Olivia Newton-John LIVE in Manila

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Four-time Grammy Award winner Olivia Newton-John is finally coming to Manila for her one-night Greatest Hits concert on Saturday, March 31 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The music icon is behind the well-loved hits, I Honestly Love You, Hopelessly Devoted To You, Physical, Xanadu, Suddenly, You’re The One That I Want, Summer Nights, Have You Ever Been Mellow, Magic, Don’t Stop Believin, Guilty, I Can’t Help It (Duet with Andy Gibb), among many others.

Olivia’s appeal seems to be timeless. With a career spanning more than four decades she is still a vibrant, creative individual that is adored by fans across the world.  Throughout her career, the much-loved star, who danced with Gene Kelly in Xanadu, hosted the popular internationally syndicated “Wild Life” television show, was bestowed an O.B.E. (Order Of The British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth in 1979, has held many humanitarian causes close to her heart, particularly since the birth of her daughter Chloe in 1986. Her charmed life has not been without its share of upset.  In the 90’s, Olivia successfully overcame her own battle with breast cancer, which inspired her self-penned and produced album, “GAIA,” her most personal album reflecting upon her experiences with cancer.  She used these experiences to gain greater self-awareness and became a positive inspiration to millions of people battling cancer.  As a breast cancer survivor, Olivia has become increasingly well known and respected for talking openly about her battle with breast cancer and for promoting public awareness of the importance of early detection. Now, 19 years later (and cancer free) she has become a passionate advocate in creating awareness for early detection and, encouraging women to take a more active role in their breast health.

(For details to Olivia Newton-John: Live in Manila, call Wilbros Live at 374-9999 or the TicketNet Box Office at 911-5555.)

Ticket prices:

Patron A (Reserved Seating) - P5280
Patron B (Reserved Seating) - P4755
Lower Box (Reserved Seating) - P4225
Upper Box A (Reserved Seating) - P2640
Upper Box B (Free Seating) - P1270
General Admission (Free Seating) - P530

I love songs especially "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and "I Honestly Love You".  Olivia's wonderful songs great as ever.

"The Freedom Song" by Jason Mraz

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Another new track off of Jason Mraz's new album Love Is A Four Letter Word and he releases his new single as a lyric video "The Freedom Song.

"It's not a departure in the sound of the genre in any way, it's just different tones, 

different textures. Musically, I think people are going to like it.

 It's personal. It's melodic. And it's mellow. 

There's a couple of up-tempo tunes, but mostly the rhythm of the heartbeat kind of takes precedence on this record. Medium-tempo tunes; which I love.

 It feels more like the pace of life. At least, based on my life and what I've been doing."

Talking to Billboard Magazine in Dec. 2011, Mraz indicated that the album was completed keeping with his personal melodic style.

"Freedom Song" 

I picture something, it’s beautiful

It’s full of life, and it is all blue

I see a sunset on the beach, yeah

It makes me feel calm

When I’m calm, I feel good

And when I feel good, I sing

And the joy it brings makes me feel good

And when I feel good, I sing

And the joy it brings

Come on along

I know you really wanna feel our song

We’ve got some light to bring

We’ve got some joy in this thing

(x2)

I see birds fly across the sky

Everyone’s heart flies to get there

Food is frying and people’s smiling

Like there is no other way to feel good

And when I feel good, I sing

And the joy it brings makes me feel good

And when I feel good, I sing

And the joy it brings

Come on along

I know you really wanna feel our song

We’ve got some light to bring

We’ve got some joy in this thing

(x2)

Freedom

Got to give you some of that freedom

It’s freedom

Freedom

You deserve your own freedom

It’s freedom

Freedom

It gets over you, over you, over you, over you

Freedom

Got to get you some of that freedom

It’s a smile you can get when your heart beat.


 ***

Taylor Swift is pop music's top earner !

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Country singer Taylor Swift, 22, was named Billboard Magazine's biggest money maker. Given her massive record sales and multiple sold-out tours, it’s no wonder Taylor Swift nabbed the #1 spot on Billboard’s “Music’s Top 40 Money Makers” list.

The “Should’ve Said No” songstress reportedly raked in a hefty salary of $35.7 million for the 2011 year with combined songwriting royalties, an $88.5 million-grossing Speak Now world tour, and her quadruple platinum album.

Billboard have released their Music’s Top 40 Money Makers list based on 2011′s earnings. And the biggest music earner of the past year is none other than country babe Taylor Swift, who made a whopping $35.7 million. Her financial success can largely be attributed to her smash hit album Speak Now and subsequent tour, which made $88.5 million in the US alone, $29.8 million of which went into Taylor’s pocket. Billboard also named Taylor Woman Of The Year in 2011 after she racked up 1.8 million album sales and 7.8 million digital single sales from Speak Now. Swift wrote 14 songs from the album, royalties from which contributing in no small way to her earning capacity.

U2

Bon Jovi

Billboard states that, “As the concert business rebounded in 2011, touring remained the biggest source of income for the top earners in the U.S. music business… But not all of the 40 artists on the Money Makers list relied heavily, if at all, on touring

Kenny Chesney

income.” Indeed, there seems to be little to no consistency in tours as related to earning capacity (some top earners toured, others didn’t), nor does there seem to be much of a correlation between chart success and earning, as Adele, who still dominates the charts, came in at number 10 (where we would have expected her at number one given her phenomenal, history making sales), and Katy Perry, who broke records with five number ones from the same album, came in at 14. 

Check out the top 10 music earners after the jump, and the full list at Billboard.com.

Music’s Top 10 Money Makers:

1. Taylor Swift: $35.7m

2. U2: $32.1m

3. Kenny Chesney: $29.8m

4. Lady Gaga: $25.4m

5. Lil Wayne: $23.2m

6. Sade $16.4m

7. Bon Jovi: $15.8m

8. Celine Dion: $14.3m

9. Jason Aldean: $13.4m

10. Adele: $13.1m

11. Glee cast: $12.6m

12. Journey: $12.3m

13. Elton John: $11.97m

14. Katy Perry: $11.96m

15. Toby Keith: $10.4m

16. Britney Spears: $10.1m

17. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band: $10m

18. Rascal Flatts: $9.6m

19. Tim McGraw: $9.3m

20. Michael Buble: $9m

21. Brad Paisley: $8.6m

22. Rihanna: $7.7m

23. Enrique Iglesias: $7.5m

24. The Beatles: $6.74m

25. Sir Paul McCartney: $6.72m

26. Lady Antebellum: $6.67m

27. Keith Urban: $6.57m

28. Zac Brown Band: $6.5m

29. Rod Stewart: $6.4m

30. Usher: $6.3m

31. Foo Fighters: $6m

32. Rush: $5.8m

33. Backstreet Boys: $5.7m

34. Sugarland: $5.6m

35. Justin Bieber: $5.5m

36. New Kids on the Block: $5.5m

37. Steely Dan: $5.38m

38. Motley Crue: $5.37m

39. Kanye West: $5.36m

40. Linkin Park: $5.2m

Celine Dion 

Lady Gaga

Jason Aldean

Sade

Adele

Batad Rice Terraces: Saving a Living Heritage

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Philippine Daily Inquirer 

10:21 pm | Thursday, March 15th, 2012

BAGUIO CITY—Civic groups, tourists and government workers continue to pitch in as Ifugao farmers begin preparing for the restoration of the Batad rice terraces in Ifugao, Gov. Eugene Balitang said here on Wednesday.

The Batad terraces in the tourist town of Banaue belong to the cluster of rice terraces declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) as World Heritage Site in 1995. Unusually heavy rains over the years had eroded sections of the terraces in Batad and in other parts of Ifugao.

On Monday, the Banaue government began clearing and stockpiling rocks for stonewalls. It also started field demonstration exercises every Thursday for people who volunteer to rebuild the terraces, reports from the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) rice program office showed.

The reports said the Department of Budget Management has set aside P20 million as initial repair funds for the terraces.

Balitang said the Ifugao government will also tap funds from the Unesco National Commission of the Philippines (Unacom) to repair the terraces.

He said tourists and civic groups have helped in the work as a result of a bachang (appeal for help) that was called by communities there.

The Catholic organization Couples for Christ sent a delegation last week, while the Philippine Army promised to send soldiers to help, reports from Balitang’s office said.

The Ifugao government has prepared new maps and geographical data to guide farmers and engineers in their work on the terraces.

The terraces are unique as they were the result of ancient engineering practices that prevent the mountain from eroding.

Ifugao is a rainforest so the paddies act as soil and runoff water trap, while layers of forest cover in the mountains serve as watersheds, the Ifugao Cultural Heritage Office said.

On March 10, Sen. Loren Legarda, chair of the Senate committee on cultural communities, inspected the damaged terraces.

Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr., chair of the House committee on cultural communities, has sponsored a bill that provides a stable source of funds for restoring and maintaining the rice terraces. Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon