LA confidential

It’s been three years since LA Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant was last in Singapore, and the basketball legend is clearly in awe of the changes that have been made since then. “The last time I was here I saw drawings of what Marina Bay Sands would look like, but it’s even more impressive in real life,” he smiles.

Bryant was staying at Marina Bay Sands as part of a global charity tour being conducted in conjunction with Las Vegas Sands Corp. Having already visited Las Vegas and Macau, the sports icon was here to hold a basketball clinic for 52 children, including under-privileged kids under the care of Singapore’s Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, and 12 junior athletes from The Basketball Association of Singapore.

Click here to read the full article, which first appeared in the Winter 2011 edition of Sands Style.

Bluntly speaking

James Blunt is in good spirits despite having been on the road since January 2010. Clearly excited to be back in Singapore, the musician is all smiles when Sands Style catches up with him before his sell-out concert at the Grand Theater at Marina Bay Sands, laughing and joking with a highly likeable enthusiasm that seems a far departure from his trademark tortured-soul sound.

 “It’s funny, because people look at pictures of musicians in magazines and see the clothes they are wearing and the seemingly glamorous lifestyle they lead, but the reality of being a musician is a completely different world. Normally I sleep on the tour bus; my bunk is the size of a coffin, and my drummer sleeps above me. There are 10 men on that bus so it’s not easy. It’s like a 14-month camping trip,” he laughs. “Singapore is great because I actually get to sleep in a proper bed.”

Click here to read the full article, which first appeared in the Winter 2011 edition of Sands Style.

Old pal's act

David Foster is in remarkably good spirits for a 62-year- old man with a hangover. He bowls into Pangaea at Marina Bay Sands in extraordinary high spirits, taking a swipe at himself for wearing his sunglasses indoors. “I’m not a complete asshole,” he jokes. “Yesterday was my birthday, so I went for dinner and one glass of wine turned into seven, so I’m a little worse for wear.” 

It doesn’t show. The 16-time Grammy winner – famous for giving international stars including Celine Dion, Michael Bublé and Josh Groban their big breaks, as well as producing musicians from Michael Jackson to Madonna – was in town for his second annual Hitman – David Foster and Friends Asia Tour.

Click here to read the full article, which first appeared in the Fall 2011 edition of Sands Style.