All the soul-searching, sleep specialists and acupuncturists seem to have paid off – singer, rapper, musician and producer Gonzales has beaten the world record for the longest solo concert.The Canadian artist played for 27 hours, three minutes and 44 seconds at Paris's Ciné 13 Théâtre. The previous record, set by India's Prasanna Gudi, was 26 hours and 12 minutes.
Gonzales set up his upright piano – and a large accompanying digital clock – on Sunday night. He played straight through until the early hours of Tuesday morning, to an enthusiastic – if sometimes reduced – French crowd. The entire performance was streamed on the internet and will also be made into a documentary.
The singer sleep-walked through some 300 songs, including originals, musical numbers, film scores, works by Gershwin and Beethoven, and songs by Britney Spears, Neil Young and the Bee Gees. Each song could be performed only once. Officials from Guinness World Records allowed Gonzales a 30-second pause between each song and a 15-minute break after each three-hour set.
Occasionally, Gonzales peppered things up – getting a shave, changing in and out of pyjamas, and eating a bowl of cereal while he played.
Paris-based Gonzales was born in Montreal and is best known for his work with Feist, Peaches and Jamie Lidell. His record attempt was inspired, he told AFP, by its "irresistable ... combination of the poetic and the useless".
"I remember a guy who put 143 cigarettes in his mouth," Gonzales said. "It was purposeless, but he was the only one to do it." in interview