FAR EAST Movement
Following his racy, and much-talked about, performance of his worldwide R&B hit “Blurred Lines,” with pop star Miley Cyrus at the last MTV Video Music Awards, recording artist Robin Thicke headlines “MTV World Stage: Live in Malaysia” on Sept. 8 at Sunway Lagoon amusement park in Petaling Jaya.
Joining Thicke in the fifth edition of the event are American hip-hop band Far East Movement, the 12-member Korean-Chinese boy group EXO, and Malaysian rapper Joe Flizzow.
The Inquirer Entertainment will cover the outdoor gig, which is expected to gather a crowd of around 15,000. The show will be recorded live for international telecast to over 550 million households across 154 countries through MTV Networks. According to MTV Asia, “World Stage” is a “global series that brings [together] multi-genre talents with global relevance.”
ROBIN Thicke photo by Terry Richardson
Thicke, who scored his first No. 1 song early this year with “Blurred Lines,” from his sixth studio album of the same title, will face Southeast Asian journalists in a press conference prior to the show.
“Blurred Lines” caused a big stir for its polarizing uncensored music video, which features Thicke, collaborator T.I., and producer Pharell Williams, with three barely clad females.
It should be interesting to see if the Canadian-American singer would tone down his live performance of “Blurred Lines” in Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country that imposes
guidelines for visiting foreign acts that prevent them from dressing and/or behaving inappropriately onstage.
JOE FLIZZOW
Artists who had to toe the line in the past include Linkin Park (2003), Gwen Stefani (2007) and Adam Lambert (2010).
MTV Asia reported that last year’s “World Stage” concert broke attendance records as some 18,000 fans trooped to the event to watch pop phenomenon Justin Bieber, Korean hip-hop artist Jay Park, girl group Kara, and Malaysian singer-songwriter Mizz Nina.
Other notables who have graced the annual show are: Kasabian, The All-American Rejects and Hoobastank (2009); Katy Perry, Tokio Hotel and Wonder Girls (2010); 30 Seconds to Mars, BEAST and Neon Trees (2011). Allan Policarpio