Guy Sebastian jetted to Jakarta this week to perform on Asian Idol. Apparently this was like a mini version of World Idol (anyone else remember that?), where six Eastern nations battled for the title.

Now, Hady Mirza of Singapore won, but I figured my readers might be more interested in checking out Guy Sebastian’s duet with Indonesian Idol, Mike Mohede. The pair sang Guy’s debut single “Angels Brought Me Here.”

Guy also apparently performed a medley of hits from The Memphis Album on the show. This is great exposure for Guy, who’s set to release his new soul album in India, China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. 

New South Wales’ soggy conditions have put a stop to this year’s Peats Ridge Music Festival.

“The highest December rainfall on record, coupled with six months of extremely wet weather has resulted in ground conditions that make it impossible for the festival to proceed,” says a statement on the Peats Ridge website.

“Although the team has done everything in its power to deliver the festival, at the end of the day the wellbeing of our patrons must come first. In the interests of public safety the organisers and venue owner have had to make this extremely difficult decision.”

It’s a bummer for the music fans who were due to hear De La Soul, Sarah Blasko, Katie Noonan, Eugene Hideaway Bridges, Old Man River, and more.

Ticket holders can get a full refund from their place of purchase.

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Australia’s heavy metal community is in mourning today after Damo Morris, the lead singer for The Red Shore, died in a bus crash in New South Wales.

The Melbourne band were touring with American metal outfit All Shall Perish when their bus crashed on the Pacific Highway, just north of Coffs Harbour, this morning.

The band’s merchandiser was also killed, and seven others were injured in the crash. The bands were scheduled to play at Hermann’s Bar in Sydney tonight.

What a great loss.

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After the minor success of her debut single “Not Missing You,” I thought that pleasant but fairly unremarkable pop star Amy Pearson might just fade away. It seems I’d dismissed her far too quickly, because she’s just scored a gig singing the title track to Mischa Barton’s latest big screen blockbuster Closing the Ring.

According to The Sunday Telegraph, director Richard Attenborough was so chuffed by Amy’s performance of the song “Lost Without Your Love” that he flew her to Belfast for the international premiere. There she performed the song for the all-star cast which includes Shirley MacLaine and Neve Campbell.

The song will appear on Amy’s new album, which hits stores in April. No doubt the publicity this track will generate should open up doors for an international release.

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Country singer Lee Kernaghan is the bookies’ favourite to be named Australian of Year in January.

He’s well known for hits like “Boys from the Bush” and “Hat Town,” but when he’s not belting out a tune Lee donates him time to charities.

He raised more than $1 million for needy communities during his Pass the Hat Around tours and worked tirelessly to help those affected the drought.

“To many people, he represents the very essence of the spirit and values of contemporary rural Australia,” reads Lee’s official nomination.

Lee is nominated alongside social justice advocate Lin Hatfield, filmmaker Scott Hicks, pediatrician Professor Jonathon Carapetis, golfer Stuart Appleby, sailor Ken Page, dancer Stephen Page, and performer Mark Bin Bakar.

The winner will be announced on the lawns of Parliament House on January 25. A singer has not been named Australian of the Year since John Farnham got the nod in 1987.

I’m not the only one fantasising about Christmas office parties today. My knowledgable colleagues here at the music channel have also offered some fantastic guest lists.

Bruce at Our Digital Music offers a nice list, with party starters like Prince and cool cats like Ray LaMontagne and Leonard Cohen.

You’d expect Lara at Crooner Culture would have one of the coolest lists around, and she delivers, with The Rat Pack and Ella Fitzgerald and hotties Michael Bublé and Josh Groban.

I’m also lusting after Roberta’s list. You see, our Ear Sucker guru has invited the utterly sexy Rob Thomas. Do you think it’d be poor form to go after our host’s date?

There’s added value in the Metal Martyr Christmas list. Scott doesn’t just tell us who he wants at his party; he’s also quite clear about who’s not invited.

Derek at Industrial Addiction wants to invite so many bands to his Christmas bash, he needed to include another list of artists that didn’t make the cut!

All good parties need hippies, and that’s where Jennifer at Hippie Sounds comes in. Her party has some stellar guests like Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan, and Bob Marley. Sounds like it’d be some celebration!

The Rock Dose needs more than a night to celebrate. Bruce will feature quotes from some of our favourite party guests all week!

Shankar at New Age Vibe slows things down a little with his list. Apparently his Christmas function wouldn’t be complete without Enya and Yanni!

From one extreme to the other, I bring you Sammi’s list. The 52 Bands party will be out of control with guests like Tenacious D, Mika, and Juliette and the Licks.

Mika’s one popular lad! Arjun from The Good Musician would love him to join Wham, Mark Knopfler, and James Brown at his very eclectic college party.

Mike would love to round up some of Canada’s finest, and not so fine artists, for the Toronto Unplugged bash. There’s Arcade Fire, Alanis Morissette, and Chad Kroeger just to name a few.

Jyle at Hip Hop Roll has a list full of egos and bling, with stars like Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, and LL Cool J all looking to make an appearance.

Gilan at The Beatles Invasion is into more than the fab four. Gilan’s lengthy list includes such worthy party guests as Ray Manzarek, Freddie Mercury, and Melissa Etheridge.

So we’ve got our guest lists – only thing left to do now is party!

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It’s that time of year again, where working folks start winding down for the year and looking forward to their office Christmas parties.

Well, except for poor writers like me. Most of the time being a professional writer is a wonderful thing. Most days you’ll find me wearing my pyjamas. My office is just a short walk from my kitchen for snacks, and my bedroom for those afternoon siestas. These perks are great, but on the downside no one organises Christmas parties for freelance writers.

And so, here at the music channel we’ve decided to play pretend for a little while and compile our ultimate office Christmas party guest lists. If I were having a Christmas party, here are the folks I’d want there.

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Operator Please
If there’s a group of people more fun than the kids from Operator Please, I can’t think of it. These youngsters would really liven the place up, and they’re too young to drink any of the booze. Bonus!

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The Veronicas
If anyone’s going to out-party Operator Place, it might be Lisa and Jess Origliasso. They’re young, they’re hot, and they’re guaranteed to shake things up.

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Peter Garrett
Sure the ex-Midnight Oil frontman has traded his rock and roll lifestyle for the powersuits of politics, but I’d still want him around for Christmas drinks. I think every office Christmas party needs someone that dances like they’ve stuck their finger in a light socket, and Peter fits the bill.

Read the rest of this entry…

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Here’s the news plenty of my young readers have been waiting for: Australian Idol runner-up Matt Corby will sign a record deal with Sony BMG this week.

“He’s signing with Sony on Tuesday,” Matt’s manager David Caplice of Caplice Management told The Sydney Morning Herald.

So much for word that Sony would only sign this year’s winner, right? Still, with many believing Matt was this year’s most marketable Idol contestant, and Natalie struggling to reach the top spot on the charts, it’s not surprising the record giant has broken its rules.

Matt had previously said he was worried a record company would make him a pop star, rather than allowing him to play the blues and roots music he prefers. It seems his Sony deal will give Matt the artistic freedom he’s been looking for. I can’t wait to hear what this talented teen releases.

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Young Perth popette Samantha Jade made headlines in the US recently when she almost stole Britney Spears thunder.

Apparently Britney kept crews waiting 12 hours to shoot the film clip for her new single “Pieces of Me.” Britney’s frustrated label Jive then offered the shoot to her stablemate Samantha. But apparently when Britney arrived Jive withdrew their offer, but the story gave Samantha some much-needed US publicity.

“It’s hard when you’ve got so many big artists on the same label,” Samantha admitted to The Sunday Telegraph. “You always feel like you’re getting pushed back a little bit, so it was nice to have an opportunity to do another video.

“I’m just very excited that I’m getting some press out there.”

But will anyone remember the story when Samantha releases her debut album early next year? Somehow I don’t think so.

Australian record giant Sony BMG will diversify its interests by producing concerts and music festivals.

But it doesn’t look like music promoters like Michael Chugg are too worried about the competition.

“Good luck to them. They’re trying to save their business, but I think it’s … too little, too late,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.

Personally, I think the move just makes good business sense. We all know that people just aren’t purchasing as many albums as they used to, and these companies need to do what they can to stay afloat. And why should the record companies spend millions on developing an artist, only to see their investment lining the purse of an independent concert promoter?

If the move pays off, I’m sure we’ll see Universal, EMI, and Warner jumping on board before too long.

Image source: BMG website