Thisday Music Festival II

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Thisday Music Festival II Excites

This Day
Nseobong Okon-Ekong
& Ayeni Adekunle
16 June 2007

Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians who saw the show live at the Lagos Polo Grounds venue; and many more millions who watched on national and international television networks have been looking forward to news of the second edition of the THISDAY Music Festival. And last week, the organisers made good its promise to keep the fire of the fiesta alive every year by annoucing the second edition scheduled for between July 14 and 15.

The foray of THISDAY into entertainment was not a surprise to many who are familiar with the newspaper publisher, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena's interest in lifestyle, fashion, leisure and entertainment. They were, however, surprised beyond their dream when he pulled off the biggest show ever in Nigeria with eight chart-topping artistes on the bill.

So far, three musicians have been announced as headline artistes for the show. They include Shakira, John Legend and the urbane reggae group, UB40. Their announcement identifies a discernible style in choice of artistes for the THISDAY fiesta. The emerging pattern throws up a global female sex symbol as lead act, followed by a hugely popular male act; and a group with a string of hists across the decades. Last year, this roles were filled by Beyonce, her husband Jay-Z and En Vogue respectively.

Last year, eight world chart -topping artistes were on the THISDAY fiesta bill and the event was tied to celebration of Nigeria's independence and democracy. Apart from promoting quality leisure and recreation, tourism and positive image of the country, the event is usually built around a particular theme or cause. Some of the foreign artises on the Nigerian trip last year were known to spend time and make donations to charities, especially those catering to children under difficult circumstances.

Coming a clear four months before the October date of last year's festival, many have wondered about the timing against the backdrop of prevailing rainy season. Last year, rains marred the second day of the show, as the venue became water-logged. The orgainsers responded fast by placing plastic carpets on the pitch to soak up the water.

This was a challenge that Prince Nduka Obaigbena took seriously beyond the predicament of that time. His solution is the ultra-modern, state-of-art, THISDAY Events Centre that can sit 15,000 persons. Guests don't have to worry about the rains this year. The fiesta would be held at this venue that holds promises for utmost comfort of every one who attends the show.

Tickets for the two-day festival have been on sale since Thursday June 14 at all branches of GT Bank nationwide. The classic ticket costs N10, 000 per day while VIP access costs N25, 000. Tickets for the exclusive state box are selling at N50, 000 per day.

The second edition of the annual This Day Music festival will not only hold again; it will feature, just like last year, another team of Grade A chartbusters who will converge on Lagos and thrill residents of Nigeria's most populous city like never before.

Now, with the official announcement of Multi-Grammy award-winning Latino singer cum sex symbol, Shakira; 28 year-old world-famous singer John Legend who's a music and fashion icon rolled into one; and cross-generation hitmakers UB-4O as headliners, the entertainment industry in Nigeria, headquartered in Lagos, has been overwhelmed with a buzz of activity, with scores of entertainers, artiste managers and agents falling over themselves to be a part of the deal. Some of the most celebrated artistes around have already signified their interest to be part of the show described by many as revolutionary.

'Writing in the English language was a major challenge for me. I didn't want other songwriters to write for me, I wanted to preserve the spirit of my songs in Spanish', confessed Shakira following the success of her first album in English 'Laundry Service'. The Colombian pop-rock star had already established her feet firmly in the soils of Latino pop - where she is regarded as one of the most successful acts of her generation- before coming out to conquer the world - a feat made easier by enthusiastic fans all over the globe who immediately bought into her talent, sexiness and impeccable dance routine. She is mostly known in Nigerian music circles for her 2006 hit 'Hips don't lie' which feaured the Preacher's son, Wyclef Jean (which is still in huge demand across the country) and the more recent collaboration with perceived rival Beyonce on 'Beautiful liar'.

Unlike Shakira who had to cleverly learn how to master the English language, 28 year-old John Legendwas bred with the language; and he is so well-read he has a post-graduate degree under his belt. When Legend was four, he started playing gospel and classical piano that his grandmother had taught him. And at the age of five or six, he sang with the church choir. Legend attended Springfield North High School, graduating as Salutatorian at 16. He was also prom king and president of the student council. He attended the University of Pennsylvania. There, he directed Counterparts, a coed cappella group. At Penn, Legend majored in English, with an emphasis on African American literature and culture.

The songwriter, neo-soul singer and multi-instrumentalist became an issue across the world with the success of his Kanye West-produced debut 'Get lifted' which broke every available chart and on him his first Grammy awards. Though he has worked with Jay Z, Lauryn Hill, snoop Dogg and Alicia Keys, Legend is better known in Nigeria for his hit 'Ordinary people'. He was born on December 28, 1978, and is generally regarded as one of the best dressed performers around, along with Andre 2000 and Diddy- a generation of performers taking the fashion baton from Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix.

And from another continent, 28year-old reggae-pop group UB40 joins their American counterparts for a first-time visit to Nigeria. The UK-based group which already has a scheduled July tour of South Africa boasts of an alarming fan base in Nigeria - thanks to their numerous melodic hits that have refused to fade even after a couple of decade. An average Nigerian music fan will sing along to the lyrics of 'Red red wine', 'please don't make me cry', 'Cherry oh baby' and' falling in love'. The group belongs to a tiny section of reggae exponents who have managed to corner a mainstream pop audience while maintaining their credibility with conservative reggae fans and pundits.

The THISDAY Music Festival, organised by Leaders and Company, debuted in October 2006 at The Polo club, Ikoyi, Lagos; hosting a galaxy of international stars including Rap greats Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot and Jay Z. multi-platinum selling singers En-Vogue, Ciara and Beyonce were all also part of the team. The two-day concerts immediately went into the history books, and drew incredible attention to the re-emerging music scene in Nigeria.

This year's event promises to be even greater, with machinery already in place to ensure all-round success.

Already, THISDAY's yet-to-be-unveiled 15,000 capacity Lagos venue has been confirmed for the event, just as novel security measures are being finalised.

More artistes from Nigeria, Europe and the US are expected to confirm their performance in the next few days. Over a dozen acts are expected to grab the mic and entertain a multitude of music fans for two days straight in an event that is already attracting wide international media attention.

Copyright © 2007 This Day

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TV Show Nigeria International and This Day Music Festiva lHighlights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rInRAbjY3qU&feature=related

Beyonce Singing Nigerian National Anthem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdd0YLvYYhk&feature=related