Although the inaugural Virgin Festival has been postponed, fans of Maroon 5 and One Republic have all the reason to celebrate. Virgin Mobile and 5FM are thrilled to announce that Maroon 5 and their special guests One Republic will still be performing live in South Africa this summer! This three-city tour is scheduled for The Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg, on Saturday 13 December; the ICC, Durban Arena, on Sunday 14 December 2008 and the Grand Arena (Grandwest), on Wednesday 17 December 2008.

Commented Helen Graham (5FM Station Manager) at the announcement: “5FM is very excited to be part of the team that is bringing Maroon 5 and One Republic to South Africa as they join The Parlotones and Goldfish in three exclusive concerts this December. All of these artists have had, and continue to have, great success on 5FM and we’re sure that our listeners will be as excited as we are to see them perform live (to the power of 5)”.

A&M/Octone recording artists Maroon 5 recently wrapped up their North American tour in support of double-platinum-selling album, It won’t be soon before long. The disc, which entered Billboard’s Top 200 at No. 1, has spawned a remarkable string of four straight hit singles, including No. 1 smash “Makes Me Wonder” (which also earned the band a Grammy for “Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals”), and top ten follow-ups “If I Never See Your Face Again” ; “Won’t Go Home Without You,” ; and “Wake Up Call.” Maroon 5 recently shot a video for the album’s fifth and latest hit, “Goodnight Goodnight.”

It wont be soon before long is the follow-up to the band’s hugely successful debut, Songs about Jane, which sold more than 10-million albums worldwide, earned the group two Grammys, has reached gold or platinum status in over 35 countries and yielded four chart-topping smash hit singles: “This Love,” ; “She Will Be Loved,” ; “Harder To Breathe” ; and “Sunday Morning.”

American Rock band, One Republic hit the public eye with their smash hit "Apologize" in 2007. Prior to that the band has had moderate success but was recognised by main stream media after the smash hit. Their debut album was released in the US 2007, with international release dates staggered throughout early 2008.

As of 14 June 2008, Dreaming Out Loud had sold 761 298 copies in the US, with the bands total album sales coming to over 1.5-million worldwide so far. The band"s second single, "Stop and Stare", has also crossed the 2-million mark in terms of worldwide single sales. Folks talk a lot about fate and timing; two things One Republic knows quite well. Having ricocheted back-and-forth between near-success, disappointment, and fruition, One Republic has stayed true to their dreams - and seen them come true in ways they could never have imagined.

Tedder holds that “there are certain things that are within your control and that’s how hard you work, how determined you are, how much you want it, but you can’t control timing. It’s going to happen when it’s meant to happen, and right now, that’s how it is for One Republic. It took a long time but all of this has come at the right time.”

CONCERT TICKET INFO

Saturday 13 December – Coca-Cola Dome, Johannesburg
Sunday 14 December – ICC Durban Arena, Durban
Wednesday 17 December – Grand Arena (Grandwest), Cape Town

Tickets are available from www.computicket.com. Alternatively, phone 083 915 8000 or visit a Computicket outlet.

For more information, visit the 5FM website: www.5fm.co.za.