allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Aguilera, Seal Set for THISDAY Africa Rising Concert in London (Page 1 of 1)

The stage is set for the fourth and final leg of the 2008 THISDAY Music and Fashion Festival tagged African Rising concert with the confirmation of American pop/R&B singer, Christina Aguilera and Nigerian born British soul singer, Seal (Henry Olumide Samuel) for the show.

The concert will hold at London's Royal Albert Hall on October 14 at 7pm. This is the final stop on the four-city, three-nation year-long tour which kicked off in Abuja on July 11, .The second and third legs held in Lagos, July 13 and in Washington DC on August 1st.

Tickets for the London show are currently on sale at the Royal Albert Hall box office and can be purchased through a call to box office telephone number (020) 7589 8212.

Nigerian music stars, Dbanj, Asa and 2face Idibia have also been confirmed for the star-studded concert in London.

The event will also include runway shows from top international designers including Ozwald Boateng and Chris Aire. Expected supermodels include Naomi Campbell, Alek Wek, Tyson Beckford, Oluchi and Liya Kebede.

A 300-page (all-gloss) THISDAY International fashion and style magazine will also be launched during the London concert.

The London leg of the Africa Rising festival looks set to be just as good, and hopefully raise just as much awareness for such a worthy cause, as the drive to develop Africa.

Aguilera was born December 18, 1980. She came to prominence following her debut album titled Christina Aguilera (1999), which was a commercial success. A Latin pop album, Mi Reflejo, and several collaborations followed which garnered Aguilera worldwide success.

She is currently in the studio working on her forthcoming album. Aside from being known for her vocal ability and ever-changing image, musically, she includes themes of dealing with public scrutiny, her childhood, and female empowerment.

Aguilera's work has earned her numerous awards including five Grammy awards amongst eighteen nominations. She has become one of the most successful recording artists of the decade, raking up sales of more than 37 million albums worldwide.

Seal was born Henry Olusegun Olumide Adelo Samuel on February 19, 1963 in Paddington, London. He's known professionally by his first name, Seal (pronounced see-ell). Seal is also famous for his numerous international hits and his marriage to supermodel, Heidi Klum.

He released his debut album, self-titled 'Seal', in 1991. His second album, also self-titled 'Seal', was released in 1994. A success, the album featured the singles "Prayer for the Dying" and "Newborn Friend." It later received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. "Prayer for the Dying" became a minor pop hit in the U.S.

A third single, "Kiss from a Rose", performed modestly when released but was later featured in the film Batman Forever. "Kiss from a Rose" won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1996, becoming Seal's best performing single on the US market (it topped the Billboard Hot 100 in late August 1995). Later, he recorded a cover of Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like an Eagle" for the Space Jam soundtrack.

The three previous concerts in this year's edition of the African Rising Music and Fashion festival were tremendous success. During the third leg held at the prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., an impressive line up of renowned musicians including Senega-lese recording artist, Youssou N'Dour, American pop stars, Jay-Z and John Legend gave a sensational performance leaving the audience wild with excitement.

THISDAY's aim is to raise awareness of the problems facing Africa. But instead of merely calling attention to the problem, the festival is to serve as a platform for finding sustainable solutions to alleviate and eventually cure the continent's plight. THISDAY believes Africa Rising concert is one way of achieving this, by showcasing the renaissance in Africa's arts, music, fashion and culture.

'Africa Rising' was first launched in 2006 under the direction of THISDAY's editor-in-chief, Nduka Obaigbena. Its mission is not only to reflect the culture and positive attributes of Africa's social, political and economic progress, but also to reach out to the continent's diverse population as well as the Diaspora and International communities.

Obaigbena said: "Right now the international community seems to be dealing with the symptoms not the problems of Africa. The symptoms are poverty and disease, but the problem is lack of social and physical infrastructure"

The success of the festival is underpinned by the performance of big names in the music industry. Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, Busta Ryme, En Vogue, Ciara, Missy Eliot, Rihanna and Usher are some of the artistes that have featured in past events.

Other world music icons who have featured in past editions of the THISDAY Music and Fashion festival are Beyoncé, Asa, Alicia Keys, P Diddy, Shakira, Snoop Dogg, John Legend, Missy Elliot, Ne-yo, Busta Rhymes, Ciara and Kelly Rowland. This year, the festival gets even bigger as it encompasses music, fashion and culture.

web allafrica.com	Enter your search terms	Submit search form
OR subscribers use AllAfrica's premium search engine

Relevant Links

Relevant Links

Arts

at a Glance

Today's Most Active Stories