(1795-1858).]] Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional connection to a god or spirit through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of a hymn, incantation, formal creedal statement, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person. There are different forms of prayer such as petitionary prayer, prayers of supplication, thanksgiving, and worship/praise. Prayer may be directed towards a deity, spirit, deceased person, or lofty idea, for the purpose of worshipping, requesting guidance, requesting assistance, confessing sins or to express one's thoughts and emotions. Thus, people pray for many reasons such as personal benefit or for the sake of others.

Most major religions involve prayer in one way or another. Some ritualize the act of prayer, requiring a strict sequence of actions or placing a restriction on who is permitted to pray, while others teach that prayer may be practiced spontaneously by anyone at any time.

Scientific studies regarding the use of prayer have mostly concentrated on its effect on the healing of sick or injured people. The efficacy of petition in prayer for physical healing to a deity has been evaluated in numerous studies, with contradictory results. There has been some criticism of the way the studies were conducted.

Forms of prayer

Various spiritual traditions offer a wide variety of devotional acts. There are morning and evening prayers, graces said over meals, and reverent physical gestures. Some Christians bow their heads and fold their hands. Some Native Americans regard dancing as a form of prayer. Some Sufis whirl. Hindus chant mantras. Orthodox Jews sway their bodies back and forth and Salah for Muslims ("kneel and prostrate as seen on the right"). Quakers keep silent. Some pray according to standardized rituals and liturgies, while others prefer extemporaneous prayers. Still others combine the two.

These methods show a variety of understandings to prayer, which are led by underlying beliefs.

These beliefs may be that

the finite can communicate with the infinite

the infinite is interested in communicating with the finite

prayer is intended to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, rather than to influence the recipient

prayer is intended to train a person to focus on the recipient through philosophy and intellectual contemplation

prayer is intended to enable a person to gain a direct experience of the recipient

prayer is intended to affect the very fabric of reality as we perceive it

prayer is a catalyst for change in oneself and/or one's circumstances, or likewise those of third party beneficiaries

the recipient desires and appreciates prayer

or any combination of these.

The act of prayer is attested in written sources as early as 5000 years ago. Some anthropologists, such as Sir Edward Burnett Tylor and Sir James George Frazer, believed that the earliest intelligent modern humans practiced something that we would recognize today as prayer.

Friedrich Heiler is often cited in Christian circles for his systematic Typology of Prayer which lists six types of prayer: primitive, ritual, Greek cultural, philosophical, mystical, and prophetic.

The act of worship

Prayer has many different forms. Prayer may be done privately and individually, or it may be done corporately in the presence of fellow believers. Prayer can be incorporated into a daily "thought life", in which one is in constant communication with a god. Some people pray throughout all that is happening during the day and seek guidance as the day progresses. This is actually regarded as a requirement in several Christian denominations, although enforcement is not possible nor desirable. There can be many different answers to prayer, just as there are many ways to interpret an answer to a question, if there in fact comes an answer. ringing a bell; burning incense or paper; lighting a candle or candles; facing a specific direction (i.e. towards Mecca or the East); making the sign of the cross. One less noticeable act related to prayer is fasting.

A variety of body postures may be assumed, often with specific meaning (mainly respect or adoration) associated with them: standing; sitting; kneeling; prostrate on the floor; eyes opened; eyes closed; hands folded or clasped; hands upraised; holding hands with others; a laying on of hands and others. Prayers may be recited from memory, read from a book of prayers, or composed spontaneously as they are prayed. They may be said, chanted, or sung. They may be with musical accompaniment or not. There may be a time of outward silence while prayers are offered mentally. Often, there are prayers to fit specific occasions, such as the blessing of a meal, the birth or death of a loved one, other significant events in the life of a believer, or days of the year that have special religious significance. Details corresponding to specific traditions are outlined below.

Pre-Christian Europe

Etruscan, Greek, and Roman paganism

In the pre-Christian religions of Greeks and Romans (Ancient Greek religion, Roman religion), ceremonial prayer was highly formulaic and ritualized. The Iguvine Tables contain a supplication that can be translated, "If anything was said improperly, if anything was done improperly, let it be as if it were done correctly."

The formalism and formulaic nature of these prayers led them to be written down in language that may have only been partially understood by the writer, and our texts of these prayers may in fact be garbled. Prayers in Etruscan were used in the Roman world by augurs and other oracles long after Etruscan became a dead language. The Carmen Arvale and the Carmen Saliare are two specimens of partially preserved prayers that seem to have been unintelligible to their scribes, and whose language is full of archaisms and difficult passages.

Roman prayers and sacrifices were often envisioned as legal bargains between deity and worshipper. The Roman principle was expressed as do ut des: "I give, so that you may give." Cato the Elder's treatise on agriculture contains many examples of preserved traditional prayers; in one, a farmer addresses the unknown deity of a possibly sacred grove, and sacrifices a pig in order to placate the god or goddess of the place and beseech his or her permission to cut down some trees from the grove.

Germanic paganism

Sigrdrífa says a pagan Norse prayer in Sigrdrífumál. Illustration by Arthur Rackham.]] An amount of accounts of prayers to the gods in Germanic paganism survived the process of Christianization, though only a single prayer has survived without the interjection of Christian references. This prayer is recorded in stanzas 2 and 3 of the poem Sigrdrífumál, compiled in the 13th century Poetic Edda from earlier traditional sources, where the valkyrie Sigrdrífa prays to the gods and the earth after being woken by the hero Sigurd.

A prayer to the bigger god Odin is mentioned in chapter 2 of the Völsunga saga where King Rerir prays for a child. His prayer is answered by Frigg, wife of Odin, who sends him an apple, which is dropped on his lap by Frigg's servant in the form of a crow while Rerir is sitting on a mound. Rerir's wife eats the apple and is then pregnant with the hero Völsung. In stanza 9 of the poem Oddrúnargrátr, a prayer is made to "kind wights, Frigg and Freyja, and many gods," although since the poem is often considered one of the youngest poems in the Poetic Edda, the passage has been the matter of some debate.

In chapter 21 of Jómsvíkinga saga, wishing to turn the tide of the Battle of Hjörungavágr, Haakon Sigurdsson eventually finds his prayers answered by the goddesses Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr and Irpa (the first of the two described as Haakon's patron goddess) who appear in the battle, kill many of the opposing fleet, and cause the remnants of their forces to flee. However, this depiction of a pagan prayer has been criticized as inaccurate due to the description of Haakon dropping to his knees.

The 11th century manuscript for the Anglo-Saxon charm Æcerbot presents what is thought to be an originally pagan prayer for the fertility of the speaker's crops and land, though Christianization is apparent throughout the charm. The 8th century Wessobrunn Prayer has been proposed as a Christianized pagan prayer and compared to the pagan Völuspá and the Merseburg Incantations, the latter recorded in the 9th or 10th century but of much older traditional origins.

Abrahamic religions

Bible

In the common Bible of the Abrahamic religions, various forms of prayer appear; the most common forms being petition, thanksgiving, and worship. The longest book in the Bible is the Book of Psalms, 150 religious songs which are often regarded as prayers. Other well-known Biblical prayers include the Song of Moses (Exodus 15:1-18), the Song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10), and the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). But perhaps the best-known prayer in the Bible is the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13; Luke 11:2-4).

Judaism

Jews pray three times a day, with lengthier prayers on special days, such as the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. The siddur is the prayerbook used by Jews all over the world, containing a set order of daily prayers. Jewish prayer is usually described as having two aspects: kavanah (intention) and keva (the ritualistic, structured elements).

The most important Jewish prayers are the Shema Yisrael ("Hear O Israel") and the Amidah ("the standing prayer").

Communal prayer is preferred over solitary prayer, and a quorum of 10 adult males (a minyan) is considered by Orthodox Judaism a prerequisite for several communal prayers. women praying in Jerusalem's Western Wall tunnel]]

Rationalist approach to prayer

In this view, ultimate goal of prayer is to help train a person to focus on divinity through philosophy and intellectual contemplation. This approach was taken by Maimonides and the other medieval rationalists. One example of this approach to prayer is noted by Rabbi Steven Weil, who was appointed the Orthodox Union's Executive-Vice President in 2009. He notes that the word “prayer” is a derivative of the Latin “precari”, which means “to beg”. The Hebrew equivalent “tefilah”, however, along with its root “pelel” or its reflexive “l’hitpallel”, means the act of self-analysis or self-evaluation. This approach is sometimes described as the person praying having a dialogue or conversation with God.

Educational approach to prayer

In this view, prayer is not a conversation. Rather, it is meant to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, but not to influence. This has been the approach of Rabbenu Bachya, Yehuda Halevy, Joseph Albo, Samson Raphael Hirsch, and Joseph Dov Soloveitchik. This view is expressed by Rabbi Nosson Scherman in the overview to the Artscroll Siddur (p. XIII); note that Scherman goes on to also affirm the Kabbalistic view (see below).

Kabbalistic approach to prayer

Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) uses a series of kavanot, directions of intent, to specify the path the prayer ascends in the dialog with God, to increase its chances of being answered favorably. Kabbalists ascribe a higher meaning to the purpose of prayer, which is no less than affecting the very fabric of reality itself, restructuring and repairing the universe in a real fashion. In this view, every word of every prayer, and indeed, even every letter of every word, has a precise meaning and a precise effect. Prayers thus literally affect the mystical forces of the universe, and repair the fabric of creation.

Among Jews, this approach has been taken by the Chassidei Ashkenaz (German pietists of the Middle-Ages), the Arizal's Kabbalist tradition, Ramchal, most of Hassidism, the Vilna Gaon, and Jacob Emden.

Christianity

-style bronze panagia from Jerusalem, showing the Virgin Mary in the orans prayer posture.]] Christian prayers are quite varied. They can be completely spontaneous, or read entirely from a text, like the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Probably the most common and universal prayer among Christians is the Lord's Prayer, which according to the gospel accounts is how Jesus taught his disciples to pray. Some Protestant denominations choose not to recite the Lord's Prayer or other rote prayers.

Christians generally pray to God or to the Father. Some Christians (e.g., Catholics, Orthodox) will also ask the righteous in heaven and "in Christ," such as Virgin Mary or other saints to intercede by praying on their behalf (intercession of saints). Formulaic closures include "through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, through all the ages of ages," and "in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

It is customary among Protestants to end prayers with "In Jesus' name, Amen" or "In the name of Christ, Amen" However, the most commonly used closure in Christianity is simply "Amen" (from a Hebrew adverb used as a statement of affirmation or agreement, usually translated as so be it).

There is also the form of prayer called hesychast which is a repetitious type of prayer for the purpose of meditation. In the Western or Latin Rite of Catholic Church, probably the most common is the Rosary; In the Eastern Church (the Eastern rites of the Catholic Church and Orthodox Church), the Jesus Prayer.

Roman Catholic tradition includes specific prayers and devotions as acts of reparation which do not involve a petition for a living or deceased beneficiary, but aim to repair the sins of others, e.g. for the repair of the sin of blasphemy performed by others.

Pentecostalism

In Pentecostal congregations, prayer is often done by speaking in a foreign tongue, a practice now known as glossolalia. Practitioners of Pentecostal glossolalia may claim that the languages they speak in prayer are real foreign languages, and that the ability to speak those languages spontaneously is a gift of the Holy Spirit; however, many people outside the movement have offered alternative views. George Barton Cutten suggested that glossolalia was a sign of mental illness. Felicitas Goodman suggested that tongue speakers were under a form of hypnosis. Others suggest that it is a learned behaviour. Some of these views have allegedly been refuted.

Christian Science

Christian Science teaches that prayer is a spiritualization of thought or an understanding of God and of the nature of the underlying spiritual creation. Adherents believe that this can result in healing, by bringing spiritual reality (the "Kingdom of Heaven" in Biblical terms) into clearer focus in the human scene. The world as it appears to the senses is regarded as a distorted version of the world of spiritual ideas. Prayer can heal the distortion. Christian Scientists believe that prayer does not change the spiritual creation but gives a clearer view of it, and the result appears in the human scene as healing: the human picture adjusts to coincide more nearly with the divine reality. Christian Scientists do not practice intercessory prayer as it is commonly understood, and they generally avoid combining prayer with medical treatment in the belief that the two practices tend to work against each other. (However, the choice of healing method is regarded as a matter for the individual, and the Christian Science Church exerts no pressure on members to avoid medical treatment if they wish to avail of it as an alternative to Christian Science healing.) Prayer works through love: the recognition of God's creation as spiritual, intact, and inherently lovable. The Christian Scientists' aim is "to reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing" (Manual of The Mother Church, p.17) which, they believe, was lost after the early centuries of Christianity. They cite such Bible texts as ; in support of their contention that Christian faith demands demonstration in healing. This is a faith in the omnipotence of God, which according to the Christian Science interpretation of the Bible, logically rules out any other power: . The Christian Science view is that Jesus taught that we should claim good as being present, right here and now, and that this will result in healing: (; ). Christian Scientists point to Jesus' teaching that his followers would do "greater works" than he did () and that a person who lived in conformity with his teachings would not be subject even to death: ()

Prevalence

Some modalities of alternative medicine employ prayer. A survey released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, found that in 2002, 43% of Americans pray for their own health, 24% pray for others' health, and 10% participate in a prayer group for their own health.

Islam

praying during the Hajj at Masjid al-Haram, Mecca.]] Muslims pray a ritualistic prayer called salah or salat in Arabic, facing the Kaaba in Mecca, five times a day. The command to pray is in the Quran in several chapters. The prophet Muhammed showed each Muslim the true method of offering prayers thus the same method is observed till date. There is the "call for prayer" (adhan or azaan), where the muezzin calls for all the followers to stand together for the prayer. The prayer consists of standing, by mentioning -àllàh o -àqbàr (God is great) followed by recitation of the first chapter of the Quran. After the person bends and praises god, then prostates and again praises god. The prayer ends with the following words "peace and blessings be upon you". During the prayer a Muslim cannot talk or do anything else besides praying. Once the prayer is complete one can offer voluntary prayers or supplicate -àllàh for his needs. There are also many standard duas or supplications, also in Arabic, to be recited at various times, e.g. for one's parents, after salah, before eating. Muslims may also say dua in their own words and languages for any issue they wish to communicate with God in the hope that God will answer their prayers.

Bahá'í

Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb, and `Abdu'l-Bahá have revealed many prayers for general use, and some for specific occasions, including for unity, detachment, spiritual upliftment, and healing among others. Bahá'ís are also required to recite each day one of three obligatory prayers revealed by Bahá'u'lláh. The believers have been enjoined to face in the direction of the Qiblih when reciting their Obligatory Prayer. The longest obligatory prayer may be recited at any time during the day; another, of medium length, is recited once in the morning, once at midday, and once in the evening; and the shortest can be recited anytime between noon and sunset. Bahá'ís also read from and meditate on the scriptures every morning and evening.

Eastern religions

In contrast with Western religion, Eastern religion for the most part discards worship and places devotional emphasis on the practice of meditation alongside scriptural study. Consequently, prayer is seen as a form of meditation or an adjunct practice to meditation.

Buddhism

praying at Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand.]] In certain Buddhist sects, prayer accompanies meditation. Buddhism for the most part sees prayer as a secondary, supportive practice to meditation and scriptural study. Gautama Buddha claimed that human beings possess the capacity and potential to be liberated, or enlightened, through contemplation, leading to insight. Prayer is seen mainly as a powerful psycho-physical practice that can enhance meditation.

In the earliest Buddhist tradition, the Theravada, and in the later Mahayana tradition of Zen (or Chán), prayer plays only an ancillary role. It is largely a ritual expression of wishes for success in the practice and in helping all beings.

The skillful means (Sanskrit: upaya) of the transfer of merit (Sanskrit: parinamana) is an evocation and prayer. Moreover, indeterminate buddhas are available for intercession as they reside in awoken-fields (Sanskrit: buddha-kshetra). The nirmanakaya of a awoken-field is what is generally known and understood as mandala. The opening and closing of the ring (Sanskrit: mandala) is an active prayer. An active prayer is a mindful activity, an activity in which mindfulness is not just cultivated but is. A common prayer is "May the merit of my practice, adorn Buddhas' Pure Lands, requite the fourfold kindness from above, and relieve the suffering of the three life-journeys below. Universally wishing sentient beings, Friends, foes, and karmic creditors, all to activate the bodhi mind, and all to be reborn in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss." (願以此功德 莊嚴佛淨土 上報四重恩 下濟三途苦 普願諸眾生 冤親諸債主 悉發菩提心 同生極樂國)

The Generation Stage (Sanskrit: utpatti-krama) of Vajrayana involves prayer elements.

The Tibetan Buddhism tradition emphasizes an instructive and devotional relationship to a guru; this may involve devotional practices known as guru yoga which are congruent with prayer. It also appears that Tibetan Buddhism posits the existence of various deities, but the peak view of the tradition is that the deities or yidam are no more existent or real than the continuity (Sanskrit: santana; refer mindstream) of the practitioner, environment and activity. But how practitioners engage yidam or tutelary deities will depend upon the level or more appropriately yana at which they are practicing. At one level, one may pray to a deity for protection or assistance, taking a more subordinate role. At another level, one may invoke the deity, on a more equal footing. And at a higher level one may deliberately cultivate the idea that one has become the deity, whilst remaining aware that its ultimate nature is shunyata. The views of the more esoteric yana are impenetrable for those without direct experience and empowerment. Pure Land Buddhism emphasizes the recitation of prayer-like mantras by devotees. On one level it is said that reciting these mantras can ensure rebirth into a sambhogakaya land (Sanskrit: buddha-kshetra) after bodily dissolution, a sheer ball spontaneously co-emergent to a buddha's enlightened intention. On another, the practice is a form of meditation aimed at achieving realization.

But beyond all these practices the Buddha emphasized the primacy of individual practice and experience. He said that supplication to gods or deities was not necessary. Nevertheless, today many lay people in East Asian countries pray to the Buddha in ways that resemble Western prayer—asking for intervention and offering devotion.

Hinduism

, Bangladesh, pray to the goddess during Durga Puja, October 2003.]]

Hinduism has incorporated many kinds of prayer (Sanskrit: prārthanā), from fire-based rituals to philosophical musings. While chanting involves 'by dictum' recitation of timeless verses or verses with timings and notations, dhyanam involves deep meditation (however short or long) on the preferred deity/God. Again the object to which prayers are offered could be a persons referred as devtas, trinity or incarnation of either devtas or trinity or simply plain formless meditation as practiced by the ancient sages. All of these are directed to fulfilling personal needs or deep spiritual enlightenment. Ritual invocation was part and parcel of the Vedic religion and as such permeated their sacred texts. Indeed, the highest sacred texts of the Hindus, the Vedas, are a large collection of mantras and prayer rituals. Classical Hinduism came to focus on extolling a single supreme force, Brahman, that is made manifest in several lower forms as the familiar gods of the Hindu pantheon. Hindus in India have numerous devotional movements. Hindus may pray to the highest absolute God Brahman, or more commonly to Its three manifestations namely creator god called Brahma, preserver god called Vishnu and destroyer god (so that the creation cycle can start afresh) Shiva, and at the next level to Vishnu's avatars (earthly appearances) Rama and Krishna or to many other male or female deities. Typically, Hindus pray with their hands (the palms) joined together in pranam. The hand gesture is similar to the popular Indian greeting namaste.

Jainism

Although Jains believe that no spirit or divine being can assist them on their path, they do hold some influence, and on special occasions, Jains will pray for right knowledge to the twenty-four Tirthankaras (saintly teachers) or sometimes to Hindu deities such as Ganesha.

Shinto

ese Shinto shrine.]] The practices involved in Shinto prayer are heavily influenced by Buddhism; Japanese Buddhism has also been strongly influenced by Shinto in turn. The most common and basic form of devotion involves throwing a coin, or several, into a collection box, ringing a bell, clapping one's hands, and contemplating one's wish or prayer silently. The bell and hand clapping are meant to wake up or attract the attention of the kami of the shrine, so that one's prayer may be heard.

Shinto prayers quite frequently consist of wishes or favors asked of the kami, rather than lengthy praises or devotions. Unlike in certain other faiths, it is not considered irregular or inappropriate to ask favors of the kami in this way, and indeed many shrines are associated with particular favors, such as success on exams.

In addition, one may write one's wish on a small wooden tablet, called an ema, and leave it hanging at the shrine, where the kami can read it. If the wish is granted, one may return to the shrine to leave another ema as an act of thanksgiving.

Sikhism

The Ardās (Punjabi: ਅਰਦਾਸ) is a Sikh prayer that is done before performing or after undertaking any significant task; after reciting the daily Banis (prayers); or completion of a service like the Paath, kirtan (hymn-singing) program or any other religious program. In Sikhism, these prayers are also said before and after eating. The prayer is a plea to God to support and help the devotee with whatever he or she is about to undertake or has done.

The Ardas is usually always done standing up with folded hands. The beginning of the Ardas is strictly set by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. When it comes to conclusion of this prayer, the devotee uses word like "Waheguru please bless me in the task that I am about to undertake" when starting a new task or "Akal Purakh, having completed the hymn-singing, we ask for your continued blessings so that we can continue with your memory and remember you at all times", etc. The word "Ardās" is derived from Persian word 'Arazdashat', meaning a request, supplication, prayer, petition or an address to a superior authority.

Ardās is a unique prayer based on the fact that it is one of the few well-known prayers in the Sikh religion that was not written in its entirety by the Gurus. The Ardās cannot be found within the pages of the Guru Granth Sahib because it is a continually changing devotional text that has evolved over time in order for it to encompass the feats, accomplishments, and feelings of all generations of Sikhs within its lines. Taking the various derivation of the word Ardās into account, the basic purpose of this prayer is an appeal to Waheguru for his protection and care, as well as being a plea for the welfare and prosperity of all mankind, and a means for the Sikhs to thank Waheguru for all that he has done.

Taoism

Prayer in Taoism is less common than Fulu, which is the drawing and writing of supernatural talismans.

Animism

Although prayer in its literal sense is not used in animism, communication with the spirit world is vital to the animist way of life. This is usually accomplished through a shaman who, through a trance, gains access to the spirit world and then shows the spirits' thoughts to the people. Other ways to receive messages from the spirits include using astrology or contemplating fortune tellers and healers. The native religions in some parts of North, East and South Asia, America, Africa, and Oceania are often animistic.

America

The Aztec religion was not strictly animist. It had an ever increasing pantheon of deities, and the shamans performed ritual prayer to these deities in their respective temples. These shamans made petitions to the proper deities in exchange for a sacrifice offering: food, flowers, effigies, and animals, usually quail. But the larger the thing required from the God the larger the sacrifice had to be, and for the most important rites one would offer one's own blood; by cutting his ears, arms, tongue, thighs, chest or genitals, and often a human life; either warrior, slave, or even self-sacrifice.

The Pueblo Indians are known to have used prayer sticks, that is, sticks with feathers attached as supplicatory offerings. The Hopi Indians used prayer sticks as well, but they attached to it a small bag of sacred meat.

Australia

In Australia, prayers to the "Great Wit" are performed by the "clever wapmen" and "clever women", or kadji. These Aboriginal shamans use maban or mabain, the material that is believed to give them their purported magical powers.

Neopaganism

Adherents to forms of modern Neopaganism pray to various gods. The most commonly worshiped and prayed to gods are those of Pre-Christian Europe, such as Celtic, Norse, or Graeco-Roman gods. Prayer can vary from sect to sect, and with some (such as Wicca) prayer may also be associated with ritual magick.

Theurgy and Western Esotericism

Practitioners of theurgy and western esotericism may practice a form of ritual which utilizes both pre-sanctioned prayers and names of God, and prayers "from the heart" that, when combined, allows the participant to ascend spiritually, and in some instances, induce a trance in which God or other spiritual beings may be realized. Very similar to hermetic qabala, and orthodox qabala, it is believed that prayer can influence both the physical and non-physical worlds. The use of ritualistic signs and names are believed to be archetypes in which the subconscious may take form as the Inner God, or another spiritual being, and the "prayer from the heart" to be that spiritual force speaking through the participant.

Approaches to prayer

showing the hand position of a medieval commendation ceremony.]]

Direct petitions to God

From Biblical times to today, the most common form of prayer is to directly appeal to God to grant one's requests. This in many ways is the simplest form of prayer. Some have termed this the social approach to prayer. In this view, a person directly enters into God's rest, and asks for their needs to be fulfilled. God listens to the prayer, and may so or not choose to answer in the way one asks of him. This is the primary approach to prayer found in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, most of the Church writings, and in rabbinic literature such as the Talmud.

Educational approach

In this view, prayer is not a conversation. Rather, it is meant to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, but not to influence. Among Jews, this has been the approach of Rabbenu Bachya, Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, Joseph Albo, Samson Raphael Hirsch, and Joseph B. Soloveitchik. This view is expressed by Rabbi Nosson Scherman in the overview to the Artscroll Siddur (p. XIII).

Among Christian theologians, E.M. Bounds stated the educational purpose of prayer in every chapter of his book, The Necessity of Prayer. Prayer books such as the Book of Common Prayer are both a result of this approach and an exhortation to keep it.

Rationalist approach

In this view, the ultimate goal of prayer is to help train a person to focus on divinity through philosophy and intellectual contemplation. This approach was taken by the Jewish scholar and philosopher Maimonides and the other medieval rationalists; it became popular in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic intellectual circles, but never became the most popular understanding of prayer among the laity in any of these faiths. In all three of these faiths today, a significant minority of people still hold to this approach.

Experiential approach

In this approach, the purpose of prayer is to enable the person praying to gain a direct experience of the recipient of the prayer (or as close to direct as a specific theology permits). This approach is very significant in Christianity and widespread in Judaism (although less popular theologically). In Eastern Orthodoxy, this approach is known as hesychasm. It is also widespread in Sufi Islam, and in some forms of mysticism. It has some similarities with the rationalist approach, since it can also involve contemplation, although the contemplation is not generally viewed as being as rational or intellectual.

Prayer groups

A prayer group is a group of people that meet to pray together. These groups, formed mostly within Christian congregations but occasionally among Muslim groups as well, gather outside of the congregation's regular worship service to pray for perceived needs, sometimes within the congregation, sometimes within their religious group at large. However, these groups often pray also for the world around them, including people who do not share their beliefs.

Many prayer group meetings are held according to a regular schedule, usually once a week. However, extraordinary events, such as the September 11 attacks or major disasters spawned a number of improvised prayer group meetings. Prayer groups do not need to meet in person, and there are a vast array of single-purpose prayer groups in the world.

Prayer healing

Prayer is often used as a means of faith healing in an attempt to use religious or spiritual means to prevent illness, cure disease, or improve health. Some attempt to heal by prayer, mental practices, spiritual insights, or other techniques, claiming they can summon divine or supernatural intervention on behalf of the ill. Others advocate that ill people may achieve healing through prayer performed by themselves. According to the varied beliefs of those who practice it, faith healing may be said to afford gradual relief from pain or sickness or to bring about a sudden "miracle cure", and it may be used in place of, or in tandem with, conventional medical techniques for alleviating or curing diseases. Faith healing has been criticized on the grounds that those who use it may delay seeking potentially curative conventional medical care. This is particularly problematic when parents use faith healing techniques on children.

Efficacy of prayer healing

In 1872, Francis Galton conducted a famous statistical experiment to determine whether prayer had a physical effect on the external environment. Galton hypothesized that if prayer was effective, members of the British Royal family would live longer, given that thousands prayed for their wellbeing every Sunday. He therefore compared longevity in the British Royal family with that of the general population, and found no difference. One such study, with a double-blind design and about 500 subjects per group, was published in 1988; it suggested that intercessory prayer by born again Christians had a statistically significant positive effect on a coronary care unit population. although the Harris study did demonstrate the prayed for patients on average received lower course scores (indicating better recovery).

One of the largest randomized, blind clinical trials was a remote retroactive intercessory prayer study conducted in Israel by Leibovici. This study used 3393 patient records from 1990–96, and blindly assigned some of these to an intercessory prayer group. The prayer group had shorter hospital stays and duration of fever.

Several studies of prayer effectiveness have yielded null results. Similarly, the MANTRA study conducted by Duke University found no differences in outcome of cardiac procedures as a result of prayer. In another similar study published in the American Heart Journal in 2006, Christian intercessory prayer when reading a scripted prayer was found to have no effect on the recovery of heart surgery patients; however, the study found patients who had knowledge of receiving prayer had slightly higher instances of complications than those who did not know if they were being prayed for or those who did not receive prayer. Another 2006 study suggested that prayer actually had a significant negative effect on the recovery of cardiac bypass patients, resulting in more frequent deaths and slower recovery time for those patient who received prayers.

Many believe that prayer can aid in recovery, not due to divine influence but due to psychological and physical benefits. It has also been suggested that if a person knows that he or she is being prayed for it can be uplifting and increase morale, thus aiding recovery. (See Subject-expectancy effect.) Many studies have suggested that prayer can reduce physical stress, regardless of the god or gods a person prays to, and this may be true for many worldly reasons. According to a study by Centra State Hospital, "the psychological benefits of prayer may help reduce stress and anxiety, promote a more positive outlook, and strengthen the will to live." Other practices such as yoga, tai chi, and meditation may also have a positive impact on physical and psychological health.

Others feel that the concept of conducting prayer experiments reflects a misunderstanding of the purpose of prayer. The previously mentioned American Heart Journal study published in the American Heart Journal indicated that some of the intercessors who took part in it complained about the scripted nature of the prayers that were imposed to them,

See also

24-7 Prayer Movement

Affirmative prayer

Affirmations (New Age)

Daily Prayer for Peace

Glossolalia ("speaking in tongues")

Hesychasm

Ho'oponopono

Interior Life

Jewish services and List of Jewish prayers and blessings

List of prayers

Mani stone

Mantra

Meditation

Moment of silence

Mystic prayer

National Day of Prayer (US)

Orant

Prayer beads

Prayer in LDS theology and practice

Prayer in school

Prayer wheel

Prie-dieu

Supplication

Tibetan prayer flag

Trance

References and footnotes

External links

PBS Documentary on Prayer in America

Scientific study of effect of prayer on recovery of patients

Category:Spirituality Category:Spiritual practice

Name	Yolanda Adams
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Yolanda Yvette Adams
Born	August 27, 1961
Origin	Houston, Texas, United States
Genre	Gospel, urban gospel
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, music producer, actress, radio host
Years active	1979 – present
Label	Sound of Gospel (1987-1989) Tribute/Benson (1991-1996) Verity (1996-1998) Elektra (1998-2004) Atlantic (2004-2007) Columbia (2007-present)
Url	YolandaAdamsLive.com

Yolanda Adams (born Yolanda Yvette Adams on August 27, 1961) is an American Grammy- and Dove-award winning Gospel music singer and radio show host. As of September 2009, she had sold 4.5 million albums since 1991, according to SoundScan.

On December 11, 2009 Billboard Magazine named her the 1st Gospel Artist of the last decade. In the same chart, her album "Mountain High...Valley Low" was acknowledged as the best gospel album.

Life

The oldest of six siblings, Adams was raised in Houston, Texas. She graduated from Sterling High School in Houston in 1979. After graduating from Texas Southern University, she began a career as a schoolteacher and part-time model in Houston, Texas. Eventually she gave up teaching to perform full-time as a lead singer.

Musical career

Beginnings

Adams first attracted the attention of Thomas Whitfield and Sound of Gospel Records as a lead singer with Houston's Southeast Inspirational Choir affiliated with the Church of God in Christ, under the direction of Carl Preacher, Brenda Waters, and Shirley Joiner. The choir released the single in 1982 "For My Liberty" with Adams as the featured vocalist. In 1986, Adams was featured on the Edwin Hawkins Music and Arts Seminar Choir release "Give Us Peace", with a performance titled "My Trust Lies In You". Later, she signed a recording contract with Sound of Gospel which yielded her first album Just As I Am in 1987. In 1990, she signed to Ben Tankard's independent label Tribute Records and released Through The Storm. Two years later, Adams followed with Save the World, which included her first signature song "The Battle Is The Lord's". Her next release was 1995's More Than A Melody, which featured production work from Ben Tankard, O'Landa Draper, and BeBe Winans. The single "Gotta Have Love," from that album featuring Tony Terry on background vocals, gained mainstream notoriety and was her first single and music video. Yolanda... Live In Washington, released the following year, featured versions of material from her first two albums. The footage from this recording was released as a collection of two videos on VHS initially, and later as a single set on DVD.

Songs from the Heart was her final release for Verity Records and included "Only Believe" which was popular songs on contemporary radio. The album also included "Still I Rise," a dedication to Rosa Parks which was inspired by the Maya Angelou poem of the same name.

"Fragile Heart", was dedicated to the memory of Adams' long time road manager who died in 1998. Adams' first significant attention outside the urban contemporary gospel arena came with the release of Mountain High... Valley Low in 1999 on Elektra Records. Several mainstream artists and producers helped in the production of this album including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson, Boyz II Men), James "Big Jim" Wright (Mariah Carey, Nicole C. Mullen), Warryn Campbell (Mary Mary, Brandy), and Keith Thomas (BeBe & CeCe Winans). The album went Platinum in 2000 and won her a Grammy Award. Notable singles from the album include Yeah", "Fragile Heart", and "Open My Heart".

In 2000, Adams released a Christmas album, and in 2001 she released a live album (The Experience). The Experience netted Adams a second Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. Believe, which included the hit "Never Give Up" was released in 2001. She would later go on to perform this song at "The Salute to Gospel Music" at the White House during President George W. Bush's administration. In 2001, Adams also released a compilation CD entitled The Divas Of Gospel; it included the legendary Grammy Award Winner Albertina Walker, who is considered the "queen of gospel music."

Adams recorded a song for the 2003 film, Honey titled "I Believe" that played during the last scene in the final dance.

Adams was also a judge for the 2nd annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

Back after break

After nearly four years without releasing an album, Adams returned in 2005 with Day By Day. Although charting higher than Mountain High...Valley Low on the Billboard 100 and Billboard R&B; Albums chart, it did not receive RIAA certification. The album featured the singles "Be Blessed," "Someone Watching Over You," "This Too Shall Pass", and "Victory" (which was prominently featured in the movie The Gospel).

After ending her long association with Atlantic Records, Atlantic released a greatest hits collection entitled The Best of Me in May 2007.

Adams signed with Columbia Records in 2007. Columbia released What a Wonderful Time, her second holiday collection, in October 2007. "Hold On" was released as the lead single.

2008-present

In 2007, after releasing her holiday album with Columbia, Adams stated in different interviews that she was in the planning stages for a new album. Her official website stated that it would be a duets project, with possible collaborations with Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Natalie Cole, , and Mary Mary. In an interview with Commercial Appeal , Adams stated that Chaka Khan and Shirley Caesar could possibly be on the new project as well. In March 2009, in an interview on a FOX station in Houston, she stated that her women's clothing line and new album are both still in progress. She stated that the new album will be full of dance tracks.

Adams' song "Hold On," from her 2007 holiday album What a Wonderful Time, is included in a compilation in support of Barack Obama's campaign entitled Yes We Can: Voices of a Grass Roots Movement.

In December 25, 2009, Adams performed on BET's The Mo'Nique Show, where she sang "Already Alright," from her 1999 Mountain High...Valley Low album. Mo'Nique stated that the song is one of her favorites.

As of 2010, the new album, highly anticipated follow-up to What a Wonderful Time, is still in the making.

Book release

Adams released her first book Points of Power in 2010. It is a Christian book in reference to living a pure, spirit-filled Christian life.

The Yolanda Adams Morning Show on radio

Show name	The Yolanda Adams Morning Show
Italic title	no
Format	Comedy, talk, urban contemporary gospel
Runtime	approx. 4 hours
Starring	Yolanda Adams
Country
Last aired	Present
Website	TheYolandaAdamsMorningShow.com

Adams is the host of The Yolanda Adams Morning Show, which currently airs on Urban Gospel stations owned by Radio One.

Morning Show cities and affiliates as of 7/21/2009

{|class="wikitable collapsible collapsed sortable" ! City !! Station ! Frequency !! Notes |- | Atlanta, Georgia || WPZE || FM 102.5 || |- | Augusta, Georgia || WTHB || AM 1550 FM 96.9 || |- | Bowman, South Carolina || WSPX || FM 94.5 || |- | Charlotte, North Carolina || WPZS || FM 100.9 || |- | Charleston, South Carolina || WTUA || FM 106.1 || |- | Columbia, South Carolina || WFMV || FM 95.3 || |- | Cleveland, Ohio || WJMO || AM 1300 || |- | Columbus, Georgia || WEAM-FM || FM 100.7 || |- | Columbus, Ohio || WJYD || FM 106.3 || |- | Florence, South Carolina || WPDT || FM 105.1 || |- | Greenville, North Carolina || WLGT || FM 98.3 || |- | Houston, Texas || KROI || FM 92.1 || |- | Indianapolis, Indiana || WTLC || AM 1310 || |- | Meridian, Mississippi || WHYL || AM 1450 || |- | Nashville, Tennessee || WNSG || AM 800 || |- | New Orleans, Louisiana || WPRF || FM 94.9 || |- | New York, New York || WLIB || AM 1190 || |- | Norfolk, Virginia || WVSP-FM || FM 94.1 || |- | Orlando, Florida || WOKB || AM 1680 || |- | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania || WPPZ || FM 103.9 || |- | Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina || WNNL || FM 103.9 || |- | Richmond, Virginia || WPZZ || FM 104.7 || |- | Rocky Mount, North Carolina || WEED || AM 1390 || |- | Sacramento, California || KRJY || AM 1240 || |- | Savannah, Georgia || WSSJ || FM 100.1 || |- | Summerton, South Carolina || WLJI || FM 98.3 || |- | Starkville, Mississippi || WAJV || FM 98.9 || |- | Washington, D.C. || WPRS-FM || FM 104.1 || |}

Personal life

In 1988, Adams married Troy Mason, and was divorced little more than one year later. Her second marriage, in 1997, was to former NFL player Tim Crawford. The couple divorced in August 2004 after seven years. Adams and Crawford had one daughter, Taylor. Adams served as a spokesperson for the FILA Corporation's Operation Rebound, a program that addressed the concern of inner city schoolchildren.

Discography

*1987: Just as I Am

1991: Through the Storm

1993: Save the World

1995: More Than A Melody

1998: Songs from the Heart

1999: Mountain High...Valley Low

2000: Christmas With Yolanda Adams

2001: Believe

2005: Day By Day

2007: What a Wonderful Time

Awards

In total, Adams has won four Grammy Awards, four of the Gospel Music Association's Dove Awards, one American Music Award, seven NAACP Image Awards, one Soul Train Music Award, and three BET Awards.

References

External links

yolandaadamslive.com Official Website

theyolandaadamsmorningshow.com Official Radio Show web site

Category:American Christians Category:American Pentecostals Category:Members of the Church of God in Christ Category:Radio One Category:American gospel singers Category:American radio personalities Category:Columbia Records artists Category:People from Houston, Texas Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Texas Southern University alumni Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:1961 births Category:Living people

Name	The Kings
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Vancouver, BC, Canada
Genre	Rock, pop
Years active	1977-present
Current members	David Diamond Mister Zero Peter Nunn Sonny Keyes Peter Kadar Todd Reynolds
Past members	Gary Craig Greg Chritchley Josh Broadbent Marty Cordrey Max Styles Randall Coryell Rich Roxborough Whitey Glan Atilla Turi

The Kings are a Canadian band formed in the 1970s, best known for their 1980 North American hit "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide".

}}

External links

Official website

Bullseye Records

The Kings: Anatomy of a One-Hit Wonder DVD review

Category:Canadian rock music groups Category:Musical groups from Vancouver

Name	Taeyang
Height	173CM
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Dong Young-bae
Alias	Sol
Born	May 18, 1988
Origin	Seoul, South Korea
Genre	R&B;, hip hop, pop
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	–present
Label	YG Entertainment(South Korea) Universal Music Japan(Japan)
Associated acts	Big Bang
Url	Official Website

Color	khaki
Title	Birth name
Hangul	동영배
Hanja
Rr	Dong Yeong-bae
Mr	Tong Yŏngbae
Hangulstage	태양
Hanjastage
Rrstage	Taeyang
Mrstage	T'aeyang
Tablewidth	245

Dong Young-bae (Hangul: 동영배, Hanja: 董永培, born May 18, 1988), better known by his stage name Taeyang (Hangul: 태양, Hanja: 太陽, meaning Solar) or Sol (meaning Sun in Spanish), is a South Korean recording artist and entertainer. After appearing in Jinusean's music video "A-yo", Taeyang began training under YG Entertainment at the age of 12 alongside fellow member and leader G-Dragon. After six years of vocal and dance training he made his debut in 2006 as a member of Big Bang. In 2008, Taeyang released his debut mini-album Hot. On July 1, 2010, he released his first full-length album titled Solar.

Early beginnings and debut with Big Bang

Taeyang's first appearance in the entertainment industry was in the hip-hop group Jinusean's music video "A-yo". The collaboration eventually lead him to successfully auditioning into the group's record label YG Entertainment, where he became one of the rappers alongside fellow trainee G-Dragon. The two were later coined as GDYB. In 2003, Dong provided the rap verse in singer Wheesung’s single "Player" on the latter's second album.

Although Taeyang was scheduled to debut alongside G-Dragon as the duo GDYB, the plan was scrapped by their record label. Instead, they were joined by four other trainees (T.O.P., Daesung, Seungri, and So-1) to form the group Big Bang. Before their official debut, however, Sol-1 was dropped and their final lineup consisted of five members. Choosing the stage-name Taeyang (Korean: 태양, meaning sun), Dong abandoned the idea of rapping to focus on singing. The group's formation was documented on television. Although their debut was fairly successful, the group reached mainstream success with the release of their mini-album Always, which yielded the number-one song "Lies" (Korean: 거짓말; Revised Romanization: Geojinmal). followed by "Last Farewell" (Korean: 마지막 인사; Revised Romanization: Majimak Insa) from the mini-album Hot Issue and "Day by Day" (Korean: 하루하루; Revised Romanization: Haru Haru) from Stand Up, both chart-toppers.

Solo career establishment

After contributions to singer Lexy's album, Taeyang was scheduled to release a solo album. Initially scheduled for a September release, the project was pushed back due to conflicting schedules with his group. Taeyang released his debut mini-album Hot on May 22, 2008, backed by a production team that included Teddy, Yang Hyun Suk, Kush, and his fellow member G-Dragon. Moving beyond the hip-hop genre of Big Bang, Taeyang incorporated mainly R&B; songs into his album, stating that it was his "main focus". He is the first "Idol group" or boyband member to receive such awards. The first single released was "Only Look At Me" (Korean: 나만 바라봐), an R&B; song written by Teddy and Kush. Taeyang stated that the lyrics come from the perspective of a man who is "selfish" for wanting his girlfriend to be with him only, regardless of how he treats her. G-Dragon later recorded a "Part Two" version to the song. The second single was "Prayer (Korean: 기도)" which featured Teddy of 1TYM. Promotional videos were shot for both. In support of his album, he also staged his first solo concert, Hot.

Throughout the majority of 2009, Taeyang contributed to his group's activities, recording the song "Lollipop" with his group and labelmate 2NE1. He later flew to Japan to promote the group's Japanese albums. After activities ended, he went back to the studio to record and release his first digital single "Where U At", followed by another digital single, "Wedding Dress". Taeyang took his first attempt at composing by co-writing both songs with Teddy. Promotional videos were filmed for both "Where U At" and "Wedding Dress." "Wedding Dress" was voted #3 on an online poll for a Dutch radio station.

Taeyang's first full-length album Solar was released on July 1, 2010. Two versions of this album - the “Regular Edition” and the “Deluxe Edition” - was released. The regular edition contained 11 songs, while the deluxe edition, limited to 30,000 copies worldwide, had 13 songs, including “Only Look At Me” and “Prayer" from the previous album Hot. On the first day of sales for the limited Deluxe Edition of Solar, the 30,000 copies released by YG entertainment were sold out in online and offline stores.

On July 7, 2010, Taeyang released his solo album Solar on the iTunes for the first time in his music career. On July 9, 2010, Solar hit second place on iTunes' Top R&B-Soul; albums chart in the United States and first place in Canada, making him the first Asian musician in history to attain such an achievement. The lead-single was "I Need A Girl" featuring his bandmate G-Dragon. His labelmate Sandara Park of 2NE1 starred in the music video for "I Need A Girl." The second single, "I'll Be There" and its music video were premiered on August 19, 2010 through Taeyang's official Youtube channel.

Taeyang's first international album, Solar International, breaks new ground as it will be the first ever K-Pop music release to be sold worldwide on iTunes as both an audio and video album. The audio version (complete with a digital booklet) hit iTunes stores on August 25, 2010 while the video version (bundled with bonus, behind the scenes documentaries) will arrive by September 10, 2010. The audio album combines both English and Korean hits from his past and present albums including "I'll Be There", "Connection (feat. BIG TONE), "Wedding Dress" and "I Need A Girl (feat. G-Dragon)." On August 26, 2010, Solar's International album made it to fifth place on iTunes' Top R&B-Soul; albums chart in the United States,China and Japan, and third place in Canada.

Discography

Hot (EP) (2008)

Solar (2010)

Solar International (2010)

Awards

;2008

The 6th Korean Music Awards: Best R&B;/Soul Song - 나만 바라봐 (Only Look At Me)

The 6th Korean Music Awards: Best R&B;/Soul Album - Hot

2008 Naver Music Song of the Year – "Only Look At Me"

;2010

2010 Mnet Asian Music Awards: Best Male Singer Award

Notes

References

External links

Official Website

Official Youtube Channel

Official Twitter

Official Facebook

Category:Big Bang (Korean band) members Category:YG Entertainment artists Category:2010s singers Category:2000s singers Category:Korean-language singers Category:South Korean male singers Category:South Korean pop singers Category:South Korean rhythm and blues singers Category:South Korean dance musicians Category:South Korean dancers Category:South Korean television actors Category:South Korean child actors Category:Chung-Ang University alumni Category:1988 births Category:Living people

Name	Steve Vai
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Steven Syro Vai
Born	June 06, 1960 Carle Place, New York, USA
Instrument	Guitar, keyboards, vocals
Genre	Instrumental rock, hard rock, heavy metal, progressive rock, progressive metal, experimental rock
Years active	1980–present
Label	Favored Nations Relativity Records Urantia Records Akashic Records Epic Records
Associated acts	Joe Satriani, Frank Zappa, Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth, Whitesnake, Ozzy Osbourne, Zappa plays Zappa, Billy Sheehan, G3, Bad4Good, Incubus, The Shardheads
Url	Official website
Notable instruments	Ibanez JEM Ibanez Universe

Steven Siro "Steve" Vai (born June 6, 1960) is a three time Grammy Award-winning Italian-American rock guitarist, songwriter, vocalist and producer. After starting his professional career as a music transcriptionist for Frank Zappa, Vai recorded and toured in Zappa's band for two years, from 1980 to 1982. The guitarist began a solo career in 1983 and has released 13 solo albums as of 2008. Apart from his work with Frank Zappa, Vai has also recorded and toured with Public Image Ltd., Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth, and Whitesnake. Vai has been a regular touring member of the G3 Concert Tour which began in 1996. In 1999 Vai started his own record label, Favored Nations, intending to showcase, as Vai describes, "...artists that have attained the highest performance level on their chosen instruments."

Career

1970s and 1980s

Vai began playing guitar in 1973, at the age of 13. In 1974, he took guitar lessons from guitarist Joe Satriani, and played in numerous local bands, one of which was called "The Steve Vais." He acknowledged the influence of many guitarists including Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Glen Buxton, and jazz fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Vai followed those lessons by attending the Berklee College of Music, afterwards recording a promotional piece for them in which he spoke about auditioning for Frank Zappa at age twenty. and band during a concert at the Memorial Auditorium, Oct 25, 1980 Buffalo, New York]] Vai mailed Frank Zappa a transcription of Zappa's "The Black Page", an instrumental for drums, along with a tape with some of Vai's guitar playing. Zappa was so impressed that, in 1979, he hired him to transcribe a number of his guitar solos, including some on the Joe's Garage album and the Shut Up 'n' Play Yer Guitar series. These transcriptions were published in 1982 in The Frank Zappa Guitar Book.

Subsequent to being hired as a transcriber, Vai did overdubs on many of the guitar parts for Zappa's album You Are What You Is. Thereafter he became a full-fledged band member, going on his first tour with Zappa in the autumn of 1980. One of those early shows with Vai on guitar, recorded in Buffalo, was released in 2007. While touring with Zappa's band, Vai sometimes asked audience members to bring musical scores and see if he could sight-read them on the spot. Zappa referred to Vai as his "little Italian virtuoso" and listed him in the liner notes as performing "stunt guitar" or "impossible guitar parts." Later, Vai was a featured artist on the 1993 recording Zappa's Universe. In 2006 he returned to Frank Zappa's music as a special guest on Dweezil Zappa's 'Zappa Plays Zappa' tour, alongside friends from his early years with Zappa.

After leaving Zappa in 1982 he moved to California, where he recorded his first album, Flex-Able, in 1983 and performed in a couple of bands. In 1985 he replaced Yngwie Malmsteen as lead guitarist in Graham Bonnet's Alcatrazz, with whom he recorded the album Disturbing the Peace. Later in 1985, he joined former Van Halen front man David Lee Roth's group to record the albums Eat 'Em and Smile and Skyscraper.

In 1986, Vai played with John Lydon's Public Image Ltd on their album Album (also known as Compact Disc or Cassette). Then, in 1989, Vai joined Whitesnake, replacing Vivian Campbell. When Adrian Vandenberg injured his wrist shortly before recording was to begin for the album Slip of the Tongue, Vai played all the guitar parts. Vai also played on the Alice Cooper album Hey Stoopid, along with Joe Satriani on the song "Feed my Frankenstein."

1990s and 2000s

Vai continues to tour regularly, with his own group and with his one-time teacher and fellow guitar instrumentalist friend Joe Satriani on the G3 series of tours. Former David Lee Roth and Mr. Big bassist Billy Sheehan also joined him for a world tour. In 1990, Vai released his critically acclaimed solo album Passion and Warfare

The song "For the Love of God" was voted #29 in a readers' poll of the 100 greatest guitar solos of all time in Guitar World Magazine.

In 1994 Vai began writing and recording with Ozzy Osbourne. Only one track from these sessions, "My Little Man", was released on the Ozzmosis album. Despite Vai penning the track he does not appear on the album. His guitar parts were replaced by Zakk Wylde. Another track, "Dyin' Day", appeared as an instrumental on Vai's Fire Garden album. Vai's band members in the 90's included drummer Mike Mangini, guitarist Mike Keneally, and bassist Philip Bynoe. In 1994 Vai received a Grammy Award for his performance on the Frank Zappa song Sofa from the album Zappa's Universe.

Steve Vai released a DVD of his performance at The Astoria in London in December, 2001. The performance featured Billy Sheehan, guitarist/pianist Tony MacAlpine, guitarist Dave Weiner, and Australian drummer Virgil Donati.

In July 2002, Steve Vai performed with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Japan, in the world premiere of composer Ichiro Nodaira's Fire Strings, a concerto for electric guitar and 100-piece orchestra.

In 2004, a number of his compositions and orchestral arrangements including some previously recorded pieces, were performed in The Netherlands by the Metropole Orchestra in a concert series entitled The Aching Hunger. In 2003, drummer Jeremy Colson joined Vai's group, replacing Virgil Donati. Vai's latest album, Sound Theories, was released in 2007.

In February 2005, Vai premiered a dual-guitar (electric and classical) piece that he called The Blossom Suite, with classical guitarist Sharon Isbin at the Châtelet Theatre in Paris. In 2006, Vai played as a special guest guitarist alongside additional guest Zappa band members, drummer Terry Bozzio, guitarist-singer Ray White, and saxophonist-singer Napoleon Murphy Brock in the "Zappa Plays Zappa" tour led by Frank's son Dweezil Zappa in Europe and the U.S. in the Spring, as well as a short U.S. tour in October.

On September 21, 2006, Vai made a special appearance at the Video Games Live concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California. He played two songs with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra; Halo Theme, and a second song for the world premier trailer for Halo 3.

Steve Vai made an appearance at the London Guitar Show in 2007 on the April 28, 2007 at the ExCeL Center. In late April 2007, Vai confirmed the release of his most recent record, Sound Theories, on June 26. The release is a two-CD set, mostly of previously released material that Vai rearranged and played with a full orchestra. Vai says the project was a great joy because he considers himself a composer more than a guitarist, and he is happy to see music he has composed played by an orchestra that can play it well. A DVD followed the record later that year. He guested on the Dream Theater album, Systematic Chaos, on the song "Repentance". The appearance was vocal rather than instrumental, as Vai was only one of many musical guests recorded. The song features contributions from many artists, with the aim of apologizing to important people in their lives for wrongdoings committed in their pasts. On August 29, 2009, he appeared on stage with Dream Theater during the final show of their Progressive Nation tour at the Greek Theater, where he performed in an improvised jam with the other musicians on tour. Broken Records magazine (Volume 1, Issue 3) quotes Vai as saying, "I enjoy challenging myself to come up with new ideas that I believe are unique."

In 2010, Vai released several "VaiTunes" singles of tracks that were previously recorded and later finished. They are available on www.vai.com, iTunes and Amazon.com. On September 14, 2010, Steve released "Where The Wild Things Are" as double vinyl through his label Favored Nations and made a guest appearance with Rickey Minor and The Tonight Show Band on NBC. In October, 2010 Steve completed his first full symphony and performed the compositions at the Steve Vai Festival which featured Vai and the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra (NNO) on October 20-24, 2010. Immediately after the Holland shows, Steve embarked for the US to headline the "Experience Hendrix Tour" which features Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shephard, Susan Tedeschi, Billy Cox, Vernon Reid, Robert Randolph, Johnny Lang, Brad Whitford and other top-notch guitarists.

Video games

"Juice" was featured on the 1996 video game "Formula One" for the PlayStation.

In 1998, "Erotic Nightmares" was featured as the menu music in the video game WCW/nWo Revenge for the Nintendo 64.

Steve Vai's guitar-work appeared in the video game . David Lee Roth's "Yankee Rose" was featured on the game's soundtrack as well as "God Blessed Video" by Alcatrazz as part of the Lazlow-led, 1980s rock/metal radio station "V-Rock."

In 2004, Steve Vai was featured on Xbox's Halo 2 (a game by Bungie Studios) Volume 1 soundtrack, performing a heavy rock-guitar rendition of the Halo theme, known as Halo Theme (MJOLNIR Mix). He also performed on the track Never Surrender. He later featured in the second volume of the soundtrack, where he performed on the track Reclaimer.

In 2008, Steve Vai's For the Love of God and Halo Theme (MJOLNIR Mix) were featured as downloadable tracks for the game Guitar Hero 3. A live version of the song "For the Love of God" was also available at release on the Rock Band Network as well as the song "Get the Hell Out of Here" from his 2002 album "The Elusive Light and Sound, Vol. 1" on March 4, 2010.

A re-recording of "Speeding" is featured in the 2010 video game for Xbox 360, Wii and Playstation 3.

Movies

Steve Vai's music has appeared in a number of feature films, including Dudes and Ghosts of Mars. He appeared onscreen in the 1986 Walter Hill movie Crossroads, playing the demonically-inspired Jack Butler. At the film's climax, Vai engages in a guitar duel with Ralph Macchio, whose guitar parts were dubbed by Vai and also Ry Cooder, who played the initial slide work in the duel and Macchio's earlier performances in the film. Vai also composed the fast-paced neo-classical track Eugene's Trick Bag that wins Macchio the competition. He based the body of the piece heavily on Paganini's Capriccio number 5. He later borrowed the opening riff from the track Head Cuttin' Duel for a song called Bad Horsie from his 1995 EP Alien Love Secrets. Later, the Crossroads duel reappeared on the 2002 album The Elusive Light and Sound, volume 1.

In 1991's Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, the introductory riff to KISS' "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You II", as performed by the Wyld Stallyns in the Battle of the Bands, was performed by Vai. He also composed and performed the soundtrack to PCU (1994), and made contributions in 2001 to the score for John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars, performing on the tracks "Ghosts of Mars" and "Ghost Poppin'." His track, "I'm the Hell Outta Here", can be heard during 1992's Encino Man in the scene where Brendan Fraser is taking a driving lesson. He plays guitar in the animated short film "Live Music".

Playing style

Vai is a virtuoso in the world of guitar music. His 1990 album Passion and Warfare and the ballad For the Love of God in particular received a significant amount of press, and are often cited by critics and fans alike as amongst his best work.

Vai's playing style has been characterized as quirky and angular, owing to his technical ability with the instrument and deep knowledge of music theory. He regularly uses odd rhythmic groupings and his melodies often employ the Lydian mode. Perhaps his most readily-identifiable stylistic feature is his creative use of the floating vibrato, using it to add melodic lines that sound odd to the ear. His playing can also be described as lyrical, as if sung by a human voice. He often uses exotic guitars: he plays both double and triple neck guitars (including a custom-made heart-shaped triple-neck model built by luthier Joe Despagni), and is regarded as the first to use the 7-string guitar in a rock context. Along with Ibanez, he designed a signature 7-string guitar, the Ibanez Universe, in 1989. He is also noted for being physically expressive as he plays his guitar as well.

On Composing/The "Evo Era"

“I wanted to be a composer ever since I was a young boy. To me written music on paper was (and is) beautiful. It looked like art and I wanted to have a complete understanding of how to speak, read and write that language. I knew that through the little black dots I could get the music that was in my head out into the world. Though the guitar fell into my lap and my fingers were glued to the instrument, I studied composition and musical notation long before I even started playing the guitar. Through high school, college and beyond, I kept up my studies and kept composing through the years as I felt my eventual calling was in the compositional world. Although I have listened to and studied most of the great older and contemporary composers, when I compose my music I take a similar approach as to when I am developing my voice on the guitar and that's to find and cultivate ideas that I have not heard before. That's the exciting part!

Once you understand the written language of music and the possibilities and limitations of various instruments, composing music is pure liberation. It's an art form that allows for deep personal expression. For me composing is the ultimate playground for my imagination. And to have the opportunity to hear your music performed is the greatest gift a composer could hope for, provided it's performed correctly.

I feel that my task is to merge my authentic rock sensibilities with my orchestrational skills to create a brand of contemporary music that is unique and fulfilling on an emotional and melodic level for the listener. Although rock musicians have worked with orchestras and contemporary composers have written for rock band instruments, I believe the catalog of music that I am building in this field is not what would be expected from either. I'm very excited about this brand and hope to inspire other composers to walk their own parallel lines within this movement. I call this movement "Evo", short for evolution. As it has been in the past through all of history, the 21st century will see a whole new wave of orchestral musical awareness develop. We are now entering the "Evo Era." -Steve Vai

Equipment

Vai is also a producer. He owns two studios ("The Mothership" and "The Harmony Hut" ), and his own recordings combine his guitar skills and novel compositions with studio and recording effects.

Vai helped design his signature Ibanez JEM guitar series. They feature a hand grip (fondly referred to as a "monkey grip") cut into the top of the body of the guitar, a humbucker–single coil-humbucker (H/S/H) DiMarzio pickup configuration with several different types of pickup including Evolution, Breed and EVO 2. He also uses the Ibanez Edge and Lo-Pro Edge double-locking tremolo systems (the current production JEMs have the newer Edge Pro), as well as an elaborate and extensive "Tree of Life" inlay down the neck. Vai also equips many of his guitars with an Ibanez Backstop, a tremolo stabilizer that has been discontinued. Lately Vai has also equipped some of his guitars with True Temperament fretboards to make his chords sound more in tune. Vai also has a 7-string model designed by him named Ibanez Universe, featuring DiMarzio Blaze II pickups in an HSH arrangement. The Universe later influenced the 7-string guitars used by Korn and other bands to create nu metal sounds in the late 1990s. He also has a signature Ibanez acoustic, the Euphoria. Before Ibanez, he briefly endorsed Jackson guitars, but this relationship only lasted two years. His two main guitars are white JEMs dubbed "Evo" and "Flo", each with their own unique modifications.

Steve Vai has also worked with Carvin Guitars and Pro Audio to develop the Carvin Legacy line of guitar amplifiers. Vai wanted to create an affordable amp that was unique, and equal in sound and versatility to any guitar amp he had previously used. Over his long musical career, Steve Vai has used and designed an array of guitars. He even had his blood put into the swirl paint job on one of his signature JEM guitars, the JEM2KDNA. Only 300 of these were made. Currently, he mainly uses his white "Evo", a JEM7V, and his "Flo", which is a customized Floral JEM 77FP painted white. They are both inscribed with their names in two places, mainly so he can distinguish between them onstage. "Flo" is equipped with a Fernandes sustainer system.

He also has a guitar named "Mojo" with dot inlays that are blue LED lights. Additionally, he has a custom-made triple-neck guitar that has the same basic features as his JEM7V guitars. The top neck is a 12-string guitar, the middle is a six-string, and the bottom is a six-string fretless guitar with a Fernandes Sustainer pickup. This guitar was featured on the G3 2003 tour on the piece I Know You're Here. Vai's effects pedals include a modified Boss DS-1, Ibanez Tube Screamer, Morley Bad Horsie, Ibanez Jemini Twin Distortion Pedal, TC Electronics G-System, Morley Little Alligator Volume pedal, Digitech Whammy, and an MXR Phase 90/Phase 100 on the Passion and Warfare album. His flight cases are labeled "Mr. Vai", or lately, "Dr. Vai." He has used a number of rack effects units controlled via MIDI, but used a floor-based TC electronics G system instead for the Zappa Plays Zappa tour.

Philanthropy

In 2005, Vai signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in public schools throughout the U.S. He sits on LKR's Honorary Board of Directors.

Vai was a judge for the 3rd and 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.

Vai is also the founder of the Make A Noise Foundation, which he started with his manager Ruta Sepetys. The foundation's goal is to provide funding for music education and programs for those unable to pursue music-related activities due to limited resources. Vai is also a patron of music education around the world giving master classes in such prestigious music schools as the Fermatta Music Academy.

Favored Nations

Vai owns Favored Nations, a recording and publishing company that specializes in internationally procuring and maintaining recording artists. Favored Nations is separated into three sections, 'Favored Nations', 'Favored Nations Acoustic' and 'Favored Nations Cool (Jazz style)'.

Personal life

Vai is married to Pia Maiocco, former bass player of Vixen, who can be seen in Hardbodies. Vai and Maiocco have two children, Julian and Fire. In his spare time Vai is an avid beekeeper. His bees regularly produce a crop of honey that Vai sells for his Make a Noise Foundation.

Band history – not including guest appearances

Frank Zappa (1980–1982)

Alcatrazz (1984–1985)

David Lee Roth (1985–1989)

Public Image Ltd.

Whitesnake (1989–1991)

Solo (1983–present)

Current band members

Steve Vai – vocals, lead guitar

Dave Weiner – rhythm guitar, electric sitar

Ann Marie Calhoun – violin, keyboards

Alex DePue – violin, keyboards

Bryan Beller – bass guitar

Jeremy Colson – drums, percussion

Discography

Solo albums

Flex-Able (1984)

Flex-Able Leftovers (1988)

Passion and Warfare (1990) – Gold (USA), #18 on the Billboard 200 on June 30, 1990

Sex & Religion (1993)

Alien Love Secrets (1995)

Fire Garden (1996)

The Ultra Zone (1999)

The 7th Song - Enchanting Guitar Melodies, Archives Vol. 1 (2000)

Alive in an Ultra World (2001)

The Elusive Light and Sound, volume 1 (2002)

FZ Original Recordings; Steve Vai Archives, Vol. 2 (2001)

Mystery Tracks - Archives Vol. 3 (2003)

Various Artists - Archives Vol. 4 (2003)

(2003)

Live In London (2004)

(2005)

Sound Theories Vol. I & II (2007)

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

Where the Other Wilds Are (2010)

Appearances on Zappa albums

{| class="wikitable" |- !Year !Album !Credit |- | 1981 | Tinseltown Rebellion | Rhythm guitar, vocals |- | 1981 | Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar | Rhythm guitar |- | 1981 | You Are What You Is | Guitar |- | 1982 | Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch | "Impossible Guitar parts" |- | 1983 | The Man from Utopia | Guitar parts |- | 1984 | Them or Us | Guitar |- | 1984 | Thing-Fish | Guitar, vocals |- | 1985 | Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention | Guitar |- | 1987 | Jazz from Hell | Guitar |- | 1988 | Guitar | Stunt guitar |- | 1988 | You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Sampler | Stunt guitar |- | 1988 | You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 | Stunt guitar |- | 1989 | You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3 | Stunt guitar |- | 1991 | You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4 | Stunt guitar, vocals |- | 1991 | Beat the Boots I: As An Am | Stunt guitar |- | 1992 | You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5 | Stunt guitar |- | 1992 | You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 | Stunt guitar |- | 1995 | Strictly Commercial | Guitar |- | 1997 | Have I Offended Someone? | Guitar |- | 1998 | Cheap Thrills | Guitar |- | 1999 | Son of Cheep Thrills | Guitar, vocals |}

With other artists

{| class="wikitable" |- !Year !Artist !Album !RIAA |- | 1983 | Lisa Popeil | Lisa Popeil |- | 1985 | Heresy | At The Door |- | 1985 | Alcatrazz | Disturbing the Peace |- | 1985 | Public Image Ltd. | Album |- | 1986 | Bob Harris | The Great Nostalgia |- | 1986 | Shankar & Caroline | The Epidemics |- | 1986 | David Lee Roth | Eat 'Em and Smile | Platinum |- | 1986 | Randy Coven | Funk Me Tender |- | 1987 | Danny Mendez | Death to All Mankind |- | 1986 | Western Vacation | Western Vacation |- | 1988 | David Lee Roth | Skyscraper | Platinum |- | 1989 | Whitesnake | Slip of the Tongue | 3x Platinum |- | 1990 | Rebecca | The Best of Dreams |- | 1991 | Alice Cooper | Hey Stoopid |- | 1994 | Whitesnake | Whitesnake's Greatest Hits | Platinum |- | 1995 | Ozzy Osbourne | Ozzmosis (cowriter on one song) | 2x Platinum |- | 1996 | Wild Style | Cryin' |- | 1997 | Munetaka Higuchi with Dream Castle | Free World |- | 1997 | Joe Satriani / Eric Johnson / Steve Vai | |- | 1997 | David Lee Roth | The Best |- | 1998 | Gregg Bissonette | Gregg Bissonette |- | 1998 | Al Di Meola | The Infinite Desire |- | 1999 | Joe Jackson | Symphony No. 1 |- | 2000 | Whitesnake | The Back to Black Collection |- | 2000 | Gregg Bissonette | Submarine |- | 2000 | Thana Harris | Thanatopsis |- | 2000 | Andrew Dice Clay |Face Down, Ass Up |- | 2001 | Robin DiMaggio | Blue Planet |- | 2001 | Billy Sheehan | Compression |- | 2002 | Tak Matsumoto | Hana |- | 2003 | Surinder Sandhu | Saurang Orchestra |- | 2002 | Girls Together Outrageously (G.T.O) | Solo in their cover version of "I'll Be Around" |- | 2003 | Eric Sardinas | Black Pearls |- | 2003 | Steve Lukather & Friends | Santamental |- | 2003 | Hughes Turner Project | HTP 2 |- | 2003 | Shankar & Gingger | One in a Million |- | 2003 | Yardbirds | Birdland |- | 2004 | Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen | |- | 2004 | Motörhead | Inferno |- | 2004 | Bob Carpenter | The Sun, The Moon, The Stars |- | 2004 | Mike Keneally | Vai: Piano Reductions, Vol. 1 |- | 2005 | John 5 | Songs for Sanity |- | 2005 | Dave Weiner | Live at Astoria DVD |- | 2005 | Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, John Petrucci | |- | 2006 | The Devin Townsend Band | Synchestra |- | 2006 | Marty Friedman | Loudspeaker |- | 2006 | Meat Loaf | | Gold |- | 2007 | Dream Theater (spoken voice only) | Systematic Chaos |- | 2007 | Eros Ramazzotti | e² |- | 2008 | Jason Becker | [Collection] |- | 2009 | Spinal Tap | Back from the dead |- | 2009 | Mike Stern | Big Neighborhood |- | 2009 | Orianthi | Believe |- | 2010 | Alcatrazz | Disturbing the Peace Tour Live in Japan 1984.10.10 Audio Tracks |- | 2010 | Meat Loaf | Hang Cool Teddy Bear |}

Orchestral Works

{| class="wikitable" |- !Year !Title !Album |- | 2007 | Helios and Vesta | Sound Theories Vol. I & II |- | 2007 | Frangelica Part 1 & 2 | Sound Theories Vol. I & II |- | 2007 | Shadows and Sparks | Sound Theories Vol. I & II |- | 2007 | Kill the Guy with the Ball | Sound Theories Vol. I & II |- | 2007 | The God Eaters | Sound Theories Vol. I & II |- | 2007 | The Murder Prologue | Sound Theories Vol. I & II |- | 2007 | The Murder | Sound Theories Vol. I & II |- | 2007 | Lotus Feet | Sound Theories Vol. I & II |- | 2007 | Answers | Sound Theories Vol. I & II |- | 2007 | Liberty | Sound Theories Vol. I & II |- | 2007 | Salamanders in the Sun | Sound Theories Vol. I & II |- | 2007 | ''For the Love of God | Sound Theories Vol. I & II |- | 2007 | ''Bledsoe Bluvd | Sound Theories Vol. I & II |- | 2007 | ''The Attitude Song | Sound Theories Vol. I & II |- | 2007 | ''Gentle Ways | Sound Theories Vol. I & II |- | 2010 | ''There's Still Something Dead in Here | NNO, Steve Vai Festival 2010 |- | 2010 | ''Ballerina 12/24 | NNO, Steve Vai Festival 2010 |- | 2010 | ''Expanding the Universe | NNO, Steve Vai Festival 2010 |- | 2010 | ''The Middle of Everywhere | NNO, Steve Vai Festival 2010 |}

Soundtracks

{| class="wikitable" |- !Year !Soundtrack !Type |- |1986 | Crossroads | Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |- |1987 | Dudes | Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |- | 1991 | | Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |- | 1992 | Encino Man | Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |- | 1994 | PCU | Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |- | 1997 | Formula 1 | Original Video Game Soundtrack |- | 2001 | Ghosts of Mars | Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |- | 2004 | Halo 2 Soundtrack Volume 1 | Original Video Game Soundtrack |- | 2006 | Halo 2 Soundtrack Volume 2 | Original Video Game Soundtrack |- | 2008 | Virtuoso Track Pack | Original Video Game Soundtrack |}

Compilations

{| class="wikitable" |- !Year !Artists !Compilation |- | 1989 | Various | Guitar's Practicing Musicians |- | 1993 | Various | Zappa's Universe |- | 1995 | Various |In From The Storm |- | 1996 | Various | Songs of West Side Story |- | 1997 | Various | Merry Axemas: A Guitar Christmas |- | 1997 | Various | Angelica |- | 1999 | Various | Radio Disney Kid Jams |- | 2001 | Various | Roland Guitar Masters |- | 2002 | Various | ''Guitars For Freedom |-'' | 2002 | Various | Warmth In The Wilderness Vol. II – A Tribute to Jason Becker |- | 2004 | Various | Halo 2 Original Soundtrack |- | 2004 | Various | The Sounds Of Nascar |- | 2006 | Various | Monsters of Rock |- | 2008 | Various | Zappa Plays Zappa |- | 2008 | Steve Vai | Naked Tracks |}

Awards and Nominations

Grammy Awards

|- | 1990 | Passion & Warfare | Best Rock Instrumental Album | |- | 1994 | "Sofa" from Zappa's Universe | Best Rock Instrumental Performance | |- | 1995 | "Tender Surrender" from Alien Love Secrets | Best Rock Instrumental Performance | |- | 1997 | "For the Love of God" from | Best Rock Instrumental Performance | |- | 1999 | "Windows to the Soul" from The Ultra Zone | Best Rock Instrumental Performance | |- | rowspan=2 | 2001 | "Whispering a Prayer" from Alive in an Ultra World | Best Rock Instrumental Performance | |- | No Substitutions | Best Pop Instrumental Album | |- | 2006 | "Lotus Feet" | Best Rock Instrumental Performance | |- | 2008 | "The Attitude Song" | Best Rock Instrumental Performance | |- | 2009 | "Peaches En Regalia" from Zappa Plays Zappa | Best Rock Instrumental Performance | |- | 2010 | "Now We Run" from Where the Wild Things Are | Best Rock Instrumental Performance | |}

Guitar Player magazine

1995 Gallery of Greats

1995 Best Rock Guitarist (Tie with Jimmy Page)

1995 Best Overall Guitarist - 3rd Place

1995 Best Experimental Guitarist (tie with Buckethead)

1995 Best Metal Recording - 3rd Place

1995 Best Overall Guitar Recording - 2nd Place

1995 Best Metal Guitarist - 3rd Place

1990 Best Rock Guitarist

1990 Best Overall Guitarist

1990 Best Guitar Album

1990 Best Metal Guitarist

1989 Best Rock Guitarist

1988 Best Rock Guitarist

1987 Best Rock Guitarist

1987 Best Overall Guitarist

1986 Best Rock Guitarist

Guitar World

1990 Most Valued Player (tie with Stevie Ray Vaughan)

1990 Best Album

1990 Best Rock Guitarist

1990 Best Guitar Solo (For the Love of God)

1989 Best Rock Guitarist

International Music Award Nomination

1990 Best Guitarist

Select magazine (UK)

1990 Best Album (Passion and Warfare)

1990 Best Musician

1990 Sexiest Male

Guitar for the Practicing Musician

1993 Editor's Choice Award

1990 Reader's Choice – Guitar Album of the Year

1990 Best Instrumental Guitarist of the Year

1988 Rock Guitarist of the Year

1987 Hall of Fame

1986 Guitar in the 90's Award

Kerrang (UK)

1993 Best Hard Rock Performance

1990 Guitarist of the Year

1989 Best Rock Guitarist

Young Guitar (Japan)

1991 Best Rock Guitarist

1997 Best Rock Guitarist

Rock Brigade

1996 Best Guitarist

1997 Best Guitarist

RAW

1990 Best Selling LP Sleeve (No. 1)

1990 Best Selling Promo Video (No. 5, I Would Love To)

1990 Best Selling Promo Video (No. 7, The Audience is Listening)

1990 Best Sex Object (No. 6)

1990 Best RAW Cover (No. 3)

Player

1995 Best Hard Rock Guitarist – 2nd Place

Making Music

1990 Best Album

1990 Best Guitarist

1990 Best Musician

Metal Hammer

1990 Best Guitarist (Reader's Poll)

California Music Awards

2001 Outstanding Guitarist (nominee)

Golden Stag Awards Romania

2009 Excellence Prize

See also

List of rock instrumentals

Steve Vai songs

References

External links

Steve Vai's Official homepage

[ Steve Vai] at Allmusic

Audio Interview with Steve Vai on Guitar Jam Daily

Billboard.com Discography of Steve Vai

Steve Vai (1989) - Poster (Hi Res Scan)

Category:1960 births Category:American heavy metal guitarists Category:American rock guitarists Category:American vegetarians Category:Beekeepers Category:Berklee College of Music alumni Category:G3 Category:Grammy Award winners Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:Lead guitarists Category:Living people Category:Musicians from New York Category:People from Nassau County, New York Category:Seven-string guitarists Category:The Ozzy Osbourne Band members Category:Whitesnake members

Name	Rhema Marvanne
Background	solo_singer
Born	September 15, 2002 Carrollton Texas.
Origin	Dallas, Texas, USA
Instrument	Vocals
Genre	Christian Gospel
Years active	2010–present
Label	Rhema Productions Inc.
Url	rhemamarvanne.com

Rhema Marvanne (born September 15, 2002) is a gospel singer from Carrollton, Texas, USA.

She is the daughter of Teton and Wendi Marvanne. Wendi died of ovarian cancer in 2008. Rhema gained Internet fame at the age of six after recording her first song, "Amazing Grace". She appeared on the Maury Povich Show Most Talented Kids 2010, and Korean show Star King. She also appears in Gerard Butler's 2010 film Machine Gun Preacher where Butler plays a drug dealer-turned-crusader on a mission to save kids.

Her self-titled debut album, Rhema Marvanne, was released October 15, 2010.

References

External links

Rhema Marvanne Official Site

Rhema Marvanne Official Facebook

Rhema Marvanne Official Twitter

Rhema Marvanne Official Myspace

Rhema Marvanne Official YouTube

Rhema Marvanne on iTunes

Category:2002 births Category:Living people Category:American child singers Category:American gospel singers Category:American female singers Category:People from Carrollton, Texas

Name	Kid Cudi
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi
Born	January 30, 1984 Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, United States
Genre	Hip hop, alternative rock, neo-psychedelia
Occupation	Rapper, singer, songwriter, actor
Years active	2003–present
Label	Dream On, GOOD Music, Universal Motown
Associated acts	Chip tha Ripper, Kanye West, Asher Roth, Jay Z, Ratatat
Url

Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), better known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ), sometimes stylized as KiD CuDi, is an American rapper, singer and actor. He first gained major attention after the release of his debut mixtape A Kid Named Cudi. In 2009, his single "Day 'n' Nite" reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs charts. "Day 'n' Nite" is part of Cudi's debut album .

Early life

Kid Cudi was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in suburban Shaker Heights and Solon. Mescudi attended Shaker Heights High School for two years, transferred to Solon High School, and earned his GED. Later, Mescudi studied film at the University of Toledo then dropped out after a year.

Music career

Mescudi first began rapping towards the end of high school, inspired by alternative hip hop groups such as The Pharcyde and A Tribe Called Quest. The mixtape quickly caught the attention of Kanye West, leading him to sign Mescudi to GOOD Music later that year.

Kid Cudi was featured on Kanye West's 2008 album, 808s & Heartbreak, helping to write "Heartless" which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and singing with West on the track "Welcome to Heartbreak", which peaked at #87 on the Pop 100, music videos for both songs have been released. Cudi was then tipped as an artist to watch for in medias such as Rolling Stone, Vibe, The Source, XXL and BBC News's Sound of 2009 poll of up-and-coming acts. MTV News also reported on Cudi on a series of reports MCs To Watch In 2009.

in New York City, July 2008.]]

His first television appearance was at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, alongside good friends Travis Barker and the late DJ AM. On February 17, 2009, he appeared on Snoop Dogg's MTV talk show Dogg After Dark performing "Day 'n' Nite" at the end of the show. Two days later on February 19, 2009, Cudi appeared on BET's 106 & Park with Kanye West to debut the video of "Day 'n' Nite". On March 16, 2009 Kid Cudi performed on mtvU's Spring Break special, and the next day he performed three songs on NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly. He has also appeared as a musical guest on The Late Show with David Letterman, Conan and Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Kid Cudi also made a cameo appearance next to Solange in the video for the song "T.O.N.Y." in February 2009, and later in the Black Eyed Peas' video for "I Gotta Feeling", with disc jockey David Guetta. He has also appeared on numerous magazine covers including Complex (August/September 2009, October/November 2010, URB (August 2009) and XXL (October 2009).

2009–present: Man on the Moon series

Cudi's debut album was released on Universal Motown Records on September 15, 2009 and sold 104,419 copies in the first week and charted at #4. The album's first single was Day 'N' Nite, and is Kid Cudi's greatest commercial success thus far, the song charting well both in the U.S. and in Europe. The song was also ranked #15 the list of the Best 25 Songs of 2009 by Rolling Stone. The next single from the album was "Make Her Say" (originally titled "I Poke Her Face"), which features a sample from the acoustic version of Lady Gaga's song "Poker Face" and performances by Kanye West and Common. The album has now officially reached Gold status selling over a half million copies. The album also received positive reviews from critics. The Boston Globe praised the experimental uniqueness of the album, writing, "It's spacey, adventurous, and ridiculously intriguing if only because it's so different. ...Supposedly Cudi and West made a lot of music together with sci-fi movies playing silently in the studio, and listening to Man on the Moon pretty much corroborates it. It's an album in its own orbit."

in Santa Clara, California, on September 26, 2009.]]

On February 25, 2009, Cudi self-leaked a "teaser trailer" for the upcoming film using his song "Sky Might Fall" in the background, later he posted that he made the trailer himself and was in talks to possibly make it official. With Emile, Cudi produced an exclusive single called "Switchin Lanes" for the video game , part of its "South Central Premium Upgrade" downloadable content (DLC) which came out March 19, 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and March 27, 2009 for the Xbox 360.

During the summer of 2009, Cudi joined rapper Asher Roth for the Great Hangover concert tour. Kid Cudi then featured on the highly anticipated Jay-Z album The Blueprint 3, on the song "Already Home". Kid Cudi was nominated for three 2010 Grammy Awards for his singles, "Day 'n' Nite" and "Make Her Say". Kid Cudi appeared on Snoop Dogg's More Malice deluxe album, in the song "That Tree". Kid Cudi has also teamed up for tracks with such artists as T.I., Vampire Weekend, Shakira, Johnny Polygon, Mr. Hudson, A-Trak, Talib Kweli, Robin Thicke, MGMT, 3OH!3, Dan Black and Kevin Rudolf. On April 20, 2010, Kid Cudi announced that the name of his second album has been changed from Cudder and the Revolution of Evolution to . The album is due for an November 9, 2010 release. Cudi has also recently been featured on the song "Memories" with David Guetta. The song peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On June 11, 2010, Kid Cudi was arrested in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, and charged with felony criminal mischief and possession of a controlled substance after an alleged incident with him and a 24-year-old woman. Despite his arrest, he was released and made it to Manchester, Tennessee the next day in time to play at Bonnaroo Music Festival. On September 24, 2010, he was sentenced to two days of community service after pleading guilty in court to the possession of cocaine. The following evening, Cudi performed songs off his upcoming album for the Details @ Midnight event at Cedar Lake Studios in Manhattan. In Complex's October/November issue, Cudi admitted to using cocaine to get through interviews. He said he has stopped using it.

Cudi's sophomore album, , A promotional single, "REVOFEV", was released from the album in early 2010. The official lead single, "Erase Me" featuring Kanye West, was released for airplay on June 30, 2010. The single was officially released on iTunes on August 24, 2010 and debuted at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 earning the status of "Hot Shot Debut".

Cudi appeared as himself in the 10th episode of the 8th season of the CW TV show One Tree Hill dated November 29.

Other ventures

Kid Cudi is currently starring in the new HBO comedy series How to Make it in America, produced by Mark Wahlberg. Cudi has also made an impact in the fashion world with Bape awarding Cudi his own t-shirt in September 2009 and using him as their main model for the summer 2010 collection in reward for his music and past employment there when living in New York City. He was also named the "Most Stylish New Yorker" in February 2010 by Time Out New York.

Discography

Studio albums

(2009)

(2010)

Official Mixtapes

A Kid Named Cudi (2008)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:African American rappers Category:African American singers Category:American rappers of Mexican descent Category:Electro-hop musicians Category:Hip hop singers Category:Native American rappers Category:Native American singers Category:People from Brooklyn Category:People from Shaker Heights, Ohio Category:People from Solon, Ohio Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Rappers from Ohio Category:Musicians from Ohio Category:University of Toledo alumni Category:Wonky Pop acts Category:People from Cleveland, Ohio

Name	Josh Groban
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Joshua Winslow Groban
Born	February 27, 1981 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, piano, drums, percussions, flute
Genre	Classical, pop, vocal, Operatic pop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, actor, record producer
Years active	1997–present
Label	143, Reprise
Url

Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number one best selling artist in the United States.

Groban originally studied acting but as his voice changed, it developed into a "significant instrument". The event that changed Groban's life was when his vocal coach, Seth Riggs, submitted a tape of Josh singing, "All I Ask of You", from The Phantom of the Opera, to Riggs' friend, renowned producer, composer and arranger David Foster. Foster called him to stand in for an ailing Andrea Bocelli to rehearse a duet, "The Prayer," with Celine Dion at the rehearsal for the Grammy Awards in 1998. Groban, being shy, reluctantly agreed. Rosie O'Donnell was so impressed that she immediately invited him to appear on her daytime talk show. His name and career soared with the public recognition he received, after being cast on Ally McBeal by the show's creator David E. Kelley, who asked him to perform "You're Still You" for the show's 2001 season finale. and Jack Groban, a businessman. His father is of Jewish background and a descendant of Russian and Polish immigrants. His mother is Norwegian American, the daughter of immigrants from the eastern Norwegian district of Toten. His parents joined the Episcopal Church after his father's conversion from Judaism to Christianity. Chris, his younger brother, shares the same birthday four years later.

Groban debuted as a singer in seventh grade. His music teacher chose the curly-headed, skinny kid for a solo of "S'wonderful" at the school's Cabaret Night, and Josh sang alone on stage for the very first time. When his mother, Lindy, heard his voice from outside the auditorium, she didn't even recognize the voice, and when she realized it was her son singing, it brought her to tears. David E. Kelley, creator of the television series Ally McBeal, created a character, Malcolm Wyatt, for Groban in the season finale aired in May 2001. The character of Malcolm Wyatt was so popular, prompting 8,000 emails from viewers, Under Foster's influence, Groban's first album focused more on classics such as "Gira Con Me Questa Notte" and "Alla Luce Del Sole."

Groban performed "There For Me" with Sarah Brightman on her 2000–01 La Luna World Tour, and was featured on her "La Luna" concert DVD. He recorded "For Always" with Lara Fabian on the movie soundtrack to A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001). Groban performed in many benefit shows, including: "The Andre Agassi Grand Slam Event For Children," singing alongside Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Don Henley, and Robin Williams; "Muhammad Ali's Fight Night Foundation" which honored Michael J. Fox and others; "The Family Celebration" (2001), which was co-hosted by President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and David E. Kelley and his wife, Michelle Pfeiffer; and Michael Milken's CapCure event, which raises funds for cancer research.

The singer's self-titled debut album Josh Groban was released on November 20, 2001. Over the next year, it went from gold to double-platinum.

On February 24, 2002, Groban performed "The Prayer" with Charlotte Church at the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and by November, he had his own PBS special, "Josh Groban In Concert" (2002). In December 2002, he performed "To Where You Are" and sang "The Prayer" in a duet with Sissel Kyrkjebø at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway. He joined The Corrs, Ronan Keating, Sting, Lionel Richie, and others for a Christmas performance at the Vatican in Rome, Italy. In 2003, Groban performed at the David Foster concert for World Children's Day, singing "The Prayer" with Celine Dion and the finale song, "Aren't They All Our Children?" with artists including Yolanda Adams, Nick Carter, Enrique Iglesias, and Celine Dion.

Recent years

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Groban's second album Closer, produced and written by Foster, was released on November 11, 2003. Groban said that he believed that this second album was a better reflection of him, and that his audience would be able to get a better idea of his personality from listening to it. "What most people know about me, they know through my music. This time, I've tried to open that door as wide as possible. These songs are a giant step closer to who I really am and what my music is all about. Hence the title." as well as on The Ellen Degeneres Show, Larry King Live, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Jay Leno Show, 20/20, The Today Show, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Super Bowl XXXVIII, the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade, the Rockefeller Tree Lighting, and Glee (TV series).

During the first week of September 2006, Groban's single entitled "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" was released exclusively on AOL's First Listen. His third studio album Awake was officially released on November 7, 2006. Groban performed "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" as well as two other tracks from Awake at his recording session for Live from Abbey Road at Abbey Road Studios on 26 October 2006. On that album, Groban also collaborated with British musician and songwriter Imogen Heap, on the single "Now or Never". He performed two tracks with the South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, "Lullaby" and "Weeping." Groban's "Awake" world tour visited 71 cities between February and August 2007, and travelled further to Australia and the Philippines with Lani Misalucha as his special guest in October 2007. He performed a duet with Barbra Streisand ("All I Know of Love") and with Mireille Mathieu ("Over the Rainbow"). As to his future, Groban is open to a plethora of possibilities. He said, "I am fortunate enough to have had many really big moments in my career. I think the mistake a lot of people in my position make is to always search for the next big thing. I am looking forward to playing some small theaters. I'm looking forward to writing more. I want to delve further into my acting career and explore some of the film and TV opportunities that I haven't had time for. My outlook is to expect the unexpected. And when the next step comes, I'm prepared to take it."

Groban has twice appeared on hit British TV Music Quiz show, Never Mind The Buzzcocks. His first appearance was as a guest on Noel Fielding's team and the second appearance was as the host/quiz master of an episode.

(2010–present)

Groban finished his fifth studio album, entitled Illuminations and the album was released on November 15, 2010. Most of the songs on the album are about "specific situations that I've had where love has existed and ultimately failed," Groban told The New York Times, adding: "And other songs are about the quest, and it just not working out." Groban wrote 11 of the 13 songs on the album. The first single from the album, "Hidden Away," was made available for free download via Facebook on September 8. “For me to sit in a room with a piano in one take with some of Johnny Cash’s musicians — that was totally new for me.” Josh added. “and I think that excitement is on the record.” This song is sung in Brazilian Portuguese and was written by Brazilian artist Carlinhos Brown. The Washington Post said: "Illuminations" isn't a revelation, but it offers a perfectly fine, and often quite lovely, glimpse at a pop-classical crossover artist in the middle of crossing over." Josh plans on making one more record with Rubin.

Film

In a comedy called Crazy, Stupid, Love, an upcoming movie starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell, scheduled for released on April 22, 2011, Groban plays a character named Richard, a caddish lawyer, much of the humor coming simply from the sheer unlikelihood of Groban in that role. Recently, Groban has received recognition for his skit on Jimmy Kimmel Live, where he sings the tweets of controversial rap artist Kanye West.

Notable performances

On April 14, 2007, Groban joined Idina Menzel for a PBS Soundstage taping. The next day, he held his own taping for the same PBS TV series at Lincoln Center's Rose Hall at Jazz in New York City.

In June 2007, Groban recorded a Christmas album in London with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Magdalen College Choir, which he discussed on the DVD from "The Making of Noël". It was released on October 9, 2007 and is titled Noël. The album has been highly successful in the US breaking numerous records for a Christmas album, as well as becoming the best selling album of 2007 in only its tenth week of release, at sales of 3.6 million.

On July 1, 2007, Groban performed with Sarah Brightman at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium; it was broadcast to over 500 million homes in 140 countries.

On August 23, 2007, Groban performed "You Raise Me Up" on Episode 14 of the talent show Last Choir Standing.

Groban was nominated for the 2008 Juno Award for International Album of the Year for Noël. In collaboration with French legend Charles Aznavour, he recorded Aznavour's signature song La Bohème as a duet in English and French. It is due to be released on Aznavour's next album, titled Duets.

On February 10, 2008, Groban performed at the 2008 Grammy Awards with Andrea Bocelli in a tribute to Luciano Pavarotti.

On May 12 and 13, 2008, Groban performed as Anatoly Sergievsky in "Chess in Concert" at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

On July 15, 2008, Groban performed "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch at the 79th All-Star Game in New York City at Yankee Stadium.

On August 29, 2008, Groban appeared on the final episode of The Charlotte Church Show for a brief interview. The show ended as Groban performed "The Prayer" with host Charlotte Church.

On September 21, 2008, Groban performed a comical medley of well-known TV theme songs at the 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

In December 2008, Groban appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks. He performed a duet with Only Men Aloud! at the Royal Variety Show at the London Palladium for the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.

On January 18, 2009, Groban performed as part of the Presidential Inauguration ceremonies, performing "My Country 'Tis of Thee" in duet with Heather Headley.

On January 20, 2009, Groban performed at the Warner Theatre - Heroes Red, White & Blue Inaugural Ball, Washington, DC

On March 28, 2009, Groban performed a duet of "Bridge over Troubled Water" with Jordin Sparks for the charity event Celebrity Fight Night.

In March 2009, Groban covered the hits of the late Casey Tatum and his brother on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!. On September 14, 2009, Groban appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and surprised an audience member. Two days later he made a cameo appearance on Glee.

Groban was also featured in Nelly Furtado's song "Silencio", which was released on September 1, 2009. This song is from Nelly's first full length Spanish album Mi Plan.

At the 2010 BCS National Championship Game, he performed the Star Spangled Banner on Jan. 7, 2010 with Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, at the historic Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California.

On November 30, 2010, Groban performed at the New York Rockefeller Christmas Tree Lighting.

On December 18, 2010, Groban performed at the Carols in the Domain in Sydney, Australia.

On December 21, 2010, Groban returned to BBC Two's Never Mind the Buzzcocks, this time as guest host and ending the show duetting with Michael Ball in a version of "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables.

Vocal technique

Various music critics have described Groban's voice in different ways, with some referring to him as a tenor and others as a baritone. In performance, Groban's music goes as low as G2 (as in the song "To Where You Are") and extends up to at least B♭4 (as heard in "You Raise Me Up" or "February Song"). This places his voice lower than the tenor range on the low end, and just short of Tenor C, and therefore above the baritone range, on the high end. There is currently no authoritative system of voice classification in non-classical music. The problem lies in the fact that classical terms are used to describe not merely various vocal ranges, but specific vocal timbres each unique to those respective ranges, and produced by the classical training techniques with which most popular singers are not intimately familiar and which are not universally employed by the few that are. In a 2002 New York Times article, Groban described himself as a "tenor in training".

Charity

Under the guidance of his mentor David Foster, Groban performed for many charity events that included VH1 Save the Music (2005), Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope (2005), Fifth Adopt-A-Annual Minefield concert (2005), 2nd Annual Grammy Jam (2005), Live 8 (2005), The Heart Foundation Gala (2005), and David Foster and Friends Charity Gala (2006). He also sang a solo on the recording of We Are The World 25 for Haiti (2010). Inspired by a visit with Nelson Mandela during a 2004 trip to South Africa, he established the Josh Groban Foundation to help children in need through education, healthcare and the arts. Mandela appointed Groban as an Official Ambassador for Mandela's Project 46664, a campaign to help raise Global awareness of HIV/AIDS in Africa. On April 25, 2007, Josh Groban performed with the African Children's Choir on American Idol's "Idol Gives Back" episode. Also on September 2, 2007, Groban donated $150,000 to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to fund music education. On February 28, 2008, he appeared in One Night Live at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada with Bryan Adams, Sarah McLachlan, Jann Arden and RyanDan in aid of the Sunnybrook Hospital Women and Babies Program. In honor of his 27th birthday, his fans set out to raise $27,000 in a project called "Raise 27". They ended up raising a total of $44,227 for the Josh Groban Foundation, to benefit the Noah's Ark children's orphanage called Siyawela in South Africa. Groban has since referred to this donation as "the best birthday present ever". For those who could afford the $1500 ticket, Josh Groban performed at the The Angel Ball on October 21, 2010. Proceeds went to the Gabrielles Angel Foundation for cancer research.

Impact

Some of Groban's musical influences have been Radiohead, Steve Perry, Paul Simon, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Freddie Mercury and Björk. He cites as vocal influences "anyone who told a story with their songs," including Mandy Patinkin, Klaus Nomi, George Hearn, and Luciano Pavarotti.

He was named the #1 Best Selling Artist of All Time on Barnes & Noble in 2007. Groban has sold more than 20 million albums in less than ten years.

In 2002, Groban was listed as "100 Sexiest Newcomer" and in 2008, he became one of People's "100 Most Beautiful People".

Personal Life

Groban dated January Jones from 2003–06. Although maintaining a home in Los Angeles, he recently moved his primary residence to New York to an apartment on a high floor of the Time Warner Center, where he indicates that "dating can be very easy or very tough".

Discography

*2001: Josh Groban

2003: Closer

2006: Awake

2007: Noël

2010: Illuminations

References

External links

BroadwayWorld: Idina Menzel & Josh Groban to Star in 'Chess' Musical UK Concert?

Chess in Concert (2008)

Brown, Bob. "A Star in the Making: Who is Josh Groban?." ABCNews. com: 20/20

Category:1981 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:American Christians Category:American Episcopalians Category:American people of Jewish descent Category:Christians of Jewish descent Category:American male singers Category:American pop pianists Category:American pop singers Category:Carnegie Mellon University alumni Category:English-language singers Category:Living people Category:American musicians of Norwegian descent Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:American musicians of Russian descent Category:Warner Music Group artists Category:American performers of Christian music

Name	Heather Headley
Background	solo_singer
Born	October 05, 1974 Barataria, Trinidad and Tobago
Genre	R&B;, soul, inspirational, gospel
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, record producer, actress
Years active	1997–present
Label	RCA, EMI Gospel
Url	www.heatherheadley.com

Heather Headley (born October 5, 1974) is a Trinidadian-American R&B; and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She has won one Tony Award and one Grammy Award.

Personal life

Headley was born in Barataria, Trinidad and Tobago, the daughter of Hannah and Eric Headley. At age four, Headley began playing the music of her native Trinidad, including calypso, reggae, and soca. In 1989 she moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana in the United States at the age of fifteen with her mother and brother Junior, when her father was offered a job as pastor of McKee Street Church of God.

Headley attended Northrop High School, and was a member of their resident show choir, Charisma, and starred as Fanny Brice in the school's production of Funny Girl. After graduating from Northrop High School, Headley attended Northwestern University to study communications and musical theatre until the last day of her junior year, when she made the difficult decision to become a part of the musical Ragtime and drop out of school.

On September 6, 2003, Headley married Brian Musso, formerly of the New York Jets. Both attended Northwestern University. On December 1, 2009, they welcomed their first child John David.

Career

In 1997, she originated the role of Nala in The Lion King, the Broadway musical. Headley's performance was well-received and she then originated the title role in the Broadway adaptation of Aida, earning the Tony Award for Best Actress in 2000. In 1999, she appeared in the Encores! production of Do Re Mi, with Nathan Lane, Randy Graff, and Brian Stokes Mitchell. She also starred in a concert version of the musical Dreamgirls alongside fellow Tony Award winners Audra McDonald and Lillias White.

In the autumn of 2006, Heather performed Hal David and Burt Bacharach's song "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", from the 1968 musical Promises, Promises for "The Kennedy Center Presents: The 2006 Mark Twain Prize," honoring playwright Neil Simon. The ceremony was later broadcast on PBS.

On 5 July 2007 Headley did a guest appearance for Andrea Bocelli's Vivere Live in Tuscany concert in Lajatico, Italy. They performed Vivo Per Lei and The Prayer. Headley sang "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" (also known as "America") with Josh Groban on January 18, 2009 during the . On March 12, 2009, Headley sang, "I Wish" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Music

Headley released her debut album, This Is Who I Am, in October 2002 on RCA Records. Although its first single, "He Is", was not very successful, the second single, "I Wish I Wasn't", achieved moderate success. The work on this album earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance and for Best New Artist.

Her second album, In My Mind, was delayed due to the various executive shake-ups associated with RCA parent BMG's merger with Sony.

Under BMG North America chairman/CEO Clive Davis for the first time, Headley released her second album In My Mind in January 2006. The title track "In My Mind" ( produced by India.Arie collaborator Shannon Sanders ) was released as the first single; and its music video was directed by Diane Martel. The song reached number-one on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The second single "Me Time" was released to Urban AC outlets only. An album track, "Am I Worth It", served to promote Headley's New March of Dimes Educational Campaign "I Want My 9 Months".

In 2009, Headley, along with Al Green, released a version of the song People Get Ready on the compilation album .

On the 31st of January 2010, Heather won her first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B; Gospel Album for Audience of One on the EMI Gospel label.

In December of 2010, Headley performed a duet version of “Blue Christmas” and “My Prayer” with Italian tenor icon Andrea Bocelli on Bocelli's "My Christmas" tour in six cities. Of special note: at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on Saturday, December 4, 2010, the audience insisted on a rare second encore with Bocelli, as they were captivated with her as much as Bocelli. Bocelli had to summon the detail to go back and get her to come back on stage. This is noted because Bocelli has other performers he travels with, but rarely do they get the ovation on the level of Bocelli, but this crowd clearly and loudly ovated their praise of Headley's stunning performance.

Discography

Albums

{| class="wikitable" !align="left" valign="top" width="40"|Year !align="left" valign="top"|Album !align="center" valign="top" width="40"|US !align="center" valign="top" width="40"|US R&B; |- |align="left" valign="top"|2002 |align="left" valign="top"|This Is Who I Am
(Certified: Gold) |align="center" valign="top"|#38 |align="center" valign="top"|#14 |- |align="left" valign="top"|2006 |align="left" valign="top"|In My Mind
(Certified: Gold) |align="center" valign="top"|#5 |align="center" valign="top"|#1 |- |align="left" valign="top"|2009 |align="left" valign="top"|Audience of One |align="center" valign="top"|#27 |align="center" valign="top"|#6 |- |}

Singles

{| class="wikitable" !align="center" valign="top" width="40"|Year !align="left" valign="top"|Song !align="center" valign="top" width="40"|US Hot 100 !align="center" valign="top" width="40"|US R&B; !align="center" valign="top" width="40"|US Dance !align="center" valign="top" width="40"|US Gospel !align="center" valign="top" width="40"|Hot Adult R&B; !align="center" valign="top" width="40"|Hot R&B; Recurrents !align="left" valign="top"|Album |- |align="center" valign="top"|2002 |align="left" valign="top"|"He Is" |align="center" valign="top"|90 |align="center" valign="top"|38 |align="center" valign="top"|4 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|2 |align="left" valign="top"|This Is Who I Am |- |align="center" valign="top"|2003 |align="left" valign="top"|"I Wish I Wasn't" |align="center" valign="top"|55 |align="center" valign="top"|15 |align="center" valign="top"|5 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|5 |align="left" valign="top"|This Is Who I Am |- |align="center" valign="top"|2005 |align="left" valign="top"|"In My Mind" |align="center" valign="top"|75 |align="center" valign="top"|16 |align="center" valign="top"|1 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|4 |align="left" valign="top"|In My Mind |- |align="center" valign="top"|2006 |align="left" valign="top"|"Me Time" |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|35 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|5 |align="center" valign="top"|4 |align="left" valign="top"|In My Mind |- |align="center" valign="top"|2008 |align="left" valign="top"|"Jesus Is Love" |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|90 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|10 |align="center" valign="top"|29 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="left" valign="top"|Audience of One |- |}

Other

{| class="wikitable" |- ! Name of the Song ! Year ! Album |- | Can You Feel the Love Tonight | 1997 | The Lion King on Broadway Cast Recording |- | Shadowland | 1997 | The Lion King on Broadway Cast Recording |- | The Madness of King Scar | 1997 | The Lion King on Broadway Cast Recording |- | Love Will Find a Way | 1998 | Return to Pride Rock |- | Just One Dream | 2001 | Golden Dreams (film at Disney's California Adventure park) |- | People Get Ready (with Al Green) | 2009 | |}

Awards

Acting

{| class="wikitable" |----- bgcolor="#ebf5ff" !Year !Category !Role !Result |----- bgcolor="#bfd7ff" | colspan=5 align=center | Tony Awards |- |2000 |Best Actress in a Musical |Aida |Won |- |----- bgcolor="#bfd7ff" | colspan=5 align=center | Sarah Siddons Award |- |2000 |Sarah Siddons Award |Work in Chicago theatre |Won |- |- |}

Music

{| class="wikitable" |----- bgcolor="#ebf5ff" !Year !Category !Recording !Result |----- bgcolor="#bfd7ff" | colspan=5 align=center | Grammy Awards |- |2004 |Best New Artist |"I Wish I Wasn't" |Nominated |- |2004 |Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance |"I Wish I Wasn't" |Nominated |- |2010 |Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance |"Jesus Is Love" |Nominated |- |2010 |Best Contemporary R&B; Gospel Album |"Audience Of One" |Won |- |----- bgcolor="#bfd7ff" | colspan=5 align=center | Billboard Music Awards |- |2003 |R&B;/Hip-Hop New Artist of the Year |N/A |Nominated |- |----- bgcolor="#bfd7ff" | colspan=5 align=center | NAACP Image Awards |- |2003 |Outstanding New Artist |N/A |Nominated |- |2003 |Outstanding Female Artist |N/A |Nominated |- |----- bgcolor="#bfd7ff" | colspan=5 align=center | Soul Train Awards |- |2002 |Best R&B;/Soul or Rap New Artist |"He Is" |Nominated |- |----- bgcolor="#bfd7ff" | colspan=5 align=center | Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards |- |2003 |R&B;/Soul Album of the Year - Solo |"This Is Who I Am" |Won |- |2003 |Best R&B;/Soul or Rap New Artist - Solo |"He Is" |Won |- |2003 |Best R&B;/Soul Single - Solo |"He Is" |Nominated |- |----- bgcolor="#bfd7ff" | colspan=5 align=center | BET J/Centric |- |2006 |Cool Like That Award |N/A |Nominated |- |- |}

References

External links

Official website

Category:1974 births Category:Female singers Category:Living people Category:Neo soul singers Category:Northwestern University alumni Category:People from Fort Wayne, Indiana Category:Rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:Soul singers Category:Tony Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Trinidad and Tobago film actors Category:Trinidad and Tobago musicians Category:Trinidad and Tobago people of Black African descent Category:Trinidad and Tobago record producers Category:Trinidad and Tobago stage actors Category:American film actors Category:American musicians Category:American female singers Category:American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Category:American record producers Category:American stage actors

Name	Hayley Westenra
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Hayley Dee Westenra
Born	April 10, 1987
Origin	Christchurch, New Zealand
Instrument	Piano, guitar, violin, recorder
Voice type	Soprano
Genre	Classical, pop, celtic, operatic pop
Occupation	Singer
Years active	2001–present
Label	Universal Records New Zealand Decca Records
Associated acts	Celtic Woman, Jackie Evancho
Url	http://www.hayleywestenra.com/

Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand soprano, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached #1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide. Pure is the fastest-selling international début classical album to date, having made Westenra an international star at age 16. In August 2006, she joined the Irish group Celtic Woman, was featured on their Celtic Woman: A New Journey CD and DVD, toured with them on their 2007 Spring Tour, and also was featured on their latest DVD, The Greatest Journey: Essential Collection, released in 2008. She sings songs in a number of languages, including English, Māori, Chinese, Italian, Irish, German, Japanese, Welsh, and Latin.

Early life

Westenra was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, and is of Dutch and Irish heritage. Her parents, Jill and Gerald Westenra, have two other children, Sophie and Isaac Westenra. The family has a history of music: Westenra's grandmother Shirley Ireland was a singer, and her grandfather was a pianist who also played the piano accordion.

Her pursuit of a musical career began at the age of six, when she was cast in the lead singing role of "Little Star" in the Christmas play After the show, a teacher who had watched the performance approached her parents to tell them that their daughter was "pitch perfect".

At 12, Westenra entered a professional recording studio to record Walking in the Air, a demo album originally created for friends and family. At first, her parents paid for 70 copies; soon after, 1000 more were cut for sale, handout, and publicity. After finishing her album, Westenra and her sister Sophie busked in Christchurch, giving away a few of the original 70 albums (at the behest of passers-by) and selling some of the latter 1000. The pair drew large crowds, and one woman asked the girls if they had ever recorded anything. The woman, a journalist with Canterbury Television, asked Westenra to appear on air. Gray Bartlett, the director of a concert promotion company, saw the show and became interested in working with Westenra. On that label, Westenra released a self-titled album of show tunes and light classical songs, as well as My Gift to You, a CD of Christmas music. Following the success of her albums, she was offered and later received lessons from Dame Malvina Major. Pure enjoyed record success: it became the fastest-selling international debut album in the history of the UK classical chart, with 19,068 copies purchased in its first week alone, quickly reached #1 on the UK charts, and entered the UK Pop Chart at #8. Over two million copies of Pure have been sold to date. In New Zealand, Pure has been certified 12x platinum, making her the best-selling artist, regardless of genre, in the country's history.

Pure's success ensured that Decca would take Westenra seriously. Some of her fame today can be directly attributed to the way in which Decca promoted her. Although the traditional audience of classical crossover music is adult women, they also promoted her music to children and teenagers. Westenra recorded the end-title song for Disney's movie Mulan II. They also featured her in the national Radio Disney music education tour for middle-school students. David Horn, the producer of her live TV special which aired on PBS' Great Performances, said, "Her singing is so gorgeous, it's reminiscent of the great boy-soprano sound of Anglican church choirs."

Decca has also promoted Westenra on television. She took her first acting role on the US programme American Dreams ("Charade"), where she played guitar and sang "Who Painted the Moon Black?". While she was being promoted in Los Angeles, Marc Johnston, senior VP/GM for the Universal Classics Group, said, "When she was out there, people were giving her scripts to read, and she had a few rather impromptu auditions. So some film and TV roles are currently in the works." In 2006, she was featured on the motion picture soundtrack for The New World with the song "Listen to the Wind".

Westenra was the 2004 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards winner of "Highest Selling New Zealand Album" and "International Achievement Award". On 20 February 2004, Prime Minister Helen Clark awarded her for being the first New Zealand artist to receive the tenfold platinum status in the New Zealand market, where she held the number one artist position for 18 weeks. In her autobiography, she remembered feeling more nervous in an audition where she sight read to Andrew Lloyd Webber an unreleased piece that he had written. She concluded 2004 with a successful Christmas tour of the east coast of the United States as guest soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra.

In 2005, she released a new album, Odyssey. A mix of classical, pop, Celtic, and New Age music, she co-wrote and arranged some of the tracks on the album, which was released in the United States on 18 October 2005. A more recent version of Odyssey containing several recordings not on the original album was released in the United Kingdom on 10 April 2006, her 19th birthday. On 18 December 2005, she made an appearance on Kurt Browning's programme Gotta Skate, in which she performed with Andrea Bocelli.

Westenra spent the first half of 2006 performing as a supporting act for the pop-opera quartet Il Divo on a worldwide tour, though in March she performed solo concerts in the U.S. as well. That tour officially ended in June, but was then extended by six performances. She then held several concerts in the UK and Germany through the end of the northern summer. On 5 September 2006, Westenra was named as one of the ten outstanding young people in the world by the Junior Chamber International, becoming the first New Zealander so honoured. On 13 November 2006 she participated in the dedication of the New Zealand War Memorial in London. Three of Westenra's great-uncles served in World War II; one was killed.

Beyond her initial success

In August 2006, Westenra joined Celtic Woman and is featured on their second major DVD/CD album, , which was released 30 January 2007 and immediately hit the Billboard Top 200 music chart at #4. She toured with the group in the United States in 2007, with scheduled appearances in 88 venues across the country; the tour ended in June. A subsequent tour of the United Kingdom was advertised, but never took place. Westenra was up front with the UK media about not continuing with Celtic Woman after the end of the US tour, but never gave a reason why.

Among 2006 Canterbury Festival(27th Oct), Westenra successfully staged Cathedral concert with tenor Alfie Boe in the Canterbury Cathedral.

Westenra's third international album, Treasure, was released on 26 February 2007 in the UK. All the songs on this CD were chosen by Westenra, who gave her record company "no say in the matter. I basically didn't let them in on what I was recording until the last minute so they had no choice. I didn't give them much room to disagree." Tracks on this album include "E Pari Ra", "One Fine Day", "Let Me Lie", "Danny Boy", and "Abide with Me". Westenra co-wrote four of the fifteen tracks, and the album also features singer Humphrey Berney. The US/Australia/NZ edition followed in March under the name Celtic Treasure. Westenra dedicated the album to her grandmother, Shirley Ireland. Inside the sleeve of the UK edition, she wrote "I come from a musical family, and one with a real sense of history. My forefathers were on the maiden voyage from Ireland to Christchurch, New Zealand in 1850 – there's even a commemoration plaque in Cathedral Square, Christchurch, which bears the name Westenra. My grandmother used to sit me on her knee and sing songs like Danny Boy from as early as I can remember. A singer herself in her earlier years, she has always been a never-ending source of songs. It's this legacy of music that she's been passing down to me since my childhood, and it's many of these beautiful old songs that I've explored here on my album."

On the day before St. Patrick's Day 2007, she performed as part of Celtic Woman for President George W. Bush at the White House. She had plans to present the president with a petition to place a mandatory carbon cap on the United States. The goal of the petition was compliance with the commitment made by President Bill Clinton in previous years to follow the Kyoto Protocol. However, she was not able to present the petition because the president was rushed away after the concert, due to security concerns.

On 6th May 2007, Westenra was invited to the Crystal Cathedral as a guest performing "Abide with Me" on the Hour of Power American Christian television program, She performed there several times before including "Amazing Grace","I Say Grace".

Westenra starred as Maria in the 2007 recording of West Side Story, which was released on 30 July.

In Nov 2007, Hayley Westenra successfully staged Japan "treasure" concert tour in Fukuoka, Sapporo, Tokyo, Sendai, Nagoya, Osaka, Yokohama, Hiroshima.

On 17 August 2008 Westenra participated in the tribute concert Lyrics by Don Black which was held at the London Palladium and featured performances of Black's songs by a selection of guest artists. She sang the duet Amigos Para Siempre, the score of which was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with Jonathan Ansell. The evening, hosted by Michael Parkinson was recorded by BBC Radio 2 Friday Night is Music Night and broadcast on 22 August 2008.

The song "Prayer", composed by Secret Garden and performed by Westenra, is featured in the trailers for the Nintendo Wii video game, Endless Ocean, as well as in the game itself. Westenra also contributed several other songs, including her rendition of the Māori folk song "Pokarekare Ana".

On 8 November 2008, Westenra performed at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, singing Today Won't Come Again, written by Geoff Stevens and Don Black, with English tenor Jonathan Ansell, and accompanied Ansell on Here's to the Heroes, by Black and John Barry, when returning soldiers proceeded into the auditorium. On July 16, 2009, she performed at the Opening Ceremony of the World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, singing several songs including Pokarekare Ana, The Moon Represents My Heart (月亮代表我的心) in Mandarin, Tears For You (涙そうそう) and Amazing Grace.

On 16 Jul 2009, Westenra performed "Amazing Grace" in English, "We Are The Champions" in English with other stars, "The Pray" in English&Italian with Russell Watson, "Pokarekare Ana" in Maori with Russell Watson, "Nada Sousou" in Japanese, "The Moon Reflects My Love" in Mandarin Chinese with SuJianXin on the World Games's opening ceremony in Kaohsiung TaiWan before 45,000 stadium audiences and numerous worldwide TV audiences.

On 29 August 2009, Westenra led the traditional singing of "Abide with Me" at the Rugby League Challenge Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

On 05 Feb 2010, Nativity Wins 2 'Film of the Year' Awards, Hayley Westenra was delighted to sing Silent Night on the soundtrack of Nativity! When she was later interviewed about her charity work in Ghana she had this to say, "I met girls who had been given bikes and I could see how much it meant to them. We wanted to borrow one just for a photo and they wouldn't let them go; they were really reluctant".

In 2006, Sensational new Hybrid Tea named in honour of New Zealand singing star Hayley Westenra to raise funds for UNICEFNZ. Hayley Westenra Rose is a frilly, sweet-cheeked little miss who won Best Hybrid Tea, Best Overall Rose and the biggie – New Zealand Rose of the Year – at the Pacific Rose Bowl Festival awards in 2010.

In June 2006 she appeared at a fundraiser for UK charity Act Against Bullying. On 8 June 2007, Westenra performed in a fundraising concert for Bikes for Ghana at the Victoria Hall in Stoke-on-Trent. In September 2008 she visited Ghana again on behalf of UNICEF. She is currently working on raising funds for one of her favourite projects in Ghana, to install playgrounds for children, with rides which harness "kid power" to drive pumps used for providing clean drinking water from wells in that country. Hundreds of thousands of children have been victimized by contaminated drinking water in Ghana, and this project is a focus of Hayley's.

On 24th February 2007 Hayley Westenra took part in the HemiHelp “Children helping Children” concert at the Cadogan Hall, Sloan Square London in front of 900 people, including HRH Princess Alexandra the charity’s patron.

In 2008, Westenra was selected by the New Zealand Society to receive the Global Kiwis Young Achiever Award for remarkable achievement in her field of endeavor on a global scale. She has also received numerous awards for her contributions to music, both in New Zealand and elsewhere. In November 2008 she was named "classical performer of the year" at the Variety Club's annual awards in London.

On 25 Jun 2008, Hayley Westenra is the ambassador for Classic FM's charity Music Makers. Hayley says of the partnership " I am thrilled to be the first official charity Ambassador for Classic FM Music Makers. I have seen first hand the power which music can have in changing people's lives, and I can't wait to help all I can." Over the next few months Hayley will be visiting some of the music therapy and education projects across the UK which Music Makers funds...

In Oct 2008, Forces songbird Hayley Westenra help launch the Poppy Appeal with British Armed Forces in Iraq.

In Oct 2008, Forces songbird Hayley Westenra and tenor Jonathan Ansell took to the streets to sell poppies at Waterloo Station to support the Royal British Legion.

On 12 Nov 2008, Westenra performed "River of Dreams" , duet "Today Won't Come Again" with tenor Jonathan Ansell in the Royal Albert Hall for the Annual Festival of Remembrance and was broadcast by the BBC.

She has also been the ambassador for Save the Children in Hong Kong. More recently, she took part in a breast cancer awareness campaign in New Zealand. Another major charity she supports is the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy, which provides help for children who are disabled.

On 7th Sep 2009, She joined the Dame Vera Lynn Trust as a Vice-President for this Children with Cerebral Palsy charity.

On 22 Oct 2009, Forces sweethearts from the original Second World War Forces sweetheart-Dame Vera Lynn joined by one of today's Forces sweetheart Kiwi songbird Hayley Westenra in launching the Poppy Appeal with a fundraising goal of £31 million.

In Dec 2009, New forces sweetheart Hayley Westenra performed with Faryl Smith and Camilla Kerslake in a special service for British troops serving in Afghanistan from St Clements Church, London.

On 7th March 2010, Classical singing star Hayley Westenra lended her support with some other most successful female role models in FMWF’s "The Breaking the Mould" conference to inspire a generation of young women to aim high in their careers.

On 20 Jun 2010, Hayley Westenra took her role as Forces Sweetheart to the Cotswold Air Show, visiting Kemble to support the work of the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.

In March 2011, Westenra will speak at FMWF’s next Breaking the Mould conference at the Royal Institution in London’s Mayfair.

On 2nd April 2011, Westenra as a Vice-President of the Dame Vera Lynn Trust will be performing for this Children with Cerebral Palsy charity at the Lancaster London Hotel.

Personal life

Westenra was known as a vegetarian/pescetarian, and was nominated for PETA's 'Sexiest Vegetarian' for 2007. However, when touring she sometimes worried about getting the appropriate amounts of nutrients. She was sometimes unable to obtain the more nutritious vegetables and other foods she preferred, and now on occasions she eats meat. In 2007, Westenra told the New Zealand Herald, "I'm completely bursting the bubble now, aren't I? That's that ruined."

In 2010, Hayley has acknowledged that she has a boyfriend. However, she has declined to name him publicly.

Discography

Albums

Regional albums

{| class="wikitable" |- !Year !Album Title !Notes !Region |- |2000 |Walking in the Air |An independently produced "demo", in two editions: one of 70 copies listing her as Hayley Dee Westenra, the other of 1,000 copies as Hayley Westenra. The songs on both are the same. Was not intended for general release. |Japan |- |2007 |Amazing Grace – The Best of Hayley Westenra | |Japan |- |2010 |The Best of Pure Voice |Japan limited offer; This album tops 7th of the "western pop chart of Taiwan" this year(2010). |Asia |}

International albums

{| class="wikitable" |- !Year !Album Title !Notes |- |2003 |Pure |Her first release outside New Zealand and Australia; topped the charts at #1 NZ, #7 AUS, #7 UK, #70 US. Also produced in cassette tape format. |- |2005 |Odyssey |Released on 8 August in New Zealand; released 18 October in the US; hit the charts at #1 NZ, #10 UK. Also produced in cassette tape format. |- |2005 |Live From New Zealand |DVD; live concert in New Zealand; also includes biographical information as special features |- |2007 | |Westenra joined the group Celtic Woman in the production of their third DVD, A New Journey |- |2007 |Treasure |Her third international album, released in the UK on 26 February and in the U.S. on 13 March (under the name Celtic Treasure) On 26 March, Treasure topped the New Zealand album charts, and has so far gone 2X platinum (35,000 copies sold) in New Zealand. The album was #9 in the UK charts. |- |2008 | |A compilation of the Best of Hayley Westenra's hits from her previous albums, plus several new songs. This album peaked at #24 in the UK. |- |2009 |Winter Magic |Christmas album |- |}

Singles & EP's

{| class="wikitable" |- !Year !Single Title !Region |- |2003 |"Amazing Grace" |Japan |- |2005 |"Wiegenlied" |Japan |- |2009 |"Nemunoki no Komori Uta/Tsubomi" |Japan |}

Featured

{| class="wikitable" |- !Year !Featured In !Notes |- |2003 |Russell Watson Live |Sang "I Dreamed a Dream" and a duet with Watson on the song "Pokarekare Ana" |- |2004 |Nussknacker und Mausekönig |Sang "Peaches and Creamy World" |- |2006 |Il Divo World Tour |Supporting act for some of the concerts. |- |2006 |Celtic Woman – A New Journey Concert |During the live concert at Slane Castle in Ireland, Westenra made her début as a member of Celtic Woman. |- |2008 |The Central Band of the Royal British Legion |Made one appearance as a special guest on 29 March at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon |- |2008 |BBC Songs of Praise |Recorded with the Mevagissey Male Choir at Truro Cathedral |- |2008 |Shadows From The Sky |Northern Ireland Concert Tour |- |2008 |Classical Brit Award Ceremony |Selected as a finalist and performed Un Giorno Per Noi with Jonathan Ansell during the ceremony in Great Britain. |- |2008 |Afghanistan Tour |Performed for North Atlantic Treaty Organization servicemen in the war zone. |- |2008 |Japan Tour |Performed in live venues and on television across Japan in May and June 2008. |- |2008 |USA – Independence Day Celebration |Performed "Shenandoah" at the U.S. Capitol before a live audience of 300,000 and a television broadcast audience (on PBS) of millions, and additionally on NPR. The concert was carried live on the American Forces Network (AFN) to U.S. military personnel in 175 countries and aboard 140 U.S. Navy ships at sea. |- |2008 |United Kingdom Tour |Performed in numerous live venues across Great Britain in July and August 2008. |- |2008 |Iraq Tour |In October 2008 entertained UK and Allied NATO troops in Basra, Iraq to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I. |- |2008 |River of Dreams Tour |Performed in numerous live venues across Great Britain in October, November and December 2008 to promote the River of Dreams album. Dates in Scotland and England were scheduled, until the latter stops were cancelled due to Westenra suffering bronchial problems. The postponed concerts were rescheduled for May to July 2009. |- |2009 |The Valentines Tour |Performed live in venues across Great Britain during February 2009 with Jonathan Ansell. |- |2009 |Japan Tour |Performed live in 15 concerts across Japan, March/April 2009. |- |2009 |World Games 2009, Taiwan |Performed live at the Opening Ceremony of the World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan on July 16, 2009. |- |2009 |Taiwan Tour (TSO & Hayley) |Performed live at the National Theatre in Taipei, Taiwan on 3 October 2009 with Taipei Symphony Orchestra. |- |2009 |Japan Tour |Performed live in 5 concerts across Japan in conjunction with the release of a new regional album - from 11 to 18 October. |- |2009 |Winter Magic Christmas Tour |Performed live from 23 Nov 2009 to 21 Dec 2009 in cathedrals across the U.K. and the Barbican, London |- |2010 |Battle Of Britain 70th Anniversary UK Tour |Performed live from 6 July to 2 August with RAF Bands across the UK |- |2010 |Taiwan/China Tour |Performed live from 27 Oct to 1 Nov in Kaohsiung, Shanghai and Taipei |- |2010 |Christmas Wishes Tour (UK) |Performed live from 14 Dec to 22 Dec in Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and the Barbican, London |}

References

Further reading

External links

HayleyWestenra.com - Official website

Profile at CelticWoman.com

Hayley Westenra at ClassicalX

; Multimedia and interviews :* Yahoo! LAUNCHcast music videos featuring Westenra :* Hayley Westenra Interview :* BBC Radio - John Rockley Show interview (22 February 2007) :* Hayley Westenra Interview at ilikemusic.com :* Interview with Hayley at Premier.tv

Category:1987 births Category:Celtic Woman members Category:Living people Category:Opera crossover singers Category:New Zealand buskers Category:New Zealand classical musicians Category:New Zealand female singers Category:New Zealand sopranos Category:New Zealand people of Dutch descent Category:New Zealand people of Irish descent Category:People from Christchurch Category:UNICEF people

Name	Donnie McClurkin
Background	solo_singer
Born	November 09, 1959
Origin	Amityville, New York, U.S.
Genre	Gospel, Contemporary Christian, Inspirational/Worship, Hymns
Years active	1996–present
Label(s)	Verity Records1999-Present Word Entertainment1996-1999
Url	www.DonnieMcClurkin.com

Donnie McClurkin (born January 25, 1959) is an American gospel music singer and minister. He has won three Grammy awards, ten Stellar awards, two BET awards, two Soul Train awards, one Dove award and one NAACP Image award for his work.

Early life

McClurkin was born and raised in Louisville, Ms. When he was eight years old, his two-year-old brother was hit and killed by a speeding driver and the night of the funeral, McClurkin's uncle raped him.

Ministry

He was hired as an associate minister at Marvin Winans' Perfecting Faith Church in 1989. The Winans are a well-established family of singers who have dominated the modern gospel genre and also crossed over into soul and pop. McClurkin served as an assistant to Winans for over a decade.

In 1991, a sharp pain and swelling, followed by internal bleeding, led, he says, to a diagnosis of leukemia. The doctor suggested immediate treatment, but McClurkin, who was then 31, decided take his own advice. "I tell people to believe that God will save you," he says, "[and] I had to turn around and practice the very thing that I preached."

He was ordained and sent out by Winans in 2001 to establish Perfecting Faith Church in Freeport, Long Island, where he is now Senior Pastor.

In 2004, he sang at the Republican National Convention. The appearance generated criticism for the event organizers and McClurkin for his statements on homosexuality. He claims to have struggled with homosexuality during his youth for several years, but states that he is now "delivered" from the condition. McClurkin wrote that homosexuality is a spiritual issue and that one can be delivered from it but by God; "The abnormal use of my sexuality continued until I came to realize that I was broken and that homosexuality was not God's intention [...] for my masculinity." He then describes himself as going through a process by which he became "saved and sanctified." McClurkin has stated that homosexuality is a curse. He uses these life experiences in his concerts and speaking engagements.

McClurkin's listing as a headlining performer for Senator Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign stirred controversy because of his views on homosexuality. As a result McClurkin was removed from the performance roster but he still performed at one of the concerts.

Music

A friendship with a Warner Alliance executive resulted in his signing to the label for his 1996 self-titled LP, with producers Mark Kibble of Take 6, Cedric and Victor Caldwell plus Andraé Crouch. The disc, which featured the perennially popular "Stand," went gold shortly after being publicly lauded by Oprah Winfrey. At the 48th annual Grammy Awards, he won in the category Traditional Soul Gospel Album, for "Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs". McClurkin is best known for his hit songs “Stand” and “We Fall Down” which are played in heavy rotation on both Gospel and Urban radio. His three solo albums have topped the Billboard charts.

Dovetailing off the success of his near double-platinum selling live album, McClurkin released “We All Are One: Live In Detroit” in 2009 which also topped Billboard charts across various musical genres. He performed tracks on his last live album in Japanese, Russian, Spanish, and Dutch.

Radio and television

McClurkin struck a deal with advertising giant Dial-Global and syndicator Gary Bernstein, allowed him to launch the Donnie McClurkin Radio Program. He built a mobile recording studio in his church that he can also take on the road. He is quoted as saying "As much as I love music and singing, I really love doing radio and the direct feedback I get from my listeners all over the country. I never thought I would be having this much fun doing radio and I could touch and impact so many people."

In 2009 he also broadcast his own television show titled “Perfecting Your Faith” on cable television. His television appearances include Good Morning America, CBS Saturday’s Early Show, and the View. He has also been featured in movies like “The Gospel”, “The Fighting Temptations” and television shows “Girlfriends” and “The Parkers.”

Discography

Studio albums

{|class="wikitable" ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2" width="200"| Album ! colspan="3"| Chart peaks ! rowspan="2" width="150"| RIAA Certifications |- ! width="20"| U.S.
! width="20"| U.S. R&B;
! width="20"| U.S. Gospel
|- | 1996 | Donnie McClurkin

Released: October 29, 1996

Label: Warner Alliance

| align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| 4 | align="left"| Gold |- | 2003 | Donnie McClurkin Again

Released: March 4, 2003

Label: Verity Records

| align="center"| 31 | align="center"| 12 | align="center"| 1 | align="left"| Gold |- | 2004 | Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs

Released: October 26, 2004

Label: Zomba Label Group

| align="center"| 12 | align="center"| 5 | align="center"| 1 | align="left"| Platinum |- |}

Live albums

{|class="wikitable" ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2" width="200"| Album ! colspan="3"| Chart peaks ! rowspan="2" width="150"|RIAA Certifications |- ! width="20"| U.S.
! width="20"| U.S. R&B;
! width="20"| U.S. Gospel
|- | 2000 | Live in London and More...

Released: August 22, 2000

Label: Verity Records

| align="center"| 69 | align="center"| 22 | align="center"| 1 | align="left"| Platinum |- | 2008 | We All Are One (Live in Detroit)

Released: December 2, 2008

Label: Verity Records

| align="center"| 26 | align="center"| 7 | align="center"| 1 | align="left"| |- |}

Compilation albums

{|class="wikitable" ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2" width="200"| Album ! colspan="2"| Chart peaks |- ! width="20"| U.S. R&B;
! width="20"| U.S. Gospel
|- | 2001 | The Collection

Released: May 29, 2001

Label: Savoy

| align="center"| — | align="center"| — |- | 2007 | The Essential Donnie

Released: September 25, 2007

Label: Verity Records

| align="center"| — | align="center"| 10 |- | 2009 | Playlist: The Very Best of Donnie McClurkin

Released: September 15, 2009

Label: Verity/Legacy Recordings

| align="center"| 57 | align="center"| 9 |- | 2010 | Donnie McClurkin: Double Play

Released: 2010

Label: Verity Records

| align="center"| — | align="center"| — |- |}

;Singles:

* Stand (1996)

Speak To My Heart (1996)

Love will never be (1996)

Lost without you (1997)

We Fall Down (1998)

Love Melodies (1998)

We Love You, Lord (2000)

Some Day (2001) (with Kirk Franklin)

The Prayer (2003) (with Yolanda Adams)

I Call You Faithful (2005)

That Great Day (2007) (with Tye Tribbett, Da' T.R.U.T.H.)

Wait on the Lord (2009)

Filmography

Hopeville (2007)

The Gospel (2005)

The Prince of Egypt (1998) wrote and sang "I Am" & "Humanity"

25 Strong: The BET Silver Anniversary Special

The Donnie McClurkin Story: From Darkness to Light (2004)

Apollo at 70: A Hot Night in Harlem (2004)

The Fighting Temptations (2003)

;Notable television appearances:

25th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards (2010)

An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Stevie Wonder (2006)

20th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards (2005)

19th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards (2004)

18th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards Preshow (2003)

17th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards (2002)

Essence Awards (2003)

The Parkers (2002)

Girlfriends (2001)

1st Annual BET Awards (2001)

Essence Awards (2001)

An Evening of Stars: A Celebration of Educational Excellence (2001)

BET's Sunday Best (2010)

References

External links

Donnie McClurkin: official site

The Donnie McClurkin Show: radio broadcast

Perfecting Faith Church: official site

Exclusive Interview on BlackGospel.com (October 2008) : Interview

Category:1959 births Category:American gospel singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:People from Suffolk County, New York Category:American Pentecostals Category:Members of the Church of God in Christ Category:Church of God in Christ clergy Category:Urban contemporary gospel musicians Category:People self-identified as ex-gay

Name	Demi Lovato
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Demetria Devonne Lovato
Born	August 20, 1992 is an American actress and singer-songwriter. Her earliest roles included a part on Barney & Friends, before she became better known for her roles as Mitchie Torres in the Camp Rock movies, as Sonny Munroe in Sonny with a Chance and as the star of the 2009 movie Princess Protection Program.
- bgcolor	"#CCCCCC" align="center"
- bgcolor	"#CCCCCC" align="center"
Rowspan	2|2009
- bgcolor	"#CCCCCC" align="center"
- bgcolor	"#CCCCCC" align="center"
Rowspan	2|2006
Rowspan	"2"| 2008
Rowspan	"1"| 2010
Rowspan	"8"| 2009
Rowspan	"5"| Teen Choice Awards
Rowspan	"12"| 2010
Rowspan	"5"| Teen Choice Award
Rowspan	"2"| 2011
Rowspan	"2"|People's Choice Awards
Name	Lovato, Demi
Date of birth	1992-8-20
Place of birth	Dallas, Texas, United States

Category:1992 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Actors from Texas Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American Christians Category:American Internet personalities Category:American female singers Category:American pop singers Category:American rock singers Category:American bloggers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American television actors Category:American vegetarians Category:Fascination Records artists Category:Hispanic and Latino American actors Category:Hollywood Records artists Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Living people Category:American musicians of Mexican descent Category:Hispanic and Latino American people Category:American people of Mexican descent Category:Musicians from Texas Category:People from Dallas, Texas Category:YouTube video producers

Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Charlotte Maria Reed
Born	February 21, 1986 Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales
Origin	Cardiff, Wales
Instrument	Vocals
Voice type	Soprano
Genre	Pop, Celtic, classical, classical crossover, operatic pop
Occupation(s)	Singer / Songwriter
Years active	1998–present
Label	Sony BMG 1998-2006 Power Amp Music 2010-Present
Url

Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed; 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 11,000,000 albums worldwide and in 2010 was said to be worth as much as £11m (though one 2003 report had her worth £25m). She recently hosted the third series of her Channel 4 chat show The Charlotte Church Show.

Church released her first album in 5 years, titled Back To Scratch, on 25 October 2010.

Life and music career

Early life

Charlotte Church was born Charlotte Maria Reed in Llandaff, a district of Cardiff, Wales. She was brought up as a Roman Catholic by her mother, Maria, who was separated from Church's biological father, Stephen Reed. Church was adopted by her mother's second husband, James Church in 1998. Her break came at 11 when she sang "Pie Jesu" over the telephone on the television show "This Morning" in 1997, followed by her performance on ITV's Big, Big Talent Show in 1997. This led to concerts at Cardiff Arms Park, the Royal Albert Hall and opening for Shirley Bassey in Antwerp. She also received a vocal scholarship to Howell's School Llandaff in Cardiff where she started in 1998 after leaving The Cathedral School, Llandaff. She balanced performing and school with help from tutors for when she was on the road and said in many interviews that she was "just like every other girl her age".

1998–2005: classical career

Church was then introduced to the Cardiff impresario Jonathan Shalit, who became her manager and negotiated a contract with Sony BMG. Her first album, Voice of an Angel, was a collection of arias, sacred songs, and traditional pieces that sold millions worldwide and made her the youngest artist with a No. 1 album on the British classical crossover charts.

Church appeared on PBS specials. Her self-titled second album also included operatic, religious and traditional tracks. One, the soaring and inspirational Just Wave Hello, was the centre piece of a millennium-themed ad campaign for the Ford Motor Company. The song's full-length video, featuring Church, won acclaim at the Detroit Auto Show and introduced her to new fans. The track reached No. 31 in Britain.

In 2000, she released Dream a Dream, an album of Christmas carols. It included Church's first foray into a more pop-influenced style in the title track Dream a Dream, borrowing the melody from Fauré's Pavane and featuring young American country singer Billy Gilman. Church also sang with Gilman in "Sleigh Ride" on his CD Classic Christmas.

In 2001, Church added more pop, swing, and Broadway with her album Enchantment. That year, Church made her first film appearance in the 2001 Ron Howard film A Beautiful Mind. Celine Dion was beginning a concert engagement in Las Vegas and was not available to perform the film's end title song, "All Love Can Be", so composer James Horner enlisted Church and the song was rewritten for her vocal range. Church also handled other vocal passages throughout the score.

In 2002, at 16, she released a 'best of' album called , and took part in the Royal Christmas tour alongside Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, concluding her classical music career.

2005–2009: pursuing pop career; classical career on hold

In 2005, Church issued her first pop album Tissues and Issues. Four singles were moderately successful in the UK with "Crazy Chick" reaching no. 2, "Call My Name" number 10, "Even God Can't Change the Past" number 17, and "Moodswings (to Come at Me like That)" number 14. Although these were released in Australia as well, they failed to reach the same level of success there, and in March 2006 it was announced that there would be no US releases of Church's pop work until she had achieved a number 1 hit in the UK. Tissues and Issues accounted for no more than 2% of her total sales. Church's pop album was released in the U.S. through Amazon.com MP3 shop, and iTunes in 2009.

In April 2006, she performed three concerts in Glasgow, London, and Cardiff, in venues holding between 2,000 and 3,000 people; the dates at London and Cardiff were sold out. Supported by Irish band the New Druids, Church performed a mix of tracks from her debut pop album and a number of pop covers including Prince's "Kiss" and Gloria Estefan's "Rhythm is Gonna Get You". Though Church hinted at the possibility of a full tour in the future, none took place.

In November 2006, it was announced that she and Sony had parted ways. According to her publicist, this was a mutual decision reached after a series of meetings throughout the year, which were held since her five and later six album deal had come to an end. There was some speculation that Church had decided to take a break from her singing career, in order to focus on her television show. Others suggested that the performance of her pop releases in the charts also contributed to the decision. Soon, she became pregnant with her daughter, Ruby Megan Henson, and this was widely believed to have contributed to the decision.

In 2007, Church became Patron of the charity The Topsy Foundation UK, helping to raise awareness and funds for its work to support rural communities in South Africa, empowering people infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS, through medical care, social support and skills development.

Articles emerged in the UK press in March and April 2008 stating that she was still training classically and was contemplating a return to classical crossover at some point. Church has sung in religious services in Taizé. She has also performed before Pope John Paul II, Queen Elizabeth II, the Prince of Wales and Bill Clinton.

In June 2008, she again became pregnant, this time with her son, Dexter Lloyd Henson. In Church's latest interview, she mentioned she would be ready to work on more music a few months after she was fully recovered from her second pregnancy, and Dexter was a little bit older, though was not sure whether she would further develop her classical career, her pop career, or both as she loves both genres for different reasons, and plans to work on both genres but needs to be in a creative state of mind to continue work on her second Pop album. Charlotte also mentioned that she has been working with a vocal instructor to keep her voice in check during, and after her second pregnancy, and while she has never put a focus on her body image, she would like to get back into the shape she was in before becoming a mother when she resumes work.

In June 2009, Church sat down with 'Hello!' magazine, and discussed her life since having her second child. She said that she is currently in the studio, resuming work on her new album. She is excited to further her music career and plans on enlisting the help of both sets of grandparents, and their father, Gavin Henson, to help care for the children, now that they are a little bit older. She mentioned that Henson has been strongly encouraging her to get back to work, and pursue her career that she has greatly missed since settling down.

2010–present: Return To Music and Back To Scratch

Church appeared on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross on 13 March 2010, where she confirmed that she had already begun writing and recording her sixth studio album. Church also stated that the album was of a different sound to previous, more mature with a 'kooky' vibe.

On 4 August 2010, Church made a new track 'Cold California' available to download from her website .

Church's new album, Back to Scratch, will be released in the UK on November 1. The 14-track set has been produced by Martin Terefe. Back To Scratch will be preceded by a single - the LP's title track - on October 24. 'Back To Scratch' was originally inspired "by problems facing a family member", but Church admitted in a press release that the song now has resonance to her own personal life following her recent split from Gavin Henson. Other tracks confirmed for the album include 'Ruby', originally recorded by French singer Camille and written by Euston Jones, 'Logical World', 'Story Of Us', 'Don't Think About It' and 'Cup Of The Sun'.

Acting and television career

Television

Minor appearances

Church has made a number of cameo appearances on television. She appeared in the CBS series Touched by an Angel, starred in the 1999 Christmas special of Heartbeat, and in 2002 and 2003 she appeared on episodes of Have I Got News For You (the first time as the show's youngest-ever panelist; the second time as host). In 2005 she played herself in an episode of The Catherine Tate Show, in a sketch with the fictional character Joannie Taylor. In 2008 she appeared briefly in a sketch in Katy Brand's Big Ass Show.

In December 2005, for The Paul O'Grady Show Christmas pantomime, The Wizard of Oz, Church played Dorothy Gale.

In January 2010 for Hospital 24/7, Church made an appearance on the program finale, where she visits the Children's Hospital for Wales to launch the Noah's Ark Appeals campaign to fund the equipment in the new Critical Care Unit, which will help children needing high dependency, or critical & intensive care.

The Charlotte Church Show

In the summer of 2006, Church began work on her own entertainment TV show, The Charlotte Church Show. After a pilot episode which caused some controversy and which was never released to the public, the series began on 1 September 2006 on Channel 4.

The show, hosted by Church and featuring two celebrity guests each week, involved a mixture of sketches, reality TV, interviews, extremely foul language, and music, as well as a recurring Welsh theme. The show has averaged 1.9 million viewers and 10% of the available audience, and on 6 October 2006, it was announced that Channel 4 paid Church a reported £1,200,000 for a further two series of the show. According to her official website, the final series, originally planned for summer of 2007, was deferred until after Church gave birth.

Church won a British Comedy Award for "Best Female Comedy Newcomer" in 2006, and the 'Funniest TV Personality' award at the 2006 Loaded Magazine's 'LAFTA' awards. In 2008 she was nominated for the Rose d'Or Special Award for Best Entertainer.

In late June 2008, Channel 4 began showing trials for the series. It has since concluded its eight-show run. Church confirmed on 28 August 2008 that The Charlotte Church Show would return for a Christmas special, which aired on 21 December 2008. On Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Church revealed that the third series would be shown on Thursday nights beginning on 10 July 2008. The show ended after its third series.

Over the Rainbow

Church was confirmed by the BBC in February 2010 to be one of the judges on Andrew Lloyd Webber's new West End revival show Over The Rainbow.

Film roles

She made her silver screen debut in 2003's I'll Be There, co-starring and directed by Craig Ferguson. Church played the role of Olivia, the daughter of a washed-up '80s rocker from a one-night-stand, played by Ferguson. The film did not meet with widespread success, playing for only ten days in British cinemas and being released directly to video in the US. Charlotte was also under consideration to appear in the 2004 film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera as the leading female character Christine Daaé but elected not to audition as it was specified she would have to lose weight before she could try out which she declined to do. The part eventually went to Emmy Rossum. Church also stated she had wanted the part of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series of films, however, at 14 she was too old for the part, which eventually went to Emma Watson.

Personal life and family

Church's personal life has often been portrayed in UK tabloid newspapers, inspiring the song "Let's Be Alone" on her album Tissues and Issues.

Church released an autobiography titled Voice of an Angel (My Life So Far) at 14, before the release of Enchantment and just after she had wrapped up her Dream a Dream Christmas CD. Her change of music direction is hinted at in the final chapter, "Turning Corners". She released a second autobiography titled Keep Smiling in late 2007, very different in tone from the first.

Aspects of her personal life have been criticised in the press. In 2002, she was photographed smoking, which was controversial due to its possible effects on her voice. It subsequently emerged that she had developed a habit, and that many members of her family were heavy smokers, making it difficult for her to quit. Her smoking habit was alluded to on the album Tissues and Issues, in "Confessional Song". Her weight gain has also been criticized in the media. Regarding the pressure to lose weight, Church has been quoted as saying, "I'm happy with how I look. I like looking like this. Why change just to be like everyone else? What's the point of that?" In an interview with Reveal magazine in June 2006, she said, "I do look a bit of a heifer on telly and in pictures but that's because the camera puts pounds on you."

The press devoted much attention to Church's relationship with boyfriend Gavin Henson, a Welsh International rugby union player. At the end of 2005, she bought a property in her native Cardiff, for a reported £500,000 which she later sold for £900,000. The couple then bought a manor with a 20-acre (8 hectare) small holding just outside Bridgend in the scenic village of St. Bride's Major. The couple mentioned marriage on talk shows and in the press but put off marriage while Church was pregnant.

In 2007, Church made another appearance on a British young people's rich list with Henson. They were ranked 49th-richest young people in Britain with an estimated joint wealth of £12 million, although most estimate her wealth at £20 million. The couple bought a Princess yacht in spring 2008 for £800,000, named Sketchy, which is berthed at Swansea marina. In late 2009, returning from a day-trip in the Bristol Channel, Church called out the Her Majesty's Coastguard to rescue their lost RiB tender. Church practices karate to keep fit.

On 20 September 2007, at 10:35 pm, Church gave birth to daughter named Ruby Megan Henson.

Church has stated she wants her childbearing days to be over by the time she is 32. She has also said she wants four to six children, whereas Henson wanted eight.

In an interview with Hello! magazine following the christening of Dexter, Church said having two children had taken its toll on her body and the couple planned to wait a few years before trying for a third child.

She told the magazine; "I suffer badly with aching hips when I'm pregnant and last time, with Dexter, it was so painful,"

The Daily Mail reported on 31 May 2010 that Church and Henson had split up.

Controversy

Church has provoked controversy on some occasions with her comments and criticisms – in an interview with Davina McCall, she agreed being diplomatic was "not in her nature". Her remarks about her visit to New York in the wake of the 11 September 2001 attacks, saying "People over-dramatise and lose perspective" proved highly offensive.

The pilot episode of Church's talk show, The Charlotte Church Show, provoked a backlash from some religious groups, as Church reportedly mocked the Roman Catholic Church and made controversial comments about Pope Benedict XVI, calling him a "Nazi" in reference to his service in the Hitler Youth and German Army. One large Catholic distributor of books, CDs and other goods, Ignatius Press, pulled Church's products from its catalogue.

In her video blog entry for 22 March 2007, Church referred to the UK's Eurovision entry, Scooch, as "absolute shit" and went on to say, "I've never seen shit like it, because Scooch really are shit." Russ Spencer of Scooch hit back, saying, "What a pity the voice of an angel has acquired the mouth of a sewer." Spencer's fellow band member Natalie Powers added, "As a mother of a young child myself I find her behaviour and language quite unacceptable. What kind of role model is this for a mum-to-be?" Church hit back by saying on her Channel 4 show, "They called me attention seeking ... then what's doing the Eurovision dressed as air hostesses?"

She has claimed she would be a better judge for the reality show X-Factor than any of the judges on the show. She becomes "annoyed" when their remarks are inaccurate, stating, "They just do not know the ins and outs of a voice or music."

In January 2011, in an interview with Esquire magazine, Church referred to Queen Elizabeth II as "an old woman who has no idea what's going on", but apologised within days.

Discography

Voice of an Angel (1998)

Charlotte Church (1999)

Dream a Dream (2000)

Enchantment (2001)

Tissues and Issues (2005)

Back to Scratch (2010)

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" |- align="center" !colspan=4| Feature films |- align="center" !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- | 2003 ||I'll Be There || Olivia Edmonds || Lead Role |- |}

Bibliography

2001 - Voice of An Angel, My Life (So Far) – First autobiography

2007 - Keep Smiling – Second autobiography

Awards and nominations

{| class="wikitable" |- !Year !Award !Category !Result |- | rowspan=4| 2000 | rowspan=1| Classical BRIT Awards | Best Female Artist |style="background: #ffdddd"| Nominated |- | rowspan=1| Classical BRIT Awards | British Artist Of The Year |style="background: #ddffdd"| Won |- | Hollywood Reporters Young Star Awards | Best Young Recording Artist Or Musical Group | style="background: #ddffdd"| Won |- | Institute Of Public Relations In Wales | Millenium Communicator Of The Year | style="background: #ddffdd"| Won |- | rowspan=1| 2002 | rowspan=1| Rear of the year | N/A |style="background: #ddffdd"| Won |- | rowspan=1| 2005 | rowspan=1| GQ Awards | Woman Of The Year |style="background: #ddffdd"| Won |- | rowspan=5| 2006 | rowspan=1| Brit Awards | Best British Female |style="background: #ffdddd"| Nominated |- | rowspan=1| Loaded Magazine LAFTA Awards | Funniest T.V Personality |style="background: #ddffdd"| Won |- | rowspan=1| Glamour Awards | Editors Choice Award |style="background: #ddffdd"| Won |- | rowspan=1| Glamour Awards | Solo Artist Of The Year |style="background: #ddffdd"| Won |- | rowspan=1| British Comedy Awards | Best Female Newcomer |style="background: #ddffdd"| Won |- | rowspan=1| 2007 | rowspan=1| Glamour Awards | Readers Favourite TV Personality |style="background: #ddffdd"| Won |- | rowspan=1| 2008 | rowspan=1| Rose d'Or Awards | Best Entertainer |style="background: #ffdddd"| Nominated |- |}

References

External links

CharlotteChurch.com - Official website

The Charlotte Church Show - Official website

Biography from BBC Wales

Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Adoptees adopted by relations Category:British child actors Category:British karateka Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Opera crossover singers Category:People from Cardiff Category:Welsh child singers Category:Welsh female singers Category:Welsh film actors Category:Welsh pop singers Category:Welsh Roman Catholics Category:Welsh sopranos Category:Welsh television actors

Name	Anthony Callea
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Anthony Cosmo Callea
Born	December 13, 1982
Origin	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Instrument	Vocals
Genre	Pop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musical theatre actor
Years active	2004–present
Label	Sony Music Australia
Url	Official Website
Partner	Tim Campbell

Anthony Callea (born 13 December 1982 in Melbourne) is an ARIA Award-winning Australian singer songwriter who rose to prominence in the 2004 season of Australian Idol when he became runner up. Anthony's debut single "The Prayer" was named the highest & fastest selling Australian Artist single of all time, and still holds the record as the fastest selling single of all time in Australia, and the second highest selling single of the last decade. Callea has accumulated a string of awards including an Aria Award, Channel V Artist of the Year, Pop Republic Artist of the Year, MTV Viewers' Choice Award, Variety's Young Entertainer of the Year, MO Award and a Gospel Music Award and is known for his powerful trained voice and his versatility in a range of genres in releases and live performances. All but one of the tracks on his second album A New Chapter were co-written by Callea, and his albums, singles and DVD have all achieved Top 20 status.

Biography

Early years

Callea, credited as Anthony De Fazio, appeared in an episode of Funky Squad, "The Wrong Side of the Tracks", in 1995.

Australian Idol

Callea began entering talent contests as a child and trained with the Johnny Young Talent School. He auditioned and was selected for the final 30 in the television series Australian Idol in 2004. Based on viewer votes, he did not make it through the first round of competition, but was invited back as a "Judge's Choice Wildcard", where his performance earned him a place in the final twelve.

Over the weeks of the competition, his popularity with the Australian public grew. During his run on the show, he gave several performances that earned him high praise from the judges, including his rendition of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water", Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is" and Andrea Bocelli and Céline Dion's duet "The Prayer." Judge Ian 'Dicko' Dickson said Callea's performance of the latter was the finest he had seen during his two years with the show. The competition concluded in November 2004 with Callea finishing as runner-up to Casey Donovan. He cited Cosima De Vito as his favourite contestant of the first series of Australian Idol. Callea was the first idol contestant in the competition that had never been included in the bottom three for the contestants who had the lowest votes each week.

Australian Idol performances

Melbourne Auditions: "Wishes" by Human Nature

Top 30: "Angels" by Robbie Williams

Wildcard: "The Reason" by Hoobastank

Top 12: Australian Made - "Heaven Knows" by Rick Price

Top 11: Pop Night - "Ignition" by R. Kelly

Top 10: 60's Night - "Gimme Some Lovin'" - Spencer Davis Group

Top 9: Disco Night - "Car Wash" by Rose Royce

Top 8: Idol's Choice - "The Prayer" by Andrea Bocelli and Céline Dion

Top 7: Beatles Night - "I Saw Her Standing There" by The Beatles

Top 6: 80's Night - "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner

Top 5: R'n'B Night - "Back at One" by Brian McKnight

Top 4: Big Band Night - "Fever" and "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" by Nat King Cole

Top 3: 70's Night - "Hold the Line" by Toto and "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel

Top 2: "Listen with Your Heart" (Winner's Single) by Diane Warren, "Walking Away" by Craig David and "Glory of Love" by Peter Cetera

Grand Final: "The Prayer" by Andrea Bocelli and Céline Dion

Post-Idol Career

2005-2006: Anthony Callea

Callea was immediately signed to Sony/BMG Records, and his first single,"The Prayer" was released in December 2004. It debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number one, and remained there for five consecutive weeks. Within seven weeks, it was reported it had become the highest-selling Australian single at that time, as it was certified four times platinum, selling in excess of 280,000 copies. His next single, the double A-side "Rain / Bridge over Troubled Water" spent two weeks at number one. His self-titled album Anthony Callea (album) debuted at number one on the week of 4 April 2005, and remained at the top of the chart for three weeks. His third single "Hurts So Bad" debuted at number ten on the ARIA Charts, while the album's final single, "Per Sempre (For Always)" debuted at number five.

Callea's DVD Live in Concert was released on 7 November 2005. It debuted at #3 in the ARIA DVD Chart and awarded Platinum status.

2006-2007: A New Chapter

Callea released the single "Live for Love" on 4 November 2006, the first from his second album A New Chapter, the only song on the album which he did not co-write. Both the single and the album, released on 25 November 2006, debuted at number 9. The album contains a mix of genres characteristic to Callea, including power ballads and more up-tempo songs. Callea also contributed his version of the Brian McKnight song, "Home", to the compilation album , which was released in order to raise funds for BeyondBlue, an anti-depression organisation. The second single "Addicted to You" debuted at no. 19 when released in February 2007.

2010: Third Studio Album

ALL NEW Anthony Callea Album Coming In 2010 Currently recording in L.A.

Charity work

Callea has been involved with many charities. He was part of the Tsunami Relief Telethon and was invited to perform at the Red Cross Ball in the presence of Prince Frederik and Princess Mary of Denmark. Callea has worked with The Starlight Foundation, the Royal Melbourne Children's Hospital, The Mirabel Foundation and The Salvation Army. More recently, Callea was the ambassador for the 2007 Perth Telethon for the Royal Children's Hospital and in November 2007 was appointed the official ambassador for Vision Australia. For the second year Anthony has been appointed the official ambassador for 2009's Vision Australia's Carols By Candlelight. This will be the sixth year in a row Callea has performed at this event and cites this as one of the highlights of the year.

Tours

Headlining tours

In July 2005, Callea embarked on an extensive east coast of Australia tour adding dates along the way during his Anthony Callea Tour 2005. Supporting Callea on tour was Tina Cousins. From July to September 2007, Callea embarked on his A New Chapter Tour with his four-piece band. Callea performed the songs in his album A New Chapter as well as some of his classic songs, playing eighteen shows across the country.

On 6 December 2008, Anthony Callea took a night off from his successful run in ‘Wicked’ and returns to the music stage for an exclusive Australian show at The Palms at Crown in Melbourne.

Musicians combined tours

At the Tattoo Spectacular 2007, Callea performed his songs with accompaniment by the massed bands and the Tattoo Choir. The event combined a cast and crew of almost 900 musicians, performers, dancers and singers.

Callea and several other leading Australian performers have been invited to perform with the Sydney Symphony at the concert hall of the Sydney Opera House. The performance has been described as a tribute to the greatest film songs ever written and is scheduled from the 7th to 10 May 2008.

Supporting tours

During the Australian leg of Diana Ross's I Love You 2006 tour, Callea performed as her support act. During the Australian leg of Westlife's Face To Face Tour, Callea performed as their support act, Westlife's Arena Tour in February 2007. On 26 March 2008, Celine Dion commenced the Australian leg of her Taking Chances world tour. Callea performed as the special guest support act.

Anthony Callea had been announced as the Special Guest of the Australian leg of Whitney Houston's Nothing but Love World Tour opening in Brisbane on 22 February 2010. The arena tour played in Brisbane, Hope Estate Hunter Valley, Sydney, Melbourne, and finishing in Adelaide.

Band

BV's; Susie Ahern

MD and keys; Mark Amato

Drums; Jason Heerah

Bass and BV's; Andrew de Silva, formerly from CDB

Television Work

It Takes Two series 2

In 2007, Callea was one of the professional voices on the Seven Network's weekly musical competition program, It Takes Two, in which celebrities from non-musical fields were teamed with professional singers to perform a duet each week. Callea was paired with radio DJ Jo Stanley and finished in second place, competing against Jolene Anderson and David Campbell at the finals.

Performances

Week One: The Veronicas - "4ever" (Pop)

Week Two: Chaka Khan - "I Say a Little Prayer" (Songs from the Movies)

Week Three: Kelly Clarkson - "Because of You" (Ballad)

Week Four: Blondie - "Call Me" (No. 1 Hits)

Week Five: Peaches & Herb - "Shake Your Groove Thing" (Disco)

Week Six: ABBA - "SOS" (70's & 80's)

Week Seven: Diana Ross - "You Are Everything" (Motown)

Week Eight: Judy Garland - "Get Happy" (Swing) & Joan Jett - "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" (Rock)

Week Nine: Anthony Callea - "The Prayer" (A song their mentor was famous for) & Chuck Berry - "Johnny B. Goode" (Rock & Roll)

Week Ten (Finale): Encore performances of Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You", Judy Garland's "Get Happy", and a new performance of Irene Cara's "Flashdance... What a Feeling"

It Takes Two series 3

In 2008, Callea again performed as one of the professional voices on the Seven Network's weekly musical competition program, It Takes Two, in which celebrities from non-musical fields are teamed with professional singers to perform a duet each week. Callea's partner for season three was ironwoman Candice Falzon. The third series began airing on 12 February 2008. Callea and Falzon were eliminated in week seven, finishing in fifth place.

Performances

Week One: Mentors Group Performance: "Get Ready"

Week One: KT Tunstall - "Suddenly I See" (Pop)

Week Two: Thelma Houston - "Don't Leave Me This Way" (R&B;/Soul)

Week Three: Faith Hill - "This Kiss" (Country)

Week Four: Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston - "When You Believe" (Ballad)

Week Four: Mentors Group Performance: "Born to Hand Jive" from Grease

Week Five: Roxette - "The Look" (80's)

Week Six: CeCe Peniston - "Finally" (Disco)

Week Seven: The Veronicas - "Hook Me Up" (Rock)

Week Ten Grand Final: Cast Medley: Roxette - "The Look" (80's)

Week Ten Grand Final: Mentors Group Performance: Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. - "You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)"

Ultimate School Musical:Fame

In January 2010 it was confirmed that Callea joined the cast of Foxtel's Ultimate School Musical: Fame filming the series alongside Ruby Rose and others in Melbourne.

Ultimate School Musical: Fame features school children attempting to put on a professional musical in just six weeks. Callea is the series' voice coach.

After an extensive audition process across high schools throughout Australia, the students of Essendon Keilor College in Melbourne won the much sought after opportunity to be cast in Ultimate School Musical – FAME, a 10-part series to premiere exclusively on FOX8 under the guidance of director Eddie Perfect,theatre producer John Frost, choreographer Kelley Abbey and singer Callea

Theatre/Musicals

Dead Man Walking

In September 2007, in his first musical production, Callea played a supporting role in Dead Man Walking, the true story of Sister Helen Prejean, an unconventional nun, who accompanies murderer Joe de Rocher to his death by execution. It explores the opposing desires for vengeance and forgiveness in this extreme situation, and the commitment required to love or to hate a fellow human being.

Rent

In November 2007, Callea played the lead role Mark Cohen, a filmmaker and video artist, and Roger's roommate, in the Perth production of the critically acclaimed American Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical Rent. Based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème, the musical centers on a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Alphabet City in the last days of the Bohemian East Village, under the shadow of AIDS.

This was Callea's second musical production. He starred alongside his now-partner, Tim Campbell.

Wicked

On 12 February 2008, it was announced that Callea would originate the role of Boq in the Australian premiere production of the Broadway musical Wicked, which opened in July 2008 at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne. Callea played his final performance 11 January 2009.

Personal life

On 27 March 2007, after speculation and tabloid rumours dating back to his Idol appearances, Callea publicly acknowledged that he was gay by issuing a statement confirming his sexuality and thanking his fans and his then-partner, Paul.

"Yes, I am gay," Callea said. "I have no issue with my sexuality now, but it's taken time to become confident with who I am and happy with who I am. I'm comfortable enough to come clean now. It's a weight off my shoulders".

On 30 March 2007, Michael Kirby, then a judge of the High Court of Australia, described Callea as an "admirable Australian" for coming out. Justice Kirby added, "In terms of influencing popular culture and understanding of the reality of human sexual diversity, I would trade ten judges for one popular singer."

Callea has also admitted to suffering from depression in his teenage years, saying, "I went through major depression. I hated myself. I had to see a psychologist. I wasn't talking to anybody. My parents didn't know what was wrong with me." Callea has since supported beyondblue, an Australian initiative against depression, by contributing his version of a Brian McKnight song, "Home", to a compilation album, by various Australian artists to raise funds and bring attention to the organisation and its cause.

In February 2008 he and actor/singer Tim Campbell confirmed that they were in a relationship.

Discography

Artist	Anthony Callea
Studio	2
Video	1
Music videos	7
Singles	7
Option	4
Option name	B-sides
Option color	crimson
1option	totally
1option name	Remix albums
1option color	chartreuse
2option name	Collaborations
2option color	violet
3option	3
3option name	Tours
3option color	orange
Ref link	Notes and references

The following is a complete discography of every album and single released by Australian pop music artist Anthony Callea.

Albums

{| class="wikitable" !align="center" rowspan="1"|Year !align="center" rowspan="1"|Information !align="center" rowspan="1"|Australia !align="center" rowspan="1"|Sales and Certifications |- |2005 |Anthony Callea

First studio album

Released: 25 March 2005

Label: Sony BMG

Format: CD

|1 |^{Australian sales: 140,000 ARIA: 2x Platinum} |- |2006 |A New Chapter

Second studio album

Released: 26 November 2006

Label: Sony BMG

Format: CD

|9 |Australian sales: 35,000 ARIA: Gold |- |}

Singles

{| class="wikitable" !align="center" valign="center" width="auto"|Year !align="left" valign="center"|Song !align="center" valign="center" width="50"|Australia !align="left" valign="center"|Certification !align="left" valign="center"|Album |- |align="center" valign="top"|2004 |align="left" valign="top"|"The Prayer" |align="center" valign="top"|1 |align="left" valign="top"|4× Platinum (ARIA) |align="left" valign="middle" rowspan =4|Anthony Callea |- |align="center" valign="middle" rowspan=3|2005 |align="left" valign="top"|"Rain"/"Bridge over Troubled Water" |align="center" valign="top"|1 |align="left" valign="top"| 2× Platinum (ARIA) |- |align="left" valign="top"|"Hurts So Bad" |align="center" valign="top"|10 |align="left" valign="top"|- |- |align="left" valign="top"|"Per Sempre (for Always)" |align="center" valign="top"|5 |align="left" valign="top"|- |- |align="center" valign="top"|2006 |align="left" valign="top"|"Live for Love" |align="center" valign="top"|9 |align="left" valign="top"|- |align="left" valign="middle" rowspan=2|A New Chapter |- |align="center" valign="top"|2007 |align="left" valign="top"|"Addicted to You" |align="center" valign="top"|19 |align="left" valign="top"|- |}

Other

"I Wanna Know What Love Is" (studio recording Track 3 of Australian Idol: The Final 12 2004)

"Listen with Your Heart" (released as bonus CD to a limited number of debut albums)

"Wanna Be the One" (B-side to "Rain/Bridge Over Troubled Water" CDS)

"Don't Tell Me" (B-side to "Rain/Bridge Over Troubled Water" CDS)

"The Healing of a Heart" (Bambi 2 soundtrack)

"Meant for Love" (B-side to "Addicted to You")

"Try" (B-side to "Addicted to You")

"Whatever It Takes" (iTunes exclusive cover made by Edyta Gorniak)

"Home" (on compilation)

"The Christmas Song" (on The Spirit of Christmas 2005 compilation)

"Far from Over" (iTunes special)

Videography

DVD

{| class="wikitable" !align="center" valign="center" width="auto"|Year !align="left" valign="center"|Title !align="center" valign="center" width="50"|Australia !align="left" valign="center"|Certification |- |align="center" valign="top"|2005 |align="left" valign="top"|Anthony Callea Live in Concert |align="center" valign="top"|3 |align="left" valign="top"|Platinum (ARIA) |}

*Anthony Callea: Per Sempre (For Always) (DVD single)

Music videos

The Prayer

The Prayer (Live on Idol Top 8)

Rain

Bridge over Troubled Water (LIVE on Idol)

Hurts So Bad (LIVE)

Per Sempre (for Always)

Live for Love

Addicted to You

Awards

{| class="wikitable" |----- bgcolor="#ebf5ff" |- !Award !Category !About !Result |----- bgcolor="#bfd7ff" | colspan=5 align=center | 2007 |- |Pop Republic Awards 2007 |Australian Male Artist Of The Year |Himself |3rd |- |Australian Gospel Music Awards | Outstanding Achievement Award |The Prayer |Won |- |----- bgcolor="#bfd7ff" | colspan=5 align=center | 2006 |- |MTV Australia Video Music Awards 2006 |Coca-Cola Viewer's Choice Award 2006 |Himself |Won |- |Dolly Teen Choice Awards 2006 |Hottest Album Of 2006 |'Anthony Callea' |Won |- |----- bgcolor="#bfd7ff" | colspan=5 align=center | 2005 |- |Pop Republic Awards 2005 |Artist Of The Year |Himself |Won |- |Variety Club Heart Awards 2005 |Young Entertainer of the Year |Himself |Won |- |MO Award 2005 |Australian Performer Of The Year |Himself |Nominated |- |MO Award 2005 |Contemporary Rock Performer |Himself |Won |- |Channel V's OZ Artist Of The Year Award 2005 |Oz Artist Of The Year |Himself |Won |- |ARIA Awards 2005 |Highest Selling Single |The Prayer |Won |- |ARIA No.1 Chart Awards 2005 |ARIA No.1 Single |Rain / Bridge Over Troubled Water |Won |- |ARIA No.1 Chart Awards 2005 |ARIA No.1 Single |The Prayer |Won |- |ARIA No.1 Chart Awards 2005 |ARIA No.1 Album |'Anthony Callea' |Won |}

References

External links

Harbour Agency

Sony Bandit.fm Breathe profile

Daily News

Category:1982 births Category:ARIA Award winners Category:Australian Idol participants Category:Australian male singers Category:Australian pop singers Category:Idol series runners-up Category:Australian people of Italian descent Category:Australian singers of Italian descent Category:LGBT musicians from Australia Category:Living people Category:Singers from Melbourne Category:Sony BMG artists

Name	Andrea Bocelli
Background	solo_singer
Born	September 22, 1958 Lajatico, Tuscany, Italy
Instrument	Vocals, keyboards, flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, harp, harmonica, guitar, drums, melodica
Voice type	Tenor
Genre	Adult contemporary, classical, easy listening, Latin pop, opera, operatic pop, pop, vocal
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist
Years active	1992–present
Label	Universal, Philips, PolyGram, Decca, Sugar
Url	Andrea Bocelli

Andrea Bocelli, Born with poor eyesight, he became totally blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident.

Since winning the Newcomers section of the Sanremo Music Festival in 1994, Thus, he is the biggest-selling solo artist in the history of classical music.

In 1998, he was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. In 1999, his nomination for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards marked the first time a classical artist had been nominated in the category, since Leontyne Price, in 1961. The Prayer, his duet with Celine Dion for the animated film, The Quest for Camelot, won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category.

With over 5 million units sold worldwide, Sacred Arias became the biggest-selling classical album by a solo artist of all time, and a number of other countries in Europe and Latin America.

In 2006, Bocelli was made a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic,

Early life

at Lajatico, Tuscany]]

Childhood and Education

Bocelli was born in 1958 to Alessandro and Edi Bocelli. They lived on the family farm, selling farm machinery and making wine in the small village of La Sterza, a frazione of Lajatico, Tuscany, Italy, which is about 40 km south of Pisa. Bocelli's mother and younger brother Alberto still live in the family home. Bocelli's father died in 2000.

As a young boy, Bocelli showed a great passion for music. His mother has said that music was the only thing that would comfort him. At the age of six he started piano lessons, and later also learned to play the flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, harp, guitar and drums.

Bocelli would also spend time singing during his childhood. At the age of 14 he won his first song competition, the Margherita d'Oro in Viareggio with O sole mio. Bocelli signed with the Sugar Music label in Milan after the group's president heard Bocelli sing Miserere and "Nessun Dorma" at a birthday party for Zucchero.

In December Bocelli entered the preliminary round of the Sanremo Music Festival in the category of Giovani, performing both parts of the duet Miserere. He won the preliminary competition with the highest marks ever recorded in the Newcomers section. On 28 December, he debuted in the classical world in a concert at the Teatro Romolo Valli in Reggio Emilia. Bocelli had been an agnostic, but around 1994, partly as a result of immersing himself in the works of Tolstoy, he returned to the practice of the Catholic faith. He performed the hymn, Adeste Fideles in Rome before Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica at Christmas.

The song was included on his album Bocelli which was produced by Mauro Malavasi and released in spring. His third album, Viaggio Italiano, was released in autumn.

In 1996, Bocelli was invited to sing a duet with English soprano Sarah Brightman at the final bout of German IBF World Light-Heavyweight boxing champion Henry Maske. Brightman, a friend of Maske, approached Bocelli after she heard him singing "Con te partirò" whilst she was dining in a restaurant. Changing the title lyric of the song to "Time to Say Goodbye", they re-recorded it as a duet with members of the London Symphony Orchestra and sang it as a farewell for Maske. The single debuted atop the German charts, where it stayed for fourteen weeks. With sales nearing three million copies, and a sextuple platinum award, "Time to Say Goodbye" eclipsed the previous best-selling single by more than one million copies.

Back in Italy in Bologna on 27 September, he yet again sang before the Pope at the International Eucharistic Congress. On 19 October, he sang at the TeleFood benefit concert held in the Vatican City, and organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization to raise awareness about world hunger. On 25 October he received a Bambi award, an annual television and media prize awarded by the German media company Hubert Burda Media, in the Klassik category in Cologne, Germany. On 19 April Bocelli entered the United States (USA) market with a concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. followed the next day by a reception at the White House with then US President Bill Clinton. He was also named one of People magazine's 50 most beautiful people of 1998. At the 41st Grammy Awards ceremony held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on 24 February, Bocelli was nominated in the Best New Artist category which was won by Lauryn Hill. Bocelli and Dion received a standing ovation after singing The Prayer.

In January 2001, Bocelli portrayed the main character in Pietro Mascagni's opera L'amico Fritz at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona and again performed the tenor part in Verdi's Requiem. On 19 March the Requiem album was released with Bocelli as tenor. From 22 March to 6 April he toured North America accompanied by Cecilia Gasdia and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. On 17 June he performed at the re-opening of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In July he performed two concerts in Dublin with Ana María Martínez and the New Symphony Orchestra. At the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice on 4 October he presented his new album Cieli di Toscana and was recognised for having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. In October he opened the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Sicilian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini in Catania. On 28 October, he sang Franz Schubert's Ellens dritter Gesang as a representative of the Roman Catholic faith, during a memorial concert at Ground Zero in New York City for the victims of the September 11 attacks there. In November he received the Platinum Europe Award for one million sales of the album Cieli di Toscana, and at the Italian Music Awards he was given a special award from the Federation of the Italian Music Industry for his merits as an "Ambassador of Italian music in the world". He performed seven more concerts in the US accompanied by Ana María Martínez, and on 23 December, in front of the President of Italy and other guests of honour, he sang the Italian national anthem as well as works of Bellini and Verdi at the traditional Christmas concert in the Italian Senate, which was broadcast live on television for the first time.

2002–05: Sentimento and Andrea

In Berlin on 5 February he received a Goldene Kamera award in the "Music & Entertainment" category. On 6 March he received two World Music Awards in Monte Carlo: "World best selling classical artist" and "Best selling Italian artist". On 11 March, he gave a concert for peace at the Basilica di San Marco a Venezia in Venice, accompanied by the orchestra of the Teatro La Fenice and conducted by Lorin Maazel. On 15 March he took part in the opening of Walt Disney Studios Park in Marne-la-Vallée France. On 7 May Bocelli and Tony Renis received a Telegatto Italian Television award for the soundtrack of the series Cuore. On 23 May he received the 2002 Classical BRIT Award for "Outstanding Contribution to Music". On 27 May he performed at the Villa Madama in Rome in front of USA president George W. Bush and Italian president Silvio Berlusconi. On 28 May he took part in "Pavarotti & Friends" charity concert in Modena in aid of Angola. In June he again toured the USA, then on 26 July and 3 August he portrayed Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at the 48th Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago. On 14 October he and Lorin Maazel presented his new album Sentimento to a worldwide audience. Further presentations took place in Milan and New York, and the album was released on 4 November, selling over two million copies in 40 days. On 24 October he started his Sentimento tour in Zürich which took in large arenas in several European and North American cities.

In February 2003, Bocelli performed Madama Butterfly in an exclusive Monte Carlo concert, which was attended by Caroline, Princess of Hanover. In March for the first time he appeared as a producer, at the Sanremo Festival, where the young artists Allunati and Jacqueline Ferry sang for his new record label, Clacksong. In May his second complete opera, Tosca, was released. At a private benefit gala for the Royal National Institute of Blind People Bocelli sang in front of the British Royal Family. On 24 May he performed in a benefit concert for the Arpa Foundation for Film, Music and Art in the Piazza del Campo in Siena, with sopranos Maria Luigia Borsi and Lucia Dessanti, baritone Soo Kyung Ahn, and violinist Ruth Rogers, accompanied by Marcello Rota and the Orchestra Città di Pisa. Three days later he was again invited to perform at "Pavarotti & Friends" in Modena and sang a medley of Neapolitan songs together with Pavarotti. In June he continued his Sentimento tour in Athens and Cyprus. In September he took part in a concert for the Justice ministers and Interior ministers of the European Union at the Parco della Musica in Rome. He then resumed his tour, accompanied by Maria Luigia Borsi, Ruth Rogers and Marcello Rota. In November he once again toured in the United States, this time accompanied by Ana Maria Martinez, Kallen Esperian and Steven Mercurio. In December he gave his first concert in China and at the end of the month sang Gounod's Ave Maria at Pavarotti's wedding in Modena.

In September he performed his "Once in a Lifetime" tour in Australia with concerts in Sydney and Melbourne and one concert in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he was joined on stage by New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra. concert in Paris, in 2005.]] On 15 October he performed at the People Conference Hall in Beijing, China, and on 17 October at the Great Hall in Shanghai.

During early 2005 Bocelli was on tour including performances in Madeira, Hungary, Norway, USA, UK, Italy and Germany. He also appeared in Sesame Street singing "Time to Say Goodnight" a parody of Time to Say Goodbye as a lullaby to Elmo. On 21 March he performed on the Music for Asia benefit concert in Rome, televised on Italia 1, in aid of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake appeal.

In June he performed at the Deutsche Opera in Berlin. On 2 July he performed at the Paris concert as part of the Live 8 event. Also during the second part of the year, he performed in Croatia, Serbia, Italy, the US, Dubai, Switzerland and finally in Scandinavia.

On 26 February Bocelli sang "Because We Believe" from his Amore album in the Carnevale section of the closing ceremony of the Torino Olympics with a worldwide television audience. He also began another tour with a concert at the Piazza di Castello in Turin. In March he was honoured by the Italian state with a Grande Ufficiale Italian Order of Merit (Grand Officer of the Italian Republic), given to him by then President of the Italian Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi for his worldwide work for his country as a singer. The award was presented to him at the Sanremo Festival where he performed a duet with American singer Christina Aguilera on 4 March. and the tenor part from Gioachino Rossini's Messa di Gloria and in Naples where he took part in Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle. American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee performed at three of Bocelli's concerts in California from 9 June to 11 June singing duets of Somos Novios and The Prayer with Bocelli. They also performed on 'J. C. Penney Jam: The Concert for America's Kids and recorded duet versions of Somos Novios for the resulting album, and also Can't Help Falling in Love on the CD of the Under the Desert Sky DVD.

In June he sang the Italian duet version of "Because We Believe", "Ama, credi e vai", with Gianna Nannini at the "großen Fan Party" at the opening of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in Berlin in front of billions of worldwide television viewers.

On 1 July 2007, Bocelli performed "The Music of the Night" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, in a special musicals medley during the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Bocelli returned to his home town for a triumphant concert at the newly created Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico on 5 July 2007, with guest appearance by Kenny G, Heather Headley, Lang Lang, Elisa, Sarah Brightman and Laura Pausini. The concert was later released as Vivere Live in Tuscany. In September he debuted at the Avery Fisher Hall, in New York, with four concerts. October saw the release of the opera album of Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci with Bocelli singing the role of Canio. In November he won the "Best Italian Artist" and "World's Best-selling Classical Artist" awards at the World Music Awards. In December he finished his 2006 tour with more concerts in North America and Europe. , Japan, during his 2008 Asian Tour.]] To promote the album, he performed "Canto della Terra" at The Alan Titchmarsh Show on the BBC in London on 1 February; was interviewed by Fabio Fazio on the Italian talk show Che tempo che fa on RAI 3 in Italy; and performed "Canto della terra", "A te" and "Besame mucho" from the album, as well as "My way" on 2 February; and made an appearance on The South Bank Show in London, where he sang the French aria "Pour mon âme" on 3 February. Then on 10 February, he performed "The Prayer" at the 50th Grammy Awards, held in Los Angeles, with Josh Groban in a tribute to Luciano Pavarotti, and sang "Dare to live" with Heather Headley the following day on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

On 7 May 2008, he sang at Steel Aréna in Košice, Slovakia, in front of 8,000 people. Then 13 May he sang at the "Teatro delle Muse" in Ancona, Italy, for a charity concert for "Francesca Rava – N.P.H. Italia Onlus", a foundation that helps poor and disabled children around the world.

On 2 June 2008 he performed at the Piazza del Duomo, Milan in front of 80,000 people during a concert celebrating the anniversary of the Republic of Italy's formation. Bocelli released the complete opera recording of Carmen in Italy in the same year, which he recorded in 2005. Myung-whun Chung conducted the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Chœur de Radio France for the recording, and Welsh Bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, was part of the Ensemble. The recording was not released internationally, until March 2010. , a single-disc collection of some of the arias and duets of the recording, was also released in 2010.

On 20 July, Bocelli held his third concert at the Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico, his hometown. The concert was a tribute to the cinema of Italy. Its performers included Italian composer and musician Nicola Piovani, Italian ballet dancer Roberto Bolle, Israeli singer Noa, and Charice. Then on 31 July, he performed at a concert in Vingis Park in Vilnius, Lithuania, in front of more than 18,000 people. Australian singer Tina Arena performed two duets with Bocelli -- "Canto Della Terra" and "The Prayer" -- at the closing stages of the concert.

On 7 August 2008, he held a benefit concert at Medjugorje, Bosnia Herzegovina, and was accompanied by Czech National Symphony Orchestra.

On 26 September 2008, during the 2008 Veneto Festival, he held a concert in the Church of the Eremitani in Padova, Italy, in front of about 1000 people. He was accompanied by the I Solisti Veneti orchestra, celebrating its 50th birthday and conducted by Claudio Scimone, and by the Wiener Singakademie choir. The concert was a celebration of Giacomo Puccini's 150th birthday.

On 10 October and 11 he performed at Petra, singing "Dare to live" with Laura Pausini, as well as performing E Lucevan le Stelle from Tosca. On 19 October he sang "O Surdato 'Nnamurato" and a duet of "Non Ti Scordar Di Me" with Cecilia Bartoli, both from the Incanto album, during the ECHO Awards in Germany; and later presented the soprano with an ECHO award. On 24 October, he performed at Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples, as a tribute to the city, where he celebrated the Italian release of Incanto. Performing with him were flautist Andrea Griminelli, Italian pop singer Massimo Ranieri and soprano Cecilia Bartoli, with Steven Mercurio conducting the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. On 31 October, he performed a solo version of "The Prayer", as well as "Because", a song from Incanto, live on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

On 21 November and 22, Bocelli was amongst a quartet of soloists (soprano Sabina Cvilak, mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich and bass Alexander Vinogradov) to sing Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, conducted by Plácido Domingo, at the Washington National Opera in Washington, DC. Bocelli sang twice in the piece and later the two famous tenors sang The Pearl Fishers duet which would be the first aria they had ever sang together. On 25 November and 26 he starred alongside soprano Verónica Villarroel in an opera in concert of Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana at the "Municipal Auditorium" in San Antonio, Texas. He returned to the United Kingdom, December 16, for an appearance on The One Show, broadcast live by BBC One, and on The Alan Titchmarsh Show which aired December 18, on ITV1.

On November 21, a segment of Leute Heute, a German tabloid-program on ZDF, was about My Christmas and Bocelli's meeting in Rome with Pope Benedict XVI and 250 other artists, an event which was broadcasted live earlier that day in Italy, by Rai Uno. Bocelli was also joined by the Piccolo Coro dell'Antoniano, in his home in Forte dei Marmi, where they sang "Caro Gesù Bambino", a song from My Christmas which was originally recorded by the choir in 1960. Rai Uno also broadcast the performance later that day, during the Zecchino d'Oro Festival. The following day, Bocelli was among Fabio Fazio's guests, on his popular Italian talk-show, Che tempo che fa, broadcast on Rai Tre. During the program Bocelli talked about his album and performed "The Lord's Prayer", "White Christmas", and "Silent Night". It was also announced that Bocelli would return to the show on December 20 and give a live concert of My Christmas. Bocelli also took part in the annual 2009 José Carreras Gala, on December 17, where he sang Adeste Fideles, before singing "White Christmas" with José Carreras for the very first time; this was broadcast live, by Das Erste, in Germany. He then returning to Italy, for a concert in the Upper Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, on December 19, which was broadcast directly after the Urbi et Orbi blessing of Pope Benedict XVI, December 25, on Rai Uno.

In North America, Bocelli gave 6 concerts. On November 28, he performed in the Bank Atlantic Center, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He later performed in the Air Canada Centre, in Toronto, Canada, in the Izod Center, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the William Saroyan Theatre, in Fresno, California (changed from the much larger Save Mart Center due to scheduling conflicts), in the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, and finally in the Honda Center, in Anaheim, California, on December 3, 5, 8, 12, and 13. His last three arena concerts alone grossed a total of over 5,6 million dollars, placing him third on Billboard Magazine's week's Hot Tours ranking, behind the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Il Divo, who both held over 5 times more concerts worldwide, compared to Bocelli's three in the U.S., explaining their better showings.

In the United States, Bocelli made a number of high profile TV appearances. He first performed "White Christmas" at the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, broadcast live on NBC, November 26. He performed the song again on November 30 during The Today Show also live. His appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show during her Holiday Music Extravaganza, where he sang "What Child Is This", with Mary J. Blige, and later closed the show with Adeste Fideles, was also aired the same day, and was later rebroadcast on December 23. Bocelli also sang "Adeste Fideles" and was interviewed by Barbara Walters and Joy Behar on The View, which aired Decembe 2, on ABC. On December 8, he performed "Jingle Bells" with The Muppets on NBC's The Jay Leno Show. He also performed a number of songs from the album, including "The Christmas Song" with Natalie Cole, during a dinner at David Foster's mansion in Malibu, which was featured on The Dr. Phil Show, on December 10. Bocelli also performed "White Christmas" and "Silent Night", on the Larry King Live and Fox & Friends holiday-specials, broadcast December 23, on CNN, and December 19, 24 and 25, on Fox News.

In Brasil, following the success of the South American leg of the Incanto tour, were over 100,000 people attended his free concert at the São Paulo's "Parque Indipendencia", earlier in the year, it was announced that Bocelli would hold another Open-Air, entrance free, concert in Florianópolis, on December 28, where a crowd of about a million people was expected to attend. However, due to financial and political reasons, the concert was later canceled on short notice, along with all the other events scheduled for Christmas in the city.

2010: Hollywood Walk of Fame and FIFA World Cup

On January 31, 2010, during the 52nd Grammy Awards, Bocelli, Mary J. Blige and David Foster joined forces again, singing "Bridge over Troubled Water" to raise awareness for the victims of the Haiti earthquake. The three had previously made an appearance on CNN's Larry King Live, January 28, 2010, to announce the performance.

On March 2, he was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to Live Theater, at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, in front of the Roosevelt Hotel.

On March 12, Bocelli made an appearance on Skavlan, in Oslo, Norway, to promote his upcoming Scandinavian tour, giving a rare interview to the show's host Fredrik Skavlan, and later performing "Voglio Vivere Cosi", from his 2008 album Incanto, with Norwegian Boys' choir, Sølvguttene.

In April, he returned to Scandinavia, for a concert in Telenor Arena, in Oslo, Norway, on April 8, a concert in Forum Copenhagen, in Copenhagen, Denmark, on April 9, and finally a concert in the Ericsson Globe, in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 11. He was joined by Tony Award winner Heather Headley and 120 musicians from the Stockholm Concert Orchestra, in all three concerts, and by Swedish mezzo-soprano Malena Ernman in his Swedish concert.

On April 30, Bocelli sang "Nessun Dorma" during the opening ceremony of the Expo 2010, in Shanghai, China, in front of twenty heads of state and government, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. The following day, on May 1, he held a concert, titled Charming China, at Shanghai Stadium, in front of an audience of 80,000 people, along with Chinese singers Song Zuying and Jay Chou, and Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang; the China Philharmonic Orchestra accompanied them under the direction of its artistic director Yu Long. The concert was later broadcasted by Shanghai TV, and by CCTV channels throughout mainland China.

The two appearances coincided with Bocelli's Asian tour, consisting of a concert in Budokan, Tokyo, Japan, on April 28, a concert in Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul, South Korea, on May 2, a concert in Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, in Hong Kong, on May 4, a concert in Taipei Arena, Taipei, Taiwan, on May 6, The concert was later broadcasted, in its entirety, by Channel NewsAsia, on May 28 and 29, and by Okto, on May 30, in Singapore. An orchid in the Botanic Gardens' National Orchid Garden was also named after Bocelli in response to the concert. Australian pop singer Delta Goodrem performed again with Bocelli in all five concerts, after suporing him in his U.S. My Chritmas 2009 winter tour.

On May 18, during the 2010 World Music Awards, Bocelli performed ""Un Amore Cosi Grande" from his 2008 album, Incanto, and received his seventh World Music Award, for "Best Classical Artist".

On July 5, Bocelli gave a concert at the opening of the Khan Shatyry Entertainment Center, in Astana, on the occasion of Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev's 70th birthday. Among the guests were, the President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, the President of Tajikistan, Emomalii Rahmon, the President of Kyrgyzstan, Roza Otunbayeva, the Crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the King of Jordan, Abdullah II.

On July 9, Bocelli headlined the "Celebrate Africa: The Grand Finale" Concert of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, at the Coca-Cola Dome, in Johannesburg, South Africa, to mark the end of the World Cup, two days before the World Cup final. During the concert, Bocelli was joined by Canadian rock star, Bryan Adams, Italian flautist, Andrea Griminelli, and South African singers, Nianell and Pretty Yende. FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, South Africain president, Jacob Zuma, and Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, were among the 12,000 in attendance.

On July 13, Montenegrin Statehood Day, Bocelli gave a concert at the seaside resort of Sveti Stefan, in western Montenegro, to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Sveti Stefan Hotel. During the hour-long show, on a stage right in front of the island-hotel’s perimeter wall, Bocelli sang well-known arias, as well as some of his more popular hits, to the assembled dignitaries, including Montenegro’s top officials, representatives of the diplomatic corps and many faces from cultural, political and public life, as well as many current and former tourist entrepreneurs who had contributed to the development of Montenegrin tourism. A screening of the film Homage to Rome, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, who was present during the event, and starring Bocelli, in his cinematographic debut, and Italian fashion model, Monica Bellucci, was shown prior to the special concert. The event was also attended by the President of the European Parliament, MEP, Jerzy Buzek, European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, Antonio Tajani, the Mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, the President of Lazio, Renata Polverini.

On July 25, Bocelli held the fifth and final edition of the Teatro del Silenzio, in his hometown of Lajatico, Tuscany, to an audience of 10,000, double the amount of the first edition of the annual Festival, held in 2006. After performing with Spanish tenor, Plácido Domingo and Welsh Mezzo-soprano, Katherine Jenkins on the previous edition of the Festival, in 2009, Bocelli's guests included the only other surviving member of The Three Tenors, Spanish Catalan tenor, José Carreras, and Italian rock singer, Zucchero. Sculptures by Swiss artist Kurt Laurenz Metzler, who attended the concert, were exhibited during this year's edition. The Teatro del Silenzio has in past incorporated sculptures by artists such as Arnaldo Pomodoro and Igor Mitoraj. Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, who was also in attendance, donated a Bronze statue she had made of Bocelli, to the city of Lajatico, in the afternoon just before the concert. Bocelli was also awarded the Pisano Doc, during the dress rehearsal for the concert, on July 24, "in recognition for a great citizen, who with his extraordinary art and his humanity brings great prestige, honor and respect to the city of Pisa," and received, the 2010 Premio Lunezia nel mondo, during a private ceremony held on July 21, for "the musical-literary quality of his songs."

In September 2010, Bocelli held a concert at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, in Athens, Greece. The concert was attended by George Papandreou, the prime minister of Greece and Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens, among others. All proceeds were donated to help cure cancer. Bocelli also gave concerts in Cairo, Egypt, in front of the pyramids and the Great Sphinx of Giza, as well as a fundraising concert inside the famous Duomo di Milano to benefit victims of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.

As part of the 2010 leg of the My Christmas Tour, Bocelli gave two concerts in the two largest indoor arenas of the United Kingdom, The O2 Arena, in London, and The M.E.N Arena, in Manchester, in late November 2010. In early December, Bocelli gave 6 concerts in the United States. He will perform in Madison Square Garden, in New York City, Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey, TD Garden, in Boston, Toyota Center, in Houston, Staples Center, in Los Angeles, and the MGM Grand's Garden Arena, in the Las Vegas Strip. The Toyota Center concert, in Houston, was attended by former president George Bush, Sr. and first lady Barbara Bush.

Bocelli also toke part in the Christmas in Washington special on December 12, in the presence of president Barack Obama and the first lady. On December 19, Bocelli gave a concert, conducted by Claudio Scimone, in the Italian Senate. The concert was attended by Italy's top officials including Italy's president Giorgio Napolitano, Renato Schifani, the president of the Italian Senate, Gianfranco Fini, the president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and Tarcisio Bertone, Cardinal Secretary of State of the Holy See.

Voice

With the exception of the negative views of some Classical music critics, Bocelli is widely celebrated as a singer and is admired around the world.

Franco Corelli, one of the greatest Spinto tenors of the twentieth century, praised Bocelli's voice after hearing it for the first time during a Master class in 1986, in Turin, and would later give him private lessons. Another great Italian tenor who championed Bocelli's singing from the very beginning was Luciano Pavarotti. Pavarotti publicly admired Bocelli's voice and played an early part in the younger man's career. Bocelli would later sing during both his wedding ceremony, in 2003, and his funeral, in 2007.

After conducting Bocelli in the Verdi album, in 2000, Zubin Mehta commented that "Andrea's voice is special in many ways. First of all, he has a complete control from forte to pianissimo on any note. The end of 'Celeste Aida,' he attacks the high B flat full voice and then pulls it down to nothing — hardly anybody can do that, it's also very risky on the stage at the opera. But it's not that we tried it 15 times and he got it once; he can do it every time. He can also, in the middle of a phrase, without breathing, change the color of a note, so it's a conductor's dream to ask and to get it because most people can't do that." The interview where Mehta made those comments was featured in a BBC documentary about Bocelli, entitled the "Story Behind the Voice". Mehta also compared Bocelli's voice to the old Italian style of singers, such as Tito Schipa.

The same documentary also featured an interview with Spanish Catalan tenor, José Carreras. He commented that "The first time I had the possibility to listen to Andrea, he was apart of the Sanremo Festival. And I thought wow, that's a nice voice, very beautiful color, very tenor like." He proceeded by saying, "I always thought that he has a wonderful instrument, that he knows very much how to use it."

Similarly, during a 1999 interview on The Charlie Rose show, American soprano Renée Fleming praised Bocelli's voice, by saying "first of all the sound is beautiful. There is something very soulful about the way he sings and it's captured the hearts of something like, the last I've heard eleven million fans." Grammy winning Puerto Rican soprano, Ana María Martínez, who performed with Bocelli on many occasions, also said that "More than anything, Andrea has something that is unique in that he brings this light that is always around him. And this purity of heart and beauty of sound just touches the listener. It can’t be described."

French Canadian singer Celine Dion famously said while introducing him during her Christmas Special for These Are Special Times, in 1998, that "if God would have a singing voice, he must sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli," Taylor has been a passionate fan of Bocelli's since the beginning of his music career in the mid-90's. Other fans include, Prince Albert of Monaco, Sarah, The Duchess of York, and actress Isabella Rossellini. and Pope John Paul II,

Other world class artists from both the Pop and Opera worlds have also publicly expressed their admiration, including opera singers Plácido Domingo, and Cecilia Bartoli, who collaborated with Bocelli, and conductor Myung-whun Chung, who conducted Bocelli's 1999 allbum, Sacred Arias. Some point to his "poor phrasing, uneven tone and lack of technique."

In 1999, The New York Times chief music critic Anthony Tommasini in his review of Bocelli's North American opera debut at the Detroit Opera House in the title role of Massenet's Werther commented, "The basic color of Mr. Bocelli's voice is warm and pleasant, but he lacks the technique to support and project his sound. His sustained notes wobble. His soft high notes are painfully weak. Inadequate breath control often forces him to clip off notes prematurely at the end of phrases." In December 2000 Tommasini again criticised Bocelli, this time for his La bohème album when he claimed that Bocelli "still has trouble with basic things, like breath support" and his voice had been "carefully recorded", "to help it match the trained voices of the other cast members in fullness and presence."

In describing Bocelli's singing, New York Times music critic Bernard Holland noted, "the tone is rasping, thin and, in general, poorly supported. Even the most modest upward movement thins it even more, signalling what appears to be the onset of strangulation. To his credit, Mr Bocelli sings mostly in tune. But his phrasing tends toward carelessness and rhythmic jumble... The diction is not clear." Similarly, classical music critic Andrew Clement found Bocelli's studio opera recordings consistently disappointing in quality: "Bocelli's profoundly unmusical contribution, with its unvaryingly coarse tone, wayward intonation and never a phrase properly shaped, fatally undermines all their contributions." Anne Midgette of The New York Times agreed, noting "a thinness of voice, oddly anemic phrasing (including shortchanging upper notes of phrases in a most untenorial manner), a curious lack of expression."

During a 2009 performance in New York, the music critic Steve Smith wrote "For cognoscenti of vocal artistry the risks involved in Mr. Bocelli’s undertakings, both then and now, need no explanation. Substantial technical shortcomings masked by amplification are laid bare in a more conventional classical setting. Mr. Bocelli’s tone can be pleasant, and his pitch is generally secure. But his voice is small and not well supported; his phrasing, wayward and oddly inexpressive."

Recognition

.

* Honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for his contribution to live theater, at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, in 2010.

* ECHO music award for "Best Single of the Year", for Time to Say Goodbye, in 1997.

* World Music Awards for "World's Best-selling Classical Artist" in 2010.

Personal life

Bocelli met his first wife, Enrica Cenzatti, while singing at piano bars early in his career. Bocelli lives with his girlfriend and manager, Veronica Berti. They met in 2002.

The couple live in a spacious villa, which used to be a hotel, in Forte dei Marmi on the Mediterranean, complete with recording studio. Meanwhile, Bocelli's estranged wife and two sons live in the couple's previous residence in the same comune, in Versilia.

On 30 April 2000, Bocelli's father, Sandro Bocelli, died. His mother encouraged him to honour his commitments, and so he sang for the Pope, in Rome, on May 1, and immediately returned home for the funeral. At his July 5 performance, filmed for PBS as American Dream—Andrea Bocelli's Statue of Liberty Concert, Bocelli dedicated the encore Sogno (Dream), from his 1999 album Sogno, to the memory of his father. Bocelli serves as its honorary president and performs for one night only, every July, the rest of the year, the theatre remains silent.

Since the opening in 2006, Bocelli has held 5 concerts, in every July, with guests ranging from opera singers Plácido Domingo and José Carreras to classical crossover artists Sarah Brightman and Katherine Jenkins, as well as Italian rock and pop stars Zucchero, Laura Pausini, and Elisa. Bocelli's guests have also included instrumentalists Lang Lang, Chris Botti, and Kenny G. The 2007 edition of the "Teatro del Silenzio" was released on DVD in 2008.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

1994: Il Mare Calmo della Sera

1995: Bocelli

1996/1997: Viaggio Italiano

1997: Aria – the opera album

1999: Sogno

1999: Sacred Arias

2000: Verdi

2001: Cieli di Toscana

2002: Sentimento

2004: Andrea

2006: Amore

2008: Incanto

2009: My Christmas

Compilation albums

1997: Romanza

2007:

Collaborative albums

1997: A Hymn for the World

1998: A Hymn for the World 2 (Voices From Heaven)

2000: Verdi's Requiem

2010:

Complete opera recordings

2000: La Bohème

2003: Tosca

2004: Il Trovatore

2005: Werther

2006: Pagliacci

2007: Cavalleria Rusticana

2008/2010: Carmen

2010: Andrea Chénier

Singles

Duet singles

1995: "Vivo per lei" (with Giorgia)

1996: "Vivo por ella" (with Marta Sánchez)

1996: "Time to Say Goodbye" (with Sarah Brightman)

1997: "Ich lebe für sie" (with Judy Weiss)

1997: "Je vis pour elle" (with Helene Segara)

1999: "The Prayer" (with Celine Dion)

2001: "L'Abitudine" (with Helena Hellwig)

2006: "Somos Novios (It's Impossible)" (with Christina Aguilera)

2006: "Because we believe" (with Marco Borsato)

2006: "Ama credi e vai" (with Gianna Nannini)

2007: "Dare to live" (with Laura Pausini)

2008: "Vive Ya" (with Laura Pausini)

2009: "What Child Is This" (with Mary J. Blige)

2010: "Bridge over Troubled Water" (with Mary J. Blige)

Solo singles

1994: "Il mare calmo della sera"

1995: "Con te partirò"/"Vivere"

1995: "Macchine da guerra"

1995: "Per amore"

1999: "Ave Maria"

1999: "Canto della Terra"

2001: "Melodramma"

2001: "Mille Lune Mille Onde"

2004: "Dell'amore non si sa"

2004: "Un nuovo giorno"

2009: "White Christmas/Bianco Natale"

Live albums & videos

1998: A Night in Tuscany

2000:

2002: Tuscan Skies (Cieli di Toscana)

2006:

2006: Under the Desert Sky

2008: Vivere Live in Tuscany

2008: Incanto The Documentary

2009: My Christmas Special

Bibliography

2000: The Music of Silence: A Memoir (La musica del silenzio) - Autobiography

2010: The Music of Silence: A Memoir - Reworked autobiography

See also

Teatro del Silenzio

Andrea Bocelli discography

List of Popera artists

List of Easy Listening artists

List of Adult Contemporary atists

List of awards and nominations received by Andrea Bocelli

List of best-selling music artists

References

External links

Bocelli's official site

Official German fan site (English version)

Bocelli Community

Official forum

Bocelli on Myspace.com

Bocelli on Facebook.com

Bocelli on Youtube.com

Bocelli on discogs.com

Biography of Andrea Bocelli, from RAI International

Bocelli pages at Music City

Andrea Bocelli on Universal Classics and Jazz Website

Andrea Bocelli section on classicalx.com

C Music TV Profile of Andrea Bocelli

Bocelli lyrics

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