His manager said the star feared for his safety and considered pulling out. Fernan Martinez Maecha told the Associated Press: "The concert is still on, and Juanes is maintaining a positive attitude throughout all of this." Mr Maecha said there is "absolutely nothing political" about the peace concert, which is set to take place in Havana's Revolution Plaza. Juanes held a peace concert in March 2008 on the Venezuela-Colombia border when tensions were high over a Colombian commando raid into neighbouring Ecuador that killed a leading rebel commander.
Off Stage - An opera singer was taken to hospital as a precaution after she fell into the orchestra pit during a performance at Glyndebourne Festival. Puerto Rican soprano Ana Maria Martinez was playing the title role in Rusalka at the Sussex venue. A spokeswoman said there had been "an accident on stage", but Grammy-award winner Ms Martinez was "fine". The audience was briefly asked to leave the theatre until the performance resumed with an understudy. Glyndebourne has hosted an opera festival since 1934 and is holding special celebrations for its 75th anniversary this summer.
Cheap at the Price - The Rolling Stones have been crowned the "most expensive wedding act in the world" at up to £5m for a booking. The Stones trumped Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, and Kylie Minogue in a poll to find out the entertainers that would cost the most to hire for your wedding. But if million pound-plus fees for superstars are out of your bridal budget, the study discovered up-and-coming singers Lady Gaga and Katy Perry can be yours for around £60,000. The poll was conducted for TV channel Living by a financial analyst. Calculations were based on information from agents and examining accounts, ascertaining how much it would cost to hire each act for a private performance.
Work in Progress - REM are to release a live album of songs from the band's 'working rehearsals' at Dublin's Olympia club in July 2007. REM Live At The Olympia will feature 39 songs from the band's five-day stint at the venue where they tested out new material for the 2008 album Accelerate. Guitarist Peter Buck described the gigs as an "experiment in terror, trying to do something we hadn't done before".
On The Box - The first in the series of ITV1 show The X Factor was watched by just under 10 million viewers, easily beating all other rival terrestrial channels. Now in its sixth series, The X Factor hopefuls have to audition in front of a live audience instead of just four celebrity judges. The opening show featured the usual mix of the talented and the seemingly deluded - one female duo from Lithuania were told to stick to modelling after an ear-splitting rendition of Robbie Williams's Angels. The X Factor's traditional ratings rival, BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, returns to the screens in September.
(Jim Evans)
