andPOP » Rufus Wainwright

Canucks Appear On Lennon Tribute DVD

Eva Lam — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:04:30 +0000

Nelly Furtado, Alanis Morissette and Rufus Wainwright make up the Canadian contingent in a live John Lennon tribute DVD that will be released next month.

“Come Together: A Night for John Lennon’s Words & Music” was filmed at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall Oct. 2, 2001, less than a month after the Sept. 11 attacks.

All proceeds from the event, which had been planned ahead of the attacks, were donated to 9/11 recovery efforts.

For the concert, performers were given free reign to reinterpret songs from Lennon’s catalogue.

Furtado teamed up with Dave Stewart for “Instant Karma,” Morissette covered “Dear Prudence” and Wainwright put his own spin on “This Boy” with Sean Lennon. The latter two also team up with Moby for “Across the Universe.”

As well, the 90-minute DVD features commentary from actors James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Steve Buscemi, Kevin Bacon and Kevin Spacey, who share their memories and speak about Lennon’s message of peace. Spacey contributes his own rendition of Lennon’s “Mind Games.”

Proceeds from the DVD’s sale will go to the Robin Hood Foundation.

Here are the performances featured on the “Come Together” DVD:

John Lennon, Yolanda Williams and Billy Preston — “Imagine”
Dave Matthews — “In My Life”
Stone Temple Pilots — “Revolution”
Alanis Morissette — “Dear Prudence”
Moby, Sean Lennon and Rufus Wainwright — “Across The Universe”
Cyndi Lauper — “Strawberry Fields Forever”
Marc Anthony — “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”
Shelby Lynne — “Mother”
Nelly Furtado and Dave Stewart — “Instant Karma”
Lou Reed — “Jealous Guy”
Natalie Merchant — “Nowhere Man”
Kevin Spacey — “Mind Games”
Craig David — “Come Together”
Sean Lennon and Rufus Wainwright — “This Boy”
Sean Lennon — “Julia”
Everybody — “Give Peace A Chance” / “Power To The People”

Adamo Gets Lots of Love at Glaad Awards

andPOP Staff — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:32:01 +0000

Canadian “Degrassi” star Adamo Ruggiero was so popular at the GLAAD awards on Saturday, he may have even made Rufus Wainwright jealous.

The crowd went so wild when Adamo took to the stage to speak about his decision to come out of the closet, that when Wainwright was accepting the Stephen F Kolzak Award later in the evening, he said, “I’m giving up my music career and taking up a role on Degrassi.”

The crowd also went nuts when “Degrassi” was announced in its category, though it lost the award to “Brothers and Sisters.”

Ruggiero made the bold decision to come out earlier this year. The 22-year-old has received much praise for his courage, especially considering that there are many stars who, even later in life, refuse to admit their homosexuality.

Rufus Wainwright Honoured By GLAAD

Eva Lam — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:07:48 +0000

Rufus Wainwright has won a GLAAD award for his 2007 album “Release the Stars.”

The Canadian-American singer-songwriter was named outstanding music artist at the 19th annual Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Media Awards in New York Monday.

The GLAAD Media Awards are handed out to mainstream media outlets that foster positive images of gay and lesbian people.

Wainwright, who grew up and began his career in Montreal, has toured North America, Europe, Asia and Australia in support of “Release the Stars.” The album, his fifth studio release, has been certified gold in the U.K.

He also covered Judy Garland with a series of shows last year in which he performed the entire “Judy At Carnegie Hall” album.

Other winners at the GLAAD awards included an episode of “Boston Legal” titled “Do Tell,” about an openly gay man discharged from the army, and the movie “Stardust,” which featured Robert de Niro as a gay pirate.

Barbara Walters won an outstanding TV journalism award for the “20/20″ feature “My Secret Self: A Story of Transgender Children,” while another outstanding journalism award went to “60 Minutes” for the episode “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”

Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard, whose 1998 murder brought national attention to the issue of hate crime legislation, was given an honorary award for her activism in the years following her son’s death.

Rufus Wainwright Recreates Judy Garland Concert

andPOP Staff — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 16:22:04 +0000

Singer and piano-man Rufus Wainwright has recreated Judy Garland’s historic 1961 concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

He played a sold-out performance on Wednesday night that included some of Garland’s most famous songs, including “Chicago” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” reports the BBC. A second show took place on Thursday night.

“When I was a kid, I wanted to be Dorothy,” he told the audience.

Wainwright performed a duet of “After You’ve Gone” with Garland’s daughter, Lorna Luft. Liza Minnelli, Garland’s other daughter, did not appear on stage.

The original performance, often considered the greatest single night in show-business history, was released as a double album. “Judy at Carnegie Hall” won two Grammy awards, including album of the year, and was Garland’s biggest release.

She died in 1969 at age 47.