Malay Mail Article about Tsunami Concert

Force of Nature:Tsunami Aid fever sweeps Bukit Jalil stadium
By Terrina Hussein, Adly Syairi Ramly & Amir Hafizi
KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 19:
More than 13,000 people witnessed the power of the human spirit at The Force of Nature Concert for Tsunami Aid at Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil last night.

For the first time in the country's history, a pool of stars from all over the world got together for the benefit of the Asian tsunami victims.

The backstreet boys wowed the crowd with thier performance

The crowd was entertained by amazing performances from Wyclef Jean, The Black Eyed Peas, Boyz II Men, Lauryn Hill and the Backstreet Boys, among other big names.

Also at the concert were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Information Minister Datuk Paduka Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir and director and trustee of the Force of Nature Foundation, Kamaluddin Abdullah Badawi.

"‘Force of Nature' is a phrase to remind us about the power of the human spirit and this evening is dedicated to the spirit that brought everyone to Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil," said Force of Nature Foundation special ambassador Tan Sri Razali Ismail after the first act.
The crowd was also treated with surprise appearances by other international stars such as American Idol's Paula Abdul, Clay Aitken actor Alan Cumming and actress Bai Ling, jazz musician Ken Watanabe, Indonesian songstress Ruth Sahanaya, magician David Blaine, actor Nick Stahl from the HBO hit TV Series Carnivale, Joey Fatone from pop group ‘N Sync and former Baywatch star Carmen Electra.

IDOL-MAKER: Paula Abdul was one of the surprise celebrity guests.

"I just returned from Aceh and I can tell you first hand that the emergency workers deserve our respect and admiration for their sacrifices and lives they saved," American Idol Aitken said.

Datuk Michelle Yeoh also gave an emotional speech of her experience in Aceh. She later became a translator for Jackie Chan, who brought Nicholas Tse and Yumiko Cheng on stage for their performance.

But the highlight of the concert was the reunion of Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. Both were former members of the Fugees. They belted out three songs — ‘Oh La La La', ‘Ready or Not' and ‘Killing Me Softly' — from their Fugees repertoire.

WE BELIEVE IN THE FORCE: The crowd at the concert proved that the Force of Nature is a force to be reckoned with.

Local artistes Sheila Majid, Innuendo, Dayang Nurfaizah and Anuar Zain performed five songs among them.

They sung ‘Ikhlas Tapi Jauh' together for their closing act.

The concert, scheduled at 7pm, started an hour later. But the delay did not dampen the crowd's spirit. Instead, they were moved by the sheer number of stars involved.

The concert managed to surpass its target collection of RM10 million, which will be used for relief efforts.