Cee Lo Green lands Planet Hollywood gig

Are you there, Vegas? It's him, Cee Lo.

"I have a confession to make," ubiquitous singer Cee Lo Green says. "I don't think I've ever said this before. But the Grammy performance with the Muppets, the flying piano, the video for 'I Want You' ... all these things have been to motivate the prospects and talks about coming to Vegas."

They were his way of telling the suits here, "Check it out, man. This is what I'm capable of. I want to do it."

Message received.

Green spins his "Loberace" nickname into a show of the same name for at least 28 dates starting Aug. 29 at Planet Hollywood.

They will not be subdued. Producers promise showgirls, pyrotechnics, outlandish costumes -- such as the feathered plumage Green wore on the Grammys -- and stunts such as the flying piano from the Billboard Music Awards.

Green spoke by phone from Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon, before making the official announcement about the headlining stint from a private concert that was part of a coordinated, four-city promotion for Caesars Entertainment's players club.

"I love the city. I can't wait to be a part of it. I can't wait to be officially there," says the 37-year-old born Thomas Callaway. "From this generation I would just like to be able to carry on, and pick up the torch and continue to make Vegas a place to be."

The first batch of shows run through Labor Day weekend, with Green returning later in September and again in December, doing late shows after "Peepshow" in the 1,400-seat theater at Planet Hollywood.

The venture is produced primarily by Caesars Entertainment, in partnership with Base Entertainment, which leases and operates the Planet Hollywood theater.

The shows are only the latest venture to brand this Vegas kind of guy to the Strip.

Last summer's video for "I Want You" surrounded him with showgirls and centurions at Caesars Palace, while a new ad for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has him ducking paparazzi in a car chase that leads to the Strip.

It was the video shoot with "Jubilee!" showgirls that introduced the "Loberace" name to the public -- a portrait of the real Liberace observes the singer in a few shots -- and got the wheels turning with management at Caesars Entertainment, says Carlos Reynoso, the company's executive director of entertainment.

The Colosseum at Caesars Palace established a new model for recurring headliners, but those tend to be "someone who is older, more seasoned and has a bigger catalog of music. We're flipping the whole idea and model around," Reynoso says.

"To me it totally makes sense," he adds, given the younger-skewing demographics of Planet Hollywood, the relatively small theater size (about one-third that of Caesars' Colosseum), and Green's exposure as a judge on NBC's talent show "The Voice." Those things overcome concerns about Green having only two significant hits: "Forget You" (the title of the clean version) and "Crazy," recorded under the handle Gnarls Barkley.

"That's part of the strategic plan, to create that demand because it's a small room, and it's going to be a hot ticket," Reynoso says.

"I've been calling it a very cool satellite radio station that's playing all of my favorite songs," Green says. "Everything from Rolling Stones to Blue Magic, INXS, Rod Stewart. Name it. Iggy Pop and the Stooges, I listen to it all and have been moved by it all."

He figures the shows may even help him figure out who his fans are.

"I had become a bit confused on exactly who my audience was," Green says, noting his music has "been like a love letter to whom it may concern. I've never really targeted anyone in particular. Everybody's welcome."

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.