Singer-actress Rene Liu performs at a concert in Macao on September 20, 2008. [File Photo] 

Taiwan singer-actress Rene Liu says she may go on hiatus after a concert this coming Saturday, because of a long-time knee injury that threatens her ability to walk.

Liu was recently spotted seeing a doctor alone at the Chung Shan Hospital in Taipei, and later told the media that she has experienced pain in her right knee for more than two years.

The 38-year-old star says the pain resulted from too much pressure she had put on her right knee because the left one was injured in a car accident when she was in high school.

Liu\’s busy career has kept her from surgery. After the diagnosis two years ago, she completed four films, but the pain became worse. She now finds it difficult to climb or walk down stairs. Her doctor warned that if she continues to postpone surgery, she might eventually become wheelchair-bound.

Liu is scheduled to perform at the Taipei Arena on November 29. She said an operation would follow two days later.

When asked about her future plans, Liu said she would take a rest first and think about what to do next.

(CRI November 24, 2008)

It looks like the days may be numbered for one of the world\’s hottest pop-rock bands. Chris Martin, lead vocalist for Coldplay, told the UK\’s Daily Express that the group may be finished at the end of next year, 2009. He believes that bands should pack it in before they get old.

I\’m 31 now and I don\’t think that bands should keep going past 33,\” Daily Express quoted him, as saying.

\”So we\’re trying to pack in as much as possible. Up until the end of next year, we\’ll just go for it in every sense. I don\’t believe in time off. We\’ve still got most of our hair, we can still fit into our musical trousers and we\’ve got to make the most of that,\” he added.

The quote flies in the face of Chris Martin\’s recent statements on Coldplay\’s website where he hints that the band are already in the process of writing the next album

\”I write all the time, because it\’s the only way to make sense of everything. I\’ve got one of those little keyboards you get given for Christmas when you\’re seven. I have it with me at all times… I did write a bit of a song today actually, yeah…. it\’s about when your uncles get drunk and sing… and it also owes a slight debt to \’Altogether Now\’ by The Farm\”.

(Agencies November 20, 2008)

It was a moment of raw emotion, winning Cook the sympathy of viewers who\’ve also been touched by tragedy.

Cook\’s tears have flowed more freely in private. The 25-year-old rocker, who won the Fox competition in May, fueled his anguish over Adam\’s illness into the gut-wrenching ballad \”Permanent,\” one of 13 songs on his namesake debut album.

After recording the track in two takes, \”I actually called my dad and wept openly for about 10 minutes,\” he says.

\”Anytime you can create something where what\’s in your head actually comes out the way you originally heard it, it can be pretty overwhelming and pretty heavy,\” he adds. \”I just remember being completely knocked on my (butt) by this song.\”

Cook is hoping listeners have a similar experience when they listen to the rest of \”David Cook,\” which comes six months after he snagged the \”Idol\” crown. Recorded in a span of 10 weeks, it\’s packed with power ballads that accentuate his anthemic voice.

\”I wanted to come out with a record that was both heavy and delicate and had some eclectic-ness to it,\” he says during a break in rehearsals before a recent appearance on \”Saturday Night Live.\” \”So I feel like we\’ve got this record that meanders and takes people on a journey a little bit.\”

Cook\’s path to stardom took the fast-track after he auditioned for \”Idol.\” A working musician/bartender based in Tulsa, Okla., he auditioned for the talent competition on a lark: He joined younger brother Andrew on line for moral support, and was persuaded to try out, eventually facing Simon Cowell in the judges\’ chambers. Cook made it to Hollywood; Andrew didn\’t.

Once \”Idol\” started, Cowell was one of Cook\’s biggest critics, condemning him for lacking personality. But the boyishly handsome singer clung on each week, gaining momentum after a midseason makeover that included manly facial scruff and a much-needed haircut. He ultimately won over Cowell with rock-infused covers of pop songs (like Mariah Carey\’s \”Always Be My Baby\”) that were downloaded by thousands of fans.

(Chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies November 22, 2008)

Coldplay want to perform with Take That.

The \”Viva La Vida\” rockers are looking to play a big stadium show next summer and frontman Chris Martin says he would happily open for the reformed boyband when they play live next year.

Posting on the band\’s website, Chris wrote: \”I would open for Take That. We were in the dressing room the other day and, for whatever reason, we started singing \”Back For Good\”.

\”We sang the whole thing, word for word, with all the right chords on our piano, without having to learn it or anything. It was great. \”So I\’d like to use the Coldplay website to announce that if Take That want us to open for them, we\’ll do it.

\”The only problem is that we\’ll have to get down the gym for a bit!\” Coldplay have been left looking for appropriate venues for their proposed 2009 tour after failing in an attempt to book legendary concert venue Knebworth House, in Hertfordshire, England.

Take That will perform at London\’s Wembley Stadium, Cardiff\’s Millennium Stadium and Sunderland\’s Stadium of Light.

(CRI November 18, 2008)

Now he says he wants his shows to fill arenas, not just theaters.

Legend has some big-time help: Not only is friend and mentor Kanye West backing him up, Legend also called in Andre 3000, Ne-Yo and Pharrell.

Legend also says he drew inspiration from British soul diva Estelle, who also appears on the new CD.

She blazes her accent onto the reggae-flavored \”No Other Love.\” Brandy also sings a duet with Legend.

(CCTV November 18, 2008)

Hong Kong pop singer Jacky Cheung [baidu.com]

Cheung, who said he put money into fixed deposits for many years, bought the products and the so-called accumulators on the advice of bank employees, the newspaper cited him as saying in a television interview.

He didn\’t identify the bank that sold him these products or the exact amount he lost. \”I lost half of my investment,\” he was quoted in the report. \”It is said that Eric Tsang (Hong Kong actor) suffered much bigger losses.\”

Referred to as the \”God of Songs,\’\’ Cheung has sold more than 60 million records since 2000, the report said.

He is shelving plans to take a one-year hiatus and will release a new album as well as seek a return to Television Broadcasts Ltd. Cheung admitted he earned HK$50 million (US$6.4 million) from a recent world tour of 102 concerts, according to the report.

The report also cited the singer as saying every year he asks his wife May Lo to invest in real estate and that the couple own properties in Hong Kong worth about HK$100 million.

(CRI November 14, 2008)

Chinese-American musician Lee-Hom Wang shows off a baton presented to him for his upcoming conduction of Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, November 7, 2008. [yule.sohu.com]

The Chinese-American musician will conduct Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra for three shows scheduled between December 22 and 24, the orchestra\’s chief executive Timothy Calnin announced at a recent press conference.

Accepting a baton especially made for him, Lee-Hom said it was like an early Christmas present. He hoped attendees of the concerts would also think of the shows as a wonderful Christmas gift.

Having been trained at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Lee-Hom said he was not a stranger to the orchestral podium, and that he was looking forward to the shows where he will collaborate with Gerard Salonga, whose musical influences include Lee-Hom\’s idol, the late conductor Leonard Bernstein.

The concerts will be held at the Hong Kong Cultural Center Concert Hall, with tickets being sold at HK$220-580 (US$28-75).

(CRI November 11, 2008)

At the concert, Liao sang well-known European opera selections like \”The Marriage of Figaro,\” \”The Merry Widow,\” \”Don Carlos,\” and some Chinese songs like \”My Motherland\” and \”Velvet Flowers\” with the accompaniment of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.

His performance moved the audience and received long and warm applause.

Liao, who comes from China\’s southwestern Sichuan province, struck by a devastating quake in May that killed over 80,000, specially sang \”The Old Song\” to thank \”the Austrian friends who helped victims in the quake.\”

Liao has won many top international awards for his outstanding artistic skills. He now is vice president of the Chinese Musicians Association and dean of the Vocal Department of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2008)

U.S. singer Katy Perry receives the award for Best New Act at the 2008 European MTV Awards in Liverpool, England, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008.[Agencies] 

Obamamania met Beatlemania Thursday, as Liverpool hosted an MTV Europe Music Awards show energized by the city\’s musical heritage and the U.S. presidential election.

Pink and Kanye West took home prizes — Britney Spears won two — and stars on the stage included Beyonce, Kid Rock and former Beatle Paul McCartney.

But the absent president-elect was given star status, too.

Singer Katy Perry, who hosted the show and also was named best new act, appeared in a dress emblazoned with Obama\’s face and quipped that \”maybe Europeans will love us again now.\”

Her co-host, 30 Seconds to Mars singer Jared Leto, wore an Obama T-shirt and urged the 10,000-strong crowd at Liverpool\’s Echo Arena to yell \”Congrats, Barack.\”

30 Seconds to Mars pose on the red carpet before the MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony in Liverpool, northern England, November 6, 2008.[Agencies]

Hometown pride was also on display in the Beatles\’ birthplace, with McCartney receiving an \”ultimate legend\” award from U2 singer Bono.

Backstage, McCartney said he had a song he thought the new U.S. leader would like for his wife, Michelle Obama — the Beatles ballad \”Michelle.\”

Host Perry emerged at the start of the ceremony in a U.S. football uniform and straddling a giant tube of Chapstick — a reference to her song \”I Kissed a Girl\” that set the tone for a slick, lightly sassy show with plenty of star power.

Beyonce, The Killers, Pink and Kanye West all performed, West alongside British singer Estelle on their hit \”American Boy.\”

The winners of the awards, which are presented in a different European country each year, are selected by fans across the continent. They are broadcast on 21 channels in 40 European countries.

Comeback kid Britney Spears was not on hand to collect her two awards — best act of 2008 and best album, for \”Blackout.\”

Pink\’s \”So What\” was named most addictive track, German band Tokio Hotel were named headliners of the year, and 30 Seconds to Mars took home two prizes — the \”rock out\” award and the trophy for best video.

The \”best act ever\” prize went to \’80s crooner Rick Astley, who is enjoying a career renaissance thanks to the \”Rickrolling\” phenomenon, in which seemingly unrelated Internet links lead to a video of Astley\’s 1987 hit \”Never Gonna Give You Up.\”

The ceremony was a source of pride for Liverpool, a gritty, historically rich port city that has been designated European Capital of Culture for 2008.

The celebrity influx turned Liverpool into \”Star City,\” the local Echo newspaper proclaimed on its front page Thursday. Throughout the day Liverpudlians gathered in the narrow bar-lined streets where the Fab Four once played for a bit of star-spotting.

For all the American star power on hand, the crowd\’s biggest cheers were for grown-up 90s boy band Take That, who have enjoyed huge success since reforming a couple of years ago — and for McCartney, described by Bono as \”this city\’s favorite son.\”

(Agencies/China Daily November 7, 2008)

Mariah Carey will travel to the World Music Awards on a $10,000 private flight.

The singer is appearing on UK TV talent show \”The X Factor\” on Saturday night so organisers have chartered the special plane to get her to the 20th annual ceremony in Monaco which takes place on Sunday .

Mariah will be joined by husband Nick Cannon on the journey which will see them lavishly treated. A source told Britain\’s Daily Mirror newspaper: \”It\’ll be like a second honeymoon on board the jet for them.

There\’ll be no expense spared for Mariah – lilies, mini-burgers, sparkling water and bundles of her favourite Hello Kitty toys as a present. \”Staff won\’t disturb them until Mariah calls, to ensure the love birds have the utmost privacy on the cosy flight.\”

Mariah has received 16 World Music Awards throughout her career – more than any other artist. Her accolades include the Legend award and a special Millennium award for being the best-selling female recording artist of all time.

On this week\’s \”X Factor\”, Mariah will be mentoring the pop wannabes who will all have to interpret one of her hits. The 38-year-old star will perform her latest single \”I Stay In Love\”, along with her classic hit \”Hero\” with the contestants.

\”The X Factor\” finalists\’ charity version of the song is currently at number one in the UK singles chart.

Earlier this week, it was announced Lindsay Lohan has been axed from presenting the World Music Awards show after reportedly being angry she would have to co-host the night with \”Desperate Housewives\” actress Jesse Metcalfe.

She has since been replaced with Denise Richards.

(Agencies/China Daily November 6, 2008)