Best Singers

BRYAN ADAMS

2011-01-27T22:52:00.000-08:00

Bryan Guy Adams, OC, OBC (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 18 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also had 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television in 1992. He has also won MTV, ASCAP, and American Music awards. In addition, he has won two Ivor Novello Awards for song composition and has been nominated for several Golden Globe Awards and three times forAcademy Awards for his songwriting for films. Bryan Adams has sold nearly 70 million albums worldwide.

Adams was awarded the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia for contributions to popular music and philanthropic work via his own foundation, which helps improve education for people around the world. He is a well known photographer.

Adams was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 1998, and in April 2006 he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at Canada's Juno Awards. In 2008, Bryan was ranked 38 on the list of All-Time top artists by the Billboard Hot 100 50th Anniversary Charts. On 13 January 2010, he received the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award for his part in numerous charitable concerts and campaigns during his career, and on 1 May 2010 was given the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for his 30 years of contributions to the arts.

Adams was born in Kingston, Canada, to English parents. From his grandmother he also inherited a Maltese ancestry. As Adams's father was a diplomat, he grew up traveling around the world with his parents. Subsequently, most of his youth was spent growing up in his parents' native England, Israel, Portugal, and Austria, part of the time in Cascais, Portugal, situated close to Lisbon, where he attended St Julians School. In 1973, Adams's family returned to Canada and momentarily settled down in Vancouver, British Columbia. He washed dishes, sold pet food, and worked in record stores, and at the age of 15, Adams quit school to play in nightclubs with bands like Shock and Sweeney Todd, who released an album called If Wishes Were Horses with the fifteen year old Adams as lead singer.

In 1978, at the age of 18, Adams sent a few demo recordings to A&M Records in Toronto. Not long afterwards he signed with them for the sum of one dollar. Some of the first demos written in 1978 have surfaced over the years, most notably "I'm Ready" (recorded for both the album Cuts Like a Knife and later his release for MTV Unplugged) and "Remember," which was recorded on his first album. Both songs were covered by other artists even before his first album was released. Also recorded during this time was Adams's first single, "Let Me Take You Dancing," which made the Canadian RPM chart in March 1979 (the b-side was entitled "Don't Turn Me Away").

The Adams/Vallance partnership wrote songs for many other artists notably Kiss, Prism, Bonnie Raitt, Rod Stewart, Neil Diamond, Joe Cocker, Carly Simon, and Loverboy to name a few.

Enrique Iglesias

2011-01-27T20:22:00.000-08:00

Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (born May 8, 1975), better known as Enrique Iglesias, is a Spanish pop music singer-songwriter.

Iglesias started his musical career on Mexican label Fonovisa. This helped turn him into one of the most popular artists in Latin America and in the Hispanic or Latino market in the United States, and the biggest seller of Spanish language albums for a number of years. Before the turn of the millennium, he made a crossover into the mainstream English language market, signing a unique multi-album deal with Universal Music Group for an unprecedented US$48,000,000, with Universal Music Latino to release his Spanish albums and Interscope to release English albums. In 2010, he parted with Interscope and signed with another Universal Music Group label, Universal Republic.

Iglesias has had four Billboard Hot 100 top five singles including two #1s, and holds the record for producing 21 number 1 Spanish-language singles on theBillboard's Hot Latin Tracks. Up until the release of his latest album, Euphoria, in 2010, he had sold over 55 million albums in both English and Spanish.

Iglesias was born in Madrid, Spain, the third and final child of singer Julio Iglesias and socialite and magazine journalist Isabel Preysler. His mother is a Spanish-Filipino and his father is of Galician Spanish and Jewish ancestry. His parents divorced in 1978, and the following year Julio moved to Miami,Florida, in the U.S. to continue with his musical career.

In 1985, Enrique Iglesias' grandfather, Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga was kidnapped by the terrorist group ETA. For their safety, Enrique and his brother Julio Iglesias Jr. were sent to live with their father in Miami. He also lived in Belgrade, Serbia, for one year with his mother, who worked as a journalist. As his father's career kept him on the road, the young Iglesias was raised by the family nanny. He attended Gulliver Preparatory School and went on to study business at the University of Miami.

Iglesias did not want his father to know about his plans for a musical career and did not want his famous surname to help advance his career. He borrowed money from his family nanny and he recorded a demo cassette tape which consisted of a Spanish song and two English songs. Approaching his father's former publicist, Fernan Martinez, the two promoted the songs under the stage name 'Enrique Martinez' with the backstory of being an unknown singer from Guatemala. Iglesias was signed by a record label called Fonovisa. After dropping out of college, he went to Toronto to record his first album

Nelly

2011-01-26T00:16:00.000-08:00

Cornell Haynes, Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American hip hop recording artist.

He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly made his solo debut in 2000 with Country Grammar, the title track of which was a top ten hit. The album debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 and went on to peak at #1. Country Grammaris Nelly's best-selling album to date, selling over 8.4 million copies in the United States. His following album, Nellyville, produced the number-one hits "Hot in Herre" and "Dilemma" featuring Kelly Rowland. Other singles included "Work It" featuring Justin Timberlake, "Air Force Ones" featuring Murphy Lee and the St. Lunatics, "Pimp Juice", and "#1".

With the same-day dual release Sweat and Suit (2004) and the compilation Sweatsuit (2006), Nelly continued to generate many chart-topping hits. Sweatdebuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 342,000 copies in its first week. On the same week of release, Suit debuted at number one selling around 396,000 copies in its first week on the same chart. Nelly's fifth studio album, Brass Knuckles, was released on September 16, 2008 after several delays. It produced the singles "Party People", featuring Fergie, "Stepped on My J'z" and "Body On Me", featuring Akon and Ashanti.

In 2010, Nelly released the album 5.0. The lead single, "Just a Dream", has appeared in the top ten of several singles charts and were certified platinum in the United States. The second single is "Move That Body" featuring T-Pain and Akon. "Gone" is the sequel to Nelly's 2002 worldwide number one single "Dilemma", also with Rowland, and serves as third single from Nelly's album.

He won Grammy Awards in 2003 and 2004 and had a supporting role in the 2005 remake film The Longest Yard with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. He has two clothing lines, Vokal and Apple Bottoms. He has been referred to by Peter Shapiro as "one of the biggest stars of the new millennium", and the RIAA ranks Nelly as one of the best-selling male artists in American music history, with 21 million albums sold in the United States.On December 11, 2009, Billboard ranked Nelly the #3 Top Artist of the Decade.

Nelly was born in Austin, Texas, where his father was serving in the military. When he was seven, his parents divorced. Nelly moved with his mother from inner city St. Louis to suburban University City, Missouri as a teenager. While still in high school, Nelly formed the St. Lunatics, who enjoyed local popularity with their single "Gimme What Ya Got". When a major record deal failed to appear, Nelly decided to go solo. He was soon signed to Universal Music Group, which released his major label debut Country Grammar in 2000. The success of its title track as a single (#7 on the Hot 100 and #1 Hot Rap Tracks) led to the album debuting at number three in the Billboard 200 in the U.S. Other singles from the album included "E.I.", "Ride Wit Me", and "Batter Up". The album was certified 9× platinum by the RIAA on April 27, 2004.

AC/DC

2011-01-25T23:29:00.000-08:00

AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Although the band are commonly classified as hard rockand are considered a pioneer of heavy metal, they have always classified their music as rock and roll. To date they are one of the highest grossing bands of all time. AC/DC underwent several line-up changes before releasing their first album, High Voltage, in 1975. Membership remained stable until bassist Mark Evans was replaced by Cliff Williams in 1978 for the album Powerage. Within months of recording the album Highway to Hell, lead singer and co-songwriter Bon Scott died on 19 February 1980, after a night of heavy alcohol consumption. The group briefly considered disbanding, but Scott's parents urged them to continue and hire a new vocalist. Ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson was auditioned and selected to replace Scott. Later that year, the band released their highest selling album, Back in Black.

The band's next album, For Those About to Rock We Salute You, was their first album to reach number one in the United States. AC/DC declined in popularity soon after drummer Phil Rudd was fired in 1983 and was replaced by future Dio drummer Simon Wright, though the band resurged in the early 1990s with the release of The Razors Edge. Phil Rudd returned in 1994 (after Chris Slade, who was with the band from 1990–1994, was asked to leave in favour of him) and contributed to the band's 1995 album Ballbreaker. Stiff Upper Lip was released in 2000 and was well received by critics. Since then, the band has stayed the same with the 1980–1983 lineup. The band's next album, Black Ice, was released on 20 October 2008. It was their biggest hit on the charts since For Those About to Rock, reaching #1 on all the charts eventually. AC/DC's newest album, Iron Man 2, soundtrack to the film, was released on 19 April 2010.

As of 2010, AC/DC have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, as of the releases of their latest albums, Black Ice and the Iron Man 2soundtrack, including 71 million albums in the United States. Back in Black has sold an estimated 49 million units worldwide, making it the highest-selling album by any band and the second-highest-selling album in history, behind Thriller by Michael Jackson. The album has sold 22 million in the US alone, where it is the fifth-highest-selling album. AC/DC ranked fourth on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and were named the seventh "Greatest Heavy Metal Band of All Time" by MTV. In 2004, AC/DC were ranked number 72 in the Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

Brothers Malcolm, Angus, and George Young were born in Glasgow, Scotland, and moved to Sydney with most of their family in 1963. George was the first to learn to play the guitar. He became a member of the Easybeats, one of Australia's most successful bands of the 1960s. In 1966, they became the first local rock act to have an international hit, with the song "Friday on My Mind".Malcolm followed in George's footsteps by playing with a Newcastle, New South Wales, band called the Velvet Underground (not to be confused with the New York–based Velvet Underground).

Malcolm and Angus Young developed the idea for the band's name after their older sister, Margaret Young, saw the initials "AC/DC" on a sewing machine. "AC/DC" is an abbreviation meaning "alternating current/direct current" electricity. The brothers felt that this name symbolised the band's raw energy, power-driven performances, and a love for their music. "AC/DC" is pronounced one letter at a time, though the band are popularly known as "Acca Dacca" in Australia

AVRIL LAVIGNE

2011-01-25T05:28:00.000-08:00

Avril Ramona Lavigne (pronounced /ˈævrɨl ləˈviːn/; born 27 September 1984) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, fashion designer, actress and philanthropist. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent the majority of her youth in the small town, Napanee, Ontario. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain, and by 16, Lavigne had signed a recording contract with Arista, now RCA Records. Record executive Antonio "L.A." Reid offered her a two-album deal worth more than $2 million. When she was 17 years old, Lavigne broke onto the music scene with her debut album, Let Go, released in 2002.

Let Go made Lavigne the youngest female soloist to reach #1 in the UK, and the album was certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. As of 2009, over 16 million copies had been sold worldwide, more than 6 million of which were sold in the United States. Her breakthrough single, "Complicated", peaked at #1 in many countries around the world, as did the album Let Go. Her second album, Under My Skin, was released in 2004 and was her first album to peak at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 , eventually selling more than 10 million copies worldwide. The Best Damn Thing, Lavigne’s third album, was released in 2007. This album gave Lavigne her third #1 album in the UK Albums Chart and featured her first U.S. Billboard Hot 100 single, "Girlfriend". Lavigne has scored a total of five #1 singles worldwide, including "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi", "I'm With You", "My Happy Ending" and "Girlfriend". Lavigne has sold more than 30 million copies of her albums worldwide[1] and is currently one of the top-selling artists releasing albums in the U.S., with over 10.25 million copies certified by the RIAA.[2] Billboard named Lavigne the #10 pop artist in the "Best of the 2000s" chart, and she was listed as the 28th overall best act of the decade based on album sales, chart success, and cultural relativity in the U.S.[3][4] Her fourth studio album, Goodbye Lullaby, will be released in March 2011, with the first single to be released in January.

Lavigne branched out from recording music, pursuing careers in feature film acting and designing clothes and perfumes. She voiced a character in the animated film, Over the Hedge, in 2006. That same year, she made her on-screen feature film debut in Fast Food Nation. In 2008, Lavigne introduced her clothing line, Abbey Dawn; and in 2009, she released her first perfume, Black Star, which was followed by her second perfume, Forbidden Rose, in 2010. Her third fragrance is due out in August 2011. In July 2006, Lavigne married her boyfriend of two years, Deryck Whibley, lead singer and guitarist for Sum 41. The marriage lasted a little over three years, and in October 2009, Lavigne filed for divorce. Whibley and Lavigne have continued to work together after the divorce, with Whibley producing her upcoming fourth album, as well as Lavigne's single, "Alice", written for Tim Burton's film Alice in Wonderland.

Early lifeAvril Ramona Lavigne was born in Belleville, Ontario, the daughter of Judith-Rosanne "Judy" (née Loshaw) and Jean-Claude Lavigne. Her father, who is of French Canadian descent,[5] named her Avril after the French word for the month of April.[6] She has an older brother, Matthew, and a younger sister, Michelle.[7] A daughter of a working-class family,[8] Lavigne, at the age of two, began singing church songs along with her mother. When Lavigne was five years old, the family moved to Napanee, Ontario,[6] a town with an approximate population of 5,000.[9][10][11] Although she struggled with paying attention in school, sometimes kicked out of class for misbehaving, her parents were supportive of her singing. Her father bought her a microphone, a drum kit, a keyboard, several guitars, and converted their basement into a studio. When Lavigne was 14, her parents would take her to karaoke sessions.[12] Lavigne also performed at country fairs, singing songs by Garth Brooks, The Dixie Chicks, and Shania Twain. She also began writing her own songs. Her first song was called "Can't Stop Thinking About You", about a teenage crush, which she described as "cheesy cute".[13]

“ I’ve known all my life that this is what I was supposed to do.... Visualizing like what it would be like to be famous with my music. And always just dreaming, always daydreaming. ”

—Avril Lavigne, NBC News[12]

In 1998,[11] Lavigne won a radio contest to perform with fellow Canadian singer Shania Twain at the Corel Centre (now Scotiabank Place) in Ottawa, before an audience of 20,000 people.[6][9] Twain and Lavigne sang "What Made You Say That",[6] and Lavigne told Twain she was going to be "a famous singer".[9] During a performance with the Lennox Community Theatre, Lavigne was spotted by local folk singer Stephen Medd. He invited her to contribute vocals on his song, "Touch the Sky", for his 1999 album, Quinte Spirit. She later sang on "Temple of Life" and "Two Rivers" for his follow-up album, My Window to You, in 2000. In December 1999, Lavigne was discovered by her first professional manager, Cliff Fabri, while singing country covers at a Chapters bookstore in Kingston, Ontario.[6][9] Fabri sent out VHS tapes of Lavigne's home performances to several industry prospects, and Lavigne was visited by several executives.[14] Mark Jowett, co-founder of the Canadian management firm Nettwerk, received a copy of Lavigne's karaoke performances recorded in her parents' basement,[15] and arranged for Lavigne to work with Peter Zizzo in New York during the summer of 2000, where she wrote the song "Why?". It was on a subsequent trip to New York that Lavigne was noticed by Arista Records.

GRACE POTTER

2011-01-25T05:27:00.000-08:00

Born in Waitsfield, VT, loveliness Potter grew up in a family tree with the intention of encouraged her artistic pursuits in areas from composition to acting, the latter of which she was studying by St. Lawrence University as drummer Matt Burr heard her singing by an open-mike night in 2002 and asked if she would form a belt with him. She declined, but as her high-school supporter and bass player Courtright Beard enrolled in their college, she reconsidered the challenge, and the three of them began to enter and go jazz-influenced songs, Potter furthermore taking duties on the Hammond B-3. Soon, guitarist Scott Tournet tied, and the bandmembers, calling themselves loveliness Potter & the Nocturnals -- thankfulness to their late-night practice lifestyle -- began to think sincerely in this area making composition their careers. When Burr graduated in 2003, they resolute to move back to Vermont to approximately ground with the intention of Potter's parents owned and dedicate themselves more fully to their craft, replacing Beard (who chose to stay by school) with Bryan Dondero in the process. Inside 2004 they self-released their introduction, Original Soul, receiving clear response and comparisons to artists like Norah Jones and ahead of schedule Bonnie Raitt. This in curve garnered major-label offers, but the belt preferred to build its fan corrupt by constant touring and festival appearances. Word of their thrilling performance apply, and shortly with their following baby book, Nothing But the Water -- furthermore self-released -- came made known in 2005, loveliness Potter & the Nocturnals signed to Hollywood Records, with their third full-length, This Is Somewhere, hitting shelves nationally in eminent 2007. Inside 2010, loveliness Potter & the Nocturnals was released; Hollywood pulled made known all the stops in order to break the belt globally. Marisa brunette, Rovi

album: "Nothing But The Water" (2005)

Toothbrush And My Table
Some Kind Of Ride
Ragged Company
Left Behind
Treat Me Right
Sweet Hands
Joey
2:22
All But One
Nothing But The Water (I)
Nothing But The Water (II)

"This Is Somewhere
Ah Mary
Stop The Bus
Apologies
Ain't No Time
Mr. Columbus
You May See Me
Lose Some Time
Mastermind
Here's To The Meantime
Falling Or Flying
Big White Gat

"Grace Potter & The Nocturnals"

Paris (Ooh La La)
Oasis
Medicine
Goodbye Kiss
Tiny Light
Colors
Only Love
Money
One Short Night
Low Road
That Phone
Hot Summer Night
Things I Never Needed

Rhydian

2011-01-25T05:26:00.000-08:00

Rhydian Roberts (born 14 February 1983), popularly common as Rhydian, is a Welsh baritone and crossover artiste in the United Kingdom. Classically skilled, he rose to fame in 2007 as a runner-up on The X Factor. Since so therefore, he has released two bestselling albums, completed a UK tour (2009), and made gala and charity appearances in his native Wales and on the Royal Albert Hall, London. Dressed in in the wee small hours 2010, he embarks on a major Europe and UK arena tour of The War of the Worlds - Alive On Stage!. Projects in favor of 2011 include the UK tour of We spirit shake You and a up-to-the-minute recording wedding album in February.

Biography

Rhydian Roberts was born in Sennybridge,celebrateds, Wales and attended the Pontsenni Cylch Meithcomediand subsequently went on top of Ysgol y Bannau Welstaughtmediate drill in Brecon. He represented the drill and Powys in the UsubsequentlyGobaith Cymru Eisteddfod from the age of fthrough He maintained his relatives with the Urdd whilst next to Llandovery College (where he becnext toe head boy)[1] and as a universivoguish much-lamented-lamented. An accomplished sportsman and intense rugby union player, he played rugby union pro the Gwernyfed Rprocasino, nearby Brecon, as a junior adesirefterwardkepro his drill-fangled,albumnbaby bookcket pro Powys County Junior teams.[2] "My design was to be a trained player pro the Swansea RFC Ospreys (rugby team)," he says. "From the age of ten with the purpose of was all I might think something like – and I wasn't interested in singing whichever more." He embarked on a stringent implement programme and was "a leisure center extreme who might bench-press 386lbs next to 16."[3]

Birmingham Conservatoire
After principles in a small drill in South Africa at some stage in his gap day, Rhydian won a bursary to the Birmingham Conservatoire next to University of Central England (now celebrated as Birmingham City University). Director of Theatre Studies Michael Barry commented with the purpose of "Rhydian was a star pupil next to the Conservatoire from the very opening."[4] He to begin with taught with Adrian Clarke and subsequently with Christine Cairns. He beat 13 other second-year vocal students from UK composition colleges to grow to be the to begin with scholar from outside London to win the Kathleen Ferrier Society Bursary pro Young Singers. A judging panel of internationally-renowned singers hailed his "formidable talent" and his "immediate connection with the audience". Other awards incorporated the Reginald Vincent Lieder Prize, the 2007 Mario Lanza Educational Award,[5] and the Cecil Drew Oratorio Prize. Having been recommended in his instant day by Barry pro interview by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's (CBSO) Musical Director Sakari Oramo, Rhydian played Morales in the CBSO's semi-staged Carmen. He safe leading roles in in effect all of the Conservatoire's operas and musicals,[6] counting Charley in Merrily We Roll Along[7] and the title role in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde[8] After graduating in 2007 with first-class honours, Rhydian auditioned pro the BBC talent contest Any Dream desire Do.[9]

The X Factor (2007)

At his interview pro The X Factor, Rhydian was openly self-assured and ambitious. Judges found him both perplexing and talented. Ironically, it was his eventual adviser Dannii Minogue who gave the no more than "no" choose next to the while,[10] while Sharon Osbourne was reported to carry out found him arrogant, although these tensions softened in while.[11] Later in the chain, Simon Cowell averred: "[Rhydian] is incredibly polite and polite. He stands not at home as he has an incredible voice. But in attendance is veto arrogance or conceit. He's a very competent guy, and in truth I think he is very insecure."[12] Rhydian himself had allegedly been anxious with the purpose of film restriction might generate unfavourable municipal perception of him. He described his portrayal as with the purpose of of a "pantomime villain", and film clips of him often incorporated "The Phantom of the Opera" song singing in the background.[13]
Notwithstanding his fears, Rhydian eventually won greater than municipal outlook. Overhauling his image, he impressed as a spectacular and unpredictable perpetrator, and "his brand white beard and flamboyant dress good judgment made him an audience favourite immediately"[14] His appearances incorporated:
A thorough theatrical story of "The Phantom of the Opera", something like which consider Louis Walsh opined, "You've got star quality, you've got presence, and this show's available to vary your life."[15]
Shirley Bassey's version of Pink's "Get The Party Started" in a fur coat and sequin-covered suit[16]
The Village People's version of "Go West" in Navy Officer uniform surrounded by male back up singers in sailor outfits.[17]
At this purpose, judges expressed worry with the purpose of his camp theatrical presentation was opening to overshadow his vocal performances. Subsequently, while still counting dancers and pyrotechnics, Rhydian toned down his onstage actions.
Eventually, Rhydian became the favourite to win,[18] performing, amongst others, "You Raise Me Up, " "The Impossible Dream" (later the keynote track of his introduction baby book, Rhydian) and "I Vow to Thee, My Country." His rendition of "Somewhere" stirred consider Dannii Minogue to tears: "I can't even be fluent in, with the purpose of was so beautiful."[19] Of his "Bridge Over Troubled Water", Simon Cowell alleged "Rhydian, I ideas with the purpose of was bloody fantastic ... And I think probably your paramount performance, if not THE paramount performance of the competition so far."[20]
He duetted in the final with Katherine Jenkins, whom he had long all the rage.[21] Despite dying as runner-up,[22] Rhydian was free a recording contract with Sony BMG by Simon Cowell the after that date.

Career

Rhydian devoted much of 2008 to his introduction baby book, the eponymous Rhydian,[23] and performed next to not public functions worldwide. UK arrangements incorporated the Welsh Grand Slam celebrations and the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year Awards. He performed "Music of the Night" pro greater than 30,000 populate in Hyde Park to mark Andrew Lloyd Webber's 60th Birthday.[24] Having heard Rhydian sing, HRH Prince Charles invited him to grow to be a patron of The Prince's Trust. He sang next to the Children of Courage Awards Ceremony next to Westminster Abbey.[25] Guesting next to The X Factor finals, Rhydian performed "The Impossible Dream," the head track of Rhydian. The baby book was declared the highest advertising baby book by a male chart newcomer in 2008. [26] Rhydian duetted on "Have Yourself a Merry small Christmas" with Charlotte place of worship on the seasonal special of her chat musical.2009 motto more than 600,000 albums sold and the emit of Rhydian's instant baby book, O Fortuna.[28][29] He and fulfilled a 24-date solo tour of the UK.[30] For the BBC, he appeared on Songs of Praise; pro S4C he recorded his own television special, followed by the documentary Rhydian, One Year On.[31] Rhydian again entertained the Royal Family, next to "The Prince's Trust Celebrates Success" Awards,[32][33] and starred in the BBC's Children in Need charity telethon. At the 2009 Liverpool Summer Pops Festival, he headlined a concert pro 11,000 fans in the Echo Arena.[34][35] voguish December, he crooked on the Christmas light in Hull.

JUSTIN BIEBER

2011-01-25T05:25:00.000-08:00

Justin Drew Bieber born evolution 1, 1994 is a Canadian pop R&B singer. Bieber was exposed in 2008 by Scooter Braun , who happened to get nearer across Bieber's videos on YouTube and afterward became his administrator. Braun arranged in favor of him to suffer with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia , and Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a seam venture stuck between Braun and Usher, and so therefore to a recording contract with Island Records presented by L.A. Reid

His introduction single, "One Time", was released worldwide at some stage in 2009, and charted contained by the top 30 in ended ten countries. It was followed by his introduction free, My World , on November 17, 2009, which was certified platinum in the United States, making him the to start with performer to control seven songs from a introduction photo album chart on the Billboard Hot 100 His to start with gorged studio free, My World 2.0 , was released on evolution 23, 2010 and has since usual related hit; it debuted next to numeral solitary and contained by the top ten of several countries and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the worldwide top-ten single, "Baby ," in January 2010.

Early life

Bieber was born on evolution 1, 1994, in London, Ontario and was raised in Stratford, Ontario. Bieber's tend, Pattie Mallette, was 18 years old while she became pregnant with her son. Mallette, who worked a string of low-paying agency jobs, raised Bieber as a single tend. However, Bieber maintains make contact with with his father, Jeremy Bieber.Like he grew, Bieber trained himself to performance the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet. Taking part in in the early hours 2007, while he was twelve, Bieber sang Ne-Yo's "So Sick" in support of a resident singing competition in Stratford and placed be with. Mallette posted a film of the performance on YouTube in support of their personal and links to go to see. She continued to upload videos of Bieber singing covers of various R&B songs, and Bieber's popularity on the spot grew.

Career

2008-09: Discovery developmenty World

While searching on behalf of vidcare for a out of the ordinary singer, Scooter Braun awhat timevious marketing execrunof So So Def , workforced on solitary of Bieber's 2007 videos care forident. Impressed, in the function ofaun tracked down trainedow business Biebercooperate performing in, located Bieber's teach,herennear the beginningtly cowhat timeted Mallette. Mallette was reluctant; she remeon behalf ofredneighboringing, "God, I gave him to you. You might fling go along withhristian man, a Chrisfilmlabel!" Howeveinvestigatein imitation of praying with her church elders and receiving their encouragement, she permitted Braun to wing Bieber, it follows that 13, toAtlanta, Georgia, to make a recording presentation tapes. A week in imitation of new, Bieber sang on behalf of R&B singer/songwriter Usher Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a join venture amid Braun and Usher. Justin Timberlake was and allegedly in the running to sign Bieber, but lost the bidding war to Usher.Usher it follows that arranged an interview with Antonio L.A. Reid of Island Def Jam Music Group, who signed Bieber to Island Records in October 2008 (resulting in a join venture amid RBMG and Island Records. At with the purpose of central theme, Bieber and his care for stimulated to Atlanta, and the back home of Usher and Braun, to station his career. Braun became Bieber's boss.

Bieber's initially run, "One Time", protectleased to telephone system whequallye Bieber was still educatedting his introductions aboutbaby book.Assong reached digit 12 on the Canadian Hot 100 all through followingitially week of relief irecordy 2009, and shortly peaked by digit 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 . Dusample afurthermore0seeminglyhcomplishmentminginternational prokets.The song was certified Platinum in Cestablishment that timend the linkingrialin Australia and New Zealand. Bieber's initially baby book My World , was released on Nestablishmenter 17, 20linkingee conscorruptive singles, "One with the intention of topy Girl"administrator Me ", and "Favorite Girl ", were released exclusively on the iTunes pile and charted surrounded by the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100. "One Less Lonely Girl" was shortly furthermore released to telephone system and peaked surrounded by the top fifteen in Canada and the U.S., being certified Gold in the latter.My World was eventually certified Platinum in the U.S. And Canada and Silver in the UK.To promote the baby book, Bieber performed in several live shows such as mtvU VMA 09 Tour, European curriculum The Dome , YTV 's The Next Star , The Today Show, The Wendy Williams Show , Lopez Tonight , The Ellen DeGeneres Show , It's On with Alexa Chung , Good Morning America , Chelsea Lately, and BET's 106 & Park with Rihanna . Bieber furthermore guest starred in an episode of True Jackson, VP in in the dead of night 2009.

Bieber performed Stevie Wonder's "Someday by Christmas " pro U.S. President Barack Obama and initially woman Michelle Obama by the fair House pro Christmas in Washington , which was broadcast on December 20, 2009, on U.S. Television newscaster TNT Bieber was furthermore lone of the performers by Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest on December 31, 2009.Bieber was a host by the52nd Grammy Awards on January 31, 2010. He was invited to be a singer pro the re-establish of We Are The World pro its 25th anniversary to benefit Haiti with the earthquake . Bieber sings the opening line, which was sung by Lionel Richie in the first version.On progression 12, 2010, a version of K'naan's "Wavin' Flag " recorded by a collective of Canadian musicians renowned as Young Artists pro Haiti was released. Bieber is featured in the song, performing the finishing shape.

Eagles (band)

2011-01-24T23:06:00.001-08:00

Eagles are an American rock strap formed in Los Angeles, California in 1971 by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner.
With five run to solitary singles, six Grammies, and six run to solitary albums, the Eagles were solitary of the a good number lucrative recording artists of the 1970s. At the end up of the 20th century, two of their albums, Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) and Hotel California, ranked in the midst of the 20 best-selling albums in the U.S. According to the Recording Industry Association of America. Hotel California is ranked 37th in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and the strap was ranked #75 on the magazine's 2004 register of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[2] They additionally own the paramount advertising cassette in the U.S. With Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975), which sold more than 29 million copies.
The Eagles broke up in July 1980, but reunited in 1994 in place of Hell Freezes Over, a mix of live and spanking studio tracks.They own toured now and then since followed by, and were inducted into the pitch and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Appearing in 2007, Eagles released stretched Road exposed of Eden, their to begin with broad studio cassette in 28 years. The cassette would top the cassette charts, statement five singles on the Adult Contemporary Charts and win the strap two Grammies. The subsequently day they launched The stretched Road exposed of Eden Tour in support of the cassette.

First incarnation

The crew began to form as Linda Ronstadt and then-manager John Boylan recruited session musicians Glenn Frey and Don Henley in the spring of 1971.[3] Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon would join her band of performers by the summer tour.[3] The first Eagles would mess about simply a long time ago concurrently as a live group help Ronstadt (for a July concert by Disneyland),[3] but all four appeared on her eponymous 1971 photograph album.[4] After their tenure with Ronstadt and with her encouragement, they resolute to form their own crew, signing with Asylum Records, the original label ongoing by David Geffen. Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts plus at the start managed the crew.
[edit]Eagles (1972)

Eagles in 1972 (l-r) Leadon, Meisner, Henley, Frey.
The group's eponymous presentation photograph album was recorded in England in February 1972 with producer Glyn Johns[3] and released on June 17, 1972. Eagles was a breakthrough accomplishment, docile three Top 40 singles. The initially single and command track, "Take It Easy", was a song on paper by Glenn Frey and his national and fellow country-folk rocker Jackson Browne. Browne had on paper the majority of the song, up until the line "I'm station on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see", anywhere he was followed by hindered. Frey added the after that line, and Browne continued to buff the take a break of the song. The song reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and propelled the Eagles to glory. The single was followed by the bluesy "Witchy Woman" and the soft people rock ballad "Peaceful Easy Feeling", charting by #9 and #22 correspondingly.
The Eagles were a major force in popularizing the Southern California people rock sound. Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 make a list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" ranked Eagles by add up to 374.[5]
[edit]Desperado (1973)

Eagles on stage deceased on back cover of Desperado photographed by Henry Diltz. (The two extra "bodies" are J.D. Souther [far right] and Jackson Browne [far left].)
Their following photograph album, Desperado, was themed on Old West outlaws, drawing comparisons involving their lifestyles and the lifestyles of novel rock stars. This photograph album introduced the group's penchant pro conceptual songwriting. It was through the recording sessions so as to Don Henley and Glenn Frey began journalism with all other, co-writing 8 of the album's 11 songs, as well as two of the group's as a rule in style songs: "Tequila Sunrise" and "Desperado". The bluegrass songs "Twenty-One," "Doolin' Dalton" and the ballad "Saturday Night" showcased guitarist Bernie Leadon's abilities on the banjo, guitar and mandolin.
Throughout the photograph album, the story of the notorious Wild West "Doolin-Dalton" gang was the most important focus, featuring in the songs "Doolin-Dalton," "Bittercreek" and "Desperado". The photograph album was with a reduction of doing well than the initially, feat simply #41 on the US pop photograph album charts, and docile simply 2 singles, "Tequila Sunrise", which reached #61 on the Billboard charts, and "Outlaw Man", which peaked by #59.
The photograph album noticeable a major substitute to the crew, with Henley and Frey co-writing the bulk of the photograph album, a pattern so as to would maintain pro years to turn up. Subsequently, the match up began to dominate the crew in expressions of leadership and songwriting, whirling the focus of the crew away from Leadon and Meisner despite beforehand presumptions so as to it would be Leadon and Meisner who would steer the crew.[6]
[edit]On the Border (1974)
For their after that photograph album, On the Border, Henley and Frey wanted the crew to break away from the people tune chic they were acknowledged pro, heartbreaking more towards relentlessly rock. Initially, the Eagles ongoing rancid with Glyn Johns producing, but he tended to underscore the blossoming edge of their double-edged tune. After completing simply two songs, the crew twisted to document Szymczyk to food the take a break of the photograph album. Szymczyk brought in Don Felder to add slide guitar to a song called "Good Day in Hell", and the crew was so impressed so as to two days shortly they invited Felder to befall the fifth Eagle. He appeared on simply lone other song on the photograph album, the uptempo divide song "Already Gone", anywhere he performed the guitar twosome with Glenn Frey. On the Border yielded a No. 1 Billboard single ("Best of My Love"), which smack the top of the charts on progression 1, 1975, right the Eagles' initially of five chart toppers.
The crew plus played by the famous California Jam festival in Ontario, California on April 6, 1974. Attracting done 200,000 fans, appearing alongside 70's rock giants Black Sabbath, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Deep Purple, Earth, Wind & Fire, Seals & Crofts, Black Oak Arkansas, and Rare Earth. Portions of the demonstrate were broadcast on essentials Television in the US, exposing the crew to a wider audience.
[edit]One of These Nights (1975)

The Eagles released their fourth studio photograph album, One of These Nights, on June 10, 1975. It was their keep going photograph album to introduce founding affiliate Bernie Leadon, who would leave the band through the One of These Nights tour. Leadon was disenchanted with the direction the band's tune was free. Leadon co-wrote two songs on the photograph album, "I Wish You Peace," which he wrote with Patti Davis and sang command vocals on. He plus wrote the instrumental, "Journey of the Sorceror". Leadon would be replaced by guitarist Joe Walsh, who had previously been with the James Gang and Barnstorm bands, as well as a solo comedian in his own permission. With the departure of Leadon, the Eagles' beforehand people sound almost completely disappeared and the crew stimulated on to a harder sound with the addition of Felder and shortly Walsh. The photograph album would show to be a breakthrough photograph album pro the crew, making them international superstars. It would plus start in on a succession of four consecutive No. 1 albums. It plus extend displayed the dominant songwriting joint venture of Don Henley and Glenn Frey. The initially single from the photograph album was the title track, which became the following straight single pro the crew to top the charts. The song has been prominent by Frey as his all count favorite Eagles regulate. The following single would be "Lyin' Eyes", the single reached No. 2 on the charts and won the crew its initially Grammy pro "Best Pop Performance by a duo or band with vocal". The third and final single would be "Take It to the Limit," which was on paper by Randy Meisner, Don Henley, and Glenn Frey. It facial appearance Meisner on command vocals and reached No. 4 on the charts, it would plus befall the Eagles' initially single to be certified gold. The crew launched a enormous worldwide tour to support the photograph album. It would eventually be nominated pro photograph album of the time.

MICHAEL JACKSON

2011-01-24T23:05:00.001-08:00

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording dancer, musician, singer-songwriter, and patron. Referred to as the emperor of Pop, Jackson is highly praised as the the majority victorious entertainer of all point in time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to harmony, dance and style, along with a much-publicized not public life, made him a international outline in admired culture in lieu of above four decades. The eighth offspring of the Jackson descendants, he debuted on the pro harmony outlook along with his brothers as a component of The Jackson 5 in the mid-1960s, and began his solo career in 1971.

Dressed in the early on 1980s, Jackson became a dominant outline in admired harmony. The harmony videos in lieu of his songs together with "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the avenue into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively innovative television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a basic on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and harmony videos, Jackson popularized a integer of dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal good taste receive influenced numerous hip jump, pop, contemporary R&B and rock artists.

Jackson's 1982 LP Thriller is the best-selling LP of all point in time. His other records, together with Off the mass (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995), plus rank amid the world's best-selling. Jackson is solitary of the a small number of artists to receive been inducted into the astound and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was plus inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the primary (and at this time only) musician from the earth of pop and rock 'n' roll. Some of his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than at all other dancer, together with the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than at all other male dancer in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated trade of above 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which receive made him the most-awarded recording dancer in the history of harmony. He was plus a notable civilized and patron, donating and raising hundreds of millions of dollars in lieu of beneficial causes and behind more than 39 charities.

Aspects of Jackson's not public life, together with his changing form, not public relationships and behavior, receive generated controversy. Dressed in 1993, he was accused of offspring sexual abuse, but the box was complete not permitted of cozy up to and veto recognized charges were brought. Dressed in 2005, he was tried and acquitted of supplementary sexual abuse allegations and several other charges when the jury ruled him not guilty on all counts. While preparing in lieu of his concert cycle This Is It, Jackson died on June 25, 2009, when misery from cardiac arrest. Before his death, Jackson had allegedly been administered drugs such as propofol and lorazepam. The Los Angeles County Coroner declared his death a homicide, and his not public doctor of medicine pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a international deluge of grief, and as many as solitary billion make somewhere your home around the earth allegedly watched his in the public domain commemorative plaque service on live television. Dressed in stalk 2010, Sony Music Entertainment signed a US$250 million deal with Jackson's estate to hang on to distribution civil liberties to his recordings until 2017, and to announcement seven posthumous albums above the decade following his death. His primary posthumous LP of innovative material, simply patrician Michael, will be released on December 14, 2010.

Amr Diab

2011-01-24T23:04:00.002-08:00

Amr Abdel Basset Abdel Azeez Diab is an Egyptian singer and composer of geel music; the contemporary face of Egyptian el-geel pop music, according to World Music. Diab is the best-selling Arab recording artist of all time, according to Let's Go Egypt. He was awarded the World Music Award for Best Selling Middle Eastern Artist four times: 1998, 2002, 2007 and 2009. He has also sold over 50 million albums worldwide. He is currently the top singer in the Arab world, and considered a living legend by many of his fans in the Arab world.
Amr Diab is known as the Father of Mediterranean Music. He has created his own style which is often termed "Mediterranean Music" or "Mediterranean Sound", a blend of Western and Egyptian rhythms.[2]
In The Mediterranean in Music, David Cooper and Kevin Dawe referred to his music as "the new breed of Mediterranean music".[3]
According to author Michael Frishkopf, Amr Diab has produced a new concept of Mediterranean music, especially in his international hit, "Nour El Ain".[2]
In his analysis of The Very Best of Amr Diab album, Victor W. Valdivia of Allmusic said: "His music melded traditional Arabic sounds and textures with Western rhythms and instruments. The mesh was dubbed Mediterranean music, and The Very Best of Amr Diab displays Diab's superb skill in creating it."[4]
According to the BBC, Diab "has ruled the Arab music world, especially Egypt and the Middle East, since the mid '80s, continually breaking sales records"

Kurt Cobain

2011-01-24T23:04:00.000-08:00

Kurt Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana.

Cobain formed Nirvana with Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1985 and established it as part of the Seattle music scene, having its debut album Bleach released on the independent record label Sub Pop in 1989. After signing with major label DGC Records, the band found breakthrough success with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from its second album Nevermind (1991). Following the success of Nevermind, Nirvana was labeled "the flagship band" of Generation X, and Cobain hailed as "the spokesman of a generation". Cobain however was often uncomfortable and frustrated, believing his message and artistic vision to have been misinterpreted by the public, with his personal issues often subject to media attention. He challenged Nirvana's audience with its final studio album In Utero (1993).

During the last years of his life, Cobain struggled with heroin addiction, his fame and public image, as well as the professional and lifelong personal pressures surrounding himself and his wife, musician Courtney Love. He also struggled with illness and depression for most of his life. On April 8, 1994, Cobain was found dead at his home in Seattle, the victim of what was officially ruled a suicide by a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head. The circumstances of his death have become a topic of public fascination and debate. Since their debut, Nirvana, with Cobain as a songwriter, sold over twenty-five million albums in the US alone, and over fifty million worldwide.
Early life

Kurt Donald Cobain was born on February 20, 1967, at Grays Harbor Hospital in Aberdeen, Washington,[5] to a waitress, Wendy Elizabeth (née Fradenburg),[6] and an automotive mechanic, Donald Leland Cobain. His father is of Scottish, Irish and French ancestry[7][8] and his mother is of German, Irish, Scottish, and English descent.[9][8] Cobain's Irish ancestors migrated from County Tyrone of Northern Ireland in 1875.[9] Researchers have found them to have been shoemakers, originally named Cobane, who came from the village of Inishatieve near Pomeroy, settling in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, and then in Washington.[10] Cobain had one younger sister named Kimberly, born in 1970.

Cobain's family had a musical background. His maternal uncle Chuck Fradenburg starred in a band called The Beachcombers, his Aunt Mari Earle played guitar and performed in bands throughout Grays Harbor County, and his great-uncle Delbert had a career as an Irish tenor; making an appearance in the 1930 film King of Jazz. Cobain was described as being a happy and excitable, while sensitive and caring child. His talent as an artist was evident from an early age. His bedroom was described as having taken on the appearance of an art studio,[5] where he would accurately draw his favorite characters from films and cartoons such as Aquaman, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Disney characters like Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and Pluto.[11] This enthusiasm was encouraged by his grandmother Iris Cobain, who was a professional artist herself. Cobain began developing an interest in music early in his life. According to his Aunt Mari, he began singing at two years old. At age four, Cobain started playing the piano and singing, writing a song about their trip to a local park. He listened to artists like the Ramones and would sing songs like Arlo Guthrie's "Motorcycle Song," The Beatles' "Hey Jude", Terry Jacks' "Seasons in the Sun" and the theme song to The Monkees television show at a young age.[13]
A photograph of Cobain from his second grade school yearbook; the picture was handed out at his memorial service.

When Kurt was eight years old, his parents divorced. Later in his life, he said the divorce had a profound effect on his life. His mother noted that his personality changed dramatically; Cobain became defiant and withdrawn.[14] In a 1993 interview, he elaborated:

"I remember feeling ashamed, for some reason. I was ashamed of my parents. I couldn't face some of my friends at school anymore, because I desperately wanted to have the classic, you know, typical family. Mother, father. I wanted that security, so I resented my parents for quite a few years because of that."[15]

Cobain's parents both found new partners after the divorce. His father had promised not to remarry; however, after meeting Jenny Westeby, he did, to Kurt's dismay.[16] Kurt, his father, Westeby, and her two children Mindy and James, moved into a new household together. Cobain liked Westeby at first, who gave him the maternal attention he desired.[16][17] In January 1979, Westeby gave birth to a boy, Chad Cobain.[16] This new family, which Cobain insisted was not his real one, was in stark contrast to the attention Cobain was used to receiving as an only boy; he soon began to express resentment toward his stepmother.[16][17] Kurt's mother began dating a man who was abusive. Cobain witnessed the domestic violence inflicted towards her, with one incident resulting in her being hospitalized with a broken arm.[17][18] Wendy steadfastly refused to press charges, remaining completely committed to the relationship.[18]

Kurt behaved insolently toward adults. He began bullying another boy at school. These behaviours eventually caused his father and Westeby to take him to a therapist, who concluded that Kurt would benefit in a single family environment.[18] Both sides of the family attempted to bring his parents back together, but to no avail. On June 28, 1979, Cobain's mother granted full custody of Kurt to his father.[19]

Cobain's teenage rebellion quickly became overwhelming for his father, who placed Kurt in the care of family and friends. While living with the born-again Christian family of his friend Jesse Reed, Cobain became a devout Christian and regularly attended church services. Cobain later renounced Christianity, engaging in what would be described as "anti-God" rants. The song "Lithium" is about his experience while living with the Reed family. Religion would remain an important part in Cobain's personal life and beliefs, as he often used Christian imagery in his work and maintained a constant interest in Jainism and Buddhist philosophy. The band name Nirvana was taken from the Buddhist concept, which Cobain described as "freedom from pain, suffering and the external world," which paralleled with the punk rock ethic and ideology. Cobain would regard himself as both a Buddhist and a Jain during different points of his life, educating himself about the philosophies through various sources, including through watching late night television documentaries on both subjects.[20][21][22]

Although not interested in sports, Kurt was enrolled in a junior high school wrestling team at the insistence of his father. Kurt was a skilled wrestler, yet despised the experience. Because of the ridicule he endured from his teammates and coach, he allowed himself to be pinned, in an attempt to sadden his father. Later, his father enlisted him in a little league baseball team, where Cobain would intentionally strike out to avoid playing on the team.[23]
Cobain's police mugshot after his arrest for vandalism.

Cobain befriended a homosexual student at school, and suffered bullying from heterosexual students who concluded that Cobain was gay. In an interview he said that he liked having the identity of being gay because he didn't like people and when they thought he was gay they left him alone. Kurt stated, "I started being really proud of the fact that I was gay even though I wasn't". His friend tried to kiss him and Kurt backed away and told his friend he was not gay but would still be friends with him. In a 1993 interview with The Advocate, Cobain claimed that he was "gay in spirit" and "probably could be bisexual." He also stated that he used to spray paint "God Is Gay" on pickup trucks in the Aberdeen area. However, Aberdeen police records show that the phrase for which he was arrested was actually "Ain't got no how watchamacallit".[24] One of his personal journals states, "I am not gay, although I wish I were, just to piss off homophobes."[25]

Cobain enjoyed creating works of art. He would often draw during school classes, including objects associated with human anatomy. When given a caricature assignment for an art course, Cobain drew a posing Michael Jackson. When his art teacher told him the caricature would be inappropriate to be displayed in a school hallway, Cobain drew an unflattering sketch of then-President Ronald Reagan.[26]

As attested to by numerous of Cobain's classmates and family members, the first concert he attended was Sammy Hagar and Quarterflash at the Seattle Center Coliseum in 1983.[5][27] Cobain, however, claimed his first attended concert to be the Melvins; an experience of which he wrote prolifically in his Journals.[28] As a teenager living in Montesano, Cobain eventually found escape through the thriving Pacific Northwest punk scene, going to punk rock shows in Seattle. Cobain soon began frequenting the practice space of fellow Montesano musicians the Melvins.

During his sophomore year in high school, Cobain began living with his mother in Aberdeen. Two weeks prior to graduation, he dropped out of Aberdeen High School upon realizing he did not have enough credits to graduate. His mother gave him a choice: find employment or leave. After one week, Cobain found his clothes and other belongings packed away in boxes.[29] Feeling banished from his own mother's home, Cobain stayed with friends, occasionally sneaking back into his mother's basement.[30] Cobain also claimed during periods of homelessness to have lived under a bridge over the Wishkah River,[30] an experience that inspired the Nevermind track "Something in the Way". However, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic said, "He hung out there, but you couldn't live on those muddy banks, with the tides coming up and down. That was his own revisionism."[31]

In late 1986 Cobain moved into an apartment, paying his rent by working at a Polynesian coastal resort approximately 20 miles (32 km) north of Aberdeen.[32] During this period, he was traveling frequently to Olympia, Washington to go to rock concerts.[33] During his visits to Olympia, Cobain formed a relationship with Tracy Marander, who reportedly was the subject of the song "About a Girl", and is listed in the photo credits on the album Bleach.

Soon after Marander separated from him, Cobain began dating Tobi Vail, an influential DIY punk zinester of the riot grrrl band Bikini Kill. After meeting Vail, Cobain vomited; he was so completely overwhelmed with anxiety regarding his infatuation with her. This event would inspire the lyric; "Love you so much it makes me sick," which would appear in the song "Aneurysm".[34] While Cobain would regard Vail as his female counterpart, his relationship with her waned. Cobain desired the maternal comfort of a traditional relationship, which Vail regarded as sexist within a countercultural punk rock community. Those who dated Vail would be described by her friend Alice Wheeler as "fashion accessories."[35] Kurt and Tobi spent most of their time together, as a couple, discussing political and philosophical issues. Cobain's relationship with Vail would inspire the lyrical content of many of songs on Nevermind. Once, while discussing anarchism and punk rock with friend Kathleen Hanna, Tobi spray-painted "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit" on Kurt's apartment wall. Teen Spirit was the name of a deodorant Vail wore, that Hanna joked Cobain smelled like. Cobain, unaware of this, initially interpreted the slogan as having a revolutionary meaning. The slogan inspired the title to the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit".

Green DAY

2011-01-24T23:03:00.000-08:00

Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tré Cool. Cool replaced former drummer John Kiffmeyer in 1990, prior to the recording of the band's second album, Kerplunk, and has been a member of the band ever since.

Green Day was originally part of the punk scene at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California. The band's early releases for independent record label Lookout! Records earned it a grassroots fanbase.[1] In 1994, its major label debut Dookie became a breakout success and eventually sold over 10 million copies in the U.S.[2] As a result, Green Day was widely credited, alongside fellow California punk bands The Offspring and Rancid, with popularizing and reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States.[3][4] Green Day's three follow-up albums, Insomniac, Nimrod, and Warning did not achieve the massive success of Dookie, but they were still successful, reaching double platinum, double platinum, and gold status respectively.[5] Their 2004 rock opera American Idiot reignited the band's popularity with a younger generation, selling five million copies in the U.S.[5] The band's eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, was released in 2009.

Green Day has sold over 65 million records worldwide and 24.639 million in the US alone.[6] They have won four Grammy Awards: Best Alternative Album for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot, Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", and Best Rock Album for the second time for 21st Century Breakdown. In 2010, a stage adaptation of American Idiot debuted on Broadway. The musical has been nominated for several Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Scenic Design, and has received generally positive reviews.
In 1987, friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt, 15 years old at the time, formed a band called Sweet Children. The first Sweet Children show took place on October 17, 1987, at Rod's Hickory Pit in Vallejo, California where Armstrong's mother was working.[7] In 1988, Armstrong and Dirnt began working with Sean Hughes and the former Isocracy drummer John Kiffmeyer, also known as Al Sobrante. Kiffmeyer served as both the band's drummer and business manager, handling the booking of shows and helping the band establish a fan base, and Sean Hughes served as the band's bassist.[8] As said in the film Punk's Not Dead, Armstrong cites the band Operation Ivy (which featured Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman of Rancid) as a major influence, and a band that drove him to form a band.

After Hughes left Green Day in 1989, Larry Livermore, owner of Lookout! Records, saw the band play an early show and signed them to his label. In 1989, they recorded their first EP, 1,000 Hours. Before 1,000 Hours was released, the band dropped the name Sweet Children; according to Livermore this was done to avoid confusion with another local band Sweet Baby.[9] The band adopted the name Green Day, allegedly due to their fondness of marijuana.

SlipKnoT

2011-01-24T23:01:00.001-08:00

Slipknot is an American torrential metal strap from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the cluster was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassistPaul Gray, similar to several lineup changes in their primitive days the strap consisted of nine members in lieu of the greater part of their tenure-Sid Wilson, Paul Gray, Joey Jordison, Chris Fehn, Jim core, Craig Jones, Shawn Crahan, Mick Thomson, and Corey Taylor. However, the death of Paul Gray on May 24, 2010 absent the strap with just eight outstanding members.

Slipknot is well accepted by their attention-grabbing image, aggressive melody tailor and their energetic and chaotic live shows. The strap had somewhat of a swift wake up to sensation following the liberation of their self-titled unveiling LP in 1999. The 2001 follow-up LP Iowa added increased the band's popularity. After flouting in lieu of their primarily hiatus, Slipknot returned in 2004 with Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) and just the once again in 2008 with their fourth LP All hopefulness Is Gone, which debuted on the top place on the Billboard 200 charts. The strap has additionally released individual live LP and four DVDs. Having the status of of May 2010, Slipknot has sold in excess of 14 million records worldwide.

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Kiss Band

2011-01-24T23:00:00.001-08:00

Kiss (stylized as KISS) is an American hard rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Easily identified by its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits and pyrotechnics. Kiss has been awarded 24 gold albums to date. The band has sold more than 40 million albums in the United States, of which 19 million have been certified by the RIAA, and their worldwide sales exceeds 100 million albums.

The 1973-'80 lineup of Paul Stanley (vocals and rhythm guitar), Gene Simmons (vocals and bass guitar), Ace Frehley (lead guitar and vocals), and Peter Criss (drums, percussion and vocals) is the most successful and identifiable. With their makeup and costumes, they took on the personas of comic book-style characters: Starchild (Stanley), The Demon (Simmons), Spaceman or Space Ace (Frehley), and Catman (Criss). The band explains that the fans were the ones who ultimately chose their makeup designs. Paul Stanley became the "Starchild" because of his tendency to be referred to as the "starry-eyed lover" and "hopeless romantic." The "Demon" makeup reflected Simmons's cynicism and dark sense of humor, as well as his affection for comic books. Ace Frehley's "Spaceman" makeup was a reflection of his fondness for science fiction and supposedly being from another planet. Peter Criss's "Catman" makeup was in accordance with the belief that Criss had nine lives because of his rough childhood in Brooklyn. Because of creative differences, both Criss and Frehley were out of the group by 1982. The band's commercial fortunes had also waned considerably by that point. Buoyed by a wave of Kiss nostalgia in the 1990s, the band announced a reunion of the original lineup (with makeup) in 1996. The resulting Kiss Alive/Worldwide/Lost Cities/Reunion Tour was the top-grossing act of 1996 and 1997. Criss and Frehley have since left Kiss again and have been replaced by Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer, respectively. The band continues to perform with makeup, while Stanley and Simmons have remained the only two constant members.

Kiss was named 10th, by VH1, on their list of the '100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.' and 9th on 'The Greatest Metal Bands' list by MTV. On September 23, 2009, Kiss was named 1th on their list of the "Hit Parader top 100 live bands". Kiss was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, ten years after becoming eligible but on December 15, 2009 it was announced that Kiss did not make it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2010 Kiss was named 56th, by VH1, on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists Of All Time".

Eminem

2011-01-24T22:58:00.001-08:00

Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972) better known by his stage name Eminem, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Eminem quickly gained popularity in 1999 with his major-label debut album, The Slim Shady LP, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The following album, The Marshall Mathers LP, became the fastest-selling solo album in United States history. It brought Eminem increased popularity, including his own record label, Shady Records, and brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition.

The Marshall Mathers LP and his third album, The Eminem Show, also won Grammy Awards, making Eminem the first artist to win Best Rap Album for three consecutive LPs. He then won the award again in 2010 for his album Relapse, giving him a total of 11 Grammys in his career. In 2003, he won theAcademy Award for Best Original Song for "Lose Yourself" from the film, 8 Mile, in which he also played the lead. "Lose Yourself" would go on to become the longest running No. 1 hip hop single. Eminem then went on hiatus after touring in 2005. He released his first album since 2004's Encore, titledRelapse, on May 15, 2009. Eminem is the best-selling artist of the decade on the US Nielsen SoundScan, and has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide to date, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. In 2010, Eminem released his seventh studio album Recovery. It became Eminem's sixth consecutive number-one album in the US and achieved international commercial success, charting at number one in several other countries. It stayed at number-one on the US Billboard 200 chart for five consecutive weeks and a total of seven weeks. Recovery was also reported byBillboard to be the best-selling album of 2010, making Eminem the first artist in Nielsen SoundScan history to have two year-end best-selling albums.

Eminem was ranked 79th on the VH1 100 Greatest Artists of All-Time. He was also ranked 82nd on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was also named the Best Rapper Alive by Vibe magazine in 2008. Including his work with D12, Eminem has achieved nine No. 1 albums on the Billboard Top 200, 7 solo (6 studio albums, 1 compilation) and 2 with D12. Eminem has had 13 number one singles worldwide. In December 2009, Eminem was named the Artist of the Decade by Billboard magazine. His albums The Eminem Show, The Marshall Mathers LP, and Encore (in order) ranked as the 3rd, 7^th, and 40th best-selling albums of the 2000–2009 decade by Billboard magazine. Also according toBillboard, Eminem has two of his albums among the top five highest selling albums of the 2000s. In the UK, Eminem has sold over 12.5 million records. Eminem has also sold more than 33 million track downloads and 39.6 million albums in the United States alone. In 2010, MTV ranked Eminem as the 7th biggest icon in pop music history. During 2010, Eminem's music generated 94 million streams, more than any other music artist.

Eminem was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III on October 17, 1972 in Saint Joseph, Missouri, as the only child of Deborah R. Nelson Mathers-Briggs and Marshall Bruce Mathers, Jr. He is of Scottish, English, German, Swiss, Polish, and possibly Luxembourgian ancestry. His father abandoned the family when he was 18 months old, and he was raised solely by his mother in poverty. By the age of 12, Mathers and his mother had moved between various cities and towns in Missouri (including Saint Joseph, Savannah, and Kansas City) before they settled in Warren, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.

After procuring a copy of the Beastie Boys album Licensed to Ill as a teenager, Mathers became interested in hip hop, performing amateur raps at age 14 under the pseudonym "M&M" and joining the group called "Bassmint Productions" and released their first EP, Steppin' Onto The Scene. They later changed their name to "Soul Intent" and around 1995 they released their first single called "Fuckin' Backstabber" under the record label Mashin' Duck Records. Although he was enrolled at Lincoln High School in Warren, he frequently participated in freestyle battles at the now-defunct Osborn High School on Detroit's east side. Despite a well-documented struggle succeeding in a predominantly African-American industry, he gained the approval of underground hip hop audiences. After repeating the ninth grade twice due to truancy and near-failing grades, he dropped out of high school at age 17.

In 1991, Mathers' maternal uncle, Ronald "Ronnie" Nelson, committed suicide via shotgun wound to the head. Mathers was very close to his uncle, and was devastated at his death; today, he sports a tattoo reading "Ronnie R.I.P." on his upper left arm.

50 Cent

2011-01-24T22:50:00.000-08:00

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003) and The Massacre (2005). Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by the RIAA and has sold over 15 million copies worldwide. His album The Massacre has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA and has sold 11 million copies worldwide.

Born in South Jamaica, Queens, Jackson began drug dealing at the age of twelve during the 1980s crack epidemic. After leaving drug dealing to pursue a rap career, he was shot at and struck by nine bullets during an incident in 2000. After releasing his album Guess Who's Back? in 2002, Jackson was discovered by rapper Eminem and signed to Interscope Records. With the help of Eminem and Dr. Dre, who produced his first major commercial successes, Jackson became one of the world's highest selling rappers. In 2003, he founded the record label G-Unit Records, which signed several successful rappers such as Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo.

Jackson has engaged in feuds with other rappers including Ja Rule, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Cam'ron, Rick Ross, and former G-Unit members The Game and Young Buck. He has also pursued an acting career, appearing in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' in 2005, the Iraq War film Home of the Brave in 2006, and Righteous Kill in 2008. 50 Cent was ranked as the 6th best artist of the 2000-2009 decade by Billboard magazine. The magazine also ranked him as the 4th Top male artist and as the 3rd Top rapper behind Eminem and Nelly. Billboard magazine also ranked him as the 6th best and most successful Hot 100 Artist of the 2000-2009 decade and as the #1 Rap Song Artist of the 2000-2009 decade. Billboard ranked his album Get Rich or Die Tryin' as the 12th best album of the 2000-2009 decade and his album The Massacre as the 37th best album of the 2000-2009 decade.

Curtis Jackson III grew up in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, in New York City. He grew up without a father and was raised by his mother, Sabrina, who gave birth to him at the age of fifteen. Sabrina, a cocaine dealer, raised Jackson until the age of twelve, when she was murdered in 1988. Twenty-seven at the time, she became unconscious after someone drugged her drink. She was then left for dead after the gas in her apartment was turned on and the windows shut closed. After her death, Jackson moved into his grandparents' house with his eight aunts and uncles. He recalls, "My grandmother told me, 'Your mother's not coming home. She's not gonna come back to pick you up. You're gonna stay with us now.' That's when I started adjusting to the streets a little bit".

Jackson began boxing around the age of eleven. At fourteen, a neighbor opened a boxing gym for local kids. "When I wasn't killing time in school, I was sparring in the gym or selling crack on the strip", he recalled. In the mid 1980s, he competed in the Junior Olympics as an amateur boxer. He recounts, "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ". At the age of twelve, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was at after-school programs. He also took guns and drug money to school. In the tenth grade, he was caught by metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School. He later stated, "I was embarrassed that I got arrested like that... After I got arrested I stopped hiding it. I was telling my grandmother [openly], 'I sell drugs.'"

On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for helping to sell four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine, and a starter gun. He was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, but managed to serve six months in a shock incarceration boot camp where he earned his GED. Jackson said that he did not use cocaine himself, he only sold it. He adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for "change". The name was derived from Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent". Jackson chose the name "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means".