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Pink gets the karaoke party started with 13,000 Londoners
Rashid Razaq01.05.09
Here is the proof you don't have to be horribly drunk to enjoy karaoke.
Some 13,000 people — most of them still sober — crammed into Trafalgar Square last night for a sing-along.
It (inevitably) included Total Eclipse Of The Heart, which everyone knows is the karaoke favourite of inebriated businessmen at three in the morning. And other renditions included Hey Jude, Piece of My Heart, Summer Nights, Baby One More Time and — all together now — Is This The Way To Amarillo. The noise generated by the crowd could probably be heard in Amarillo.
US singer Pink made a surprise appearance midway through a mass rendition of Piece Of My Heart, going on to sing her own hit So What from the middle of the audience. The karaoke, which brought traffic to a standstill, was organised by T-Mobile for an advert.
The mobile phone company also directed a flash mob dance advert at Liverpool Street station in January.
On that occasion, 350 people broke into a choreographed dance routine for the advert that has attracted 11 million hits on YouTube as well as being watched by millions on TV. The latest ad is likely to be every bit as popular.
Click here to see more pictures of Pink playing in Trafalgar Square
Footage from last night will be edited in just over 48 hours and shown for the first time during the commercial break on Britain's Got Talent tomorrow at 9pm on ITV1. Organisers handed out 2,000 microphones while song words were projected on to giant screens.
“It is amazing,” said Daniella Kostic, 18, from King's Cross. “We came down to film the advert but we did not expect anything like this.”
Jamilla Gibbs, 63, from Clapham, who had brought a friend along, said: “We loved the first advert and really wanted to get involved in the second.”
Pink said: “What a fantastic experience. Everyone singing together in the middle of London — it was incredible to be part of such an amazing event and to share it with so many people.”
Reader views (14)
I'm with you Chris. Wish I was there. Lets get back to actually having fun and living instead of spending life worrying about materialism, economical wealth and how badly we have been let down in the past 30 years with our governments lets have a bit of fun amidst the misery of these so called academics who seemingly know what they are doing !!!! Pink was great saw her on Saturday and she was brilliant as usual. Hope you enjoyed Monday Chris
- Jenny, Islington London Uk
all the negative comments are from people who HAVE NO SENSE OF FUN in their lives.
- James, london
Don’t those people know we have a recession on, Parliamentary corruption scandals; global warning, global economies collapsing etc; and they are happily singing their heads off.
Disgraceful; anyone would think it was W. E. day again.
I hope we can get back to normal life next week; and have a crying get-together in Trafalgar square; singing is just not British today; it might offend someone from another culture.
- Mickyinlondon, london
My god, how miserable are all these comments?! - After all the doom and gloom in the news you have 13,000 people in Trafalgar Square enjoying themselves, and its great to hear! - I didnt know about it until after but wish I had been there.. It looked fantastic!
Luckily I'm seeing Pink at the O2 with 21,000 others on Monday and know what great atmosphere she creates, I cant wait..!
- Chris, London, UK
Funny how people are never happy in the capital-when anyone ELSE is happy in the capital.
- Kellie, minneapolis
What is pink?
Anyway, Neil you are quite correct. Flash mobs, in execution, are supposed to be spontaneous and fun, not carefully "choreographed" (did the reporter not understand the contradiction?)...if anyone actually went out of their way to look it up on You Tube, et al, they really need to get a life.
- Escobar-Alop-Lop, Camden County
Pollyp, London
Wow, you should like fun! Not!!
- Paul, London
Cheery up Pollyp - if that is all you have to worry about in life you are a very lucky girl. Oh, and stop moaning. No one forces you to work in London you miserable so and so.
- Andrew, St. John's Wood, London
The flash mob phenomenon ends here: it has been hijacked for commercial use, which means that it has lost its spontaneity, its wackiness and its impact. End of the flash mob.
- Neil, London, London UK
FANTASTIC ENJOY YOURSELFS .... HAVE FUN,
we have forgotten how to ... with P.C. police all around us we all look under pressure?.
- John L., Scarborough North Yorkshire, U.K.
Why are these people allowed to bring London to a standstill yet again - what about the ordinary people who actually work in London. Yet one more fight to get home from work and onto the tube and many more chances of being verbally abused!
- Pollyp, London
Flash mobs are so two years ago
- Natty, London
This flash mob stuff is getting all a bit tedious now.
- Al, London
I can't believe anyone would want to take part in that.What a pointless exercise.It looked like the united nations out there.
- Eddie, London
