Sting and orchestra bring magic to Montreux jazz fest (Reuters)

MONTREUX, Switzerland (Reuters) – Sting performed Police and solo hits including "Roxanne," "Every Breath You Take" and "Englishman in New York" in orchestral arrangement, bringing a sell-out audience at Montreux Jazz Festival to its feet.

The fit 59-year-old Briton and his "Symphonicity" tour delivered an energetic two-hour show on Monday night on the famed stage of the annual prestigious Swiss summer event.

"I'm very happy to be here with the Bochum Symphony Orchestra," Sting, speaking in French, told the crowd of 3,300 fans of all ages, some of whom paid more than $200 for a seat in Stravinski Auditorium.

Bathed in red light, he then sang "Roxanne," playing his acoustic guitar for The Police's 1978 hit that tells a tale of a man falling in love with a prostitute.

Sting, sporting a tight-fitting grey t-shirt, opened with "Everything Little Thing She Does is Magic," setting the tone for a high-energy evening marked by conductor Sarah Hicks dancing in high heels as she led the German orchestra.

The full force of its drums and horns came through on numbers including "Russians."

A white spotlight shone on first violinist Christine Fischer-Eisenbrand for her solo in "Whenever I Say Your Name." Sting was accompanied in the duet by Australian back-up vocalist Jo Lawry for the 2003 track he recorded with Mary J. Blige.

Sting joined in on harmonica for "Fields of Gold," with a tambourine for songs including "Straight to my Heart," then returned to his acoustic guitar for "(Moon Over) Bourbon Street." Dominic Miller and co-writer of some compositions including "Shape of my Heart" was on electric guitar throughout.

The Police frontman and winner of 16 Grammy Awards who has sold nearly 100 million records earned thunderous applause for "King of Pain." He then brought the crowd to its feet for the rest of the night with "Every Breath You Take" followed by encores of "Desert Rose," "She's Too Good for Me" and "Fragile."

Sting closed with "Message in a Bottle," the crowd joining in the refrain.

Last week the activist abruptly canceled a performance in the Astana Day Festival in Kazakhstan, voicing support for striking oil and gas workers in the former Soviet republic.

"Hunger strikes, imprisoned workers and tens of thousands on strike represents a virtual picket line which I have no intention of crossing," he said in a statement on his website.

Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin opened the two-week Montreux festival along Lake Geneva that closes on Saturday with Deep Purple. Rapper Doom is standing in for Mos Def on Thursday, organizers said in an overnight statement that gave no reason.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

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Sad songs bring joy to bluegrass star Alison Krauss (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – It's tempting to look at Alison Krauss' new album and speculate how many Grammy awards the bluegrass star will add to her vast collection next year.

Six, like the number she won with her hit 2008 collaboration with Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant? Or maybe just four, like her previous album with her long-time band Union Station?

Krauss, who turns 40 next month, is already the most honored singer in Grammy history, with 26 awards. She needs just six more to surpass classical conductor Georg Solti at the top. The only living artist with more awards is Quincy Jones, who started building his collection of 27 statuettes in 1964.

But don't try to engage Krauss in a guessing game about the prospects for "Paper Airplane" at next February's ceremony. Holding forth in a hotel room in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley recently, the Midwestern diplomat just laughed when some numbers were tossed at her.

Another tack is called for. If a reporter was a guest in her Nashville home, and pocketed one of her Grammys would she ever notice? Another dead end.

"We don't have 'em out," she replied. "We put them where they're not on display. I like home to be about home."

Like most artists, Krauss is driven more by creative energy than a crushing need to hoard more hardware. Every song she tackles goes through a rigorous quality-control process.

"I love reading lyrics and I love reading a line and I'll emphasize different syllables to see how the meaning changes with that line," she said.

BAND ANIMAL

Krauss is not spending too much time at home, anyway. Along with Union Station, she is currently on a North American tour that runs through the end of September.

The fiddle-playing prodigy with an angelic voice has been performing pretty much all her life. After wowing crowds at local bluegrass shows across her native Illinois, she signed with Rounder Records when she was 14 years-old, and released her first album in 1987.

Her 1989 follow-up marked the first group collaboration with Union Station, a combo of crack musicians who keep busy with other musical projects. She alternates between solo and band recordings, but is a band animal at heart.

"If I am remembered for my musical contribution, it will be with these guys," she said.

Her 2007 collaboration with Plant for "Raising Sand" sold millions worldwide and won the coveted album of the year Grammy. Their efforts to record a sequel were "premature," Krauss said. She doesn't rule out another attempt.

For now, the focus is on "Paper Airplane," a collection of songs about heartbreak, death and regret, which debuted at No. 3 on the U.S. pop chart in April. It marks her first album with Union Station since 2004's "Lonely Runs Both Ways."

It did not start out with a bleak theme, or with any theme at all. But Krauss, a single mom, was going through a break-up at the time and gravitated to darker material.

"I was terribly sad," she said. "Personally, it was really tough." (Despite their onstage chemistry, she said she was never romantically involved with Plant).

Reliving melancholy sentiments in her songs night after night is not as excruciating as it would seem, since Krauss finds beauty in moments of sadness.

"There's something so raw going on. It's what people fight wars about. It's real. Through all this stuff and music and those sad places, you may get so sad but you also experience incredible joy at the same time. This is an interesting life."

One thing Krauss is not too sad about is turning 40. She will be playing a show in Massachusetts on her birthday, July 23, and hopes there won't be any fuss made.

Needless to say -- but it had to be asked -- the slim siren has no plans to follow in Sheryl Crow's footsteps and mark the milestone by posing in skimpy clothing for a "laddie" magazine cover story. "I don't think so," she said with a laugh. "It's funny though!"

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

(To read more about our entertainment news, visit our blog "Fan Fare" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)

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Clinton, Jackson bring star power to Vienna Life Ball (AFP)

VIENNA (AFP) – Vienna is gearing up to welcome tens of thousands of revellers to its world famous Life Ball this weekend, one of the world's biggest AIDS charity events, with Janet Jackson and Bill Clinton in the star line-up.

While last year's mega-party in front of the Austrian capital's neo-Gothic City Hall was drenched by an unexpected cloudburst, the weather this weekend looks set to smile on the thousands lucky enough to have a ticket to the most colourful event in Vienna's social calendar.

The glittering Opera Ball may be the most exclusive and elegant of the hundreds of balls held every year in Vienna, but the Life Ball is by far the most extravagant, with guests dressing up in the campest and most outrageous of costumes.

This year's party will the 19th edition of the Life Ball and will also mark 30 years since the discovery of the AIDS virus, HIV.

Alongside former US president Clinton, long a regular guest, will be UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibe and US actress Brooke Shields, with musical interludes by singers Jackson and Natasha Bedingfield, and violinist Nigel Kennedy.

The evening will begin with a gala dinner at the Imperial Palace sponsored by Austrian President Heinz Fischer, with tickets priced at up to 2,500 euros ($3,575) apiece.

Those who choose to attend only the extravagant red carpet fashion show and party at the City Hall afterwards have to fork out a more affordable 150 euros per ticket.

Last year's Life Ball raised over 1.5 million euros ($1.9 million) for international and national HIV and AIDS projects.

The fashion show -- which has memorably been held on a red-ribbon catwalk in past years -- will be by the Canadian designer duo Dsquared2, Dean and Dan Caten.

The ball is broadcast live on public television, but not everyone in a conservative and Catholic country such as Austria feels comfortable about the event.

According to a recent poll by the Humaninstitut in Klagenfurt, 69 percent of the population view the Life Ball as decadent, only 16 percent see it as a sign of tolerance.

Thirty years after the discovery of the HI-virus, and despite enormous progress in treatment, "AIDS still represents a menace," said Life Ball co-founder and organiser Gery Keszler. Infection rates remain high in Austria and "are exploding" in neighbouring countries in eastern Europe, as well as in Asia.

Past guests of the Life Ball have included singer Katy Perry and actresses Sharon Stone and Whoopi Goldberg.

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Anne Hathaway, James Franco Bring the Funny in Oscar Promo

As the Academy Awards inch closer, a new promo for the big night shows co-hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco prepping for the ultimate hosting gig -- complete with dance lessons and wardrobe-malfunction preparedness.

In the new clip, Franco and Hathaway can be seen working on their fitness -- using Oscar statues as weights -- and brushing up on their seemingly rough dancing skills.

And, in an effort to prevent any wardrobe issues, Franco jokingly practices throwing a blanket over Hathaway as a strap on her dress breaks while on stage. See the video after the jump!

"I'm just kind of going with the flow," he said, getting some helpful hints from a past host. "Billy Crystal said to wear tennis shoes, or something, but I don't think I'm going to follow that advice."

The 83rd Academy Awards air Feb. 27 at 8PM EST on ABC. http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=691977&pid=691976&uts=1294158078http://www.popeater.com/mm_track/popeater/music/?s_channel=us.musicpop&s_account=aolpopeater,aolsvc&omni=1&ke=1http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swfReese Witherspoon keeps her hands in her pockets as she tries to stay warm while out in New York City on January 3rd.oKExp.start("popeater3-popeater_music_popscene");

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