news articles 6th April

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MM Focus: Gates makes it worth the wait
Adly Syairi Ramly

KUALA LUMPUR: "Go to the car and get ready to follow his limo wherever it's heading!" This sounds like a scene from a car chase movie but it was how some of the fans of Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates reacted when he appeared from the VIP Lounge at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) yesterday evening.

Gates will be in Kuala Lumpur for the next four days to promote his second album, Go Your Own Way, before wrapping up his visit with a concert at the Bukit Kiara Indoor Arena on Thursday.

Clad in a grey hooded sweatshirt and denim pants, Gates took some time to sign autographs and take pictures with some of his fans as he walked to the waiting car.

Before leaving the airport, Gates wound down his limousine window to wave to his fans.

Gates' debut concert in Malaysia has been one of the most talked-about events since Mariah Carey's performance at Stadium Merdeka in February.

Not only will he perform all his hits and new songs, the concert would also see a performance by another pop idol, Klang-born Australian Guy Sebastian, who will be the opening act that night.

There is talk in music circles that the concert would also see a repeat of Gates' MTV Asia Award collaboration with pop princess, Siti Nurhaliza.

Concert organiser, Live Audience (M) Sdn Bhd, however, refused to comment.

Tickets for the concert are at RM98 and RM68 (free standing) and can be purchased via www.Ticket-Charge.com.my or by calling 03-7726-2002.

www.emedia.com.my/Current_News/MM/Tuesday/National/20040406110742

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Eliminated idol warned not to become Jackson impersonator
06 April 2004

One off-key note too many saw Robin Johnson voted off pop-star show NZ Idol last night.


Criticised by the judges for singing off key and told not to become a celebrity impersonator after singing I'll Be There by the Jackson Five, the 18-year-old became the fourth finalist to be booted off.

It was yet another turnaround for the performer who was told two weeks ago he was too confident, then told last week that he had redeemed himself, with another Jackson Five hit, Blame It on the Boogie.

Ben Lummis, 24, and Eddie Gaiger, 25 were the two others voted in as the bottom three singers. Lummis and Gaiger were also in last week's bottom three.

Idol fans on idolblog.com wanted to get rid of Eddie Gaiger, who sang Against All Odds by Phil Collins.

Hamiltonian Camillia Temple wowed the judges with her version of Prince's hit Purple Rain, prompting Fiona McDonald to say she looked forward to seeing Temple in the grand final.

Fans on idolblog.com voted 17-year-old Michael Murphy as their favourite singer, just ahead of Temple.

Joining Lummis, Gaiger, Temple and Murphy in the top six are Luke Whaanga and Dave Houma.

They will all sing in a "British Invasion" special next Sunday, where Australian Idol judge Ian "Dicko" Dickson is the guest judge.

Music stores started selling the top-10 finalists single, Yesterday Was Just The Beginning Of My Life yesterday and an album of New Zealand songs is due out on April 19th.


www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2867090a1860,00.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Murmurs...
April 6, 2004

SPOTTED: Guy Sebastian and a group of mates in a booth at Chicane's Darlinghurst on Friday night . . . Lachlan Murdoch enjoying a quiet beer with a few friends at BB's Wine Bar in Bondi on Sunday... night . . .


AUDITION time for the next Australian Idol series is nearing and judges are warning potentials to not waste their time if they're not up to the high standards set by last year's series. Tamworth has been added to the list of locations where auditions will be held following the success of one particular country bumpkin with a name rhyming with poll. They kick off in Tamworth on April 14 at the Regional Entertainment Centre, then Canberra on April 22 at Canberra Stadium. Sydney entrants can try their luck on May 29 and 30 at the Sydney Convention Centre, Darling Harbour. All auditions start from 8.30am.



STILL with Idol, that country bumpkin whose name rhymes with poll is preparing for his first solo national tour, following the success of his north Queensland shows. The Overdrive tour will kick off on April 30 at Port Panthers, Port Macquarie. His Sydney shows are on June 15 at Castle Hill RSL and Burwood RSL the following day. For more dates go to his website – www.shannonnoll.com.au


Additional reporting by Dora Tsavdaridis


dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1266&storyid=1155832

[Inside Australian Idol]

Promoter slams high cost of hiring TREC
By Matt Adams
Tuesday, 6 April 2004

SHANNON Noll's Queens-land promoter Rick Szabo has slammed the Tamworth Regional Council for charging too much for the hire of the Tamworth Regional Entertain-ment Centre (TREC).

When contacting the Tamworth Regional Council about a quote for hiring the venue, Szabo was stunned at what they were asking.

Expecting to pay about $15,000 including GST for the venue, Szabo, who books a lot of his acts into Queensland's NARPACA chain of theatres, was shocked when a figure of $33,437.80 came back.

"They wanted $33,437.80, that's including GST," Szabo said.

"That's just ridiculous.

"If I'd paid what they wanted for TREC, I would have had to charge nearly $50 a ticket, which is too much for the average punter."

The $33,437.80 quote to hire TREC included venue hire of $22,000, security, a site manager, ushers, power, electricians, additional riggers, St John Ambulance coverage, a scissor lift and cleaning.

The council's director of

environmental and planning services, Paul Anderson, said he didn't understand why Szabo was so dismissive of the cost to hire TREC for Shannon's concert.

"TREC would have been the ideal venue for Shannon's concert, but the promoter wasn't prepared to pay the amount we quoted to hire it," Mr Anderson said


tamworth.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&category=general%20news&story_id=298082&y=2004&m=4

[Inside Australian Idol]

Shannon now the idol of Tamworth
By Matt Adams
Tuesday, 6 April 2004

AVID fans of country farmer-turned-singer Shannon Noll bombarded the West Tamworth League Club ticket line on Monday, all but jamming the phone lines.

Queuing for hours, fans snapped up the majority of tickets by midday, with some arriving at the club as early as 7am.

Tickets to Shannon's May concert sold out in less than 48 hours, making it one of the most popular gigs yet to be held at Wests.

West Tamworth League Club chief executive officer Rod Laing said he knew the tickets would be in high demand, but didn't expect them to sell out in such a short time.

"In just one day we had less than 100 tickets left for Shannon's Tamworth concert," Mr Laing said.

"That's pretty big. It's a major coup for us."

Mr Laing said he anticipated Shannon's gig to be one of the biggest to be held at the club this year.

"There were fans waiting outside for the doors to open and once they did there was a queue for tickets out the door for at least three hours," he said.

The Australian Idol runner-up will arrive in Tamworth on Saturday, May 1, following the success of a sellout

15-date tour of North Queensland.

His debut single What About Me and album That's What I'm Talking About have each sold four times platinum (more than 280,000 copies), the latter reaching this figure in one month alone.

Shannon's manager David Caplice said due to the overwhelming demand for the singer to do a solo, he would perform to a selected number of venues throughout Australia to thank his fans.

"What we have now is a well-oiled show that really demonstrates Shannon's progression from a television idol to a genuine Australian artist."

Miss out on a ticket? Kicking yourself?

Then, make sure you read The Leader next week for your chance to score two tickets to his Tamworth gig.

tamworth.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&category=general%20news&story_id=298081&y=2004&m=4