Beachley Classic Women's World Tour Surfing: Dee Why, Sydney, Australia

Beachley Classic Women's World Tour Surfing: Dee Why, Sydney, Australia

Courtney Conlogue Claims the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic Crown...

DEE WHY, Sydney NSW/AUS (Saturday, April 21, 2012) – Courtney Conlogue (USA), 19, has won the prestigious 2012 Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic, over Malia Manuel (HAW), 18, at Dee Why beach today. In clean, but challenging two-to-three foot (1.5 meter) waves, the world’s best female surfers battled head-to-head for the biggest prize purse on the ASP Women’s World Championship Tour, with Conlogue taking home USD$30,000.

Stop No. 4 of 7 on the 2012 ASP Women’s World Championship Tour, the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic, run by seven-time ASP Women’s World Champion Layne Beachley, has caused some interesting twists and turns in the race for the coveted ASP Women’s World Title. Yesterday saw the early exit of reigning ASP Women’s World Champion Carissa Moore (HAW), 19. Then today the current ASP Women’s World No. 1 and 2 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 24, and Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 21, both bowed out in the Quarterfinals.

Conlogue who has won multiple ASP 6-Star events, today claimed her maiden win on the elite ASP Women’s World Championship Tour, a feat that sees her jump to 4th on the ratings. Conlogue and Manuel battled through the stacked field of competitors to reach the Final. The dying swell made conditions difficult, but Conlogue found the best waves that allowed her to execute multiple powerful turns.

“I’m speechless right now!” Conlogue said. “It’s been two years on the ASP Women’s World Championship Tour where I kept losing in the Quarterfinals. Then today after winning my Quarterfinal I just tried to go and win the thing. Malia (Manuel) was surfing great in the Final, even though the waves were tricky. I’m really stoked to have won this event! I love Steph (Gilmore) and Sally (Fitzgibbons) and to have them chair me up the beach was absolutely amazing!”

Manuel’s run to the Final wasn’t easy, defeating Gilmore and Tyler Wright (AUS), 18, in the morning’s Quarterfinal and Semifinal. Manuel’s smooth style and tail drifting turns saw her earn big scores and new fans all event. Her red-hot run was only ended by Conlogue’s superior wave selection. Manuel is now equal 6th on the ASP World Championship Tour, and she is now the highest ranked 2012 rookie.

“I’m really relieved to get a good result here at Dee Why,” Manuel said. “I’m happy to move up the ratings. It’s a great confidence boost going into the next three events. I’m really stoked to make a final in my rookie year. I hope the battle for ASP Rookie Of The Year goes down to the last contest. It’s really close between me and Lakey (Peterson). I’m not going to count her out.”

Rebecca Woods (AUS), 28, and Wright were the highest placed Australian surfers, both finishing equal 3rd place. Wright has placed 3rd three times this year, but this is Woods’ best result of the 2012 season and is sure to help her requalification campaign.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling at the moment,” Woods said. “I’ve had a few last places this year, so in some regards I was just happy to put it together for a few heats. I’ve made about nine Semifinals in my life and still never made it into that elusive Final. It’s good to be pushed by the younger girls. I woke up this morning and thought Courtney (Conlogue) was going to win today, then she was on my side of the draw and I cursed myself for putting that in my head. Then she beat me and won the contest, so I was right.”

Gilmore, four-time ASP Women’s World Champion, suffered a shock early exit at the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic today. Gilmore has had three final appearances in the first three events of the year, and today added a respectable equal 5th place finish to her tally. In testing conditions Gilmore was bested by an in-form Manuel, who also defeated her in their non-elimination Round 3 match-up yesterday.

“It’s disappointing,” Gilmore said. “But it’s not a terrible result for me. I feel really strong. When there’s great waves on offer I feel like I’m surfing great. It’s just a matter of getting those waves and I didn’t get them today. I’m looking forward to heading over to Brazil and finding the form I had in the first few events.”

Fitzgibbons went down in the Quarterfinals to eventual event winner Conlogue. Fitzgibbons held an early lead with two mid-range scores, but Conlogue snared the best wave of the heat and tore it apart with some impressive turns, netting a 9.00 (out of a possible 10) and won the heat.

“This is the worst part about what we do,” Fitzgibbons said. “Today I just wasn’t good enough. When you’re feeling strong, you really want to progress through to that Final. I got some early scores and it was really challenging out there. That one wave popped up for Courtney (Conlogue) and she grabbed a 9.00, which is the highest score of the day. I’m really happy for her. She’s a good friend and she trains and surfs really hard and that paid off today.”

More info www.ASPWorldTour.com

COMMONWEALTH BANK BEACHLEY CLASSIC FINAL RESULTS:
1: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 13.17
2: Malia Manuel (HAW) 11.56

COMMONWEALTH BANK BEACHLEY CLASSIC SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Malia Manuel (HAW) 12.67 def. Tyler Wright (AUS) 10.50
SF 2: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 14.33 def. Rebecca Woods (AUS) 10.10

COMMONWEALTH BANK BEACHLEY CLASSIC QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) 14.43 def. Laura Enever (AUS) 12.50
QF 2: Malia Manuel (HAW) 13.00 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 11.47
QF 3: Rebecca Woods (AUS) 11.73 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 8.73
QF 4: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 14.97 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.34

CURRENT ASP WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR TOP 6 (after the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic):
1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
3: Tyler Wright (AUS)
4: Courtney Conlogue (USA)
5: Carissa Moore (HAW)
6: Laura Enever (AUS)
6: Malia Manuel (HAW)

Websites

Beachley Classic Crown

www.beachleyclassic.com

Layne Beachley official website

www.laynebeachley.com

ASP World Tour website

www.aspworldtour.com

Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr

www.flickr.com/evarinaldiphotography

Eva Rinaldi Photography

www.evarinaldi.com

Music News Australia

www.musicnewsaustralia.com

Seal performs at Sydney Entertainment Centre, Australia

Tonight the legendary Seal played to an appreciative audience at the soon to be demolished Sydney Entertainment Centre.

Seal sounded and looked great, but at times was a little hard to see, as the background was quite dark in places.

The song that many came to hear live was 'Kiss from a Rose', which appeared in the soundtrack to the 1995 comic book movie 'Batman Forever'.

As you would expect, most of the fans went home very happy.

We wish Seal well with the rest of his tour and stay in Australia.

Other news

Speculation whether or not Seal and Australian singer - songwriter, and co judge on 'The Voice', Delta Goodrem are at item, however Seal tells news media that they are just good friends.

On March 10, 2012, Seal shared the stage with Kanye West, Soul Rebels Brass Band and Snoop Dogg at Brad Pitt’s Night to Make It Right Foundation New Orleans after-party, hosted by comedian Aziz Ansari. The charity event, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, raised money to build homes for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Seal has cancelled some of his Australian dates via promoter Dainty Group.

The Dainty website states: We are sad to announce that Seal’s scheduled shows in Perth and Canberra will unfortunately not proceed, due to ongoing scheduling conflicts with Seal’s international and Australian work schedule.

A spokesman for Seal said: "Due to further adjustments to Seal’s hectic touring and filming schedule while in Australia, we’ve had to make the difficult decision not to proceed with these two shows.  However, the remaining shows in Melbourne, Adelaide, Gold Coast and Sydney will definitely proceed as scheduled.:

Thank you to those involved with making tonight a success.

Stay tuned to this station for updates.

About Seal

Seal (Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel) was born 19 February 1963 in Paddington, London, England).

His stage name is Seal and he is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an MTV Video Music Award. Seal is known for his numerous international hits; the best known being "Kiss from a Rose", which appeared in the soundtrack to the 1995 film Batman Forever. He has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide. He is a coach on The Voice Australia.

Websites

Seal official website

www.seal.com

Sydney Entertainment Centre

www.sydentcent.com.au

Dainty Group

www.dcegroup.com

Eva Rinaldi Photography

www.evarinaldi.com

Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr

www.flickr.com/evarinaldiphotography

Music News Australia

www.musicnewsaustralia.com

Delta Goodrem performing artist appearance at Westfield, Miranda, Sydney

Today Australian singer - songwriter Delta Goodrem performed her latest single in centre at Westfield Miranda, ahead of the much anticipated release of her fourth album.

The singer, songwriter, pianist, actress and most recently coach of Channel 9’s The Voice, is one of the most accomplished female performers of the last decade, having achieved multi-platinum selling status, eight number-one singles and three number-one albums.

The Australian public first met Delta during her role on Neighbours during which she launched her debut album Innocent Eyes, spending a record-breaking 29 weeks at No.1 in Australia.

In 2010 she was declared ARIA Albums Artist of The Decade after each of the albums five singles reached no.1 in Australia, breaking a record held by Kylie Minogue and the Beatles.

The recordings from her latest album are expected to provide an insight into the place she feels the most at home, barefoot at the piano, in song.

Websites

Delta Goodrem official website

www.deltagoodrem.com

The Voice

www.thevoice.ninemsn.com.au

Westfield

www.westfield.com.au

Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr

www.flickr.com/evarinaldiphotography

Eva Rinaldi Photography

www.evarinaldi.com

Music News Australia

www.musicnewsaustralia.com

Kelly Rowland Hosts TW Steel Events At Ivy Penthouse; Sydney, Australia

Kelly Rowland, the world renown performing artist, is enjoying time down under in Sydney, Australia, and tonight hosted the Australian TW Steel event at The Ivy.

Rowland inked a deal with lifestyle brand TW Steel many months ago, and they have decided the time is right to push the campaign forward in the Asia Pacific region, and "Sin City" Sydney is seen as a potential key market.

Australian media, marketing and music industry experts will be watching and listening closely, as the brand strives for new heights as the same time as Rowland's star continues to climb.

Kelly Rowland profile...

Kelly Rowland is an American recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the founding members of the American R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. Rowland has sold four million solo albums and 18 million solo/featured singles worldwide.

Rowland began her solo career in 2002 with the release of her debut album Simply Deep, which contained influences of alternative-R&B and rock music. It included her joint worldwide number-one single "Dilemma" with rapper Nelly, as well as subsequent singles "Stole", "Can't Nobody" and "Train on a Track". Following the group's disbandment in 2005, Rowland released her second solo effort Ms. Kelly in 2007. Considerably less successful than its predecessor, the album produced the hit singles "Like This" and "Work". In 2009, Rowland scored her second number-one hit with French DJ David Guetta on his single, "When Love Takes Over". The song resulted into their 2010 joint single "Commander". This was Rowland's third number-one hit on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart and first offering from her third album Here I Am. In 2011, Rowland's single "Motivation" featuring Lil Wayne reached number-one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. She has earned several achievements, including four Grammy Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with Destiny's Child.

How far will the brand reach in collaboration with Ms Rowland? Stay tuned to this station.

 Websites

Kelly Rowland official website

www.kellyrowland.com

TW Steel

www.twsteel.com

The Ivy

www.merivale.com.au/ivybar

Thrive PR

www.thrivepr.com.au

Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr

www.flickr.com/evarinaldiphotography

Eva Rinaldi Photography

www.evarinaldi.com

Music News Australia

www.musicnewsaustralia.com

Nicki Minaj PINK FRIDAY TOUR will land in Australia in May

Nicki Minaj, one of the hottest artists on the planet, and indisputably the biggest breakthrough artist of 2011, has announced that the PINK FRIDAY TOUR will land in Australia in May, taking in shows in both Sydney and Melbourne.

Tickets will go on sale Friday March 30 at 10am sharp.

As a very special bonus for Australian fans, those purchasing a ticket will have the
opportunity to pre-order Nicki’s hotly-anticipated new album “Pink Friday : Roman
Reloaded” and be among the first in the world to hear the words and sounds of alterego Roman – the perfect companion to one of the most sought-after tickets of the year! Further details can be obtained when you logo on to ticketek.com.au.

MAY 16
Sydney, Australia Hordern Pavillion
On sale Mar 30 via Ticketek www.ticketek.com.au

MAY 18
Melbourne, Australia Hisense Arena
On sale Mar 30 via Ticketek www.ticketek.com.au

Nicki Minaj Australian Tour Dates 2012

Nicki Minaj is coming down under this year for an Australian tour!

The dates have now been announced, and it looks like it will only be a two city tour, with a stop in at Melbourne and Sydney!

We're sad she's not playing more cities, but still excited she's paying Australia a visit at all!

Nick Minaj is known for being a super-hot rap diva, and arguably one of the hottest names in music right now!

Fans all over the world fell in love with Nicki Minaj in 2010, when she released her incredibly successful debut studio album, Pink Friday.

Since then her outspoken manner, crazy fashion sense and wicked sense of humour has solidified her as one of the hottest talents around!

Her highly anticipated 2012 album is called Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, and features her latest single Starships which is flying high on the Take 40 chart.

This album is set to be unveiled on April 2, just in time for her Australian tour!

Aussie fans who are attending her Sydney and Melbourne shows will be able to pre-order the new album Pink Friday : Roman Reloaded and will be some of the first lucky people to hear her new music!

More album pre-purchase details are available at www.ticketek.com.au

Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday Tour

May 16 - Hordern Pavillion, Sydney
May 18 - Hisense Arena, Melbourne

Tickets for Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday tour will go on sale this Friday March 30 at 9am sharp via Ticketek at www.ticketek.com.au or on 132 849.

For additional and complete tour and ticketing information visit www.mypinkfriday.com and www.livenation.com.au

International Music Competition Call for Bands!

The Global Battle of the Bands (GBOB) (www.gbob.com) is heading to the Valve Bar and Venue for the 2012 Sydney Heat!

GBOB is a huge international event with over 30 countries involved. Whoever wins the Australasian Final, will be flown to the World Final, where they will play off for a first prize is worth US$100,000 and the winner’s the title of ‘Best New Band in the World’!

Sydney bands looking for a head start in their music career, and a chance to play on the World Stage, should apply to take part in the Global Battle of the Bands. GBOB is looking for the next Midnight Oil, Rose Tattoo, INXS, Sneaky Sound System or Wolfmother, to continue the city’s history of producing top international acts. Great original bands that have not yet received the recognition they deserve, now have the chance to make it big through GBOB.

The Sydney Heat is on Sun 13 May, commencing at 1pm. It will be a wicked event that should not be missed! Bands wanting to take part in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity need to contact organisers now by emailing redletter@bigpond.com or calling 02 9519 3978.

As well as the trip overseas, there are lots of other great prizes to be won in GBOB. These include GigLaunch subscriptions, FujiFilm cameras and Converse Chuck Taylor shoes…how cool is that?!

Music lovers should make sure they get to the show as well, so they can check out the best bands Sydney has to offer, and support the one they like the most! There will also be cool audience giveaways! It will be exciting to see which group gets through.

Date: Sun 13 May
Place: Valve Bar and Venue, 900 Princes HWY Tempe
Time: 1pm – 5pm
Tickets: $15

Michael Coppel Presents sold to Live Nation

Leading concert promoter Michael Coppel Presents has been acquired by Live Nation Entertainment and will be merged with the company’s existing business in NZ and Australia to create, Live Nation Australasia. 

Michael Coppel will lead the business as CEO, while Luke Hede and Roger Field, who have run Live Nation’s local operations since it launched, will continue as Vice Presidents - Promotions.

Coppel said, “I am delighted to be joining Live Nation and look forward to working with Luke, Roger and my current team, together with the touring teams in Los Angeles and London to firmly establish Live Nation as the leading promoter in Australia and New Zealand.”

MCP sells up to 1.7 million tickets annually, and responsible for tours including, Dire Straits, Pink, U2, Metallica, Lady Gaga, Roger Waters and more.

Live Nation Concerts produces over 22,000 shows annually for more than 2,300 artists globally.