Word on the street: March music forecast in China…Rain?

Again, just as with our previous post out of China, this has NOT been confirmed by Rain or J.Tune as of this posting. Thanks.

*And please note: China can be a bit strict, so perhaps this reporter wasn’t allowed to say Bad “ASS.” Just give him/her the benefit of the doubt, and let it go. And if Rain does show up there in March, the name of the arena will have changed (a reference to that “naming rights deal” below).

— Stephe ^@@^

City Weekend Beijing (China) 1/7/2011 — Sinoscuba, Correspondent

March Music Forecast: Rain

Mastercard renames a Beijing arena? Priceless. More like terms undisclosed, but no sooner had the ink dried on a naming rights deal between the credit card provider and Beijing’s Wukesong Arena, a new act has been booked to put bottoms in them 18,000 seats: Korean music, film and TV megastar Rain, who will play the venue on March 26.

If you’ve been living in a cave or a Shunyi villa over the past few years, substitute the name Justin Timberlake and you’ll begin to understand the man’s impact on Asian pop culture. Although he’s not bringing sexy back per se, Rain has starred in the Western films Speed Racer and Ninja Assassin, winning an MTV Movie Award for Biggest Baddest Star for the latter. He’s also sold out Madison Square Garden — twice. In 2006, Time named him to their list of the “100 People Who Change Our World.”

More to the point, Rain has sold millions of albums, both legit and otherwise, around Asia, with China thought to be an even bigger market for the Korean Wave star than even his native South Korea.

Tickets aren’t on sale just yet, but watch this site for more information.

By: sinoscuba / cityweekend.com, Beijing Nightlife