Stadium name	Honda Center
Nickname	"The Pond", "The Duck Pond"
Location	2695 E. Katella Avenue, Anaheim, California 92806
Coordinates
Broke ground	November 8, 1990
Opened	June 19, 1993
Owner	City of Anaheim
Operator	Anaheim Arena Management, LLC(a Anaheim Ducks subsidiary)
Construction cost	$123 million
Architect	Populous (formerly HOK Sport)
Former names	Anaheim Arena (1990–1993)Pond of Anaheim (1993)Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (1993–2006)
Tenants	Anaheim Ducks (NHL) (1993–present)Los Angeles Clippers (NBA) (1994–1999)Anaheim Bullfrogs (RHI) (1993–1997)Anaheim Splash (CISL) (1994–1997)Anaheim Piranhas (AFL) (1996–1997)Anaheim Storm (NLL) (2004–2005)
Seating capacity	Concerts (center stage) 18,900; (end stage) 18,325 Basketball: 17,608Ice hockey: 17,174Theatre: 8,400

The Honda Center, previously known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim and colloquially called The Pond or The Ponda, is an indoor arena in Anaheim, California. The arena is home to the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks and was home of the former National Lacrosse League's Anaheim Storm, which folded in 2005. Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction, it was completed in 1993 at a cost of $123 million. Arrowhead Water paid $15 million for the naming rights over 10 years in October 1993. In the short period of time between the enfranchisement of the Mighty Ducks and the naming rights deal with Arrowhead, Disney referred to the Arena as the Pond of Anaheim. Honda, in October 2006 acquired the naming rights for $60 million over 15 years.

History

The arena opened on June 19, 1993, with a Barry Manilow concert as its first event. Since then, it has been host to a number of events, such as the 2003 and 2007 Stanley Cup Finals. On June 6, 2007, the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Ottawa Senators, 6–2, in Game 5 of the Finals at Honda Center to clinch the franchise's first-ever Stanley Cup championship. The Ducks have never lost a Finals game played at the arena.

Various World Wrestling Entertainment major events have been held at the venue such as WrestleMania XII, where Shawn Michaels defeated Bret Hart for the WWF Championship in the first ever Iron Man match in WWE history. The arena aslo hosted WrestleMania 2000 (XVI), and the Royal Rumble in 1999. UFC 59, UFC 63, and UFC 76 have been at Honda Center and with UFC 121 next as well. It hosted the 2005 IBF World Championships for badminton in 2005.

From 1994 to 1998, it served as a second home for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. It was the home arena for the Anaheim Bullfrogs of Roller Hockey International from 1993 to 1999 and for the Anaheim Piranhas of the Arena Football League from 1996 to 1997. This arena has also hosted a PBR Bud Light Cup (later Built Ford Tough Series) event annually since 1998. Since 1994, the arena has hosted the annual John R. Wooden Classic. In 2011, the arena will begin hosting the Big West Conference Men's and Women's Basketball tournaments. The arena has also hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament three times, as the West Regional site - 1998, 2001, and 2003. It hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional site in 2008. It even hosted the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship (the Frozen Four) in 1999, underscoring the popularity of hockey in the region. On December 6, 2000, music legend Tina Turner played her last concert at the arena for the record breaking Twenty Four Seven Tour, but after popular demand, Turner returned to the arena before a sellout crowd on October 14, 2008, for her . Honda Center lies northeast across California State Route 57 from Angel Stadium (where Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play) and roughly 3 miles from Disneyland Park. It is also walkable from Amtrak and Metrolink's Anaheim station, which is located on Angel Stadium's parking lot.

The arena seats up 17,174 for its primary tenant, the Ducks. It takes only five hours to convert Honda Center from a sporting arena to an 8,400-seat amphitheater. There are 84 luxury suites in the building, which has hosted 17.5 million people, as of 2003. In 2005, the arena became the first in the U.S. to have two full levels of 360-degree ribbon displays installed. Daktronics out of Brookings, South Dakota designed, manufactured and installed the of full-color LED technology. Outside the venue, the marquee was upgraded with two large video displays measuring high by , and a new marquee was built with more LED video displays.

Broadcom chairman and billionaire, Henry Samueli, owns the company that operates the arena, Anaheim Arena Management, LLC, and the arena's primary tenant, the Ducks, giving him great flexibility in scheduling events and recruiting new tenants. Samueli hopes to bring an NBA franchise to the arena.

Notable Concerts, film, and television

Barbra Streisand recorded the final date here from her first tour in 30 years in June 1994.

Honda Center was used as the site of the fictional Junior Goodwill Games in the film .

Rock band No Doubt, natives of Anaheim, recorded their two 1997 concert stops at Honda Center, releasing them as their first concert video, Live in the Tragic Kingdom.

When No Doubt's lead singer, Gwen Stefani embarked on a solo venture, she filmed her two homecoming concerts at Honda Center in 2005. The DVD was released as Harajuku Lovers Live. She also performed during The Sweet Escape Tour on October 27, 2007.

Mariah Carey's latest DVD release, entitled The Adventures of Mimi was recorded at the Honda Center on October 8, 2006, during The Adventures of Mimi Tour.

2162 Votes, the West Wing season 6 finale, features the arena for interior shots of the Democratic National Convention.

The Jonas Brothers filmed their 3-D concert movie at the Honda Center.

UFC 121 was held in the Honda Center.

References

External links

Honda Center official website

Los Angeles Sports Council

Big West Conference website

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Category:Amphitheaters in California Category:1993 architecture Category:Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States Category:Ice hockey venues in California Category:Indoor lacrosse venues in the United States Category:Los Angeles Clippers arenas Category:Sports venues in Orange County, California Category:National Hockey League venues

Category:College ice hockey venues in the United States Category:Indoor soccer venues in the United States Category:Arena football venues Category:Badminton venues Category:Defunct National Basketball Association venues Category:Buildings and structures in Anaheim, California Category:Sports venues in Anaheim, California

Name	Andrea Bocelli
Background	solo_singer
Born	September 22, 1958Lajatico, 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

Category:1958 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Blind musicians Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism Category:Crooners Category:Decca Records artists Category:French-language singers Category:English-language singers Category:German-language singers Category:Italian drummers Category:Italian flautists Category:Italian guitarists Category:Italian harpists Category:Italian keyboardists Category:Italian lawyers Category:Italian-language singers Category:Italian male singers Category:Italian opera singers Category:Italian philanthropists Category:Italian pianists Category:Italian pop singers Category:Italian Roman Catholics Category:Italian saxophonists Category:Italian singers Category:Italian singer-songwriters Category:Italian tenors Category:Italian trombonists Category:Italian trumpeters Category:Living people Category:Multi-instrumentalists Category:Opera crossover singers Category:Operatic tenors Category:People from the Province of Pisa Category:Portuguese-language singers Category:Sanremo Music Festival winners Category:Spanish-language singers Category:Torch singers Category:Traditional pop music singers Category:Universal Music Group artists Category:University of Pisa alumni Category:World Music Awards winners Category:World record holders

Name	Siobhan Magnus
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Siobhan Evelyn Magnus
Born	March 15, 1990
Origin	Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States
Genre	Pop, rock, blues, soul
Instrument	Vocals, piano
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	2010–present

Siobhan Evelyn Magnus (pronunciation: Sha-vawn) is an American singer-songwriter from Barnstable, Massachusetts who was the sixth place finalist on the ninth season of American Idol. She is of Irish descent.

Biography

Early life

Siobhan Magnus was born on March 15, 1990, to parents Alan and Colleen Magnus. She was raised in Barnstable, Massachusetts, along with her two older brothers Rory and Joe, her older sister Emily, and her younger sisters Ceili and Azora. Magnus' father is a singer-songwriter, her siblings play in various bands, and her brother Rory is in the film animation industry. Her grandfather is retired Barnstable judge Joseph J. Reardon. She is also the niece of Tracy Ferrie, former bassist for the Christian metal band Stryper and Alan Ware, drummer for Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra.

Magnus first started singing in a fourth grade choral concert when she sang "Tomorrow" from the play Annie.

She also previously fronted an alternative rock band called Lunar Valve, also consisting of Ralph Bousquet (lead guitar), Matthew Kohler (bass), and Jordan Bonina (drums).

Education

Magnus is a 2008 graduate of Barnstable High School in Hyannis, Massachusetts. In school, she was a member of the Barnstable High School Drama Club. she was featured as one of three Dorothys for the play The Wizard of Oz. Back in May 2008, in a local profile about Magnus's singing talent, the music department chair of her school district was quoted as saying "Hands down, I think she'd win 'American Idol'." During her senior year in high school, she was voted the most individual girl. She auditioned as a vocal major Berklee College of Music, but was not accepted. She attended Salem State College, but dropped out after one semester because she felt out of place as a non-partier. Magnus worked as an apprentice glassblower in Hyannis before taking part in American Idol. and was one of two Massachusetts contestants to make the semi-finals of the show. Magnus emerged as an early contender after her interpretation of "Think" originally by Aretha Franklin and "Paint It Black" originally by The Rolling Stones. She is known for being able to carry a note very long and very high, which she learned while singing in the shower. Magnus' ability to hit those high notes and her dramatic performances drew comparisons to Adam Lambert. Some of her rock singing techniques have been met with criticism from Simon Cowell. On April 20, Magnus performed "When You Believe", originally a duet by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, but the judges criticized her fashion sense and general lack of direction. On the top 6 night, when she performed "Any Man of Mine", judge Kara DioGuardi told her that "she was back!" Despite praise from the judges for her performance, Magnus was eliminated the next day. Magnus was never reported to be in the Bottom 3 until the night of her elimination. Magnus' elimination came as a surprise to herself and to some viewers as she was considered one of the front-runners on the show. It was reported that as a result, many fans of Magnus had vowed to not watch the rest of the American Idol season. The week after Magnus' dismissal, American Idol had its lowest ratings since 2002. Magnus is currently the only contestant from Massachusetts to become a finalist in American Idol'' history.

, Portland on August 21, 2010]]

Performances

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |- !Week # !Theme !Song choice !Original artist !Order # !Result |- |Audition |Auditioner's Choice |"Love of My Life" |Queen |N/A |Advanced |- |Hollywood |First Solo |"A Woman's Worth" |Alicia Keys |N/A |Advanced |- |Hollywood |Group Round |"Bad Romance" |Lady Gaga |N/A |Advanced |- |Hollywood |Second Solo |"Living for the City" |Stevie Wonder |N/A |Advanced |- |Top 24 (12 Women) |rowspan="3"|Billboard Hot 100 Hits |"Wicked Game" |Chris Isaak |10 |Safe |- |Top 20 (10 Women) |"Think" |Aretha Franklin |10 |Safe |- |Top 16 (8 Women) |"The House of the Rising Sun" |(traditional) |2 |Safe |- |Top 12 |The Rolling Stones |"Paint It, Black" |The Rolling Stones |8 |Safe |- |Top 11 |Billboard #1 Hits |"Superstition" |Stevie Wonder |11 |Safe |- |Top 10 |R&B;/Soul |"Through the Fire" |Chaka Khan |1 |Safe |- |Top 9 |Lennon/McCartney |"Across the Universe" |The Beatles |8 |Safe |- |Top 9 |Elvis Presley |"Suspicious Minds" |Mark James |6 |Safe |- |Top 7 |Inspirational Songs |"When You Believe" |Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston |5 |Safe |- |Top 6 |Shania Twain |"Any Man of Mine" |Shania Twain |6 |Eliminated |} Due to the judges using their one save to save Michael Lynche, the Top 9 remained intact for another week.

Post-Idol

, Los Angeles on August 13, 2010]]

After her elimination, Magnus gave several media appearances and performed "House of the Rising Sun" on The Ellen Degeneres Show, and "Paint it Black" on The Late Show with David Letterman. Letterman would go on to say to Magnus "I don't know why they voted you off, frankly I don't care. As far as I'm concerned, you should be our American Idol". Magnus also visited the If I Can Dream house and sang "I Will Come to You" by Hanson and also "Halo" by Beyoncé. She visited the house a second time with the Top 10 contestants, and sang many songs, including "Wicked Game", "No One", "Creep", and "Umbrella". She also made an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show performing "Summertime".

Magnus returned to the finale of American Idol on May 26, 2010 and sang "How Deep Is Your Love" with Aaron Kelly, who were both joined by the Bee Gees. She also had group performances with Alice Cooper, Christina Aguilera and Janet Jackson.

On June 9, 2010, Magnus performed with Hanson at the Bardot in Hollywood, California. The musical group Hanson was her childhood idol from the time she was 6. Magnus actually declared the experience (performing with Hanson) was "better than winning American Idol."

Magnus was featured in the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2010, where she sang The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black", No Doubt's "Spiderwebs" and Muse's "Stockholm Syndrome." She also sang in two group performances: Miley Cyrus's "The Climb" and Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You".

Magnus reunited with her band, Lunar Valve, as lead vocals. She plans on pursuing a career with them, hoping to be signed as a band, although she's not ruling out a possible simultaneous solo music career.

References

External links

Siobhan Magnus at American Idol

Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:Blue-eyed soul singers Category:2010s singers Category:American female singers Category:American Idol participants Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Musicians from Massachusetts Category:People from Barnstable, Massachusetts Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Barnstable High School alumni Category:Salem State University alumni

Name	Roger Waters
Img alt	Roger Waters playing a bass guitar and speaking into a microphone. He has grey hair and is unshaven.
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	George Roger Waters
Born	September 06, 1943Great Bookham, Leatherhead, Surrey, United Kingdom
Instrument	Bass Guitar, vocals, guitar, synthesiser, trumpet
Genre	Progressive rock, psychedelic rock, art rock, opera
Occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer
Years active	1964–present
Label	Capitol, Columbia, Sony, Harvest
Associated acts	Pink Floyd, The Bleeding Heart Band
Notable instruments	Fender Precision BassRickenbacker 4001Martin acoustic guitars

George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter and conceptual leader. The band subsequently achieved worldwide success in the 1970s with the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall. Although Waters' primary instrument in Pink Floyd was the electric bass guitar, he also experimented with synthesisers and tape loops and played electric and acoustic guitars in recordings and in concert. Amid creative differences within the group, Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985 and began a legal battle with the remaining members over their future use of the group's name and material. The dispute was settled out of court in 1987, and nearly eighteen years passed before he performed with Pink Floyd again. It is estimated that as of 2010, the group have sold over 200 million albums worldwide, including 74.5 million units sold in the United States.

Waters' solo career has included three studio albums: The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking (1984), Radio K.A.O.S. (1987), and Amused to Death (1992). In 1986, he contributed songs and a score to the soundtrack of the movie When the Wind Blows based on the Raymond Briggs book of the same name. In 1990, he staged one of the largest rock concerts in history, The Wall – Live in Berlin, with an estimated 200,000 people in attendance. In 1996, he was inducted into the US and UK Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. He has toured extensively as a solo act since 1999 and played The Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety for his world tours of 2006–2008. In 2005, he released Ça Ira, an opera in three acts translated from Étienne Roda-Gil and his wife Nadine Delahaye's libretto based on the early French Revolution. On 2 July 2005, he reunited with Pink Floyd bandmates Nick Mason, Richard Wright, and David Gilmour for the Live 8 benefit concert, the group's only appearance with Waters since their last performance with him 24 years earlier. In 2010, he began The Wall Live, a worldwide tour that features a complete performance of The Wall. Waters has been married four times and has three children.

Early years (1943–1964)

Roger Waters was born on 6 September 1943, the younger of two boys, to Mary and Eric Fletcher Waters, in Great Bookham, Surrey. His father, the grandson of a coal miner and prominent [[Labour Party (UK)| Labour Party]] leader, was a schoolteacher, a devout Christian, a pacifist, and a Communist Party member. Fletcher was a conscientious objector who drove an ambulance during the Blitzkrieg and the first years of the Second World War. Following Fletcher's death, Mary, also a teacher, moved with her two sons to Cambridge, and raised them there.

Waters attended Morley Memorial Junior School in Cambridge, and later the Cambridgeshire High School for Boys (now Hills Road Sixth Form College) with Syd Barrett, while his future musical partner, David Gilmour, lived nearby on the city's Mill Road, and attended The Perse School. At 15 Waters was chairman of the Cambridge Youth Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (YCND), having designed its publicity poster and participated in its organisation. Though he was a keen sportsman and a highly regarded member of the high school's cricket and rugby teams, his educational experience was lacking, according to Waters, "I hated every second of it, apart from games. The regime at school was a very oppressive one ... the same kids who are susceptible to bullying by other kids are also susceptible to bullying by the teachers." Whereas Waters knew Barrett and Gilmour from his youth in Cambridge, he met future Pink Floyd founding members Nick Mason and Richard Wright in London at the Regent Street Polytechnic school of architecture,

Pink Floyd (1965–1985)

Formation and Barrett-led period

in 1970|alt=A monochrome image of Roger Waters playing bass guitar. He has shoulder-length hair, black attire, and is standing in front of a microphone.]]

By September 1963, Waters and Mason were losing interest in their studies and they moved into the lower flat of Stanhope Gardens, owned by Mike Leonard, a part-time tutor at the Regent Street Polytechnic. Waters, Mason and Wright first played music together in the autumn of 1963, in a group formed by vocalist Keith Noble and bassist Clive Metcalfe. The group usually called themselves Sigma 6, but they also used the name the Meggadeaths. and Noble's sister Sheilagh provided an occasional vocal accompaniment.

When Metcalfe and Noble left to form their own group in September 1963, the remaining members asked Barrett and guitar player Bob Klose to join. By January 1964, the group became known as The Abdabs, or The (Screaming) Abdabs. Sometime during the autumn of 1965, the Tea Set began calling itself Pink Floyd Sound, later The Pink Floyd Sound, and by early 1966, Pink Floyd.

By early 1966 Barrett was Pink Floyd's front-man, guitarist, and songwriter. He wrote or co-wrote all but one track of their debut LP The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, released in August 1967. Waters contributed the song "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" (his first sole writing credit) to the album. However, by late 1967, Barrett's deteriorating mental health and increasingly erratic behaviour, rendered him "unable or unwilling" to continue in his capacity as Pink Floyd's singer-songwriter and lead guitarist. The band's new manager Steve O'Rourke made a formal announcement about the departure of Barrett and the arrival of David Gilmour in April 1968.

In 1969, Waters married his childhood girlfriend Judy Trim; they had no children together and their marriage was dissolved in 1976. He became engaged to Lady Carolyne Christie, the niece of the Marquess of Zetland, later that same year. His marriage to Christie produced a son, Harry Waters, a musician who has played keyboards with his father's touring band since 2006, and a daughter, India Waters.

Waters-led period

, shortly after its release in 1973. (l-r) David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Dick Parry, Roger Waters.]]

Filling the void left by Barrett's departure in March 1968, Waters began to chart Pink Floyd's artistic direction. He became the principal songwriter, lyricist, and co-lead vocalist, and would remain the band's dominant creative figure until he left in 1985. He wrote the lyrics to the five Pink Floyd albums preceding his own departure, starting with The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) and ending with The Final Cut (1983), while exerting progressively more creative control over the band and its music. With lyrics written entirely by Waters, The Dark Side of the Moon is one of the most commercially successful rock albums of all time. As of 2004 it has spent 723 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and sold over 35 million copies worldwide. It was selling over 8,000 units every week as of 2004. According to Pink Floyd biographer Glen Povey, Dark Side is the world's second best-selling album, and the United States' 21st best-selling album of all time.

Waters produced thematic ideas that became the impetus for the Pink Floyd concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), and The Wall (1979)—written largely by Waters—and The Final Cut (1983)—written entirely by Waters. He referred or alluded to the cost of war and the loss of his father throughout his work, from "Corporal Clegg" (A Saucerful Of Secrets, 1968) and "Free Four" (Obscured By Clouds, 1972) to "Us and Them" from The Dark Side of the Moon, "When the Tigers Broke Free", first used in the feature film, The Wall (1982), later included with "The Fletcher Memorial Home" on The Final Cut, an album dedicated to his father. The theme and composition of The Wall was influenced by his upbringing in an English society depleted of men after the Second World War.

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The Wall was written almost entirely by Waters and is largely based on Waters' life story, and having sold over 23 million RIAA certified units in the US as of 2010, is one of the top three best-selling albums of all-time in America, according to RIAA. Pink Floyd hired Bob Ezrin to co-produce the album, and cartoonist Gerald Scarfe to illustrate the album's sleeve art. The last band performance of The Wall was on 16 June 1981, at Earls Court London, and this was Pink Floyd's last appearance with Waters until the band's brief reunion at 2 July 2005 Live 8 concert in London's Hyde Park, 24 years later.

In March 1983, the last Waters–Gilmour–Mason collaboration, The Final Cut, was released. The album was subtitled: "A requiem for the post-war dream by Roger Waters, performed by Pink Floyd". Waters is credited with writing all the lyrics as well as all the music on the album. His lyrics to the album were critical of the Conservative Party government of the day and mention Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher by name. At the time Gilmour did not have any material for the album, so he asked Waters to delay the recording until he could write some songs, but Waters refused. According to Mason, after power struggles within the band and creative arguments about the album, Gilmour's name "disappeared" from the production credits, though he retained his pay. Rolling Stone magazine gave the album five stars, with Kurt Loder calling it "a superlative achievement" and "art rock's crowning masterpiece". Loder viewed the album as "essentially a Roger Waters solo album".

Amidst creative differences within the group, Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985, and began a legal battle with the remaining band members regarding their continued use of the name and material. In December 1985 Waters "issued a statement to EMI and CBS invoking the 'Leaving Member' clause" on his contract. In October 1986, he initiated High Court proceedings to formally dissolve the Pink Floyd partnership. In his submission to the High Court he called Pink Floyd a "spent force creatively". Gilmour and Mason opposed the application and announced their intention to continue as Pink Floyd. Waters claims to have been forced to resign much like Wright some years earlier, and he decided to leave Pink Floyd based on legal considerations, stating " ... because, if I hadn't, the financial repercussions would have wiped me out completely." In December 1987, an agreement between Waters and Pink Floyd was reached. According to Mason:

"We eventually formalised a settlement with Roger. On Christmas Eve, 1987, ... David and Roger convened for a summit meeting on the houseboat [the Astoria] with Jerome Walton, David's accountant. Jerome painstakingly typed out the bones of a settlement. Essentially—although there was far more complex detail—the arrangement allowed Roger to be freed from his arrangement with Steve [O'Rourke], and David and me to continue working under the name Pink Floyd. In the end the court accepted Jerome's version as the final and binding document and duly stamped it."

Waters was released from his contractual obligation with O'Rourke, and he retained the copyrights to The Wall concept and his trademarked inflatable pig. The Gilmour-led Pink Floyd released two studio albums: A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987), and The Division Bell (1994). As of 2006, it is estimated that Pink Floyd have sold over 200 million albums worldwide, including 74.5 million RIAA certified units sold in the US.

Solo career (1984–present)

1984–1996

Following the release of The Final Cut, Waters embarked on a solo career that produced three concept albums and a movie soundtrack. In 1984, he released his first solo album, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, a project about a man's dreams across one night that dealt with Waters' feelings about his failed marriage to Judy Trim, sex, and the pros and cons of monogamy and family life versus "the call of the wild". In the end the character, Reg, chooses love and matrimony over promiscuity. The album featured guitarist Eric Clapton, jazz saxophonist David Sanborn, and artwork by Scarfe. Rolling Stone rated the album a "rock bottom" one star." Waters began touring the new album aided by Clapton, a new band, new material, and a selection of Pink Floyd favourites. Waters débuted his tour in Stockholm on 16 June 1984. Poor ticket sales plagued the tour, and some of the larger venues had to be cancelled. By his own estimate, he lost £400,000 on the tour. In March 1985, Waters went to North America to play smaller venues with the Pros and Cons Plus Some Old Pink Floyd Stuff — North America Tour 1985. The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, has been certified Gold by the RIAA.

In 1986, Waters contributed songs and a score to the soundtrack of the movie When the Wind Blows. His backing band featuring Paul Carrack was credited as The Bleeding Heart Band. In 1987, Waters released Radio K.A.O.S., a concept album based on a mute man named Billy from an impoverished Welsh mining town who has the ability to physically tune into radio waves in his head. Billy first learns to communicate with a radio DJ, and eventually to control the world's computers. Angry at the state of the world in which he lives, he simulates a nuclear attack. Waters followed the release with a supporting tour also in 1987.

In November 1989 the Berlin Wall fell, and in July 1990 Waters staged one of the largest rock concerts in history, The Wall – Live in Berlin, on the vacant terrain between Potsdamer Platz and the Brandenburg Gate, with an estimated 200,000 people in attendance. Leonard Cheshire asked him to do the concert to raise funds for charity. Waters' group of musicians included Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Cyndi Lauper, Bryan Adams, Scorpions, and Sinéad O'Connor. Waters also used an East German symphony orchestra and choir, a Soviet marching band, and a pair of helicopters from the US 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron. Designed by Mark Fisher, the Wall was 25 metres tall and 170 metres long and was built across the set. Scarfe's inflatable puppets were recreated on an enlarged scale, and although many rock icons received invitations to the show, Gilmour, Mason, and Wright, did not. Waters released a concert double album of the performance which has been certified platinum by RIAA. It is Waters' most critically acclaimed solo recording, garnering some comparison to his previous work with Pink Floyd. Waters described the record as a, "stunning piece of work", ranking the album with Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall as one of the best of his career. The album had one hit, the song "What God Wants, Pt. 1", which reached number 35 in the UK in September 1992 and number 5 on Billboards Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the US. Amused to Death was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. Sales of Amused to Death topped out at around one million and there was no tour in support of this album. Waters would first perform material from it seven years later during his In the Flesh tour. In 1996, Waters was inducted into the US and UK Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd.

1999–2004

In 1999, after a nearly 12-year hiatus from touring, and a 7-year absence from the music industry, Waters embarked on the In the Flesh Tour, performing both solo and Pink Floyd material. The tour was a financial success in the US and though Waters had booked mostly smaller venues, tickets sold so well that many of the concerts were upgraded to larger ones. The tour eventually stretched across the world and would span three years. A concert film was released on CD and DVD, named In the Flesh Live. During the tour, he played two new songs "Flickering Flame" and "Each Small Candle" as the final encore to many of the shows. His marriage to Phillips ended in 2001, and in 2004, he got engaged to filmmaker Laurie Durning. As of 2010, they are still together. In June 2002, he completed the tour with a performance in front of 70,000 people at the Glastonbury Festival of Performing Arts, playing fifteen Pink Floyd songs and five songs from his solo catalog.

In October 2005, he clarified: "I come back to the UK quite often. I didn't leave as a protest against the hunting ban; I was following a child in the wake of a divorce." After leaving Britain, he moved to Long Island in New York with his fiancé Laurie Durning. Miramax announced in mid-2004 that a production of The Wall was to appear on Broadway with Waters playing a prominent role in the creative direction. Reports stated that the musical contained not only the original tracks from The Wall, but also songs from Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and other Pink Floyd albums, as well as new material. On the night of 1 May 2004, recorded extracts from the opera, including its overture, were played on the occasion of the Welcome Europe celebrations in the accession country of Malta. Gert Hof mixed recorded excerpts from the opera into a continuous piece of music which was played as an accompaniment to a large light and fireworks display over Grand Harbour in Valletta. In July 2004, Waters released two new tracks on the Internet: "To Kill the Child", inspired by the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and "Leaving Beirut", "inspired by his travels in the Middle East as a teenager".

2005–present

In July 2005, Waters reunited with Mason, Wright, and Gilmour for what would be their final performance together at the 2005 Live 8 concert in London's Hyde Park, Pink Floyd's only appearance with Waters since their final performance of The Wall at Earls Court London 24 years earlier. They played a six-song, 23-minute set including "Speak to Me/Breathe"/"Time"/"Breathe (Reprise)", "Money", "Wish You Were Here", and "Comfortably Numb". Waters told the Associated Press that while the experience of playing with Pink Floyd again was positive, the chances of a bona fide reunion would be "slight" considering his and Gilmour's continuing musical and ideological differences. Though Waters had differing ideas about which songs they should play, he "agreed to roll over for one night only". Gilmour told the Associated Press, "The rehearsals convinced me it wasn't something I wanted to be doing a lot of. There have been all sorts of farewell moments in people's lives and careers which they have then rescinded, but I think I can fairly categorically say that there won't be a tour or an album again that I take part in. It isn't to do with animosity or anything like that. It's just that ... I've been there, I've done it." In November 2005 Pink Floyd were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame by Pete Townshend of The Who.

In September 2005, Waters released Ça Ira (pronounced , French for "it will be fine"; Waters added the subtitle, "There is Hope"), an opera in three acts translated from the late Étienne Roda-Gil's French libretto based on the historical subject of the French Revolution. Ça Ira was released as a double CD album, featuring baritone Bryn Terfel, soprano Ying Huang and tenor Paul Groves. Set during the early French Revolution, the original libretto was co-written in French by Roda-Gil and his wife Nadine Delahaye. Waters had began rewriting the libretto in English in 1989, and said about the composition: "I've always been a big fan of Beethoven's choral music, Berlioz and Borodin ... This is unashamedly romantic and resides in that early 19th-century tradition, because that's where my tastes lie in classical and choral music." Waters appeared on television to discuss the opera, but the interviews often focused instead on his relationship with Pink Floyd, something Waters would "take in stride", a sign Pink Floyd biographer Mark Blake believes to be, "a testament to his mellower old age or twenty years of dedicated psychotherapy".

In June 2006, Waters commenced The Dark Side of the Moon Live tour, a two-year, world spanning effort that began in Europe in June and North America in September. The first half of the show featured both Pink Floyd songs and Waters' solo material, while the second half included a complete live performance of the 1973 Pink Floyd album, The Dark Side of the Moon, the first time in over three decades that Waters had performed the album. The shows ended with an encore from the third side of The Wall. He utilised elaborate staging by concert lighting designer Marc Brickman complete with laser lights, fog machines, flame throwers, psychedelic projections, and inflatable floating puppets (Spaceman and Pig) controlled by a "handler" dressed as a butcher, and a full 360 degree quadrophonic sound system was used. Nick Mason joined Waters for The Dark Side of the Moon set and the encores on select 2006 tour dates. Waters continued touring in January 2007 in Australia and New Zealand then Asia, Europe, South America, and back to North America in June. In July 2007, he played on the American leg of the Live Earth concert, an international multi-venue concert aimed at raising awareness about global climate change, featuring the Trenton Youth Choir and his trademarked inflatable pig. Waters told David Fricke why he thinks The Wall is still relevant today:

The loss of a father is the central prop on which [The Wall] stands. As the years go by, children lose their fathers again and again, for nothing. You see it now with all these fathers, good men and true, who lost their lives and limbs in Iraq for no reason at all. I've done Bring The Boys Back Home in my encore on recent tours. It feels more relevant and poignant to be singing that song now than it did in 1979.

In 2007, Waters became a spokesman for Millennium Promise, a non-profit organisation that helps fight extreme poverty and malaria. He wrote an opinion piece for CNN in support of the topic. In March 2007, the Waters song, "Hello (I Love You)" was featured in the science fiction film The Last Mimzy. The song plays over the film's end credits. He released it as a download-only single, and described it as, "a song that captures the themes of the movie, the clash between humanity's best and worst instincts, and how a child's innocence can win the day".

Waters performed at California's Coachella Festival in April 2008 and was to be among the headlining artists performing at Live Earth 2008 in Mumbai India in December 2008. This concert was cancelled in light of the 26 November terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Waters has been outspoken about Middle Eastern politics and in June 2009, he openly opposed the Israeli separation barrier, calling it an "obscenity" that "should be torn down". In December 2009, he pledged his support to the Gaza Freedom March.

Waters confirmed the possibility of an upcoming solo album which "might be called" Heartland, and has said he has numerous songs written (some already recorded) that he intends to release when they are a complete album. In June 2010, Waters released a cover of "We Shall Overcome", a protest song derived from the refrain of a gospel hymm published by Charles Albert Tindley in 1901. Waters performed with David Gilmour at the Hoping Foundation Benefit Evening in July 2010. The four-song set included: "To Know Him Is to Love Him", which was played in early Pink Floyd sound checks, followed by; "Wish You Were Here", "Comfortably Numb", and "Another Brick in the Wall (Part Two)".

In September 2010, Waters commenced The Wall Live tour, which features a complete performance of Pink Floyd's The Wall. According to Cole Moreton of the Daily Mail, "The touring version of Pink Floyd's The Wall is one of the most ambitious and complex rock shows ever staged." It is estimated that the tour cost £37 million to stage.

Equipment and instruments

Waters' primary instrument in Pink Floyd was the electric bass guitar. He briefly played a Höfner bass but replaced it with a Rickenbacker RM-1999/4001S, Waters endorses RotoSound Jazz Bass 77 flat-wound strings. Throughout his career he has used Selmer, WEM, Hiwatt and Ashdown amplifiers, also employing delay, tremolo, chorus, panning and phaser effects in his music.

Not only a bassist and vocalist, Waters experimented with the EMS Synthi A and VCS 3 synthesisers on Pink Floyd pieces such as "On the Run", "Welcome to the Machine", and "In the Flesh?" He played electric and acoustic guitar on Pink Floyd tracks using Fender, Martin, Ovation and Washburn guitars. and acoustic guitar on several Pink Floyd recordings, such as "Pigs on the Wing 1 & 2", also from Animals, "Southampton Dock" from The Final Cut, and on "Mother" from The Wall. A Binson Echorec 2 echo effect was used on his bass-guitar track in "One Of These Days".

Discography

Music from The Body'' (with Ron Geesin) (1970)

The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking (1984)

When the Wind Blows (various artists soundtrack) (1986)

Radio K.A.O.S. (1987)

The Wall – Live in Berlin (1990)

Amused to Death (1992)

In the Flesh – Live (2000)

(2002)

Ça Ira (2005)

Citations

References

Further reading

External links

Roger Waters Official website

Roger Waters Facebook page to support The Wall live tour 2010–2011

Category:1943 births Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Alumni of the University of Westminster Category:British anti-war activists Category:British expatriates in the United States Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Critics of religions or philosophies Category:English atheists Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English experimental musicians Category:English-language singers Category:English male singers Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:English rock bass guitarists Category:English rock guitarists Category:English rock singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English socialists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Nonviolence advocates Category:Opera composers Category:People from Leatherhead Category:Pink Floyd members Category:Religious skeptics Category:Rhythm guitarists Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Rock music duos Category:The Wall (rock opera) Category:BAFTA winners (people)

Name	Pepe Aguilar
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Jose Aguilar
Born	August 07, 1968San Antonio, Texas, USA
Genre	Ranchera, Mariachi
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Url	www.pepeaguilar.com

José "Pepe" Aguilar (born in San Antonio, Texas on August 7, 1968) is a popular singer-songwriter of ranchera, mariachi and pop music. Pepe is the son of Mexican icon Antonio Aguilar.

Career

As a teenager, Aguilar was a rap and rock music fan and had his band called "Equs". The band did not last long, but that led him to make his first album. Aguilar's musical influences were Pink Floyd and The Who among other rock bands.

He decided to become a producer in the 1990s, he produced songs for Lupita D'Alessio, Julieta Venegas, and others.

In 1998, Aguilar released the album Por Mujeres Como Tú , the CD was in Billboard for 52 weeks and has sold two million copies worldwide. In 1999, Aguilar released the album Por Una Mujer Bonita, which won a Latin Grammy. Aguilar has been nominated for the Grammys nine times.

In 2002, Aguilar was the first Mexican singer to sing at the legendary Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. He was also the first Latino to sing at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles. On September 15, 2003 by his Mexican heritage, he celebrated the Mexican War of Independence, Aguilar received the keys of the city of Los Angeles, as previously had been his father. An estimated of 20,000 people attended the ceremony.

His style reflects his music. Aguilar has worked with mariachis as well as symphonies and his traditional stage attire is a ‘charro’ (rodeo) outfit complete with cowboy boots and hat while his closet includes plenty of button-down shirts and suits.

To celebrate this and share yet another aspect of his life with his fans, Aguilar is breaking into the fashion world in 2009 launching his Pepe Aguilar Signature Collection through WSS (Warehouse Shoe Sale) retailer in the United States that will later expand to include a clothing and accessories line for both men and women.

In addition, his dream of helping his native Mexico in some way has given way to an eco-friendly agricultural project in which Aguilar will strengthen and promote the organic production of crops in communities in Zacatecas, utilizing traditional or technology that will have a positive impact on the environment.

With over 16 studio albums plus multiple compilations to his name and millions of records sold, Aguilar’s most recent, Homenaje, pays tribute to the original “Charro de Mexico” (Mexican Rodeo Star): his father, Antonio Aguilar. The album contains 13 songs of the most popular hits made famous by the singer who died in 2008.

==

Lo Grande De Los Grandes (2000)

Exitos con Tambora (2001)

Lo Grande de los Grandes (2001)

Lo Mejor de Nosotros (2001)

Con Orgullo por Herencia (2002)

Y Tenerte Otra Vez (2003)

No Soy de Nadie (2004)

Historias de Mi Tierra (2005)

Enamorado (2006)

Puros Boleros (2006)

Pepe Aguilar Live (2007)

Enamorado (Fan Edition) (2007)

100% Mexicano (2007)

100% Mexicano Edición Mariachi (2007)

Homenaje (2008)

Compilations (unofficial releases)

Mis Exitos Con Banda (2002)

(2003)

Tu Camino y El Mio (2005)

La Crema de la Crema (2005)

Puro Boleros (2005)

Coleccion de Oro (2005)

Con Todo el Corazon Te Canta (2005)

Baladas y Boleros (2005)

Mi Historia (2005)

Mi Credo (2006)

La Historia...Mis Exitos (2008)

Clasicas Musicales (2008)

20-20 Exitos Con Banda (2010)

DVDs

Grandes Exitos (2004)

Canta Como Pepe (2004)

Pepe Aguilar Live (2007)

External links

Pepe Aguilar Official Website

Pepe Aguilar YouTube Channel

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:People from San Antonio, Texas Category:American people of Mexican descent Category:Mexican male singers Category:Ranchera singers Category:American male singers Category:Hispanic and Latino American people Category:American musicians of Mexican descent Category:Spanish-language singers Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Awards for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album

Name	Brock Lesnar
Birth name	Brock Edward Lesnar
Birth date	July 12, 1977
Weight
Weight class	Heavyweight
Reach
Style	Freestyle Wrestling
Stance	Orthodox
Fighting out of	Alexandria, Minnesota
Team	DeathClutch / CSW training center
Trainer	Head Trainer: Marty Morgan Striking Coach: Erik Paulson Boxing: Peter Welch Jiu-Jitsu: Rodrigo Medeiros
Rank	NCAA Division I Wrestler
Years active	2007–present
Mma win	5
Mma kowin	2
Mma subwin	2
Mma decwin	1
Mma loss	2
Mma koloss	1
Mma subloss	1
University	University of Minnesota
Spouse	Rena Mero
Sherdog	17522
Updated	October 14, 2010

Brock Edward Lesnar (; born July 12, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the #2 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog. Lesnar is an accomplished amateur wrestler, winning the 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship and placing second in 1999, losing in the finals to future New England Patriots offensive lineman Stephen Neal.

He then gained prominence in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he was a three-time WWE Champion, becoming the youngest WWE Champion at age 25 with his first reign. Lesnar was also the 2002 King of the Ring and the winner of the 2003 Royal Rumble. After leaving WWE in 2004, Lesnar pursued a career in the NFL. He then signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in October 2007. He lost his UFC debut against Frank Mir. He captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship from Randy Couture on November 15, 2008, then avenged his loss to Mir at UFC 100 to become the Undisputed Champion. After being sidelined from fighting in late 2009 due to diverticulitis, Lesnar returned to defeat the Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin at UFC 116. Lesnar lost the Heavyweight belt against Cain Velasquez at UFC 121.

Early life

Brock Lesnar was born in Webster, South Dakota. He attended Webster High School in Webster, where he had a wrestling record of 33–0–0 in his senior year. Lesnar admits he graduated last of 54 students in his class. Lesnar later attended the University of Minnesota on a full wrestling scholarship for his junior and senior years of college; his roommate was fellow professional wrestler Shelton Benjamin who also served as Lesnar's assistant coach. Lesnar won the 2000 NCAA wrestling championship as a heavyweight after placing second in 1999.

Prior to joining the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Lesnar also wrestled at Bismarck State College in Bismarck, North Dakota. Lesnar finished his amateur career as a two-time NJCAA All-American, 1998 NJCAA Heavyweight Champion, two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Conference Champion, and the 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion with a record of 106–5 overall in four years of college.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (2002–2004)

Training and debut (2000–2002)

In 2000, after leaving college, Lesnar signed up with the World Wrestling Federation. He was sent to its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling. There, he formed a tag team known as "The Minnesota Stretching Crew" with his former college roommate, Shelton Benjamin. Lesnar and Benjamin won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship on three occasions.

Lesnar debuted on WWF television on the March 18, 2002 episode of Raw, the night after WrestleMania X8, coming through the crowd and attacking Al Snow, Maven, and Spike Dudley during the course of a match. He was accompanied by Paul Heyman, who was seen giving instructions to Lesnar. When the brand extension was introduced in the WWF, Lesnar was drafted to the Raw brand. Later, Heyman was confirmed to be Lesnar's agent and gave Lesnar the nickname "The Next Big Thing". Brock's first feud was with the Hardy Boyz. Lesnar and Jeff Hardy squared off at Backlash in Lesnar's first official televised match. The next night on Raw Lesnar faced off against Matt Hardy, defeating him in the same fashion. At Judgment Day, Lesnar once again gained the upper hand on the Hardy Boyz before tagging his partner, Heyman, in to make the pin.

Main event status (2002–2003)

In June 2002, Lesnar won the King of the Ring tournament, defeating Rob Van Dam in the final round. After a quick feud with Hollywood Hulk Hogan in August 2002, Lesnar began feuding with the Undisputed Champion The Rock. At the main event of SummerSlam, Lesnar defeated The Rock to become the WWE Undisputed Champion.

Lesnar's rapid rise to the top of WWE in 2002 led to a feud with The Undertaker, which involved a match at Unforgiven. Despite Heyman begging McMahon not to let The Undertaker use his cast as a weapon, the request was denied and the match went on as planned. In a match that saw both wrestlers and even Heyman covered in blood, it ended when Lesnar reversed an attempted Tombstone piledriver into his finishing F-5 maneuver for the win.

Lesnar's next opponent was The Big Show. Heyman was convinced more than anyone that Lesnar could not win, trying to talk him out of defending the title. Lesnar refused and lost the championship in Madison Square Garden at the Survivor Series pay-per-view to Big Show, Lesnar's first pinfall loss in WWE. When the champion tried to pin the 500-pounder following an F-5, he was betrayed by Heyman who pulled the referee out of the ring allowing Big Show to capitalize and win the title. As a result, Lesnar became a fan favorite. Following Survivor Series, Heyman made it clear that Lesnar would not get a rematch, even going so far as to sneak a special clause in his contract. At the Royal Rumble event in January 2003, Lesnar defeated The Big Show in a qualification match. Lesnar later entered the Rumble as the #29 entrant where he eventually won by eliminating The Undertaker. This led to Cena receiving a title match at Backlash in which Lesnar successfully retained the title. Earlier at the Backlash pay-per-view, Big Show had injured Rey Mysterio badly, resulting in Mysterio being carried out on a stretcher. During the scripted rivalry, on SmackDown!, Lesnar lifted Big Show over in a Superplex which caused the ring to collapse on impact. At Vengeance, Lesnar lost his title to Kurt Angle in a No Disqualification Triple Threat match that also involved Big Show. Lesnar lost to Angle when Angle made Lesnar tap out to the ankle lock. A second rematch between Lesnar and Angle, an Iron Man match, was later held on an episode of SmackDown!. Lesnar defeated Angle in a match that was said as one of the best in SmackDown! history. Angle slapped on the ankle lock with a few seconds remaining but Lesnar did not tap. Lesnar won with five falls to Angle's four, making him a three-time WWE Champion. Lesnar's first challenger for his newly won title was The Undertaker. Lesnar had previously cost Undertaker the title in a match against then-champion Kurt Angle, which granted him a shot at Lesnar's title. At No Mercy, Lesnar defeated Undertaker in a Biker Chain match.

Lesnar realigned himself with Paul Heyman after Heyman became General Manager of SmackDown! and formed Team Lesnar with Big Show, Matt Morgan, A-Train, and Nathan Jones for a 10-man Survivor Series match at Survivor Series. In the climax of the match, Chris Benoit became the second person to make Lesnar tap out.

Feuding with Goldberg and departure (2003–2004)

The Survivor Series event also marked the first time Lesnar met Goldberg from the Raw brand, a man to whom Lesnar had been compared due to their similar and undefeated streaks in wrestling. Lesnar claimed in a backstage interview that he could beat anybody in the world, leading to Goldberg interrupting the interview and introducing himself to Lesnar, shaking hands with him before leaving with a staredown. In this storyline, Holly wanted revenge on Lesnar for legitimately breaking his neck during a previous match between the two in 2002. During that match, Lesnar went for a powerbomb, but Holly, who has gained a reputation of being uncooperative with rookies, supposedly sandbagged mid-lift so that Lesnar could not get him all the way up. Holly compounded the difficulty of the move by not lifting up at the waist. During the struggle, Lesnar ended up dropping Holly on his head, leaving him in need of neck surgery and out of action for a year. At the Royal Rumble in 2004, Lesnar defeated Holly to retain the WWE Championship. Later in the Royal Rumble match, Lesnar attacked Goldberg and delivered an F-5, enabling Kurt Angle to eliminate him. During the feud with Goldberg, Lesnar also was feuding with Raw's Stone Cold Steve Austin (who was shown suggesting to Goldberg that he attack Lesnar at No Way Out). When Lesnar attacked Austin on Raw and stole his four-wheeler, Austin was inserted as the special guest referee for the WrestleMania match. Behind the scenes, it was widely known that the match would be Goldberg's last in WWE. Only a week before WrestleMania, however, rumors surfaced that Lesnar, too, was leaving in order to pursue a career in the National Football League. As a result, Lesnar's match with Goldberg became a fiasco as the fans at Madison Square Garden jeered both wrestlers with very loud and distinct chants of "na na, hey hey goodbye" and "you sold out," with the crowd support mostly given to special referee Austin. Although Goldberg won the match, both men were given a Stone Cold Stunner by Austin on their way out.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (2005–2006)

On October 8, 2005, Lesnar won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in a three-way match at a New Japan Pro Wrestling show in the Tokyo Dome, which included the then-champion Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono. He won the match by pinning Masahiro Chono after an F-5, which he had renamed the Verdict, since WWE owns the trademark on the F-5 name. Lesnar successfully defended his championship on January 4, 2006, against former champion Shinsuke Nakamura. On March 19, at the Sumo Hall, Lesnar retained his championship against former Sumo Wrestling Grand Champion Akebono when Lesnar hit him with the championship belt and a DDT. Lesnar went on to successfully defend his title against the winner of the New Japan Cup, Giant Bernard, on May 3, 2006, in Fukuoka. This was the first American vs. American title match in NJPW since Vader vs. Stan Hansen in 1990.

On July 15, 2006, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that Brock Lesnar had been stripped of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as he would no longer be returning to defend the title due to "visa issues." A tournament was held on July 16 to determine the new champion, which was won by Hiroshi Tanahashi, the man Lesnar was originally scheduled to face. Lesnar continued to possess the physical IWGP Championship belt until late June 2007.

Approximately one year later on June 29, 2007, Lesnar defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship (IGF promoter Antonio Inoki had stated he still viewed Lesnar as the "proper" IWGP Champion, as he was not defeated for the title) against TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle in a champion versus champion match. Angle defeated Lesnar with the Ankle lock to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as recognized by IGF and TNA. This was Lesnar's last match as a professional wrestler.

Lawsuit

Lesnar had previously signed a no-compete clause in order to be released from his contract with WWE, which prohibited him from working for any other sports entertainment or mixed martial arts companies before June 2010. Lesnar had anticipated leaving wrestling entirely, but his inability to secure a career in professional football led to him challenging this ruling in court. WWE responded by demanding damages as a result of Lesnar allegedly breaching the agreement by appearing at a New Japan Pro Wrestling show in 2004. In July 2005, the two sides dropped their claims and entered negotiations to renew their relationship. WWE had offered Lesnar a contract, but on August 2, 2005, WWE's official website reported that Lesnar had withdrawn from any involvement with the company. The lawsuit was then entered into settlement on September 21, but talks broke down.

On January 14, 2006, Judge Christopher Droney stated that unless WWE gave him a good argument between then and January 25, he would rule in favor of Brock Lesnar, giving him a summary judgment. This would have enabled Lesnar to work anywhere he wanted immediately. WWE was later granted a deadline postponement. On April 24, World Wrestling Entertainment announced on their official website, WWE.com, that both parties had mutually come to a settlement and on June 12, a federal judge dismissed Lesnar's lawsuit against WWE after both parties requested for the case to be dismissed.

National Football League (2004–2005)

Name	Brock Lesnar
Currentteam	Free Agent
Currentnumber	--
Currentposition	Defensive tackle
Birthdate	July 12, 1977
Birthplace	Webster, South Dakota
Heightft	6
Heightin	4
Weight	296
Highschool	Webster High School
College	University of Minnesota
Undraftedyear	2004
Pastteams
Status	active
Statweek	17
Statseason	2004
Statlabel1	Games played
Statvalue1	--
Statlabel2	Tackles
Statvalue2	--
Statlabel3	Sacks
Statvalue3	--

After his final match at WrestleMania XX, Lesnar sidelined his career in WWE to pursue a career in the National Football League. This move upset many in WWE, as the company felt they had invested heavily in Lesnar. World Wrestling Entertainment confirmed Lesnar's departure on their official website WWE.com by the statement

}}

Lesnar later told a Minnesota radio show that he had three wonderful years in WWE, but had grown unhappy and had always wanted to play pro football, adding that he did not want to be 40 years old and wondering if he could have made it in football. In an interview about starting with the NFL, Lesnar made the statement }}

Lesnar played for the Minnesota Vikings, where he created controversy in some games by starting minor fights and got heat from the Kansas City Chiefs for a sack on quarterback Damon Huard, which drew a big response from the crowd. After playing in the preseason, Lesnar ended up being a late cut.

Mixed martial arts

K-1 Grand Prix (2007)

On April 28, 2006, Lesnar appeared inside the ring after the final match of K-1 Hero's Las Vegas and announced his intent to join the MMA promotion. He trained with Minnesota Martial Arts Academy under Greg Nelson, and University of Minnesota Assistant Head wrestling coach Marty Morgan. Brock Lesnar announced on August 12 in Las Vegas that he had signed a deal with the K-1 promotion. His first fight was scheduled for June 2, 2007, on the K-1 Dynamite!! USA show against Choi Hong-man of Korea. However, prior to the match, Choi Hong-Man was replaced by Min Soo Kim. Lesnar submitted Min Soo Kim due to strikes in 1 minute 9 seconds of the first round to win his first official MMA match. Lesnar secured an early takedown, but was deducted a point for hitting Mir on the back of the head. Following another takedown by Lesnar, Mir managed to secure a kneebar and force a submission at 1:30 of the first round. Lesnar was wearing 4XL gloves for the fight, making him the second man in Nevada's combat sports history to wear such gloves after Choi Hong-man. At UFC 82, it was announced that former UFC Heavyweight Champion and UFC Hall of Fame inductee Mark Coleman would fight Lesnar at UFC 87:Seek and Destroy. Coleman was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a training injury, and Lesnar's opponent was changed to Heath Herring. In the early seconds of the first round, Lesnar dropped Herring with a straight right. For the rest of the fight, Lesnar kept the fight on the ground and went on to win by unanimous decision.

Lesnar's next opponent was Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 91:Couture vs Lesnar on November 15. Lesnar beat Couture via a technical knockout in Round 2, becoming the UFC Heavyweight Champion.

On December 27, 2008, at UFC 92, Frank Mir defeated Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira for the Interim Heavyweight title and was to face Lesnar for the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 98. Immediately after winning the Interim Heavyweight title, Mir found Lesnar in the crowd and shouted at him "You've got my belt."

However, due to a knee injury to Mir, the title unification match with Lesnar that was originally slated to be the UFC 98 main event was postponed. The news broke during the broadcast of UFC 96 that the bout had been cancelled and was replaced by Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida for the UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship." Lesnar won the postponed rematch with Mir at UFC 100 on July 11, 2009, via technical knockout after dominating his opponent for the duration of the bout. The win earned Lesnar Beatdown of the Year honors from Sherdog for 2009. It's an award he also shares with Anderson Silva after his win over Forrest Griffin. . During his post-match celebration, Lesnar flipped off the crowd who had been booing him. He made a disparaging comment about the PPV's primary sponsor Bud Light, claiming they "won't pay me nothin, promoting Coors Light instead. He then stated he might even "get on top of [his] wife" after the show. He would later apologize for his actions in his post-fight press conference, where he held a bottle of Bud Light.

In January 2009, Brock Lesnar signed a supplement endorsement deal with Dymatize Nutrition. A CD containing training footage of Lesnar was included with boxes of Dymatize Xpand and Energized Xpand.

On July 1, 2009, it was reported that the winner of the Shane Carwin vs. Cain Velasquez fight at UFC 104 would face Brock Lesnar in his second title defense on a date yet to be determined; however, the UFC then reconsidered the contendership bout and Lesnar was scheduled to defend his belt against Shane Carwin at UFC 106 on November 21.

Illness

On October 26, 2009, it was announced that Lesnar had pulled out of the UFC 106 card in which he was set to face Shane Carwin for the UFC Heavyweight Championship due to an illness. UFC President Dana White said that Brock had been ill for three weeks, claiming he had never been this sick in his life and that it would take him a while to recover; his fight with Carwin was rescheduled for UFC 108 in early 2010. Lesnar initially sought treatment in Canada, but later told reporters that he had received "Third World treatment" from malfunctioning equipment at a hospital in Manitoba, and that seeking better medical treatment in the United States saved his life. Lesnar, who describes himself as a conservative and a supporter of the US Republican Party, went on to criticize Canadian-style health care further and said that he shared his experience in an effort to speak "on the behalf of the doctors in the United States that don't want health care reform to happen and neither do I."

On November 4, it was confirmed that Lesnar was suffering from mononucleosis and that his bout with Carwin would have to wait a bit longer, thus the fight for UFC 108 was cancelled. On November 14 at the UFC 105 post-fight conference, Dana stated, "He's not well and he's not going to be getting well anytime soon." and that an interim title match might need to be set up. In addition to mononucleosis, it was revealed that Lesnar was suffering from a serious case of diverticulitis, an intestinal disorder, which would require surgery. After further diagnosis, on November 16 Lesnar underwent surgery to close a perforation in his intestine that had been leaking fecal matter into his abdomen, causing pain, abscesses, and overtaxing his immune system to the point that he contracted mononucleosis. From the level of damage to Lesnar's system, the surgeon estimated that the intestinal condition had been ongoing for around a year.

Return

In January 2010, Lesnar announced on ESPN SportsCenter that he was scheduled to make a return to the UFC in the summer of 2010. A match between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin took place on March 27 at UFC 111 to determine the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion, and Brock's next opponent. Shane Carwin defeated Frank Mir by KO in the first round, becoming the new Interim Champion. After the fight, Brock came into the ring and stated "It was a good fight, but he's wearing a belt that's a make believe belt, I've got the real championship belt."

Lesnar faced Shane Carwin at UFC 116 to unify the heavyweight titles. After Carwin knocked him down early in the first round, Lesnar survived a ground and pound attack. Early in the second round, Lesnar was able to take Carwin down, attain a full mount, then move into side-control and finish the fight with an arm triangle choke. With the victory, Lesnar again became the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion, earning his first UFC Submission Of The Night and giving Carwin his first loss.

Losing the title

Lesnar's next defense was against undefeated top contender Cain Velasquez on October 23, 2010, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California at UFC 121. Dana White announced via SportsNation that the UFC would be bringing back UFC Primetime to hype up Lesnar vs. Velasquez at UFC 121. Lesnar was defeated by Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight Championship via TKO in the first round at UFC 121 on October 23, 2010.

Rumors of leaving UFC to go back to WWE

Following the loss to Velasquez at UFC 121, Lesnar was met on his way out of the Octagon by Mark Calaway, the WWE's Undertaker. Calaway confronted Lesnar about them stepping in the ring again. Rumors flared that the WWE was courting Lesnar for a return to fight Calaway in a professional wrestling bout at WWE's Wrestlemania XXVII in April 2011. UFC president Dana White put a halt to those rumors, saying that Lesnar was under contract with him and that there was no way that he would let him take part in the WWE promotion.

On January 11, 2011, it was revealed that Lesnar would be one of the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter Season 13, opposite to Junior dos Santos, with the two expected to face each other on June 11, 2011 at UFC 131.

Personal life

Lesnar grew up on a farm in South Dakota, and later joined the National Guard at the age of seventeen.

Lesnar has one daughter, Mya Lynn who was born on April 10, 2002, with his ex-fiancée, Nicole. He left Nicole in 2003 in order to begin a relationship with Rena "Sable" Mero who had been recently divorced from Marc Mero. Lesnar and Mero were engaged in 2004, separated in 2005, then reconciled later that year and married on May 6, 2006. Lesnar has one stepchild with Mero: Mariah, a stepdaughter born to Mero and her late husband, Wayne Richardson. The couple had their first child together, a son named Turk in June 2009. The couple is expecting their second child in July 2010.

Lesnar has numerous tattoos, with the most prominent being a stylized skull in the center of his back and a large sword on his chest. Other video games Lesnar has also appeared in include WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth, WWE WrestleMania XIX, WWE Crush Hour, Madden NFL 06, UFC 2009 Undisputed, UFC Undisputed 2010, and the PlayStation 2 version of Wrestle Kingdom. With the release of UFC Undisputed 2010 Lesnar became the first man to appear on the cover of a WWE and UFC video game as he was the cover star on Here Comes the Pain.

Lesnar was on the cover of Flex Magazine. Lesnar was also featured in Minneapolis' City Pages in February 2008. In February 2008 Lesnar was featured on the cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine.

WWE Home Video released a DVD in 2003 titled Brock Lesnar: Here Comes the Pain. The DVD covered Lesnar's career up to 2003 which featured some of his biggest matches.

Lesnar owns an MMA clothing line called "DeathClutch".

He is also known to be very conservative of his private life and avoids discussing it in interviews. He recently stated:

}}

Mixed martial arts record

{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="font-size:85%; text-align:left; width:100%;" |- !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Result !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Record !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Opponent !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Method !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Event !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Date !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Round !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Time !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Location !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Notes |- | | | Junior dos Santos | |UFC 131 | |align=center| |align=center| | Vancouver, British Columbia |To determine #1 contender for UFC Heavyweight Championship |- |Loss |align=center|5–2 | Cain Velasquez |TKO (Strikes) |UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez | |align=center|1 |align=center|4:12 | Anaheim, California |Lost UFC Heavyweight Championship |- |Win |align=center|5–1 | Shane Carwin |Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) |UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin | |align=center|2 |align=center|2:19 |align='left'| Las Vegas, Nevada |Defended UFC Heavyweight Championship. Submission of the Night |- |Win |align=center|4–1 | Frank Mir |TKO (Punches) |UFC 100 | |align=center|2 |align=center|1:48 | Las Vegas, Nevada |Defended UFC Heavyweight Championship |- |Win |align=center|3–1 | Randy Couture |TKO (Strikes) |UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar | |align=center|2 |align=center|3:07 | Las Vegas, Nevada |Won UFC Heavyweight Championship. |- |Win |align=center|2–1 | Heath Herring |Decision (Unanimous) |UFC 87: Seek and Destroy | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |- |Loss |align=center|1–1 | Frank Mir |Submission (Kneebar) |UFC 81: Breaking Point | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:30 | Las Vegas, Nevada |UFC Debut |- |Win |align=center|1–0 | Min-Soo Kim |Submission (Punches) |Dynamite!! USA | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:09 | Los Angeles, California |MMA Debut |}

In wrestling

Finishing moves

Brock Lock (Over the shoulder single leg Boston crab – WWE or a side bearhug – OVW)

National Junior College Athletic Association

*NJCAA All-American (1997, 1998)

*Junior College National Championship (1998)

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship

*UFC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

*Submission of the Night (1 time)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*Best Box Office Draw (2008, 2009)

*MMA Most Valuable Fighter (2008, 2009)

Sherdog Awards

Beatdown of the Year (2009)

Fighter's Only World MMA Awards

Breakthrough fighter of the year (2009)

Professional wrestling

New Japan Pro Wrestling

IWGP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Feud of the Year (2003) vs. Kurt Angle

PWI Match of the Year (2003) vs. Kurt Angle – a 60 minute Iron Man match on SmackDown!, September 16

PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2002)

PWI Wrestler of the Year (2002)

PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2003

World Wrestling Entertainment

WWE Championship (3 times)¹

King of the Ring (2002)

*Best Wrestling Maneuver (2002) F-5

Feud of the Year (2003) vs. Kurt Angle

Most Improved Wrestler (2002, 2003)

¹Lesnar's first reign was as WWE Undisputed Champion.

See also

List of current UFC fighters

References

External links

Brock Lesnar's Official Deathclutch Website

Online World of Wrestling profile

Brock Lesnar stats

UFC profile

Brock Lesnar Profile at National (Amateur) Wrestling Hall of Fame

Category:1977 births Category:American football defensive linemen Category:American mixed martial artists Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American sport wrestlers Category:Fictional kings Category:Heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:Living people Category:Minnesota Vikings players Category:Minnesota Republicans Category:Mixed martial artists from Minnesota Category:Mixed martial artists from South Dakota Category:People from Day County, South Dakota Category:Sportspeople of multiple sports Category:Ultimate Fighting Championship champions Category:University of Minnesota alumni

Name	Jenni Rivera
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Dolores Janney Rivera Saavedra
Born	July 02, 1969
Origin	Long Beach, California
Label	Fonovisa/Universal
Associated acts	Lupillo Rivera
Url	Jenni

Jenni Rivera (born July 2, 1969) is a Mexican-American singer, better known for her work within the banda and norteña music genres. She's been active in the music scene since 1992 and her recordings include many topical songs and material dealing with social issues, infidelity, and relationships. Her tenth studio album, Jenni in 2008, became her first number-one album in the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart in the United States.

Early Life and Career

Rivera was born Dolores Janney Rivera Saavedra in Long Beach, CA. Her parents were Mexican migrants who raised Jenni and her four brothers (including Lupillo Rivera) in a tight-knit musical household. While still in high school she became pregnant with the first of her five children, and eventually married the child's father, José Trinidad Marín

When she first started singing she was Jenni "La Fea" Rivera.

In 1995 she released her first album Chacalosa, on the Capitol/EMI label, which became popular in Mexico and the American Southwest.

Achievements

Jenni Rivera is a Mexican-American singer/songwriter raised in Long Beach, has sold over 20 million albums worldwide. Rivera was nominated at the 2003, 2008 and 2010 Latin Grammys. A successful Regional-Mexican artist and entrepreneur, including Divina Realty, Divina Cosmetics, Jenni Rivera Fragrance, Jenni Jeans, Divine Music and The Jenni Rivera Love Foundation. Jenni Rivera became the first female Banda artist to sell-out a concert at the world famous Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, CA and most recently became the first artist up-to-date to sell-out two back-to-back nights at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California on August 6, 2010 and August 7, 2010. On August 6, 2010, Jenni Rivera was named spokeswomen for the National Coalition against battered women and domestic violence in Los Angeles. A proclamation was given "officially naming" August 6th “Jenni Rivera day” by the LA City Council for all her charity work and involvement in the community. Jenni Rivera is also the producer to her oldest daughter's (Janney Marin) reality tv show on the cable network MUN2, "Chiquis y Raq-C". is all around the world.

Discography

Studio albums

1995: Chacalosa

1999: Si Quieres Verme Llorar

1999: Reina de Reinas

2000: Que Me Entierren con la Banda

2001: Se Las Voy a Dar a Otro

2001: Dejate Amar

2004: Simplemente... la Mejor

2005: Parrandera, Rebelde y Atrevida

2007: Mi Vida Loca

2008: Jenni

2009: La Gran Señora

2010: En Vivo Desde Hollywood

''Compilation albums

1996: 17 Exitos

2003: Homenaje a las Grandes

2009: Jenni Super Deluxe

References

External links

Jenni on Sports Town Chicago

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:American people of Mexican descent Category:Banda Category:Hispanic and Latino American people Category:Mexican female singers Category:Mexican singers Category:People from Long Beach, California

Name	Delta Goodrem
Img apt	Goodrem performing on Carols by Candlelight on 24 December 2006.
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Delta Lea Goodrem
Born	November 09, 1984
Origin	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Instrument	Vocals, Piano, Guitar
Genre	Pop, Soft Rock, Adult Contemporary
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, Performer, Actress
Spouse	Brian McFadden (engaged)
Years active	2001–present
Label	Sony Music (WW) (2000-present)Columbia Records (U.S.) (2005-2008)Mercury Records (U.S.) (2008-present)|
Url	www.DeltaGoodrem.com

Delta Lea Goodrem (born 9 November 1984) is an Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress. Signed to Sony at the age of 15, Goodrem rose to prominence in 2002, starring in the popular Australian soap Neighbours as Nina Tucker, and this assisted her establishing an international music career. Goodrem has achieved eight No. 1 singles in her home country including all three of her studio albums reaching No. 1. She currently holds the record for the highest selling album of the last decade and the most No. 1 singles from any debut album, with all five of her singles from her debut album Innocent Eyes reaching No. 1 on the ARIA charts. Her repertoire falls under the pop and adult contemporary styles, and heavily features the piano, which she usually plays barefoot while performing live. Her music is influenced by vast array of styles including Classical, Adult Contemporary music, Pop and Soft Rock. In spite of gaining success in Australia and in the UK, Goodrem has yet to score a hit LP or single in the USA. She is currently the face of Sunsilk and So Good in Australia. Her debut album, 2003's Innocent Eyes, gave her the highest selling Australian album of the last decade, in the process making her one of Australia's highest selling female recording artists of all time. Goodrem is currently in the process of recording her 4th studio album due for release early 2011.

Career

To date, Goodrem has achieved eight No. 1 ARIA singles and multiple UK Top 10 singles. Her debut album, 2003's Innocent Eyes, made her one of Australia's highest selling female recording artists of all time, spending 29 weeks at No. 1, selling well over a million copies in Australia and another 3.5 million internationally, debuting at No. 2 in the UK and breaking various records in the process. Goodrem went on to win 7 ARIA awards at the 2003 arias, out of a staggering 10 nominations, cementing her in Australian history books.

In 2003, at the age of 18, amidst her blooming career, Goodrem was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a form of cancer which affects the immune system. She has since made a full recovery but is still in remission and now devotes a great deal of her time promoting cancer charities.

In 2004 Goodrem released Mistaken Identity, her second studio album which entered the ARIA charts at No. 1 spawning two No. 1 singles and quickly gained multi-platinum status. In 2005, Goodrem embarked on The Visualise Tour, her debut concert tour of Australia, combining songs from both Innocent Eyes and Mistaken Identity.

Goodrem released her third studio album, self-titled Delta, on 20 October 2007 to yet another number-one debut, gaining multi-platinum status within the first few months of release. Goodrem also shifted attention to different markets, releasing the album in the Far East and the USA. In January 2009, Goodrem embarked on the Believe Again Tour of Australia to support her third studio album. To date, she has sold approximately 5 million albums, and 6 million combined albums and singles worldwide.

Biography

Childhood and discovery

Delta Lea Goodrem was born on 9 November 1984 on the outskirts of Sydney, New South Wales to parents Denis and Lea Goodrem. Her parents named her Delta after the Joe Cocker song, "Delta Lady". Goodrem, who showed a strong interest in music and performing from a very young age, attended The Hills Grammar School, though due to its curriculum placing strong emphasis on sport (Goodrem taking part in netball, running and swimming), music was primarily kept separate. At the age of seven, she appeared in an American commercial for the Galoob toy company, starring alongside fellow Australian Bec Cartwright and began playing piano at the same age while taking up singing, dancing and acting lessons. She appeared in numerous commercials for companies such as Optus and Nesquik, and had several minor roles in episodes of successful Australian television shows including Hey Dad...!, A Country Practice and Police Rescue.

At the age of thirteen Goodrem recorded a five song demo CD, financed through her television work. It was sent to the Sydney Swans Football Club (of which Goodrem is a supporter) and they passed it onto Glenn Wheatley, the manager behind successful Australian artists, Little River Band and John Farnham. Interested in Goodrem's potential as a recording artist, Wheatley signed Goodrem an artist development deal with independent label, Empire Records. Between June 1999 to September 2000, she worked with producers Paul Higgins and Trevor Carter on thirteen tracks for an album called Delta, which saw "an ambitious 15-year-old keen to emulate the pop sound of the Spice Girls, Britney Spears and Mandy Moore." The album has yet to surface, Goodrem preventing its release years later via civil action in 2004.

2001–2003: Career launch, Neighbours and Innocent Eyes

resort in Las Vegas]] At the age of 15, Goodrem signed a record deal with Sony Goodrem's role on the show scored her a Logie for "Most Popular New Talent" at the 2003 Logie Awards and two other nominations at the 2004 Logie Awards (including a Gold Logie nomination).

In January 2003, "Lost Without You" again topped the ARIA singles chart and reached number four in the UK, increasing Goodrem's popularity. Her largely self-penned debut album Innocent Eyes was released in March and debuted at number-one on the ARIA album charts, breaking Australian records previously held by John Farnham's Whispering Jack (1986) by staying at number-one for 25 consecutive weeks, while tying with Neil Diamond's Hot August Night (1972) as the second longest charting number-one album with a total of 29 weeks at top spot. It was the highest selling album in Australia of 2010 The album also charted highly in the UK, peaking at No. 2.

Goodrem ceased work on Neighbours and her music to begin treatment and in early August, announced she would not renew her contract with Glenn Wheatley, mother Lea Goodrem replacing him as her manager. Later that month, Goodrem won seven ARIA Awards, including "Best Female Artist", surpassing Natalie Imbruglia's previous record of six awards in 1999. Too unwell to perform at the ceremony, singer Darren Hayes performed a rendition of "Lost Without You" as a tribute, bringing an overwhelmed Goodrem to tears. Her first full-length DVD Delta became the highest selling music DVD by an Australian artist in Australia ever, with a certification of 12x platinum,

2004–2006: Mistaken Identity, film debut and The Visualise Tour

After announcing in late December 2003 that she was in remission, Goodrem began work on her second album. In September 2004, she became the face of soft drink giant Pepsi in Australia, appearing on the product, billboards, TV advertisements and performing an exclusive show for competition winners. In October, first single "Out of the Blue", co-written and produced by Guy Chambers, debuted at number-one in Australia and number nine in the UK. October saw Goodrem launch her own lingerie line titled "Delta by Annabella". Goodrem's second album Mistaken Identity, notable for its darker themes inspired by the hardships of her previous twelve months, was released in early November and debuted at number-one in Australia, Top 10 in New Zealand, but peaked at a disappointing number twenty-five in the UK. "Almost Here", a duet with Irish singer Brian McFadden, reached number three in the UK, became her seventh ARIA number one, and her first number one in Ireland. Singles released only in Australia - "Mistaken Identity", "A Little Too Late" and "Be Strong" - were moderately successful. In March 2005, she starred in her first film role of Hating Alison Ashley, a film based on the popular children's novel, Goodrem acting the title character. The film performed poorly at the box office and was not a critical success, some critics citing Goodrem's performance as too robotic and detached. April saw Goodrem relocate in New York to launch her career in the United States with a re-worked version of "Lost Without You". She appeared in the last two episodes of short-lived American series North Shore in a bid to gain greater exposure around the US. "Lost Without You" proved to be modestly successful, peaking at number eighteen on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, but Goodrem was reportedly dissatisfied with its performance. Plans to release a hybrid of her first two albums were later terminated and Goodrem put America on hold.

In July, Goodrem embarked on her first headline concert tour of Australia, The Visualise Tour. Ticket prices (ninety-nine Australian dollars each) came under criticism for being higher than most international acts touring Australia at the time and this initially led to slow sales. By the time the concerts were due to take place, many venues sold out after tickets were reduced to $60. Once the tour concluded, over 80,000 tickets had been bought in total making The Visualise Tour one of Australia's highest selling local tours. was released in November and became Goodrem's second No. 1 DVD.

On 15 March 2006, Goodrem performed a new song, "Together We Are One", at the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony in front of 80,000 spectators and up to 1.5 billion television viewers worldwide. The song, written specifically for the event with Chambers and McFadden, was released in Australia, peaking at number two, and was performed by the Top 5 contestants on American Idol. In June, Goodrem signed to Modest! Entertainment for her worldwide management. October saw Goodrem promoting in Japan with the release of an updated version of Innocent Eyes and the Japan-only single "Flawed", which reached number one on the Japanese download chart. The album peaked at number eight on the Japanese international chart (excluding Japanese artists) and number nineteen on the official Japanese album chart (including Japanese artists). In November, Goodrem appeared with Westlife on UK talent series The X Factor to perform a duet titled "All Out of Love", which appeared on the boyband's ninth LP, The Love Album. She was in Melbourne on Christmas Eve to headline the annual Carols by Candlelight.

2007–2009: Delta, American debut and The Believe Again Tour

On 10 August 2007 Goodrem was in Los Angeles to film the music video for "In This Life", the first single which is also the opening theme for the anime Deltora Quest, based on the novels by fellow Australian Emily Rodda. The video premiered on 31 August on Sunrise. "In This Life" was released as the first single from her new album on 15 September. It debuted at number one on the Australian Singles Chart, becoming Goodrem's eighth number one single in Australia.

Her latest album, self titled Delta, was released in Australia on 20 October 2007. Goodrem has described the material as "...a lot lighter" compared to her previous album Mistaken Identity. In January she stated, "As people become more aware of your life, they can pinpoint what songs are about. On this album, I've tried to remove a lot of that and just write great pop songs, songs that are from my heart but there's no baggage with them". The album debuted on number one on the ARIA albums chart, marking her third number one album in her home country, and received platinum certification for shipments of 70,000 records, though sales were much lower; only 23,000 copies were sold during the first week. In December the album received a 2x platinum award for shipments of 140,000 copies. The album was certified 3x Platinum in February. The second single of the album was "Believe Again", released in December. The video for the song was one of the most expensive ones made in the Australian music history. It was the most added song on the radio of week 46. The song debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the Australian Singles Chart. The third single, "You Will Only Break My Heart", was released on 29 March 2008 and peaked at No. 14. The fourth single to be lifted from the album is "I Can't Break It To My Heart", which debuted and peaked at No. 13. Following the release of the lead single, Goodrem currently holds the record for most No. 1 singles on the ARIA charts by an any artist, with 8.

According to Goodrem, she is going to explore new places around the world in 2008, including Brazil. Goodrem has also written numerous songs that have been recorded by other artists, one song even being used as the winners song in Norweign Idol in 2007. Goodrem wrote the Middle-Eastern influenced song, "Eyes On Me", which was recorded by Celine Dion and released as the second single from her worldwide hit album, Taking Chances. It was originally intended to be included on Goodrem's album but didn't make the cut. "Eyes On Me" was released as the second single in the UK from Taking Chances in early January 2008.

In January 2009, Goodrem will embark on the Believe Again Tour tour of Australia to support her third studio album Delta. The concert tour will see Goodrem up close and personal around the nation performing hits from her stellar career and current hit album Delta. Upon announcing the dates Goodrem said; "It's extremely exciting. I can't believe it's taken this long but I've already started putting the set list together and there are so many songs to play. I have been inspired by some intimate shows I have done recently here and internationally, and by playing theatres I can be closer to all the people who have taken my record home." She has also recorded a duet with Olivia Newton-John to help raise money for Olivia's Cancer Hospital in Melbourne. The duet has been confirmed by the Australian magazine, New Idea, to be called "Gotta Be Right Here With You". On 27–28 March, Goodrem performed a two night show at The Seymour Centre in Sydney, quoting that she "wants to share a night of music with her loyal fans and forum friends".

In February 2008 different sources reported that Goodrem was dropped by her record company in the US, Sony BMG. However, this was later denied by her partner McFadden, who claimed in an interview that she just switched record labels. She is now a part of Mercury Records. He also stated that she was at that moment in L.A. to shoot a new video and make the cover for the US version of the album Delta. Goodrem travelled around radio stations to promote the song and the album, which debuted at No. 116 on the Billboard 200 selling over 6,000 copies in its first week. It also peaked at No. 1 on the Hot Heatseekers Chart. Goodrem states about her adventure in the States: "It feels really wonderful, I don't have expectations, I'm not going over with expectations, I'm just wanting to give my songs to more people." In September Goodrem will begin major promotion through America including an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, after having already performed on The View.

Billboard single reviews editor Chuck Taylor offered a Spotlight Review of Goodrem's "In This Life" in April 2008: "At last. Aussie Delta Goodrem has scored eight No. 1 singles at home since 2003, while the first of her three albums spent 29 weeks at No. 1; she's also a mainstay across much of Europe. Goodrem was signed for a minute to Columbia/U.S., in 2005, where single "Lost Without You" grazed the AC top 20. Now former Sony honcho David Massey, installed as president of resurrected Island Def Jam imprint Mercury, is championing the stunning 23-year-old singer/songwriter here—and he means business. Oz chart-topper "In This Life" is an ideal vehicle to fuel horsepower, showcasing frantic piano, turbine tempo, a singalong lyric about giving into love ("Three steps fight an honest fight/Two hearts can start a fire/One love is all I need, in this life") and a vocal that illustrates incomparable prowess—not to mention Goodrem's heaping media-friendly persona. The world knows Delta on a first-name basis. It's high time America got with the program."

In August 2008 the fourth single from her third album was released in Australia. The song, I Can't Break It To My Heart, debuted at No. 13 on the ARIA Singles Chart.

In July 2008 it was announced that Goodrem will embark on a national tour of Australia aptly entitled the Believe Again Tour in smaller venues than she did on her Visualise Tour. Goodrem felt that the songs on her new album lent themselves to a smaller, more intimate setting. She originally announced 9 dates in 7 different cities, but later announced more shows due to a high volume of ticket sales, performing 14 shows in 8 cities overall. Goodrem was quoted as saying what viewers saw at the AFI Awards, regarding her remixed song and dance performance of Believe Again, in 2007, is only a taste of what is to be expected from her new tour. The tour ran from 9 January to 4 February 2009.

Goodrem was nominated for two awards at the 2008 ARIA Awards - Highest Selling Single and Highest Selling Album - and won the award for Highest Selling Album of 2008. The DVD of the Believe Again Tour debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Music DVD Charts.

Goodrem is selected to host for the 7th annual Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards, along with co-hosts Benji Madden and Joel Madden on 13 November.

Goodrem was invited to sing with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli at his American Christmas concerts after wowing producer David Foster with her talent when she gatecrashed his birthday soiree. She performed in 4 of his concerts, as well as additional concerts in Las Vegas and Anaheim. Goodrem topped the Aria End of Decade album charts with Innocent Eyes coming in at No. 1 ahead of P!nk's Funhouse. During Prince William's Australian Promotional Tour Delta got the chance to have lunch with the Prince during his visit to Melbourne before he went to the Australian Open to watch Roger Federer's match. Delta commented via Twitter that -What an honour! Just left lunch with the charming Prince William and an amazing, inspirational group of young Australians. xx-

Australian launch of Michael Jackson's This Is It DVD, March 2010: Goodrem and Guy Sebastian were chosen by the Jackson estate to perform at the Australian launch of This Is It. The invitation only event was attended by the film's director Kenny Ortega, Michael's choreographer Travis Payne, and Michael's brother Jackie Jackson Goodrem and Sebastian performed "Earth Song".

Goodrem told the Courier Mail during a recent interview that the new album will be more "stripped back"; she also explained "I've done a 360 back to where I started, but hopefully it's more evolved. I feel I've stepped up my game. I'm experimenting with different chord changes and different areas of music." Goodrem moved to Los Angeles to work on the album.

Goodrem was selected by Andrea Bocelli to rejoin him for in late April, early May. The Tour Kicked off in Tokyo, Japan with additional shows in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

In August 2010 it was announced that Delta and her fiance Brian McFadden might be guest judges on the UK TV show X Factor. They will be support Louis Walsh in the 'Judges House' round. However it has since been revealed that Sharon Osbourne will be returning to the show to aid Walsh instead.

Goodrem appeared on the song Stand Up To Cancer, alongside many other notable singers, which was released 11 September 2010.

On 28 November 2010, A representative for Goodrem confirmed to the Sunday Herald Sun that Goodrem will release her new album in 2011.

On 11 December 2010 Goodrem did an interview with "Yes World" and she confirmed that the album will be out in the middle 2011.

Personal life

In an interview with Teen Vogue, Goodrem said the five things she misses most about Australia when on tour are vegemite, the Australian Football League, barbecues, her bed and pillow, and "the spirit of Australia".

Cancer

On 8 July 2003, at the age of 18, Goodrem was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer which attacks the body's immune system. She was forced to put all working commitments on hold while undertaking treatment for the disease. In an exclusive interview with the Australian Women's Weekly, Goodrem revealed that her body had been giving warning signs since 2002. Symptoms included a head to toe rash, fatigue, weight loss, night sweats, and the appearance of a lump on her neck. "I was doing sit-ups when I felt something pop in my neck. I reached down and I felt a small lump at the base of my throat. It wasn't sore, it wasn't visible, but I could feel it." As part of her treatment, Goodrem undertook chemotherapy, which resulted in the loss of her hair, and radiation therapy.

The news of her diagnosis made newspaper and television headlines and an outpouring of support was shown by fans and the general public alike, Goodrem thanking them during The Visualise Tour for all the letters and well wishes she received. Much of Goodrem's 2004 album Mistaken Identity, in particular "Extraordinary Day", is inspired by her battle.

In 2004, Goodrem began a nine month relationship with Australian tennis player Mark Philippoussis. Her "comeback" single "Out of the Blue" was written about his support during her cancer battle. The couple ended in controversy when newspapers reported Philippoussis had been unfaithful. Reports indicated Philippoussis had been linked with socialite Paris Hilton before breaking it off with Goodrem; though this was denied by Philippoussis, it was confirmed by Goodrem.

In 2004, Goodrem began dating former Westlife singer Brian McFadden, with whom she collaborated on the single "Almost Here". This caused immense tabloid scrutiny in the UK, as it was suggested that the pair had embarked on their relationship before McFadden and then-wife Kerry Katona had separated, a fact that McFadden strongly denied.

In May 2006, newspapers claimed that Goodrem's mother had advised her to end her relationship with McFadden in order to concentrate on furthering her career. In the album sleeve of "Delta", Goodrem is candid about her mother, writing "I'm sorry we hurt each other, this chapter was hard to write. Be strong in this next chapter, there's so many memories to make, laughs and smiles to have." Goodrem also thanked McFadden. saying "You made me believe again in life, love, music, and to be the best person and therefore the best artist I can be. Every dream I have, we're standing side by side, we laugh, we sing, we cry."

On 30 November 2007, Goodrem and McFadden announced they were engaged. It was revealed in the Christmas Eve issue of OK Magazine Australia that McFadden had planned the proposal for months. He wrote a book recounting the moments from when they first met until the final page when he asked Goodrem "Remember the day when I proposed to you in Bali?" McFadden had proposed to her in a trip to Bali. The announcement was made because McFadden revealed that his fans thought Goodrem rejected the proposal. Goodrem accepted the proposal and the couple planned to wed in December 2009.

The wedding was, however, delayed, with Australian media reporting that the couple had sold their mansion in Hunters Hill and were living separately - Goodrem in the US and McFadden with friends in Melbourne - due to their careers taking them in different directions. However, McFadden laughed off split rumours, saying "Thanks for letting us know. What would we do without the English press? Just when I thought Delta and I were happy they let me know we're not... thanks I almost missed it". On 6 October 2010, McFadden referred to Goodrem as his "Angel Wife", causing speculation that the pair have married in secret.

Family

Goodrem is very close to her family - her parents Lea and Denis (who are divorced) and her younger brother Trent. Trent has attracted media attention as an Australian rules footballer whom many believed would be an AFL Draft prospect. The left footed wingman attacking defender started with the Sydney AFL with the East Coast Eagles and represented NSW/ACT against Tasmania at under 18 state level. Goodrem was hoping that Trent would join the Sydney Swans, her favourite team,. However it did not happen and Trent moved to South Australia to increase his draft opportunities playing semi-professionally with the Central District Football Club in the SANFL.

Philanthropy

Goodrem regularly visits sick children in hospital and uses her own experience with cancer to help raise awareness for other young people affected by the disease. A percentage of each ticket for The Visualise Tour went towards the "Delta Goodrem Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research Trust Fund", established by Goodrem in support of cancer research. In May 2005, Goodrem helped launch "Teen Info on Cancer", a UK website aimed at supporting young teenage sufferers. In November 2005, Goodrem became an ambassador for Research Australia's "Thank You Day", which honours the country's health and medical researchers and received a Thank You Day Celebrity Advocacy Award "in recognition of her efforts in raising funds and awareness for Australian medical research and charities." Goodrem is set to be the face of Alternative Hair, the UK hairdressing industry's top fundraising event, in aid of cancer charity Leukaemia Research. Goodrem is also member of RADD (Recording Artists, Actors And Athletes Against Drink Driving), a group of celebrities raising awareness of the risks of drunk driving.

Discography

2003: Innocent Eyes

2004: Mistaken Identity

2007: Delta

2011 TBA

Filmography

Awards

References

External links

Official website

Official twitter

Official charity website

Delta Goodrem Portugal

Delta Goodrem Fansite

Delta Goodrem Fansite 2

Category:Delta Goodrem Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:People from Sydney Category:Australian pop singers Category:Australian female singers Category:Australian child singers Category:Australian singer-songwriters Category:Australian pianists Category:Australian television actors Category:Cancer survivors Category:Australian film actors Category:Australian child actors Category:ARIA Award winners Category:Australian musicians Category:Australian songwriters Category:World Music Awards winners

Name	Britney Spears
Years active	1992–present
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Britney Jean Spears
Born	December 02, 1981McComb, Mississippi,
Genre	Pop, dance-pop
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, record producer, author, fashion designer, video director
Instrument	Vocals, piano
Label	Jive
Associated acts	The New Mickey Mouse Club
Url

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album ...Baby One More Time in 1999. During her first decade within the music industry, she became a prominent figure in mainstream popular music and popular culture, followed by a much-publicized personal life. Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records, while title tracks "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" became international number-one hits. Spears was credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s.

In 2001, she released her third studio album Britney and expanded her brand, playing the starring role in the film Crossroads. She assumed creative control of her fourth studio album, In the Zone released in 2003, which yielded chart-topping singles "Me Against the Music", "Toxic" and "Everytime". After the release of two compilation albums, Spears experienced personal struggles and her career went under hiatus. Her fifth studio album, Blackout, was released in 2007 and despite receiving little promotion, it spawned hits "Gimme More" and "Piece of Me". In 2008, her erratic behaviour and hospitalizations caused her to be placed in a conservatorship. The same year, her sixth studio album Circus was released, with the global chart-topping lead single "Womanizer". After embarking on The Circus Starring Britney Spears, she released greatest hits The Singles Collection, which featured U.S. and Canadian number-one single "3".

Spears has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists in the history of contemporary music. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the eighth top-selling female artist in the United States, with 32 million certified albums. Spears is also recognized as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall. She was ranked the 8th Artist of the 2000–10 decade by Billboard. In June 2010, Spears was ranked sixth on Forbes list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential celebrities in the world; she is also ranked as the third most powerful musician in the world.

Biography

1981–97: Early life and career beginnings

Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, the second child of Lynne Irene (née Bridges) and James Parnell Spears. She is of English heritage through her maternal grandmother, who was born in London, and of distant Maltese descent. Her siblings are Bryan James and Jamie Lynn. At age three, she started to attend dance lessons in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana, and was selected to perform a solo at the annual recital. During her childhood, she also attended gymnastics and voice lessons, and won many state-level competitions and children's talent shows. Spears made her local stage debut at age five, singing "What Child Is This?" at her kindergarten graduation. She said about her ambition as a child, "I was in my own world, [...] I found out what I'm supposed to do at an early age". In December 1992, she was finally cast in The Mickey Mouse Club, but returned to Kentwood after the show was cancelled. She enrolled at Parklane Academy in nearby McComb, Mississippi. Although she made friends with most of her classmates, she compared the school to "the opening scene in Clueless with all the cliques. [...] I was so bored. I was the point guard on the basketball team. I had my boyfriend, and I went to homecoming and Christmas formal. But I wanted more."

In June 1997, Spears was in talks with manager Lou Pearlman to join female pop group Innosense. Lynne asked family friend and entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over a Whitney Houston karaoke song along with some pictures. Rudolph decided he wanted to pitch her to record labels, therefore she needed a professional demo. He sent Spears an unused song from Toni Braxton; she rehearsed for a week and recorded her vocals in a studio with a sound engineer. Spears travelled to New York with the demo and met with executives from four labels, returning to Kentwood the same day. Three of the labels rejected her, arguing audiences wanted pop bands such as The Backstreet Boys and The Spice Girls, and "there wasn't going to be another Madonna, another Debbie Gibson, or another Tiffany." Two weeks later, executives from Jive Records returned calls to Rudolph. Senior vice president of A&R; Jeff Fenster stated about Spears's audition that "It's very rare to hear someone that age who can deliver emotional content and commercial appeal. [...] For any artist, the motivation—the 'eye of the tiger'— is extremely important. And Britney had that." After hearing the recorded material, president Clive Calder ordered a full album. Spears had originally envisioned "Sheryl Crow music, but younger more adult contemporary" but felt alright with her label's appointment of producers, since "It made more sense to go pop, because I can dance to it—it's more me." She flew to Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, where half of the album was recorded from March to April 1998, with producers Max Martin, Denniz PoP and Rami, among others. Her debut album, ...Baby One More Time, was released on January 1999. It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America after a month. Worldwide, the album topped the charts in fifteen countries and sold over ten million copies in a year. It became the biggest selling album ever by a teenage artist. "...Baby One More Time" later received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The title track also topped the singles chart for two weeks in the United Kingdom, and became the fastest-selling single ever by a female artist, shipping over 460,000 copies. It would later become the 25th most successful song of all time in British chart history. Spears is also the youngest female artist to have a million seller in the country. "(You Drive Me) Crazy" was released as the third single from the album. It became a top-ten hit worldwide and propelled ...Baby One More Time to sell 26 million copies. The April 1999 cover of Rolling Stone featured Spears laying on her bed, clad with a bra, shorts and an open top. The American Family Association (AFA) referred to the shoot as "a disturbing mix of childhood innocence and adult sexuality" and called to "God-loving Americans to boycott stores selling Britney's albums." Spears responded to the outcry commenting, "What's the big deal? I have strong morals. [...] I'd do it again. I thought the pictures were fine. And I was tired of being compared to Debbie Gibson and all of this bubblegum pop all the time." Shortly before, Spears had announced publicly she would remain a virgin until marriage. but generated some controversy due to her racy outfits. An extension of the tour, titled Crazy 2k, followed in March 2000. Spears premiered songs from her upcoming second album during the show. The album sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone said that "the great thing about Oops! – under the cheese surface, Britney's demand for satisfaction is complex, fierce and downright scary, making her a true child of rock & roll tradition." The album's lead single, "Oops!... I Did It Again", peaked at the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and many other European nations. The album as well as the title track received Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, respectively. The same year, Spears embarked on the Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour, which grossed $40.5 million; she also released her first book, Britney Spears' Heart-to-Heart, co-written with her mother. On September 7, 2000, Spears performed at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Halfway through the performance, she ripped of her black suit to reveal a sequined flesh-colored bodysuit, followed by heavy dance routine. It is noted by critics as the moment that Spears showed signs of becoming a more provocative performer. Amidst media speculation, Spears confirmed she was dating 'N Sync member Justin Timberlake. The album debuted at number one in the Billboard 200 and reached top five positions in Australia, the United Kingdom and mainland Europe and sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called Britney "the record where she strives to deepen her persona, making it more adult while still recognizably Britney. [...] It does sound like the work of a star who has now found and refined her voice, resulting in her best record yet." The album was honored with two Grammy nominations—Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Overprotected"— and was listed in 2008 as one of Entertainment Weekly's "100 Best Albums from the Past 25 Years". The album's first single, "I'm a Slave 4 U", became a top-ten hit worldwide. Spears's performance of the single at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards featured a caged tiger and a large albino python draped over her shoulders. It was harshly received by animal rights organization PETA, who claimed the animals were mistreated and scrapped plans for an anti-fur billboard that was to feature Spears. The tour grossed $43.7 million, becoming the second highest grossing tour of 2002 by a female artist, behind Cher's . Her career success was highlighted by Forbes in 2002, as Spears was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity. Spears also landed her first starring role in Crossroads, released in February 2002. Although the film was largely panned, most critics actually praised Spears's acting. Crossroads, which had a $11 million budget, went on to gross over $57 million worldwide. In July 2002, Spears announced she would take a six month break from her career; however, she went back into the studio in October to record her new album. Spears's relationship with Justin Timberlake ended after three years. In December 2002, Timberlake released the song "Cry Me a River" as the second single from his solo debut album. The music video featured a Spears look-alike and fueled the rumors that she had been unfaithful to him. As a response, Spears wrote the ballad "Everytime" with her backing vocalist and friend Annet Artani. The same year, Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst confirmed that he was in a relationship with Spears, only to deny it later. In a 2009 interview, he explained that "I just guess at the time it was taboo for a guy like me to be associated with a gal like her." Spears opened the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards with Christina Aguilera, performing "Like a Virgin". Halfway through they were joined by Madonna, with whom they both kissed. The incident was highly publicized. NPR listed the album as one of "The 50 Most Important Recording of the Decade", adding that "the decade's history of impeccably crafted pop is written on her body of work." In the Zone sold over 609,000 copies in the United States and debuted at the top of the charts, making Spears the first female artist in the SoundScan era to have her first four studio albums to debut at number one. In the Zone sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The album produced the hit singles: "Me Against the Music", a collaboration with Madonna; "Toxic"—which won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording; "Everytime" and "Outrageous". She began The Onyx Hotel Tour in support of In the Zone in March 2004. On June 8, 2004, Spears fell and injured her left knee during the music video shoot for "Outrageous". She was taken immediately to a local hospital, where doctors performed an MRI scan and found floating cartilage. The following day, Spears underwent arthroscopic surgery. She was forced to remain six weeks with a thigh brace, followed by eight to twelve weeks of rehabilitation, which caused The Onyx Hotel Tour to be canceled. During 2004, Spears became involved in the Kabbalah Centre through her friendship with Madonna. In July 2004, she announced her engagement to American dancer Kevin Federline, who she had met three months before. The romance received intense attention from the media, since Federline had recently broken up with actress Shar Jackson, who was still pregnant with their second child at the time. Shortly after, she released her first fragrance with Elizabeth Arden, Curious, which broke the company's first-week gross for a perfume. , her first greatest hits compilation album, was released in November 2004. Spears's cover version of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" was released as the lead single from the album, reaching the top of the charts in Finland, Ireland, Italy and Norway. The second single, "Do Somethin'", was a top ten hit in Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries of mainland Europe. Worldwide, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative sold over 5 million copies. In late 2004, Spears went on KIIS-FM radio in Los Angeles, CA to play a new demo titled "Mona Lisa." The demo was to be the first single from an upcoming album called the "Original Doll." However, Spears' label later cancelled the album for unknown reasons. Spears gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston Federline, on September 14, 2005.

In November 2005, she released her first remix compilation, , which consists of eleven remixes. In February 2006, pictures surfaced of Spears driving with her son Sean, on her lap instead of in a car seat. Child advocates were horrified by the photos of her holding the wheel with one hand and Sean with the other. Spears claimed that the situation happened because of a frightening encounter with paparazzi, and that it was a mistake on her part. She publicly announced she no longer studied Kabbalah in June 2006, explaining, "my baby is my religion." On November 7, 2006, Spears filed for divorce from Federline, citing irreconcilable differences. Their divorce was finalized in July 2007, when the couple reached a global settlement and agreed to share joint custody of their children. Spears's aunt Sandra Bridges Covington, with whom she had been very close, died of ovarian cancer in January. On February 16, 2007, Spears stayed in a drug rehabilitation facility in Antigua for less than a day. The following night, she shaved her head with electric clippers at a hair salon in Tarzana, California. She admitted herself to other treatment facilities during the following weeks. After completing a month-long program at Promises, she wrote on her website, "I truly hit rock bottom. Till this day I don't think that it was alcohol or depression. [...] was like a bad kid running around with ADD." Spears lost physical custody of her children to Federline on October 1, 2007. The reasons of the court ruling were not revealed to the public.

Her fifth studio album, Blackout, was released in October 2007. It debuted at the top of charts in Canada and Ireland, number two in the U.S. Billboard 200,—held off from the top spot by Eagles's Long Road out of Eden— France, Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom and the top ten in Australia, Korea, New Zealand and many European nations. In the United States, Spears became the only female artist to have her first five studio albums debut at the two top slots of the chart. Blackout sold over 3.1 million copies worldwide. Peter Robinson of The Observer said that "Britney has delivered the best album of her career, raising the bar for modern pop music with an incendiary mix of Timbaland's Shock Value and her own back catalogue." Dennis Lim of Blender commented, "Spears’s fifth studio album is her most consistent, a seamlessly entertaining collection of bright, brash electropop." Blackout won Album of the Year at MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 and was listed as the fifth Best Pop Album of the Decade by The Times. Spears performed the lead single "Gimme More" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance was panned by many critics. David Willis of BBC stated her performance would "go down in the history books as being one of the worst to grace the MTV Awards". Despite the backlash, the single rocketed to worldwide success, peaking at number one in Canada and the top ten in almost every country it charted. The second single "Piece of Me" reached the top of the charts in Ireland and reached the top five in Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The third single "Break the Ice" was released the following year and had moderate success due to Spears not being able to promote it properly. In December 2007, Spears began a relationship with paparazzi Adnan Ghalib.

2008–10: Conservatorship, Circus, and The Circus Starring Britney Spears

and her 27th birthday party.]] On January 3, 2008, Spears refused to relinquish custody of her sons to Federline's representatives. She was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, after police that arrived at her house noted she appeared to be under the influence of an illicit substance. The following day, Spears's visitation rights were suspended at an emergency court hearing, and Federline was given sole physical and legal custody of the children. On January 31, 2008, Spears was committed to the psychiatric ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and put on 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold. The court placed her under temporary conservatorship of her father James Spears and attorney Andrew Wallet, giving them complete control of her assets. The following month, she guest-starred on the How I Met Your Mother episode "Ten Sessions" as receptionist Abby. She received positive reviews for her performance, as well as bringing the series highest ratings ever. In July 2008, Spears regained some visitation rights after coming to an agreement with Federline and his counsel. On September 7, 2008, Spears opened the MTV Video Music Awards with a pre-taped comedy sketch with Jonah Hill and an introduction speech. She won Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video Of The Year for "Piece of Me".

A 60-minute introspective documentary, , was produced to chronicle Spears' return to the recording industry. Directed by Phil Griffin, For the Record was entirely shot in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and New York City during the third quarter of 2008. Main shooting began on September 5, 2008, two days before Spears' appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards. For the Record was broadcast on MTV on November 30, 2008 to 3.7 million viewers.

Her sixth studio album Circus, was released in December 2008. It received positive reviews from critics; according to the music review aggregation of Metacritic, it garnered an average score of 64/100. Circus debuted at number one in Canada, Czech Republic and the United States, and inside the top in many European nations. In the United States, Spears became the youngest female artist to have five albums debut at number one, earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. She also became the only act in the Soundscan era to have four albums debut with 500,000 or more copies sold. and has sold 4 million copies worldwide. Its lead single, "Womanizer", became her first number one in the Billboard Hot 100 since "...Baby One More Time" and topped the charts in countries such as Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway and Sweden. It was also nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording. In January 2009, Spears and her father James obtained a restraining order against her former manager Sam Lufti, ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib and attorney Jon Eardley—all of whom, court documents claim, had been conspiring to gain control of Spears's affairs. The restraining order forbids Lutfi and Ghalib from contacting Spears or coming within 250 yards of her, her property or family members. Spears embarked on The Circus Starring Britney Spears in March 2009. With a gross of U.S. $131.8 million, it became the fifth highest grossing tour of the year.

She released her second greatest hits album, The Singles Collection in November 2009. "3" became her third number one single in the US, and was the first song to debut at the top of the charts in three years. Later that month, she released an application for iPhone and iPod Touch titled "It's Britney!". In May 2010, Spears's representatives confirmed she was dating her agent Jason Trawick, and that they had decided to end their professional relationship to focus on their personal relationship. Spears designed a limited edition clothing line for Candie's. It was released on stores in July 2010. On September 28, 2010, she made a cameo appearance on a Spears-themed tribute episode of American TV show Glee, titled "Britney/Brittany". Spears approved of the episode, although her appearances received mixed reviews from critics. The episode drew Glee's second largest audience, as well as the show's highest ratings ever.

2010–present: Upcoming seventh album

In March 2010, it was confirmed by Jive Records that Spears had begun recording her seventh studio album. Max Martin and Dr. Luke are set to be the executive producers. Luke stated that he wanted the sound to "get harder" in different ways "and maybe a little more deep into electronic – grimier." On December 2, 2010, Spears announced via her Twitter account that the album will be released in March 2011. The lead single "Hold It Against Me" was premiered on Ryan Seacrest's radio show on January 10, 2011... It was released as a Digital Download exclusively to the iTunes store on January 11, 2011.

Musical style and performance

]] Following her debut, Spears was credited with leading the revival of teen pop in the late 1990s. The Daily Yomiuri reported that "[m]usic critics have hailed her as the most gifted teenage pop idol for many years, but Spears has set her sights a little higher-she is aiming for the level of superstardom that has been achieved by Madonna and Janet Jackson." Rolling Stone wrote: "Britney Spears carries on the classic archetype of the rock & roll teen queen, the dungaree doll, the angel baby who just has to make a scene." Rami Yacoub who co-produced Spears's debut album with lyricist Max Martin, commented, "I know from Denniz Pop and Max's previous productions, when we do songs, there's kind of a nasal thing. With N' Sync and the Backstreet Boys, we had to push for that mid-nasal voice. When Britney did that, she got this kind of raspy, sexy voice." Following the release of her debut album, Chuck Taylor of Billboard observed, "Spears has become a consummate performer, with snappy dance moves, a clearly real-albeit young-and funkdified voice ... "(You Drive Me) Crazy", her third single ... demonstrates Spears's own development, proving that the 17-year-old is finding her own vocal personality after so many months of steadfast practice." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic referred to her music as a "blend of infectious, rap-inflected dance-pop and smooth balladry." Spears later commented, "With ...Baby One More Time, I didn't get to show my voice off. The songs were great, but they weren't very challenging".

Oops!...I Did It Again and subsequent albums saw Spears working with several contemporary R&B; producers, leading to "a combination of bubblegum, urban soul, and raga." Her third studio album, Britney derived from the teen pop niche, "[r]hythmically and melodically ... sharper, tougher than what came before. What used to be unabashedly frothy has some disco grit, underpinned by Spears' spunky self-determination that helps sell hooks that are already catchier, by and large, than those that populated her previous two albums." Guy Blackman of The Age wrote that while few would care to listen to an entire Spears album, "[t]he thing about Spears, though, is that her biggest songs, no matter how committee-created or impossibly polished, have always been convincing because of her delivery, her commitment and her presence. For her mostly teenage fans, Spears expresses perfectly the conflicting urges of adolescence, the tension between chastity and sexual experience, between hedonism and responsibility, between confidence and vulnerability."

Spears possesses the vocal range of a contralto. Her vocal ability has also been criticized, often drawing unfavorable comparison to her pop rival, Christina Aguilera Critic Allan Raible derides her overdependence in Circus on digital effects and the robotic effect it creates. "She’s never been a strong vocalist..." writes Raible, "Could she handle these songs with stripped down arrangements and no vocal effects? More importantly, would anyone want to hear her attempt such a performance? Does it matter? No. The focus is still image over substance." Her image and persona are also often contrasted to Christina Aguilera. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly observed "Christina Aguilera may flash skin and belly button, but in her music and manner, she's too eager not to offend — she's a good girl pretending to be bad. Spears, however, comes across as a bad girl acting good ... Spears' artificial-sweetener voice is much less interesting than the settings, yet that blandness is actually a relief compared with Aguilera's numbing vocal gymnastics. In contrast, Allmusic comments: "Like her peer Christina Aguilera, Britney equates maturity with transparent sexuality and the pounding sounds of nightclubs ... Where Christina comes across like a natural-born skank, Britney is the girl next door cutting loose at college, drinking and smoking and dancing and sexing just a little too recklessly, since this is the first time she can indulge herself. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine notes, "The disparity between Aguilera and Spears can't be measured solely by the timbre and octave range of their voices ... [Aguilera's] popularity has never reached the fever pitch of Britney's.

Like other dance-oriented pop stars, it has been widely reported that Spears lip-syncs in concert. Author Gary Giddins wrote in his book Natural selection: Gary Giddins on comedy, film, music, and books (2006) that "among many other performers accused of moving their lips while a machine does the labor are Britney Spears, Luciano Pavarotti, Shania Twain, Beyoncé, and Madonna." Rashod D. Ollison of The Baltimore Sun observes: "Many pop stars ... feel they have no choice but to seek vocal enhancement. Since the advent of MTV and other video music channels, pop audiences have been fed elaborate videos thick with jaw-dropping effects, awesome choreography, fabulous clothes, marvelous bodies. And the same level of perfection is expected to extend beyond the video set to the concert stage. So if Britney Spears, Janet Jackson or Madonna sounds shrill and flat without a backing track, fans won't pay up to $300 for a concert ticket." Giddins adds, "it was reported Britney Spears fans prefer her to lip-sync—despite her denials of doing so (contradicted by her own director)—because they expect flawless digitalization when they pay serious money for a concert." Noting on the prevalence of lip-syncing, Los Angeles Daily News reported "in the context of a Britney Spears concert, does it really matter? Like a Vegas revue show, you don't go to hear the music, you go for the somewhat-ridiculous spectacle of it all". Similarly, Aline Mendelsohn of the Orlando Sentinel remarked: "Let's get one thing straight: A Britney Spears concert is not about the music ... you have to remember that it's about the sight, not the sound." Critic Glenn Gamboa comments her concert tours are "like her life—a massive money-making venture designed to play up her talents and distract from her shortcomings with a mix of techno-tinged sex appeal and disco-flavored flash. And, like her life, it is, more or less, a success.

Influences

Throughout her career, Spears has drawn frequent comparisons to Madonna and Janet Jackson, in terms of vocals, choreography and stage presence, citing both as influences in her work. She has also named Michael Jackson as a source of inspiration." According to Spears: "I know when I was younger, I looked up to people... like, you know, Janet Jackson and Madonna. And they were major inspirations for me. But I also had my own identity and I knew who I was, you know." In the 2002 book Madonnastyle by Carol Clerk, she is quoted saying: "I have been a huge fan of Madonna since I was a little girl. She's the person that I've really looked up to. I would really, really like to be a legend like Madonna."

Many critics have argued that Spears should not be considered in the same league of talent as Jackson or Madonna. Journalists Erika Montalvo and Jackie Sheppard of the Rocky Mountain Collegian observed "[s]ome may argue that Spears is not only a good recording artist but also an important cultural icon." Joan Anderman of the Boston Globe remarked that "[t]hirteen costume changes in 90 minutes won't bless her with Madonna's intelligence or cultural barometer. An army of cutting-edge R&B; producers won't supply her with Janet Jackson's sense of humor or sincere smile ... Britney's heroes aren't great singers. But they're real singers. Spears sounds robotic, nearly inhuman, on her records, so processed is her voice by digital pitch-shifters and synthesizers."

Reporter Ed Bumgardner commented her transition from teen pop start to adult sex symbol with her third studio album Britney "takes its cues from two other successful performers—Madonna and Janet Jackson—both of whom she brazenly rips off and both of whom, like Spears, are passable singers, at best." Critic Shane Harrison wrote: "From the minimalist thump and "Nasty" feel of "I'm a Slave 4 U" to the scattered quotes in "Boys", [Britney] feels like [Spears's] attempt at 'Control'." The biographers also report "[s]ome observers of popular culture, however, feel that the comparisons between the two artist are meaningless and fail to recognize Madonna's unique contribution: Madonna was never 'just another pop star' whereas Britney can more easily be seen as a standard manufactured pop act." She is listed by the Guinness World Records as having the "Best-selling album by a teenage solo artist" for her debut album ...Baby One More Time which sold over thirteen million copies in the United States. Melissa Ruggieri of the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported, "She's also marked for being the best-selling teenage artist. Before she turned 20 in 2001, Spears sold more than 37 million albums worldwide".

Barbara Ellen of The Observer has reported: "Spears is famously one of the 'oldest' teenagers pop has ever produced, almost middle aged in terms of focus and determination. Many 19-year-olds haven't even started working by that age, whereas Britney, a former Mouseketeer, was that most unusual and volatile of American phenomena — a child with a full-time career. While other little girls were putting posters on their walls, Britney was wanting to be the poster on the wall. Whereas other children develop at their own pace, Britney was developing at a pace set by the ferociously competitive American entertainment industry". 'Britney Spears' has been Yahoo!'s most popular search term for the last four consecutive years, seven times in total. Spears was named as Most Searched Person in the Guinness World Records book edition 2007 and 2009. Spears has also become a major influence among many new artists, including Kristinia DeBarge, Lady Gaga, Little Boots, Selena Gomez & The Scene, Pixie Lott and Miley Cyrus who has cited Spears as one of her biggest inspirations and has also referenced Spears in her hit song "Party in the U.S.A.".

Bebo Norman wrote a song about Spears, called "Britney", which was released as a single. Boy band Busted also wrote a song about Spears called "Britney", which was on their debut album. She is also mentioned in P!nk's song "Don't Let Me Get Me". Richard Cheese called Britney Spears "a remarkable recording artist" and also went on to say that she was "versatile" and what the industry calls an "artist". People magazine and MTV reported that October 1, 2008, the Bronx's John Philip Sousa Middle School, named their music studio in honor of Britney Spears. Spears herself was present during the ceremony and donated $10,000 to the school's music program.

Discography

...Baby One More Time (1999)

Oops!... I Did It Again (2000)

Britney (2001)

In the Zone (2003)

Blackout (2007)

Circus (2008)

Awards and nominations

See also

Britney Spears filmography

Britney Spears products

List of Britney Spears tours

List of Britney Spears songs

List of best-selling music artists

List of best selling music artists in the United States

List of honorific titles in popular music

Notes

References

Further reading

Dennis, Steve (2009). Britney: Inside the Dream. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0007317516.

Peters, Beth (1999). True Brit: The Story of Singing Sensation Britney Spears. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0345436870.

Spears, Britney (2000). Britney Spears's Heart to Heart. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0609807019.

Scott, Kieran (2001). I was a Mouseketeer!. Disney Press. ISBN 978-0786844708.

Stevens, Amanda (2001). Britney Spears: the illustrated story. Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0823078677.

Smith, Sean (2006). Britney The Unauthorized Biography of Britney Spears. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-0330440776.

External links

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