Hallyday brings solace to Brussels – Jackson returns to stage in Dubai

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BRUSSELS, March 27, (Agencies): French rocker Johnny Hallyday’s decision to press ahead with his concert in Brussels on Saturday despite security concerns was met with a deafening roar of approval from fans seeking respite from a traumatic week.

The 72-year-old singer, known as France’s answer to Elvis Presley, highlighted his Belgian roots as he took to stage for the latest leg of his “Staying Alive” tour, delighting a sold-out crowd determined to have a good time after the horror of Tuesday’s airport and metro attacks.

“Part of my blood is French through my mother and the other part is Belgian through my father,” he told the 11,000-strong audience, which responded with chants of “Johnny, Johnny, Johnny!”

In a still shell-shocked nation, fans said the concert was their way of showing they would not give in to fear.

“If we give in to panic, we’d never go anywhere anymore. I’m not worried, I trust the security services and … Johnny!” said Lindsey, enjoying the music with a beer in her hand.

Coming just four days after Belgium’s worst-ever terror attacks, which left 31 dead, security at the gig was boosted significantly, with police and even soldiers deployed at the Palais 12 venue.

“We have tripled the number of staff and have police and army reinforcements,” Stefan Feldbusch, security coordinator at Palais 12, told AFP. “Everyone is being searched, which is not necessarily the case usually.”

In stark contrast to Hallyday, US pop star Mariah Carey has cancelled her upcoming gig in the wake of the attacks, citing security fears.

Living up to the old adage that the show must go on, Hallyday kicked off his gig in typically flamboyant fashion, stepping out of a giant skull as red lasers and smoke filled the stage, to loud cheers from the audience.

Clad in his trademark leather trousers and wearing sunglasses, France’s favourite rock ‘n’ roller then belted out some of his biggest hits, including “Gabrielle” and “Quelque chose de Tennessee”.

Brussels resident Michel, wearing a Johnny Hallyday T-shirt, said he had come to the concert to “forget this terrible week”.

“When you see Johnny, you’re not afraid anymore.”

While Hallyday has never achieved widespread fame abroad, he is a musical icon at home and has sold more than 100 million records in his decades-long career.

In a sign of the ageing star’s enduring appeal, Saturday’s performance was broadcast live in some 300 cinemas in France.

Hallyday will perform a second concert in Brussels on Sunday.

Also:

DUBAI: Janet Jackson on Saturday returned to the stage after a four-month hiatus for mysterious health reasons, bringing her energetic dance show to Dubai.

The pop superstar performed in the Gulf emirate as the entertainer to close the Dubai World Cup, the world’s most lucrative horse race.

She went ahead with the show following a series of cancellations which included an abrupt delay of the entire European portion of her “Unbreakable” tour.

With a troupe of choreographed dancers gliding behind her, Jackson put on a medley of hits including her classic “Control” and the more recent and funkier “All Nite (Don’t Stop).”

Jackson — whose 2004 performance at another sporting event, the Super Bowl, was marred by the exposure of her breast — left open no chance of a similar “wardrobe malfunction” in the Muslim emirate, wearing an arms-length black jumpsuit with an oversized necklace.

Jackson last year released “Unbreakable,” her first album since the death of her brother Michael Jackson in 2009, and embarked on a major tour.

But until Dubai, she had not performed since November 22 in Japan. On Christmas Eve, she announced a delay in her North American tour, saying that she needed an urgent operation.

The 49-year-old revealed no other details about her health but later issued a statement to deny speculation that she was suffering from cancer.

With her European tour off, she is not due to perform again until May 14 in Las Vegas as she resumes performances in North America.

Jackson has ties to the Gulf as she married Wissam Al Mana, a billionaire businessman from Qatar, in a private ceremony in 2012.

Her late brother moved temporarily to Bahrain at the invitation of a prince as the King of Pop tried to evade the media glare following his 2005 acquittal on child molestation charges.

Janet Jackson helped reshape the concert landscape in the late 1980s with her “Control” and “Rhythm Nation” tours, considered landmarks for their elaborate dance routines and messages of empowerment.

LONDON: Adele has apologized after a fan was injured at one of her concerts in Scotland.

The incident happened Friday night at the SSE Hydro venue in Glasgow when a chain fell from production rigging and hit a woman in the audience. The fan was treated at the scene and hospitalized as a precaution.

Adele tweeted “I’m so sorry to hear that someone got hurt at my show tonight. It’s being investigated to ensure it won’t happen again.”

Officials say the 13,000-seat venue is being checked to make sure it’s safe for the British singer’s Saturday show.

Adele’s “25” set a first-week sales record in November, selling over 2.4 million albums and the music video for her single “Hello” took only 87 days to hit 1 billion views on YouTube.

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