Name	Simon Cowell
Background	non_performing_personnel
Birth name	Simon Phillip Cowell
Born	October 07, 1959Lambeth, London, England, UK
Died
Origin	Elstree, Hertfordshire, UK
Occupation	Artists and repertoire (A&R;) executiveTelevision producerTelevision personality Entrepreneur
Years active	1979–present
Label	EMIE&S; MusicFanfare RecordsBMGS RecordsSony Music EntertainmentSyco
Associated acts	Westlife, Sinitta, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Curiosity Killed the Cat, Sonia Evans, Five, Robson & Jerome, Ultimate Kaos, WWF Wrestlers, Zig and Zag, Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke, Joe McElderry, Shayne Ward, Il Divo, Susan Boyle, Paul Potts, JLS and more

Simon Phillip Cowell (born 7 October 1959) is a British music executive, television producer and entrepreneur. He is known in the United Kingdom and in the United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent, and American Idol. He is also the owner of the television production and music publishing house Syco.

Cowell is notorious as a judge for his blunt and often controversial criticisms, insults and wisecracks about contestants and their abilities. Cowell is known for combining activities in the television and music industries, having promoted singles and records for various artists, including television personalities. He was most recently featured on the seventh series of The X Factor and the fourth series of Britain's Got Talent.

In 2010, British magazine New Statesman listed Cowell at number 41 in a list of "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010".

Early life

Cowell was born in Lambeth, London, England and brought up in Elstree, Hertfordshire. His father, Eric Philip Cowell (1918–1999), Cowell's paternal grandparents, Joseph Cowell and Esther Malinsky, were English Jews, and his maternal grandfather was Scottish. He has one brother and two half-brothers; younger brother Nicholas Cowell, half-brother Tony Cowell, and half-brother Michael Cowell. Michael is the oldest, followed by Tony, Simon and Nicholas respectively.

Cowell attended the independent school Dover College as did his brother, but left early before attending the sixth form. He took a few menial jobs—including, according to Tony, working as a runner on Stanley Kubrick's The Shining—but did not get along well with colleagues and bosses, until his father who was executive at the recording giant EMI Music Publishing, managed to get him a job in the mail room.

Career

Cowell's father's connections originally got him rehired as the assistant to an A&R; man. From there onwards, Simon worked his way up and eventually got promoted to a music publishing position but left during the early 1980s to form E&S; Music with his boss at EMI, Ellis Rich (later Chairman of the Performing Right Society). The company had several hit records at one point with five singles in the UK top 40. The offices were in a converted gentleman's washroom in the NCP car park on Brewer Street in London's Soho district. Cowell left by mutual agreement a few years later. He worked for Iain Burton, manager of choreographer Arlene Phillips, co-founder of dance group Hot Gossip and of nascent independent record label Fanfare Records. Cowell worked with Burton for eight years at Fanfare where he achieved his first real success in the music industry, becoming a partner and building Fanfare into a highly successful 'indie' pop label. Fanfare had numerous top ten hits with various pop artists and particularly Sinitta, selling more than half a million of her debut single 'So Macho', and more than half a million albums of 'Rondo Veneziano'. Next in 1984, Cowell and Burton met up with Pete Waterman for the first time.

Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman formed the songwriting and record producing trio known as Stock Aitken Waterman. Stock Aitken Waterman helped Fanfare during the second half of the 1980s producing several hit singles for Sinitta and licensing The Hit Factory SAW Compilation Albums to Fanfare. Next in 1989, Fanfare's parent, Public Company, found itself in difficulties, forcing Fanfare into the hands of BMG, and an in-debt Cowell was forced to move back in with his parents. Later that year, he became an A&R; consultant for BMG.

Subsequently, Cowell signed up a number of acts to S-Records that became successful, including Curiosity Killed the Cat, Sonia Evans, Five, Westlife, Robson & Jerome, and Ultimate Kaos. He also released several novelty recordings featuring the likes of wrestlers of the World Wrestling Entertainment, Teletubbies, Zig and Zag and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, that were huge successes.

In 2006, Cowell signed to two more record-breaking deals. In the USA, he agreed to remain as a judge on American Idol, earning £20 million ($33 million) per season for another five years. He also has a deal with FOX which allows his production company to broadcast Got Talent and American Inventor on other networks, but he may not appear on them. In the UK, he signed a "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV, worth approximately £6.5 million a year for three years, which gave ITV rights to his talent show The X Factor, a British singing talent show, and Grease Is The Word, a musical talent show to find the stars of a Grease production in London's West End. In late 2005, he signed a new contract to remain working for Sony BMG.

In 2010, Cowell finalised a deal which secures the longterm business future of Syco with Sony Music Entertainment. The deal will also see him launching a US version of X Factor on 11 September 2011.

Idol franchise and Il Divo

Cowell was given the role of judge on the first series of Pop Idol by then ITV Controller of Entertainment Claudia Rosencrantz in 2001, he was then judge on the first season of American Idol in 2002. With his notoriously critical reputation, Cowell is likened to TV personalities, such as Judge Judy, and Weakest Links Anne Robinson. Though comparable to Anne Robinson, Cowell has expressed his dislike for her and has commented in an interview, "I hate her and I hate her show because it's just an act". Cowell's prominence grew, fed by his signature phrase, "I don't mean to be rude, but ...", inevitably followed by an unsparingly blunt appraisal of the contestant's talents, personality, or even physical appearance. A lot of these one-liners were the product of coaching that Cowell received from noted publicist Max Clifford. Cowell also appeared on the one-off World Idol programme in 2003, where it became clear that each country's version of the Idol had attempted to come up with its own "Simon Cowell" type personality. In 2003, Cowell placed No 33 on Channel 4's list of the all-time 100 Worst Britons. Cowell's S Records signed the top two finishers of the first season of Pop Idol, Will Young and Gareth Gates, both of whom went on to have No 1 UK hits. Efforts begun in 2001 materialised in 2004, when Cowell returned to his group manufacturing roots with his latest brainchild, the internationally successful operatic pop group Il Divo, consisting of three opera singers and one pop singer of four different nationalities. Inspired by the success of Il Divo, Simon created a child version, Angelis, beating competition from many similar groups emerging at Christmas 2006.

On 11 January 2010, Cowell's exit from American Idol was made official. The 2010 season was Cowell's last on the show. It was also announced that Fox has acquired the rights to an American version of Cowell's popular British show, The X Factor, which is slated to begin production in autumn 2011.

The X Factor

In 2004, with Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh, Cowell was a judge on the first series of the British talent show The X Factor, which he created using his production company, Syco. The X Factor was an instant success with the viewers and finished its seventh series in 2010. In 2006, he was voted the tenth most terrifying celebrity on television in a Radio Times poll consisting of 3,000 people.

The winner of The X Factor third series, Leona Lewis, was signed to Cowell's label Syco and has gone on to become an international star, with number one singles and album sales around the world. Cowell returned for a fourth series on 18 August 2007 alongside Osbourne, Walsh and new judge, Dannii Minogue. Walsh had previously been sacked from the judging panel by Cowell for the fourth series, and was subsequently replaced by Brian Friedman, who was a judge on Grease Is the Word. Walsh was later brought back a week into the auditions by Cowell when he and Osbourne realised that they missed Walsh and that without him, there was no chemistry between the judges. Cowell returned for the fifth series in 2008, with Walsh, Minogue and new judge Cheryl Cole, as Sharon Osbourne decided to quit before the show began.

The X Factor has been confirmed to return to Australian television in 2010 on the Seven Network with Kyle Sandilands, Ronan Keating, Guy Sebastian and Natalie Imbruglia as judges. Matthew Newton will host the show. Auditions will begin in May 2010.

Cowell will also launch the US version of the hit show in September 2011 on American broadcaster Fox. He will be a judge both on the UK and US editions of the show which will air at similar times of the year.

Got Talent franchise

Following the success of the Idol and X-Factor franchises, Cowell, his company Syco, and its business partners developed a talent show format open to performers of any kind, not only singers, but also dancers, instrumentalists, magicians, comedians, novelty acts, and so on. The origins of the Got Talent format can be traced to the British show Opportunity Knocks, which began as a radio programme in the 1940s and later transferred to television, where it was an ITV staple for several decades. Looking further back, Opportunity Knocks had its roots in the variety show traditions of British music hall and American vaudeville.

Cowell is the executive producer of America's Got Talent, which debuted in June 2006, along with Fremantle producers of the Idol series, but he does not appear on the show due to the terms of his American Idol contract. The show was a huge success for NBC, drawing around 12 million viewers a week, and beating So You Think You Can Dance on FOX (produced by rival and Idol creator Simon Fuller).

Britain's Got Talent debuted on ITV in June 2007. Cowell appears as a judge alongside Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan. The show was a ratings success and second and third seasons followed in 2008 and 2009. The third series featured a publicity coup when Susan Boyle made a global media impact with her regional audition performance comparable to that of any previous talent show series winner .

American Inventor

On 16 March 2006, Simon Cowell's next competition show, American Inventor, debuted on ABC. Fledgling entrepreneurs from across the United States competed to see who could come up with the best new product concept. The 2006 winner, Janusz Liberkowski, received $1 million and the opportunity to develop his idea into a business. The show returned one more time in 2007 for a second season.

Celebrity Duets

In 2006, Cowell executive-produced Celebrity Duets, which was described as "an Idol show for Hollywood superstars." The show was hosted by Wayne Brady, and its judges were Marie Osmond, Little Richard and David Foster.

Grease is the Word

Cowell was also the executive producer of Grease Is the Word for ITV. This show set out to find performers to play Danny and Sandy in the 2007 West End revival of Grease. It was hosted by Zoe Ball and judged by Britons David Ian and Sinitta and Americans David Gest and Brian Friedman. The musical theatre casting concept had already been introduced by the BBC with the ratings hit How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, but Cowell's show wasn't the hoped for success. He himself said, "It has been slaughtered by the critics - and rightly so. It is far too similar to our other formats."

Rock Rivals

Cowell collaborated with UK production company Shed Media to produce 2008 ITV drama series Rock Rivals, which is based on an X Factor type show.

Other activities

Cowell has been involved in charity work for many years. He supports children from The Association Of Children's Hospices and invites them backstage to the screenings of The X Factor. When he can, he stops by some of the hospices to visit the children. In view of his charitable works, particularly the production of the charity single Everybody Hurts in aid of victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, as well as his services to the music industry, there was considerable media speculation as to whether Cowell would receive a knighthood in the Queen's 2010 Birthday Honours, a proposal allegedly put forward by former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Cowell stated that he believed his chances of receiving the honour were "zero" following what he described as being a "royal row"; ultimately Cowell did not receive an honour in the list.

In December 2003, Cowell published his autobiography titled I Don't Mean to be Rude, but.... In it, he told the whole story of his childhood, his years working in music and experiences on Pop Idol, Pop Stars Rivals, and American Idol, and finally, his tips for being successful as a pop star.

Cowell has appeared as a guest voice in an episode of The Simpsons ("Smart and Smarter"), in which he gets beaten up by Homer Simpson (while criticising Homer's punches). His voice was also heard on an episode of Family Guy ("Lois Kills Stewie"), in which he told Stewie that his singing was so awful that he should be dead. He made an MTV Movie Award-winning cameo appearance as himself in Scary Movie 3, where he sits in judgment during a battle rap (and subsequently gets killed by gunfire for criticising the rappers). He also appears in the DVD version of Shrek 2 as a judge in Far Far Away Idol, and also provided the voice.

He appeared on an episode of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (the original British version) and Saturday Night Live in 2004. Cowell has also guest-starred (filling in for Regis Philbin) in the popular talk show Live with Regis and Kelly during American Idol's finalist week in early 2006. Cowell was once the fastest "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" on BBC's motoring show Top Gear, driving a Suzuki Liana around the show's test track in a time of 1:47.1. When Top Gear retired the Liana along with its rankings after the eighth series, Cowell was the eighth fastest overall and the third fastest non-professional driver. On 11 November 2007 Cowell yet again appeared on Top Gear, achieving a time of 1:45.9 thus putting him ahead of Gordon Ramsay and back at the top of the table. Cowell introduced entertainer Dick Clark at the 2006 Primetime Emmy Awards. He was seen on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice where he donated £25,000 for a fun fair ticket. Cowell has also appeared on the MTV shows Cribs and Punk'd. On Punk'd, Ryan Seacrest and Randy Jackson set him up to believe his $400,000 Rolls Royce was stolen and had caused an accident by using a nearly-identical car.

Cowell was chosen as the first subject of the re-launched This Is Your Life in an episode broadcast on 2 June 2007. He was presented with the Red Book by Sir Trevor McDonald while presenting American Idol.

On 1 July 2007 Cowell appeared alongside Randy Jackson and Ryan Seacrest as a speaker at the Concert For Diana, held at Wembley Stadium.

Simon Cowell was a partner in the Royal Ascot Racing Club, a thoroughbred horse racing syndicate which owned the 2005 Epsom Derby winner, Motivator.

In December 2010 he was added as a new entry to the latest edition of Who's Who.

Personal life

In late 2002, Cowell started dating longtime friend Terri Seymour. In November 2008, TV Guide reported that Cowell and Seymour had since broken up.

Cowell is the godfather of pop singer Sinitta's adopted children.

Upon his appearance on Top Gear, it was revealed that Cowell pays more than £21.7m per year in income tax, suggesting that his taxable income is over £54.25m per year with income tax at the time approximately 40%. (NB: UK Income Tax 40% for earnings over £34,600).

Cowell has admitted to using Botox.

Cowell has a $22 million, home in Beverly Hills.

In May 2009, in the Daily Mail tabloid newspaper, Cowell revealed that he is often plagued by "dark moods and miserable thoughts". He claims that he has considered seeking therapy for this, stating that it would be a 'long session'.

Cowell became engaged to make up artist Mezhgan Hussainy in February 2010. They met on the set of American Idol.

Cowell endorsed David Cameron to be Prime Minister and claimed that he has the 'substance and the stomach to navigate us through difficult times'.

References

External links

Simon Cowell at itv.com/xfactor

Simon Cowell for PETA

Simon Cowell on World Top 100 A&R; Chart

New York Times: How a Hit Almost Failed Its Own Audition

Reviews and short bio of Simon Cowell

Playboy Interview: Simon Cowell, February 2007

Interview, HitQuarters Oct 2001

Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:American Idol participants Category:American music industry executives Category:Anglo-Scots Category:A&R; people Category:British music industry executives Category:British people of Jewish descent Category:British racehorse owners and breeders Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English memoirists Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:English record producers Category:Got Talent series Category:Idol series judges Category:Old Dovorians Category:Pop Idol Category:Reality television judges Category:The X Factor judges Category:The X Factor (UK)

Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Paula Julie Abdul
Born	June 19, 1962
Origin	San Fernando, California, United States
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, choreographer, dancer, television personality, actress
Years active	1978–present
Genre	Pop, R&B;
Label	Virgin (1987–1996) Mercury (1997) Concord (2008) Filament (2009–present)
Url

Paula Julie Abdul (; born June 19, 1962) is an American recording artist, dancer, actress and television personality.

In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B; hits in the late-1980s and early-1990s. Her six number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 tie her for fifth among the female solo performers who have reached #1 there. She won a Grammy for "Best Music Video - Short Form" for "Opposites Attract" and twice won the "Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography".

After her initial period of success, she suffered a series of setbacks in her professional and personal life, until she found renewed fame and success in the 2000s as a judge on the television series, American Idol, for eight years, before departing from the show. Abdul has since moved on to another television series, CBS's Live to Dance, and she is working on a new album.

Background

Abdul was born in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, the daughter of Lorraine Abdul (née Rykiss), a concert pianist who once worked as film director Billy Wilder's assistant, and Harry Abdul, a former livestock trader and owner of a sand and gravel business. Her father, a Syrian Jew, was born in Aleppo, Syria, raised in Brazil, and subsequently emigrated to the United States; Abdul's mother, also Jewish, is originally from Minnedosa, Manitoba, with ancestors from Russia and Ukraine, and Abdul derives Canadian citizenship through her. She has a sister named Wendy, who is 7 years her senior. In 1980, she graduated from Van Nuys Junior High School and was voted girl with the funniest laugh.

An avid dancer, Abdul was inspired towards a show business career by Gene Kelly in the classic film Singin' in the Rain as well as Debbie Allen, Fred Astaire, and Bob Fosse.

Abdul began taking dance lessons at an early age in ballet, Jazz, and Tap. She attended Van Nuys High School, where she was a cheerleader and an honor student. At 15, she received a scholarship to a dance camp near Palm Springs, and in 1978 appeared in a low-budget Independent musical film, Junior High School.

Abdul studied broadcasting at the California State University at Northridge. During her freshman year, she was selected from a pool of 700 candidates for the cheerleading squad of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball team—the famed Laker Girls. Within three months, she became head choreographer. Six months later, she left the university to focus on her choreography and dancing career.

Career

Dance and choreography era (1982–1986)

at the 1990 Grammy Awards]] Abdul was discovered by The Jacksons, after a few of the band members had watched her while attending a Los Angeles Lakers game. She was signed to do the choreography for the video to their single "Torture". "My only problem was how to tell the Jacksons how to dance," Abdul later recalled. "Imagine me telling them what routines to do. I was young, I was scared. I'm not quite sure how I got through that." The success of the choreography in the video led to Abdul's career of choreographer in music videos. It was also due to the success of the video that Abdul was chosen to be the choreographer for the Jacksons' Victory tour. Television credits include The Tracey Ullman Show, American Music Awards, the Academy Awards, and several commercials, such as The King's touchdown celebration, as seen in a string of popular Burger King television commercials that aired during the 2005–2006 NFL season.

Spellbound era (1991–1994)

Abdul's follow-up album, 1991's Spellbound, contained another string of hits, and sold 13 million copies worldwide. The first single from Spellbound was the ballad, "Rush, Rush", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, and was noted for its music video and Rebel Without a Cause motif featuring Keanu Reeves in the James Dean role. "Promise of a New Day", the second release from the album, also hit No. 1, and it was followed by the Top 10 hit "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" and two Top 20 hits: "Vibeology" and "Will You Marry Me?". The album, Spellbound, retained much of the dance-oriented formula heard on her debut album. The track "U" was written for Paula by Prince.

Abdul promoted the album through the "Under My Spell Tour", which was named by an MTV contest for fans. This tour was nearly cancelled due to an accident during rehearsals. The tour began on schedule and ran from October 1991 to the summer of 1992. In 1991, Abdul embraced advertising and starred in a popular Diet Coke commercial in which she danced with a digital image of her idol, a young Gene Kelly.

Head Over Heels era (1995–1996)

By 1995, Paula Abdul had recovered from her battle with the eating disorder bulimia nervosa and prepared to return to the spotlight with her new album Head Over Heels. The first single off the album, "My Love Is for Real" featured a fusion of R&B; and traditional Middle Eastern instruments, and was performed with Yemeni-Israeli singer Ofra Haza. Its accompanying Lawrence of Arabia-inspired music video was played in theaters across the world as a preface to the film Clueless. It was a hit in the clubs (peaking at #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart), and the single made it to #28 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

The second single was called, "Crazy Cool" and peaked at #13 on the dance charts. "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" served as the third single from the album. To date Head Over Heels has sold 3 million copies worldwide.

Mercury comeback attempt (1997–2001)

In 1997, Abdul signed to Mercury Records, and co-wrote the song "Spinning Around" with songwriter and producer Kara DioGuardi, who would in 2009 become a fellow judge on American Idol. "Spinning Around" was a dance-pop track intended to be the lead single on Abdul's new album. The album never materialized, and "Spinning Around" was instead given to Kylie Minogue as a single. The song became highly successful and re-launched Minogue's career, as it was intended to do for Abdul, and reached #1 in numerous countries.

Overcoming her personal problems, Abdul took a break from the music industry. She served as the choreographer for several film and theater productions, including the 1998 musical Reefer Madness and the cheerleading scenes in the 1999 film American Beauty (she had previously also choreographed the 1991 film The Doors). Abdul also co-produced a 2001 pilot episode of Skirts, a dramatic series that would have aired on MTV about a high-school cheerleading squad; Abdul was also set to appear as the head coach. The pilot never aired.

In 2000, Abdul’s CD was released by Virgin Records (with whom Abdul was already no longer affiliated). It featured all of her hit singles and other noteworthy tracks. The song "Bend Time Back 'Round" had previously been heard only on the 1992 soundtrack for the hit television series Beverly Hills, 90210.

American Idol (2002–2009)

In 2002, Abdul appeared as one of three judges for the reality television music competition show American Idol. Abdul, along with fellow judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson (joined by Kara DioGuardi in 2009) were to evaluate the talent of a large group of young amateur singers, eliminate most of them in various audition rounds, and then judge the finalists as American television viewers voted on which finalists would continue to each successive round, until all but the winner were eliminated. Abdul won praise as a sympathetic and compassionate judge. She seemed especially kind compared to fellow judge Simon Cowell, who was often blunt in his appraisals of the contestants' performances. When she realized that Cowell's over-the-top judging style was heartbreaking for many young contestants, Abdul was so horrified, she considered leaving the show. Although their differences often resulted in extremely heated on-air exchanges and confrontations, Cowell says he played a major role in convincing Abdul not to leave the show.

Abdul accepted a second assignment as reporter for Entertainment Tonight.

On March 28, 2006 Fox announced that Abdul had signed to stay on American Idol as a judge for at least three more years. Later that year, fellow American Idol judge Simon Cowell invited her to be a guest judge at some of the early auditions for the third series of his similar UK talent show The X Factor. Abdul was present at the initial audition of the eventual winner, Leona Lewis.

The week of May 14 to May 18, 2007 (the week before the season 6 finale), Abdul broke her nose when she tried to "avoid tripping over her pet chihuahua". She was present at the May 22 performance and the May 23 finale.

Abdul's American Idol wardrobe often includes a number of necklaces, rings, bracelets, and earrings that she designs, and she often gives show contestants custom-designed jewelry. In 2007, Paula Abdul Jewelry launched its nationwide consumer debut on QVC, with the tagline "fashion jewelry designed with heart and soul". Paula's first QVC appearance resulted in 15 sellouts of her first jewelry collection involving more than 34,000 pieces. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times on July 18, 2009, Paula's manager David Sonenberg told the newspaper that, "Very sadly, it does not appear that she’s going to be back on ‘Idol’." This came about as a result of stalled negotiations between Paula and the show. On August 4, 2009, after numerous contract negotiations, Abdul confirmed that she would not be returning to Idol for its ninth season. The Times cited reports Abdul had been earning as much as $5 million per season and that she was reportedly seeking as much as $20 million to return.

On August 18, 2009, it was reported that Abdul was negotiating to return to Idol after not taking part in season nine of Dancing with the Stars. Two days later, Abdul's manager said that there were not any talks with Fox, but they were not ruling anything out.

Abdul claimed her departure from Idol was not about money, but that she had to stand on principle.

On September 9, 2009 Ellen DeGeneres was confirmed as Abdul's successor for Idol.

Second comeback (2007–2009)

Her second greatest-hits CD, entitled , was released by Virgin on May 8, 2007. This album was put together by Virgin Records, with whom Abdul was no longer signed as a recording artist. At this time, they also released the music videos to all six of her #1 singles to iTunes.

Bravo announced a reality television series following Abdul through her day-to-day life, called Hey Paula. The series was produced by Scott Sternberg Productions and debuted on June 28, 2007. Abdul's behavior as depicted on the show has been described as 'erratic' by comedian Rosie O'Donnell and decried by numerous fans and critics.

In January 2008, Abdul returned to the music charts for the first time in nearly thirteen years with the single "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow", which is the first track on the album Randy Jackson's Music Club Vol 1. The song debuted on On Air with Ryan Seacrest. The song was a modest comeback hit for Abdul, peaking at #62 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Paula's MTV show "RAH!" premiered in January 2009. The 90-minute special featured five collegiate cheerleading squads, which competed in a series of challenges in order to be crowned the winner by Abdul. A snippet of Abdul's latest single "Boombox", a cover of a Kylie Minogue song, also premiered on the show. On May 5, 2009, Abdul debuted her new song "I'm Just Here for the Music" (originally an unreleased song from Kylie Minogue's ninth album Body Language) on the Ryan Seacrest Radio KIIS-FM show. On May 6, 2009, Abdul performed her new song on the American Idol results show. On May 8, 2009, Abdul released "I'm Just Here For The Music" to the US iTunes Store. The album was supposed to be released in July 2009, however it has remained unreleased for unknown reasons.

Post Idol era (2009–present)

Paula Abdul hosted the 2009 VH1 Divas live in September. She also performed a medley of the majority of her number 1 hits "Straight Up", "Cold Hearted", "Opposites Attract", and "Forever Your Girl". Also on the program Paula poked fun at her Idol replacement Ellen DeGeneres, which was highly publicized in the media.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, it has been confirmed that Abdul will be brought on board for the American version of the U.K.'s hit talent show, X Factor, as a judge alongside Simon Cowell. Cowell will also produce the show. It will air during the Summer and Fall on Fox, when American Idol is not on. On May 26, 2010 she appeared on the finale of American Idol season 9.

Abdul will serve as lead judge, executive producer, creative partner, mentor and coach on CBS' new dancing competition, Live to Dance (formerly Got to Dance) set to debut on January 4, 2011. In 2009, she also appeared on a television series as a guest judge on Drop Dead Diva. She will return to the second season of the series in 2010.

Paula Abdul has launched and co-founded AuditionBooth.com, a site that allows aspiring talents to connect with casting directors, producers, and managers.

According to sources, including the introduction on the new CBS show Live to Dance, Abdul has sold about 60 million records worldwide to date.

Personal life

Abdul was married to Emilio Estevez from 1992-1994.

In April 2005, Abdul revealed that she suffers from a rare neurological disorder called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (CRPS) that causes chronic pain.

Paula practices Judaism and is proud of her heritage. She once stated, "My father is a Syrian Jew whose family immigrated to Brazil. My mother is Canadian with Jewish roots. My dream is to come to Israel for a real holiday." In November 2006, Israeli Tourist Minister Isaac Herzog invited her to Israel, Abdul responding with a hug, adding, "I will come; you have helped me make a dream come true."

On Valentine's Day 2006, Abdul appeared on Dr. Phil as part of a prime time special on love and relationships. She was set up on two dates and Phil McGraw gave her advice.

Paula is also a dog lover who is currently raising awareness about National Guide Dog Month in May 2009 and she is teaming up with Dick Van Patten to help people with blindness to have more independence through the help of guide dogs.

In mid July 2007, Abdul announced that she had begun dating J.T. Torregiani, a restaurant owner 12 years her junior. She told Access Hollywood: "He is a good guy. Things are looking upwards. It's looking good right now. I wasn't even looking for someone and that's what usually happens." Paula and JT broke up in June 2008, citing their hectic work schedules.

Controversies

Corey Clark

In May 2005, ABC's news magazine Primetime Live reported claims by Season 2 American Idol contestant Corey Clark that he and Abdul had an affair during that season, and that she had coached him on how to succeed in the competition. The fact that Clark came forward at a time when he was marketing a CD and trying to get a book deal was seen as suspicious by some, but Clark maintains that his career was being prejudiced because of his relationship with Abdul and that is why he came forward with the information to clear his name. For the most part, Abdul refused to comment on Clark's allegations. Simon Cowell came to Abdul's defense, calling Corey Clark a creep and stating “It was just somebody using her to get a lot of publicity for an appalling record, full stop." At the height of the debacle, Abdul appeared in a Saturday Night Live skit, making light of the situation. While Fox launched an investigation, Abdul received numerous calls of support from celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey and Kelly Ripa; Barbara Walters even addressed the camera during an episode of ABC's The View to say she was sad to be part of an operation that would report Clark's flimsy tabloid claims under the guise of a news story. In August 2005, the Fox network confirmed that she would be returning to the show, as the investigation had found "insufficient evidence that the communications between Mr. Clark and Ms. Abdul in any way aided his performance".

Legal issues

On December 20, 2004, Abdul was driving her Mercedes on an L.A.-area freeway when she changed lanes and hit another vehicle. The driver and passenger snapped a photograph with a cell phone camera and wrote down the license plate number of the car, which was traced to Abdul. On March 24, 2005, Abdul was fined $900 and given 24 months of informal probation after pleading no contest to misdemeanor hit-and-run driving in Los Angeles. In addition to the fines, she was ordered to pay $775 for damage to the other car.

On April 4, 2006, Abdul filed a report at a Hollywood police station claiming she had been a victim of battery at a private party at about 1 a.m. April 2, according to L.A.P.D. spokesman police Lt. Paul Vernon. "According to Abdul, the man at the party argued with her, grabbed her by the arm and threw her against a wall", Vernon said. "She said she had sustained a concussion and spinal injuries".

Substance abuse allegations

Substance abuse allegations arose as the result of what some described as "erratic behavior" Abdul's publicist attributed this to fatigue and technical difficulties during the recording of the interviews.

In a March 2007 appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Abdul joked that her scrutinized behavior was caused by her being "abducted by aliens".

In several interviews given in the late 2000s, Paula claimed to have been left in debilitating pain after a 1992 car accident and a 1993 plane crash that required 15 spinal surgeries and which left her dependent on pain medication for years.

In May 2009, Ladies' Home Journal posted an article on its Web site that said Abdul told them she attended the La Costa Resort and Spa the previous year to recover from physical dependence on prescription pain medications. The medications, prescribed due to injuries and her RSD diagnosis, included a pain patch, nerve medication, and a muscle relaxant. According to the article, Abdul said the medications made her "get weird" at times and that she suffered from physical withdrawal symptoms during her recovery.

Tours

The Club MTV Tour

The Under My Spell Tour

Discography

;Studio Albums

1988: Forever Your Girl

1991: Spellbound

1995: Head Over Heels

Filmography

Film and television {| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! Year !! Film !! Role !! Notes |- | 1978 || Junior High School || Sherry || |- | 1987 || Can't Buy Me Love || Dancer ||Uncredited |- | 1997 || Touched By Evil ||Elle Collier || TV Movie |- | rowspan="2" | 1998 || The Waiting Game ||Amy Fuentes || TV Movie |- |Sabrina, the Teenage Witch || Herself || 1 Episode |- | rowspan="3"| 1999 || The Wayans Bros. ||Sasha ||1 Episode |- | Mr. Rock 'n' Roll: The Alan Freed Story || Denise Walton|| TV Movie |- | Family Guy || Herself|| 2 Episodes |- | 2002–2009 || American Idol || Judge || Guest Appearance Finale 2010 2003 Zoe's Dance Moves Herself |- | 2004 || That's So Raven || Undercover Judge || 1 Episode |- | rowspan="3"| 2005 || || Herself || TV Movie |- |Less Than Perfect || Kathleen || 1 Episode |- | Robots || Watch || Cameo |- | 2007 || Hey Paula ||Herself || 7 Episodes, also Executive Producer |- |rowspan="2"| 2009 || ''RAH! Paula Abdul's Cheerleading Bowl||Herself|| Host |- | Brüno||Herself||Uncredited |- | 2008 || Hotel Babylon Guest || |- | 2009–2010 || Drop Dead Diva ||Herself || 3 episodes |- | 2010/2011 || Live to Dance ||Judge|| |}

As choreographer {| border="2" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! Year !! Film !! Notes |- | 1983 || Private School || |- | 1986 || A Smoky Mountain Christmas |- | rowspan="3"|1987 || The Tracey Ullman Show || Won 1989 Emmy Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Choreography" |- |Can't Buy Me Love || |- |The Running Man |- | rowspan="3"|1988 || Action Jackson || |- |Big || |- |Coming To America |- | rowspan="3"|1989 || She's Out of Control || |- |Dance To Win || |- |The Karate Kid, Part III |- | 1990 || 17th American Music Awards || Won 1990 Emmy Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Choreography" |- | 1991 || The Doors || Val Kilmer's choreographer |- | 1996 || Jerry Maguire || |- | 1999 || American Beauty || |- | 2001 || Black Knight || |- | 2002 || The Master of Disguise || |- |} "Roses" Music Video Outkast- herself

See also

List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart

List of Number 1 Dance Hits (United States)

List of number-one hits (United States)

References

External links

A Direct Interview with Paula Abdul

Category:1962 births Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:American cheerleaders Category:American choreographers Category:American dance musicians Category:American dancers Category:American film actors Category:American Idol participants Category:American Jews Category:American music journalists Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American television actors Category:American television producers Category:American people of Syrian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Category:Concord Records artists Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Idol series judges Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish American musicians Category:Jewish singers Category:Musicians from California Category:People from the San Fernando Valley Category:20th-century Sephardi Jews Category:21st-century Sephardi Jews Category:The X Factor judges Category:Virgin Records artists Category:Van Nuys High School alumni Category:Living people Category:The X Factor (UK)

Name	Susan Boyle
Birth name	Susan Magdalane Boyle
Background	solo_singer
Born	April 01, 1961
Occupation	Singer
Years active	2009–present
Label	Syco, Columbia
Url

Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish Grammy Award-nominated singer who came to international public attention when she appeared as a contestant on reality TV programme Britain's Got Talent on 11 April 2009, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from . Her first album was released in November 2009 and debuted as the number one best-selling CD on charts around the globe.

Global interest in Boyle was triggered by the contrast between her powerful voice and her plain appearance on stage. The juxtaposition of the audience's first impression of her, with the standing ovation she received during and after her performance, led to an international media and internet response. Within nine days of the audition, videos of Boyle—from the show, various interviews and her 1999 rendition of "Cry Me a River" – had been watched over 100 million times. Despite the sustained media interest she later finished in second place in the final of the show behind dance troupe Diversity.

Boyle's first album, I Dreamed a Dream, was released on 23 November 2009 and became Amazon's best-selling album in pre-sales. According to Billboard, "The arrival of I Dreamed a Dream ... marks the best opening week for a female artist's debut album since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991." In only six weeks of sales, it became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 9 million copies. In September 2010, Boyle was officially recognised by Guinness World Records as having had the fastest selling debut album by a female artist in the UK, the most successful first week sales of a debut album in the UK, and was also awarded the record for being the oldest person to reach number one with a debut album in the UK.

Biography

Boyle was born in Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland, to Patrick Boyle, a miner, World War II veteran and singer at the Bishop's Blaize, and Bridget, a shorthand typist, who were both immigrants from County Donegal, Ireland. She was the youngest of four brothers and six sisters. Boyle was briefly deprived of oxygen during the difficult birth and was later diagnosed as having learning difficulties. and was nicknamed "Susie Simple" at school.

After leaving school with few qualifications,

Boyle still lives in the family home, a four-bedroom council house, with her 10-year-old cat, Pebbles. Boyle remains active as a volunteer at her church, visiting elderly members of the congregation in their homes. She also has long participated in her parish church's pilgrimages to the Knock Shrine, County Mayo, Ireland, and has sung there at the Marian basilica.

Her repertoire through the years has included songs such as "The Way We Were" and "I Don't Know How to Love Him." British tabloids claimed "exclusives" of video clips of some early performances. In 1995, her audition for Michael Barrymore's My Kind of People

In 1999 she recorded a track for a charity CD to commemorate the Millennium produced at a West Lothian school. Only 1,000 copies of the CD, Music for a Millennium Celebration, Sounds of West Lothian, were pressed. An early review in the West Lothian Herald & Post said Boyle's rendition of "Cry Me a River" was "heartbreaking" and "had been on repeat in my CD player ever since I got this CD..." The recording found its way onto the internet following her first televised appearance and the New York Post said it showed that Boyle was "not a one trick pony." Hello! said the recording "cement[ed] her status" as a singing star.

In 1999, Boyle used all her savings to pay for a professionally cut demo, copies of which she later sent to record companies, radio talent competitions, local and national TV. The demo consisted of her versions of "Cry Me a River" and "Killing Me Softly with His Song"; the songs were uploaded to the Internet after her BGT audition.

After Boyle won several local singing competitions, her mother urged her to enter Britain's Got Talent and take the risk of singing in front of an audience larger than her parish church. Former coach O'Neil said Boyle abandoned an audition for The X Factor because she believed people were being chosen for their looks. She almost abandoned her plan to enter Britain's Got Talent believing she was too old, but O'Neil persuaded her to audition nevertheless. Boyle said that she was motivated to seek a musical career to pay tribute to her mother. Boyle sang "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables in the first round of the third series of Britain's Got Talent, which was watched by over 10 million viewers when it aired on 11 April 2009. Amanda Holden remarked upon the audience's initially cynical attitude, and the subsequent "biggest wake-up call ever" upon hearing her performance.

This performance was widely reported and tens of millions of people viewed the video on YouTube. Boyle is aware that the audience on Britain's Got Talent was initially hostile to her because of her appearance, but she has refused to change her image. Boyle's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" has been credited with causing a surge in ticket sales in the Vancouver production of Les Misérables. Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of the Les Misérables musical, also praised the performance, as thrilling and uplifting". She appeared last on the first semi-final on 24 May 2009, performing "Memory" from the musical Cats. In the public vote she was the act to receive the highest number of votes and go through to the final. She was the clear favourite to win the final, but ended up in second place to Diversity; the UK TV audience was a record of 17.3 million viewers.

The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) became concerned by press reports about Boyle's erratic behaviour and speculation about her mental condition and wrote to remind editors about clause 3 (privacy) of their code of press conduct. Cowell has offered to waive Boyle's contractual obligation to take part in the BGT tour. Her family said "she's been battered non-stop for the last seven weeks and it has taken its toll [...but...] her dream is very much alive," as she had been invited to the Independence Day celebrations at the White House. and said she would participate in the BGT tour. Despite health worries, she appeared in 20 of the 24 dates of the tour, and was well received in cities such as Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dublin, Sheffield, Coventry, Birmingham and London. The Belfast Telegraph said "Despite reports of crumbling under the pressure..., she exuded a confidence resembling that of a veteran who has been performing for years..."

I Dreamed a Dream and tour (2009)

Boyle's first album, I Dreamed a Dream, was released on 23 November 2009. The album includes covers of "Wild Horses" (scheduled to be her first single) and "You'll See" as well as "I Dreamed a Dream", and "Cry Me a River". I Dreamed a Dream became Amazon.com's best-selling album in pre-sales on 4 September 2009, three months before the scheduled release. In Britain, Susan's debut album was recognised as the fastest selling UK debut album of all time selling 411,820 copies, beating the previous fastest selling debut of all time, Spirit by Leona Lewis. I Dreamed a Dream also outsold the rest of the top 5 albums combined in its first week.

In the U.S., the album sold 701,000 copies in its first week, the best opening week for a debut artist in over a decade. It topped the Billboard chart for six straight weeks and although it narrowly failed to become the best-selling album of 2009, with sales of 3,104,000 compared to 3,217,000 for Taylor Swift's Fearless, it was one of only two albums to sell over 3 million copies in the U.S., and was also the top selling "physical" album of 2009, with only 86,000 of its sales coming from digital downloads. This has in turn garnered more media attention, as mentioned by People magazine.

In Italy, it was the first album of the month in the Italian #1 Account by a non-Italian artist ever. In only a week, it already sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, becoming the fastest selling global female debut album. On 13 December 2009 she appeared in her own television special "I Dreamed a Dream: the Susan Boyle Story", featuring a duet with Elaine Paige. It got ratings of 10 million viewers in the United Kingdom and in America was the TV Guide Network's highest rated television special in its history.

In November 2009 it was reported that Boyle's rendition of 'I Dreamed a Dream' would be the theme song of the anime movie Eagle Talon The Movie 3, that was released in Japan on 16 January 2010.

In May 2010, Susan Boyle was voted by Time magazine as the seventh most influential person in the world, fourteen places above US President Barack Obama, who received one fifth of her votes, and fifty seven above French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Boyle performed for Pope Benedict XVI on his tour of Britain in 2010.

The Gift (2010–present)

On 9 July 2010, Boyle announced that her second album would be a Christmas album entitled The Gift. As part of the lead up to the album, she will be holding a competition 'Susan's Search', the winner of which would get to sing a duet with her on her new CD. The album was released on 8 November 2010.

Produced by Steve Mac, who says "Now Susan's used to the studio and the recording process, this time round we might go even further down a traditional route of recording by getting a band together and rehearsing songs before we go into the studio to see what works, how she reacts with certain parts, and so we can change the arrangements that way. I think that’s going to work much better....With Susan it’s very important she connects with the public and the public connect with her. She doesn’t want to sing anything that hasn’t happened to her or she can’t relate to." Boyle has suggested the album will include some jazz numbers now she's "a bit more content" within herself. "My next album has to have an element of surprise in it again. I'm hoping to make it better and a bit extra special."

In August 2010, British tabloid, News of the World, reported that Boyle was experiencing financial woes as Boyle was unable to access her fortune, which was being controlled by her management team – consisting of Andy Stephens, Ossie Killkenny, and Susan's lawyer niece Kirsty Foy. Boyle's brother Gerry said his sister was fearful of losing her contract and of returning to her previous financial situation, and that she has been unable to move into her £300,000 five-bedroom house in Blackburn because she does not have the cash to furnish it. He said "[Susan's] millions are ring-fenced but Susan has no concept of money," and was "extremely distressed" at having to live off £300 a week, after being banned from withdrawing money from the bank or owning a credit card. This story was contradicted the following day though by the news that she had bought two houses. It was also reported that she had recently been on a spending spree, where she had bought a grand piano, iPhone, and five dresses made by Stewart Parvin, the Queen's dressmaker. The press had previously stated that Susan Boyle was suing her brother Gerry for other stories he'd sold to the newspapers.

In November 2010, Boyle became only one of three to ever top both the UK and US album charts twice in the same year. On 30 November 2010, Susan performed both on ABC"s The View and sang "O Holy Night", and later on NBC's Christmas at Rockefeller Center, where she performed "Perfect Day" and "Away in a Manger". During her appearance on The View she was unable to finish her song, stating she had a "frog in her throat"; she wanted to start the song over but wasn't allowed to. The audience applauded her anyway, and she later performed an unaired version of the song, which was uploaded to The View's YouTube account.

Media impact

Web sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have been crucial in facilitating Boyle's rapid rise to fame: The most popular YouTube video submission of her audition garnered nearly 2.5 million views in the first 72 hours. On the day following the performance, the YouTube video was the most popular article on Digg and made the front page of Reddit. Within a week, the audition performance had been viewed more than 66 million times, setting an online record, while on Wikipedia her biographical article attracted nearly half a million page views. A total of 103 million video views on 20 different Web sites was reached within nine days. The Los Angeles Times wrote that her popularity on YouTube may in part be due to the broad range of emotion packed into a short clip which was "perfect for the Internet". In December 2009 her audition was named the most watched Youtube video of the year with over 120 million viewings, more than three times higher than the second most popular video.

Additionally, Boyle’s first on camera interview with Scots journalist Richard Mooney for her local newspaper the West Lothian Courer, was named as YouTube’s Most Memorable Video of 2009. The video went viral after being uploaded to YouTube on 14 April 2009.

Many newspapers around the world (including China, Brazil and the Middle East) carried articles on Boyle's performance. British tabloid The Sun gave her the nickname "Paula Potts" in reference to the first series' winner Paul Potts. Later, the British press took to referring to her by a short-form of her name, 'SuBo'. In the U.S., several commentators also drew parallels between Boyle's performance and that of Potts. ABC News hailed "Britain's newest pop sensation", and its Entertainment section headlined Boyle as "The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell".

Within the week following her performance on Britain's Got Talent, Boyle was a guest on STV's The Five Thirty Show. She was interviewed via satellite on CBS's Early Show, NBC's Today, FOX's America's Newsroom. and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Via satellite on Larry King Live, Boyle performed an a cappella verse of "My Heart Will Go On". She was also portrayed in drag by Jay Leno, who joked that they were related through his mother's Scottish heritage.

At the invitation of NHK, a major Japanese broadcaster, Boyle appeared as a guest singer for the 2009 edition of Kōhaku Uta Gassen, annual songfest on 31 December in Tokyo. She was introduced as the by the MCs and appeared on the stage escorted by Takuya Kimura, and sang "I Dreamed a Dream".

Although not eligible for the 2010 Grammy Awards, its host Stephen Colbert paid tribute to Boyle at the ceremony, telling its audience "you may be the coolest people in the world, but this year your industry was saved by a 48-year-old Scottish cat lady in sensible shoes." There was also earlier controversy, when Boyle was not nominated in any of the categories for the 2010 Brit Awards.

Musical biography

It has been announced that Boyle will appear in a musical about her life. She will appear as herself, rather than "having to sit watching people up there" who are actors. The musical will "tell the singer's entire life story, including her years living with her moggy back in Blackburn before her world-famous telly audition." The show may play in the West End before touring the United Kingdom.

Social analyses

Judging by appearance

The Huffington Post noted that the producers of the show would have anticipated the potential of this story arc, by deliberately presenting Boyle in a manner that would enhance this initial reaction. The Herald described Boyle's story as a modern parable and a rebuke to people's tendency to judge others based on their physical appearance. Similarly, Entertainment Weekly said that Boyle's performance was a victory for talent and artistry in a culture obsessed with physical attractiveness and presentation. The Washington Post believed that her initial demeanour and homely appearance caused the judges and audience to be "waiting for her to squawk like a duck". New York's Daily News said that an underdog being ridiculed or humiliated but then enjoying an unexpected triumph is a common trope in literature, and the stark contrast between the audience's low expectations and the quality of her singing made Boyle's performance such an engaging piece of television.

Feminist view

R.M. Campbell, music critic for The Gathering Note compared her to Ella Fitzgerald, in that "[... it is] really, really hard to make a career if a woman isn't attractive." In another Huffington Post article, Letty Cottin Pogrebin wrote that although people may "weep for the years of wasted talent", Boyle's performance was a triumph for "women of a certain age" over a youth culture that often dismisses middle-aged women. Tanya Gold wrote in The Guardian that the difference between Boyle's hostile reception and the more neutral response to Paul Potts in his first audition reflected society's expectation that women be both good-looking and talented, with no such expectation existing for men. Los Angeles vocal coach Eric Vetro stated, "She's an Everywoman as opposed to an untouchable fantasy goddess, so maybe that's why people react to her."

'American Dream'

Several media sources have commented that Boyle's success seemed to have particular resonance in the United States. An American entertainment correspondent was quoted in The Scotsman comparing Boyle's story to the American Dream, as representing talent overcoming adversity and poverty. The Associated Press described this as Boyle's "hardscrabble story", dwelling on her modest lifestyle and what they characterised as urban deprivation in her home town. Similarly, The Independent's New York correspondent David Usborne wrote that the United States will always respond to "the fairy tale where the apparently unprepossessing suddenly becomes pretty, from Shrek to My Fair Lady".

Cultural references

The American cartoon show South Park made a reference to the Susan Boyle craze in the episode "Fatbeard", which aired on 22 April 2009; the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show aired a comedy sketch showing the "feel good" effect that Susan Boyle's performance has had on people; The Simpsons aired a new commercial for its 20th-anniversary show "Springfield's Got Talent", in which Homer Simpson talks about his dreams "to be a great singer like Boyle". A European trailer for the video game The Sims 3 includes a character mocked up as Boyle. In June 2009, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a short story called "I Dreamed a Dream" that was based on a combination of Boyle's appearances on Britain's Got Talent and the political difficulties of Gordon Brown. The 5 November 2009 episode of the show 30 Rock showed recurring character Kathy Geiss (Marceline Hugot) – who has a dowdy appearance – singing in the style of Susan Boyle as Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy teared up. In a Season 35 sketch on Saturday Night Live, an accountant (Andy Samberg) doing Boyle's taxes, notes that her income for 2008 was $1, $900,000,000 for 2009, and projected to be $1 for 2010. Bobby Moynihan played Boyle in the sketch.

In the Futurama episode Attack of the Killer App, Leela has a boil named Susan ("Susan Boil") that can sing show tunes.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Featured singles

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Category:1961 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Britain's Got Talent contestants Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Internet memes Category:Living people Category:People from Blackburn, West Lothian Category:Scottish female singers Category:Scottish people of Irish descent Category:Scottish pop singers Category:Scottish Roman Catholics Category:Torch singers

Name	Justin Bieber
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Justin Drew Bieber
Born	March 01, 1994
Origin	Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, percussion,
Genre	Pop, R&B; ( , born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian pop-R&B; singer. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who happened to come across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher, and then to a recording contract with Island Records offered by L.A. Reid. His first full studio release, My World 2.0, was released on March 23, 2010 and has since received similar success; it debuted at number one and within the top ten of several countries and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the worldwide top-ten single, "Baby," in January 2010.
Name	Bieber, Justin
Short description	Canadian singer
Date of birth	March 1, 1994
Place of birth	Stratford, Ontario, Canada

Category:1994 births Category:Living people Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Canadian child singers Category:Canadian dance musicians Category:Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Category:Canadian Internet personalities Category:Canadian male singers Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian rhythm and blues singers Category:Hip hop singers Category:Island Records artists Category:Musicians from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Musicians from Ontario Category:People from Stratford, Ontario Category:Canadian people of German descent

Cyriak Harris is a British freelance animator better known by his first name Cyriak, and his B3ta username Mutated Monty. He is known for his surreal short web animations.

A regular contributor to the British website B3ta since 2004, Cyriak displays a surreal and often disturbing animation style with a distinct British theme. Many of his animations are based on Z-List celebrities, television shows and his hometown of Brighton.

His work has been noticed by the BBC which resulted in a short interview, and the airing of his animation DeadEnders (based on the long-running soap opera EastEnders) on the BBC3 comedy series Comedy Shuffle. He also received a special mention in the results of a photoshop competition run by the technology series Click.

Cyriak's YouTube account features a compilation of his animations, which have been popular throughout the blogosphere and noted by Wired's Eliot Van Buskirk, and he was featured on the front page with his animation Moo.

As a freelance animator he has been commissioned by Coke for a Coke Zero advert, Cyriak's work has recurringly featured cats, cows, and robots, among other themes.

On 3 December 2009, Cyriak was announced as the winner of the 2009 E4 E Stings competition.

He has noted on his personal Youtube page that he uses a combination of Adobe Photoshop and After Effects for his animation and visuals along with Fruity Loops AKA FL Studio for original music pieces alongside his videos.

See also

B3ta

References

External links

Cyriak's Website

Category:English animators Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:British Internet personalities Category:YouTube video producers

Name	Connie Talbot
Background	solo_singer
Born	November 20, 2000
Origin	Streetly, Walsall, West Midlands, England, UK
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	2007–present
Genre	Pop
Occupation	Singer
Label	Rainbow Recording Company
Url	http://www.connietalbot.com

Connie Talbot (born 20 November 2000) is an English child singer from Streetly, Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands. She rose to fame in 2007 when she reached the final of the television talent show Britain's Got Talent, where she lost to Paul Potts. Talbot was supposed to sign with Sony BMG but the label pulled out of the deal due to her age.

Talbot signed with Rainbow Recording Company and released her debut album Over the Rainbow in the UK on 26 November 2007. The album was re-released 18 June 2008 with a new track listing, and the first single from the album, a cover of Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds", was released on 10 June. Songs from Over the Rainbow are to be featured in an upcoming video game about Talbot.

Despite its negative critical reception, Over the Rainbow has sold over 250,000 copies worldwide and reached number one in three countries. Since the initial album release, Talbot has performed publicly and on television in Europe, the U.S. and across Asia, where her music had gained recognition through YouTube. Her second album, Connie Talbot's Christmas Album, was released on 24 November 2008; her third, Holiday Magic, was released in late 2009. On top of her musical career, Talbot continues to attend primary school and lives in Streetly with her family.

History

Britain's Got Talent and Sony BMG

Talbot initially auditioned for the first series of television reality show Britain's Got Talent for fun, but her confidence increased when Simon Cowell, whom she is said to have idolised, The judges expected a "joke" performance and she had never taken singing lessons, but Talbot's initial performance received international press coverage. She reached the final round after winning her semi-final with a live performance of "Ben" by Michael Jackson. On the night of the final, she sang The Wizard of Oz's "Over the Rainbow", but lost to Paul Potts as a result of the call-in vote. Talbot and Potts had been joint favourites to win the series. According to journalist and Britain's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan, Talbot's performances resulted in many children, including Faryl Smith, auditioning for the second series of the show. After his victory, Series 2 winner George Sampson spoke of his participation in the first series, where he was knocked out before the live shows, saying "I don't think I had any shot of winning last year ... When you look at the standard of Paul Potts and Connie Talbot. Paul Potts is out of this league, and Connie is out of this league - I wasn't good enough." Talbot voted for Sampson, saying "I liked his dancing - he was good on the lamppost". Talbot's mother, Sharon, said she was told that her daughter "...was too young to be their sort of artist", adding "We have been told to look for a company which looks after children." In a statement, the label said "there was some deliberation over the possibility of recording with Connie ... However, the decision not to proceed was made with the best intentions for Connie, taking into consideration her age and that it would not be right to do so at this time." Before the album was released, there was much speculation about Talbot and the album, with music experts describing her as potentially being "the next Charlotte Church". on 12 October 2007]] The team behind the album consisted of John Arnison, who also managed Gabrielle and Billy Ocean, and Marc Marot, former managing director of Island Records. Arnison revealed that he and his team "are not going to give [Talbot] singing lessons – we don't need to", and said that when he met Talbot, he was "blown away". A schedule was worked out allowing Talbot to continue with her normal school activities while recording the album in her aunt Vicky's spare bedroom, which her mother described as "a better solution [than Sony BMG offered] which has not robbed her of her childhood". The album was certified gold in early December, with Talbot being presented a gold disc by Phillip Schofield on This Morning.

In late 2007, public appearances by Talbot included headlining the Great Bridge Christmas and Winter Festival, which local police threatened to cancel unless crowds clamouring to reach the tent in which Talbot was performing could be brought under control. TV appearances included GMTV and Channel 5 news, both on 26 November 2007. Nick Levine, of Digital Spy, said in a review of the album that Talbot had a "sweet, pure voice", but that there is "no nuance or depth to her performance". However, he said that "There's something inherently wrong about awarding a star rating to a seven-year-old", and that "the decidedly adult concept of musical merit should have nothing to do with [her music]", awarding the album 2/5. The first single from the album, "Three Little Birds", was released in June 2008, and a video for the song was shot in Jamaica. Asian press attributed her success to her videos on YouTube, with the Sun.Star mentioning that her most viewed video had been watched over 14 million times, Following the tour, it was reported that the album had reached number one on the charts in Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong, Talbot has rerecorded the album for the game, but there are other elements that need to be completed. The game was scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2009, The U.S. version was eventually released on 14 October, with Talbot appearing on American television shows including The Ellen DeGeneres Show to publicise the release.

Christmas Album and Holiday Magic

In November 2008, it was announced that Talbot had produced a series of new songs for an album. It is a Christmas themed album, News was also released of a one-off Christmas special to be shown on ITV1 in the days leading up to Christmas, featuring footage of Talbot's journey to America and a "secret concert" at her primary school. The documentary, Christmas with Connie, was shown on ITV Central on 18 December. Talbot appeared at Walsall's HMV branch shortly after the release of her Christmas Album to sign copies and meet fans. She then embarked on a promotional tour making stops around the world, which included a performance at Ewha Womans University in Korea, and a performance on the A Heart for Children television charity gala in Berlin, Germany. She returned home in mid December, to have "a quiet family Christmas". There are plans for a promotional trip to the U.S. in 2009. Reviewing the album for FemaleFirst magazine, Ruth Harrison gave it 4/5, saying that Talbot has "a great voice when it comes to swing, but lets us down in parts".

In April 2009, Talbot again travelled to the U.S. in order to publicise her new single, a cover of "I Will Always Love You". The single was released in the U.S. on 7 April, along with a newly recorded "You Raise Me Up". Talbot then travelled to the U.S. on 30 April, and returned on the 2 May. Appearances included a performance on Good Day New York on Fox Broadcasting Company's WNYW. The single peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales. She lives with her mother, Sharon, her father Gavin, a self-employed property maintenance engineer, her brother Josh, and her sister, Mollie. Talbot drew confidence in Britain's Got Talent from the belief that her grandmother was watching, and vowed to win the show in her memory. | 1 | 3 | 8 Worldwide: 250,000+ | align=left|

UK: Gold

Taiwan: Platinum Hong Kong: Platinum | 1 | rowspan=2| Over The Rainbow |- | 2009 |align=left| "I Will Always Love You" | - | 4 |}

References

External links

Official website

Official channel on YouTube (Former)

[ Connie Talbot] at Allmusic

Connie Talbot on MySpace

Category:2000 births Category:Living people Category:English child singers Category:English female singers Category:Britain's Got Talent contestants Category:People from Walsall (district) Category:English pop singers