Jennifer Lopez could not do what Katy Perry did at IPL - performance !!

When I circulate my posts through e-mail daily, I have 2 distinct lists ~ one religious, to whom I send my Temple related posts and the other group gets my posts on Insurance, Current affairs and Sports ~ to them I keep telling that most of my Cricket posts are about interesting aspects that surround the game rather than description of the game itself, and hence could be enjoyable to even those who do not like cricket [by the way are there many who don’t like Cricket] Here is a perfect opportunity for me to showcase ~ a post related to IPL ~ but that is not Cricket……………….  first Q ~ how much do you follow pop music and its entertainers…………. straight do you ogle at  Jo Lo…. and if so, be disappointed that Jennifer Lopez could not quite do what Katy Perry did. 

Priyanka Chopra with Murali Vijay, Dhoni and Ashwin

Katy Perry with Boulinger.

Last year it was a great show blitz in Chennai ~ the inauguration of IPL 5 ~ it was not at Chepauk, far away from the Cricket stadium at Nandanam there were more crowds – mad people spending so much – not for seeing cricketers in action………….. but  the event that kickstarted the game.   IPL was touted  to be  a treat of entertainment ~ but they opened the stage with bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhudeva, Priyanka Chopra, Salman Khan, Colonial Cousins and Katy Perry.  Yes, an  American Singer, songwriter and actress - Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson better known by her stage name Katy Perry performed for IPL at  YMCA College of Physical Education ~ an innovative move to promote and popularize and patronize cricket !!!

On that eventful day, the glamour quotient was at an all-time high as a galaxy of stars, led by megastar Amitabh Bachchan, descended at the at the YMCA College of Physical Education and set the stage on fire with their performance.  Though there were many glam stars, it appeared that the crowd was not entirely on their feet as the event was sort of a non-starter.   Amitabh, started the proceedings for the evening with a rendition of a poem 'If I were to be born again', written by renowned lyricist Prasoon Joshi. – the Colonial Cousins Hariharan and Leslie Lewis  did not churn out great stuff.  It was away from Cricket, venue was also away from the playing arena and the Opening Nite did not quite live up to the expectations.  Salman never a hit down south.   Prabhu deva has courted more controversies of late and not as flexible as he was in his yesteryears. Katy Perry dance looked a scene straight from any Telegu movie.   Rajeev Shukla, the IPL representative also spoke…………

So what is in store for the great Indian Cricket fan… can you imagine or do you have an inkling of what you have just missed !  Today’s Daily Mail reports that the Indian fans are poorer as they could not see J Lo, who has been dropped from performing in front of 60million people in India; unfair, my friends, that is not cricket and the drop is  over diva’s  demands for private plane and hotel rooms for huge entourage

Daily Mail reports that Jennifer Lopez missed out on performing at the IPL opening ceremony after her camp demanded her own plane ~ is that she or is that the Indian fans who have missed out…. The report puts that  Jo Lo’s camp demanded she have her own plane. Her manager Benny Medina reportedly asked organisers to make a private plane available to the superstar and pay for hotel rooms for her extensive entourage, including stylists and a personal chef.   It is further stated that Pepsi IPL booked rapper Pitbull after refusing to meet her diva-like demands.

The  report quoting NY Post states : 'She effectively priced herself out of the event. It was an idiotic move because the audience for this event is huge. It’s like the Super Bowl halftime show.' A J-Lo representative denied she was dropped by IPL organisers and said she is not performing at the ceremony on Tuesday because she is too busy.

So 56 million reportedly watched Katy Perry last year; this year they could not watch Jennifer Lopez in action.  In case, you are not in tune with entertainment World, Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson is known by her stage name Katy Perry ~ she  is an American recording artist, songwriter, and actress.  Jennifer Lynn Muñiz popularly Jo Lo, is an American actress, dancer, entrepreneur, fashion designer, film producer, philanthropist and singer.

Away from Cricket, there are reports that Madonna, another entertainer demands - special fabric, flowers and furniture plus a 200-strong entourage. The 53-year-old singer's rider includes all sorts of extravagant conditions as she performs her MDNA tour, according to reports.  Some reports state that Madonna has some outrageous demands included on her tour rider including special flowers and furniture.  one version puts it that  'She requires all furniture be removed from the rooms and replaced with her own pieces that she has shipped in.' It is claimed the singer demands 20 international phone lines in the room as well as special white and pink roses that must have the stems cut to six inches. Within the 200-strong team she is said to have 30 bodyguards, a yoga instructor as well as personal chefs and an acupuncturist.

Moving further away ~ if you are to ask whose entourage is bigger Jo Lo or Madonna………… perhaps it is none of them but Barack Obama… yes the celebrity – it is stated during his recent trip to Israel where his Beast broke down but had another one flown in replacing it had a 600 person entourage, that occupied all 233 rooms in King David Hotel.  It is stated that the entourage was even higher when he visited India last

There has to be some Cricket at least in the end…….. IPL much dogged by crisis of anti-lankan campaign in Tamil Nadu and the fact that matches at Chepauk will not have Lankan players playing for any IPL side is all set to begin on April 3^rd 2013 with  the defending champ Kolkatta Knight Riders taking on Delhi Daredevils ~  there would be 72 preliminary matches + 4 culminating in finals on May 26 ~ the event sure is to attract millions of viewers…. Raipur and Ranchi will make debuts as IPL host cities in the 2013 edition. Max, the exclusive broadcaster of the Indian Premier League, is all set to launch its new marketing campaign for Pepsi IPL 2013 titled ‘Sirf Dekhneka Nahi’.

Now do tell me ~ do I write too much on Cricket !!!!

with regards – S. Sampathkumar.

29^th Mar 2013.