George Michael Announces First North American Tour in 17 Years, a New Album and Makes American Acting Debut

George Michael Announces First North American Tour in 17 Years, a New Album and Makes American Acting Debut

NEW YORK, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- After performing 80 shows in 12 European countries for a staggering 1.3 million fans over the past year alone, legendary superstar George Michael will be bringing his smash 25 LIVE tour to North American Arenas in the summer of 2008 in support of his new retrospective record. This will be Michael's first North American tour in 17 years. The new record, titled Twenty-Five, will be released April 1st and is a 29-song, 2-CD set featuring several new songs (including duets with superstars Paul McCartney and Mary J. Blige) in addition to many of Michael's iconic songs from both his solo and WHAM! career. In addition, a companion 2-disc DVD of 40 videos will also be made available.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080324/NYM010 )

The 25 LIVE tour broke several ticket sales records, most notably in Copenhagen. Michael's concert at The Parken Stadium sold over 50,000 tickets in the matter of minutes, shattering the previous ticket sales record at the venue, formerly held by U2. On the 25 LIVE tour, Michael left both fans and critics alike in awe:

"It was a master class in pop genius." -- The Observer

"George proved he is simply one of the best vocalists this country has ever produced. A stunning performance." -- The Sun

"Worth waiting for. The show was, in every single meaning of the word, perfect." -- De Morgen

"A tremendous singer, a complete showman, all George Michael needs is a mike, his songs, and the magic on stage is instantaneous." -- La Parisien

The North American leg of the 25 LIVE tour will kick off in San Diego on June 17th and will continue through San Jose, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver, Minneapolis, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York and several other major cities. The tour will incorporate 22 shows over the course of seven weeks and Michael will perform material taken from the entire span of his career, including some classic Wham! tracks. Michael has recently teamed up with iTunes and Ticketmaster to produce an innovative media package which allows fans rare access to Michael's videos, songs, and tickets to one of his North American 25 LIVE concerts. The package goes on sale on iTunes on March 25th. Tickets to the 25 LIVE tour will go on sale to the general public the weekend of April 6th.

George Michael has enjoyed one of the most successful and enduring careers in the history of pop music, selling more than 85 million records globally and encompassing seven U.S. No. 1 singles, two Grammy awards, three American Music Awards, an MTV Video Music Award and two prestigious Ivor Novello awards for songwriting. His record "Faith" has sold over 20 million copies alone. In addition, Michael has garnered 11 British No. 1 singles and seven British No. 1 albums. He recently was declared the most played British artist on radio over the course of the last 20 years. On March 27th, Michael can be seen making his American acting debut on the new hit ABC series, Eli Stone, in which each episode is titled after one of his songs.

For more information about the George Michael, please visit: www.georgemichael.com

OFFICIAL 25 LIVE U.S. CONCERT DATES:

6/17 San Diego/San Diego Sports Arena
6/19 San Jose/HP Pavilion
6/21 Las Vegas/MGM Grand
6/22 Phoenix/US Airways Center
6/25 Los Angeles/Great Western Forum
7/2 Seattle/Key Arena
7/4 Vancouver/General Motors Place
7/7 St Paul/Xcel Energy Center
7/9 Chicago/United Center
7/13 Dallas/American Airlines Center
7/14 Houston/Toyota Center
7/17 Toronto/Air Canada Centre
7/18 Montreal/Bell Centre
7/21 New York/MSG
7/23 New York/MSG
7/26 Philadelphia/Wachovia Center
7/27 Boston/TD Banknorth Garden
7/29 Washington DC/Verizon Center
7/31 Atlanta/Philips Arena
8/2 Tampa/St Pete Times Forum
8/3 Sunrise/Bank Atlantic Center

Photo: NewsCom:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080324/NYM010
AP Archive:

http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN 3
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: PMK-HBH Public Relations

CONTACT: North America, Cindi Berger or Bianca Bianconi of PMK-HBH
Public Relations, +1-212-582-1111; or International, Connie Filippello of
Connie Filippello Publicity, +44-207-229-5400

Web site:

http://www.georgemichael.com/

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