Yay! Its that time of the year again! Arthur’s Day is upon us!

If you have not heard of Arthur’s Day, seriously, where have you been? Arthur’s Day started off in 2009 as a music event to celebrate 250th anniversary of the Guinness brewing company. The Arthur’s Day celebrations will begin in Dublin, Ireland at exactly 17:59 on 22 September 2011. The concert in Kuala Lumpur will close the 24 hour global Arthur’s Day celebration worldwide. More than 15,000 people are expected to attend the concert this year.

In 2009, we had Black Eyed Peas came to perform and that party was controversial (due to Muslims being forbidden to attend). Last year in 2010, we had international and local acts like Timbaland Sean Kingston, Flo Rida, Colby O Donis, Pop Shuvit, Thaitanium, Mizz Nina & DJ Fuzz.

This year, be entertained by the “Dynamite” who might “Break Your Heart” – TAIO CRUZ!

Along with Local acts – Mizz Nina, SonaOne, Joe Flizzow, Take-T, Dandee, Soler & DJ Skeletor – Taio Cruz will “take  you higher” on 23 September 2011 at Speed City KL @ Selangor Turf Club. Party starts at 7pm onwards and the dress code is Black Party Chic!

Last year, you had to pay something like RM98 to RM350 to get to party! This year, tickets are COMPLETELY FREE! The only catch is, you would have to look for those exclusive invites!

There are FOUR ways to get your hands on those tickets…

Option 1: Guinness Malaysia Facebook Page

1. Like “Guinness Malaysia” on Facebook. Heck follow them on Twitter too @GuinnessMY
2. Check out their Wall posts for ways on how to win it. It could be answering a question, or emailing a photo.
3. Better yet, email them contest@arthursday.com.my and you will be sent instructions! (say you got to know about it from me la :P)

Option 2 : Radio Stations

1. Starting 12 – 21 September 2011, fans can win exclusive invites to the Arthur’s Day concert featuring Taio Cruz from the following stations.
2. Hitz.FM, MixFM, MY FM and THR Raaga will run On-air and online Contests throughout this period for fans to get their hands on these money-cant-buy invites! So tune in and log on to win invites for you and your friends to the EPIC celebration of the year!

Option 3 : Rock Corner and Speedy Video

1. Purchase Taio Cruz’s album at the following outlets and get 2 exclusive invites to the Arthur’s Day concert 2011! Promotion starts from 15 September till 23 September 2011.
2. Participating outlets :Rock Corner: 1 Utama, Suria KLCC, Mid Valley Megamall, Subang Parade, The Curve, The Gardens Mall, Bangsar Village, Ampang PointSpeedy: Mid Valley, Pavilion, Movie Magic – Bandar Utama, Sunway Pyramid, Bangsar Village

(thx TianChad for the tips!)

Option 4: arTHURSDAY Events!

Every Thurs is arTHURSDAY and Guinness has events to celebrate the man who gave us the iconic black brew. Not only do you get happy hour rates all night long, you can also win Guinness premiums and those exclusive invites to the Arthur’s Day celebration! So, head on down to your nearest one this Thursday!

• 15 Sept – Backyard Pub, Hartamas AND Delaney’s Irish Pub, Federal Hotel KL
• 22 Sept – Sids Pub, Taman Tun Dr Ismail

See you guys there!!

*This is NOT a sponsored post.Tho I won’t mind getting paid in Guinness for promoting this.
Ya hear me Guinness Malaysia? LOL*

So what do you do when a new album is launched? Press release? Party? Well, if you have an album combining two of the biggest boybands in history, put a unique twist to it and throw a Karaoke night! That’s what Sony Music Malaysia did together with Monster Beats (yeap, those awesome headphones!) at Red Box Gardens!

It was held last Thursday at Red Box, Gardens. Did you know they have an area at the back where you can hold events or karaoke parties. Quite cool actually. We were served with nibbles – nuggets, some tomato and chicken wrap (very yummy) and sandwiches.

To be honest, I didnt really know NKOTB – they were kind of ‘before’ my time – but I did grow up with BSB and later N’SYNC and much later Westlife. Backstreet Boys always had this place in my heart where I knew the words to all their songs and had debates with girl friends on who was the handsome-est BSB. In secondary school I had this rather weird eccentric classmate who was head over heels over BSB, especially Nick Carter. I heard she wanted to become a nun as well but……well, that’s a story for another time.

Anyway, the night started off with two enthusiastic MCs from FlyFM – the official radio station for the NKOTBSB Karaoke Night then all the media and fans were invited to participate in karaoke competition either in Group of Solo category. In fact the FlyFM boys themselves (I think they are part of the Troopers) even sang a BSB song, and quite well at that.

Besides the Karaoke contest, there was also a lucky draw. Prizes that can be won are Red Box vouchers, perfumes, a Blackberry (I can’t remember which model) and, most importantly two iBeats headphones to be given away (pictured on right). Some info about iBeats after the jump

The Karaoke was quite fun but I think that it we ended up having to wait a bit long. So perhaps limiting the groups or cutting the songs shorter would be best. By the way did you know that BSB songs have really LONG intros and/or middle parts, before the bridge. Also, “As Long as You Love Me” was the favourite for the night. For the lucky draw I won a CK perfume and lucky Daphne got herself the iBeats headphones. She also won 2nd place in the Solo singing competition – lucky girl.

Anyway it was a fun night thanks to all the sponsors, especially Monster & Sony Music!

And now..here’s a performance of NKOTBSB at the AMA 2010

If you are living in KL and don’t know what Urbanscapes is, WHERE HAVE YOU BEENN?

Urbanscapes is this awesome festival of music, arts, lifestyle and film all under one roof (well, actually one padang but you get the point). Go shopping at the bazaars, watch local arts perform or see works of art in action!

In previous years, it was held in KLPAC which is rather hard to get to. This year, its held in a bigger and better place – Padang Astaka. And this year, the main sponsor is TM Everyone Connects – the people who brought you “Through My Window”. Plus, you can easily take public transport there.

TM presents Everyone Connects with Urbanscapes 2011
Venue : Padang Astaka, PJ
Date : 16th July 2011, Saturday
Time : 12pm – 12am
Lineup : Azlan & the Typewriter, Stone Bay, KyotoProtocol, Furniture, Ferns, They will Kill Us All, Khottal, Busco, Lapsap, Lab the Rat, Acts by The Movemint (Juzzthin, Figure of Speech, SCBTea, SSK, The Silk Road & DJ Garuda), Tilu, Liyana Fizi & Acts at Moonshine Record Store (Diandra Arjunaidi, Narmi, Asmidar, Darren Ashley, Az Samad, Aiqa Halim)

Tickets are on sale at the door for RM40 (early bird tickets are RM30 but I’m not sure if its still available) but I want to give some tickets to you, my readers for the total amount of….FREE!

There are three pairs, yeap, you heard that right, THREE pairs of tickets to win!

You are REQUIRED to do the below :

1. Follow @Urbanscapes on Twitter
2. ReTweet this: “RT @icednyior: @Urbanscapes 2011 Ticket GIVEAWAY – http://bit.ly/jiEoO3 #zestfulorg“
3. Comment with the link of your Tweet!

So start commenting and good luck!

Terms & Conditions

• Winners will be chosen using a randomizer (random.org) from the list of commenters below.
• Contest closes at 11.59pm on Thursday, 30 JUNE 2011. Please make sure you put in the correct email so that I can contact you if you win.
• If you are the winner, you  need to respond back to me by 12pm Friday, 1 JULY 2011 as I would need details such as your Full Name, IC number and contact number for ticket collection. Failing to do so by the stipulated deadline will forfeit your winning.
• You will have to self-collect your tickets by Friday, 8th JULY 2011 at the Freeform office : Freeform Sdn. Bhd., B-21-6, Block B, Jaya One, No 72A Jalan Universiti, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor MALAYSIA. Tel: (603) 7958-1377
• The judge’s decision is final

Added 30 June : Ok so apparently some people aren’t too sure how to get the link of their tweet. Its easy. Just go to www.twitter.com/yourusername and click on the time of the tweet. Like below. That will load your single tweet. Copy the link at the top and paste it in the comment :)

Also, if you are a private account, please approve my request to follow you or email me a screenshot of your tweet & proof that you follow @Urbanscapes to http://scr.im/icednyior

WINNERS for the Giveaway!

Collected all the comments below and used Random.org to randomize the list. The 3 winners are :

1. @jiesze
2. @ob_af
3. @bennimaru
4. @she723
5. @geekmy

I’ve sent an email to the winners. As mentioned, you must respond by 12pm Friday, 1 JULY 2011 as I need your details to be sent to Freeform so that you can start picking up your tickets next week. Failing to do so will forfeit your winnings and the person after you will get the tickets.

Edit: Gave out all tickets. See you guys at Urbanscapes!

Thank you everyone for participating! If you still want to get tickets, try your luck in the sites below :

• http://www.yogaretnam.com/events/tm-presents-everyone-connects-with-urbanscapes-2011/ (ends Sunday)
• http://bryanlyt.com/2011/06/urbanscapes-2011-free-tickets/ (ends Sunday)
• http://twitter.com/HanieHidayah/statuses/86514073709195264
• http://www.urbanscapes.com.my/news/2011/6/14/urbanscapes-tickets-up-for-grabs.html

Ok as today is Wordless Wednesday and I’m freezing cold and non stop sneezing, here’s “a Song that Matches my mood”

* This is part of the 30 Things in 30 Days Challenge *

As what I wrote in Hurts is coming to Kuala Lumpur! and I’m going to Hurts concert this Friday!, I managed to get tickets thanks to Sony Music Malaysia to the TOPMAN and Junk By Demand presents Hurts live in Mist Club KL!

Its been a while since I went to a concert. I think the last time was Jason Derulo in Dragonfly club (formerly Orange) in KL. Was at Mist slightly before 8pm and bumped into Yatz inside the club with some friends.  A DJ was warming up the crowd and people were slowly trickling in.

I can’t remember what time it started exactly but it seemed like suddenly the club was extremely full, I was standing behind a whole bunch of people and the crowd suddenly erupted to cheers as the Hurts duo – Theo Hutchcraft and Adam Anderson – walked on the stage.

Theo talked about how its their first time in Malaysia, and they visited Batu Caves (according to his Twitter @theohurts they visited KLCC as well so not so sure why he didn’t mention that) and that “we would never be here if it weren’t for you”. The crowd was predominantly female and I could understand why. In person, Theo really is hot! With his calm and stylish debonair, its no surprise why you feel attracted to him.

Just had to show a close up photo of him. Credit to daphneliciouz

Also, he’s a great performer, commanding the crowd and making you feel that he looks straight at you as he sang, giving you a piercing gaze. And to add to that, he also occasionally threw white roses into the crowd, causing girls to scream as they grabbed wildly for it.

Not to be forgotten, Adam Anderson was also amazing on the synthesizer , his fingers flying across the keyboard with full concentration on his face. At one point, he picked up the electric guitar, took a step into the spotlight and showed us what he was truly capable of – making amazing music.

Throughout the night, it seemed like Hurts performed song after song without stopping. From favorites such as Stay (complete with the music video playing in the background) and Lonely Sunday, to a cover of Kylie Minogue’s “Confide in me” – of whom they confessed they are big fans of – they took to the stage like a duck in water. I forgot to note the first few songs but in total, Hurts performed the following songs : Evelyn, Lonely Sunday, Verona, Devotion, Confide in Me (cover), Illumination, Stay and closed with an encore of Better than Love. I managed to record a short snippet of Better than Love with my iPhone below.

You know how some musicians sound great on their CD but fail to bring it when they perform Live? For Hurts, this wasn’t the case. They were nothing short of AMAZING. It was one of the most entertaining concerts/showcases I’ve been too in a long time (not that I’ve been to many). Even the friend I brought along who knew nothing about them until the day before, became a fan.

Thanks Hurts, for a great night!

For more photos and videos taken from better cameras than an iPhone, check out daphneliciouz & dustyhawk blogs.

Hurts is described as that British synthpop – which to be honest, I’m not familiar with music genres so I don’t know how to describe it but Wikipedia says it’s a “genre of music in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument”. They consist of two guys who look like total opposites:  Adam Anderson – laid back and serious, Theo Hutchcraft – the poker face man in the suit. Both always look calm and collected.

I first heard of this duo a couple of weeks ago and I must say that their music is not something you hear often. Their music Its more relaxing calming music, almost lounge-y. Its the kind of music where you enjoy a glass of wine with. Their music video and visuals always have this vintage, oldies feel with black and white effects, featuring a lot of women and  each telling their very own dramatic story.

Now on to details about the concert! After successfully bringing in The Whitest Boy Alive, TOPMAN and Junk will be bringing the latest in the BY DEMAND series – Hurts! The concert will be held on Friday, 6th May 2011 at 7.30pm in Mist, Bangsar! Check out the poster below:

TICKET PRICES TOPMAN outlets : Topman Concert Ticket : RM 105 ( for Fashion Fast Forward Members) Concert Ticket and MusicTicket+ (limited) : RM119 Rock Corner, Victoria Music and www.redtix.airasia.com: Concert Ticket : RM133 Concert Ticket & MusicTicket+ : RM147 MusicTicket+ is a collectible music download card that gives ultimate fan access to exclusive songs. This is the FIRST time a MusicTicket+ is offered for a concert in this region!! With MusicTIcket+, you will get 5 Hurts Tracks that you can’t find anywhere else including special live performances.

Want to meet them in Person?

There will be TEN PAIRS of Meet & Greet passes to be won for Fashion Fast Forward Members who purchase the MusicTicket+ together with the RM105 TOPMAN Concert tickets (Only at TOPMAN outlets)

For more information, visit www.junkonline.net

Its that time of the year again! When the chorus of “To Arthur!” will be heard on the streets. Last year 15,000 people rocked to the thumping, trademark tunes of multi-platinum band, the Black Eyed Peas. This year promises a pumped up, hip-hop, rock and R&B energized concert with back-to-back electrifying performances!

Last Tuesday, 17 Aug, I was invited to a Media Launch (as a blogger) where the acts for Arthur’s Day 2010 was revealed! The event was held in @Live in Sunway Pyramid, a newly opened club. Took this pic of the goodie bag when i got home, they gave a glass and a keychain. Cute touch with the glass kan?

The night started off with pints of Guinness. I liked the fact that they had both from the tap and in the bottle cause I know picky drinkers who actually prefer one over the other. After a couple of glasses, Serena C and Adam Carruthers came on stage to kick off the night. (pic credit to The Jessicat)

Soon after, Mark Jenner, The Marketing Director of Guinness Anchor Marketing Sdn Bhd, came on stage to amp up the atmosphere and finally announce who the main artiste is. It was none other than, TIMBALAND!!! The super-producer has created hits for top artists such as Aaliyah, Missy Elliot, Destiny’s Child, Ludacris, Jay-Z and many others. He has also successfully collaborated with numerous music icons such as Madonna, Leona Lewis, Katy Perry, Keri Hilson, 50 cent, etc.

New Arthur’s Day 2010 Artist Lineup!!!

Sean Kingston – After Beautiful Girls made history as one of the fastest ascents up the charts ever, this singer/rapper scored three more top ten hits with Me Love, Take You There and There’s Nothing’. His self-titled debut Sean Kingston topped charts in 21 countries and sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

Flo Rida - Exploded into the music scene with Low (feat T-Pain) in late 2007. This blockbuster debut single picked up a People’s Choice Award and two Grammy nominations. To follow, the lead single of second album, Right Around, went on to become the fastest million-selling digital song ever.

Colby O’Donis – Wrote Mouse in the House for the soundtrack of Stuart Little when he was 9. Started producing music since 12 and, by 14, was opening shows for the likes of Backstreet Boys, Brian McKnight and 98 Degrees. Hard to miss now at 21 with his latest hit What You Waiting For hogging the airtime of Malaysian radio.

Pop Shuvit – Asian’s leading Hip-Hop Rock band with successful releases throughout Asia notably in Japan, Thailand and Singapore.

Thaitanium – With unique blends of Thai language with American Hop-Hop’s street vocabulary, Thaitanium is a popular trio that even performed at the MTV Asia Awards.

MizzNina – Touted as “Malaysia’s Hip Hop Princess”, she recently launched her album which includes the heavily played duet with Colby O’ Donis “What You Waiting For”.

DJ Fuzz – This music mixer has always been one of my favourite DJs from back when I was actively clubbing. Looking forward to see what he has to offer!

Be sure to join the millions of people participating in the global Arthur’s Day celebration this September by picking up your tickets starting Thursday 19 August 2010. Tickets for this landmark event are priced at RM98 (regular), RM198 (VIP) and RM350 (Mosh Pit) and can be obtained through official ticketing agents:

Axcess Tickets – www.axcess.com.com / 03-7711500

Galaxy Hotline – www.galaxy.com.my / 03-22822020

For more information on Arthur’s Day, please visit www.arthursday.com.my

Who is the artist you are most excited to see performing on Arthur’s Day 2010?

Disclaimer: GAB is a client for my company but I was invited to this event as a Blogger. Note that ALL posts and writings expressed in this blog is my personal opinion and has no relation to my work or the company i work for.

Have you heard of the TV Series ‘Glee’? If not then, which rock have you been hiding in?!? Glee focuses on a high school glee club called "New Directions", at the fictional William McKinley High School. Their songs maintain a balance between show tunes and chart hits. The series won the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy Series.

1) “Gold Digger” o.a. Kanye West

Ok maybe its because its Matthew Morrison rapping on this one, but this version of Gold Digger is just as good as, if not better than the original version. The chorus with everyone singing in the background lends a nice touch. Okay okay, its probably mostly coz of Matthew Morrisson :P

Now I ain’t sayin’ she a gold digger (When I’m in need)

2) “Bust Your Windows” o.a. Jazmine Sullivan

This song features Amber Riley’s great vocals, this is one of her solo songs. One of my favourite songs in Glee besides the mashups. The lyrics reminds me of Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats”. Awesome awesome song

You see you cant just play with peoples feelings
Tell them you love them and don’t mean it
you’ll probably say that it was juvenile
But I think that I deserve to smile

* All songs featured in the Nokia Music Explorer posts are available for download on the Nokia Ovi Music store via the Nokia X6 Comes With Music. To learn more, check out their facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nokiamusicmalaysia *

My song recommendations this week with the theme : TV Series

1. Jason walker – Down frm "Vampire Diaries S01E06"

Once in a while you hear a particular song in the background while watching shows and you know that you MUST get the full song. This was one of it.

"I shot for the sky, I’m stuck on the ground
So why do i try, I know I’m gonna fall down…
I thought I could fly, So why did I drown
I never know why, It’s coming down, down, down"

2. Cosy in the Rocket – "Grey’s Anatomy" Theme

I forgot who sang this, it doesn’t really say in the Music Store also, but this song is a happy-ish song with minimal vocals, mostly instrumental. I used this for my ringtone for a while. Cute, lounge type music :)

* All songs featured in the Nokia Music Explorer posts are available for download on the Nokia Ovi Music store via the Nokia X6 Comes With Music. To learn more, check out their facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nokiamusicmalaysia *

Missed last week’s recommendations coz was outstation in Sabah, so here are 4 songs this week. The theme is Covers :D

1. Buses & Trains (cover) – Nikki Gil
Nikki Gil is a singer from the Philippines that has an album of covers of songs. Her voice is smooth and her energy in upbeat. She has another album of Tagalog songs… (but i downloaded it anyway).

2. Smooth (Santana Cover) – Escape the Fate
This song is frm the album "Punk Goes Pop Vol 2" and this cover is one of my favs in the album. Think Smooth with a more rock-ish vibe. Love love love! Download the whole album while you’re at it :P

3. Ayo Technology (Cover) – Milow
I first heard this in youtube – quite a sexy vid if i may say – and a great cover. Almost sounds like an Unplugged version of the original. Sexy vocals from Milow

4.Me & Mrs Jones – Michael Buble
There have been many-many covers of this song, but I still like Michael Buble’s version. Reminds me of lounge-y music, black piano and ballrooms. Great for mellow days

* All songs featured in the Nokia Music Explorer posts are available for download on the Nokia Ovi Music store via the Nokia X6 Comes With Music. To learn more, check out their facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nokiamusicmalaysia *