The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

‘African Grammys” hit by series of hitches

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 06:41 AM PST

ABIDJAN, Dec 31 — A music awards show dubbed the "African Grammys" was hit by an embarrassing series of hitches yesterday culminating in the absence of star Chris Brown and an apology by the organiser.

Artist Sessime received the award for "Best Newcomer Female of the Year" at the Kora awards ceremony on December 30, 2012 in Abidjan. — AFP pic

The show had been delayed from Saturday to enable rapper Brown to attend, with organiser Ernest Adjovi initially blaming the delay on Brown missing his flight but later saying heavy rains and other logistical hiccups were behind the postponement.

Brown finally arrived with singer Rihanna in the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan on Sunday, when he was due to perform at the glitzy Kora Awards that recognise musical achievements from around the continent.

But while the Koras were going on at a luxury hotel, the US singer was a few minutes away in the national stadium performing at a much-delayed concert for "Peace in Africa."

Benin businessman Adjovi later apologised for the numerous "dysfunctions" that had occurred during the three-hour ceremony.

R&B star Brown landed overnight in Abidjan, the Ivorian economic capital. Rihanna, who hails from Barbados, was by his side, wearing dark glasses.

The pair have a tumultuous history, and celebrity watchers obsessed about whether they are an item again after Brown admitted assaulting Rihanna in a case dating back several years.

Brown was sentenced to five years probation, a yearlong domestic violence programme and 180 days of community labour after pleading guilty to assaulting Rihanna on the eve of the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in 2009.

Ivorian quartet Magic System won the Kora award for best African group of the year while best artiste from the continent was DJ Arafat, another Ivorian.

Chidinma from Nigeria enchanted the ceremony and won the award for best musician from west Africa, while Algerian rai singer Cheb Khaled was best north African artiste, and French rap group Sexion d'Assaut took the award for the "African diaspora" in Europe.

Chris Brown, whom fans call "Breezy", won the US equivalent.

"Mama" Patience Dabany, former first lady of Gabon and mother of current head of state Ali Bongo, was proclaimed "woman of the year."

Past Kora ceremonies have been attended by South African anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela and the late "King of Pop" Michael Jackson.

For Ivory Coast, which is still recovering from four months of post-election violence that ended in April 2011 after claiming some 3,000 lives, the event signals a return to normalcy.

But the awards have drawn fire over the price of admission, with tickets costing one million CFA francs (RM6,116) for a seat in the luxury hotel for the ceremony.

Such a sum is far from the reach of people in this poor west African country, the world's top cocoa producer. — AFP/Relaxnews

Most blogged artists: Lana Del Rey, Cloud Nothings

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 06:29 AM PST

American songstress Lana Del Ray caused quite a buzz this year with her "Born to Die" album. — AFP pic

LOS ANGELES, Dec 31 — On December 31 Lana Del Rey stays in the Hype Machine's most blogged artists chart thanks to a Sound Remedy re-work of her hit single "Video Games," while Cloud Nothings re-enter the charts thanks to several end-of-year round-ups.

Love her or hate her, American songstress Lana Del Rey caused quite a buzz this year with the release of her major label debut album "Born to Die". One of the hit singles from the album, "Video Games," was very recently treated to a re-work by LA-based electronic music producer Anthony Howell aka Sound Remedy.

The re-work hit the web last week and was described by Pop On And On as a "hip electric makeover" while Hilly Dilly called the track Sound Remedy's "best remix yet."

Listen to Sound Remedy's take on "Video Games" here.

Elsewhere on the Hype Machine's most blogged chart, Cloud Nothings are causing a stir after their track "Stay Useless" was picked by many music blogs as one of the best tracks of 2012, as bloggers look back on the year that was. Surviving The Golden Age, which ranked the track as 19th out of the top 50 tracks of 2012, described "Stay Useless" as a "noisy anthem for the aging punk."

The album on which "Stay Useless" appeared — "Attack on Memory", Cloud Nothings' second studio album released January 2012 — was also picked as one of the top LPs of 2012 by numerous music blogs including NOMP, Jonk Music and Side One Track One.

Check out "Stay Useless" here. — AFP/Relaxnews

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Isnin, 31 Disember 2012

The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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