KEY POINTS:
As Auckland gears up for a weekend of Chili Pepper madness, the list of top international headliners coming Down Under continues to grow.
This week alone has seen announcements that Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani are both set to play one-off Auckland shows at Vector Arena in July.
Following the Chili Peppers two sellout concerts this Saturday and Sunday, Good Charlotte will play at Auckland's St James next Friday, before Pink performs at Vector Arena next month.
UK-based New Zealand singer Daniel Bedingfield said musicians were being forced to tour due to the loss of revenue from the illegal downloading of music.
"It's a really tough time at the moment, for all of us actually. But you can't stop it [illegal downloading]."
However, Bedingfield is pleased artists are being forced to perform live to earn their keep.
"Music should be live. You can't hide behind auto-tune when you've got a stage in front of you. No amount of reverb can fix a bad performer when they're live.
"It outs people and they should be outed."
But he said touring New Zealand was expensive and only viable if tacked on to the end of an Australian tour.
Bedingfield will play his first New Zealand concert tomorrow night at the the official opening of Vector Arena.
"The reason I haven't performed over here so far is because it costs too much to fly my band over. It's really, really expensive. The reason I can do it now is because I've only come over with an acoustic guitar."
Other shows set to hit New Zealand this year include James Morrison, Guns N' Roses and Bloc Party.
UPCOMING GIGS:
Red Hot Chili Peppers at Vector Arena - April 22 & 23
Good Charlotte at St James - April 27
James Morrison at St James - May 15
Pink at Vector Arena - May 31
Guns N' Roses at Vector Arena - June 29
Christina Aguilera at Vector Arena - July 11
Gwen Stefani at Vector Arena - July 26
Bloc Party at St James - August 8
