Minggu, 31 Juli 2011

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, dancer, singer-songwriter, musician, and philanthropist. Referred to as the King of Pop, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5, then the Jacksons in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style have influenced numerous hip hop, pop, contemporary R&B, and rock artists.Jackson's 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world 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 any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which have made him the most-awarded recording artists in the history of music. He was also a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising hundreds of millions of dollars for beneficial causes and supporting more than 39 charities. According to David Winters, Jackson also donated tens of millions of dollars to many children’s charities anonymously, and spent a lot of his time visiting seriously ill children tirelessly going from hospital to hospital meeting these children just to brighten up their lives. When Jackson finished the visits he would ask the hospital nurses and the doctors what was needed at the hospital in terms of equipment for the children and would then make anonymous donations to the hospital to purchase expensive equipment or whatever else was needed.Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, have generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the case was settled out of court and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury ruled him not guilty on all counts. While preparing for his concert series This Is It, Jackson died of acute propofol intoxication on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. Before his death, Jackson had been administered drugs including propofol and lorazepam. The Los Angeles County Coroner declared his death a homicide, and his personal physician pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as one billion people around the world reportedly watched his public memorial service on live television. In March 2010, Sony Music Entertainment signed a $250 million deal with Jackson's estate to retain distribution rights to his recordings until 2017, and to release seven posthumous albums over the decade following his death.Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children in an African American working-class family who lived in a small 3-room house in Gary, Indiana, an industrial suburb of Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness, and his father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, was a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy.A sixth brother, Brandon, died shortly after birth.
Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe.Joseph acknowledged in 2003 that he regularly whipped Jackson as a boy.Jackson stated that he was physically and emotionally abused during incessant rehearsals, though he also credited his father's strict discipline with playing a large role in his success.Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in February 1993. He admitted that he had often cried from loneliness and he would vomit on the sight of his father. Jackson's father was also said to have verbally abused Jackson, saying that he had a fat nose on numerous occasions.In fact, Michael Jackson's deep dissatisfaction with his appearance, his nightmares and chronic sleep problems, his tendency to remain hyper-compliant especially with his father, and to remain child-like throughout his adult life are in many ways consistent with the effects of this chronic maltreatment he endured as a young child.Also, U.S.-based research studies on impact of "adverse childhood experiences" or ACEs (e.g. a child being abused, violence in the family, extreme stress of poverty, etc.) have shown that having a number of ACEs exponentially increases the risk of addiction (e.g. a male child with six ACEs has a 4,600%/46-fold increase in risk of addiction), mental illnesses, physical illnesses, and early death.In an interview with Martin Bashir, later included in the 2003 broadcast of Living with Michael Jackson, Jackson acknowledged that his father hurt him when he was a child, but was nonetheless a "genius", as he admitted his father's strict discipline played a huge role in his success. When Bashir dismissed the positive remark and continued asking about beatings, Jackson put his hand over his face and objected to the questions. He recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you".In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing. When he was eight, Jackson began sharing the lead vocals with his older brother Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to The Jackson 5. The band toured the Midwest extensively from 1966 to 1968, frequently performing at a string of black clubs known as the "chitlin' circuit", where they often opened stripteases and other adult acts. In 1966, they won a major local talent show with renditions of Motown hits and James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)", led by Michael.
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including "Big Boy", for the local record label Steeltown in 1967, before signing with Motown Records in 1968.Rolling Stone magazine later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts," writing that he "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer."The group set a chart record when its first four singles ("I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There") peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.Between 1972 and 1975, Michael released four solo studio albums with Motown, among them Got to Be There and Ben, released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise, and producing successful singles such as "Got to Be There", "Ben", and a remake of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin". The group's sales began declining in 1973, and the band members chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or input. Although they scored several top 40 hits, including the top 5 disco single "Dancing Machine" and the top 20 hit "I Am Love", the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975.


Michael Jackson - You Are Not Alone

The first single released from the album was the double A-side "Scream/Childhood". "Scream" was a duet, performed with Jackson's youngest sister Janet. The song fights against the media, mainly for what the media made him out to be during his 1993 child abuse allegations. The single had the highest debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five, and received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals". "You Are Not Alone" was the second single released from HIStory; it holds the Guinness World Record for the first song ever to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.It was seen as a major artistic and commercial success, receiving a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Performance".In late 1995, Jackson was rushed to a hospital after collapsing during rehearsals for a televised performance; the incident was caused by a stress-related panic attack. "Earth Song" was the third single released from HIStory, and topped the UK Singles Chart for six weeks over Christmas 1995; it sold a million copies, making it Jackson's most successful single in the UK. The track "They Don't Care About Us" became controversial when the Anti-Defamation League and other groups criticized its allegedly antisemitic lyrics. Jackson quickly put out a revised version of the song without the offending lyrics.In 1996, Jackson won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Scream" and an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist.
In 1997, Jackson released Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, which contained remixes of hit singles from HIStory and five new songs. Worldwide sales stand at 6 million copies as of 2007, it is the best selling remix album ever released.It reached number one in the UK, as did the title track.In the US, the album was certified platinum, but only reached number 24. Forbes placed his annual income at $35 million in 1996 and $20 million in 1997. Throughout June 1999, Jackson was involved in a number of charitable events. He joined Luciano Pavarotti for a benefit concert in Modena, Italy. The show was in support of the nonprofit organization War Child, and raised a million dollars for the refugees of Kosovo, FR Yugoslavia, as well as additional funds for the children of Guatemala.Later that month, Jackson organized a set of "Michael Jackson & Friends" benefit concerts in Germany and Korea. Other artists involved included Slash, The Scorpions, Boyz II Men, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey, A. R. Rahman, Prabhu Deva Sundaram, Shobana, Andrea Bocelli and Luciano Pavarotti. The proceeds went to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, the Red Cross and UNESCO.
At the turn of the century, the American Music Awards honored Jackson as Artist of the '80s.Throughout 2000 and 2001, Jackson worked in the studio with Teddy Riley and Rodney Jerkins, as well as other collaborators. These sessions would result in the album Invincible, released in October 2001. Invincible was Jackson's first full-length album in six years, and it would be the last album of new material he released while still alive. The release of the album was preceded by a dispute between Jackson and his record label, Sony Music Entertainment. Jackson had expected the licenses to the masters of his albums to revert to him sometime in the early 2000s. Once he had the licenses, he would be able to promote the material however he pleased and he would also be able to keep all the profits. However, due to various clauses in the contract, the revert date turned out to be many years away. Jackson discovered that the attorney who represented him in the deal was also representing Sony.Jackson was also concerned about the fact that for a number of years, Sony had been pressuring him to sell his share in their music catalog venture. Jackson feared that Sony might have a conflict of interest, since if Jackson's career failed he would have to sell his share of the catalog at a low price.Jackson sought an early exit from his contract.Just before the release of Invincible, Jackson informed the head of Sony Music Entertainment, Tommy Mottola, that he was leaving Sony.As a result, all singles releases, video shootings and promotions concerning the Invincible album were suspended.
Jackson's first posthumous single was a song entitled "This Is It" which Jackson cowrote in the 1980s with Paul Anka. It was not on the set lists for the concerts, and the recording was based on an old demo tape. The surviving brothers reunited in the studio for the first time since 1989 to record backing vocals. On October 28, 2009, a documentary film about the rehearsals entitled Michael Jackson's This Is It was released.Even though it ran for a limited two-week engagement, it became the highest grossing documentary or concert movie of all time, with earnings of more than $260 million worldwide. Jackson's estate received 90% of the profits. The film was accompanied by a compilation album of the same name. Two versions of the new song appear on the album, which also featured original masters of Jackson's hits in the order in which they appear in the movie, along with a bonus disc with previously unreleased versions of more Jackson hits as well as a spoken-word poem entitled "Planet Earth". At the 2009 American Music Awards Jackson won four posthumous awards, two for him and two for his album Number Ones, bringing his total American Music Awards total to 26.
On June 25, 2009, Jackson died while in his bed at his rented mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills district of Los Angeles. Attempts at resuscitating him by Conrad Murray, his personal physician, were unsuccessful.[206] Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics received a 911 call at 12:22 (PDT, 19:22 UTC), arriving three minutes later at Jackson's location.He was reportedly not breathing and CPR was performed. Resuscitation efforts continued en route to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and for an hour after arriving there at 1:13 (20:13 UTC). He was pronounced dead at 2:26 local time (21:26 UTC). Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief.
The news spread quickly online, causing websites to slow down and crash from user overload. Both TMZ and the Los Angeles Times suffered outages. Google initially believed that the input from millions of people searching for "Michael Jackson" meant that the search engine was under DDoS attack. Twitter reported a crash, as did Wikipedia at 3:15 p.m. PDT (6:15 p.m. EDT).The Wikimedia Foundation reported nearly a million visitors to Jackson's biography within one hour, probably the most visitors in a one-hour period to any article in Wikipedia's history.AOL Instant Messenger collapsed for 40 minutes. AOL called it a "seminal moment in Internet history", adding, "We've never seen anything like it in terms of scope or depth."

Robbie Williams

Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams left the group in 1995 to launch his solo career. On 15 July 2010, it was announced he had rejoined Take That and that the group intended to release a new album in November 2010.Williams has sold more than 57 million albums worldwide.He is the best-selling British solo artist in the United Kingdom and the best selling non-Latino artist in Latin America. Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the United Kingdom. He has also been honoured with seventeen BRIT Awards—more than any other artist—and seven ECHO Awards. In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame after being voted as the "Greatest Artist of the 1990s."In June 2010, it was officially announced that Williams was ready to release his second greatest hits album, In and Out of Consciousness: The Greatest Hits 1990–2010, to celebrate his 20 years as a performing artist.Williams new single, also included on the album, will be "Shame", which is written and sung by Williams and Gary Barlow, his Take That bandmate. The single was set to released on 4 October 2010, while the album was set for release on 11 October 2010 in both CD and DVD formats.On 15 July 2010, Robbie Williams announced he was returning to Take That. A joint statement between Williams and the group said "The rumours are true... Take That: the original lineup, have written and recorded a new album, to be called, Progress for release later this year," read the band's statement. "Following months of speculation Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams confirmed they have been recording a new studio album as a five-piece, which they will release in November."On 26 August 2010, it was announced Williams would become a guest vocal coach on the ninth series of German reality television show Popstars: Girls forever to teach candidates for a girl group. On 20 September 2010, Williams released his second book called "You Know Me" in collaboration with Chris Heath. The book features a collection of photographs of Williams from the past 20 years of his career and discussion of them by Williams as transcribed by Heath.In October, Media Control named Robbie Williams the most successful album-artist of the millennium due to the fact that he had spent No. 1 on the German Albums Chart for 38 weeks since 2000. He also reached that chart's Top Ten 135 times.On 15 and 16 July 2011, Take That were scheduled to perform two sold-out concerts in Copenhagen, Denmark as part of their Progress Tour. Unfortunately, the day after the first concert, Robbie announced that he had acquired a stomach infection and (despite treatment attempts) was unable to take part in the concert. Due to this, the entire event was cancelled, leaving thousands of fans in frustration. This was the first time Take That ever cancelled a concert. It was not rescheduled.
Robbie Williams Looks so Cool
Robbie Williams Tattoo

Robbie Williams - Angels

Robbie Williams Wallpaper
Robbie Williams Black and White Photo
Robbie Williams Shirtless

Mandy Moore

Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer.Moore became famous as a teenager in the late 1990s, after the release of her teen-oriented pop albums So Real, I Wanna Be with You, and Mandy Moore. Her most recent album, Amanda Leigh, was released on May 26, 2009.Moore has sold more than 10 million records worldwide.Moore subsequently branched out into film, starring in 2002's A Walk to Remember and later in other movies, such as Chasing Liberty, Saved! and License to Wed. Most recently Moore provided the voice of Rapunzel in Tangled.Her private life, including her relationships with tennis player Andy Roddick and with actors Wilmer Valderrama and Zach Braff,as well as her marriage to singer Ryan Adams, has become the subject of media coverage.
Moore toured with the Backstreet Boys throughout 1999.Her debut album, So Real, was released in December 1999 and reached No.31 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album charts.Unfortunately for her image, at the time of the album's release, reviewers considered Moore the latest in a series of heavily-marketed female teen singers described as "pop princesses," akin to Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and Jessica Simpson.Entertainment Weekly Magazine's review of So Real, written by Elizabeth Vincentelli, accused Moore's songs of revolving around "not-yet-experienced love," of having been performed with "suffocating professionalism," and called the album's ballads "nauseating."Moore reached mainstream radio later, and at a younger age, than Simpson, Aguilera and Spears had, and she was initially not as successful as they were, although So Real was certified platinum in the U.S. in early 2000 and sold nearly one million copies. Moore's debut teen-oriented pop hit single "Candy," which Yahoo! Movies described as "strangely provocative,"peaked just outside the top 40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100[19] charts, and was certified gold. The single was more successful in Europe, especially in the UK, where it reached number 6. Allmusic called the single "mediocre" and "typical," containing lyrics that described love "in terms of sugar treats.Moore released I Wanna Be with You in May 2000. The album, which was mostly completed with synthesizers, bass, guitar, and drums comprised new songs alongside tracks and remixes from So Real. Several reviewers criticized it on the basis that it was a remix album and not a true follow-up,with Allmusic accusing its style of being "trashier, flashier, gaudier, and altogether more disposable" than that of So Real. It peaked at No.21 on the Billboard 200, was certified gold in the U.S., selling nearly 1,000,000 copies.The title track, "I Wanna Be with You," was the album's only single and reached No.24 on the Hot 100, Moore's highest peak to date.It was also featured on the soundtrack of the film Center Stage in 2000.In June 2001, Moore released her second full-length album, her third overall, the self-titled album Mandy Moore. She promoted the album with her first headlining concert, "Mandy Moore Live@ShoutBack." The album contained uptempo tracks and influences from Eastern music,and Allmusic described it as a "lush, layered production."It received mixed reviews from other critics. The album debuted at No.35 on the Billboard 200, and was later certified gold in the U.S., selling 443,000 copies.The lead single was "In My Pocket," which Entertainment Weekly said contained "pumping, Indian influenced Euro disco." The album's follow-up single was titled "Crush." The early 2002 release of the final single, "Cry", tied in with the film A Walk to Remember, Moore's debut as a lead actress.In 2006, Moore commented on her early albums with ill feelings, noting that although she believed that her first album was appropriate for her age at the time when she released it, she felt it "sucked" and that her first albums were "just awful." Moore also said that she "would give a refund to everyone who bought my first two albums" if she could; during a radio interview in April 2006, the show's co-host—who had seen her comments—asked her for a refund on the first album, a request that Moore fulfilled.In 2006, Moore guest-starred in two episodes of Scrubs: "My Half-Acre" and "Her Story II". The same year, she lent her voice to The Simpsons, playing Tabitha Vixx in the episode "Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play".Moore also appeared in the film American Dreamz, which was released in April 2006. In the film, she played a deranged contestant on a television series modeled after American Idol. Director Paul Weitz stated that he had Moore in mind for the role before she was cast, explaining that "there's something inherently sweet about Mandy; it makes it all the more interesting to see her in a villainess role". Moore has said that she enjoys playing mean-spirited characters but fears being typecast as a villain.American Dreamz opened at number nine at the U.S. box office, eventually totaling barely $7 million, and received mixed reviews; critic Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, however, wrote that Moore and co-star Hugh Grant have a "wicked barbed chemistry" in their roles, while Variety's Robert Koehler said Moore's role was a "pitch-perfect study of a woman for whom a reality show is reality".Later that year, in what ComingSoon.net's review described as a "surprisingly good performance", Moore voiced Nita, the heroine of the Disney animated sequel Brother Bear 2, which was released directly-to-DVD on August 29. She was also originally cast to appear in that year's ensemble film Bobby, but was replaced by Mary Elizabeth Winstead.Moore, citing her conservative upbringing, has expressed dissatisfaction with her appearance on a May 2006 cover of Cosmopolitan; the magazine's headline is "orgasms unlimited", which refers to an article unrelated to her.In her movie following this, Because I Said So, co-starring Gabriel Macht, Lauren Graham and Diane Keaton, Moore's character describes in detail the feeling of an orgasm to her mother. It was released on February 2, 2007 and received mixed reviews. In License to Wed, Moore portrays a young bride-to-be who has to complete a three-week prenup course before her wedding. Co-starring John Krasinski as her fiance and Robin Williams as a priest, the film was released on July 3, 2007 to mostly negative reviews. Nevertheless, Variety described Moore's performance as "appealing."In 2007, Moore returned to the small screen in an episode of How I Met Your Mother entitled "Wait for It".After a break of almost two years from big screen roles, Moore filmed the romantic comedy Swinging with the Finkels in the United Kingdom in 2009; the film is scheduled for a UK release on June 17, 2011.Moore also starred with actor Kellan Lutz in the 2010 film, Love, Wedding, Marriagewith a release date of June 3, 2011.She was a guest star on the sixth season finale of Grey's Anatomy on May 20, 2010, her first television role since 2007. She returned in a guest role for an episode of the show's seventh season. Also that year, Moore voiced Princess Rapunzel, the tenth Disney Princess, in the CGI animated film Tangled. Moore, alongside Zachary Levi, performed the film's theme song, "I See the Light" at the 83rd Academy Awards where it was nominated for Best Original Song .As of January 2011, her movies have grossed a total of $410,923,736 domestically.Moore branched into the fashion world in 2005 with her own fashion line named Mblem., a brand of contemporary knitwear and cashmere. The line was sold in over 500 specialty boutiques including Ron Herman and Lisa Kline and in some department stores such as Macy's West, Bloomingdales and Nordstrom.One of her aims was to provide clothing for taller women (Moore herself is 5'10). In February 2009, Moore announced that the line would be shutting down, but that she hoped to reenter the fashion world again under different circumstances in the future.Moore announced her engagement to singer-songwriter and New York resident Ryan Adams, formerly of the alt-country band Whiskeytown;on February 11, 2009. They were married on March 10, 2009, in Savannah, Georgia and share a terrier-mix dog named Joni (named after Moore's favourite singer Joni Mitchell) which Moore adopted from an animal shelter in 2008.Moore has become a fan of mixed martial arts, often attending UFC events and being noted as one of the mainstream celebrities on hand. When shown at UFC 83, from Montreal, Quebec, color commentator Joe Rogan jokingly referred to her as a "UFC groupie". She was next seen at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 24, 2008 for UFC 84, with play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg observing that "She's becoming a UFC regular." She appeared at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on July 6, 2008 for UFC 86, cheering for light heavyweight contender Forrest Griffin and most recently at UFC: Silva vs. Irvin on July 19, 2008.As to her religious beliefs, Moore considers herself spiritual, and has said that she does not think of herself as Christian.


Mandy Moore - Only Hope

Mandy Moore Looks so Beautiful
Mandy Moore Make Up Party
MAndy Moore Looks so Hot
Mandy Moore Has Short Hair Style

Kamis, 28 Juli 2011

Faith Hill

Faith Hill (born Audrey Faith Perry; September 21, 1967) is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated 8 number-one singles and 3 number-one albums on the U.S. Country charts.
Hill has been honored by the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music, the Country Music Association, the American Music Awards and the People's Choice Awards. Her Soul2Soul II Tour 2006 with husband McGraw became the highest-grossing country tour of all time. In 2001, she was named one of the "30 Most Powerful Women in America" by Ladies Home Journal. In 2008, Faith Hill released her first Christmas album, titled Joy to the World. In 2009 Billboard named her as the #1 Adult Contemporary artist of the decade 2000-2009. Hill was ranked the 39th best artist of the 2000-10 decade by Billboard.
Hill's vocal talent was apparent early, and she had her first public performance, a 4-H luncheon, when she was seven.In 1976, a few days before her 9th birthday, she attended a concert by Elvis Presley at the State Fair Coliseum, in Jackson, which impressed her deeply. By the time she was a teenager, Hill was a regular performer at area churches, even those not in her own Baptist denomination.At 17, Hill formed a band that played in local rodeos. She briefly attended college at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi,where she performed with a group called the Hinds Connection. At times, she sang for prisoners at the Hinds County Jail, her song of choice being "Amazing Grace.".At age 19 she quit school to move to Nashville and pursue her dream of being a country singer. In her early days in Nashville, Hill auditioned to be a backup singer for Reba McEntire, but failed to secure the job.After a stint selling T-shirts, Hill became a secretary at a music publishing firm.
In Spring 1996, Hill began the Spontaneous Combustion Tour with country singer Tim McGraw. At that time, Hill had recently become engaged to her former producer, Scott Hendricks, and McGraw had recently broken an engagement. McGraw and Hill were quickly attracted to each other and Hill broke her engagement so that she and McGraw could begin dating. The pair became engaged on the tour and married on October 6, 1996. They have three daughters together: Gracie Katherine (b. 1997), Maggie Elizabeth (b. 1998) and Audrey Caroline (b. 2001). Since their marriage, Hill and McGraw have endeavored to never be apart for more than three consecutive days.
In September 2008, Hill issued her first Christmas album, titled Joy to the World. The compilation was given positive reviews, including about.com, which gave the album four and a half out of five stars, calling the album, "a great collection of classic Christmas songs." Hill continually worked on the album two years prior to its official release. The album included one new track, "A Baby Changes Everything", which was released as the album's only single in late 2008. The song debuted at #24 on Billboard's AC chart, and quickly rose to #1, becoming Hill's fourth number one on that chart.
In October 2010, Hill contributed to the Country Strong soundtrack. On it, she recorded a song titled 'Give In To Me'. Hill also appears on Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute To Loretta Lynn, on which she performs "Love Is The Foundation." Faith also contributed her vocals on the Ryan Tedder penned song "All I Ever Wanted" for the 2010 feature film Life As We Know It . The song was used in trailers to promote the film and also appeared during the end credits of the film.
In 1995 Hill guest starred in an episode of Touched by an Angel,and while she was rumored to have won a part in Mel Gibson's We Were Soldiers, she did not actually appear in the movie.Her film début was in the summer of 2004, when Hill co-starred with Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick and Glenn Close in director Frank Oz's remake of the 1975 thriller The Stepford Wives.Although the film earned over $101 million, it was savaged by critics and Hill has not made another acting appearance since.

Rabu, 27 Juli 2011

Dido

Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong( 25 December 1971), known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.
Following the sampling of her single "Thank You" on Eminem's 2000 hit, "Stan", Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel (1999). The album sold in excess of 21 million copies worldwide, and won several awards; including the MTV Europe Music Award for Best New Act, two NRJ Awards for Best New Act and Best Album, and two BRIT Awards for Best British Female and Best Album.
Her following album, Life for Rent (2003), continued her mainstream success with the help of popular singles "White Flag" and "Life for Rent". The album went on to sell around 12 million copies worldwide and saw her receive more accolades; including the Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year for "White Flag", two further BRIT and NRJ Awards, as well as a Grammy Award nomination. Her third and latest studio album, Safe Trip Home (2008), received critical praise to help maintain her success.
She was nominated for an Academy Award for the song "If I Rise".Dido has been ranked #98 of Billboard 200 Artists Music Chart based on the success of her music in the first decade of the 21st century.
Dido has provided guest vocals to tracks by other artists including "Feels Like Fire" for Carlos Santana's 2002 album, Shaman, and a duet with Rufus Wainwright entitled "I Eat Dinner (When the Hunger's Gone)" for the Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason film soundtrack. A sample of the Dido track "Do You Have a Little Time" is used on the song "Don't You Trust Me?" by Tupac, on the album "Loyal to the Game", which was almost entirely produced by Eminem in 2004.
Annie Lennox has joined forces with Dido and 22 other female artists to raise awareness of the issue of mother-to-child transmission of HIV to unborn children in Africa. The single "Sing" was released on World Aids Day on 1 December 2007, in conjunction with Annie Lennox's appearance at the Nelson Mandela 46664 concert in South Africa.
Also in 2010, Dido appears on the score of 127 Hours, a thriller film directed by Danny Boyle. The soundtrack features a mix of electric guitars with orchestral arrangements and sound loops. A.R. Rahman, composer, and Dido recorded a song together called "If I Rise" which is featured in the climax of the film.The song was nominated for Satellite Award, Houston Film Critics Society Awards and Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award, and has been nominated for the 83rd Academy Award for Original Song.It won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Song. A music video of "If I Rise", featuring Dido and A. R. Rahman was also released on 17 February.

Selasa, 26 Juli 2011

Courtney Love

Courtney Michelle Love(born Courtney Michelle Harrison, July 9, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and actress,perhaps best known as frontwoman and co-founder of alternative rock band Hole. She also received massive media attention over her marriage to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, before and after his suicide in 1994.
Love had an unstable childhood and adolescence, and sought to be a musician from an early age, making her big break when she founded Hole in 1989 with Eric Erlandson after unsuccessful attempts at forming bands in her early adulthood. Hole released several successful albums in the 1990s, debuting with Pretty on the Inside (1991), an underground noise rock hit which was especially popular in the United Kingdom.
The band followed with two massively acclaimed albums, Live Through This (1994) and Celebrity Skin (1998). Love also starred in several films throughout the '90s, most notably The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996), for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination.
Hole officially disbanded in 2002, and Love became a media spectacle in the latter part of the decade due to a series of legal troubles and battles with drug addiction, largely amidst the release of her first solo album. In 2007, Love cleaned up her image and announced her sobriety after a lengthy court-ordered rehab, and began working on a fifth album.
In 2009, Love reformed Hole with new members, and released the group's fourth album, Nobody's Daughter (2010), which received generally positive reviews.
Love has also attracted significant media attention over the years for her wild stage performances and subversive feminism.Though a controversial figure, Love has, in recent years, been taken note of for her contributions to rock music, particularly as a female performer,and is often considered a gay icon.
Rolling Stone once called Love "the most controversial woman in rock history."In 2011, Love was elected a Non-Executive Officer For Rock 'N' Roll by the Oxford University Conservative Association.

Chantal Kreviazuk

Chantal Jennifer Kreviazuk(born on May 18, 1974 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian singer-songwriter of the adult contemporary music genre. She is also a classically trained pianist, and can play the guitar.
Kreviazuk's first album, Under These Rocks and Stones, was released in June 1997 to much critical praise. The album was certified double platinum by the CRIA for selling over 200,000 copies in the U.S., fueled mostly by the singles "Surrounded" and "God Made Me". Three videos from the album receive modest play on the video channel MuchMusic and radio ("God Made Me", "Believer" and "Wayne"), but it was a fourth, "Surrounded", that became her first major Canadian airplay hit in 1997. That year, Kreviazuk received her first Juno Award nomination as Best New Artist. She also took part in the 1998 Lilith Fair music festival; "Surrounded" was included in the live compilation album from that year.
In 1999, Kreviazuk released her second album. Titled Colour Moving and Still, it featured tracks written with her new husband, Raine Maida, lead singer of Our Lady Peace. The lead single from the album "Before You" became a huge radio hit in Canada and she performed the single on the 2000 Juno Awards, where she won two awards for Best Adult/Pop Album and Best Female Artist. Kreviazuk released two more videos from the album, "Dear Life" and "Far Away", as well as an additional radio release, "Souls", which was also remixed and was released as a promo vinyl for the M1 & Steve Fernandez Remix.
Her third album, What If It All Means Something, was released in 2002. This album also featured multiple collaborations with Maida. The first single, "In This Life", was a hit in Canada. Kreviazuk performed the song live on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
In this Life was featured in the film Saved! and also in a trailer for the film The Door in the Floor starring Jeff Bridges, as well as in an episode of the CW Television Network's Smallville. In May 2003 was the soundtrack of the "Episode 20" from "Everwood" in WB. Kreviazuk's "Time" was played in the credits of the movie Uptown Girls, and featured in an episode of the MTV reality show, Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, the pilot episode of the ABC romantic comedy/drama Men in Trees, the CBS drama Joan of Arcadia, and the ABC family movie Lucky 7. Her song "This Year" was featured on the Serendipity soundtrack. In 2005, two new songs written and performed by Kreviazuk were also featured on the soundtrack of the movie The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants. In 2006, "It's All About a Kiss" played during the film Just My Luck. The song "Weight of the World" is also featured during the credits of the 2003 film How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and in the us television series Wildfire.
Since 2003, Kreviazuk has co-written many songs for other artists, often collaborating with her husband Raine Maida. In 2003, Kreviazuk and Maida collaborated on a number of tracks with Avril Lavigne for Lavigne's second album Under My Skin. Kreviazuk and Maida also contributed songs to Kelly Clarkson's 2004 album Breakaway, The Veronicas' The Secret Life of the Veronicas, Marion Raven's 2005 and 2007 albums Here I Am and Set Me Free and recently Cheyenne Kimball's debut Hanging On in 2006. Their most recent collaboration came on the song "Permanent" for David Cook's self titled album David Cook.Also, she helped write a song called "Gardenia" which appears on "Mandy Moore's 2007 album Wild Hope.
In 2010, she contributed the song "Na Miso" to the Enough Project and Downtown Records' Raise Hope for Congo compilation with Bibiana Mpoyo. Proceeds from the compilation fund efforts to make the protection and empowerment of Congo’s women a priority, as well as inspire individuals around the world to raise their voice for peace in Congo.
Kreviazuk was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and attended Balmoral Hall School for Girls. Kreviazuk met Raine Maida, the lead singer of Our Lady Peace, at a Pearl Jam concert September 21, 1996 in Toronto. They married in December 1999.On January 16, 2004, their son Rowan Michael was born. Their second son, Lucca Jon, was born on June 3, 2005. Their third son, Salvador "Sal" Daniel, was born on June 28, 2008.Kreviazuk and Maida renewed their wedding vows in Costa Rica in November 2009. The family lives in Los Angeles, California, USA and also has a home in Toronto.