China approves Christina Aguilera tour: sources

Christina Aguilera performs during the 2007 NBA All-Star basketball game halftime show in Las Vegas, in this February 18, 2007 file photo. China's zealous culture guardians this week cleared Aguilera to perform in Shanghai next month despite misgivings about the racy U.S. pop star's ''sexy'' act, entertainment sources said on Wednesday.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's zealous culture guardians this week cleared Christina Aguilera to perform in Shanghai next month despite misgivings about the racy U.S. pop star's "sexy" act, entertainment sources said on Wednesday.

China's censors banned the Rolling Stones from playing some of their more sexually explicit songs at their first concert in Shanghai last year, and Beijing also cancelled rap artist Jay-Z's 2006 concert, citing indecent lyrics, local media reported.

But an entertainment source close to the concert's organizer said Aguilera had obtained all the necessary government approvals and that tickets would be available soon.

Aguilera's official Web site (www.christinaaguilera.com) says she will perform in Shanghai on June 26.

"Definitely, not every foreign artist has the luck to win Beijing's approval and Christina's sexy performance was once a concern when applying to the regulators," said the source who declined to be named.

The Shanghai date would be the only concert in mainland China, another source told Reuters.

"There will be no concert in Beijing or any other mainland cities for this time," he said, adding that tickets would cost between 200 yuan and 2,000 yuan (about $26 to $260).

Aguilera, renowned for her eye-catching costume choices as much as her soaring ballads, is the latest in a growing list of international stars to play China's commercial capital, despite culture officials' traditionally strict reservations about overtly sexual themes in lyrics and performance.

China's culture officials once asked Britney Spears to detail her costume and song-list for a planned gig, which eventually did not materialize.

($1=7.680 Yuan)