5,000 at Beyonce world tour opener - Oct 22 2007
R&B diva Beyonce Knowles began her world tour in front of an audience of 5,000 adoring and hysterical fans in Ethiopia, a country usually unimpressed by Western music.

The 26-year-old Texan singer gave a spirited two-hour performance in the Ethiopian capital, to the delight of her fans, as part of the country's year-long celebration of its 2,000th year, according to its archaic calendar.

In September, Addis Ababa hosted LA-based hip-hop group the Black Eyed Peas in a new, multi-million pound, but temporary, concert hall. The reception for the group was tepid, if respectful.

That lukewarm reaction was repeated for Beyonce's opening act, multi-platinum-selling rapper Ludacris.

But Beyonce struck a chord in Ethiopia, and the reception was hysterical when she came onstage to deliver a two-hour musical variety show.

"Rap music doesn't suit Ethiopia," said local music promoter Michael Melake, 36. "Ethiopians need a melody. Rap music is all about the message and we don't identify with that. It's all about the black American experience, and we don't relate to that."

Local nightclub owner Enoch Nicano, 30, provided a slightly simpler explanation for Beyonce's huge fan base in Ethiopia.

"She's hot," he said, then paused to reconsider. "She's more than hot."

 

Beyonce to perform in China - Oct 15 2007
Beyonce is to perform at a concert in China, according to her official website.

The US RnB star will play at the Grand Stage in Shanghai on November 3, according to an international tour schedule on the site.

The news came after Beyonce scrapped a planned performance in Muslim-majority Malaysia amid speculation that she objected to a strict dress code banning sexy attire, replacing the stop in Kuala Lumpur with Jakarta. Indonesia is also Muslim but has less stringent rules governing how performers dress and behave.

Chinese officials are also sensitive about the propriety of Western acts. They told the Rolling Stones not to sing some of their racier hits and cancelled a performance by Beyonce’s boyfriend, rapper Jay-Z, after deeming his lyrics "vulgar".

But Shanghai has also played host to Christina Aguilera, who caused a stir with the accompanying sexual imagery and bad-girl attitude from her 2002 album Stripped.

Beyonce kicks off her world tour on Wednesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, followed by stops in Cluj, Romania, Istanbul, Bombay, Bangkok, Jakarta, Shanghai and the southern Chinese gambling enclave Macau, where she will perform at the new Venetian casino resort.
 

Judges hear arguments in Beyonce case - Oct 4 2007
A woman who sued Beyonce Knowles alleging the singer illegally used her lyrics on the hit song Baby Boy has taken her case to a federal appeals court.

Jennifer Armour of Shakopee, Minnesota, claims the 26-year-old diva took the lyrics from her song, Got A Little Bit Of Love For You.

Her lawyer argued that the copyright infringement lawsuit -- dismissed by a Houston judge’s summary judgment in favour of Beyonce last year -- should be heard by a jury.

The singer did not attend the hearing before a three-judge panel from the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which was convening in Lubbock, Texas, for three days of hearings. The panel has yet to make a ruling.

Armour’s attorney, Dana Kirk, told the judges that an expert analysed Armour’s slow and melodic version alongside Beyonce’s hip-hop song and that the two are substantially similar.