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Michael Bublé Finishes Tour with $106M in Tix Sales, Hosts NBC Holiday Special with Barbra Streisand, Ariana Grande, Miss Piggy; X-Mas Album Goes Diamond

Seems like Michael Bublé is on Santa’s nice list this holiday season. The soulful crooner is just finishing up his international To Be Loved concert tour with $106 million in tickets sales for 2014.Multi-Grammy-Award-winning Bublé is completing his 157th performance of his sold-out world tour this week in London as well as hosting his fourth annual Christmas special "Christmas in New York with Michael Bublé," which has been hailed as the best holiday special of the year. With his "Christmas" album selling more than 9.5 million copies worldwide, it seems Bublé has a lot to be thankful for this Christmas.In 2014, Bublé sold 992,637 tickets to his To Be Loved tour and performed 18 sold-out shows in just the U.K. alone. That is not counting the 31 in Europe, 12 in Canada and several sold-out shows throughout Mexico, South America, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. It comes as no surprise that his "Christmas" CD has just been certified diamond in Canada, the first album to do so since Adele’s 21 album. In the U.S., the "Christmas" CD has remained in the top 10 for the last several weeks, was certified triple platinum and has sold more than 3.5 million copies since its release four years ago.
By Jaime Prisco

  • Renée Fleming Hosts 'American Voices' for Thirteen's 'Great Performances' Series, Feat. Sara Bareilles, Josh Groban, Ben Folds, Alison Krauss, National Symphony Orchestra and More

    Soprano sweetheart Renée Fleming will be hosting "American Voices," a performance documentary that celebrates the best in American signing, on Thirteen’s "Great Performances" series.The 90-minute performance documentary offers an overview of the Kennedy Center's weekend-long American Voices festival, created and hosted by Renée Fleming in November 2013. This year's festival features stars and musicians from an array of different backgrounds, including Sara Bareilles, Kim Burrell, Kurt Elling, Ben Folds, Sutton Foster, Josh Groban, Alison Krauss, Norm Lewis, Eric Owens and Dianne Reeves.This event comes on the heels of Fleming’s performance of "Silver Bells" with Kelli O’Hara, which some felt fell flat of Fleming's normal performances, a mixed review of her rendition of the national anthem at Super Bowl XLVIII and an interesting interaction with Kiss at this year’s Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.Despite the criticism, Fleming moves along with "American Voices," which allows camera crews to follow vocal masters, industry titans and emerging artist as they gather at the Kennedy Center to celebrate, explore and debate the legacy, landscape and future of American singing.The documentary will feature highlights from the festival's unique performances and educational events. Also featured are performances from the festival’s concert finale with Josh Groban, Sara Bareilles, Kurt Elling and Norm Lewis backed by the National Symphony Orchestra led by NSO Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke.
    By Jaime Prisco

  • EXCLUSIVE: Vijay Iyer Talks 'RADHE RADHE: Rites of Holi' at Brooklyn Academy of Music (Dec. 18-20) and Prashant Bhargava Silent Film

    A Classicalite favorite, Vijay Iyer, has recently been experimenting with new sounds on his latest LP Mutations. And with an upcoming stint at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) entitled RADHE RADHE: Rites of Holi from Dec. 18-20, Iyer is demonstrating that the MacArthur Genius' music is forming a language all its own.
    By Ian Holubiak
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