Singapore reveals stellar race concert line-up

Visitors to this September’s 2017 Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix can look forward to full-length concerts by Duran Duran and OneRepublic, and maiden Singapore performances by Ariana Grande, George the Poet, Lianne La Havas, Seal and The Chainsmokers.

Duran Duran will perform on both Saturday and Sunday of the Marina Bay weekend. Since their debut in 1981, iconic British rock band have released 14 albums, garnered sales of more than 100 million records, and have been honoured with numerous prestigious accolades, including two Brit Awards, two Grammy Awards, seven Lifetime Achievement Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Pop rock superstars OneRepublic - on stage on the Friday - gained mainstream fame with their 2007 smash hit ‘Apologize’ from their debut album ‘Dreaming Out Loud’. The single received the largest amount of airplay in radio history and was ranked Top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100’s All-Time Top Songs list. The band has won several music awards and landed nominations for the Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards and World Music Awards.

American television star turned pop singer Ariana Grande will perform for the first time in Singapore on the Saturday. Her music career took off in 2013 with her first studio album ‘Yours Truly’, which debuted at #1 on the US Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum. Her second album ‘My Everything’ saw similar success, enjoying the top spot in the US with five hit singles spending 34 continuous weeks in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, garnering her recognition as the artist with the most Top 10 singles in 2014. Her third studio album in 2016, ‘Dangerous Woman’, debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The 23-year-old has won 39 awards including three American Music Awards, Music Business Association’s Breakthrough Artist of the Year, an MTV Video Music Award as well as 109 nominations including four Grammy Award nominations.

A London-born spoken word performer of Ugandan heritage, George the Poet’s innovative brand of musical poetry has won him critical acclaim both as a recording artist and a social commentator.

George took up spoken word while studying Social and Political Sciences at King's College, Cambridge. It was here that George won a social enterprise competition by Barclays and Channel 4 called ‘The Stake’, earning him a £16,000 grant to deliver poetry workshops to disadvantaged young people. Shortly after graduating, he embarked on a music career, culminating in the 2014 release of his debut effort, The Chicken & the Egg EP. A critical success, the EP earned George a string of nominations, including the Brits Critics' Choice Award, MTV Brand New Award and BBC Sound of 2015 Shortlist.

British singer-songwriter Lianne La Havas made a huge breakthrough with her top five debut album in 2012, ‘Is Your Love Big Enough?’, which sold 200,000 copies and won Album of the Year at iTunes as well as Barclaycard Mercury Prize and Ivor Novello Best Album nominations. Her debut single of the same name provided more highlights in its lifecycle than many artistes experience in their entire career - with over 120 shows across Europe, North America, Japan and London.

Featuring neo style and jazz tunes, her second album, ‘Blood’, peaked at #2 in the United Kingdom, #1 in the Netherlands and Norway and received a nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2016 Grammy Awards. La Havas also received a nomination for British Female Solo Artist at the Brit Awards 2017. Dubbed Britain's next big female star by Daily Mail, La Havas’ performance career has also seen her featured as a supporting act to Alicia Keys, Bon Iver, Jools Holland, Paloma Faith, Prince, and most recently to Coldplay in their latest tour.

Since the beginning of his career in 1991, British multi-platinum singer-songwriter Seal has released nine studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, 28 singles and four video albums, with worldwide sales of his first eight studio albums exceeding 30 million. On the heels of his stunning debut album, ‘Seal’, he went on to win the prestigious BRIT Award for Best British Male in 1992. His hit single ‘Kiss from a Rose’ - memorably included in the Batman Forever soundtrack - earned him four Grammy awards, an MTV Video Music Award and global esteem.

With over five billion global streams and three multi-platinum singles, Drew Taggart and Alex Pall of The Chainsmokers have performed worldwide to sold-out crowds at their own headline shows and major music festivals including SXSW, Ultra and Coachella. Their debut album, ‘Bouquet’ - which was released in 2015 - featured the hit single ‘Roses’ and reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. ‘Don't Let Me Down’ became their first top five single there, while ‘Closer’ became the first song to spend 26 weeks in the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The New York based electronic dance music duo has also been recognised with a Grammy award for Best Dance Recording, an American Music Award, five iHeartRadio Music Awards with nominations for two Billboard Music Awards, two Teen Choice Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards.

More acts, including the Sunday’s post-race Padang Stage headliner, will be announced by Singapore organisers in the coming weeks. For further details of the concerts, click here, or for race tickets visit the Official F1 Ticket Store.