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Two famous females are coming to town this summer. One's a teenage former Mousketeer who won a Grammy award on the strength of a hit called Genie in a Bottle. One's a thirtysomething former lounge singer who's won several Juno Awards. They will perform a duet together when hell freezes over.
Bzzzzt! Who are Christina Aguilera and Jann Arden?
You're a winner!
As expected, the Jann Arden dates have been confirmed. The Calgary singer-songwriter will perform two shows in the Winspear Centre June 19-20. She's on tour to support her new album, Blood Red Cherry, filled with the sort of melancholy songs and dry wit she's famous for. Sample lyric: "The hardest part of goodbye is moving all your stuff."
With opening act Bob Kemmis, tickets to the concerts are $32.50 or $28.50 and go on sale April 17 at 10 a.m. at the Winspear box office (428-1414).
Confirming a previous report in The Sun, a July 16 Skyreach Centre date for Aguilera has appeared on Pollstar, a music industry magazine that posts tour dates on the Internet (at www.pollstar.com).
Aguilera, fans recall, was genuinely surprised when she took home the best new artist Grammy against fellow former Mousketeer Britney Spears.
Aguilera, 19, is touring North America to support her self-titled debut album, which has sold more than six million copies in America alone. The star has recently been immortalized in doll form. Push the navel and it sings Genie in a Bottle.
The official announcement for the concert is expected on May 1.
Other Pollstar revelations to chew on: goth queen Bif Naked plays Red's on May 11, with Canadian veterans April Wine in the club on May 12.
April Wine is probably earning some nice cash thanks to the fact that Oowatanite is played every time the 649 lottery hits $5 million. The band also plays the kickoff party to the Big Valley Jamboree on Aug. 3.
At the Joint, another West Edmonton Mall venue, 54-40 plays May 9. Tickets are $15 or $18 and on sale at Ticketmaster.
And Nazareth plays June 7. While a favourite among classic rock fans, the band was a no-show at Rockfest '99, so they'll presumably be making up for it at the Joint. Tickets are $14 or $17 and available at Ticketmaster. Call 451-8000 for details.
July 10 at Cowboys sees the return of Texas cowboy Mark Chesnutt, who earned a huge shot in the bank account last year by piggybacking on the Diane Warren-penned Aerosmith hit, I Don't Want to Miss a Thing.
Looking further into the Pollstar future, Bo Diddley appears at Red's on Aug. 26 - no further details yet - while the Fabulous Thunderbirds are pencilled in at the second annual Blues festival in late August. Fans should remember how well the first festival went, so we expect an expansion.
And we have another name for the Edmonton Folk Music Festival: Moxy Fruvous.
More details will be announced at the folk fest press conference in May.