Blog Posts by Fann Sim

Singer David Archuleta's Singapore gig has been cancelled indefinitely. (Getty Images)

David Archuleta fans are up in arms after the young singer's Saturday's concert was postponed indefinitely last week without any given reason.

The 20-year-old American Idol runner-up was supposed to perform one show at The Coliseum, a 3,000-seater hall at Hard Rock Hotel on 19 November.

However, concert organiser Miracle Entertainment Group posted a note on their Facebook page and website last week saying, "Due to unforseen circumstances, the concert will not be happening. It will be postpone indefinitely until further notice.

"Please reach out to Gatecrash for refunds. We sincerely apologise for all inconvience caused," they added. Gatecrash is the ticketing agent.

Archuleta himself confirmed the news when he tweeted, "Sad to inform that the scheduled Singapore show has been postponed indefinitely due to unforeseen circumstances."

He added that he was very sorry to Singaporean fans and would see if something could be done in the future to make up for the situation.

Fans from the

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Stjepan Hauser and Luka Sulic make up 2Cellos. (Photo courtesy of Sony Music)

Stjepan Hauser, 24, and Luka Sulic, 23, could easily pass off as rockers with their suave good looks and head-banging style when they perform on stage.

These two Croatian cellists, aptly named 2CELLOS, give popular rock hits a different sound by re-arranging them for the classical instrument.

"We wanted to make something new, exciting and attractive especially for the younger people to attract them to this great instrument," they replied in an email interview.

The cello has many possibilities as an instrument that people are not aware of, so the duo sought to revolutionise the way of the cello is played and to expand the techniques.

Their popularity skyrocketed after the duo uploaded a video of their unique arrangement and performance of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" in December last year. Within three weeks, their video on YouTube went viral, achieving over three million hits.

Music legend Sir Elton John was one of the viewers and was impressed by the two cellists.

"He called

Read More »from 2Cellos: Expect the unexpected

Tony Bourdain offers Marge Simpson some Singapore food. (Screengrab from YouTube)

Singapore's (in)famous street food has made its mark yet again -- this time on none other than award-winning U.S. cartoon series "The Simpsons".

In the long-running cartoon's most recent episode entitled "The Food Wife" that aired in the US over the weekend, Singapore's street food culture is spoofed in Marge Simpson's dream sequence.

In typical irreverent fashion that takes aim at the food pop culture scene, an exaggerated  caricature of food critic Anthony Bourdain is pictured in a Singapore street food market scene asking Marge to "try this hang he kway chap" in a heavily accented American-twang.

Dress in typical local attire of khaki shorts and slippers, Marge -- who along with her kids Bart and Lisa Simpson, are known as famous food blogging family "The Three Mouthketeers" -- says appreciatively, "Oooh, triple spicy barbequed stingray stuffed with pig organs."

Before she can take a bite, her husband Homer bounces past on a bouncy ball and gobbles down the delicacy in one gulp,

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Good Charlotte will be performing in Singapore on 18 November. (Photo courtesy of Warner Music and Hype Records)

American rock band Good Charlotte is psyched to be performing in Singapore on 18 November, but they are finding one thing becoming more of a challenge -- deciding on their set list.

"It's getting harder and harder to put together set lists these days," said Billy Martin, guitarist and keyboardist of Good Charlotte when Yahoo! Singapore asked them last month about what they have lined up for the upcoming concert.

The band is made up of lead vocalist Joel Madden, lead guitarist Benji Madden, bassist Paul Thomas, guitarist and keyboardist Billy Martin and drummer Dean Butterworth. To date, the band has sold 10 million records and won numerous awards for their music.

The 30-year-old rocker said that with five albums, including the latest album, Cardiology, choosing songs for the set list is harder because all their fans have different favourite songs from the different albums.

"We try to put all the singles that people know, plus the songs that are fun for us to play live," said Martin,

Read More »from Deciding on our set list nowadays is tough: Good Charlotte

Beneath Joe Manganiello's tough exterior resides a gentle giant's heart. (Yahoo! photo/Fann Sim)

True Blood star Joe Manganiello may tower over everyone at 1.95 meters and give off a fierce vibe on the HBO series, but in real life he acts like a gentle giant.

Manganiello, who plays werewolf Alcide Herveaux on the show, revealed that because he was tall and lanky as a kid, he became a victim of bullying and had to learn to fight back.

Speaking from a round table interview on Tuesday in Hong Kong where he was promoting the season four premiere of True Blood, Maganiello said he drew strength from his father and comic book heroes like Spider-Man.

"I was a gentle kid but sometimes kids at that age are mean and you have to learn how to defend yourself," said Manganiello.

"I would come home after getting bullied and my father would say, 'You're going to go back in there tomorrow and knock that kid out,'" he added, explaining how his dad spurred him on to defend himself and use his size to protect smaller kids.

He also shared how, funnily enough, at the Catholic school he attended, he

Read More »from True Blood werewolf hottie really a gentle giant

Music of aspiring Singapore musicians are available for download at NEA's website. (NEA photo)

15 aspiring Singaporean musicians and their original compositions were selected to be produced in the National Environment Agency's Eco Music Challenge Season 2 album.

All songs on the album were composed by finalists of this year's Eco Music Challenge. Songs on the album span rock and roll, pop, country folk, jazz and punk rock, and all of them express support and appreciation for the environment.

The winning song "World Without Fences" composed by 20-year-old Lee Fengheng talks about how everyone could put aside their differences and work together to do their part in helping Earth.

All proceeds from the sale of the album will go towards the Nature Society (Singapore) to support their activities of nature appreciation and nature study at Semakau Landfill, and the land and intertidal areas of Pulau Semakau.

Songs from the Eco Music Challenge Season 2 album are available for download at NEA's website at $0.99 per song and at $9.90 for the full album. A hardcopy album is also available

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"Terra Nova" will premiere on 29 October on FOX (StarHub Ch 505 and 558). (Photo courtesy of FOX)

It's being billed as television's most expensive series ever made and everything about this show is B-I-G.

Before filming of its two-hour pilot episode even began, "Terra Nova" had already racked up $10 million in costs. The pilot alone is estimated to have cost somewhere up to $20 million.

Subsequent episodes are being budgeted at $4 million each. The last time any pilot was this expensive was the multiple Emmy Award-winning "Boardwalk Empire" directed by Martin Scorsese, which cost $18 million back in 2009.

Helmed by none other as Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg, "Terra Nova" is a cross between "Avatar", "Jurassic Park" and "Stargate".

The premise of the 13-episode series is simple: In the year 2149, Earth has been so completely polluted that humans have to breathe through an air filter.

In an attempt to "reboot" human history, mankind's only hope for survival is to travel 85 million years back in time to a colony called "Terra Nova"and where dinosaurs still reign supreme.

Read More »from Terra Nova, TV’s most expensive series ever