GEORGE MICHAEL - GEORGE MICHAEL 'NETS £1.5M FOR RUSSIAN GIG'

GEORGE MICHAEL 'NETS £1.5M FOR RUSSIAN GIG'

George Michael is reported to have got his new year off to a very good start with a concert netting him £1.5 million.

The singer is said to have been paid the vast amount by an unnamed Russian billionaire to entertain 300 guests at a party near Moscow for an hour.

According to reports, Michael is now the highest-paid act in Russian history. He was flown out, along with his entourage, on a private jet and returned to the UK the next day.

An insider revealed: "The businessman contacted George directly and asked him to perform.

"He has a vast estate just outside Moscow and turned his sports hall into a nightclub for the party. It was a fun night and George was back home in Britain by the morning."

It's a bit of a change from the last concert that he gave, which was a free gig last month for thousands of NHS nurses in north London.

Before Michael's Russian gig Christina Aguilera was the highest-paid female singer, earning herself a whopping £1 million for performing at the wedding of Russian oligarch Andrei Melnichenko in 2005.