R&B star Akon headed to Tel Aviv

Akon has been the subject of controversy recently for dancing provocatively with a 14-year-old audience member at an April concert in Trinidad.

By MIRIAM A. SHAVIV
Akon 88 298 (photo credit: Courtesy )
Akon 88 298
(photo credit: Courtesy )
R&B artist Akon will be making a one-show stop in Israel on July 29 as part of his world tour. The singer, who has sold over 6.5 million albums worldwide to date, will be performing some of his biggest hits at Tel Aviv's Hangar 11 at 8 p.m. Akon, born Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam, is a Senegalese-American who rose to fame in 2004 following the release of his single "Locked Up" from his debut album Trouble. His second album, Konvicted, earned him a Grammy Award nomination for the single "Smack That." Akon has been the subject of controversy recently for dancing provocatively with a 14-year-old audience member at an April concert in Trinidad. In a newly released song, "Sorry, Blame It On Me," Akon apologizes to the young girl and Gwen Stefani (the headliner of the show) for the incident, though he cites the club for admitting the girl because she was under 21, and the parents for letting her go out. Just last month at a concert in New York, an attendee who threw an object towards Akon was pulled onto the stage and hoisted across the singer's shoulders before being tossed back into the crowd. A lawsuit is pending.