Independent Online, 05 November 2002, Usher joins phenomenal line-up

Multi-talented film and R&B star Usher has been added to the line-up at Green Point Stadium on November 23 to create a star-studded bill in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Local acts Danny K, Mandoza, 101, Bianca le Grange and Ready D will also join previously announced performers Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and Alicia Keys for the event, which will premiere at on SABC1 on December 1st – World AIDS Day – as well as on MTV globally as a 90-minute commercial free special.

The televised concert line-up will also feature performances by Dave Matthews, Missy Elliott and Michelle Branch from a similar event to be held in Seattle on November 7, as part of an unprecedented partnership between MTV, Levi’s® Jeans, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Paul G. Allen Charitable Foundation and Population Services International’s YouthAIDS.

It is estimated the concert special and other MTV-produced HIV/AIDS awareness programming will be seen by a potential global audience of more than two billion people, including all MTV channels in the Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America and Russia seen in more than 377 million households in 166 countries.

Usher has been named as one of the most prominent and successful young artists of his generation. By just 22, the multi-talented singer, songwriter, producer, dancer and actor already had four hit albums, two Grammy Award nominations, three Billboard Music Awards, a Soul Train Award, two ASCAP Awards and one Blockbuster Music Award under his belt!

The foundation of his international superstardom, was concreted by his multi-platinum, seven-million-selling third album, My Way, which included the No. 1 chart-topping, MTV Award-winning singles You Make Me Wanna and Nice & Slow. With the same drive and unstoppable energy, 8701 the hip-hop-flavoured pop, edgy R&B album is his fourth and undoubtedly most expressive album for which Usher co-wrote six of the album's nine tracks.

Danny K’s first single, Hurts So Bad, crashed in at number one on the charts, and his eponymous debut album - a potent collision of R&B melodies, hip-hop twists and unforgettable pop choruses - soon topped the charts.

The South African superstar has performed in front of thousands of adoring fans and has shared the stage with Shaggy and Eric Benet. Danny has also been writing and producing for R&B stars Shola Ama and Miss Teeq, and a long list of up and coming artists in the UK who have become attracted to the Danny K “flava”.

Mandoza, who rocketed into the sonic stratosphere with the multi-award winning Nkalakatha, is unquestionably South Africa’s kwaito kingpin. The hit earned him a 2001 South African Music Award for Best Kwaito Music Album and Song Of The Year. He also won Best Kwaito Artist, Best Male Vocal, Best Album, Best Styled Artist and Song Of The Year at the Metro Music Awards. These, and his single, Nkalakatha securing a high chart position on 5FM, South Africa’s national pop and rock radio station, was proof that he has the ability to scale previously entrenched musical boundaries.

101 was launched into the South African pop market with the release of their self-titled debut album, and are 2002’s biggest South African musical revelation. 101 came out of the Coca Cola Popstars show, and unearthed a dazzling spectrum of singing and dancing talent.

They contain the perfect attributes of exceptional voices, energetic dance styles, musical talent, dynamic personalities and that hard-to-define but essential star quality. The group’s sizzling debut single, Who’s It Gonna Be? is at the cutting edge of popular music: great lashings of pop mixed in with R&B, hip-hop and a seriously urban edge.

Zola, the multi-talented musician, TV presenter and actor already has four South African Music Awards, and three Metro FM awards under his belt and his debut album attained triple platinum status in less than a year. Zola'ss namesake is a ghetto in Soweto, and even though he now stands on the brink of superstardom, his music remains essentially a tribute to where he comes from - and to where he is going.

Ready-D is without a doubt SA’s number one DJ. He won the SA DMC championships four times and also won the DJ of the decade award. He competed twice in the World DJ Championships and finished in the top 10 positions. He is rated among the top 30 hip-hop Djs in the world.

Perhaps better known as the DJ for POC (Prophets of the City), now called Brasse Vannie Kaap, he toured Europe extensively for a period of six years and performed alongside groups like Public Enemy, Fugees, Ice T, Spearhead, etc.

Bianca le Grange was one of the top five finalists in South Africa’s Idols (she came fourth), and definitely the most popular! She is now a full-time musician currently recording her first single, for her debut album to be released soon.

The concerts are being made possible by funding from the Levi’s® brand, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Paul G. Allen Charitable Foundation, and Population Services, International’s YouthAIDS with UNAIDS acting as the partnership’s advisor.

The unique partnership aims to fight the stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS, prevent further infections and empower youth to make informed decisions.

For more information on the concert events, please visit www.staying-alive.org

Tickets to the event, which are selling fast, are available from Computicket on www.computicket.com or 083 915 8000.