Independent
Online,
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,
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
Mandoza, who rocketed into the sonic stratosphere
with the multi-award winning Nkalakatha, is unquestionably
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
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.