Upcoming concerts: Enrique, Gareth and Maksim come to town
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The list of international artists who braved the travel warnings to play gigs here in recent years is not very impressive. But, taking a more positive outlook, our country is beginning to gain reconsideration as a safe ground.
American rock groups Korn and Toto, pop diva Mariah Carey and legendary songstress Jane Birkin kicked off the new year's musical moments with performances in February.
Now, three more performers will stage concerts here: Latino pop idol Enrique Iglesias, British teen heartthrob Gareth Gates and Russian crossover pianist Maksim.
Iglesias' concert will be on March 28 at the Jakarta Convention Center's Plenary Hall, Central Jakarta, while both Gates and Maksim will perform at the Indoor Tennis Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on April 6 and April 27 respectively.
Iglesias, 27, is part of a growing number of Latin artists lured into the crossover market, led by Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin.
First recognized as Julio Iglesias Jr., the younger Iglesias has earned a reputation as a singer in his own right, no longer living in the shadow of his heart-throb father.
Several major labels rejected him at the beginning of his career, but Iglesias proved them wrong by topping the charts in 1995 with his self-titled debut album. It sold over one million copies in Latin America and produced five hit singles.
Vivir followed in 1997, and was also a huge commercial success.
The single that made him a household name, however, was the Spanglish hit Bailamos, featured in the 1999 Will Smith film Wild Wild West.
Although Bailamos was hugely successful, Iglesias is reluctant to record entirely in English, saying "I gotta remember something, what got me here was Spanish."
A few hits followed, such as Hero, Rhythm Divine and Escape, with videos starring the likes of actress Jennifer Love Hewitt and tennis bombshell Anna Kournikova, his girlfriend.
Iglesias, however, allegedly lip-synched in a concert in Poland. U.S. shock jock Howard Stern also accused him of lip synching and played an audio tape allegedly proving Enrique cannot carry a tune.
He denied both accusations.
The next performer here is determined, hard-working and friendly; his favorite color is blue; he is obsessed with his hair and despised "show-offs, selfish people and people with huge heads ideal", according to the organizer's press release.
I am sorry, I thought this is seventeen magazine.
Gareth Gates was the finalist of British Pop Idol, but shot to fame when he released his debut single, a cover of Unchained Melody, on March 2002.
The single made the then 18-year-old singer the youngest solo vocalist ever to top the British charts, and was also named Record of the Year 2002.
He released his debut album What My Heart Wants to Say in 2002, followed by his latest album Go Your Own Way, released last year. Both earned him commercial success and there are bound to be hordes of screaming fans to greet him here.
The most interesting of the visitors is Croatian pianist Maksim Mrvica (clue: pronounced Maravitsa, with a rolled 'r').
He caught attention when the video of The Fight of the Bumblebee, a crossover instrumental piece, appeared on MTV last year.
Born in Ibenik on the Adriatic coast, 29-year-old Maksim began classical piano lessons at nine. When the war in the former Yugoslavia broke in 1990, he continued his musical studies in university despite "a thousand grenades a day in my town".
Maksim has won a handful of piano competitions, including in Budapest and Paris.
Both 2001's debut Gestures, a disc of contemporary Croatian piano pieces, and 2003's The Piano Player experimented with the crossover genre and targeted all ages.
What will it set you back to see the boys? Enrique's tickets are Rp 350,000, Rp 750,000 and Rp 1.25 million, while Gates' run between Rp 150,000 and Rp 200,000. Maksim's ticket prices were yet available at press time.
Tickets can be obtained at major record stores, call Java Musikindo at 021-57988623-25 for information, or click www.javamusikindo.com.