Avril Lavigne's on-again, off-again concert in Malaysia is once more on-again – she will just have to remember not to be too sexy.
On August 29 the singer will perform at a monster gig in Kuala Lumpur, appearing in a country where female pop singers seem to be barely tolerated by the government. "I've actually been approved by the government to play a show," she told MTV News yesterday. "I've already sold 10,000 tickets there, so I will be going to put on a concert for the fans."
The comments came amid reports that the gig had been cancelled or postponed following protests by Malaysia's official opposition, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party. Lavigne, the conservative politicians argued, was "too sexy" to perform in public.
"They tend to, you know, sometimes not want Western artists in their country," Lavigne explained. "I respect that, but at the same time there's people that listen to music there and want to see their idols and stuff, so it's all good: [I've] been approved by the government and [I'm] going to go put on a show and have fun."
The promoter of the Kuala Lumpur concert, Galaxy Production, has assured authorities that the show will not have any "negative elements" such as, say, Lavigne's bare belly, or any drug-related images. Female performers in Malaysia must be covered from chest to knees, and are forbidden from jumping, shouting, hugging or kissing onstage, according to MTV.
To Galaxy Production's doubtless relief, Lavigne is not known for her striptease. When it comes to jumping and shouting, however, Lavigne will have to show some restraint. So long as she restricts herself to moody scampering, heavy glowering and bratty snarling, she will probably be all right.