Friday, August 31, 2007

Michael Bublé

Michael Steven Bublé (born 9 September 1975) is a critically acclaimed Grammy-nominated, multiple Juno Award-winning Canadian crooner, big band singer and actor. While achieving modest chart success in the United States, his 2003 self-titled album has reached the top ten in Canada, the UK and Australia. In 2004, a live album and video called Come Fly with Me was listed on the Billboard music video charts and reached Australia's top 40 album charts. He reached commercial success in the U.S. with It's Time. He currently lives in Vancouver. His third album, Call Me Irresponsible, was released on May 1, 2007, with the first single from that album, Everything, reaching success on the adult contemporary charts. He has sold over 12 million albums.
Early Years
Bublé was born in Burnaby, British Columbia. Bublé grew up listening to his grandfather's collection of jazz records. On his website, Bublé highlights the importance of his grandfather in encouraging his musical tastes. "My grandfather was really my best friend growing up. He was the one who opened me up to a whole world of music that seemed to have been passed over by my generation. Although I like rock and roll and modern music, the first time my granddad played me the Mills Brothers, something magical happened. The lyrics were so romantic, so real... the way a song should be for me. It was like seeing my future flash before me. I wanted to be a singer and I knew that this was the music that I wanted to sing."
Bublé's grandfather encouraged him to learn the standards that he loved and to enter a talent contest in Vancouver which he won before a later disqualification for being underage. Not discouraged, he won first prize in a Canadian Youth Talent Search at the age of seventeen.

For the next few years, Bublé pursued a musical career with local success in North America for his theatre performances as Elvis in the Red Rock Diner road show and as a star of a musical revue called Forever Swing. He also appeared in an episode of pleth Game in 1996. He recorded three independent albums, one as a present to his grandfather. Bublé received two Genie Award-nominations in 2000 for both songs he wrote for the film Here's to Life starring fellow Canadian Eric McCormack.
Personal life
Bublé was engaged to long-time girlfriend Debbie Timuss, a stage actor, dancer, and singer. Both were in the musicals Red Rock Diner in 1996 and Dean Regan's Forever Swing in 1998. Timuss was listed as one of the dedicatees in Bublé's self-titled album Michael Bublé and It's Time, and as background vocalist on It's Time. While away in Italy, Bublé co-wrote the hit single "Home" for Timuss. She was also featured in his Home music video. They were later engaged in 2004 and ended their relationship in November 2005. During an appearance at Australian television's Logie Awards in 2005, he met British actress, Emily Blunt backstage. He thought she was a BBC television producer. They are now dating. Bublé has, during an interview with Australia's channel 10, jokingly expressed his concern for her fast becoming more famous than himself. She also provided background vocals on the cover of "Me and Mrs. Jones" on the album Call Me Irresponsible.
-Career breakthrough


Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning American film and television actress, best known for her role as Rachel Green in the popular television sitcom Friends. Since Friends she has starred in several successful Hollywood films, including Bruce Almighty, Along Came Polly and The Break-Up.

Early life
Aniston was born in Sherman Oaks, California and grew up in New York City. She is the daughter of the Greek-American actor John Aniston (originally Ioannis Anastasakis) and actress Nancy Dow. Aniston has two half-brothers, John Melick and Alex Aniston. Aniston's father was born on the island of Crete, while her maternal grandfather, Gordon McLean Dow, was of Scottish and English descent, and her maternal grandmother, Louise Grieco, was of Italian ancestry.[1] Aniston's godfather was the late Greek American actor Telly Savalas, her father's best friend. Aniston spent part of her childhood in Greece, but most of it in New York City, where her father appeared in the soap operas Love of Life and Search for Tomorrow. In 1985, the family moved to Los Angeles, where Aniston's father starred on the soap opera Days of our Lives as Victor Kiriakis. Aniston graduated from Manhattan's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. Among her high school friends was future gay rights activist Chastity Bono. Aniston's desire to become an actress grew as she worked in Off-Broadway productions such as For Dear Life and Dancing on Checker's Grave. During this time, she supported herself with several part-time jobs, including working as a telemarketer and bike messenger

Career
Aniston moved to Hollywood and was cast in her first television roles in 1990, starring as a regular on the short-lived series Molloy and in the TV movie Camp Cucamonga. She also co-starred in Ferris Bueller, a television adaptation of the 1986 hit movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the same year; the series, however, was quickly canceled. Aniston then appeared in two more failed television comedy shows, The Edge and Muddling Through, and guest-starred on Quantum Leap, Herman's Head and Burke's Law. After the string of cancelled shows, along with her appearance in the critically derided 1993 horror film, Leprechaun, Aniston considered giving up acting.
Aniston's plans changed, however, after auditioning for Friends, a sitcom that was set to debut on NBC's 1994-1995 fall line-up. The producers of the show originally wanted Aniston to audition for the role of Monica Geller, but she persuaded them that she was better suited for the role of Rachel Green. She was cast in the role and played the character from 1994 until the show ended in 2004.
The program was hugely successful and Aniston, along with her co-stars, gained wide renown among television viewers. Her hairstyle at the time, which became known as the "Rachel", was widely copied. Aniston received a salary of one million dollars per episode for the last two seasons of Friends, as well as five Emmy nominations, including a win for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series".
According to the Guinness World Book of Records (2005), Aniston (along with her female costars) became the highest paid TV actress of all time with her $1 million-per-episode paycheck for the tenth season of Friends.
Aniston has starred in several theatrical films, including the cult hit Office Space and Picture Perfect (1997) .
She gained the most critical acclaim for her role in the low-budget 2002 film, The Good Girl, directed by Miguel Arteta, playing an unglamorous cashier in a small town. The film opened in relatively few theaters - under 700 in total - taking $14M in the U.S. box office.
Jennifer's biggest box office success was her appearance in 2003's Bruce Almighty, in which she played the girlfriend of title character (Jim Carrey); the film grossed $243M at the United States box office and almost twice that worldwide. Aniston's 2004 film, Along Came Polly (opposite Ben Stiller), also did well at the box office after opening at the #1 spot.
In late 2005, Aniston headlined two major studio films, Derailed and Rumor Has It, both of which performed fairly at the box office, grossing over $36 million each despite little support from critics.
In 2006, Aniston appeared in the low-budget drama, Friends with Money, which was first shown at the Cannes Film Festival, received a limited release, and grossed over $13 million. Aniston's next film, The Break-Up, which was released on June 2, grossed approximately $39.17 million during its opening weekend, despite lukewarm reviews. It has currently grossed over $118 million at the U.S. box office and over $203 million worldwide.
In addition to acting, Aniston has also directed a hospital emergency room-set short film named Room 10, starring Robin Wright Penn and Kris Kristofferson; Aniston has noted that she was inspired to direct by actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who directed a short film in 2006.
Forbes listed Aniston as the 10th richest woman in the entertainment industry for the year 2007. She is behind such powerhouses as Oprah Winfrey, J. K. Rowling, Madonna and Jennifer Lopez and is ahead of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and the Olsen twins. Aniston's net worth is approximately $110 million. Aniston was also included in the annual Star Salary Top 10 of trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter for 2006. Aniston has been signed to play a role in the up-coming thriller Wanted along with Meryl Streep and Martin Hernandez
-Personal life
-Filmography
-Awards


Sven-Göran Eriksson


Football manager of Manchester City after agreeing a 3-year-deal with the club.[1] He is set to earn £2million per year plus bonuses.[2] Eriksson is so far the only manager who has won the Double (League and Cup in the same season), in three different countries, having won it in Sweden, Portugal and Italy.

Eriksson stepped down from his previous position as the English national football team manager following England's exit from the 2006 World Cup; there was, however, considerable speculation that he was forced out by the English football authorities due to his tenure being punctuated by well-documented tabloid reports of his private life.
Playing Career
Born in Torsby, in Värmland, Eriksson had an unremarkable playing career playing as a right-back in the lower divisions of Swedish football. The highest level he played at was Division 2 with KB Karlskoga, where he met Tord Grip, before being forced to retire prematurely due to a knee injury in 1975.

Early Management Career
After retirement, Eriksson received an offer to become Grip's assistant at Degerfors IF.[5] A year later, Grip was appointed assistant manager of the Swedish national team, and Eriksson became Degerfors manager, winning promotion to Division 2 in 1978.

His success with vice manager Tom Chadney by his side attracted the attention of much larger clubs, and Eriksson joined IFK Göteborg in 1979. He won the Swedish Cup in his first season, and a "treble" of League, Cup and UEFA Cup (Göteborg beating Hamburger SV 4-0) in 1982.
Eriksson's European success led to him being head-hunted by Portuguese club SL Benfica, and he had a similarly quick impact there, Benfica winning the Portuguese Championship, the Portuguese Cup and finishing runners-up in the UEFA Cup. After a second Championship the following year, Eriksson moved on to Italy, becoming boss of AS Roma. He was not as immediately successful at Roma as he had been before, but he still won a Coppa Italia in 1986.

After a trophyless two years at Fiorentina, Eriksson moved back to Benfica for a second stint in 1989, where he led the team to the final of the European Cup (losing to AC Milan 1-0) in 1990, and another League title in 1991. In 1992 Eriksson returned to Italy to try his luck again, with Sampdoria, but he only managed another Coppa Italia in 1994.
Italian League Title and Other Honours
England Manager
Return to Club Management
Criticism
Club Managerial Honours
Managerial Stats

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams (born Robert Peter Williams on February 13, 1974) is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is also one of the few pop acts to have been nominated for the Mercury Prize.

Williams' career began as a member of the pop band Take That in 1990, which he left in 1995 to begin his solo career, the band having sold more than 25 million records. Since then, Williams has sold more albums in the United Kingdom than any other British solo artist in history, and has sold 53 million albums and 15 million singles worldwide , over the course of his solo career.
Williams made it to The Guinness Book of World Records when 1.6 million tickets were sold in a single day shortly after he announced his World Tour in 2006.
He also has the distinction of having more number one albums than any other male, barring Elvis Presley[citation needed] . He appears in the list of the all-time Top 100 best albums in the United Kingdom six times[citation needed] , more than any other person or group and has been the recipient of many awards — including more BRIT and ECHO Awards than any other artist in history the Brit Awards 2005 . He is currently the most successful male artist in the world, for the period 1998-2007, according to the United World Chart, and the third artist overall behind Madonna and Britney Spears.

Robert Peter Williams, best known by his stage name Robbie Williams, was born on February 13, 1974 in Burslem, one of towns in which is amalgamated the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. His family is Roman Catholic and has Irish ancestry; Peter, his father, was a comedian who adopted the stage name of Pete Conway and Jan, his mother, was a florist. They divorced when he was four years old.

Williams's career started when his mother saw an advertisement on a newspaper: a manager, Nigel Martin Smith, was looking for some young singers because he wanted to form a boy band. Robbie contacted this manager, had an audition and was so allowed to join to the new band because of his good singing ability. Robbie Williams was the last member to enter Take That.

Take That (1990–1995)
Williams' early pop career started with the pop band Take That. The band was formed in 1990 in United Kingdom, they scored ten number-one hits in the country (seven of them when Williams was in the band, one without him before they split and two since they reformed again as a four piece in 2006). Their popularity led to a succession of similar bands in the UK.

By 1995, Williams who had been growing frustrated with his life in Take That, infamously went partying with Oasis at Glastonbury and then left the band.[11] After leaving the band in 1995, the last Take That album Nobody Else was re-issued in some markets excluding some vocals by Williams, most notably a new recording of "Love Ain't Here Anymore". He didn't actually take any lead vocals on this album - band members later blamed this on his "lack of interest and commitment" in the recording of the album.

In November 2005, ITV1 screened a documentary on Take That, including the reasons behind Williams' departure. This documentary contained interviews with Williams and his former fellow band members. Williams declined the offer to reunite with the band, but spoke to them via a pre-recorded video message. After the band's comeback tour around the United Kingdom (without Williams), Robbie performed the song "Back for Good" in his own tour around the world in 2006.

Michael Jackson


Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ[1] as well as the "King of Pop",[2] is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for almost 40 years.[3]

Michael Jackson is widely regarded as one of the greatest entertainers and most popular recording artists in history, displaying complicated physical techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, that have redefined mainstream dance and entertainment.[4] His achievements in the music industry have included a revolutionary transformation of music videos,[5] establishing high-profile album releases and sales as a new trend for record companies to generate profits,[6] dominating pop music during the 1980s,[7] and becoming the first black entertainer to amass a strong following on MTV while leading the relatively young channel out of obscurity.[8] His distinctive style, moves, and vocals have inspired, influenced, and spawned a whole generation of hip hop, pop, and R&B artists. He has been symbolically named the "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time" by Guinness World Records.

Jackson began his musical career at the age of seven as the lead singer of The Jackson 5. He released his first solo recording, Got to Be There, in 1971, while remaining a member of the group.[10] In his solo career, Jackson recorded and co-produced the best-selling album of all time, Thriller, which has worldwide sales exceeding 104 million.[11] After Thriller, Jackson continued to release internationally chart-topping albums like Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), HIStory (1995), and Invincible (2001), his latest album of fully original material. Michael Jackson has received thirteen Grammy Awards[12] and charted thirteen #1 singles in the United States, more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era.[13] In November 2006, the World Music Awards announced that Michael Jackson had sold over 750 million units worldwide and given $300 million to charity,[14] making Jackson one of the best-selling music artists and one of the most charitable humanitarians of all time, whose efforts on the latter front have been acknowledged with a Nobel Peace Prize nomination.[15]

From 1988 to 2005, Jackson lived on his Neverland Ranch property, where he built an amusement park and private zoo that was frequently attended by disadvantaged and terminally ill children. Rumours of sleepover parties received negative media coverage after it was revealed that children frequently slept in his bed or bedroom. These first came to light when he was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993. Michael Jackson's relationship with children was brought into the spotlight again in 2003 when the TV documentary Living with Michael Jackson aired. This resulted in Jackson being tried, and later acquitted, of more child molestation allegations and several other charges in 2005. Since then, Michael Jackson has lived in countries such as Bahrain and Ireland, but has since returned to the United States. Jackson is putting the "finishing touches on his new music" to be released this year.
-Career
-Influence;

Sarah Michelle Gellar(Buffy and Scooby-Doo)

Sarah Michelle Gellar (born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. She is probably best known as Buffy Summers in the acclaimed television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination. She won a Daytime Emmy Award for her role in All My Children.
She has since become known as a film actress, having starred in the family film Scooby-Doo (2002) and the sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), the romantic comedy Simply Irresistible, the independent film Harvard Man (2001), the teen drama Cruel Intentions (1999) and the horror films The Return (2006), The Grudge 2 (2006), The Grudge (2004), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and Scream 2 (1997). She was in the tv movie Beverly Hills Family Robinson (1998).
She also provided the voice of April O'Neil in the film TMNT and Ella (better known as Cinderella) in the film Happily N'Ever After.
She has also starred in several films that have yet to be released, including Southland Tales, The Air I Breathe, Suburban Girl and Addicted which according to some reports has been renamed to Possession.. She is attached to the film version of the video game American McGee's Alice.

Biography

-Early life
Gellar was born in New York City, the only child of Rosellen Greenfield, a nursery school teacher, and Arthur Gellar. Both of her parents were Jewish, though Gellar's family had a Christmas tree during the holidays while she was growing up. In 1984, her parents divorced and she was brought up by her mother on the Upper East Side.
Gellar was estranged from her father from this time until his death from liver cancer on October 9, 2001. She attended New York's Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School and the Professional Children's School. Gellar held a straight-A average and became a competent figure skater. Her best friend was Melissa Joan Hart, who later was the star of the series Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.


Television career
At the age of four, Gellar was spotted by an agent in a restaurant in Uptown Manhattan. Two weeks later, she auditioned for a part in An Invasion Of Privacy, a made-for-television film starring Valerie Harper, Carol Kane and Jeff Daniels. At the audition, Gellar read both her own lines and those of Harper's, impressing the directors enough to cast her in the role. A short while later, she got a part in a controversial television commercial for Burger King, in which she criticized McDonald's and claimed to eat only at Burger King.
This led to a lawsuit against Burger King, ad agency J. Walter Thompson, and Gellar herself, who appeared in court as a witness for the defense. The dispute was eventually settled out of court. Gellar continued to make commercials while appearing in acting roles, including playing Emily in an episode of the TV series Spenser: For Hire, appearing in a minor role in the Chevy Chase starring comedy Funny Farm and in the movie High Stakes, and filming in Europe for the TV series Crossbow. In 1991, she played a young Jacqueline Bouvier in A Woman Named Jackie.
Gellar got her first major break in 1992, when she starred in the serial Swans Crossing and was subsequently cast in the soap opera All My Children, playing Kendall Hart, the long-lost daughter of character Erica Kane (Susan Lucci). In 1995, at the age of eighteen, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Leading Actress in a Drama Series for the role. It is on the set of this Soap opera that she met Michelle Trachtenberg who would later join the Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast.

Gellar left All My Children in 1995 amid rumors of a strained working relationship with Lucci, and landed the lead in the 1997 TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, playing a teenager burdened with the responsibility of fighting a number of mystical foes. The show was well received by critics and audiences alike, spawning a spinoff series (Angel). Throughout its seven seasons and a total of 144 episodes, Buffy, and Gellar along with her, became cult icons in the United States, the UK and Australia, particularly as archetypes of "empowered" women.[5] Gellar also sang several of the songs during the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode "Once More, with Feeling", which spawned an original cast album.

During the show's later years, Gellar expressed dissatisfaction about certain aspects of the show. Shortly after the show's end, Gellar stated that she had no interest in appearing in a Buffy feature film, although since then she has said she will consider it if the script is good enough. She did not appear in the final season of Angel, causing the intended episode ("You're Welcome") to be rewritten for the character of Cordelia Chase. Gellar has said that she was willing to appear in the episode, but scheduling conflicts and family problems prevented it. Gellar has declined to lend her voice to the various Buffy video games, and another actress voiced Buffy for an animated series based on the show, which never aired.

Gellar has appeared on the covers of Cosmopolitan, Glamour, FHM, Rolling Stone, and other magazines. She was featured in Maxim magazine's "Hot 100" list in 2002, 2003, and 2005, and in FHM 's "100 Sexiest Women" of 2005. She was voted number 1 in the magazine's 1999 edition. In 1998, she was named one of People's "50 Most Beautiful People (in the World)". Gellar has also appeared in "Got Milk?" ads as well as in the Stone Temple Pilots music video "Sour Girl". In 2007 she was ranked #54 on FHM Hot 100 List and was a celebrity spokesperson for Maybelline.
-Film career & Personal life
-Filmography
-Awards, Categorized by type
-MTV Movie Awards, Golden Globes, Saturn Awards, Daytime Emmy Awards;



Brian Adams

Bryan Adams OC, OBC, (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian rock singer, guitarist, songwriter and photographer. Some of his best-known albums are Reckless, 18 til I Die, and Waking Up the Neighbours.

Adams was awarded the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia for his contribution to popular music and his philanthropic work. He was also inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 1998, and more recently inducted into the Music Hall of Fame at Canada's Juno Awards in April 2006. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards for songwriting, and was recently nominated for his fifth Golden Globe (2007) for his songwriting in the film Bobby

Early life
Adams was born in Kingston, Ontario to English parents, but also has Maltese ancestry, his grandmother and great-grandmother being from Malta, . He personally paid tribute to his Maltese ancestors at a massive concert held in Malta on the 28th of June 2007.

He has lived in England, Israel, France, Portugal, and Austria with his diplomat parents through most of the 1960s. They periodically returned to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada [9] until settling in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in 1973. Adams started his musical career after dropping out of school at the age of 15.

Adams currently lives in England. He has also lived in France and speaks French.
Adams is a vegan and takes his cook with him when he travels for concerts all over the world.
He supports Chelsea F.C. and the song "We're Gonna Win" from his album 18 Til I Die is dedicated to the football club. The song was later used by the Canadian sports network TSN as its theme song for its "Wednesday Night Hockey" NHL broadcasts in the 2005-06 season.* He created his own recording studio in Vancouver, British Columbia called The Warehouse Studio out of a historical Gastown building.
Although many sources give Adams' middle name as "Guy", he does not use a middle name.
In his acceptance speech for his induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 2006 Juno Awards, he named his long-time guitarist Keith Scott as his best friend. The two have been playing together for over 25 years.

-Musical career;
-Backing band;
-Social activist;
-Discography, Filmography & Books;

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English band whose blues, rhythm and blues and rock and roll-infused music became popular during the "British Invasion" in the early 1960s. The band was formed in London in 1962 by original leader Brian Jones, but eventually led by the songwriting partnership of singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Pianist Ian Stewart, drummer Charlie Watts and bassist Bill Wyman completed the early primary lineup. Their early image of unkempt and surly youth is one that many musicians still emulate.

Jones died in 1969 shortly after being fired from the band and was replaced by twenty year old Mick Taylor. During the 1969 American tour, tour manager Sam Cutler introduced them as "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World". After Taylor quit the Stones in 1974, former Faces guitarist Ron Wood began his continuing tenure. Wyman retired in 1993 being replaced by hired hand Darryl Jones.

The band have released 55 albums of original work and compilations, and have had 37 top-10 singles. They have sold over 200 million albums worldwide. 1971's Sticky Fingers began a string of eight consecutive number one albums in the United States. In 1989 the Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2004 they were ranked #4 in Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Their latest album, A Bigger Bang, was released in 2005 and accompanied by their biggest and highest-grossing tour ever, which lasted into late summer 2007.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. For most of their career, the group's lineup has consisted of vocalist Anthony Kiedis, guitarist John Frusciante, bassist Michael "Flea" Balzary, and drummer Chad Smith. The band's varied musical style has fused traditional rock with various elements of funk, punk rock, alternative rock, heavy metal, and psychedelic rock.

In addition to Kiedis and Flea, the group originally featured guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons. After Slovak died of a heroin overdose in 1988, Irons resigned, and was briefly replaced with D. H. Peligro. He soon introduced Flea to Frusciante, who was an aspiring guitarist at the time. Drummer Chad Smith was recruited few weeks before the recording of Mother's Milk, the band's fourth album, began.

The band's fifth album, 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik, was a critical success and sold over twelve million copies. Frusciante grew increasingly uncomfortable with the band's success and left the group in 1992. The band employed Dave Navarro (of Jane's Addiction) for their subsequent album, 1995's One Hot Minute. It failed, however, to match the critical acclaim of Blood Sugar Sex Magik and was a commercial disappointment, selling less than half of its predecessor. Creative differences between Navarro and the rest of the band caused him to be fired from the band not long after.

Meanwhile Frusciante, in his absence, developed a severe drug addiction and almost lost his life. Nevertheless, in 1998 he completed rehabilitation and rejoined the band at Flea's request. The reunited foursome returned to the studio to record 1999's Californication, which would go on to sell fifteen million units worldwide, becoming their most successful album to date. It was followed up three years later with By the Way, an album showing a more subdued and melodic side to the band. In 2006, the group released the double album Stadium Arcadium. Stadium Arcadium was voted the second best album of 2006 by Rolling Stone magazine and nominated for the Album of the Year Grammy in 2007.

Ivete Sangalo



Ivete Sangalo (born May 27, 1972 in Juazeiro, Bahia) is a Latin Grammy Award-winning Brazilian axé and MPB singer, songwriter, and occasional actress and television show host. She is arguably the most popular and best-selling Brazilian female singer of the present, with six albums released with Banda Eva, and seven more albums in a solo career. Ivete is most often recognized by her powerful voice, charisma and live performances. Her music is also popular in Portugal.

Currently, she's Brazil's most popular female singer based on her CD and DVD sales (but Ana Carolina came close in popularity in 2006). She is one of the richest Brazilian entertainers (she even has her own private jets) at the time, having several parallel business and lucrative commercial deals. She is also one of the highest-paid concert acts. According to O Globo newspaper, Ivete asks for R$240,000 ($120,000 per concert) and a percentage of tickets sale, which makes her final paycheck R$350,000 ($275,0000) making her one of the five highest-paid solo acts in Brazil (Roberto Carlos is the most expensive, asking R$700,000 per concert). For special concerts, like the Omo free concert at Copacabana Beach and New Year's Eve concerts, the price may reach R$2 million ($1 million dollars). Her parallel business, like her trio-elétrico and her abadá for Salvador carnival, are also very lucrative, as it is her commercial deals with companies like Avon, Grendene and Nova Schin beer.

Her biggest hits to date have been Festa and Sorte Grande
-Biography;
-Discography;

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Bobby Lashley

-Franklin Roberto (Bobby) Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler better known as Bobby Lashley. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its RAW brand.
Career

Amateur wrestling
Lashley attended Missouri Valley College, where he won three national amateur wrestling championships between 1996 and 1998, placing fourth in 1995. Throughout 1997 and 1998 he was the NAIA National Wrestling Champion, competing at the weight of 177 pounds (80 kilograms). Lashley later joined the United States Army, where he continued to wrestle.

World Wrestling Entertainment
In November 2003, Lashley moved to professional wrestling and signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment. He was assigned to its farm federation, Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he was known as Blaster Lashley, and was a member of the Bolin Services stable along with Mike Mondo, and Ken Doane. In mid-2005 Lashley appeared at four live events, wrestling in dark matches for both the RAW and SmackDown! brands.

On September 23, 2005, Lashley made his televised WWE debut on SmackDown! under the name Bobby Lashley. Lashley was introduced as a three-time National Amateur Wrestling Champion, four-time All-American, a two-time Armed Forces Champion and a 2002 Silver Medalist at the Military World Championship. In his first match, he squashed Simon Dean then, in his pay-per-view debut at No Mercy 2005, defeated Dean once again. Lashley went on to defeat numerous superstars both on Velocity and SmackDown!.
On the November 11 episode of SmackDown!, Lashley defeated Orlando Jordan in a qualifying match for a place on Team SmackDown! at the 2005 Survivor Series where he was the first to be eliminated.
On January 6, 2006 Lashley became the first announced participant from SmackDown! to be entered into that year's Royal Rumble. At the Royal Rumble, Lashley was the eighth wrestler to enter the match where he made quite an impression eliminating Sylvan and by putting in a dominating performance. However, he ended up being eliminated quite early (sixth) by RAW's World Tag Team Champions Kane and The Big Show.
Following the Royal Rumble, Lashley began a feud with John "Bradshaw" Layfield leading up to a match at No Way Out 2006. The match ended up being Lashley's first loss in singles competition thanks to interference from Finlay.

During February and March, Lashley was involved in an intense feud with Finlay which saw the pair brawl on many occasions even until the pair were put into a Lumberjack match that Finlay won (after use of his shillelagh).
On April 2 Lashley competed in his first WrestleMania (WrestleMania 22) after winning a Last Chance battle royal last eliminating MNM.[11] Lashley lost the Money in the Bank ladder match he competed in which was won by Rob Van Dam.

Not long after losing the title, Lashley was declared unable to compete according to a physician who stated that during an annual exam, Lashley was found to have elevated enzymes of the liver; therefore, would not be cleared to wrestle until further evaluation. Lashley returned a couple of weeks later to the SmackDown! roster to continue his feud with the court and went on to earn his first match for the World Heavyweight Championship at No Mercy 2006 against King Booker. This match later became a four way bout that also included Batista and Booker's ally, Finlay, which King Booker won after pinning Finlay.
Following up on Bobby Lashley's injury, he is scheduled to fly to Birmingham, Alabama tomorrow to meet with Dr. James Andrews to get a diagnosis on his left shoulder. WWE.com noted last night that physician Dr. Ferdinand Rios said it may be a torn rotator cuff.
Lashley first began experiencing pain in his shoulder after suffering an injury at April's Backlash pay-per-view. He saw Dr. Andrews in May, but continued to work until the injury worsened this week.
On November 14, Lashley moved to the ECW brand, making a surprise appearance. Lashley went through first Hardcore Holly then speared the Big Show on the entrance ramp to sign a contract for the final spot in the Extreme Elimination Chamber match for the ECW World Championship at December to Dismember. At December to Dismember, Lashley was the fifth person released into the match. He eliminated Test and The Big Show by pinfall after a Spear to both to become the new ECW World Champion. This made Lashley the first African American to hold the ECW title.
Lashley during his first ECW World Championship reignLashley then had successful title defenses against Big Show, Rob Van Dam, Test, Hardcore Holly, RAW's Kenny Dykstra and SmackDown!'s Mr. Kennedy.[2] On an edition of RAW held on March 19, 2007, Lashley officially became the first person to break Chris Masters' twenty-three month long Masterlock Challenge. In early 2007, Lashley was selected by Donald Trump to represent him in a "Battle of the Billionaires" matchup against Vince McMahon's representative, Umaga. At WrestleMania 23 in a Hair vs Hair match, Lashley defeated Umaga following a Spear, and helped Trump shave McMahon's head afterwards in accordance with the match's losing stipulation. After WrestleMania, Lashley feuded with Mr. McMahon. McMahon would book himself, his son Shane McMahon and Umaga in a 3-on-1 handicap match against Lashley at Backlash for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. After two high impact top rope splashes from Umaga, Mr. McMahon tagged himself into the match and pinned Lashley to win the ECW World Championship.At Judgement Day 2007, Lashley defeated Vince, Shane, and Umaga in a 3-on-1 handicap rematch after the Dominator on Shane McMahon. However, Lashley did not win the ECW World Championship because he did not pin Mr. McMahon. As a result, Mr. McMahon retained the title. On June 3 at One Night Stand 2007, Lashley defeated Vince McMahon in a street fight to win his second ECW World Championship, despite the use of Shane McMahon and Umaga in the match. As a result Lashley became the first person to win the ECW Championship more than once in a WWE ring.
On the June 11 edition of RAW, Lashley was drafted from ECW to RAW as part of the 2007 WWE Draft. As a result of the drafting, Lashley was stripped of his ECW World Championship. He then took place in a challenge match against Mick Foley, Randy Orton, King Booker and John Cena for the WWE Championship at Vengeance 2007 which was won by John Cena, who was able to retain the championship. Lashley became the number one contender for the WWE Championship, by winning the "Beat the Clock" challenge on the July 2, 2007 edition of RAW, however despite a dominating performance, he was pinned by Cena at the Great American Bash.
On the July 30 edition of RAW, Bobby Lashley was injured at the hands on Mr. Kennedy when Kennedy kicked Lashley's shoulder into the ring steps. He suffered a possible torn rotator cuff which will put Lashley out of commission for at least 4 months.

Ricky Martín

Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), is a Grammy Award and Latin Grammy Award-winning Puerto Rican pop singer who rose to fame, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991. He has sold over 55 million albums around the world, charting twenty one top-ten hits on the U.S. Latin Charts, eight of which reached number one, and a total of over thirty hit singles

Solo carrer
Martin was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. After he left San Juan, he moved to the United States and then to Mexico City where he started acting, first in theater productions. He recorded his first album, Ricky Martin, in 1991, which included the single "Fuego Contra Fuego". The album has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide.

Ricky Martin (English album) and the "Livin' la Vida Loca" era
After several years as a major star in Spanish-speaking countries, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999. The self-titled album contained material by producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit and his long time childhood friend (producer/singer) Robi Draco Rosa. The album also featured special guests such as Madonna (on the Spanish-English duet "Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazón)") and Meja (on the single of his album called "Private Emotion"). The first and most prominent single was "Livin' La Vida Loca," which reached number one in many countries around the world, including the U.S., the U.K., Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Guatemala, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa. This album became one of the top-selling albums of 1999, and was certified seven times platinum; selling over seventeen million copies worldwide.

Sound Loaded: the "She Bangs" era
After the success of Ricky Martin, a new English-language album, Sound Loaded, was released in November 2000. Though the album did debut in the top ten (number four), it failed to reach number one. Three singles were released from Sound Loaded: the first was "She Bangs", which was followed by a duet with Christina Aguilera called "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely". Unlike the first two singles released from Ricky Martin, neither of the first two singles from this album reached the U.S. Top Ten on Billboard's Hot 100; they reached twelve and thirteen respectively. The third single, "Loaded" reached ninety-seven on Billboard's Hot 100. Sound Loaded eventually shipped two million copies in the USA.

La Historia and The Best of Ricky Martin
In 2001, Martin released a Spanish Greatest Hits album entitled La Historia, which went to number one in the Latin Charts and stayed there for five weeks. The album contained reworkings of two of his early songs Fuego contra fruego and El amor de me vida.
In the same year, he released his English greatest hits album, The Best of Ricky Martin, which went on to sell over one million copies. The album contained no new material save for two remixes of the track Amor. Both remixes were released to radio in some European countries and a cd single was also released.

Martin was a headliner in the 2001 inauguration ball for President George W. Bush, he even invited the newly elected president to join him onstage to dance. This image was captured by photographers and broadcast in various media throughout the world. Martin would even go so far as to reference it in a later song Asignitura Pendiente. Martin's performance and his approval of the president caused a rift between him and his song writer partner Robi Rosa who who was quoted as saying "Singing 'The Cup of Life' at George Bush's inauguration is like playing the fiddle while Rome burns".[1]
It seems however, that Martin has changed his position on the President. In a concert in Puerto Rico during the song Asignitura Pendiente Martin thrust his middle finger disapprovingly in the air while singing the line "photo with Bush". The gesture met with audience approval but caused a minor controversy with the media. Martin said in an e-mail statement sent to the Associated Press via a spokesman: "My convictions of peace and life go beyond any government and political agenda and as long as I have a voice onstage and offstage, I will always condemn war and those who promulgate it".[2]

Almas del Silencio
In 2003, Martin released a new Spanish album Almas del Silencio. The first single, "Tal Vez", went to number one on the Latin Charts and stayed there for twelve weeks. He said of the new album: "I really needed to go back to focus, to my center, to the beginning. I had the need to search within, and really dig deep, and find those emotions that, because of the adrenaline and the euphoria that I lived for a couple of years, were probably sabotaged."[2] Almas del Silencio debuted at number twelve on the Billboard 200, reached number one on the Latin Albums charts and stayed there for six weeks. The next singles, "Jaleo" and "Y Todo Queda en Nada", reached number one on the Latin Charts ,and the album sold four million copies worldwide.

Life
On October 11, 2005 Martin released his first English language album since 2000's Sound Loaded and the tenth album of his career. Most of the songs on the album, called Life, were co-written by Martin. He commented on the album: "I was really in touch with my emotions. I think this album is very multi-layered, just like life is. It's about feeling anger. It's about feeling joy. It's about feeling uncertainty. It's about feeling. And all my emotions are part of this production."[3] The album debuted at number six on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. The first single from the album was "I Don't Care"/"Qué Más Da", featuring guest appearances by Fat Joe and Amerie.

Another single was released "Drop It on Me", which didn't even chart. Soon after, Martin announced his Latin American tour called Una Noche con Ricky Martin, promoting his latest album Life. Starting in Latin America, the tour started on November 15 in Mexico City. After finishing the first leg of the tour (which included Latin America and the U.S.), he released his next single, "It's Alright" (Spanish version: "Déjate Llevar"). A different version appeared in France, which included additional vocals by French R&B singer M. Pokora. The song went to number one in France.

Martin performed at the 2006 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony in Turin. A few days later, he announced the second leg of his world tour (which included Europe and Africa) called One Night Only/Una Noche Con Ricky Martin World Tour. The second leg started on April 21 in Manchester, U.K., and ended on June 3 in Tel Aviv, Israel, including shows that sold-out in two hours (Italy and Finland). In addition, he performed at the World Cup Fan Party in Berlin (Brandenburger Tor) on June 7, 2006, and at Lebanon's Beiteddine Festival on May 27 at the BIEL seafront hall in Beirut and on May 28 in Egypt , his first concerts in the Arab world following a promise to Queen Noor on his 2005 visit to the Arab Conference in Jordan. During this visit, he recorded an Arabic/Spanglish version of "Drop It on Me", "Enta Omri" with Arabic pop star Cheb Mami.

MTV Diary and MTV Unplugged
MTV has begun airing "MTV Diary: Ricky Martin", showcasing scenes from the "One Night Only" tour, on the road and onstage. MTV Latin America and MTV Tr3s co-produced the "Ricky Martin MTV Unplugged" show to be taped in Miami on August 17th, 2006 and premiered on MTV Latin America, MTV Tr3s and MTV Puerto Rico in November 2006. "Ricky Martin MTV Unplugged" released worldwide on CD and DVD by Sony BMG in November 2006. The first single of the album ,"Tu Recuerdo", featuring La Mari from Chambao, reached number one on the U.S. Latin Charts. The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Latin Charts and number thirty-eight on Billboard 200.

This album includes Puerto Rican influences, particularly "Tu Recuerdo" (based mainly on a Puerto Rican "aguinaldo jíbaro",[3] and finishing with an "aguinaldo orocoveño"[4]) and "Pégate", a Puerto Rican plena. Christian Nieves plays the Puerto Rican cuatro on both tracks.

-Social work;
-Television appearances, Discography, Accomplishments;





Beyoncé Knowles

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, dancer, fashion designer, and model. Knowles rose to fame as the creative force and lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, the world's best-selling female group of all time.
After a series of commercially successful releases with the group, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, in 2003. The album became one of the biggest commercial successes of the year, topping the album charts in the U.S. and the UK. It also spawned the number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy" and earned Knowles five Grammy Awards in a single night in 2004. Knowles' second album, B’Day, which was released worldwide on September 4, 2006—coinciding with her twenty-fifth birthday—, continued her success. The album spawned the UK number-one singles "Déjà Vu" and "Beautiful Liar", as well as the worldwide number-one hit "Irreplaceable". It also earned Knowles her seventh solo Grammy Award (she has won ten in total).
Knowles is the elder of two daughters born to Mathew Knowles and Tina Beyincé in Houston, Texas. Her parents decided on her first name as a tribute to her mother's maiden name.[5] Her maternal grandparents, Lumis Beyincé and Agnéz Deréon (a seamstress), were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles.[5] She is the older sister of Solange Knowles, cousin to Angela Beyincé (her personal assistant and song co-writer), and aunt to Solange's son Daniel Julez Smith, Jr. By age seven, she was attending dance school and was a soloist in her church's choir. Her dance instructor took an interest in Knowles and took her star student to various competitions. Knowles went on to win over thirty local singing and dancing competitions.

Knowles and her childhood best friends LaTavia Roberson and Kelly Rowland along with LeToya Luckett formed a quartet that would perform in their backyards and at Tina Knowles' hair salon. After singing at local events, they got their break when they entered Star Search.[6] The group, then named "Girl's Tyme",[7] were disappointed after losing the competition. Mathew Knowles, Knowles' father and Rowland's legal guardian, decided to help the girls reach their dreams of becoming singers. He quit his six-figure salary job as a multi-million dollar equipment salesman at Xerox to manage the group.[8] This decision by Mathew eventually affected the whole family. Their income had been cut in half, causing the family to move into two different apartments. When the group was signed to Columbia Records in 1996, it gave the entire family a second chance at making things work.And some also say that beyonce is a bitch way to damanding say's people magazine.

As a teenager, Knowles attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, where she showed her musical talents. She later went to Alief Elsik High School, in the Alief neighborhood of Houston.
-Solo career;


U2

U2 is a rock band from Dublin, Ireland. The band consists of Bono (vocals and guitar), The Edge (guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums and percussion). U2 have been one of the most popular acts in the world since the mid-1980s. The band has sold upwards of 170 million albums worldwide,[1] and they have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other rock band.[2]

U2 formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency. By the mid-1980s, however, the band had become a top international act, noted for its anthemic sound, Bono's impassioned vocals, and The Edge's textural guitar playing. Their success as a live act was greater than as a record-selling act until their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree, brought them mega-stardom.[3] Their alternative rock/dance-infused 1991 album Achtung Baby and the accompanying Zoo TV Tour were part of a significant reinvention for the band; it was a response to their own sense of musical stagnation, the dance and alternative music revolutions, and criticism of their image. This experimentation continued for the rest of the 1990s.

In the early years of the 21st century, U2 have pursued a more traditional sound while maintaining influences from their previous musical explorations. They continue to enjoy the highest level of commercial and critical success. The band is active in human rights, international development, and social justice causes, such as Amnesty International, Make Poverty History, the ONE Campaign, Live Aid, Live 8, Bono's DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa) campaign, and Music Rising.
-History;

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Seal

Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel (born February 19, 1963 in Paddington, London, England) is a British soul singer and songwriter. He is professionally known only by his first name, Seal. He won three Grammy Awards for his 1995 single "Kiss from a Rose".

Born Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel, a childhood battle with discoid lupus left him with distinctive facial scarring and hair loss. He studied architecture and engineering.


Seal married German supermodel Heidi Klum on May 10, 2005, on a beach in Mexico. Seal and Heidi have three children, daughter Helene "Leni" Klum (biological father is Flavio Briatore), and sons, Henry Günther Ademola Dashtu Samuel, born September 12, 2005 and Johan Riley Fyodor Taiwo Samuel, born November 22, 2006.
Seal's younger brother, Jeymes Samuel, is also a singer and musician.



Alicia Keys


Alicia Keys (born Alicia J. Augello-Cook on January 25, 1980) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, pianist, record producer, actress, philanthropist, and author who has won numerous awards, including nine Grammy Awards, eleven Billboard Music Awards, and three American Music Awards.

Keys was the only child born to an Irish-Italian mother, Teresa "Terri" Augello, and a Jamaican father, Craig Cook, in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, New York. Terri was a paralegal and actress, but Keys was raised in a semi-poor home in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Keys' mother and father separated during her early childhood, thus she was raised by her mother during her formative years.[2] Her mother was the one who most supported her during the time she was developing her musical talents. In 1985, Keys and a group of other girls won the parts of Rudy Huxtable's sleepover guests in an episode of The Cosby Show called "Slumber Party", aired on March 28 (the episode became the only time Keys was credited under her real name). She began playing the piano when she was seven, learning classical music by composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, and her favorite, Chopin. The press reported in 2005 that Keys was attempting to reconcile with her father.[3] However, Keys denied this and said her words were misinterpreted.[4]
Keys graduated from the
Professional Performing Arts School, a high school in Manhattan, at the age of sixteen as valedictorian. Although accepted to Columbia University at age sixteen with a scholarship, she decided instead to pursue her musical career. Keys signed a demo deal with Jermaine Dupri and his So So Def label, then distributed by Columbia Records. She wrote and recorded a song entitled "Dah Dee Dah (Sexy Thing)", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1997 blockbuster, Men in Black. The song was Keys' first professional recording; it was never released as a single and her record contract with Columbia Records ended quickly. Keys later met Clive Davis, who signed her to Arista Records, which has since disbanded. Following her mentor Clive Davis to his newly-formed J Records label, she recorded the songs "Rock wit U" and "Rear View Mirror", featured on the soundtracks to the films Shaft (2000) and Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) respectively. Keys then released her debut album Songs in A Minor in 2001, the title being a reference to both her classical aspirations and to the fact that she wrote most of the songs at a very young age.