Macy’s annual event will fuse style, music, art and cuisine for a unique evening featuring creative combinations of colors, patterns, textures, shapes and trends. City sophisticate, punk princess and the classic cowboy harmoniously come together for a stylishly chic scene. The event benefits the Children’s Cancer Research Fund.

WHERE: The Orpheum Theatre
910 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN
Friday, August 14, 2009
8 p.m.

TICKETS: Price ranges from $75-$1,000 and can be purchased through the Children’s Cancer Research Fund at 952.893.9355 or ChildrensCancer.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the State Theatre Box Office or by calling Ticketmaster at 1.800.982.2787.

Source: Pitchengine.com

Exposed
Release Date: July 28, 2009
001. Somebody
002. Future Love
003. Speak Up
004. Goodbye
005. Sabotage
006. Died In Your Eyes
007. Powerless
008. Cried Me A River
009. Doesn’t Everybody Want To Fall In Love
010. It’s Gotta Be Love
011. Disconnect

Kristinia gets her first hit with Goodbye, a top 10 single built around Steam’s 1969, Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye. Her sassy, girl-power take on the sports-stadium staple has the 19-year-old brushing off an inattentive boyfriend. The song, which has been played 14.7 million times on MySpace, is No. 14 on USA TODAY’s top 40 airplay chart and No. 27 on iTunes, and it has sold 541,000 downloads, according to Nielsen Sound Scan. It’s also being used in commercials for Nivea beauty products.

She’ll be an opening act (along with Ciara) when Britney Spears’ Circus tour returns to North America with a show Aug. 20 in Hamilton, Ontario.

“When I heard the song, I knew that it was going to be a hit,” says DeBarge, whose father, James, played keyboards for the Motown family quintet DeBarge in the 1980s. “I loved the melody and I knew that it was going to be familiar to everyone. It was a song I needed, because there weren’t that many up-tempo songs on my album.”

Exposed, out July 28, leans heavily toward ballads “having to do with love and discovering love.” Goodbye is one of several tracks produced by mentor Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, who is launching his new SodaPop/Island record label with DeBarge’s album. It’s a partnership with Island Def Jam, now run by his LaFace Records co-founder L.A. Reid.

“She’s a talented young girl who has inherited a gift from her family, and that gift is raw talent, good looks and an easygoing personality,” says Babyface, who with Reid opened for the group DeBarge when they were bandmates in The Deele. “She’s matured. She’s more in control of her powerful voice, and she knows who Kristinia is and where she wants to go.”

DeBarge says she has known she wanted to be a singer since she was 3 but didn’t tell her father until she was 12. She says he tested her by putting her through an all-night recording session to make sure she understood what she was getting into. After that initiation, she began doing talent shows, and he took her on the road with him.

She got national exposure in 2003 as a contestant on the American Idol spinoff American Juniors but didn’t make the top 10. The rejection hurt, but it attracted attention from producers and eventually led her to Babyface, who began writing songs with her when she was 14.

“I was really devastated and sad (to be cut), but I remember saying in my interview that I won’t give up,” says DeBarge, who signed with her label in March, two days before her birthday. “After that, I was in the studio every day. I was home-schooled all through high school, and I focused on my music.”

Other album tracks include Cry Me a River, a ballad for the brokenhearted; Disconnect, a song about missing a distant lover; and Doesn’t Everybody Want to Fall in Love, about her real-life plea for parental approval of her first love affair.

“It’s just me going through different emotions,” she says. “It’s a good compilation of what young girls my age go through.”

She says she’s not worried about finding her own identity. (In addition to DeBarge, her uncles Tommy and Bobby were in the R&B band Switch, and uncles El and Chico are solo artists.)

“I really don’t think that it’s going to be a problem because I’m in my own lane,” she says. “It’s a blessing to be a part of the DeBarge family, and I look at it in the best positive way.”

Source: USAToday.com

“I always make it clear to people that I’ve gotten to where I am because of myself,” she told DS. “I’ve been working on my project for seven years now. I sacrificed not going to a normal high school – I was home-schooled for four years – because I wanted to dedicate myself completely to music.”

She also revealed that she met Babyface, the producer of her upcoming album, without an introduction from her father.

“I didn’t meet Babyface through my father. I met him on my own. I did whatever I could to meet the people I needed to meet and to get to where I am now,” she said.

“I emphasise this so much because it’s important to me that people know I worked just as hard as any other artist that’s come out and been successful.”

Kristinia DeBarge releases debut single ‘Goodbye’ on August 10.

Source: DigitalSpy.com

Britney Spears is bringing “The Circus Starring Britney Spears” back to North America with a little help from special guests, Kristinia DeBarge and Ciara. Both artists are set to open for Britney during her return to Canada and the U.S. beginning August 20th. Ciara, the 24-year old Grammy Award winning artist, most recently seen as the opening act for Britney in London, will be joined by Kristinia DeBarge in August for the 20-city tour.

Daughter of 80′s pop star, James DeBarge, Kristinia got her start as one of the top 20 “American Juniors” when she was 13. She then went on to work with Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and landed her record deal with Island Def Jam two days before her 19th birthday. DeBarge’s current single, “Goodbye” can be heard on iTunes and is featured in Nivea’s national television campaign.

“Joining Britney Spears for her “Circus” tour will be an amazing and surreal experience for me. I have been dreaming of an opportunity like this forever, and can’t wait,” exclaims DeBarge.

“The Circus Starring Britney Spears” is a dazzling display of music, dance, magic and theatrics. With its cast of nearly 50 dancers, magicians, clowns and acrobats, and a traveling staff of over 200, the 50 million dollar extravaganza travels with an unprecedented 60 tons of equipment in 34 trucks for what has already proven to be the most electrifying musical event ever.

“The Circus Starring Britney Spears” kicked-off in New Orleans, LA on March 3, “The pop star…pulled out all the stops before a sell-out crowd of 16,400 to launch her much anticipated world tour,” stated Reuters. To date, the Circus is the highest grossing tour of 2009 in North America. Britney is currently touring Europe to raves reviews. “The Circus starring Britney Spears, the relentlessly high octane and superbly choreographed affair delighted 23,000 assembled fans” claims the UK’s Daily Mail, and The Financial Times stating “…with costume changes, a mini-magic show and blingy bicycles, the presentation was a feast for the eyes.”

Tour dates are:

August 20                   Hamilton, ON                  Copps Coliseum
August 21                   Ottawa, ON                     Scotiabank Place
August 24                   New York, NY                 Madison Square Garden
August 25                   New York, NY                 Madison Square Garden
August 29                   Boston, MA                    TD Banknorth Garden
August 30                   Philadelphia, PA             Wachovia Center
September 1               Orlando, FL                    Amway Arena
September 2               Miami, FL                       AA Arena
September 4               Atlanta, GA                    Philips Arena
September 5               Greensboro, NC            Greensboro Coliseum
September 8               Detroit, MI                      The Palace of Auburn Hills
September 9               Chicago, IL                    Allstate Arena
September 11             Des Moines, IA              Wells Fargo Arena
September 12             Grand Forks, ND           Alerus Center
September 15             Tulsa, OK                      BOK Center
September 16             Houston, TX                  Toyota Center
September 18             Dallas, TX                      American Airlines Center
September 19             Bossier City, LA             CenturyTel Center
September 21             El Paso, TX                   Don Haskins Center
September 23             Los Angeles, CA            STAPLES Center
September 26             Las Vegas, NV              Mandalay Bay Events Center
September 27             Las Vegas, NV              Mandalay Bay Events Center

Tickets are currently on sale. Fans can visit www.BritneySpears.com for tour and ticketing information.