B.W. - Best singer in the world!

I keep finding new things to report about my character as time progresses.

Earlier, I wrote about his success at winning the Grammy Awards.  Well, B.W. has also won multiple other honors in the music business, including the American Music Awards, Country Music Association Awards, and the Academy of Country Music Awards.

But his most unique honor, I would have him winning in 2009, coincidentally in the year of his 30th birthday.  (That was before the Rapture, the Second Coming, and the eventual "reset" in his age to 22.)  That year, he won Sing for the World, sort of an Olympics for recording artists.  It would also be an expanded version of the Eurovision Song Contest, which dates back to the mid-1950s.

B.W. began by auditioning with hundreds of other performers in Nashville, one of 10 audition cities.  He grabbed one of the four automatic qualifying positions and, along with eight wild card acts, came to the live shows at CBS Television City in Los Angeles.  Three rounds of competition cut the field in half each time, until six acts were reduced to two for the finale at Nokia Theater L.A. Live in downtown L.A.  In the finale, B.W. won the public vote over Blondie, not the new-wave rock band, but rather a versatile pianist who can play pop, classical, and ragtime songs equally well.  (I once had a post about Blondie but have unfortunately deleted it.  However, her "picture" - actually that of British TV personality Nadine Coyne - is on the right.)  Oh, and the national title is not all he won: it was there that he proposed to "Bluegrass" Brittany Spears, who accepted on the live televised finale.

He then competed against singers who won similar national competitions in 41 other countries on six continents, at a temporary 30,000-seat stadium at Liberty State Park in New Jersey.  B.W. got a bye into the final 20, when he performed "Bluebird" in front of a raucous, patriotic crowd.  After a process combining judges' scores and viewer votes from around the world (but not for himself from the U.S.), he was declared the champion!  Australian teenager Hayley McBroom was the runnerup, and German singer Melanie "Little Miss B" Blankenschneider was the "bronze medalist."

From that point, he embarked on a world tour for the rest of 2009 and the first half of 2010, performing over 110 concerts in 84 cities worldwide.  Here is a list of those concerts, with opening acts:

Audrey DeBoeuf (France winner), Laura diBoccabella (Italy winner), Jorge Labat (Spain winner)

• Oct. 8&9, 2009 - Paris, Palais Omnisports Paris-Bercy
• Oct. 12, 2009 - Madrid, Palacio Vistalegre
• Oct. 13, 2009 - Barcelona, Palau Sant Jordi
• Oct. 15&16, 2009 - Milan, Mediolanum Forum
• Oct. 18&19, 2009 - Rome, PalaLottomatica

Sherri Picinich (auditioned in the U.S., of Italian and Croatian heritage)

• Oct. 22, 2009 - Athens, O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall
• Oct. 24, 2009 - Istanbul, Sinan Erdem Dome
• Oct. 26, 2009 - Belgrade, Kombank Arena
• Oct. 27, 2009 - Zagreb, Arena Zagreb
• Oct. 30&31, 2009 - Vienna, Wiener Stadhalle

NOTE: Holly Harpootlian (US top 48, of Armenian descent) was originally announced for these stops, but withdrew when the tour stop in Istanbul was revealed.  She was denied a visa to enter Turkey, possibly due to a lingering political controversy over the killing of two million Armenians by Turks in the 1920s in a genocide still not recognized by the U.S. government.  The slot was next offered to Greek-American singer Ronald Lipidakis, who was a quarterfinalist in Australia, but he declined possibly for similar reasons.
Melanie Blankenschneider (Germany winner), Lauren Bendykowski (U.S. quarterfinalist of Polish heritage)

• Nov. 2, 2009 - Lausanne, BASF Place
• Nov. 4&5, 2009 - Cologne, Lanxess Arena
• Nov. 6, 2009 - Hannover, TUI Arena
• Nov. 8&9, 2009 - Hamburg, O2 World
• Nov. 11,12,13, 2009 - Berlin, O2 World
• Nov. 15, 2009 - Prague, O2 Arena

Erik Lindenberg (Sweden winner)

• Nov. 18, 2009 - Copenhagen, Parken Arena
• Nov. 20&21, 2009 - Stockholm, Ericsson Globe
• Nov. 22, 2009 - Helsinki, Hartwall Areena

Shakespeare's Piper (UK winner), Jelani Aromashodu (UK 3rd place)

• Nov. 26, 2009 - Belfast, Odyssey Arena
• Nov. 27, 2009 - Dublin, The O2 World
• Nov. 29&30, 2009 - Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
• Dec. 2&3, 2009 - Birmingham, LG Arena
• Dec. 4&5, 2009 - Manchester, Manchester Arena
• Dec. 7, 2009 - Glasgow, Scottish Entertainment and Conference Centre
• Dec. 8, 2009 - Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena
• Dec. 10,11,13, 2009 - London, The O2 Arena

Samantha Van Melle (Netherlands winner)

• Dec. 16, 2009 - Antwerp, Sportpaleis
• Dec. 17, 2009 - Rotterdam, Ahoy Rotterdam

Mauricio Bloemheim (Brazil winner)

• Jan. 22,23,24, 2010 - Rio de Janeiro, HSBC Arena

 Los Crazie Cats (Mexico winner)

• Jan. 15,16,18,19, 2010 - Mexico City, Palacio de los Deportes

Carly Pineda (top-48 US, native of Puerto Rico), Blondie (US 2nd place)

• Jan. 29&30, 2010 - San Juan, José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum

Blondie (US 2nd place), Blinky Blink (US 3rd place), Bird & Fly (US semifinalists)

• Mar. 5&6, 2010 - Chicago, United Center
• Mar. 8, 2010 - Saint Paul, Xcel Energy Center
• Mar. 10, 2010 - Detroit, Joe Louis Arena

McMulkin Brothers (Canada winner), Blondie

• Mar. 12, 2010 - Toronto, Air Canada Centre
• Mar. 14, 2010 - Montreal, Bell Centre

Blondie, Blinky Blink, Bird & Fly

• Mar. 16, 2010 - Boston, TD Garden
• Mar. 17, 2010 - Newark, Prudential Center
• Mar. 19&20, 2010 - New York, Madison Square Garden
• Mar. 22, 2010 - Philadelphia, Wachovia Center1
• Mar. 23, 2010 - Washington, DC, Verizon Center
• Mar. 24, 2010 - Pittsburgh, Mellon Arena2
• Mar. 26, 2010 - Cleveland, Quicken Loans Arena
• Mar. 28, 2010 - Cincinnati, US Bank Arena
• Mar. 30&31, 2010 - Nashville, Bridgestone Arena
• Apr. 2, 2010 - Raleigh, RBC Center3
• Apr. 3, 2010 - Charlotte, Time Warner Cable Arena
• Apr. 5, 2010 - Atlanta, Philips Arena
• Apr. 6, 2010 - Tampa, St. Pete Times Forum4
• Apr. 8, 2010 - Fort Lauderdale, BankAtlantic Center
• Apr. 11, 2010 - New Orleans, New Orleans Arena
• Apr. 12, 2010 - Houston, Toyota Center
• Apr. 14, 2010 - Dallas, American Airlines Center
• Apr. 15, 2010 - Kansas City, MO, Sprint Center
• Apr. 17, 2010 - Denver, Pepsi Center
• Apr. 19, 2010 - Salt Lake City, EnergySolutions Arena
• Apr. 20&21, 2010 - Las Vegas, MGM Grand Garden
• Apr. 22, 2010 - Glendale, AZ, Jobing.com Arena
• Apr. 23, 2010 - Los Angeles, Staples Center
• Apr. 24, 2010 - Anaheim, Honda Center
• Apr. 26, 2010 - San Jose, HP Pavilion at San Jose
• Apr. 27, 2010 - Oakland, Oracle Arena
• Apr. 30, 2010 - Portland, OR, Rose Garden
• May 1, 2010 - Tacoma, Tacoma Dome

Harpootlian (see above) performed one song each in Los Angeles and Anaheim in addition to the official program.
McMulkin Brothers, Blinky Blink

• May 3&4, 2010 - Vancouver, General Motors Place5
• May 6, 2010 - Calgary, Scotiabank Saddledome
• May 8, 2010 - Winnipeg, MTS Centre

Hayley McBroom (Australia winner), Ronan Rummerfield (New Zealand winner)

• Jun. 7, 2010 - Auckland, Vector Arena
• Jun. 10,11,12, 2010 - Sydney, Allphones Arena
• Jun. 14, 2010 - Brisbane, Brisbane Entertainment Centre
• Jun. 18&19, 2010 - Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
• Jun. 21, 2010 - Adelaide, Adelaide Arena
• Jun. 23&24, 2010 - Perth, Burswood Dome

Eddie Kwok (Hong Kong winner), Ramon Mangubat (Philippines winner)

• Jun. 27&28, 2010 - Singapore, Singapore Indoor Stadium
• Jun. 30&Jul. 1, 2010 - Quezon City, Smart Araneta Coliseum
• Jul. 3&4, 2010 - Hong Kong, AsiaWorld-Arena
• Jul. 6&7, 2010 - Shanghai, Mercedes-Benz Arena
• Jul. 9, 2010 - Beijing, Beijing National Indoor Stadium
• Jul. 12, 2010 - Saitama, Saitama Super Dome
• Jul. 14,15,16, 2010 - Tokyo, Nippon Budokan
• Jul. 19&20, 2010 - Seoul, Jamsil Arena

Wilhelmina Derbyshire (South Africa winner)

• Jul. 25,26,27, 2010 - Johannesburg, StandardBank Arena
• Jul. 31, 2010 - Dubai, Plaza at Burj Khalifa
• Aug. 2, 2010 - Tel Aviv, Nokia Arena

1 Now known as Wells Fargo Arena
2 Since imploded
3 Now known as PNC Arena
4 Now known as Tampa Bay Times Forum
5 Now known as Rogers Arena