Pop superstar Madonna kicked off a new world tour on Thursday wishing peace on the Middle East even as she showcased grim dance routines depicting violence and bloody gunmen among her more colorful numbers.

Madonna, 53, mixed hit songs over three decades in music with tunes from her recent album, "MDNA," before a packed audience, and she took a sly dig at younger diva, Lady Gaga.

"She's not me!" Madonna sang at the end of "Express Yourself," which she had reworked to include a sampling of Lady Gaga's recent "Born This Way."

That song from Lady Gaga, who emerged on the pop music scene about four years ago and has enjoyed a huge following in recent years, has been cited by many music fans and critics as being very similar to Madonna's late 1980s dance club smash.

Since Lady Gaga, 26, released "Born This Way," fans and music lovers have speculated that a generational challenge was in the works between the two women and comedians have poked fun at any imagined rivalry between the two.

Despite occasional lighthearted touches such as a baton-twirling routine in cheerleader formation and a psychedelic homage to Indian philosophy, the dominant mood at Thursday's concert in Tel Aviv seemed more grim with a stage shrouded in black and red and costumes that often appeared ominous.

Created in the late 1990s in Colombia by fitness instructor Alberto Perez, Zumba is a high-energy aerobic workout based on dance steps borrowed from salsa, meringue and other dances.

Wang's father, a retired photographer from Nanjing Film Studio, and his mother, a teacher, gave him lots of support.

"My mother dances with neighbors in a park near our house every morning," Wang said.

In 2011, the female lead singer of Phoenix Legend, Ling Hua, contacted Wang and invited him to be their instructor. The duo has also cooperated with Wang to produce an album, which contains 10 remixed songs for fitness dance classes. Wang said he plans to bring the album, to be released next month, to the US.

"His remix took our music to a wider audience and created a new possibility for promoting pop songs," Ling said.

Now, Wang flies between Beijing and the US, giving classes and learning more traditional Chinese dance moves.

"My dream is to have my own dance studio and include more original Chinese music in my classes," Wang said.

Going Home was the first Kenny G song Li heard. It's perhaps the saxophonist's most popular song in China and is often played in public places, such as schools and shopping malls.

"I even spent several thousand yuan to buy a soprano saxophone when I was in college and dreamed I could someday also play romantic melodies like Kenny G onstage," Li recalls.

Li became a businessman and is too busy to play the sax. But he relishes the memories of his youthful dreams.

Kenny G doesn't need to change to appeal to Chinese fans. They want more of the same - the same as what they fell in love with years ago, including Kenny G's curly long hairstyle.

Kenny G emphasizes his music is "romantic" in an exclusive interview with China Daily before his Shenzhen concert.

Chinese audience members at the show closed their eyes and opened their ears. There was no whistling. Nobody did the wave. Many reclined in their seats and put their feet up.

The most crowd action came from those who bobbed their heads and swayed while sitting.

I must admit, that's what I did.

A new format for TV singing competitions forbids judges from viewing contestants, ensuring assessments are based solely
on singers' skills. Sun Li reports in Beijing.

New programs are offering twists on singing competition reality shows - blind auditions are ensuring judges' decisions are based on vocal skills alone. Guangxi Satellite TV recently launched Sound of Love, a folk program based on the concept of selecting the singer with the best voice, regardless of appearance and style.

Liu Xichen, president of Shixi Media - the country's leading TV content provider, which produced the show - says it's adapted from True Talent, a singing competition program created by Paris-headquartered Zodiak Media.

"A new folk singing show is high on Guangxi Satellite TV's agenda," Liu says.

"The broadcaster hopes to use the project to promote the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region's annual Nanning International Folk Song Art Festival. It also wants to borrow the packaging of an already-successful foreign program," Liu continues.

"That's why we bought Zodiak's entertainment format. It's high-ratings, and its concept of focusing solely on voices is fresh in China."

Cavanagh, who had frequently found herself in the show's danger zone of being voted off, wowed the judges on Wednesday with her soaring energy and Tina Turner-like dance moves in her take on "River Deep Mountain High."

Contestants sang hits from the 1960s, followed by songs by British artists on Wednesday, and "Idol" got a visit from one it most famous past winners, country songstress Carrie Underwood on Thursday elimination episode.

Now a top country star, Underwood performed the title track from her album "Blown Away," which was released earlier this week. Coldplay sang their song "Paradise," and came back later in the show for an encore performance.

Four contestants remain on "Idol" heading toward the show's finale later this month.

"Idol", which first aired in on Fox in 2002, has launched the careers Kelly Clarkson, Adam Lambert and Jennifer Husdon, among others. Now in its 11th season, the show continues to be the most watched reality TV show in America, though it has received stiff competition from "The Voice" this year.

Audiences vote for their favorite performers by phone and text message each week as contestants are challenged by a variety of musical styles. The winning contestant receives a recording contract.

Christian groups in South Korea called on Friday for pop icon Lady Gaga to cancel her concert here saying it was "pornographic" and promoted homosexuality.

South Korea's government has already bowed to public pressure and banned under-18s from attending the 26-year old's concert, but protesters gathered outside the venue said that was not enough.

"Some people can accept this as another culture but its impact is huge beyond art and debases religions. Even adults can't see her performance which is too homosexual and pornographic," said Yoon Jung-hoon, a reverend who organized the "Civilians Network against the Lady Gaga Concert".

The singer's hit song "Born This Way" celebrates the empowerment of gay men and women, something that many in South Korea, which is the second most Christian country in Asia after the Philippines, say is an immoral lifestyle.

Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, has been in Seoul for close on a week as she kicks off her Asian "Born this Way" tour.

"Nervous for tonight. Hope I make little monsters happy and proud," she Tweeted a few hours before the concert kicked off.

Lionel Richie keeps Jason Mraz off Billboard top spot

Lionel Richie staved off stiff competition to hold onto the top spot of the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, beating out new entries from Jason Mraz and Train.

"Tuskegee," the country music-inspired 10th studio album from the 62-year-old soul singer, made the rare climb to No. 1 last week, three weeks after the album's release and continued to hold strong this week with 114,000 copies sold.

Grammy-winning pop singer Jason Mraz debuted at No. 2 with his fourth studio album "Love Is A Four Letter Word," a collection of laid-back, beach-inspired love songs selling 102,000 copies in its first week.

The album's lead single, "I Won't Give Up," went platinum this week after selling more than a million copies since its release in January.

Pop rockers Train returned last week with their sixth studio album "California 37," debuting at No. 4 after selling 75,000 copies, while newcomer rapper Future scored an impressive debut at No. 8 on the chart with his first album "Pluto," selling 41,000 copies.

California quintet Maroon 5 stormed the Digital Songs chart with "Payphone," their first single from their upcoming album "Overexposed."