Rain denies blame for nixed concerts

    'Rain' Testifies Over Canceled Concert

   

 

The Korean mega pop star 'Rain' testified he had no idea why his Hawaii Concert was canceled. 3/16/09

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South Korean pop star and actor Rain testified yesterday he had every intention of performing in Hawaii and other U.S. states, but a series of abrupt concert cancellations were out of his control.

“;I was not the person that canceled the concerts,”; he said through an interpreter. “;I would love to perform in North America.”;

Rain made his first appearance in U.S. District Court in a room packed with giddy female fans in a civil trial stemming from the cancellation of his June 15, 2007, concert in Honolulu.

Hawaii-based Click Entertainment Inc. alleges Rain and his managers breached a contract and defrauded it of $500,000 in licensing fees, plus nearly $1 million in other expenses to stage the event.

Sporting a black suit and long bangs that nearly covered his eyes, Rain was poised, polite and seemed at ease as he answered questions for 90 minutes in Korean through a court interpreter. He introduced himself in English after being sworn in.

“;I am Jeong Ji-hoon and I perform as Rain. Aloha,”; he told the court with a smile.

Before entering the courthouse, Rain flashed a “;shaka”; hang-loose sign to fans and was handed another lawsuit over his canceled concert in Los Angeles. He let the document fall to the ground.

The 26-year-old Rain said he really wanted to perform at Aloha Stadium but could not make it for reasons he had no hand in.

“;It was regrettable,”; he said.

Council hopefuls to debate on radio

Candidates vying to fill the Windward Oahu City Council vacancy are set to take part in a live debate next week on Hawaii Public Radio.

So far, organizers say eight of the 11 candidates seeking to succeed Barbara Marshall have agreed to participate. They are Ikaika Anderson, Tracy Bean, John Henry Felix, Wilson Ho, Steve Holmes, Sol Nalua'i, Tom Pico and Pohai Ryan. Also running in the special election are Paul Akau, Leona Kalima and Keoki Leong.

The two-hour debate before a live audience is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. at HPR's Atherton Studio. The debate is being broadcast live on KIPO 89.3. 'Olelo Community Television plans to record the debate for rebroadcast at a later date.

Audience members and public-radio listeners are invited to submit candidate questions to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). org. Due to limited studio space, reservations are recommended by calling 955-8821 during business hours.

Marshall died Feb. 22 after a battle with colon cancer. Her services were held yesterday. (See Page 4.)

To fill her seat, the City Clerk is holding a special mail-in election.

Ballots will be mailed following this Monday's voter registration deadline. The deadline for ballots to be received by the city is April 23. Two weeks of walk-in absentee voting are scheduled to begin April 6.