Gwen Promises to Cover Up

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Gwen Stefani has promised to tone down her raunchy style and dress modestly for her upcoming Malaysian concert.

Stefani insists she is “not a bad girl” and has agreed to dress appropriately following complaints by a Muslim Students’ group.

The 10,000-member National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students has voiced its opposition to the Malaysian leg of Stefani’s ‘Sweet Escape’ tour, saying it clashed with Islamic values.

“We want the organizers to cancel the concert, failing which we will ask the authorities to intervene,” the group’s president, Mohamad Hilmi Ramli told the press last month.

However, the 37-year-old pop star has agreed to compromise now that she has landed in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the concert.

“I’ve made a lot of changes to my concert just for Malaysia. It’s a major sacrifice that I have made as an artiste. But I’m willing to do it because I want my fans in this country to see me perform here,” she told The Star.

It is not certain how the union of students has reacted to these latest comments, but the show will go ahead at Kuala Lumpur’s Putra Stadium on August 21. About 9,000 people are expected to attend the event.

Malaysia is well known for its strict controls on how female performers dress and behave. The Pussycat Dolls got in trouble last year for failing to adhere to the guidelines.

Female performers are expected to stay covered from the top of the chest to the knees; and are not allowed to jump, shout, or hug members of the audience.

Meanwhile, Stefani announced last week that she is keen to have more kids, but wants to put her touring days behind her first.

She is a true working mom these days as she has her one-year-old son Kingston on tour with her.

Gwen Stefani tells In Style magazine: “I go from the tour bus to the hotel room to the concert venue all while carrying my baby… I definitely don’t get enough sleep, but I’d rather spend time with him.”