Foreign acts due, major local concerts set this 2012

The recent Simple Plan concert held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum kickstarted what seems to be the 2012 edition of the Foreign Artist Invasion. The first quarter alone is loaded with acts that will make the music aficionado's head spin (not to mention drain his/her wallet dry), and keep local artists on their toes.

Here is the list of the artists—mainstream and otherwise—who will be gracing the Philippine shores, so far:

Jan. 22 - Katy Perry (SM MOA concert grounds)

Jan. 26 and 27 – Stylistics (Smart Araneta Coliseum and Waterfront Hotel, Cebu)

February: from Engelbert to Bryan Adams

Feb. 15 - Engelbert Humperdinck (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

Feb. 15 and 17 - Taylor Dayne and Edwin McCain (Waterfront Hotel, Cebu and World Trade Center, Pasay City)

Feb. 16 - Avril Lavigne (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

Feb. 17 and 18 - James Ingram (Smart Araneta Coliseum and Waterfront Hotel, Cebu)

Feb. 18 - Bryan Adams (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

Feb. 18 - Lamb of God (World Trade Center, Pasay City)

Feb. 19 – Evanescence, Bush (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

Feb. 24 - The Fray (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

Feb. 25 - Blue, A1 and Jeff Timons of 98 degrees (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

Feb. 29 - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Hard Rock Café, Makati)

March: from Death Cab for Cutie to Hanson

March 5 – Death Cab for Cutie, (NBC Tent, Taguig)

March 8 - The Used, The Cab, Cobra Starship and Dashboard Confessional (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

March 16 – Brian McKnight (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

March 17 – Cyndi Lauper, (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

March 20 – TOE, venue to be announced

March 30 and 31 – Hanson, (Smart Araneta Coliseum) and Waterfront Hotel

April 11 - LMFAO with special guest Quest Crew, (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

Radiohead and the Foo Fighters are dropping by Taiwan and Singapore, respectively.  Maybe a Philippine stop is a possibility?  And if this article is to be believed, The Smiths' Morrissey himself might include the Philippines in his Asian tour.

Local artists stage major shows

Of course, our local artists won't be left behind.  Here are some of the confirmed shows as of this writing:

Jan.28 - Anne Curtis (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

Feb. 12 - Martin Nievera and Sharon Cuneta (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

Feb. 14 – Regine Velasquez and Ogie Alcasid (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

March 17 – Lea Salonga, Cecile Licad, and Lisa Macuja (CCP Main Theater)

And that's just within the first quarter of the year. People may say what they want about the year, but it sure seems like everybody is set to party like it's 2012.