Cher to release album of Abba covers after 'Mamma Mia!'

NEW YORK, United States - Pop legend Cher on Tuesday announced an album of Abba covers as she stars in a film sequel to "Mamma Mia!," the musical inspired by the iconic Swedish group.

In a fresh burst of activity by the 72-year-old singer and actress, Cher said that her creative spirit was rekindled after singing one of the signature tunes on "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again," which is coming out this week.

"After I did 'Fernando,' I thought it would be really fun to do an album of Abba songs, so I did," Cher said on the NBC television daytime show "Today."

"It's not what you think of when you think of Abba, because I did it in a different way," Cher said without revealing a tracklist or release date.

The album would be Cher's first studio work since the dance music-driven 2013 album "Closer to the Truth." The former half of folk duo Sonny and Cher enjoyed a career revival in the 1990s and holds the record for the longest gap between number-one songs on the US chart at nearly 25 years.

Cher in recent years has mostly concentrated on a residency show in Las Vegas. She had not appeared in a film since providing her voice to a lion in the 2011 movie "Zookeeper."

The original "Mamma Mia!" stage musical and then film weaves together Abba songs to tell the story of Sophie, who plans her wedding on a Greek island alongside her free-spirited mother, Donna, and sets out to identify who her father is, with comic results.

For the sequel, Cher depicts the mother of Donna, played again by Meryl Streep, as she figures out how to act like a grandmother.

The film comes shortly after Abba itself unveiled new music, 35 years after the last single by the godparents of bubble-gum pop.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Cyndi Lauper calls on world not to forget Japan

TOKYO - US pop legend Cyndi Lauper on Monday called on the world not to forget Japan's northern region, a day after the first anniversary of the country's quake-tsunami disaster.

"I just want to say to the world, please don't forget about Japan, it's very traumatic," Lauper told the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo.

Lauper, best known for 80's hit songs including "Time after Time" and "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", was in Japan for a concert tour and to visit areas affected by last year's natural disasters, which triggered the world's worst nuclear accident in a generation.

The 58-year-old entertainer said a woman in disaster-ravaged northern Japan gave her a piece of candy, promising it was not contaminated by radiation.

"And I'm thinking 'Oh my God' and this is the thing, nobody goes up north at all," Lauper said.

"Those people can't be isolated and cut off... They could have radiation issues but I don't think you can catch radiation by shaking somebody's hands and giving them a hug.

"The only way to get back up again is to include them."

On Sunday, tens of thousands rallied near Japan's crippled Fukushima plant demanding an end to nuclear power, while thousands more around the world protested against atomic power.

Lauper had arrived in Tokyo for an earlier tour when the disasters struck on March 11 and decided to continue performing.

"I talked to my crew... I said I'd like to stay because I felt it would be a good distraction (for people) and if music is truly healing then let's see, put it to the test here," she said.

source: interaksyon.com

Whitney Houston, broke records, barriers and hearts

LOS ANGELES - Pop legend Whitney Houston, who was found dead Saturday, was the vocal star of a generation whose soaring voice broke records and inspired millions of fans before substance abuse sent her on a downward spiral.

"She was a legend. These people don't come around often," British television host and producer Simon Cowell, of American Idol and Britain's Got Talent fame, told CNN television. "No one could sell a song like Whitney."

She was a trailblazers who proved that a female artist could dominate the pop market, Cowell said.

With a ferociously powerful voice and a dazzling range, Houston achieved stardom as a pop-soul singer known as "the Voice" and the "Queen of Pop" in the 1980s and 1990s.

Her fantastic success -- and that of fellow pop icon Michael Jackson -- was propelled by a brand new device at the time: the pop music video.

Houston's trove of six Grammy awards included one for record of the year -- for a soaring cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," and another for album of the year for "The Bodyguard."

She later parlayed her stardom to acting success appearing in hit movies like "Waiting to Exhale" and "The Bodyguard," co-starring Kevin Costner.

From a musical family that included mother Cissy Houston, a gospel star, and Dionne Warwick, her cousin, Whitney Houston started out as a teen model and then made a dazzling segue to music.

Her hits included "How Will I Know," "Saving all My Love for You," and "I Will Always Love You," a Dolly Parton cover that Houston made her own megahit.

As a performer, Houston earned a reputation as a regal diva, but not without merit.

"She was entitled to be a diva .. when you've got that much talent," star-spotter Cowell added.

She also was a trailblazing African-American beauty, a teen model who became the first black cover girl on "Seventeen" magazine.

Houston sold more than 170 million records worldwide but suffered a major career setback after admitting drug use during an abusive relationship with ex-husband Bobby Brown.

And while her fans kept waiting for more recovery and a bigger comeback, Houston broke some hearts with her passing.

"I am absolutely devastated by this news. I'm so sad for her," said Cowell, known for his normally rough edges.

"She was undoubtedly one of the greatest superstars of all time. One of the greatest voices, you know, in our lifetime we're likely to ever hear," Cowell said. "And to hear this news, it's really, really upset me."

source: interaksyon.com