(THE NEW PAPER) DON'T call Stefanie Sun a local artiste. Judging from the ticket prices for her upcoming concert in Singapore, she should be labelled an international star. The most expensive tickets to Stefanie's show at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 14 Jan will cost fans a cool $198. That's more than what it takes to catch other popular regional artistes such as Mayday, 5566, Jolin Tsai, Jay Chou and David Tao in action. It's also $50 more than what was charged for her maiden effort in 2002. The question is: Why? Her concert promoter, VizPro Entertainment, attributes the higher price tag to her rising fame, limited seats, as well as a six-figure production cost. After all, Stefanie, 27, is without a doubt, Singapore's hottest music export. AWARDS AND FANS Stefanie's sophistication at her recent Hong Kong concert (above) was a far cry from the nervous newbie who graced the stage here in 2002. --Pics/APPLE DAILY,KENNETH KOH In a span of five years since she launched her singing career, she has won many awards as well as hordes of fans from Taiwan, to Hong Kong, China and Singapore. In fact, VizPro assistant manager Angeline Ang sees the songbird as being in the league of Hong Kong singer-actress Karen Mok, or even international crooner Mariah Carey. Nothing beats the experience of seeing Stefanie performing 'live', she said. 'She has improved in her dancing and you can see how she displays a more mature showmanship,' added Ms Ang. 'She's in her prime, she has a different image, she's no longer 'teenagy' and she can play to the crowd. You can see the sexy part of her and it's very refreshing.' VizPro general manager Loong May Lin agrees. 'You don't label her a home-grown artiste because she has made a name for herself in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. She deserves international pricing,' she said. Still, that does not account for why Stefanie's tickets here are more expensive than those of her peers. Comparatively, the top-tier tickets for Stefanie's September show in Hong Kong was only HK$400 ($87), which is the same as Jay's when he performed there in November last year. In fact, most regional acts performing at the Hong Kong Coliseum charge the same price. Ms Loong explained that the higher ticket price will offset the cost of the lavish production. After all, Stefanie rarely stages a concert and the January show will be the only one here. Morever, VizPro had polled 50 people and found that most were willing to pay the price. 'We did a market test and it showed that people were willing to pay,' said Ms Loong. 'We are catering to a wide spectrum of budgets. In fact, we're not making much money out of this, so the ticket pricing is to help clear the cost of the show.' Nevertheless, the high ticket price could lead to poor sales. Concert promoter TES' managing director, Mr William Lim, said it is a risk that promoters must take when they set a premuim ticket price. 'Consumers do have a choice and if they think it's too expensive and not affordable, they won't buy and that will affect ticket sales,' he said. 'But if the promoter is willing to take the risk, why not? It's entirely up to them.' It appears that VizPro is confident of Stefanie's drawing power. Said Ms Loong: 'Based on the success of her two sell-out concerts in Hong Kong in September where 24,000 concert tickets were sold out within three hours of its sale, there is no problem (selling her tickets here).' In fact, a statement from VizPro revealed that all 200 premium tickets were snapped up on the first day of ticket sales last Friday. Singapore is the second stop in her regional tour. 'Her fans say it's not expensive and that they've been waiting since 2002,' said Ms Loong. One such ardent fan is student Ong Jiamin, 16, who bought a $198 ticket. She has been saving up for the past month by going home more frequently for meals, and opting for the cheapest food or just bread and water whenever she's out. 'It's quite expensive, but for the sake of seeing her, we're willing to spend. We want to see her perform and to see her at her best,' she said. The die-hard fan certainly thinks her idol deserves to charge top rates. She said: 'We're very proud of her... After all the hard work, she deserves to command such a price. She deserves our support.' However, older fans have their reservations. WON'T PAY But others like research writer Damien Chong, 25, is unwilling to pay the top price to watch her. He said: 'I feel it's very expensive and that it's a bit absurd. I don't know why the price is so unacceptable this time round. 'She is not of Jacky Cheung's calibre yet and even Faye Wong doesn't charge so much. So I don't see the reason for bringing the price up.' The costliest tickets to Heavenly King Jacky's concert here in 2002 was $176 while pop queen Faye charged only $148. Mr Chong added: 'Though I like her songs, when it comes to 'live' performances, I am very picky and she's not a very good 'live' performer, so it's risky (to pay so much).' FYI WHAT: Stefanie Sun Live In Singapore 2006 WHEN: 14 Jan 2006, 8pm WHERE: Singapore Indoor Stadium TICKETS: $68, $98, $128, $168, $198, available at Sistic (Tel: 6348 5555 or log on to www.sistic.com.sg) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHEAPER ACTS Jay Chou's 'Incomparable to Jay'' World Tour 2004 26 and 27 Nov 2004 Price: From $68 to $148 Jolin Tsai's J1 World Tour 2004 11 Dec 2004 Price: From $78 to $148 David Tao ''Love Can'' World Tour 2005 26 Nov 2005 Price: From $78 to $168 Mayday ''Final Home'' Concert 2005 10 Dec 2005 Price: From $58 to $148 5566 ''One World One Dream'' Concert 2005 17 Dec 2005 Price: From $68 to $148 Very A-Do Singapore Live in Concert 2005 23 Dec 2005 Price: From $58 to $138 Jenny Tseng ''Forever Singapore'' Concert 2006 11 Feb 2006 Price: From $58 to $148 Article link: http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story/0,4136,98120,00.html? --

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