Best Buy Co., Inc. () is a specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada, China, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates under both the Best Buy and Future Shop label. Together these operate more than 1,150 stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, China, Mexico, and Turkey. In addition, the company has rolled out over 100 Best Buy Express Automated Retail stores or "ZoomShops", operated by Zoom Systems, in airports and malls around the U.S. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Richfield, Minnesota.

Best Buy was named "Company of the Year" by Forbes magazine in 2004, "Specialty Retailer of the Decade" by Discount Store News in 2001, ranked in the Top 10 of "America's Most Generous Corporations" by Forbes magazine in 2005 (based on 2004 giving), and made Fortune magazine's List of Most Admired Companies in 2006.

On March 9, 2009, Best Buy became the primary electronics retail store (online and bricks and mortar) in the eastern United States, after smaller rival Circuit City went out of business. Fry's Electronics remains a major competitor in the western United States. Many locations feature in-store pickup, which can be arranged through the company's website.

History

.]] : this was the fifth store ever constructed and retains the small size, old logos, and signage (including "Best Buy Co." and "Best Buy Superstore"); this location originally was a "Sound of Music". Older stores have been demolished or completely renovated.]] 1966 – Richard M. Schulze and business partner James Wheeler open Sound of Music, an audio specialty store, in Saint Paul, Minnesota

1967 – Sound Of Music acquires Kencraft Hi-Fi Company and Bergo Company. Second and third Sound of Music stores are opened near the University of Minnesota and in downtown Minneapolis. The Sound of Music ends its first year with gross sales of $173,000(USD)

1969 – Sound of Music stock first traded as publicly-held company; company enacts first employee stock option plan; three stores opened in the Twin Cities area

1970 – Sound of Music hits the $1 million mark in annual revenues

1979 – Sound of Music becomes the first suppliers of video and laserdisc equipment including Panasonic, Magnavox, Sony and Sharp

1981 – A tornado hits the Roseville, Minnesota store on June 14. Sound of Music responds with a "Tornado Sale," (with the sale promoted as a "Best Buy") and it becomes an annual event

1983 – Sound of Music’s board of directors approves a new corporate name: Best Buy Co., Inc.; , Illinois.]] 2007 – On January 26, 2007, the first Best Buy in China had its grand opening - touted as the largest Best Buy in existence. In March, Best Buy announced plans to purchase Seattle, WA based Speakeasy, Inc., a broadband and VOIP services provider. Best Buy becomes the first major retailer to exit the analog television market, carrying only digital products that became mandatory in June 2009 by the FCC.

2007 – Best Buy launches mini-Geek Squad precincts in Office Depots in Orlando, Florida and Denver, Colorado. They also launched mini-Geek Squad precincts in Fedex Kinkos in Indianapolis, Indiana and Charlotte, North Carolina. These test markets and/or relationships with these companies ended in all markets late 2007 early 2008.

2008 – Best Buy opens 1,000th physical store on October 24, this store located within the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota opened in August 2008. 2008 – Best Buy announces the opening of its first pilot stores in Puerto Rico, and Mexico, as well as another store in Shanghai. Best Buy decides to promote Blu-ray over HD-DVD, a move which ultimately contributed to Toshiba's Corps. decision to drop HD-DVD. In May it agreed to buy a 50% holding in UK-based mobile phone operation Carphone Warehouse's retail division, Best Buy also announced that it will open branded superstores in the UK and other European countries. On July 29, Best Buy announced that it will start selling musical instruments and related gear in over 80 of its retail stores (growing to over 100 stores by 2010), making the company the second largest musical instrument distributor in the US (the largest being Guitar Center). In early summer, Best Buy announced its addition of Best Buy Mobile to every store. On September 7, Best Buy became the first third party to sell Apple's iPhone, adding it to all Best Buy Mobile stores. In mid-September, Best Buy announced its planned acquisition of Napster for $121 million. A different Best Buy logo began to appear in some stores and in some company websites. This logo has a tag with yellow outline. The "Best Buy" text is outside the tag. It is unclear if this logo will replace the current one. 2009 – Best Buy Canada in Partnership with Carphone warehouse opens a Best Buy Mobile "Store Within a Store" at all Best Buy locations. During October 2009, the website BestBuy.com had a facelift. The font used in the site was changed to the font seen in the alternative logo that appeared in 2008. In November, Best Buy announced plans to team with Roxio CinemaNow to launch an on-demand movie download service that will allow customers to pipe Hollywood hits into any device sold by Best Buy that connects to the internet. This service customers are able to buy or view more than 20,000 of CinemaNow's movie and television titles. On 19 December, the first Best Buy in Turkey opened in İzmir. 2010 With the 50% acquisition of UK-based mobile phone operation The Carphone Warehouse's retail division in the second quarter of 2008, Best Buy announced that it would open branded superstores in the UK and other European countries. Best Buy will first open stores in the UK, with plans for up to 200 stores eventually, although the initiative was delayed until the second quarter of 2010 by the state of the retail market. The first two Best Buy stores in the UK will opened at The Junction retail park near Lakeside Shopping Centre in Thurrock Essex, and near Southampton at Prupim’s Hedge End Retail Park. Best Buy has opened four more stores to the end of 2010, Five more are planned for early 2011.

Business operations

, a suburb of Minneapolis.]] Best Buy sells consumer electronics as well as a wide variety of related merchandise such as computers, computer software, video games, music, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, mobile phones, digital camera, car stereos and video cameras, as well as home appliances (washing machines, dryers, and refrigerators), in a non-commissioned sales environment. Each store also includes a department for audio/visual equipment for automobiles, offering on-site installation services, as well as a Geek Squad "precinct" for computer repair and warranty service and accidental service plans. Due to the nature of the large publicly traded company, classes frequently research it. Best Buy prides itself on the fact that their sales people are not on commission.

Many Best Buy employees, especially at the corporate level, are under a policy of Results Only Work Environment. This model is increasingly being integrated at the store level.

Best Buy does not allow expensive gifts from vendors to be given to employees (SPIFFS, etc.), nor does it allow employees to collect tips or gifts from customers of any type.

Best Buy building exteriors are usually light brown in color with the entrance in an area designed to look like a blue box emerging from the rest of the structure. Older stores have a more utilitarian brick building without the blue structure.

In April 2005, the company was the first major retailer to announce the elimination of all mail-in rebates.

In March 2008, select stores began to offer auto detailing services, primarily in Ohio & Michigan.

During September 2008, partially in an effort to eliminate losses from customers who abused their Product Replacement Plan, an expanded warranty for smaller electronics, Best Buy changed their product guarantee system to Geek Squad Black Tie Gadgets and Gizmos. One notable change under the Gadgets and Gizmos plan is the gaming console exchange policy. Under this new system, the company sends the customer’s console to a refurbishing site if a hardware failure occurs after 30 days, instead of replacing it with a new one. The title "Gadgets and Gizmos" has since been eliminated, without change to the service procedures.

At the same time the Product Replacement Plan was changed, the company modified its Performance Service Plan, offered on many bigger ticket items, to a system called Geek Squad Black Tie Protection. The new service strategy includes variable levels of coverage. The standard-level plan operates similarly to the previous system, while new premium-level plans include extra services like limited free telephone troubleshooting, multi-year Geek Squad anti-virus/spyware protection, HDTV calibration, preventative maintenance checks on major appliances, and prioritization of service claims. Additionally, customers who purchase Geek Squad Black Tie Protection can claim points that, when accumulated on a Best Buy RewardZone account, can be used toward future purchases from the store or online.

, the company operated 1,010 Best Buy Stores, 13 Magnolia Audio Video Stores (specializing in high-end electronics), 7 stand-alone Geek Squad stores, 3 AudioVisions Stores, 13 Best Buy Mobile Stores (standalone) and 17 Pacific Sales Stores (in Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada), all through its U.S. retail subsidiary. They also operate 51 Best Buy and 140 Future Shop stores throughout Canada. In 2003, the company opened its first international global procurement office in Shanghai, and also operates sourcing offices in Beijing and Shenzhen, primarily to reduce costs and increase the speed to market by purchasing products directly from manufacturers. , Best Buy operated five "branded" stores in Shanghai, one "premium" store in Beijing, as well as 151 Five Star Appliance Stores in China.

at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport]] Best Buy operates numerous Best Buy Mobile stores within the U.S. as a joint venture with The Carphone Warehouse, using its successful UK business model; 13 of these are stand-alone locations (primarily in Manhattan). Best Buy Mobile locations offer customers a wider variety of cell phones than their other locations, some of which are "unlocked" phones that can be used on any GSM network. Best Buy Mobile also offers services comparable to those from carrier stores, including but not limited to a number transfer machine, warranty service on any phone, loaner phones, and the most popular carriers. Most current Best Buy Mobile stores are located in or near the Northeast region of the U.S., though the company is expanding such that most or all U.S. locations will include Best Buy Mobile services by the end of 2008.

With the acquisition of Seattle based Speakeasy, Inc., Best Buy will be able to offer broadband and VoIP services to small businesses through their Best Buy for Business unit.

The domain bestbuy.com attracted at least 159 million visitors annually by 2008 according to a Compete.com survey.

On February 15, 2009, Best Buy started an electronics recycling program.

In Late August 2010, Best Buy launched Video Game Trade-Ins and was now buying used video games, just like GameStop. The Game Trade-Ins was located in over 600 Best Buy Stores in the U.S. The company has started for local customers.

On November 12, 2010, the first "Connected" Best Buy will open in South Charleston, West Virginia. The "Connected" store is the first of many prototype stores that are being tested in select stores in the Pittsburgh and Las Vegas markets. These stores present more opportunities for networking and connections outside of normal electronics. Best Buy Chief Executive Brian Dunn described it as a "connected world strategy" to set Best Buy apart from other electronics retailers.

Demographics

Customer Centricity is the name of a former business movement centered on catering to specific customer needs and behaviors.

{| | align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|Geographic Region | align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|Total Sales ( in millions) |- | United States|| 35,070 |- | Europe|| 3,205 |- | Canada || 5,174 |- | China || 1,558 |- | Other Area|| 8 |- |}

As of November 2010 there are currently six Best Buy stores open in the United Kingdom, the first to open was in Thurrock, with Croydon, Derby, Liverpool, Merry Hill and Southampton following.

Criticism and controversy

Warranty controversy

In 2000, two Florida consumers brought a lawsuit against Best Buy, alleging that the company engaged in fraudulent business practices related to the sale of extended warranties (or, more accurately, service plans). The suit claimed that Best Buy employees had misrepresented the manufacturer's warranty in order to sell the chain's own Product Service/Replacement Plan and that Best Buy had "entered into a corporate-wide scheme to institute high-pressure sales techniques involving the extended warranties" and that the retailer used "artificial barriers to discourage consumers who purchased the 'complete extended warranties' from making legitimate claims." Best Buy ultimately settled for $200,000, but admitted no wrongdoing. In 2009, a class action lawsuit was launched against Best Buy. The lawsuit addressed the same issue. Several consumers were outraged by the sales tactics used by Best Buy employees to sell their Performance Service Plans. They were misled into thinking that the "plan" covered all damages and that they would receive a new product if they were to bring the product back to the store within the service period. Sales associates failed to disclose the details of the service plan. The results of the lawsuit are still pending.

for customers who will be in and out of the store quickly, often near the handicap spaces, at a location in Orange, California]]

Pricing controversies

In the second quarter of 2007, Connecticut State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal ordered an investigation into Best Buy's use of an in-store website alleged to have misled customers on item sales prices. In December 2007, the Los Angeles Times reported on the same issue in which some customers claimed they thought they were surfing the internet version of bestbuy.com at an in-store kiosk only to learn that the site reflected in-store prices only. In response, Best Buy spokesperson Sue Busch indicated the in-store kiosks were not intended for price-match purposes and rather a means to navigate in-store availability. Since the initial investigation, a banner was placed on the in-store site to make its customers more aware of the difference.

Similar pricing errors occurred in July 2009, when the Palm Pre was mistakenly sold for $99.99 (versus the retail of $199.99), and Best Buy honored some of the sales, and in August 2009, when the site mistakenly listed a Samsung LN52A650 52" LCD HDTV on sale for $9.99, down from its retail price of $1699.99. The store chose not to honor the $9.99 HDTV error, instead refunding the sold units. Many customers, some who purchased dozens, threatened a class action lawsuit. According to the site's Condition of Use Policy, Best Buy reserves the right to cancel the orders of errors on its site. The listing for the TV was later removed entirely.

location, which is another location that recently opened]]

Analog televisions

In April 2008, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fined Best Buy $280,000 for not alerting customers that the analog televisions they sold would not receive over-the-air stations after the digital transition on June 12, 2009. Best Buy is challenging this ruling by the FCC saying it was and is in compliance with current FCC regulations pertaining to the digital transition.

Environmental issues

Best Buy was one of several large companies named by Greenpeace in 2007 for purchasing raw materials or manufactured products derived thereof from logging companies that in the opinion of Greenpeace contribute to unethical deforestation of taiga in Canada.

Since that time, however, Best Buy launched what it calls Greener Together to increase the energy efficiency of its products as well as reduce consumer waste through more recyclable packaging and proper disposal of certain electronic components.

References

Best Buy store locator

External links

Official Website

Official mobile website

Best Buy Canada

Best Buy UK

Best Buy Canada Ltd. (corporate website)

Best Buy for Business

Category:Companies established in 1966 Category:Companies based in Minnesota Category:Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Category:Consumer electronics retailers Category:Hennepin County, Minnesota Category:Multinational companies Category:Retail companies of the United States Category:Retail companies of Canada Category:Richfield, Minnesota Category:Online retail companies of the United States Category:Consumer electronics retail companies of the United States

Name	Ozzy Osbourne
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	John Michael Osbourne
Born	December 03, 1948Aston, Birmingham, England
Instrument	Vocals
Genre	Heavy metal, hard rock, blues-rock
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, actor
Years active	1968–present
Label	Epic, CBS, Jet
Associated acts	Black Sabbath, Kelly Osbourne, Black Label Society, Alice Cooper, Iommi, Rob Zombie, Slash, Firewind
Url

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer-songwriter and occasional actor, whose career has spanned over 40 years. As of December 2010, Osbourne has sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

Osbourne rose to prominence as lead vocalist of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, a band whose radically different, intentionally dark, doom sound spawned the heavy metal genre. In his subsequent solo career Osbourne achieved a multi-platinum status in addition to the one he had earned with Black Sabbath. These things are what led Osbourne to become known as the "Godfather of Heavy Metal". It was during his Sabbath days that, due to their dark style of music, Osbourne became known as the "Prince of Darkness". Osbourne has over 15 tattoos, the most famous of which are the letters O-Z-Z-Y across the knuckles of his left hand. This was his first tattoo, created by himself as a teenager with a sewing needle and pencil lead. John was the fourth of six children. Ozzy had 2 brothers (Paul and Tony) and 3 sisters (Jean, Iris and Gillian); they lived in a small two bedroom home at 14 Lodge Road in Aston, England. The nickname "Ozzy" was first used when he was in primary school. Although called "John" by his first wife Thelma, Osbourne states that it has been a long time since he's recognised himself when called by his formal name. Osbourne grew up dealing with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. General abuse from teachers at Prince Albert Road Junior School, and Birchfield Road Secondary Modern School in Perry Barr made his childhood difficult for him. Drawn to the stage, Osbourne took part in school plays such as The Pirates of Penzance. Upon hearing their first hit single at age 14, he became a great fan of The Beatles. The band had noticed how people enjoyed being frightened, and, inspired, Iommi and his partners decided to play a heavy blues style of music laced with gloomy sounds and lyrics. While recording their first album in a castle, Geezer read an occult book and had a dream of a dark figure at the end of his bed. Butler told Osbourne about the dream and together they wrote the lyrics to "Black Sabbath", one of their first songs in a darker vein.

Musical career

Black Sabbath

Despite only a modest investment from their US record label Warner Bros. Records, Black Sabbath met with swift and enduring success. Built around Tony Iommi's guitar riffs, Geezer Butler's lyrics, Bill Ward's dark tempo drumbeats, and topped by Osbourne's eerie vocals, early records such as their debut album Black Sabbath and Paranoid sold huge numbers, as well as getting considerable airplay. Osbourne's recalls a band lament, "in those days, the band wasn't very popular with the women." In the 1980s it received platinum certification Black Sabbath's Volume 4 was released in September 1972. Critics were again dismissive of the album, yet it achieved gold status in less than a month. It was the band's fourth consecutive release to sell a million copies in the US. In November 1973, Black Sabbath released the critically acclaimed Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. For the first time, the band received favourable reviews in the mainstream press. Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone called the album "an extraordinarily gripping affair", and "nothing less than a complete success". AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia call the album a "masterpiece, essential to any heavy metal collection," while also claiming the band displayed "a newfound sense of finesse and maturity". The album marked the band's fifth consecutive platinum selling album in the US, Sabotage was released in July 1975. Again there were favourable reviews. Rolling Stone stated, "Sabotage is not only Black Sabbath's best record since Paranoid, it might be their best ever." Allmusic was not so favorable. They noted that "the magical chemistry that made such albums as Paranoid and Volume 4 so special was beginning to disintegrate". Technical Ecstasy, released on 25 September 1976, was also met with mixed reviews. AllMusic gave the album two stars, and noted that the band was "unravelling at an alarming rate".

Departure from Black Sabbath

In 1978, Osbourne left the band for three months to pursue interest in a solo project he called Blizzard of Ozz. Three members of the band Necromandus, who had supported Black Sabbath in Birmingham back in the day when they were called Earth, did backup for Osbourne in the studio and briefly became the first incarnation of his solo band. At the request of the other members, Osbourne rejoined Sabbath. The band spent five months at Sounds Interchange Studios in Toronto, Canada, writing and recording what would become Never Say Die! "It took quite a long time," Iommi said. "We were getting really drugged out, doing a lot of dope. We'd go down to the sessions, and have to pack up because we were too stoned, we'd have to stop. Nobody could get anything right, we were all over the place, everybody's playing a different thing. We'd go back and sleep it off, and try again the next day." Touring in support of Never Say Die! began in May 1978 with openers Van Halen. Reviewers called Black Sabbath's performance "tired and uninspired," in stark contrast to the "youthful" performance of Van Halen, who were touring the world for the first time. The band filmed a performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in June 1978, which was later released on DVD as Never Say Die. The final show of the tour, and Osbourne's last appearance with the band (until later reunions) was in Albuquerque, New Mexico on 11 December.

In 1979, back in the studio tensions and conflict were present continually. Osbourne recalls being asked to record his vocals numerous times over and over, and tracks being manipulated endlessly by Iommi. This was a point of contention between Osbourne and Tony. With the support of Geezer and Bill Ward, Osbourne was again fired from Black Sabbath. The reasons provided to him were that he was unreliable and had excessive substance abuse issues as compared to the other band members. Osbourne claims his drug use and alcohol consumption at that time was no better nor worse than the other band members. posted in a record store, Iommi and Ward arrived at the address listed to speak with Ozzy Zig. When Osbourne answered the door, Iommi left upon discovering it was him. He knew of and disliked Osbourne from back in their school days.

Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman

In 1980, under the management of Sharon Osbourne, the Ozzy Osbourne Band formed again as The Blizzard of Ozz. The first line-up of the band featured drummer Lee Kerslake (of Uriah Heep), bassist/lyricist Bob Daisley (of Rainbow and later Uriah Heep), keyboardist Don Airey, and guitarist Randy Rhoads (of Quiet Riot). The record company would eventually title the record Blizzard of Ozz credited simply under Osbourne's name. Co-written with Daisley and Rhoads, the album brought Osbourne considerable success on his first solo effort. The debut sold very well with hard rock/heavy metal fans. This album is known for the singles "Over the Mountain, "Flying High Again," "Believer," and of course "Diary of a Madman." Osbourne explains in his autobiography that Diary is his own personal favourite album. Experiencing firsthand the horrific death of his close friend and band mate, Osbourne fell into a deep depression.

Ex-Gillan guitarist Bernie Torme was the first guitarist to replace Randy once the tour resumed. Torme's tenure with the band would last less than one month. During an audition for guitarists in a hotel room, Osbourne selected Brad Gillis (who went on to be one of two guitarists in Night Ranger) to finish the tour. The tour culminated in the release of the 1982 live album, Speak of the Devil recorded at the Ritz in New York City. A live tribute album for Rhoads was also later released. This album would also feature studio outtakes from a song by Randy taken from "Blizzard of Ozz" called "Dee." It was a song Randy had written for his mother.

Speak of the Devil

Although difficult, Osbourne moved on after Rhoads' death. Speak of the Devil, known in the United Kingdom as Talk of the Devil, was originally planned to consist of live recordings from 1981, primarily from Osbourne's solo work. Under contract to produce a cover album of Black Sabbath material, however, the album ended up consisting entirely of Black Sabbath covers, recorded with Brad Gillis, bassist Rudy Sarzo, and drummer Tommy Aldridge. Osbourne later commented (inside the cover of "Tribute") "I don't give a fuck about that album. It was just a bunch of bullshit Sabbath covers."

In 1982, Osbourne appeared as lead vocalist on the Was (Not Was) pop dance track "Shake Your Head (Let's Go to Bed)." Madonna performed backing vocals. Osbourne's cut was remixed and re-released in the early 1990s for a Was (Not Was) greatest hits album in Europe, and it cracked the UK pop chart. Madonna asked that her vocal not be restored for the hits package, so new vocals by Kim Basinger were added to complement Osbourne's lead.

Bark at the Moon and The Ultimate Sin

In 1983 a new guitarist was recruited to play with Osbourne. Jake E. Lee, formerly of Ratt and Rough Cutt, joined the band to record Bark at the Moon. The album, co-written with Bob Daisley, featured Tommy Aldridge, and former Rainbow keyboard player Don Airey. The album contains the fan favourite "Bark at the Moon." The music video for "Bark at the Moon" was partially filmed at the Holloway Sanitorium outside of London, England. Within weeks the album became certified gold. To date it has sold three million copies in the U.S.

1986's The Ultimate Sin followed (with bassist Phil Soussan and drummer Randy Castillo), and touring behind both albums with ex-Uriah Heep keyboardist John Sinclair joining prior to the Ultimate Sin tour. A rich, bold album, it features "Shot in the Dark" and fan favourites "Killer of Giants," "Lightning Strikes," and "Secret Loser." At the time of its release, The Ultimate Sin was Osbourne's highest charting studio album. The RIAA awarded the album Platinum status on 14 May 1986, soon after its release; it was awarded Double Platinum status on 26 October 1994.

Jake E. Lee and Osbourne parted ways in 1987. Osbourne continued to struggle with chemical dependency. That year he commemorated the fifth anniversary of Rhoads' death with Tribute, live recordings from 1981 that had gone unreleased for years. In 1988, Osbourne appeared in The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years and told the director, Penelope Spheeris, that "sobriety fucking sucks." Meanwhile, Osbourne found Zakk Wylde, who was the most enduring replacement for Rhoads to date. Together they recorded No Rest for the Wicked with Castillo on drums, Sinclair on keyboards, and Daisley co-writing lyrics and playing bass. The subsequent tour saw Osbourne reunited with erstwhile Black Sabbath bandmate Geezer Butler on bass. A live EP (entitled Just Say Ozzy) featuring Geezer was released two years later. Butler continued to tour with Osbourne for the subsequent four tours, and was a major stage presence throughout. In 1989, Ozzy Osbourne performed at the Moscow Music Peace Festival.

No More Tears

While very successful as a heavy metal act through the 1980s, Osbourne sustained commercial success into the 1990s, starting with 1991's No More Tears. The album enjoyed much radio and MTV exposure. It also initiated a practise of bringing in outside composers to help pen Osbourne's solo material instead of relying solely upon his recording ensemble to write and arrange the music. The album was mixed by veteran rock producer Michael Wagener. Osbourne was awarded his only Grammy for the track "I Don't Want to Change the World" from live album Live and Loud for Best Metal Performance of 1994.

Wagener also mixed the live album Live and Loud released in 28 June 1993. At the time, it was to be Osbourne's final album. The album went platinum four times over, and ranked at number 10 on that year's Billboard rock charts.

At this point Osbourne expressed his fatigue with the process of touring, and proclaimed his "retirement tour" (which was to be short-lived). It was comically called "No More Tours", a pun on his No More Tears album. Prior to the tour Mike Inez took over on bass and Kevin Jones on keyboards as Sinclair was touring with The Cult. Osbourne's entire CD catalogue was remastered and reissued in 1995.

Ozzmosis

In 1995, Osbourne released Ozzmosis and returned to touring, dubbing his concert performances "The Retirement Sucks Tour". The album reached number 4 on the US Billboard 200. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album gold and platinum in that same year, and 2x platinum in April 1999. The album features the hard rocking fan favourites "Perry Mason," "Ghost Behind My Eyes," "Thunder Underground," and the power ballad "See You on the Other Side."

The line-up on "Ozzmosis" was Zakk Wylde, Geezer Butler (who had just quit Black Sabbath again) and ex-Bad English, Steve Vai and Hardline drummer Deen Castronovo, now in Journey. Keyboards were played by Yes's Rick Wakeman and producer Michael Beinhorn. The tour maintained Butler and Castronovo and saw Sinclair return, but a major line-up change was the introduction of ex-David Lee Roth guitarist Joe Holmes. Wylde was debating on an offer to join Guns N' Roses. Unable to wait for a decision on Wylde's departure decision, Osbourne replaced him. In early 1996, Butler and Castronovo left. Mike Inez (Alice In Chains) and Randy Castillo (Lita Ford, Motley Crue) filled in. Ultimately, Faith No More's Mike Bordin and ex-Suicidal Tendencies bassist Robert Trujillo joined on drums and bass respectively. A greatest hits package, The Ozzman Cometh was issued in 1997.

Ozzfest

Osbourne's biggest financial success of the 1990s was a venture named Ozzfest, created and managed by his wife/manager Sharon and assisted by his son Jack. The first Ozzfest was held in Phoenix, Arizona on 25 October 1996 and in Devore, California on 26 October. Ozzfest was an instant hit with metal fans, spiralling many up-and-coming groups who were featured there to broad exposure and commercial success. Some acts shared the bill with a reformed Black Sabbath during the 1997 Ozzfest tour, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida. Osbourne reunited with the original members of Sabbath in 1997 and has performed periodically with them ever since. Ozzfest reinstated the integrity in and familiarity with the band name Black Sabbath.

Since its start, five million people have attended Ozzfest, which has grossed over US$100 million. The festival also helped promote many new hard rock and heavy metal acts of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Ozzfest helped Osbourne to become the first hard rock and heavy metal star to hit $50 million in merchandise sales.

In 2005, Osbourne and his wife Sharon starred in an MTV competition reality show entitled "Battle for Ozzfest". A number of yet unsigned bands send one member to compete in a challenge to win a spot on the 2005 Ozzfest and a possible recording contract.

Shortly after Ozzfest 2005, Osbourne announced that he will no longer headline Ozzfest. Although he announced his retirement from Ozzfest, Osbourne came back for one more year, 2006, albeit only closing for just over half the concerts, leaving the others to be closed by System of a Down. He also played the closing act for the second stage at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA on 1 July as well as Randall's Island, NY on 29 July. After the concert in Bristol, Virginia, Osbourne announced he would return for another year of Ozzfest in 2007. Tickets for the were offered to fans free of charge, which led to some controversy. In 2008, Ozzfest was reduced to a one-day event in Dallas, Texas, where Osbourne played, along with Metallica and King Diamond.

Osbourne says he is looking forward to the return of Ozzfest for six dates this summer and is also looking at an 18-month world tour starting at The Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone on 29 June to promote his new album, "Scream."

Down to Earth

Down to Earth, Osbourne's first album of new studio material in seven years, was released on 16 October 2001. A live version filmed in Japan, Live at Budokan followed. Down to Earth went gold in 2001, and platinum in 2003. The album features the fan favourite "Dreamer," a song which peaked at number 10 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks. In 2003, Osbourne recruited former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted after he left the band in 2000 (and Trujillo replaced him on Metallica's line-up). Both Newsted and Osbourne were enthusiastic about recording an album together.

On 8 December 2003, Osbourne was rushed into emergency surgery at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, England when he had an accident with his all-terrain vehicle on his estate in Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire. Osbourne broke his collar bone, eight ribs, and a neck vertebra. An operation was performed to lift the collarbone, which was believed to be resting on a major artery and interrupting blood flow to the arm. Sharon later revealed that Osbourne had stopped breathing following the crash and was resuscitated by Osbourne's then personal bodyguard, Sam Ruston. While in hospital, Osbourne achieved his first ever UK number one single, a duet of the Black Sabbath ballad, "Changes" with daughter Kelly. In doing so, he broke the record of the longest period between an artist's first UK chart appearance (with Black Sabbath's "Paranoid", number four in August 1970) and their first number one hit: a gap of 33 years. Since the quad accident, aside of some short-term memory problems he fully recovered and headlined the 2004 Ozzfest, in the reunited Black Sabbath.

Prince of Darkness

In 2005, Osbourne released a box set called Prince of Darkness. The first and second discs are collections of live performances, B-sides, demos and singles. The third disc contained duets and other odd tracks with other artists, including "Born to Be Wild" with Miss Piggy. The fourth disc is entirely new material where Osbourne covers his favourite songs by his biggest influences and favourite bands, including The Beatles, John Lennon, David Bowie and others.

Black Rain

In March 2006, he said that he hopes to release a new studio album soon with long time on-off guitarist, Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society. In October 2006, it was announced that Tony Iommi, Ronnie James Dio, Vinny Appice, and Geezer Butler would be touring together again, though not as Black Sabbath, but under the moniker Heaven and Hell (the title of Dio's first Black Sabbath album). The response to the news on Osbourne's website was that Osbourne wished Tony and Ronnie well and that there is only one Sabbath.

Osbourne's album, titled Black Rain, was released on 22 May 2007. Osbourne's first new studio album in almost six years, it featured a more serious tone than previous albums. "I thought I'd never write again without any stimulation...But you know what? Instead of picking up the bottle I just got honest and said, 'I don't want life to go (to pieces)'", Osbourne stated in a Billboard interview.

Scream

Osbourne revealed in July 2009 that he was currently seeking a new guitar player. While he states that he has not fallen out with Zakk Wylde, he said he felt his songs were beginning to sound like Black Label Society and fancied a change. In August 2009, Osbourne performed at the gaming festival BlizzCon with a new guitarist in his line-up, Gus G (Firewind, ex-Nightrage, ex-Dream Evil). Osbourne also provided his voice and likeness to the video game Brütal Legend character The Guardian of Metal. In November, Slash featured Osbourne on vocals in his single "Crucify The Dead," and Osbourne with wife Sharon were guest hosts on WWE Monday Night Raw. In December, Osbourne announced he would be releasing a new album with Gus G, Tommy Clufetos (formerly supporting Rob Zombie, Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper) on drums, and Blasko (formerly supporting Rob Zombie) on bass titled Soul Sucka. Negative fan feedback was brought to Osbourne's attention regarding the album title. In respect of fan opinion, on 29 March Osbourne announced his album would be renamed Scream.

On 13 April 2010, Osbourne announced the release date for Scream would be 15 June 2010. The release date was later changed to 22 June. A single from the album, "Let Me Hear You Scream," debuted on 14 April 2010 episode of . The song spent 8 weeks on the Billboard Rock Songs, peaking at #7. Other songs from the album include "Let it Die," "Digging Me Down," "Fearless," and "I Want it More."

Osbourne held a Meet-And-Greet album signing at the main branch of HMV in his home-town Birmingham, followed later that day by an intimate show in the Birmingham Town Hall. The first four hundred fans that arrived at the store earlier in the day were given wrist bands, enabling free access to the show.

On 9 August, Ozzy announced that the second single from the album would be "Life Won't Wait" and the video for the song would be directed by his son Jack.

Awards

.]] Ozzy Osbourne has been awarded several times for his contributions to the music community.

In 1994, he was awarded a Grammy Award for the track "I Don't Want to Change the World" from Live & Loud for Best Metal Performance of 1994.

In 2008, Osbourne was crowned with the prestigious Living Legend award in the Classic Rock Roll of Honor. Past recipients include Alice Cooper, Lemmy, Jimmy Page and Slash, the former Guns N' Roses guitarist, presented the award.

In 2010, Osbourne won the "Literary Achievement" honour for his memoir, I Am Ozzy, at the Guys Choice Awards at Sony Pictures Studio in Culver City, California. Osbourne was presented with the award by Sir Ben Kingsley. The book debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times' hardcover non-fiction best-seller list.

Osbourne was also a judge for the 6th and 10th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

Personal life

Osbourne has been married twice and is the father of six children total (five biological, and one adopted). He was first married to Thelma Riley (now a teacher in Leicestershire) and adopted her son, Elliot Kingsley (1966); together they had Jessica Starshine Osbourne Hobbs (20 January 1972) and Louis John Osbourne (1975). He later married Sharon Arden and had three children with her. They are Aimee Osbourne (2 September 1983), Kelly Osbourne (27 October 1984) and Jack Osbourne (8 November 1985). They also took in family friend Robert Marcato after his mother died, but never legally adopted him. Osbourne also has four grandchildren, Isabelle and Harry from his daughter Jessica, and granddaughter Mia and grandson Elijah from son Louis. He wrote a song for his daughter Aimee, which appeared as a b-side on the album Ozzmosis. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Buckinghamshire, England.

It was reported by the New York Times in 1992 that Osbourne was a member of the Church of England and prayed before each show.

Osbourne achieved greater celebrity status by the unlikely success of his own brand of reality television. The Osbournes, a series featuring the domestic life of Osbourne and his family (wife Sharon, children Jack and Kelly and special guest appearances from his son Louis, but not their eldest daughter Aimee, who declined to participate). The program became one of MTV's greatest hits. It premiered on 5 March 2002, and the final episode aired 21 March 2005. To this day Osbourne refuses to watch any episodes, claiming he was stoned during the entire filming.

The success of The Osbournes led Osbourne and the rest of his family the opportunity to host the 30th Annual American Music Awards in January 2003. The night was marked with constant "bleeping" due to some of the lewd and raunchy remarks made by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. Presenter Patricia Heaton walked out midway in disgust.

In 2002, Osbourne and wife Sharon were invited to the White House Correspondents' Association dinner by Fox News Channel correspondent Greta Van Susteren for that year's event. President Bush noted Osbourne's presence by joking: "The thing about Ozzy is, he's made a lot of big hit recordings – 'Party with the Animals', 'Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath', 'Facing Hell', 'Black Skies' and 'Bloodbath in Paradise'. Ozzy, Mom loves your stuff."

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are one of the UK's richest couples, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. They ranked at number 458 in 2005, with an estimated £100 million earned from recording, touring and TV shows.

Ozzy Osbourne appears in a commercial for the online video game World of Warcraft. Osbourne is a supporter of English association football club Aston Villa, as he grew up in the Aston area close to Villa Park.

Osbourne published a humorous autobiography in October 2009, titled I Am Ozzy. Osbourne says ghost writer Chris Ayres told the singer he has enough material for a second book. A movie adaptation of I Am Ozzy is also in the works, and Osbourne says he hopes "an unknown guy from England" will get the role over an established actor. Meanwhile, his son Jack is working on a documentary about Osbourne's life and career. Although clean and sober now, Osbourne has frequently commented on his former wild lifestyle, puzzled at how he has survived 40 years of abuse.

Upon being fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, Osbourne spent the next three months locked in his hotel room taking vast amounts of drugs and alcohol all day, every day. He claims that he would certainly have died if his future wife Sharon Osbourne (formerly Sharon Arden), had not offered to manage him as a solo artist.

In 1982 while wearing his future wife Sharon's dress because she had hidden his clothes, Osbourne drunkenly urinated on a cenotaph erected in honour of those who died at the Alamo in Texas, across the street from the actual building. A police officer arrested him, He was later arrested May 1984 in Memphis, Tennessee, again for public intoxication.

In 1984, Osbourne toured with Mötley Crüe. The tour is known as one of the "craziest drug and alcohol-fuelled tours in the history of rock and roll".

Osbourne experienced tremors for some years and linked them to his continuous drug abuse. In May 2005 he found out it was actually Parkin Syndrome, a genetic condition, the symptoms of which are very similar to Parkinson's disease. Osbourne will have to take daily medication for the rest of his life to combat the involuntary shudders associated with the condition. Osbourne has also shown symptoms of mild hearing loss, as depicted in the television show, The Osbournes, where he often asks his family to repeat what they say. At the TEDMED Conference in October 2010, scientists from Knome joined Osbourne on stage to discuss their analysis of Osbourne’s whole genome, which shed light on how the famously hard-living rocker has survived decades of drug abuse.

Condemnation and lawsuits

on Jan. 27, 2010.]] Early on in his career, many Christian groups accused Osbourne of being a negative influence for teenagers, and that messages on his songs, his actions, and his stage decorations were portrayals of devil worship used only to glorify Satanism. At least one scholar has compared the controversy surrounding Osbourne and accusations of Satanism to those levelled against the renowned occultist Aleister Crowley. Both were demonised by the media and some religious groups for their antics. Osbourne tempts the comparison with his song "Mr. Crowley". Both Osbourne and Crowley enjoyed the infamy of being labelled Satanists, though Osbourne firmly denies the charge. Some critics condemn both men as anti-Christian.

In 1981, after signing his first solo career record deal, Osbourne bit the head off a dove during a meeting with some record-company executives in Los Angeles. Apparently he had planned to release doves into the air as a sign of peace, but due to being intoxicated at the time, he instead grabbed a dove and bit its head off. He then spat the head out, with blood still dripping from his lips. Despite its controversy, this act has been parodied and alluded to several times throughout his career and is part of what made Ozzy Osbourne famous.

On 20 January 1982, Osbourne bit the head off a bat he thought was rubber while performing at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa. Rolling Stone magazine in 2004 ranked this incident number two on its list of "Rock's Wildest Myths." While the Rolling Stone article stated the bat was alive, the teen who threw it onto the stage said it was brought to the show dead. According to Osbourne himself in the booklet to the 2002 edition of Diary of a Madman, the bat was not only alive but also managed to bite him, resulting in his having to take rabies shots.

In 1985, California teenager John McCollum committed suicide while listening to Ozzy Osbourne's "Suicide Solution." The song deals with the dangers of alcohol abuse. McCollums' suicide led to allegations that Osbourne promoted suicide in his songs. Despite knowing McCollum suffered clinical depression, his parents sued Ozzy Osbourne (McCollum v. CBS) for their son's death, claiming the lyrics in the song, "Where to hide, suicide is the only way out. Don't you know what it's really about?" convinced McCollum to commit suicide. The family's lawyer suggested that Osbourne should be criminally charged for encouraging a young person to commit suicide, but the courts ruled in Osbourne's favor, saying there was no connection between the song and McCollum's suicide. Osbourne was sued for the same reason in 1991 (Waller v. Osbourne), by the parents of Michael Waller, for $9 million, but the courts ruled in Osbourne's favour in that case as well. One critic claims that Osbourne sings "Get the gun, get the gun, shoot, shoot, shoot," a charge firmly denied by him.

In lawsuits filed in 2000 and 2002 which were dismissed by the courts in 2003, former session musicians Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, and Phil Soussan claimed that Osbourne was delinquent in paying them royalties and had denied them due credit on albums they played on. In November 2003, a Federal Appeals Court unanimously upheld the dismissal by the United States District Court in Los Angeles of the lawsuit brought by Daisley and Kerslake. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Osbourne does not owe any royalties or credit to the former session musicians, who were let go in 1981. To resolve further issues, management chose to replace Daisley and Kerslake's contributions on the original masters, replacing them with Robert Trujillo on bass and Mike Bordin on drums. The albums were then reissued.

In July 2010, Osbourne and Iommi decided to discontinue the court proceedings over ownership of the Black Sabbath trademark. As reported to Blabbermouth, "Both parties are glad to put this behind them and to cooperate together for the future and would like it to be known that the issue was never personal, it was always business."

Band members

; Current members (as of 2010)

Gus G. – lead guitar (2009–present)

Rob "Blasko" Nicholson – bass (2003, 2006–present)

Adam Wakeman – keyboards, rhythm guitar (2004–present)

Tommy Clufetos – drums, percussion (2010–present)

; Recording timeline

Discography

Blizzard of Ozz (1980)

Diary of a Madman (1981)

Bark at the Moon (1983)

The Ultimate Sin (1986)

No Rest for the Wicked (1988)

No More Tears (1991)

Ozzmosis (1995)

Down to Earth (2001)

Black Rain (2007)

Scream (2010)

See also

References

External links

The Official Ozzy Osbourne Website

Ozzfest Information

Category:1948 births Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Black Sabbath members Category:British harmonica players Category:English male singers Category:English rock singers Category:English heavy metal singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Music from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:The Ozzy Osbourne Band members Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:People from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:English expatriates in the United States

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

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

Name	Lady Gaga
Img alt	Portrait of a young, pale-skinned Caucasian female with blond hair
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
Born	March 28, 1986New York City, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, piano, synthesizer, keytar
Genre	Pop, dance
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, performance artist, record producer, dancer, businesswoman
Years active	2005–present
Label	Def Jam, Cherrytree, Streamline, Kon Live, Interscope
Url

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American pop singer-songwriter. She began performing in the rock music scene of New York City's Lower East Side in 2003 and enrolled at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She soon signed with Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. During her early time at Interscope, she worked as a songwriter for fellow label artists and captured the attention of Akon, who recognized her vocal abilities, and signed her to his own label, Kon Live Distribution.

Gaga came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album The Fame (2008), which was a commercial success and achieved international popularity with the singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album reached number one on the record charts of six countries, accomplished positions within the top-ten worldwide, and topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart while simultaneously peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. Achieving similar worldwide success, the follow-up EP The Fame Monster (2009), produced a further two global chart-topping singles "Bad Romance" and "Telephone" and allowed her to embark on a second global headlining concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just months after having finished her first, The Fame Ball Tour. Her second studio album, Born This Way, is scheduled for release in 2011.

Inspired by glam rock artists like David Bowie and Queen, as well as pop singers such as Madonna and Michael Jackson, Gaga is well-recognized for her outré sense of style as a recording artist, in fashion, in performance and in her music videos. Her contributions to the music industry have garnered her numerous achievements including two Grammy Awards, amongst twelve nominations; two Guinness World Records; and the estimated sale of fifteen million albums and fifty-one million singles worldwide. Billboard named her as the Artist of the Year in 2010 and ranked her as the 73rd Artist of the 2000s decade. Gaga has been included in Time magazine's annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as Forbes' list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential celebrities in the world. Forbes also placed her at number seven on their annual list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women.

Life and career

1986–2004: Early life

Lady Gaga was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta in New York City on March 28, 1986, the eldest child of Joseph Germanotta, an internet entrepreneur, and Cynthia (née Bissett). She learned to play piano from the age of four, went on to write her first piano ballad at 13 and began performing at open mike nights by age 14. Gaga was raised a Roman Catholic. At the age of 11, Gaga attended Convent of the Sacred Heart, a private all-girls Roman Catholic school on Manhattan's Upper East Side, but has stressed that she does not come from a wealthy background, saying that her parents "both came from lower-class families, so we've worked for everything – my mother worked eight to eight out of the house, in telecommunications, and so did my father."

An avid thespian in high school musicals, Gaga portrayed lead roles as Adelaide in Guys and Dolls and Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. She described her academic life in high school as "very dedicated, very studious, very disciplined" but also "a bit insecure" as she told in an interview, "I used to get made fun of for being either too provocative or too eccentric, so I started to tone it down. I didn’t fit in, and I felt like a freak." Acquaintances dispute that she did not fit in school. "She had a core group of friends; she was a good student. She liked boys a lot, but singing was No. 1," recalled a former high school classmate. Referring to her "expressive, free spirit", Gaga told Elle magazine "I'm left-handed!"

At age 17, Gaga gained early admission to the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and lived in a NYU dorm on 11th Street. There she studied music and improved her songwriting skills by composing essays and analytical papers focusing on topics such as art, religion, social issues and politics. Gaga felt that she was more creative than some of her classmates. "Once you learn how to think about art, you can teach yourself," she said. By the second semester of her sophomore year, she withdrew from the school to focus on her musical career. Her father agreed to pay her rent for a year, on the condition that she re-enroll for Tisch if she was unsuccessful. "I left my entire family, got the cheapest apartment I could find, and ate shit until somebody would listen," she said. Shortly after, her former management company introduced her to songwriter and producer RedOne, whom they also managed. The first song she produced with RedOne was "Boys Boys Boys", She also started the Stefani Germanotta Band with some friends from NYU. They recorded an extended play of their ballads at a studio underneath a liquor store in New Jersey, becoming a local fixture at the downtown Lower East Side club scene. Music producer Rob Fusari, who helped her write some of her earlier songs, compared some of her vocal harmonies to that of Freddie Mercury. He explained,

She was known thereafter as Lady Gaga. The pair began playing gigs at downtown club venues like the Mercury Lounge, The Bitter End, and the Rockwood Music Hall, with their live performance art piece known as "Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue." Billed as "The Ultimate Pop Burlesque Rockshow", their act was a low-fi tribute to 1970s variety acts. In August 2007, Gaga and Starlight were invited to play at the American Lollapalooza music festival. The show was critically acclaimed, and their performance received positive reviews.

Fusari sent the songs he produced with Gaga to his friend, producer and record executive Vincent Herbert. Herbert was quick to sign her to his label Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records, upon its establishment in 2007. She credited Herbert as the man who discovered her, adding "I really feel like we made pop history, and we're gonna keep going." While Gaga was writing at Interscope, singer-songwriter Akon recognized her vocal abilities when she sang a reference vocal for one of his tracks in studio. He then convinced Interscope-Geffen-A&M; Chairman and CEO Jimmy Iovine to form a joint deal by having her also sign with his own label Kon Live Distribution Gaga continued her collaboration with RedOne in the recording studio for a week on her debut album The album peaked at number one in United Kingdom, Canada, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Ireland, and the top-five in Australia, the United States and fifteen other countries. Worldwide, The Fame has sold over fourteen million copies. Its lead single "Just Dance" topped the charts in six countries – Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States – and later received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording. The following single "Poker Face" was an even greater success, reaching number-one in almost all major music markets in the world, including the United Kingdom and the United States. It won the award for Best Dance Recording at the 52nd Grammy Awards, over nominations for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. The Fame was nominated for Album of the Year; it won the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Although her first concert tour happened as an opening act for fellow Interscope pop group, the reformed New Kids on the Block, she ultimately headlined her own worldwide concert tour, The Fame Ball Tour, which was critically appreciated and began in March 2009; culminating in September of that year. The cover of the annual "Hot 100" issue of Rolling Stone in May 2009 featured a semi-nude Gaga wearing only strategically placed plastic bubbles. She was nominated for a total of nine awards at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, winning the award for Best New Artist, while her single "Paparazzi" won two awards for Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects. In October, Gaga received Billboard magazine's Rising Star of 2009 award. She attended the Human Rights Campaign's "National Dinner" the same month, before marching in the National Equality March for the equal protection of LGBT people in all matters governed by US civil law in Washington, D.C.

|alt= Profile of a young blond woman. Her hair falls in waves up to her shoulders. She wears a purple leotard with visible sequins attached. Ample bosom, arm and leg are visible.]] Written over the course of 2008–09, The Fame Monster, a collection of eight songs, was released in November 2009. Each song, dealing with the darker side of fame from personal experience while she travelled the world, is expressed through a monster metaphor. Its first single "Bad Romance" topped the charts in eighteen countries, while reaching the top-two in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. In the US, Gaga became the first artist in digital history to have three singles (along with "Just Dance" and "Poker Face") to pass the four million mark in digital sales. The song received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance while its accompanying music video was nominated for Best Short Form Music Video. The album's second single "Telephone", which features singer Beyoncé, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and became Gaga's fourth UK number-one single while its accompanying music video, although controversial, was met mostly positive reception from contemporary critics: praising her for "the musicality and showmanship of Michael Jackson and the powerful sexuality and provocative instincts of Madonna." Her following single "Alejandro" paired Gaga with fashion photographer Steven Klein for a music video similarly as controversial – critics complimented its idea and dark nature, but the Catholic League attacked Gaga for her use of blasphemy. Despite the controversy surrounding her music videos, they have made Gaga one of the first artists to gain over one billion viral views on video-sharing website YouTube. Musically, The Fame Monster has also received abundant success. Equating to the amount of Grammy nominations her debut received, The Fame Monster garnered a total of six – among them Best Pop Vocal Album and her second-consecutive nomination for Album of the Year. The success of the album allowed Gaga to embark on her second headlining worldwide concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just weeks after the release of The Fame Monster and months after having finished her first. Upon finishing in May 2011, the critically acclaimed and commercially accomplished concert tour will have ran for over one and a half years. Additionally, Gaga has performed other songs from the album at international events like the 2009 Royal Variety Performance where she sang "Speechless", a power ballad, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II; the 52nd Grammy Awards where her opening performance consisted of the song "Poker Face" and a piano duet of "Speechless" in a medley of "Your Song" with Elton John; and the 2010 BRIT Awards where a performance of an acoustic rendition of "Telephone" followed by "Dance in the Dark" dedicated to the late fashion designer and close friend, Alexander McQueen, supplemented her hat-trick win at the awards ceremony.

Barbara Walters chose Gaga as one the "10 Most Fascinating People of 2009" for her annual ABC News special. When interviewed by the journalist, Gaga dismissed the claim that she is intersex as an urban legend. Responding to a question on this issue, she stated, "At first it was very strange and everyone sorta said, 'That's really quite a story!' But in a sense, I portray myself in a very androgynous way, and I love androgyny." Excited about bringing back Polaroid and "combining it with the digital era", Gaga was named Chief Creative Officer for a line of imaging products for the international optic company in January 2010 with the intent of creating fashion, technology and photography products. Her production team, Mermaid Music LLC, was sued in March by Rob Fusari; claiming that he was entitled to a 20% share of its earnings. Gaga's lawyer, Charles Ortner, described the agreement with Fusari as "unlawful" and declined to comment, however, five months later, the New York Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit. In April, Gaga was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of the year. While giving an interview to The Times, Gaga hinted at having Systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly referred to as lupus, which is a connective tissue disease. She later confirmed with Larry King that she does not have lupus but "the results were borderline positive".

2010–present: Born This Way

Gaga's second studio album and third major release Born This Way, whose title was announced during her acceptance speech for Video of the Year at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, will be released on May 23, 2011. Its arrival will follow the release of its lead single on February 13, 2011. These dates were tweeted by Gaga at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day, 2011. Described as "a marriage of electronic music with major [...] metal or rock 'n' roll, pop, anthemic style melodies with really sledge-hammering dance beats", Born This Way will be Gaga's third release in three years. She stated, "It came so quickly. I've been working on [the album] for months, and I feel very strongly that it's finished right now. Some artists take years. I don't. I write music every day." With two tracks already confirmed by Gaga – one she has been performing during The Monster Ball Tour, she has referred to the album as "the greatest" of the decade about "what keeps us up at night and what makes us afraid." Likening Born This Way to "bad kids going to church" that are "having fun on a high level", Gaga characterized her new music as "something so much deeper than a wig or lipstick or a fucking meat dress" and upon hearing it, Akon remarked that she will take music to the "next level."

Lending her vocal talent elsewhere, Gaga also paired with Elton John to record an original duet for the soundtrack to the forthcoming animated Disney feature film Gnomeo and Juliet. The song, titled "Hello, Hello", is scheduled for release in February 2011.

Musical style and influences

Gaga has been influenced by glam rock artists such as David Bowie and Queen, as well as pop music artists such as Madonna, Britney Spears and Michael Jackson. The Queen song "Radio Ga Ga" inspired her stage name, "Lady Gaga". She commented: "I adored Freddie Mercury and Queen had a hit called 'Radio Gaga'. That's why I love the name [...] Freddie was unique – one of the biggest personalities in the whole of pop music."

Gaga's vocals have drawn frequent comparison to those of Madonna and Gwen Stefani, while the structure of her music is said to echo classic 1980s pop and 1990s Europop. While reviewing her debut album The Fame, The Sunday Times asserted "in combining music, fashion, art and technology, Lady GaGa evokes Madonna, Gwen Stefani circa 'Hollaback Girl', Kylie Minogue 2001 or Grace Jones right now." Similarly, The Boston Globe critic Sarah Rodman commented that she draws "obvious inspirations from Madonna to Gwen Stefani... in [her] girlish but sturdy pipes and bubbly beats." Though her lyrics are said to lack intellectual stimulation, "[she] does manage to get you moving and grooving at an almost effortless pace." Music critic Simon Reynolds wrote that "Everything about Gaga came from electroclash, except the music, which wasn't particularly 1980s, just ruthlessly catchy naughties pop glazed with Auto-Tune and undergirded with R&B;-ish beats.

Gaga has identified fashion as a major influence. Her love of fashion came from her mother, who she stated was "always very well kept and beautiful." Entertainment Weekly put her outfits on its end of the decade "best-of" list, saying, "Whether it's a dress made of Muppets or strategically placed bubbles, Gaga's outré ensembles brought performance art into the mainstream."

Critical reception of Gaga's music, fashion sense and persona are mixed. Her status as a role model, trailblazer and fashion icon is by turns affirmed and denied. Gaga's albums have received mostly positive reviews, Her role as a self-esteem booster for her fans is also lauded, as is her role in breathing life into the fashion industry. Her performances are described as "highly entertaining and innovative"; in particular, the blood-spurting performance of "Paparazzi" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was described as "eye-popping" by MTV. She continued the "blood soaked" theme in The Monster Ball Tour, in which she wore a revealing leather corset and is "attacked" by a performer dressed in black who gnaws on her throat, causing "blood" to spurt down her chest, after which she lies "dying" in a pool of blood. Her performances of that scene in Manchester, England triggered protests from family groups and fans in the aftermath of a local tragedy, in which a taxi driver had murdered 12 people. "What happened in Bradford is very fresh in people's minds and given all the violence which happened in Cumbria just hours earlier, it was insensitive," said Lynn Costello of Mothers Against Violence. Chris Rock later defended her flamboyant, provocative behavior. "Well, she's Lady Gaga," he said. "She's not 'Lady Behave Yourself.' Do you want great behavior from a person named Gaga? Is this what you were expecting?" She later returned to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards wearing a dress which was supplemented by boots, a purse and a hat—each fabricated from the flesh of a dead animal. The dress, named Time magazine's Fashion Statement of 2010 and more widely known as the "meat dress", was made by Argentinian designer Franc Fernandez and received divided opinions—evoking the attention of worldwide media but invoking the fury of animal rights organization PETA. Gaga, however, later denied any intention of causing disrespect to any person or organization and wished for the dress to be interpreted as a statement of human rights with focus upon those in the LGBT community.

Gaga's treatment of her fans as "Little Monsters" has inspired criticism, due to the highly commercial nature of her music and image. Camille Paglia wrote a cover story "Lady Gaga and the death of sex" on September 12, 2010, in The Sunday Times in which she asserts that Gaga "is more an identity thief than an erotic taboo breaker, a mainstream manufactured product who claims to be singing for the freaks, the rebellious and the dispossessed when she is none of those."

Public image

Contrary to her outré style, the New York Post described her early look as like "a refugee from Jersey Shore" with "big black hair, heavy eye makeup and tight, revealing clothes." She has another six known tattoos, among them a peace symbol, which was inspired by John Lennon whom she stated was her hero, Towards the end of 2008, comparisons were made between the fashions of Gaga and fellow recording artist Christina Aguilera that noted similarities in their styling, hair, and make-up. Comparisons continued into 2010 when Aguilera released the music video of her single "Not Myself Tonight". Critics noted similarities between the song and its accompanying music video with Gaga's video for "Bad Romance". There have also been similar comparisons made between Gaga's style and that of fashion icon Dale Bozzio from the band Missing Persons. Some have considered their respective images to be strikingly parallel although fans of Missing Persons note that Bozzio had pioneered the look more than thirty years earlier.

Gaga's influence on modern culture and society has provoked the University of South Carolina into offering a full-time course titled "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame" in the objective of unravelling "the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga with respect to her music, videos, fashion, and other artistic endeavors".

Philanthropy

Besides her career in music, Gaga has enhanced her repertoire as a philanthropist who has contributed to various charities and humanitarianism works.

Although declining an invitation to record a benefit song, Gaga held a concert of The Monster Ball Tour following the 2010 Haiti earthquake and dedicated it to the country’s reconstruction relief fund. This concert, held at the Radio City Music Hall, New York, on January 24, 2010, donated any received revenue to the relief fund while, in addition, all profits from sales of products on Gaga’s official online store on that same day were donated. Gaga announced that an estimated total of $500,000 was collected for the fund.

Gaga also contributes in the fight against HIV and AIDS with the focus upon educating young women about the risks of the disease. In collaboration with Cyndi Lauper, Gaga joined forces with MAC Cosmetics to launch a line of lipstick under their supplementary cosmetic line, Viva Glam. Titled Viva Glam Gaga and Viva Glam Cyndi for each contributor respectively, all net proceeds of the lipstick line were donated to the cosmetic company’s campaign to prevent HIV and AIDS worldwide. In a press release, Gaga declared, "I don't want Viva Glam to be just a lipstick you buy to help a cause. I want it to be a reminder when you go out at night to put a condom in your purse right next to your lipstick."

, October 11, 2009|alt=A blond woman speaking on a kiosk. She wears a white shirt and black glasses. Behind her, the balcony of a building is visible.]] Gaga attributes much of her early success as a mainstream artist to her gay fans and is considered to be a rising gay icon. Early in her career she had difficulty getting radio airplay, and stated, "The turning point for me was the gay community. I've got so many gay fans and they're so loyal to me and they really lifted me up. They'll always stand by me and I'll always stand by them. It's not an easy thing to create a fanbase." She thanked FlyLife, a Manhattan-based LGBT marketing company with whom her label Interscope works, in the liner notes of The Fame, saying, "I love you so much. You were the first heartbeat in this project, and your support and brilliance means the world to me. I will always fight for the gay community hand in hand with this incredible team." One of her first televised performances was in May 2008 at the NewNowNext Awards, an awards show aired by the LGBT television network Logo, where she sang her song "Just Dance". In June of the same year, she performed the song again at the San Francisco Pride event.

After The Fame was released, she revealed that the song "Poker Face" was about her bisexuality. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she spoke about how her boyfriends tended to react to her bisexuality, saying "The fact that I'm into women, they're all intimidated by it. It makes them uncomfortable. They're like, 'I don't need to have a threesome. I'm happy with just you'." She proclaimed that the October 11, 2009, National Equality March rally on the national mall was "the single most important event of her career." As she exited, she left with an exultant "Bless God and bless the gays," At the rally, she performed a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" declaring that "I'm not going to [play] one of my songs tonight because tonight is not about me, it's about you." She changed the original lyrics of the song to reflect the death of Matthew Shepard, a college student murdered because of his sexuality. In September 2010, she spoke at a rally in favor of repealing the US military's Don't ask, don't tell policy, which prohibits lesbian, gay and bisexual people from serving openly, and released an online video urging her fans to contact their Senators in an effort to get the policy overturned. Editors of The Advocate commented that she had become the "fierce advocate" for gays and lesbians that future president Barack Obama had promised to be during his campaign.

Discography

The Fame (2008)

The Fame Monster (2009)

Born This Way (2011)

Tours

The Fame Ball Tour (2009)

The Monster Ball Tour (2009–11)

Awards and nominations

See also

Honorific nicknames in popular music

List of best-selling music artists

References

Further reading

External links

Year in Gaga: A Provocative 2010 — slideshow by Life magazine

Category:1986 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American dance musicians Category:American electronic musicians Category:American female pop singers Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Bisexual musicians Category:BRIT Award winners Category:English-language singers Category:Feminist artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Interscope Records artists Category:Keytarists Category:LGBT musicians from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Living people Category:New York University alumni Category:Singers from New York Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:Wonky Pop acts