Avril Lavigne in Shanghai
By Caroline Rowe, Aug 9th, 2007 | In Nightlife
Hands up all those who've leapt around their apartments at some point singing along to Avril Lavigne's "Complicated"? Come on now, lying is bad for your karma, and you at the back, hands up now. Although Avril is not a big international DJ with a name like a pharmaceutical product, she is far more of a superstar than any one-hit nightclub wonder will ever be. Her tunes are as hard to shake as a Rolex salesman on Nanjing Dong Lu, she has meaningful lyrics, a juggernaut of PR and marketing support and, most importantly, popular appeal. She's sold 25 million albums, garnered eight Grammy nominations and even hit the top of the movie charts as a Possum named Heather. She's undeniably huge and she's coming to Shanghai.
Now, no big star is an easy hire. I've seen the catering requests for Il Divo, the pop-operatic-totty-quartet, and these guys are expensive puppies to feed and pay. We've seen a few big names in Shanghai such as Elton, sponsored by Budweiser, and Christina, sponsored by Chivas, but what's so exciting about Avril, apart from the fact that she's Avril, is that she's being brought over by a brand firmly established in Shanghai: Solid Vodka.
Over my years in Shanghai I've seen Solid grow from a teeny tiny plantling into a great big vodka forest. It's now one of the best selling vodkas in Shanghai and a growing force in the rest of China. I did a little calculation: based on my own annual vodka consumption, multiplied by the 18 million people currently in Shanghai and, well ... let's just say that the number had a lot of zeros.
ADVERTISEMENT
Hassle free ticket purchasing and delivery for Shanghai's cultural and concert events:
No comments yet
Please sign in or register to comment