ABU DHABI // Concert-goers yesterday spoke of their disappointment at what they described as a "car crash" performance by the English singer Amy Winehouse.
The pop star appeared in concert in front of a 10,000-strong audience at Dubai Festival City on Friday, as part of the culmination of the city's annual Gulf Bike Week event.
But the singer-songwriter - whose troubled lifestyle constantly features in British tabloid newspapers - angered fans by leaving the stage for 10 minutes midway through her set.
Her backing singers then had to cover for her over the next three songs.
Some concert-goers booed when she returned. Others stayed, despite many of them being unable to hear her.
Winehouse also forgot some of her lyrics, even those of her bigger hits, such as Valerie and Rehab.
Christina Smith, a 31-year-old teacher from Liverpool, said: "She would look around as if saying 'Oh ... I forgot my words'. She was like a little girl singing along to herself.
"At some point she pointed her finger to her head as if saying 'shoot me now'. It was a car crash."
Ms Smith said she would be asking for a refund for at least half of the ticket price.
Thomas Ovesen, the chief operating officer of the concert organiser Done Events, said "nothing was guaranteed" in a live performance.
"If any of her fans were disappointed I am sure she will be the one the most disappointed," he said.
"All we can do is set up the production and accommodate the fans and then hope she delivers a show the fans will like - if you pay to attend you have a right to review and even dislike her show and that is the nature of live entertainment.
"When you attend an Amy Winehouse concert I would assume most people don't really know what to expect, so as she performed all her hits, did a longer set than anticipated and didn't run off half way through, I think she has delivered.
"Fans vote with their feet. Last night 10,000 fans saw her full length show complete with all her hits. Whether they decide to ever again attend another Amy Winehouse concert will be a matter for them to decide on and obviously something the artist will need to be considering."
Kate Donaghy, a 25-year-old from the UK, said: "She sang all of the songs as if she was bored, not there. We paid Dh300 a ticket. It was not worth what we paid for."
Mahmoud al Khoja, a 29-year-old Lebanese national who works in business consultancy, said the concert was not all bad.
"The last three songs were really good. She did an encore which was really good also."
However, Mr al Khoja, who paid Dh500 for a ticket in the fifth row, said he would also be seeking a refund.
[ hdajani@thenational.ae ]
How Voiss turns words to speech
The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Tips from the expert
Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.
- Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
- It’s important to use clear and appealing photos, with catchy titles and detailed descriptions to capture the attention of prospective buyers.
- Try to advertise a realistic price to attract buyers looking for good deals, especially in the current environment where consumers are significantly more price-sensitive.
- Be creative and look around your home for valuable items that you no longer need but might be useful to others.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine 2.4L four-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.4L/100km
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
MATCH INFO
Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
Leeds United 0
US federal gun reform since Sandy Hook
- April 17, 2013: A bipartisan-drafted bill to expand background checks and ban assault weapons fails in the Senate.
- July 2015: Bill to require background checks for all gun sales is introduced in House of Representatives. It is not brought to a vote.
- June 12, 2016: Orlando shooting. Barack Obama calls on Congress to renew law prohibiting sale of assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.
- October 1, 2017: Las Vegas shooting. US lawmakers call for banning bump-fire stocks, and some renew call for assault weapons ban.
- February 14, 2018: Seventeen pupils are killed and 17 are wounded during a mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.
- December 18, 2018: Donald Trump announces a ban on bump-fire stocks.
- August 2019: US House passes law expanding background checks. It is not brought to a vote in the Senate.
- April 11, 2022: Joe Biden announces measures to crack down on hard-to-trace 'ghost guns'.
- May 24, 2022: Nineteen children and two teachers are killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
- June 25, 2022: Joe Biden signs into law the first federal gun-control bill in decades.
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 1
Kane (50')
Newcastle United 0
