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George
Michael Announces First North American Tour in 17 Years
NEW
YORK, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- After performing 80 shows in 12
European countries for a staggering 1.3 million fans over the
past year alone, legendary superstar George Michael will be
bringing his smash 25 LIVE tour to North American Arenas in the
summer of 2008 in support of his
new retrospective record.
This
will be Michael's first North American tour
in 17 years. The new record, titled Twenty-Five, will be
released April 1st and is a 29-song, 2-CD set featuring several
new songs (including duets with superstars Paul McCartney and
Mary J. Blige) in addition to many of
Michael's iconic songs from both his solo and WHAM! career. In
addition, a companion 2-disc DVD of 40 videos will also be made
available.
The 25 LIVE tour broke several ticket sales records, most
notably in Copenhagen. Michael's concert at The Parken Stadium
sold over 50,000 tickets in the matter of minutes, shattering
the previous ticket sales record at the venue, formerly held by
U2. On the 25 LIVE tour, Michael left
both fans and critics alike in awe:
"It was a master class in pop genius." -- The Observer
"George proved he is simply one of the best vocalists this
country has ever produced. A stunning performance." -- The
Sun
"Worth waiting for. The show was, in every single meaning
of the word, perfect." -- De Morgen
"A tremendous singer, a complete showman, all George
Michael needs is a mike, his songs, and the magic on stage is
instantaneous." -- La Parisien
The North American leg of the 25 LIVE tour will kick off in San
Diego on June 17th and will continue through San Jose, Las
Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver, Minneapolis, Chicago,
Dallas, Houston, New York and
several other major cities. The tour will incorporate 22 shows
over the course of seven weeks and Michael will perform material
taken from the entire span of his career, including some classic
Wham! tracks. Michael has
recently teamed up with iTunes and Ticketmaster to produce an
innovative media package which allows fans rare access to
Michael's videos, songs, and tickets to one of his North
American 25 LIVE concerts. The package goes on sale on iTunes on
March 25th. Tickets to the 25 LIVE tour will go on sale to the
general public the weekend of April 6th.
George Michael has enjoyed one of the most successful and
enduring careers in the history of pop music, selling more than
85 million records globally and encompassing seven U.S. No. 1
singles, two Grammy awards, three American Music Awards, an MTV
Video Music Award and two prestigious Ivor Novello awards for
songwriting. His record "Faith" has sold over 20
million copies alone. In addition, Michael has garnered 11
British No. 1 singles and seven British No. 1 albums. He
recently was declared the most played British artist on radio
over the course of the last 20 years.
On
March 27th, Michael can be seen making his American acting debut
on the new hit ABC series, Eli Stone, in which each episode is
titled after one of his songs. |
