(LONDON) Radio 1 star Olly Murs has received his makeunder as a homeless guy with head lice. His mission was to perform in Covent Garden and see how well he does.The trend of stars busking on pitches around the world seems to have manifested itself. Whether for a commercial, skit, or social experiment, the stars are coming out at all hours. The celebrities over the years include Sir Paul McCartney, Joshua Bell, Guns & Roses, Bruce Springsteen, Usher, Murs, and more yet to come.

You'd think Murs would be releasing some fantastic new album but this social experiment was at the top of the list. He demonstrates how important professionalism can be when busking in the real world. Even in his condition, it was more of an audition than a handout.

Murs performed 45 minutes of his own songs and even has the video to prove...

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(TAIPEI) Busking is a thriving art in Taipei - a city that is busy promoting Taiwanese street performances featuring modern and traditional elements. In Taipei City alone, there are 59 public places now open to street performers including parks, commercial plazas, and a number of metro stations.

Besides Vieshow Square, the Ximending area in western Taipei and the Tamshui Metro station near the northwest coast of New Taipei City are also renowned busking sites.

Born from this success, the Taiwan Buskers Development Association was created whose mission is to fight for more street performance space, advocate buskers job rights, and keep the traditional arts alive.

The talents of these street performers range from portraiture, singing, acrobatics and juggling to posing as living statues, magic tricks, street dancing,...

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Hoping to get over to Lawrence this Saturday. The Jay Hawks are at home playing football and there is a good crowd milling about in Downtown Lawrence. They are busker friendly. Hopefully will keep me busy. Wish me luck.
BlackBeltMagician

I have made a home for myself on Pacific Ave as well as the Boardwalk. It's tough to get people to pay attention though. The areas are so small and congested with performers doing the exact same thing as me. I feel like the amount of talent I have is irrelevant in that situation. People can only take so many guys with guitars before they get bored. I've started looking at other cities to take my show. It's time to hit the road. I think a fresh street will do me some good.

The website Savage Content has put together a brief history of busking for those interested. It starts with Rome and crosses over to "America" and ends with today's busking stars.
Check it out at the link below.

A brief history of busking