in Galicia]] , a small Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea]] in the Adirondacks in the U.S.]] are volcanic islands]] are submerged mountains islands]] is a volcanic island that has become an atoll.]]

An island () or isle () is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot (also ait ), or holm. A grouping of geographically or geologically related islands is called an archipelago.

An island may still be described as such despite the presence of a land bridge, for example Singapore and its causeway, or the various Dutch delta islands, such as IJsselmonde. Some places may even retain "island" in their names for historical reasons after being connected to a larger landmass by a wide land bridge, such as Coney Island.

There are two main types of islands: continental islands and oceanic islands. There are also artificial islands. There is no standard of size which distinguishes islands from islets and continents.

Etymology

The word island comes from Middle English iland, from Old English igland (from ig, similarly meaning 'island' when used independently, and -land carrying its contemporary meaning; cf. Dutch eiland ("island"), German Eiland ("small island")). However, the spelling of the word was modified in the 15th century due to an incorrect association with the etymologically unrelated Old French loanword isle, which itself comes from the Latin word insula. Old English ig is actually a cognate of Latin aqua (water).

Types of island

===Continental islands=== Continental islands are bodies of land that lie on the continental shelf of a continent. Examples include Greenland, Long Island, and Sable Island off North America; Barbados and Trinidad off South America; Great Britain, Ireland and Sicily off Europe; Sumatra, Borneo and Java off Asia; and New Guinea, Tasmania and Kangaroo Island off Australia.

A special type of continental island is the microcontinental island, which results when a continent is rifted. Examples are Madagascar and Socotra off Africa; New Zealand; New Caledonia; the Kerguelen Islands; and some of the Seychelles.

Another subtype is an island or bar formed by deposition of tiny rocks where a water current loses some of its carrying capacity. An example is barrier islands, which are accumulations of sand deposited by sea currents on the continental shelf. Another example is islands in river deltas or in large rivers. While some are transitory and may disappear if the volume or speed of the current changes, others are stable and long-lived. Islets are very small islands.

Oceanic islands

Oceanic islands are ones that do not sit on continental shelves. The vast majority are volcanic in origin. The few oceanic islands that are not volcanic are tectonic in origin and arise where plate movements have lifted up the deep ocean floor to above the surface. Examples of this include Saint Peter and Paul Rocks in the Atlantic Ocean and Macquarie Island in the Pacific.

One type of volcanic oceanic island is found in a volcanic island arc. These islands arise from volcanoes where the subduction of one plate under another is occurring. Examples include the Mariana Islands, the Aleutian Islands and most of Tonga in the Pacific Ocean. Some of the Lesser Antilles and the South Sandwich Islands are the only Atlantic Ocean examples.

Another type of volcanic oceanic island occurs where an oceanic rift reaches the surface. There are two examples: Iceland, which is the world's second largest volcanic island, and Jan Mayen — both are in the Atlantic.

A third type of volcanic oceanic island is formed over volcanic hotspots. A hotspot is more or less stationary relative to the moving tectonic plate above it, so a chain of islands results as the plate drifts. Over long periods of time, this type of island is eventually "drowned" by isostatic adjustment and eroded, becoming a seamount. Plate movement across a hot-spot produces a line of islands oriented in the direction of the plate movement. An example is the Hawaiian Islands, from Hawaii to Kure, which then extends beneath the sea surface in a more northerly direction as the Emperor Seamounts. Another chain with similar orientation is the Tuamotu Archipelago; its older, northerly trend is the Line Islands. The southernmost chain is the Austral Islands, with its northerly trending part the atolls in the nation of Tuvalu. Tristan da Cunha is an example of a hotspot volcano in the Atlantic Ocean. Another hot spot in the Atlantic is the island of Surtsey, which was formed in 1963.

An atoll is an island formed from a coral reef that has grown on an eroded and submerged volcanic island. The reef rises to the surface of the water and forms a new island. Atolls are typically ring-shaped with a central lagoon. Examples include the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and Line Islands in the Pacific.

Tropical islands

There are approximately 45,000 tropical islands on Earth. Among coral tropic islands for example are Maldives, Tonga, Nauru and Polynesia. According to another, "A desert island is a small tropical island, where nobody lives or an undiscovered island."

See also

,a barrier island from space. The outer barrier can be seen below the main island.]] an island]]

Archipelago

Cattle Island

Desert island

High island

Inland island

Insularity

Island biogeography

Island country

Island hopping

Islescape

Islomania

-land

Phantom island

Private island

Reef

Skerry

Small Island Developing States

Tidal island

Tied island

List of ancient islands

List of archipelagos

List of artificial islands

List of divided islands

List of fictional islands

List of island countries

List of islands by area

List of islands (by continent)

List of islands (by country)

List of islands by highest point

List of islands by name

List of islands (by ocean, sea, lake or river)

List of islands by population

List of islands by population density

List of islands in lakes

List of islands named after people

List of islands of the European Union

References

;Notes

External links

Definition of island from United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

Listing of islands from United Nations Island Directory.

Category:Fluvial landforms Category:Coastal and oceanic landforms

Name	Nicki Minaj
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Onika Tanya Maraj
Born	December 08, 1984St James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Origin	New York City, New York, United States
Genre	Hip hop, R&B;
Occupation	Rapper, singer-songwriter
Years active	2004–present
Label	Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money, Universal Motown
Associated acts	Young Money, Lil Wayne, Drake
Url

Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1984), better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj, is a Trinidadian-American rapper and R&B; singer-songwriter. In August 2009, Minaj signed to Young Money Entertainment with distribution from Universal Motown. Minaj was dicovered by fellow American rapper, Lil Wayne and after the three mixtapes, Minaj signed a deal with Young Money Entertainment.

After signing the deal, Minaj began working on her debut album, titled Pink Friday, which charted at number-two on the US Billboard 200, with Susan Boyle holding her off the top spot. Minaj became the first artist ever to have seven songs within the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. Her second single, "Your Love" reached number-one on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, making Minaj became the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. Minaj became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List One month after the release of Pink Friday, Minaj's album gained a Platinum certification in the United States. Minaj is also known for collaborating with other artists, performing guest raps on many popular singles.

Early life

Minaj was born on December 8, 1984 in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago to parents of Indian and Afro Trinidadian descent. She lived in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago with her grandmother until age five, because her parents were looking for a place to live in the Queens borough of New York City at the time. Her mother would occasionally visit, and one day, when Minaj was five, her mother picked her up to move to Queens. According to Minaj, her father drank alcohol, took drugs, and once tried to kill her mother by setting the house on fire.

She attended Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School 210, where she played the clarinet. She graduated from LaGuardia High School. At LaGuardia, a school specializing in music and the visual and performing arts, Minaj participated in the drama program.

Music career

2007–09: Career beginnings and mixtapes

Minaj released her first mixtape in 2007, after releasing, Playtime Is Over with an unknown label. She later released another mixtape on July 7, 2008, titled Sucka Free, under the label of Be. On April 18, 2009, Minaj released a third mixtape and appeared in XXL magazine. Under the label of Trapaholics Records. In 2008 she won the Female Artist of the Year award at the Underground Music Awards. Minaj released Beam Me Up Scotty, another mixtape, in April 2009 which received positive coverage on both BET and MTV.

2010–present: Pink Friday

After a major record label bidding war, Young Money Entertainment announced on August 31, 2009 that Minaj had been released a 360 deal with the label in which she retains and owns all of her 360 rights – including merchandising, sponsorships, endorsements, touring and publishing. In an interview with 95.8 Capital FM, Rihanna stated that after the two collaborated on "Raining Men" from her album Loud that the duo would be teaming up together for a possible second collaboration on Minaj's Pink Friday. Hip-hop rap artist and producer Kanye West was also confirmed for the album.

On August 3, 2010 Minaj revealed on a Ustream.tv channel for her fans that the albums name would be Pink Friday stating, “To carry on a great tradition of Black Friday, we are going to switch it up this year in honor of the Nicki Minaj album and call that day Pink Friday, and call my album Pink Friday,!” A deluxe edition of the album was also released after the standard addition. Nicki Minaj released the artwork for her album cover on Friday, October 15, 2010.

Minaj's debut album, Pink Friday was released on November 19, 2010. A buzz single, "Massive Attack", was released in April. In August, Minaj released "Your Love" as the first official single from her debut album. The single peaked at 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, 7 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart and topped the Rap Songs chart. Minaj became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List and the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. In October 2010, Minaj became the first artist to have seven songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously. Minaj released a joint single with The Black Eyed Peas front man, will.i.am titled, "Check It Out", which is Minajs most successful single to-date around Europe. "Right thru Me" was released September 24, 2010. Written by Stephen Hacker, Joe Satriani, Andrew Thielk, B.Evans and Minaj herself. The music video was released in late October, which featured Minaj a boy-and-girl relationship drama. "Moment 4 Life" followed "Right thru Me" and was released as the fourth overall single. The track featured Canadian rapper, Drake, which was released on December 7, 2010, which failed to chart as succesfully in the Billboard Hot 100, where it placed itself at number 63. However the single charted at number 10 on the Hot Rap Songs. Minaj's album gained a Platinum certification in the United States a month after the release.

Musical style and image

Image

In an interview with Vibe Minaj discussed her sexual image stating, "[w]hen I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly. The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot... and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing." In an interview with Interview, Minaj commented on her sexual image again stating, "I made a conscious decision to try to tone down the sexiness, I want people—especially young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You’ve got to have something else to go with that.”

Alter egos

While growing up Nicki was surrounded by constant trouble and fighting between her parents. To escape her real life problems she would create characters and live her life through them. She stated that in songs like "Bottoms Up" with Trey Songz it is not Nicki rapping, but instead Roman Zolanski, and claims that Roman is her "twin sister". Roman has been compared to Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady, and on the song "Roman's Revenge" from Pink Friday, Minaj and Eminem collaborate, using these alter egos. In songs such as "All I Do Is Win (Remix)" it is Nicki rapping. Wearing a colorful scarf around her head, she went around as the "healer to her fans" as she visited them at The Garden of Dreams Foundation at Fuse studios in New York City. Minaj made an appearance on Lopez Tonight on December 6, 2010 and presented a different alter-ego for the Spanish-inspired occasion, named "Rosa" (pronounced Rrrrrosa).

Influences

Minaj has stated that artists who have influenced her musical style include Lil Wayne, Lauryn Hill, Jadakiss, Natasha Bedingfield, Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim and Missy Elliott.

Personal life

While some songs and interviews have implied that Minaj is bisexual, she has said that she does not date nor have sex with women, but added in an interview with Out magazine, "I don’t date men either". In an interview with Vibe she commented, "I just embrace all people of all lifestyles and I don’t tell them they are bad people. And I say girls are beautiful and girls are sexy and they need to be told that, and if they don’t have anyone to tell them that and mean it, I’m gonna tell them that. But I feel like people always wanna define me and I don’t wanna be defined." She reiterated her dislike of being labeled in an interview with OUT, saying: "The point is, everyone is not black and white. There are so many shades in the middle, and you’ve got to let people feel comfortable with saying what they want to say when they want to say it."

*Best Female Hip-Hop Artist (Won)

*Best New Artist (Won)

*Best Group (Young Money) - (Won)

*Best New Artist (Young Money) - (Nominated)

*Viewer's Choice: "BedRock" (Young Money feat. Lloyd) (Nominated)

2010 Teen Choice Awards

*Choice Breakout Artist – Female (Nominated)

2010 MTV Video Music Awards

*Best New Artist: "Massive Attack" (feat. Sean Garrett) (Nominated)

2010 BET Hip Hop Awards

*Rookie of the Year (Won)

*Made You Look (Won)

*People's Champ (Won)

*Hustler of the Year (Nominated)

*Lyricist of the Year (Nominated)

2010 MOBO Awards

Best International Act (Nominated)

2011 Grammy Awards

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: "My Chick Bad" (Ludacris feat. Nicki Minaj) (Pending)

2011 NAACP Image Awards

Outstanding New Artist (Pending)

References

External links

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:African American female singers Category:African American rappers Category:American musicians of Indian descent Category:American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Category:Female rappers Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts alumni Category:People from Queens Category:People from Port of Spain Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Singers from New York City Category:Trinidad and Tobago immigrants to the United States Category:Universal Records artists

Name	Kenny Rogers
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Kenneth Donald Rogers
Born	August 21, 1938
Origin	Houston, Texas, United States
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, harmonica
Genre	Country, country pop, rock (with The First Edition)
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, actor, record producer
Years active	1958–present
Label	Cue Records, Carlton Records, Mercury Records, United Artists Records, RCA Records, Reprise Records, Giant Records, Atlantic Records, Curb Records, Dreamcatcher, Capitol Nashville, WEA
Associated acts	The New Christy Minstrels, The First Edition, Glen Campbell, Dolly Parton, Dottie West, Juice Newton, Sheena Easton, Kim Carnes
Url	www.kennyrogers.com
Spouse	Janice Gordon (1958-1960)Jean Rogers (1960-1963)Margo Anderson (1964-1976)Marianne Gordon (1977-1993)Wanda Miller (1997-present)

Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers He was voted the "Favorite Singer of All-Time" in a 1986 joint poll by readers of both USA Today and People. He has received hundreds of awards for both his music and charity work. These include AMAs, Grammys, ACMs and CMAs, as well as a lifetime achievement award for a career spanning six decades in 2003.

Later success includes the 2006 album release, Water & Bridges, an across the board hit, that peaked at #5 in the Billboard Country Albums sales charts, also charting high in the Billboard 200. The first single from the album, "I Can't Unlove You," was also a chart hit. Remaining a popular entertainer around the world, the following year he completed a tour of the United Kingdom and the Ireland telling BBC Radio 2 DJ Steve Wright, his favorite hit was "The Gambler". He has also acted in a variety of movies and television shows, most notably the title roles in Kenny Rogers as The Gambler and the MacShayne series as well as his appearance on the Muppet Show. Rogers currently resides in Nicholson, Georgia.

Personal life

Rogers was born "Kenneth Ray Rogers" in Houston, Texas in 1938, the fourth of seven children born to Lucille (née Hester), a nurse, and Edward Floyd Rogers, a carpenter. Rogers graduated from Jefferson Davis High School in Houston. According to the Texas birth records, his middle given name is Ray and he is sometimes credited in his film roles as "Kenneth Ray Rogers".

He has been married five times. His fourth wife was actress Marianne Gordon Rogers. His current wife is the former Wanda Miller. He has a daughter and four sons.

As of 2005, Rogers had become an avid Atlanta Thrashers fan, and can often be seen at Philips Arena taking in a game.

Career

Early career

His career began in the mid-1950s, when he recorded with a doo-wop group called The Scholars who had some success with a single called "Poor Little Doggie". Rogers was not the lead singer of the group and after two more singles they disbanded when their leader went solo.

Now on his own, Kenneth Rogers (as he was billed then) followed the break up with his own single, a minor solo hit called "That Crazy Feeling" (1958). After sales slowed down, Rogers joined a jazz group called The Bobby Doyle Trio, who got a lot of work in clubs thanks to a reasonable fan following and also recorded for Columbia Records. The group disbanded in 1965, and a 1966 jazzy rock single Rogers recorded for Mercury Records, called "Here's That Rainy Day" failed. Rogers also worked as a producer, writer and session musician for other performers; including country artists Mickey Gilley and Eddy Arnold. In 1966 he joined The New Christy Minstrels as a singer and double bass player.

Feeling that the Minstrels were not offering the success they wanted, Rogers and fellow members Mike Settle, Terry Williams and Thelma Camacho left the group. They formed The First Edition in 1967 (later renamed "Kenny Rogers and The First Edition"). They chalked up a string of hits on both the pop and country charts, including "Something's Burning", "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town", "Reuben James" and "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)". In his First Edition days, Rogers had something of a hippie image, with long brown hair, an earring, and pink sunglasses. Known affectionately in retrospect as "Hippie Kenny", Rogers had a much smoother vocal style than in his later career.

When the group split in 1976, Rogers launched his solo career. Rogers soon developed a more middle of the road sound, with a somewhat rough but tuneful voiced style that sold to both pop and country audiences; to date, he has charted more than 60 top 40 hit singles (including upwards of 25 #1's) and 50 of his albums have charted. His music has also been featured in top selling movie soundtracks, such as Convoy, Urban Cowboy and The Big Lebowski.

Solo career

After leaving The First Edition in 1976, after almost a decade with the group, Rogers signed a solo deal with United Artists. Although producer Larry Butler had no doubts about Rogers's talent, he was advised by several colleagues not to sign Rogers, who some saw as a has-been. Nevertheless, Butler and Rogers began a partnership that would last four years.

Rogers first outing for his new label was Love Lifted Me. The album charted and two singles "Love Lifted Me" and "While The Feeling's Good" were minor hits. The song "Runaway Girl" was featured in the motion picture Trackdown. Later in 1976, Rogers issued his second album, the self-titled Kenny Rogers, whose first single "Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)", was another solo hit.

However, the single "Lucille" (1977) was a major hit, reaching number one on the pop charts in 12 countries, selling over five million copies, and firmly establishing Rogers's post-First Edition career. On the strength of "Lucille", the album Kenny Rogers reached #1 in the Billboard Country Album Chart. More success was to follow, including the multi-million selling album The Gambler and another international Number 1 single, "Coward of the County", taken from the equally successful album, Kenny. In 1980, the Rogers/Butler partnership came to an end, though they would occasionally reunite: in 1987 on the album I Prefer The Moonlight and again in 1993 on the album If Only My Heart Had A Voice.

In the late 1970s, Rogers teamed up with close friend and country singer Dottie West for a series of albums and duets. Together the duo had three hit albums, selling out stadiums and arenas while on tour. Their hits together "Every Time Two Fools Collide", "Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" and "What Are We Doin' in Love" became Country standards. Of West, Rogers stated in a 1995 TNN interview "She, more than anybody else I ever worked with sang with such emotion that you actually believed what she sang." Rogers was with West when she died after sustaining injuries in a 1991 car accident. In 1995 he starred opposite Michele Lee in the CBS biopic .

In 1980, his duet with Kim Carnes "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer" became a major hit. Later in 1980 came his partnership with Lionel Richie who wrote and produced Rogers's #1 hit "Lady". Richie went on to write and produce Rogers's 1981 album Share Your Love, a chart topper and commercial favorite featuring hits such as "I Don't Need You" (Pop #3), "Through the Years" (Pop #13), and "Share Your Love with Me" (Pop #14). In 1982, Rogers released the album Love Will Turn You Around. The title track reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the country and AC charts. Shortly after he started working with producer David Foster in 1983 recording the smash Bob Seger cover "We've Got Tonight", a duet with Sheena Easton.

He went on to work with the Bee Gees to record and produce his 1983 hit album Eyes That See in the Dark, featuring the title track and yet another #1 hit "Islands in the Stream", a duet with Dolly Parton. The Gibbs originally wrote the song for Marvin Gaye in an R&B; style, only later to change it for the Kenny Rogers album. The partnership with Bee Gees only lasted one album, which was not a surprise considering that Rogers's original intentions were to work with Barry Gibb in only one song but Barry insisted on them doing the entire album.

"Islands in the Stream", the first single to be released from Eyes That See in the Dark in the United States, quickly went to #1 in the Billboard Hot 100. It was the last country single to reach #1 on that chart until "Amazed" by Lonestar did so in 2000. However, RCA insisted on releasing the title track as the first UK single, and the song stalled at a disappointing #61 there, although it did stay in the top 100 for several weeks (when it was eventually released in the US, it was more successful, charting high on the Adult Contemporary chart and making the country top 30). "Islands in the Stream" was issued as a follow up single in Britain and sold well, making #7. The album itself reached #1 on the country charts on both sides of the Atlantic and enjoyed multi-million sales. "Buried Treasure," "This Woman" and "Evening Star"/"Midsummer Nights" were also all successful singles from the album.

Shortly after came the album What About Me?, a hit whose title track, a trio performance with James Ingram and Kim Carnes, was nominated for a Grammy award; the single "Crazy" (not to be confused with the Willie Nelson-penned Patsy Cline hit) topped the country charts. David Foster was to work again with Rogers in his 1985 album The Heart of the Matter, although this time Foster was playing backing music rather than producing, a role given to George Martin. This album was another success, going to #1, with the title track making to the top ten category in the singles charts.

The next few years saw Rogers scoring several top country hits on a regular basis, including "Twenty Years Ago," "Morning Desire," "Tomb of the Unknown Love," among others. On 28 January 1985 Rogers was one of the 45 artists who recorded the worldwide charity song "We Are the World" to support hunger victims in Africa. The following year he played at Giants Stadium.

On January 1987, Rogers co-hosted the American Music Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. By 1988 to 1990, Rogers had In the 1990s Rogers continued to chart with singles such as "Crazy In Love", "If You Want To Find Love" and "The Greatest". From 1991 to 1994, Rogers hosted The Real West on A&E;, and on The History Channel since 1995 (Reruns only on The History Channel.). He also visited Miller's during this time period. From 1992 to 1995 Rogers co-owned and headlined Branson, Missouri’s 4,000 seat Grand Palace Theatre. In 1994, Rogers released his "dream" album titled Timepiece on Atlantic Records. It consisted of 30's and 40's jazz standards; it was the type of music he performed in his early days with The Bobby Doyle Three in Houston. In 1996 he released an album Vote For Love where the public requested their favorite love songs and Rogers performed the songs (several of his own hits were in there). The album was the first for the TV shopping channel QVC's record label, onQ Music. The album, sold exclusively by QVC, was a huge success and was later issued in stores under a variety of different titles. It reached #1 in the UK country charts under the title Love Songs (a title also used for various compilations) and also crossed over into the mainstream charts.

In 1999 Rogers scored with the single "The Greatest", a song about life from a child's point of view (looked at through a baseball game). The song reached the top 40 of Billboard's Country singles chart and was a Country Music Television Number One video. It was on Rogers's album She Rides Wild Horses the following year (itself a top 10 success). In 1999, Rogers also produced a song, "We've Got It All", specifically for the series finale of the ABC show Home Improvement. Not on any album, the recording sells for a high sum at auction.

Beyond the 1990s

In the 21st century, Rogers was back at #1 for the first time in more than a decade with the 2000 single "Buy Me a Rose", making him, at 61, the oldest artist in the history of country music to reach the chart summit. In doing so, he broke a 26-year-old record held by Hank Snow (who, in April 1974, was 59 years and 11 months old when he scored with "Hello Love"). Rogers held the record until 2003, when then 70-year-old Willie Nelson became the oldest artist to have a No. 1 on the country charts with his duet with Toby Keith, "Beer For My Horses."

Rogers also released the critically acclaimed album Back to the Well.

Although Rogers didn't record new albums for a couple of years, he continued to have success in many countries with more greatest hits packages. In 2004 42 Ultimate Hits, which was the first hits collection to span his days with the First Edition to the present, reached Number 6 on the American country charts and went gold. It also featured two new songs, "My World Is Over" with Whitney Duncan and "We Are the Same". "My World Is Over" was released as a single and was a minor hit. In 2005 The Very Best of Kenny Rogers, a double album, sold well in Europe. It was the first new solo Kenny Rogers hits album to reach the United Kingdom for over a decade, despite many compilations there that were not true hits packages.

Rogers also signed with Capitol Records and had more success with the TV advertised release 21 Number Ones in January 2006. Although this CD did contain 21 chart-toppers as the title claims (recorded between 1976 and the present day), this was not a complete collection of Rogers's #1 singles, omitting such singles as "Crazy in Love" and "What About Me?"

Much of his success was during the period from 1976 to 1983, when he was signed to United Artists and later Liberty. It is very rare for an artist of Rogers's age to be signed to a major label. Capitol followed 21 Number Ones with Rogers's new studio album, Water And Bridges, in March 2006 on the Capitol Nashville Records label. The first single from the album was "I Can't Unlove You" which peaked at #17 on the country charts, after spending over 6 months on the hit list, more than 50 years after he formed his first group and 38 years after his first major hit as leader of The First Edition; the song remains in recurrent airplay on some radio stations today. "I Can't Unlove You" was followed up with the second single from the album, "The Last Ten Years (Superman)", in September 2006. The third single, "Calling Me," which features Don Henley, became popular in early 2007, and was nominated for a Grammy Award at the 2007 Grammy Awards. Also in 2007, the 1977 "Kenny Rogers" album was re-issued as a double play CD, also featuring the 1979 "Kenny" album and this once again put Rogers's name into the sales charts worldwide. The following year, another compilation album ("A Love Song Collection") also charted. He currently lives in Atlanta.

In 2003, Rogers made a guest appearance in two episodes of Reno 911! as himself.

To date Rogers has recorded 65 albums and sold over 165 million records.

On August 26, 2008, Rogers released "50 Years" exclusively at Cracker Barrel stores. The album includes some of Rogers's greatest hits, plus 3 new songs. The release is designed to celebrate Rogers's 50th year in the music business. However, it should be noted Rogers has been in the music business for more than 50 years including his releases with The Scholars, who recorded for a local label in Houston. 1958 was the year he signed his first recording deal with a major label.

In 2008 Rogers toured with his very popular Christmas Show. However, he decided to split the show up, making the first half his "best of" and the second half consisted of his Christmas songs. One such show was at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT.

In 2009 he toured the UK, playing in Cardiff CIA (March 27)Birmingham NIA (28)Manchester MEN (29)Newcastle Arena (30)Plymouth Pavilions (April 1)Nottingham Concert Hall (2)London Hammersmith Apollo (3)Bournemouth BIC (4)with support band - Savannah Jack.

In 2009, Kenny embarked on his 50th Anniversary Tour. The tour went around the United States, Britain and Ireland. It will continue into 2010.

In 2010, Rogers and his long-time friend Dolly Parton are set to release a new album. They previously worked together on such songs as Islands in the Stream and Real Love.

On April 10, 2010, a TV special was taped, Kenny Rogers: The First 50 Years. Dolly Parton and Lionel Richie are among those set to perform with Kenny during a show celebrating his contribution to country, blues and pop music, It took place at the MGM Grand in Foxwoods, CT. To date, it has not been aired.

Outside music

Rogers also had success as an actor. His 1982 movie Six Pack, in which he played a race-car driver, took more than $20 million at the US box office, while made-for-TV movies such as The Gambler, Christmas in America, and Coward of the County (based on hit songs of his) topped ratings lists.

As an entrepreneur, he collaborated with former Kentucky Fried Chicken CEO John Y. Brown, Jr. in 1991 to start up the restaurant chain Kenny Rogers Roasters. The chicken and ribs chain, which is similar to Boston Market, was famously featured in an episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld called "The Chicken Roaster". On the November 27, 1997, broadcast of Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Rogers could not pick his chicken out in a taste test, claiming he preferred "greasy burgers."

Rogers and his restaurant were subjects of comedy from MADtv, especially the impersonation done by Will Sasso; the sketch of the faux-Rogers hosting Jackass became popular on the Internet. Sasso had him making noises such as "Ding Ding Ding Di da Ding Ding Ding" and getting sloppily drunk.

Rogers appeared in a 2004 episode of Reno 911 as himself being subjected to incompetent security provided by starstruck sheriff's deputies to comical effect. In this episode, Deputy Garcia, who is obsessed with Rogers, reveals that he thinks that Rogers should focus all of his effort on acting, and "give that singing thing a rest for a while," because Garcia believes that Rogers could win an Oscar. In order to "protect" Rogers the deputies take down all of the posters announcing his appearance in Reno, when he finds out he angrily berates the deputies and leaves. He is then promptly shot and wounded by an obsessed fan played by Patton Oswalt, though he is only superficially wounded, and asks for "mall security".

Rogers is also the inspiration behind the pop culture website menwholooklikekennyrogers.com . The site features close to a thousand photos of men who look like the real Rogers, as well as tips on how to look like Rogers, places to spot Rogers look-alikes, and even a Kenny of the Month and sells t-shirts and buttons.

Discography

Kenny Rogers is to headline the annual music festival Nevada Wild Fest in Henderson, Nevada.

Awards/Honors

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- ! Year ! Award ! Category |- | 2010 | American Eagle Award | American Eagle Award |- | 2009 | ACM Honors | Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award (w/ Jerry Reed, Randy Travis, Hank Williams Jr.) |- | 2007 | ASCAP Golden Note Award | ASCAP Golden Note Award |- | 2007 | CMT Music Awards | Album of the Year - Water & Bridges |- | 2005 | CMT Music Awards | Favorite All Time Country Duet - "Islands In the Stream" (w/ Dolly Parton) |- | 2004 | CMT's 100 Greatest Cheating Songs | "Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town"- #6 |- | 2003 | International Entertainment Buyers Association | Lifetime Achievement Award |- | 2003 | CMT's 100 Greatest Country Songs | "The Gambler" - #26 |- | 2002 | CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music | Ranking - #19 |- | 2000 | TNN Music Awards | Career Achievement Award |- | 1999 | BBC's Greatest Country Singer | Ranking - #2 |- | 1988 | Grammy Awards | Best Duo Country Vocal Performance - "Make No Mistake She's Mine" (w/ Ronnie Milsap) |- | 1986 | USA Today | Favorite Singer of All Time |- | 1985 | American Music Awards | Favorite Country Album - Eyes That See In the Dark |- | 1985 | American Music Awards | Favorite Male Country Artist |- | 1983 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Single of the Year - "Islands In the Stream" (w/ Dolly Parton) |- | 1983 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Vocal Duet - (w/ Dolly Parton) |- | 1983 | American Music Awards | Favorite Pop/Rock Country Artist |- | 1983 | American Music Awards | Favorite Country Single - "Love Will Turn You Around" |- | 1983 | ASAP Awards | Favorite Single - "Islands In the Stream" (w/ Dolly Parton) |- | 1982 | American Music Awards | Favorite Country Album - Greatest Hits |- | 1981 | American Music Awards | Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist |- | 1981 | American Music Awards | Favorite Country Album - The Gambler |- | 1981 | American Music Awards | Favorite Country Single - "Coward of the County" |- | 1980 | American Music Awards | Favorite Male Country Artist |- | 1980 | American Music Awards | Favorite Country Album - The Gambler |- | 1980 | Music City News Country | Single of the Year |- | 1979 | American Music Awards | Favorite Male Country Artist |- | 1979 | American Music Awards | Favorite Country Album - 10 Years of Gold |- | 1979 | Country Music Association Awards | Male Vocalist of the Year |- | 1979 | Country Music Association Awards | Vocal Duo of the Year - (w/ Dottie West) |- | 1979 | Country Music Association Awards | Album of the Year - The Gambler |- | 1979 | Music City News Country | Male Artist of the Year |- | 1979 | Music City News Country | Single of the Year - "The Gambler" |- | 1979 | Grammy Awards | Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "The Gambler" |- | 1978 | American Music Awards | Favorite Single - "Lucille" |- | 1978 | Country Music Association Awards | Vocal Duo of the Year - (w/ Dottie West) |- | 1978 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Entertainer of the Year |- | 1978 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Male Vocalist |- | 1977 | Country Music Association Awards | Single of the Year - "Lucille" |- | 1977 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Male Vocalist |- | 1977 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Single of the Year - "Lucille" |- | 1977 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Song of the Year - "Lucille" |- | 1977 | Grammy Awards | Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "Lucille" |}

Record labels

The following is a list of record labels to which Rogers signed:

Cue (1957, with the band The Scholars and also as a solo singer)

Carlton (1958, solo deal)

KenLee (one single, label owned by Rogers and his brother Lelan)

Columbia (1960s, with jazz combo, The Bobby Doyle Three)

Reprise (1967, with The First Edition, all material recorded during this time has since been acquired by Universal Music)

Jolly Rogers (1973, with The First Edition, label was owned by Rogers)

United Artists (1975, solo deal)

Liberty (1980, United Artists merged into EMI/Capitol in 1980; some pressings of albums were issued on Capitol's imprint labels, EMI, EMI America, and EMI Manhattan.)

RCA (1983, solo deal)

Reprise (1989, solo deal)

Giant (1993, one solo album)

Atlantic (1994, one solo album)

onQ Music (1996, one solo album; onQ Music was created by the QVC Network to release exclusive albums for sale only on QVC. The first onQ release was Rogers's Vote for Love, a two-disc set that would later become available in standard retail stores.)

Magnatone (1996, solo deal)

Dreamcatcher (1998, solo deal; Dreamcatcher was owned and run by Rogers and Jim Mazza for the purpose of releasing Rogers albums and certain reissues of Rogers's catalog. Other artists such as Marshall Dyllon and Randy Dorman were released on Dreamcatcher Records, also. The label closed in 2004)

Capitol Nashville (2004, solo deal)

See also

Brady Hawkes

References

External links

Official website

delafont.com profile

[ Allmusic.com profile]

CMT.com profile

Kenny Rogers's Classic Weekend 1988

Goldsmith, Thomas. (1998). "Kenny Rogers". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 455–6.

Category:1938 births Category:American country singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American male singers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Houston, Texas Category:University of Houston alumni Category:The First Edition members Category:United Artists Records artists

Name	Dolly Rebecca Parton
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Dolly Rebecca Parton
Born	January 19, 1946
Birth place	Sevierville, Tennessee
Genre	Country, country pop, bluegrass
Voice type	Soprano) is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best-known for her work in country music.
- style	"text-align:center;"
- style	"text-align:center;"
|- style	"text-align:center;"
- style	"text-align:center;"

Further reading

. . .

External links

dollypartonmusic.net, (official music website)

dollyparton.com, (official website - not fully launched as of December 23, 2009 and requires Adobe Flash)

(UK Website run by Uberfan Joe Skelly)

"Dolly Parton", inductee page at countrymusichalloffame.com Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's official website

"Dolly Parton" biography at legacyrecordings.com, Legacy Recordings's official website

"Dolly Parton – Interview", posted November 18, 2008, at countrymusicpride.com

"A Conversation with Singer and Actress Dolly Parton", a June 5, 2009, video interview (requires Adobe Flash) from the Charlie Rose (talk show), a PBS television program, at charlierose.com, Rose's official website

Dolly Parton video interview from the talk show 'Parkinson' at BBC

Category:American buskers Category:American entertainment industry businesspeople Category:American country singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American female singers Category:American female guitarists Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:American memoirists Category:Appalachian culture Category:American Pentecostals Category:American philanthropists Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Musicians from Tennessee Category:People from Sevier County, Tennessee Category:American people of Scotch-Irish descent Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:1946 births Category:American television personalities Category:American sopranos Category:Living people Category:American musical theatre composers Category:American musical theatre lyricists

Name	David Gilmour
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	David Jon Gilmour
Alias	Dave Gilmour
Born	March 06, 1946Cambridge, England
Instrument	Guitar, vocals, steel guitar, bass, keyboards, synthesizer, saxophone, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, drums, talk box, percussion, programming, cümbüş
Genre	Rock, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, art rock, blues rock
Occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, producer
Years active	1963–present
Label	Capitol, Columbia, Sony, EMI
Associated acts	Pink Floyd, Joker's Wild, Deep End
Url	DavidGilmour.com
Notable instruments	Fender StratocasterFender TelecasterGibson Les PaulGretsch White Falcon

David Jon Gilmour, CBE (born 6 March 1946) is an English rock musician, best known as the lead guitarist, one of the lead singers and one of the main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of artists, and has enjoyed a successful career as a solo artist. Gilmour has been actively involved with many charities over the course of his career. In 2003, he was appointed CBE for services to music and philanthropy and was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution title at the 2008 Q Awards. Rolling Stone has described him as "one of rock's most distinctive guitarists".

Early life

Gilmour was born in Cambridge, England. His father, Douglas Gilmour, was a senior lecturer in zoology at the University of Cambridge and his mother, Sylvia (née Wilson), was a teacher and film editor who raised her family at Grantchester Meadows, later immortalised by a Roger Waters song on Pink Floyd's Ummagumma. He has a younger brother who is also a musician.

Gilmour attended The Perse School on Hills Road, Cambridge, and met future Pink Floyd guitarist and vocalist Syd Barrett, along with bassist and vocalist Roger Waters who attended Cambridgeshire High School for Boys, also situated on Hills Road. He studied modern languages to A-Level, and along with Barrett, spent his lunchtime learning to play the guitar. They were not yet bandmates however, and Gilmour started playing in the band Joker's Wild in 1962. Gilmour left Joker's Wild in 1966 and busked around Spain and France with some friends. However, they were not very successful, living virtually a hand-to-mouth existence. In July 1992, Gilmour stated in an interview with Nicky Horne on BBC radio that he ended up being treated for malnutrition in a hospital. In 1967, they returned to England.

Pink Floyd

Gilmour was approached in late December 1967 by drummer Nick Mason, who asked if he would be interested in joining Pink Floyd, which he did in January 1968, making Pink Floyd briefly a five-piece band. He filled in for Syd Barrett's guitar parts when the frontman was unable to take a consistent part in Floyd's live performances. When Syd Barrett "left" the group (due to his erratic behaviour, commonly believed to have been caused by excessive use of LSD) the band chose not to pick Barrett up one night for a gig, and Gilmour by default assumed the role of the band's lead guitarist and took over most of the band's lead vocal duties with bassist Roger Waters and keyboard player Richard Wright also occasionally singing in Barrett's stead. However, after the back-to-back successes of The Dark Side of the Moon and then Wish You Were Here, Waters took more control over the band, writing most of Animals and The Wall by himself. Wright was fired during The Wall sessions and the relationship between Gilmour and Waters would further deteriorate during the making of The Wall film and the 1983 Pink Floyd album The Final Cut.

After recording Animals, Gilmour thought that his musical influence had been underused, and channelled his ideas into his self-titled first solo album (1978), which showcases his signature guitar style, as well as underscoring his songwriting skills. A tune written during the finishing stages of this album, but too late to be used, became "Comfortably Numb" on The Wall.

The negative atmosphere surrounding the creation of The Wall album and subsequent film, compounded by The Final Cuts virtually being a Roger Waters solo album, led Gilmour to produce his second solo album About Face in 1984. When he returned from touring, Gilmour played guitar with a range of artists, and also produced The Dream Academy, who had a top ten hit with "Life in a Northern Town".

In 1985, Waters declared that Pink Floyd was "a spent force creatively". Gilmour donated all of his resulting profits to charities that reflect the goals of Live 8 saying:

Shortly after, he called upon all artists experiencing a surge in sales from Live 8 performances to donate the extra revenue to Live 8 fund-raising. After the Live 8 concert, Pink Floyd were offered £150 million to tour the United States, but the band turned down the offer.

On 3 February 2006, he announced in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that Pink Floyd would most likely never tour or write material together again. He said:

He said that by agreeing to Live 8, he had ensured the story of Floyd would not end on a sour note.

On 20 February 2006, Gilmour commented again on Pink Floyd's future when he was interviewed by Billboard.com, stating, "Who knows? I have no plans at all to do that. My plans are to do my concerts and put my solo record out."

In December 2006, Gilmour released a tribute to Syd Barrett, who had died on 7 July of that year, in the form of his own version of Pink Floyd's first single "Arnold Layne".

Since their Live 8 appearance in 2005, Gilmour has repeatedly said that there will be no Pink Floyd reunion. With the death of Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright in September 2008,

Other projects

in 1984, on his About Face tour]] Taking time off from Pink Floyd's schedule, Gilmour also took up various roles as a producer, sideman and even concert sound engineer

He has also recorded four solo albums, all four of which charted in the U.S. Top 40 (2006's On an Island peaked at #6 in 2006, 2008's Live in Gdansk peaked at #26, his 1978 self-titled solo debut peaked at #29 in 1978 and 1984's About Face peaked at #32 in 1984).

In 1994, Gilmour played guitar for the video game Tuneland, along with the additional saxophonist for Pink Floyd, Scott Page.

In 2001 and 2002, he held a small number of acoustic solo concerts in London and Paris, along with a small band and choir, which was documented on the In Concert release.

On 24 September 2004, Gilmour performed a three song set (tracks 28-30) at The Strat Pack concert at London's Wembley Arena, marking the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster guitar.

On 6 March 2006, his 60^th birthday, he released his third solo album, On an Island, The album reached the top five in Germany and Sweden, and the top six in Billboard 200. Produced by Gilmour along with Phil Manzanera and Chris Thomas, the album features orchestrations by renowned Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner. was released on 17 September 2007.

On 4 July 2009, he joined his friend Jeff Beck onstage at the Royal Albert Hall. David and Jeff traded solos on Jerusalem and closed the show with Hi Ho Silver Lining.

A video was also posted on-line.

On 11 July 2010, Gilmour gave a performance for the charity Hoping Foundation with Roger Waters in Oxfordshire, England. Also performing were Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Nick Cage and Tom Jones. The performance was presented by Jemima Khan and Nigella Lawson. According to onlookers, it seemed clear that Gilmour and Waters had ended the their long-running feud and seemed to be the best of friends, laughing and joking together along with their respective partners. Waters has confirmed via his Facebook page that Gilmour will play Comfortably Numb with him for one of his shows on his upcoming The Wall Live.

Gilmour has worked with The Orb for their forthcoming album "Metallic Spheres".

Musical style

Gilmour is best known for his lead guitar work. Gilmour's solo style is often characterised by blues-influenced phrasing, expressive note bends and sustain. In 2005, Gilmour was rated the 82nd greatest guitarist by Rolling Stone. In January 2007, Guitar World readers voted Gilmour's solos, "Comfortably Numb", "Time" and "Money" into the top 100 Greatest Guitar Solos ("Comfortably Numb" was voted the 4th greatest solo of all time, "Time" was voted the 21st greatest solo of all time and "Money" was voted the 62nd greatest solo of all time).

In his early career with Pink Floyd, Gilmour played a multitude of Fender Stratocasters. One of his popular guitar solos ("Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2") was played on a Gibson Les Paul Gold Top guitar equipped with Bigsby tremolo bar and P-90 pick-ups. In 1996, Gilmour was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. Gilmour's solo on "Comfortably Numb" was voted as one of the greatest guitar solos of all time in several polls by listeners and critics.

Although mainly known for his guitar work, Gilmour is also a proficient multi-instrumentalist. He also plays bass guitar (which he did on some Pink Floyd tracks),

Personal life

Gilmour's first marriage was to American-born Virginia "Ginger" Hasenbein and he had four children from this union, Alice (born 1976), Clare (born 1979), Sara (born 1983), and Matthew (born 1986). The children originally attended a Waldorf School, but Gilmour called their education there "horrific". In 1994, he married Polly Samson, and the couple have four children, Charlie (Samson's son with Heathcote Williams), whom Gilmour adopted, Joe, Gabriel and Romany. Charlie's voice can be heard on the telephone to Steve O'Rourke, at the end of "High Hopes" (The Division Bell).

Gilmour has been associated with various charity organisations. In May 2003, Gilmour sold his house in Little Venice to the ninth Earl Spencer and donated the proceeds worth £3.6 million to Crisis to help fund a housing project for the homeless. Apart from Crisis, other Charities to which Gilmour has lent support include Oxfam, the European Union Mental Health and Illness Association, Greenpeace, Amnesty International,}}

On 22 May 2008, Gilmour won the 2008 Ivor Novello Lifetime Contribution Award

Later, he was awarded for outstanding contribution for music by the Q Awards. He dedicated his award to his recently departed bandmate Richard Wright.

Main musical equipment

with Pink Floyd, Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany, 26 January 1977]]

The following is a list of equipment Gilmour either has used on his solo or Pink Floyd records and tours.

Guitars

Fender

*Stratocaster

*His main guitar, much modified over the years, is a (1969) 3-colour Sunburst Fender Stratocaster painted over with black as well with a black pickguard and white-coloured pick-up covers and knobs, currently with a vintage 1957 reissue "C shape" maple neck. This neck came from his guitar that he used on the About Face tour. It also includes a small toggle switch that combines the neck and bridge pick-ups (Note this guitar was for brief time fitted with a Kahler locking tremolo system, the system was subsequently un-installed and the removed wood filled with a replacement piece of timber and repainted to match as can be noted by close examination of the guitar behind its reinstalled Fender tremolo). This guitar has a Seymour Duncan SSL-1 bridge pick-up, and currently has a strap which once belonged to Jimi Hendrix.

**His main guitar for the post-Roger Waters era Pink Floyd tours in support of A Momentary Lapse of Reason, Delicate Sound of Thunder (dubbed "Another Lapse") and The Division Bell was a Candy Apple Red '57 reissue (made in 1984) fitted with a set of EMG SA active pick-ups with the two standard tone controls replaced with an EMG SPC mid boost control, and an EXG treble/bass expander (which cuts the mids while boosting bass and treble). On the On an Island tour it was used every night of the tour on "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".

**Gilmour is the owner of Strat #0001. However, this is not the first Stratocaster ever made, but the first to be given a serial number. It was last seen at the Strat Pack Concert in Wembley Arena in 2004. The Black Strat was finally brought out of retirement by David in 2005 and fitted with a new Charvel neck for the Pink Floyd reunion at the Live 8 concert. David subsequently used it again for his "On An Island" tour in 2006.

**Cream coloured '57 reissue. Used at 1984 solo tour and at the early parts of the 1987-1990 tour. In the 1994 tour it was used as spare guitar. Tim Renwick played it with David and the rest of Pink Floyd at their Live 8 set. This Strat was fitted with the same EMG set of pick-ups and tone circuits as the aforementioned Candy Apple Red '57 reissue and after its use at Live 8, the cream finished guitar's neck was transferred to David's main Black Strat.

**'57 Lake Placid Blue. (Serial number #0040). Used at The Wall sessions.

**Double-neck Stratocaster (body was custom made by guitar builder Dick Knight, but the necks were Fender Strat necks. Used live (1970–72).

**Sunburst Stratocaster. '63 rosewood neck with '59 body. This guitar was given to David by Steve Marriott of Humble Pie and the Small Faces, and though David didn't like the guitar enough to use it very long, he preferred the neck to the original one on his black Strat and switched the two. The sunburst Strat was used as his spare and slide guitar in subsequent years (sporting the maple cap neck with a large headstock from the black Strat), and the rosewood neck remained on the black Strat until 1978.

*White with white pickguard. Used in the late 1960s. Received as a gift from the rest of the band. Stolen in equipment heist in 1970.

**Gilmour also used a Strat equipped with the Doug Wilkes 'Answer' sliding pick-up system on the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' recording.

**Doug Wilkes also built Gilmour a Precision-style single pick-up bass, which was also used on the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' sessions.

*Telecaster

**Blonde body with white pickguard. Used on the On an Island tour.

**'52 Butterscotch Reissues with black pickguard. Used between 1987 and 1995. The first guitar was tuned in Dropped D rather than a standard tuning and was used for "Run Like Hell". The second served as a backup instrument and had a regular guitar tuning. Gilmour used this guitar for Astronomy Domine.

**'59 Custom Telecaster with sunburst ash body, white binding on the body, rosewood fingerboard, and a white pickguard. There was a Gibson Humbucker placed in the Neck position at a brief point but was removed before it was used on the Animals' recording sessions. Last seen on rehearsals during the On an Island tour.

**'61 Telecaster used during The Wall recording sessions. Also used live in post-Waters era for "Run Like Hell". Last seen on the Syd Barrett memory concert in 2007.

**1960s brown-faded body. Used in the late 1960s.

*1960s blonde ash body with white pickguard. His main guitar during his first year with Pink Floyd, which was lost by an airline company in 1968, and prompted Gilmour to buy the brown-faded Telecaster.

*Esquire '55 Sunburst body a.k.a. "The workmate Tele". Neck pick-up added. Used at the recording sessions for his first solo album, The Wall recording session and the following tour. Also seen when performing with Paul McCartney in the late 1990s.

*Steel guitars

*1950's Fender 1000 twin neck pedal steel guitar. Used in the early 1970s, purchased from a pawn shop while Gilmour was in Seattle in 1970. Used during recording of "One of These Days" from "Meddle" and "Breathe" and "Great Gig in the Sky" from The Dark Side of the Moon.

*Fender Deluxe lap steel guitar. First time seen during The Division Bell tour in 1994.

Gretsch

*Duo-Jet

*Gretsch White Falcon

Bill Lewis 24-fret Guitar. Used at Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon recording sessions.

Ovation.

Ovation Legend 1619-4 steel string & high string guitars. Used during The Wall recording sessions.

Ovation Magnum bass guitar. Used during The Wall recording sessions. Both guitars are based on extensive measurements of the original instrument, each featuring varying degrees of wear. The most expensive will be the David Gilmour Relic Stratocaster which features the closest copy of wear on the original guitar. A pristine copy of the guitar will also be made, called the David Gilmour NOS Stratocaster. Both guitars feature:

Vintage Style Frets

Black Dot Position Inlays (Narrow Spacing)

American Vintage Synchronized Tremolo with Custom Beveled Tremolo Block

White Tremolo Back Cover

Shortened Tremolo Arm

Fender/Gotoh Vintage Style Tuning Machines

Nickel/Chrome Hardware

1 Ply Beveled Black Acrylic Pickguard (11 Hole)

Aged White Plastic Parts & Knobs

One Master Volume Knob

Two Tone Knobs (one for neck and the other for the bridge pick-up instead of standard neck and middle controls.)

custom "neck on" switch to allow for turning on the neck and bridge pick-ups in combination

Five Position Pickup Selector Switch

Fender Custom Shop Fat '50 Neck Pickup & '69 Middle Pickup

Seymour Duncan SSL-5 (or SSL-1 for more Vintage Style) Pickup

HIWATT Signature Amplifiers

DG-103: Gilmour's earliest amp setup with Pink Floyd consisted of a Selmer 50-watt head with a 4x12 speaker cabinet. By 1970, he found his signature sound with a stack made of Hiwatt 100-watt heads with WEM 4x12 cabinets. The Hiwatt/WEM combination can be heard on Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon. This amp is designed to the same specifications as the one originally used by Dave Gilmour. It is based on the Hiwatt Custom 100 head but with special modifications as originally commissioned by Gilmour. A normal input, a brill input and also a special linked input where the gain of each channel can be dialled in to suit. Bass, Treble, Presence and Master volume controls. 4xEL34s, 4xECC83s. Original Partridge design transformers. 100W output.

DG-504: Based on the Custom 50 head, but with special modifications as commissioned by Gilmour, the DG-504 adds a bit of modern sophistication to the classic performance amplifier. In addition to the Bass, Treble, Presence and Master Volume controls, the DG-504 uses a specially linked input system, where the gain of each channel can be altered. Built using Partridge transformers, 4 x ECC-83 tubes in the preamp section, 2 x EL-34 tubes in the power stage, it is rated at 50 watts output, with switchable 4, 8 & 16 ohms impedance. Internally there is point-to-point hand-wiring, turret tag boards (no printed circuits), and hand-laced wiring harnesses. The power and output transformers are manufactured by Partridge, the original 1970s supplier to the original design sheets. The components and wires are the modern available equivalents of the vintage components, 1-watt carbon resistors, and wound polyester capacitors being used throughout.

DG-212: Available with the same features as the HIWATT Custom 50, but with internal linked-input system as specified by Gilmour. Dual 12" Fane speakers, two EL-34 tubes in the power stage, 4 x ECC-83 tubes in the preamp. Adjustable 4, 8 & 16 ohm output impedance.

Discography

Pink Floyd

A Saucerful of Secrets – 29 June 1968.

More – 27 July 1969.

''Ummagumma – 25 October 1969.

Atom Heart Mother – 10 October 1970.

Meddle – 30 October 1971.

''Obscured by Clouds – 3 June 1972.

The Dark Side of the Moon – 17 March 1973.

Wish You Were Here – 15 September 1975.

Animals – 23 January 1977.

The Wall – 30 November 1979.

The Final Cut – 21 March 1983.

A Momentary Lapse of Reason – 8 September 1987.

Delicate Sound of Thunder – 22 November 1988.

The Division Bell – 30 March 1994.

P•U•L•S•E – 29 May 1995.

:''For the full discography, see Pink Floyd discography.

Solo

Albums

Soundtracks

, Documentary - 1994

Singles

"There's No Way Out of Here", 1978

"Blue Light", March, 1984

"Love on the Air", May, 1984

"On an Island", 6 March 2006

"Smile", 13 June 2006

"Arnold Layne" (Live) 26 December 2006

Filmography

David Gilmour Live 1984 (VHS) – September 1984

David Gilmour in Concert (DVD) – October 2002

Remember That Night (DVD/BD) – September 2007

Live in Gdańsk (DVD) – September 2008

Collaborations and work for other artists

References

;Bibliography

External links

Official website

Official blog

The Tone From Heaven: A look into the effects used by David Gilmour

Gilmourish: The most comprehensive guide to all the equipment used on every album and tour

Audio interview with David Gilmour

David Gilmour's studio , Astoria, features in a video interview with his recording engineer, Andy Jackson

David Gilmour Interview 11.9.2008, about the Live in Gdansk Album, his Tour in 2006, the On An Island Album and more ...

Category:1946 births Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:Pink Floyd members Category:English guitarists Category:English male singers Category:English multi-instrumentalists Category:English rock guitarists Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English songwriters Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Slide guitarists Category:Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University Category:Old Perseans Category:English philanthropists Category:People from Cambridge Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Lead guitarists Category:Music from Cambridge Category:Weissenborn players

Name	Akon
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Badara Akon Thiam
Born	April 16, 1973St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Origin	Dakar, Senegal
Genre	R&B;, hip hop, pop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, record producer
Years active	1996–present
Label	Universal, SRC, Konvict, UpFront, Kon Live
Associated acts	T-Pain, Kardinal Offishall, Colby O'Donis, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Sway DaSafo, Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie
Url

Akon (born Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Badara Akon Thiam), (), (born April 16, 1973) is a Senegalese-American R&B; singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and businessman.

He grosses over 30 million dollars a year according to Forbes. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first single from his debut album Trouble. His second album, Konvicted, earned him a Grammy Award nomination of the single "Smack That". He has since founded two record labels, Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution.

Akon often sings hooks for other artists and is currently credited with over 300 guest appearances and 45 Billboard Hot 100 songs. He has worked with numerous performers such as Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, Quincy Jones, Eminem and Whitney Houston. He is the first solo artist to hold both the number one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 charts twice. He has had 6 Grammy Awards nominations and has produced many hits for artists such as Lady Gaga, Colby O'Donis and Leona Lewis. Lady Gaga and T-Pain are two artists who were given their chance at fame by Akon. He has also released a song called "Beautiful" featuring Colby O'Donis and Kardinal Offishall which is in his hit album named Freedom which he released in 2008 and also "Right Now (Na Na Na)" in the same album.

Early life

As the son of Senegalese percussionist Mor Thiam, Akon was raised in a musical setting and taught to play several instruments including the djembe. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S., so that he would not have to go through the immigration process. However, Akon lived in Dakar, Senegal, splitting time between America and Senegal until he was in high school, when he settled permanently in Newark, NJ.

Akon has claimed in interviews that his full name is Aliaune Damala Akon Thiam and he is Muslim, he has never drunk alcohol or smoked due to his faith, although there is some ambiguity and debate about Akon's legal name and birth date. Akon is usually credited as Aliaune Thiam. In addition to the longer form, Akon's full name has been reported both as Aliaune Badara Thiam and Alioune Badara Thiam and About.com claims that this middle name has never been independently verified.

In regards to his birth date, Akon is very protective of it, which is the reason many media outlets have reported incorrect dates. However, legal documents released by The Smoking Gun list Akon's name as Aliaune Damala Thiam and his date of birth as April 16, 1973.

Music career

2003–05: Discovery and Trouble

Akon's alleged three years in jail saw him begin to recognize his music abilities and develop an appreciation for his musical background. Music mogul Devyne Stephens, president of Upfront Megatainment first heard about Akon when the rapper Lil' Zane brought him along to Stephens' rehearsal hall, a place that at the time saw talents such as Usher and TLC being developed. The relationship between Stephens and Akon began as a friendship and mentorship, with the young artist regularly stopping by to ask for advice, but when Akon lost his deal with Elektra Stephens signed him to his production company and began grooming him professionally. The songs Akon recorded with Stephens were brought to the attention of Universal's imprint SRC Records.

In 2005, he released the single "Lonely" (which samples Bobby Vinton's "Mr. Lonely"). The song reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the charts in Australia, the UK and Germany. His album also climbed to number one in the UK in April, 2005. When music channel The Box had a top ten weekly chart, which was calculated by the amount of video requests, Akon's "Lonely" became the longest running single on the top of the chart, spanning over fifteen weeks. Akon then released another single featuring with a New Zealand rapper, Savage with the single Moonshine, which had become a success in both New Zealand and Australia, becoming number one in the New Zealand charts. In 2005, He made his first critically acclaimed guest appearance on Young Jeezy's debut album, , with the song "Soul Survivor." In December the same year his manager, Robert Montanez was killed in a shooting after a dispute in New Jersey.

2006–07: Konvicted

Akon's second album, Konvicted was released on November 14, 2006. It included collaborations with Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Styles P. The first single "Smack That" featuring Eminem was released in August 2006 and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks. "I Wanna Love You," (featuring Snoop Dogg) was the second single released in September, it would go on to earn Akon his first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, and Snoop's second. "I Wanna Love You" topped the U.S. charts for two consecutive weeks. In January 2007, a third single "Don't Matter" which earned him his first solo number one and second consecutive Hot 100 chart topper was released. "Mama Africa" was released as a European single in July 2007, making it the fourth overall single from the album reaching just 47 in the UK. To coincide with the release of the Platinum (deluxe) edition of the album "Sorry, Blame It on Me" was the album's fifth single, debuted in August 2007 on the Hot 100 at number seven. The deluxe version was fully released on August 28, 2007. The final single was confirmed by Akon to be "Never Took the Time." Konvicted debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 286,000 copies in its first week. After only six weeks, Konvicted sold more than one million records in the U.S. and more than 1.3 million worldwide. The album was certified platinum after seven weeks, and after sixteen weeks it was certified double platinum. It stayed in the top twenty of the Billboard 200 for 28 consecutive weeks and peaked at number two on four different occasions. On November 20, 2007, the RIAA certified the album ‘triple platinum’ with 3 million units sold in the US. It has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide.

On October 5, 2006, Akon broke a record on the Hot 100, as he achieved the largest climb in the chart's 48-year-history with "Smack That" jumping from number 95 to 7. The leap was fueled by its number six debut on Hot Digital Songs with 67,000 downloads. The record has since been broken several times. In December 2006, Akon's "Smack That" was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to Justin Timberlake and T.I.'s "My Love".

2008–09: Freedom

Akon released his new album Freedom on December 2, which spawned four singles: "Right Now (Na Na Na)", "I'm So Paid" (featuring Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy), "Beautiful" (featuring Kardinal Offishall and Colby O'Donis) and "We Don't Care". "We Don't Care" has failed to chart significantly in many countries, only reaching 61 in the UK and 91 in Australia. After the unexpected death of The King Of Pop Michael Jackson, who Akon was working with in Jackson's last years, Akon released a tribute song called "Cry Out Of Joy". Akon & Michael Jackson were close friends near the end of Jackson's life.

Speaking of his relationship with Michael Jackson to noted UK R&B; writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning 'Blues & Soul' in October 2008, Akon stated: "Mike is the King Of Pop, and I think that it's a dream come true for ANY major artist/songwriter/producer to be able to work with the best in the business! You know, to work with someone like Mike – who's created opportunities, opened doors for so many people, and achieved so much in the music world, period – is just an experience which would be enough to take home for ANYONE! I mean, when I first flew up to Vegas and met him it was almost like we'd known each other for YEARS! LITERALLY! 'Cause musically we were on the same exact page! The chemistry was just INCREDIBLE! And, as a person, he was the most cool, humble dude I've ever met! I mean, we even actually got to go to the movies together – in broad daylight! Which was an experience in itself!"

David Guetta collaborated with Akon in Sexy Bitch, a first house track by Akon, and has been a "summer anthem" across the globe. Reaching #1 in more than 6 countries, and charting at 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 , it is featured on Guetta's One Love album. Which has made it his 19th Top 20 hit worldwide.

2010–present: Akonic

It was announced in late 2009 that Akon's fourth studio album, Akonic, was set for release in the first quarter of 2010. However, following managerial commitments to other artists, work on the album has not been completed. It was suggested that this would push the album's release back to 2011. However, this was proven false as the album will actually be released on November 29, 2010. Akon had also stated that the title of the album may change between now and that time, since originally it was titled "Stadium Music" or "Stadium". Two tracks from the album have been leaked onto the web - "Nosy Neighbour", which was suggested for the lead single, and "Party Animal", both of which have been produced by David Guetta. The album's lead single, "Angel", was released to US radio stations on September 14, 2010. and was released as a single on September 27, 2010.

Featured projects

In 2006, Akon started his new record label Kon Live Distribution under Interscope Records. His first signed artist was Ray Lavender.

He was featured on Gwen Stefani's latest album, The Sweet Escape. He made an appearance on the title track and second single, "The Sweet Escape." Akon produced the song. On December 10, 2006, Akon and Stefani appeared as musical guests on Saturday Night Live, however they did not perform the song as Stefani had not yet learned the lyrics. He performed the song live, however, on American Idol on March 28, 2007 due to Gwen Stefani's appearance as a coach the night before. "The Sweet Escape" has reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Akon collaborated with Chamillionaire on his mixtape, Mixtape Messiah 2, featuring on the track “Ridin' Overseas” which he also produced. The mixtape was available for download on Chamillionaire's website from December 24, 2006.

In 2006, after their 2005 Akon-produced single, "Soul Survivor," the duo of Akon and Young Jeezy said that there is a lot more to expect from them in the future. The pair announced there are currently plans for a collaborative album. Akon also appeared on Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's album Strength and Loyalty and Three 6 Mafia's eighth studio album, Last 2 Walk, We The Best by DJ Khaled, Fabolous's album, From Nothin' to Somethin', with 50 Cent on some tracks for Curtis, T.I.'s 5th album, T.I. vs. T.I.P., Mario's third solo album Go!, and produced with Daddy Yankee" in the song called "Bring It On" on the album called which was released on June 5, 2007.

On July 7, 2007 Akon performed at the American leg of Live Earth.

In November 2007, Akon recorded a remix of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" with Michael Jackson. In February 2008, the remix was released on the 25th anniversary rerelease of Michael Jackson's Thriller. Akon produced the track entitled "Echo" on Latin Boy band Menudo's latest album, released in the spring of 2008.

‘Konvict Music’ would be responsible for the re-release of Kat Deluna’s debut album 9 Lives (album) which would feature Akon on the single "Am I Dreaming."

In July 2008 a song called "Hold My Hand" circulated the internet. The song is an R&B; duet/collaboration between Michael Jackson and Akon, composed by Claude Kelly. There also exists another version featuring only Akon. It was not included in the track list for Freedom as Akon previously stated. During an interview with Tavis Smiley, Akon said that Jackson had planned on a high-profile release including a music video until the track had leaked. This is Jackson's last known song before he died on June 25, 2009. Recently, Akon has finished work on the song and it will included on the upcoming posthumous album, Michael. The song itself was released as a single on November 15, 2010.

Akon was also the executive producer of Kardinal Offishall's fourth solo album Not 4 Sale, released September 9, 2008. The promo single "Graveyard Shift" features Akon as does the first single "Dangerous", which peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, and won the award for Single of the Year at the 2009 Juno Awards.

Akon co-wrote and recorded "Put It on My Tab" with New Kids on the Block for their 2008 reunion album The Block.

Akon co-wrote and produced Leona Lewis' hit record Forgive Me, off her debut album Spirit.

He is currently working with X Factor 2008 winner Alexandra Burke on her upcoming debut album.

Akon co-wrote Kon Live artist Lady Gaga's worldwide hit "Just Dance", which also featured Colby O'Donis, and which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording at the 51st Grammy Awards.

Flo Rida’s new album R.O.O.T.S. features Akon on the track “Available”.

Akon has recorded a song with E-40 titled "Wake It Up" for E-40's album, The Ball Street Journal. Akon experiments with the auto-tune effect in the song.

Rap singer Nelly confirmed that Akon, Pharrell, and T-Pain have talked about forming a rap supergroup in 2009. Akon and Konvict Muzik are also producing hip hop/rock group Flipsyde's 2009 release, State of Survival, which will be released via Kon Live Distribution and Cherrytree Records. Akon worked with Whitney Houston for her 2009 comeback album I Look to You. He appears on the track "Like I Never Left".

In May 2009, Akon collaborated with Taiwanese artist 潘瑋柏 (Wilber Pan) and released another version of the song, Be With You.

Akon worked with bachata group Aventura and Reggaeton duo Wisin y Yandel on All Up 2 You the second single from Aventura's album The Last that dropped in June. The song received two nominations at the Premios Lo Nuestro 2010 for "Urban Song of the Year" and "Video Collaboration of the Year".

Akon recently signed Jayko, a Hispanic R&B; and Reggaeton artist, to his label and is working with him on his debut album titled "Marcando Territorio"

Sexy Bitch was released in July 2009, a collaboration with French DJ David Guetta.

In August 2009, Akon released another version of Beautiful featuring BoA, a popular and legendary Korean singer. However, this version was for the Japanese market.

Akon also sang in a song with Colby O'Donis called "What You Got".

In 2009 Akon collaborated with Pitbull on the single "Shut It Down" from the album "Rebelution".

Akon worked to help Matisyahu remix his single "One Day" on his album Light.

In 2010 Akon collaborated with up and coming pop singer JRandall on a song entitled ''oo la la" which premiered on JustJared.com on October 6.

In 2010 he is one of over 70 artists singing on "", a charity single in aid of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. He also entered into the Indian market, working with composers Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani on the soundtrack to the Bollywood action film Ra.One.

Akon co-produced Natalia Kills' first single, Mirrors, from her forthcoming debut album, Perfectionist.

Other ventures

Television and film

Akon has confirmed that a reality television show is in the works. It will be called "My Brother's Keeper" and the point is that Akon's two nearly identical brothers will go around in Atlanta posing as him fooling people into thinking that it is in fact Akon. They will try to get VIP treatment, girls and free things. Akon has claimed that people have mistaken his brothers for him many times in Atlanta which is what the show is based on.

Akon is planning to work on a full-length movie titled Illegal Alien. The film is based on some of the events of his life and actor Mekhi Phifer is set to play him. Besides Akon confirmed in August 2007, in the interview with Polish website INTERIA.PL, that he works on a movie "Cocaine Cowboys," which tells the story of Jon Roberts, the main pilot of Medellin Cartel (Colombian drug traffickers). He was also featured on a Verizon Wireless commercial and singing Snitch along with Obie Trice on a episode named "Poppin' Tags."

On November 30, 2007, Akon entered the Big Brother house in Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2 as a guest so the housemates can meet him for only 100 seconds. He also appeared on November 17, 2008 edition of WWE Raw, with Santino Marella citing him in his speech. Because of Santino's Italian Stereotyping, he mispronounced Akon's name to "Akorn".

On April 27, 2008, Akon appeared with Colby O'Donis in Dance on Sunset. On January 27, 2010, Akon performed on the Brazilian reality show Big Brother Brasil.

Fashion

In February 2007, Akon launched his clothing line, Konvict Clothing. It features urban streetwear including denim jeans, hoodies, t-shirts and hats. Aliaune is the upscale version, or high-end line, for males and females, which includes blazers, denim jeans and other items. Timothy Hodge appeared on MTV's Direct Effect alongside Akon while promotioning the Konvict clothing line.

Personal life

He has also been rumored to have three wives, however he has since revealed that he only has one, named Tomeka. Akon claims he has six children with three different women in an interview with Blender. Akon claims to have great relationships with all his children, and that he wishes to keep his family protected from the public eye. He also states that his religion made him a better person, and provides guidance to how he acts among others in life.

He also has his own charity for underprivileged children in Africa called Konfidence Foundation. Akon owns a diamond mine in South Africa and denies the existence of blood diamonds (also known as "conflict diamonds") saying, "I don't believe in conflict diamonds. That's just a movie. Think about it. Nobody thought or cared about conflict diamonds until 'Blood Diamond' was released." However, he has since stated that he does accept that blood diamonds exist, and that he is partial-owner of an African mine that is dedicated to avoiding use of blood diamonds while also donating profits to local communities.

"The Smoking Gun" reported in April 2008 that much of Akon's purported criminal and incarceration history has been dramatically embellished. In particular, Akon's claims to be part of an auto-theft ring and his claim to have spent three years in prison were challenged with court records and interviews with detectives involved in Akon's case. According to "The Smoking Gun's" article, Akon was not convicted of any crime and did not serve any time in prison from 1999 to 2002 as previously claimed. He stated that "The Smoking Gun's" attempt to “discredit” him “makes no sense as it is something he is trying to forget.” Akon retorted that he never spent 3 years in prison consecutively, but many shorter sentences that add up to three years, and cites that as the mis-understanding by The Smoking Gun's article.

Legal difficulties

In April 2007, Akon drew criticism for an onstage act which included simulated sex with Danah (Deena) Alleyne, a preacher's daughter aged 15 at the time, at a club in Trinidad and Tobago, as part of a fake contest, despite the club's claim to have a 21 years and over age limit. The incident was filmed by Akon's crew and later uploaded to the Internet. On April 20, 2007 local media, channel TV6, aired the video clip publicly. Amid criticism on the radio, television, and from the blogosphere, Verizon Wireless removed ringtones featuring Akon's songs. Verizon also decided not to sponsor The Sweet Escape Tour where Akon was to be the opening act for Gwen Stefani. However, Universal Music Group did not take action against Akon, but rather simply ordered the video clip be removed from video-sharing site YouTube due to copyright infringement. Conservative commentator and Parents Television Council founder Brent Bozell called this "corporate irresponsibility."

Political commentators Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham, and Bill O'Reilly criticized Akon for "degrading women." Malkin uploaded commentary about Akon to YouTube, using footage from music videos and the Trinidad concert, and Universal Music Group then forced its removal by issuing a DMCA takedown notice. The Electronic Frontier Foundation joined Malkin in contesting the removal as a misuse of copyright law, citing fair use. In May 2007, UMG rescinded its claim to the video, and the video returned to YouTube.

On June 3, 2007, at WSPK's KFEST concert at the Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, New York, a concert attendee threw an object towards Akon on stage. Akon asked the crowd to identify who threw the object and that he be brought on stage. Security staff grabbed the young man and took him up to the stage. Akon then pulled him up from the crowd and hoisted him across his shoulders. The singer then tossed the attendee back into the crowd from his shoulders. Video of the incident was reviewed by Fishkill police. Akon has claimed that the incident was staged and that he in fact used the act to set up for the next record.

Visa Issue

March 23, 2010 – Considering the allegations against the singer Akon, the Sri Lankan Government has decided not to issue him a visa to enter into Sri Lanka, the Government Information Department said a short while ago. The Jathika Bhikku Sansadaya (National Monks' Association) earlier today said that they vehemently protested the planned concert of Akon claiming that his music video insulted Buddhism.

Discography

Trouble (2004)

Konvicted (2006)

Freedom (2008)

Akonic (2011)

Awards and nominations

Name	Akon
Awards	1
Nominations	12
Americanw	1
Americann	3
Grammyn	5
Mtvvideon	4

Akon received four Grammy Award nominations in 2008, including Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "The Sweet Escape" with Gwen Stefani, Best R&B; Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for "Bartender" with T-Pain, Best Contemporary R&B; Album for Konvicted, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration with "I Wanna Love You" with Snoop Dogg. The only award that Akon has received is Favorite Soul/R&B; Male Artist from the American Music Awards in 2007. Overall, Akon has received one award from twelve nominations.

American Music Awards

The American Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony created by Dick Clark in 1973. Akon has received one award from three nominations.

|- |rowspan="3"| ||rowspan="3"| Akon || Favorite Soul/R&B; Male Artist || |- | Artist of the Year || |- | Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist ||

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States. Akon has received five nominations.

|- | || "Smack That" (with Eminem) || Best Rap/Sung Collaboration || |- |rowspan="4"| || "The Sweet Escape" (with Gwen Stefani) || Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals || |- | "Bartender" (with T-Pain) || Best R&B; Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group || |- | Konvicted || Best Contemporary R&B; Album || |- | "I Wanna Love You" (with Snoop Dogg) || Best Rap/Sung Collaboration ||

MTV Video Music Awards

The MTV Video Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony established in 1984 by MTV. Akon has received four nominations. Akon has the record for most nominations in the Most Earthshattering Collaboration category.

|- | || "Locked Up" || MTV2 Award || |- |rowspan="3"| || Akon || Male Artist of the Year || |- | "Smack That" (with Eminem) || Most Earthshattering Collaboration || |- | "The Sweet Escape" (with Gwen Stefani) || Most Earthshattering Collaboration ||

World Music Awards

In 2007 Akon won three World Music Awards:

(1) Best Selling R&B; Male Artist

(2) Best Selling African Artist

(3) Best Selling Internet Artist.

In 2008 Akon won:

(1) Best Selling African Artist

Note: Akon also won Artist Of The Year in 2007 by the Billboard Music Awards

Billboard Legacy

Made the Top Artists of the Year Chart in: 2009

Made the Billboard 200 Albums of the Year Chart in: 2009, 2007, 2005, 2004

Made the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Year Chart in: 2005, 2004

Premios Lo Nuestro

|- |rowspan="2"| 2010 || "All Up 2 You" (with Aventura and Wisin & Yandel) || Urban Song of the Year || |- | "All Up 2 You" (with Aventura and Wisin & Yandel) || Video Collaboration of the Year || |-

Tours

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania One-off Concert (2006).

Konvicted Tour (July to September 2007, then additional dates in 2008)

The Sweet Escape Tour with Gwen Stefani (April to July 2007)

The Good Girl Gone Bad Tour with Rihanna (Canadian-leg only, September – December 2008).

Konvict Muzik Tour with T-Pain, Australia only, October 26–27, 2009.

Brazilian Mini-Tour, (Brazil, January 2010)

References

External links

Official website

Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:African American singers Category:African American rappers Category:African American Muslims Category:American Muslims Category:American male singers Category:Dance musicians Category:Hip hop record producers Category:Hip hop singers Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Musicians from Missouri Category:Rappers from St. Louis, Missouri Category:People from Dakar Category:People from Newark, New Jersey Category:People from St. Louis, Missouri Category:American people of Senegalese descent Category:American hip hop record producers Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:World Music Awards winners Category:Living people Category:Senegalese expatriates in the United States Category:1973 births