a concert together on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

But asked about the potential reunion during an interview with Ellen DeGeneres on Friday, Harry admitted many of the rumours doing the rounds are in fact untrue.

Asked specifically about a claim he had sent Taylor 1,989 red roses to celebrate the huge success of her album 1989, Harry replied: 'I know nothing about the rumour. I don't know anything about the roses.

"I think it might have been someone else and I may have falsely taken [the credit]."

Source:  http://www.music-news.com
 

Tags: Taylor · Swift · Jake · Gyllenhall · Harry · Styles · lucky

Lana: There's been no reinvention

Lana Del Rey has never tried to reinvent herself.

The 29-year-old singer has taken on a new kind of sound with her most recent release Ultraviolence.

However, Lana insists she never consciously decided to take her career in another direction.

'For me, there really wasn't reinvention,' Lana said in the interview with Maxim magazine. 'That is more the other people's reinterpretation. I feel so much continuity between all my music and all the videos.'

Lana looks stunning on the cover of the magazine, with her brunette hair cascading in tumbling curls.

And in the accompanying interview, Lana also admitted she has noticed a definite change in the way people see her since she dyed her hair from light to dark.

'When I went darker with my hair, I don't know why, but people took my music more seriously,' Lana said. 'There's a lot to be said for pretending, you know?'

Lana hit the headlines this week when a disturbing short film was released which showed her being raped by movie director Eli Roth.

The footage was believed to have been something to do with Marilyn Manson, as scenes from his videos for tracks No Reflection and Slo-Mo-Tion are interspersed with the graphic sexual assault sequences.

However, Marilyn has denied having any involvement in the film, with his representative Kathryn Frazier telling Billboard: "Manson did not direct this, shoot it, nor was it for a Marilyn Manson video or outtake footage made by him or to be used by him with his music.'

Source:  http://www.music-news.com
 

Tags: Lana · del · Rey · Marilyn · Manson · Eli · Roth · Billboard