When Lady Gaga launches her hotly
anticipated "Born This Way Ball" world tour Friday on what is expected to be an
elaborate castle-like stage, fans in Asia will be the first to see
it.
The singer leads off her travels with
sold-out shows from South Korea to Singapore in a striking upgrade of her Asia
itinerary over a previous tour that included only Japan. Western pop stars are
increasingly criss-crossing the upwardly mobile region in search of new markets
while financial malaise continues to afflict parts of the West — and Asian fans
are ecstatic.
"We're getting so many concerts nowadays,
it's hard to decide which ones to go for!" said Mindy Chew, an information
technology consultant in Malaysia who snapped up $120 seats to watch Lady Gaga's
show in neighboring Singapore within 30 minutes after tickets went on
sale.
Next to Lady Gaga, rock band Radiohead
has amassed the most buzz for its planned shows in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea
this July.
But fans also are looking forward to
artists as varied as Elton John, Morrissey, Christina Perri, Lifehouse, Death
Cab for Cutie, Avenged Sevenfold, Backstreet Boys, The Flaming Lips and Manic
Street Preachers.
For unbeatable star power, this August's
two-day Summer Sonic Festival in Japan alone is supposed to feature Rihanna,
Green Day, Ke$ha, Adam Lambert, Pitbull, Calvin Harris and Gym Class
Heroes.
The controversies haven't dampened Lady
Gaga's enthusiasm either. She flew into Seoul a week before her show and has
immersed herself in rehearsals, tweeting her delight about receiving a "warm and
exciting welcome" and whipping up fan anticipation for a stage that her
publicity sketches depict as a medieval castle.
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