By Stacey Willets
Jonas Brothers continue their rise to stardom, debuting at number seven in the Overall Top Events rankings for the week of Jan. 14 through Jan. 20. Their tour, which kicks off Jan. 31, deserves mention, although this week ticket buyers are more concerned with the kickoff at Super Bowl XLII. The NFL championship takes number two on the chart, handily outselling any act on the tween scene. With football fever at the forefront of consumers’ minds, if you’re talking Montana, you probably mean Joe.
The Green Bay Packers again take the top of the Sports chart, though with the biting cold and wind chill temperatures in the negative double-digits, most fans huddled together at Lambeau Field on Sunday were probably a lovely shade of New York Giants blue. The NFC Championship in frigid Wisconsin resulted in a second stunning post-season victory for the Giants, the Wild Card team that knocked the Dallas Cowboys out of contention last week. After dispatching the two top-seeded teams in the NFC, the Giants go on to face the undefeated New England Patriots at second-ranked Sports event Super Bowl XLII.
The Pats-Giants match-up isn’t the only Boston-New York rivalry getting some buzz this week. Monday the New York Knicks hosted the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden, boosting them to number nine on the Sports chart. While sports fans argue that New York’s dismal 13-27 record to Boston’s impressive 32-6 could hardly be described as a Yankees–Red Sox relationship, so much trash-talking went on between the teams during the game, it was somewhat reminiscent of being in a sports bar in central Connecticut during MLB playoff season.
Program your TiVo. If you’ve opted not to shell out the cash to see seventh-ranked concert event Garth Brooks or ninth-ranked Céline Dion, you can catch their one-hour specials on CBS. The Brooks program, “Garth Brooks: Live in L.A.!” will air Jan. 25. Dion’s show “Céline Dion: That’s Just the Woman in Me” airs Feb. 15. It’s a frugal way to get the concert experience . . . well, without the experience.
If you’re looking for something with a little more “oomph” than a one-hour special on network TV, you probably already have your movie tickets to Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, filmed in Disney Digital 3D. The movie is ideal for all those fans that couldn’t get seats to her top-ranked live tour, but if you’re just heading over to Fandango now, you may be out of luck. Tickets for the film, which will be screened for only a week, went on sale Dec. 1 and many shows have long since sold out.
In addition to catching a concert on the big screen, you can also go to the opera. Your local cinema may be one of those across North America that are working with the Metropolitan Opera to show Saturday matinees of performances from the Lincoln Center in New York City. Not only does the program bring opera to the masses, it may be bringing the masses to the opera. La Fille du Régiment debuts on the New York City Theatre chart at number ten.
Red Piano sales hit a bit of a sour note this week, dropping by about forty-five percent compared to last week. The change translates to a slip of only one spot in the Vegas rankings for Elton John, however, due to Cirque sales also being down this week. “O” maintains number three despite diminished numbers while LOVE sinks to number five. Boasting almost a third more sales than last week, The Showgirl Must Go On to reclaim the number one spot. The upcoming production, which stars Bette Midler, may see increased action due to an interview with Parade magazine in which the Divine Miss M. suggests that after her two and a half years at Caesar’s are up, she may retire. The sixty-two year old headliner is not the only entertainer spending the winter of her career in Vegas. Ninth-ranked Barry Manilow at sixty-four years old and Sir Elton John at sixty look to continue their Sin City residencies into their social security years.
