Name	DJ Dan
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Daniel Wherrett
Origin	Olympia, Washington, US
Genre	House Funky HouseElectro HouseBreaks TechnoTechHouseElectronica
Occupation	Producer, DJ
Url	http://www.djdan.com

DJ Dan (born Daniel Wherrett) is an American Electronic House Music DJ/Producer. Dan previously released works through the Moonshine label.

Wherret grew up in Olympia, Washington. He began hearing electronic dance music at clubs in Seattle and Tacoma where Donald Glaude was playing. Glaude taught him the basics of turntablism before Wherret went to study fashion at FIDM in Los Angeles in 1991. At the time, the nascent rave culture was emerging in Los Angeles. Dan played a few events with Ron D Core and soon became a sought after DJ. He was voted the #5 DJ in the world by DJ Magazine’s "Top 100" poll for 2006.

Discography

Singles

DJ Dan & Hatiras - Baked From Scratch (Blow Media)

DJ Dan - Bam (InStereo)

DJ Dan and Grandadbob - Disco Hertz EP (Faith and Hope Recordings)

DJ Dan - Transformers Cartoon Theme (Hasbro)

DJ Dan & DJ Sneak - Speaker Hoes (Unreleased)

DJ Dan & Steve Mac - Da Muzik (Unreleased)

DJ Dan - Get Up (Kinetic)

DJ Dan & Bryan Cox - It’s Getting Closer (Ammo)

DJ Dan & Hatiras - Love For The Weekend (Blow Media)

DJ Dan Presents Needle Damage – That Zipper Track (Moonshine)

DJ Dan - Needle Damage Remixes (Audacious)

DJ Dan - Put That Record Back On (Kinetic)

DJ Dan - Put That Record Back On (Part 1) (Honchos)

DJ Dan - Put That Record Back On (Part 2) (Honchos)

DJ Dan - Rock To The Rhythm (Audacious)

DJ Dan - That Phone Track (Subliminal)

DJ Dan & Dano - That Arrival (Red Melon Records)

DJ Dan - Monkey Business (InStereo)

DJ Dan - Annihilated (InStereo)

DJ Dan feat Suzie Del Vecchio - Baila Baila (InStereo)

DJ Dan – Seduction (InStereo)

DJ Dan & Donald Glaude - Stick Em (InStereo)

DJ Dan & Hipp-E - Bangin On Ya System (InStereo)

DJ Dan – Illectrolingus (InStereo)

DJ Dan - N20 (InStereo)

DJ Dan - Chop Shop (InStereo)

DJ Dan - Further Damage EP (Audacious)

DJ Dan - Secret Stash EP (InStereo)

DJ Dan - Bam 2009 (InStereo)

DJ Dan Presents Future Retro - Evolution 1 (Nettwerk)

DJ Dan Presents Future Retro - Evolution 2 (Nettwerk)

DJ Dan Presents Future Retro - Evolution 3 (Nettwerk)

DJ Dan Presents Future Retro - Fascinated (Nettwerk)

Remixes

7 Days In A Bathroom (Neo Recordings)

A Tribe Called Quest - Public Enemy (DJ Dan Mix) (Jive Electro)

Atomic Babies - Cetch Da Monkey (DJ Dan Remix) (BML)

Basco - Everythings Gone To The Beat (Electroliners Remix) (Smile Recordings)

Blake Lewis - How Many Words (DJ Dan Remix) (BMG)

Brother Grimm - Radiate (Electroliners Remix) (Smile Recordings)

Carl Cox - The Future (DJ Dan Mix) (Moonshine)

Cirrus - Back On A Mission (DJ Dan Remix) (Moonshine)

Cirrus - Stop and Panic (DJ Dan Mix) (Moonshine)

Citizen King - Better Days (DJ Dan Remixes) (Warner)

Delirium (DJ Dan Remix) (Nettwerk)

Depeche Mode - Precious (DJ Dan Remix) (Sire/Warner)

Dino Lenny - I Feel Stereo (DJ Dan Mix) (Yoshitoshi)

Dub Pistols - Unique Freak (DJ Dan Mix) (Unreleased)

Enrique Iglesias - Do You Know (DJ Dan Mix)

Ferry Corsten - Body Rock (DJ Dan Remix) (Moonshine)

Filter - The Best Things (DJ Dan & Terry Mullan Remix) (Reprise)

Freshmaka - I Am The Freshmaka (DJ Dan Mix) (Moonshine)

Groove Armada - Chicago (DJ Dan & Terry Mullan Remix) (Jive Electro)

Happy Rhodes - Roy (DJ Dan Mix) (Iwillgetthis4u)

Jamie Kennedy & Stu Stone - Circle Circle Dot Dot (DJ Dan Remix) (Warner)

Jon H & Rakal - Drop Da Beat (DJ Dan Mix) (Red Menace)

Keoki - Crash (DJ Dan Mix) (Moonshine)

M5 Feat. Brad Raker - Sanctuary (Electroliners Remix) (Sorted)

Mephisto Odyssey - Flow (DJ Dan Mix) (Warner)

New Order - Krafty (DJ Dan Remix) (Warner)

New Order - Guilt Is A Useless Emotion (DJ Dan Remix) (Warner)

Olive - I Am Not In Love (DJ Dan Mix) (Warner)

Orgy - Blue Monday (DJ Dan Mix) (Warner)

Orgy - Stiches (DJ Dan Mix) (Warner)

Paradiso Girls - Patron Tequila (DJ Dan's Mix)

Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha (DJ Dan's Dub) (Interscope)

Rob Tissera - Kick Up The Volume (Electroliners Remix) (XL)

White Knight - New World Order (DJ Dan & Dano Mix) (Smile Recordings)

Yoko Ono - Give Peace A Chance (DJ Dan Remix) (Twisted)

Rooster & Peralta - Shake it (DJ Dan Remix) (Funkatronik)

DJ Kue - The Way (DJ Dan Remix) (InStereo)

Mike Balance - Loud Enough (DJ Dan Remix) (InStereo)

Macca – Gangster (DJ Dan Remix) (Invasive Recordings)

I Don't Care - I Don't Care (DJ Dan Edit) (InStereo)

Loops of Fury - Flick A Switch (DJ Dan and Mike Balance Remix) (U&A; Recordings)

Lady Gaga - Paparazzi (DJ Dan Remix) (Interscope)

Janet Jackson - Make Me (DJ Dan Vocal and Peaktime Remixes) (Interscope)

Space Cowboy feat Cinema Bizarre - We Came 2 Party (DJ Dan Remix) (Interscope)

P Diddy - Love Come Down (DJ Dan Remix) (Interscope)

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance (DJ Dan Remix) (Interscope)

Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce - Telephone (DJ Dan Extended Mix) (Interscope)

Compilations

Accelerate (Kinkysweet)

Another Late Night (Moonshine)

Beats 4 Freaks (Moonshine)

DJ Dan: In Stereo (Kinetic)

Funk The System (Moonshine)

Lift Vol 1 (Thrive)

Lift Vol 2 (Thrive)

Loose Caboose (VRG)

Mixed Live: Ruby Skye San Franicsco (Moonshine)

Roundtrip (Kinetic)

URB Mix Vol 2 (Smile Communications)

Studio albums

Future Retro (Nettwerk, 2010)

See also

List of number-one dance hits (United States)

List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References

External links

Official DJ Dan website

Official DJ Dan Myspace Page

Official DJ Dan Facebook Page

Official InStereo Recordings Myspace Page

Early 90's DJ Dan Mixtapes

Category:American house musicians Category:American dance musicians Category:American electronic musicians Category:American techno musicians Category:Club DJs Category:Remixers Category:Musicians from Washington (U.S. state) Category:Living people

Name	Donald Glaude
Background	non_performing_personnel
Origin	Tacoma, Washington
Genre	House
Occupation	Musical artist, DJ, remixer
Years active	1997–2008

Donald Glaude is a house music artist, DJ and remixer, and is consistently ranked as one of DJ Mag's top 100 DJs.

Biography

As a child, Donald was classically trained in the upright bass and violin. After hearing early funk records, he began experimenting with tape decks and a primitive radio shack mixer at home in Tacoma, Washington. He began playing at nightclubs by the mid-1980s and began gaining name recognition in early turntablism. In the early 1990s when the rave scene took hold up and down the west-coast Donald had an entire Friday at the Underground nightclub in Seattle. His clubnight showcased many now famous DJs from around the world. Donald, along with DJ Dan in San Francisco and Ron D Core in Los Angeles helped define west-coast house music through the 1990s.

Donald Glaude is a pioneer of House Music and is doing what a lot of other world class DJs aren't. He has been currently playing the Central California region and has already made a name for himself there. Modesto is just minutes from the new UC Merced and an attractive place for House Music enthusiasts around the globe. Donald Glaude has put out multiple records of his own songs and vanity labels Durty Records and Eden Records targeted to professional DJs while making digital releases on Beatport. He is in demand worldwide as a DJ and as a producer and re-mixer.

Discography

Singles & EP's

Sampling The Future (1997)

Off the Hook (1999)

Mixed Live (2001)

Mixed Live 2nd Session (2003)

This Is Me (2005)

Live at Ruby Skye (2007)

Filmography

LA DJ (2004)

Peace Love and Beats (2004)

Put The Needle On The Record (2006)

References

External links

Official Donald Glaude Website

Official MySpace Profile

Category:American house musicians Category:American techno musicians Category:Club DJs Category:Remixers Category:Living people Category:People from Tacoma, Washington

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

Name	Blake Lewis
Birth name	Blake Colin Lewis
Alias	BShorty
Background	solo_singer
Born	July 21, 1981Redmond, Washington
Origin	Bothell, Washington, United States
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, producer
Genre	Pop, soul, electropop
Instrument	vocals, guitar, keyboard, drums, beatboxing, loop pedals
Label	Arista Records (2007–2008)19 Recordings (2007–present)Tommy Boy Entertainment (2008–present)
Years active	1998–present
Associated acts	Kickshaw (1998–2002), Cupcake, Ryan Tedder, Chris Richardson, Darude
Url	www.BlakeLewisOfficial.com

Blake Colin Lewis (born July 21, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and beatboxer who was the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol. His major label debut album A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream) was released on December 4, 2007 through 19 Recordings/Arista Records. On October 30, 2007, his first single "Break Anotha" was released. The album landed on #10 on the U.S. Billboard Billboard 200 as its highest peak position with 97,500 copies sold in its debut, and over 350,000 copies so far. After the release of his second single "How Many Words", which peaked at #8 on the U.S. Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs, Lewis was dropped by Arista Records. Lewis eventually signed with Tommy Boy Entertainment.

His second album, Heartbreak on Vinyl, was released on October 6, 2009. The first single "Sad Song" was released on July 21, 2009 and peaked at #10 on the U.S. Billboard Dance Radio Airplay. The album charted at #135 on the U.S. Billboard Billboard 200, #20 on the Billboard Independent Albums, and #7 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums with over 4000 copies sold in the first week (1000 of those were digital downloads).

Biography

Early years

Lewis was born in Redmond, Washington to Dallas and Dinah Lewis. Dinah is a former rocker who still sings and plays guitar. He is an only child and is of Swiss, Welsh, German and Irish descent. He attended Kenmore Junior High and later Inglemoor High School in Kenmore, Washington. In high school, Lewis participated in many high school state competitions . He also took part in numerous musicals, as well as comedy and rap videos with his friends. In many of these videos, he portrayed his alter ego, Jimmie Walker Blue, the character he introduced during the semi-final round of American Idol.

Lewis started beatboxing at seventeen. He picked up this talent purely by ear, listening to CDs of beatboxing, after he was inspired by Matthew Selby, a former member of the Los Angeles-based a cappella group M-Pact, of which fellow American Idol semi-finalist Rudy Cárdenas was a member. Aside from singing and beatboxing, Lewis plays the guitar, keyboard, drums and has written many songs such as "She Loves the Way", "Emotional Waterfalls", "Dumpty Humpty" and "Jealousy". He describes himself as an improv musician and often uses devices such as loop pedals and the Kaoss Pad to layer beatboxing, instruments, vocals and effects to create a song live on stage.

Being a member of the a cappella group Kickshaw for four years after graduating from high school in 1999, Lewis worked with the group on a 10-track album titled Put It In the Microphone but he quit the group in 2002 to become a solo musician going by the stage name Bshorty, which was basically inspired by the nicknames of the members of 311 and "aggressive inline-skate videos during the 1990s", "doing drum and bass shows, and conscious hip hop shows, singer-songwriter stuff, and electronica and hip hop". He made connections with various musicians by performing regularly in many venues in Seattle such as Nectar Lounge in Fremont, SeaMonster Lounge, Lo-Fi Performance Gallery, Jet Deck in Everett (now in Mill Creek) and hosted shows like The Digital Lounge shows at ToST. Before Idol, he was working on a solo album with a number of tracks finished.

American Idol

Overview

Though he initially found American Idol unappealing, Lewis auditioned for it in Seattle with "Crazy" by Seal and an off-screen rendition of "Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5. Introducing himself as the local beatboxing champion in the audition, Lewis beatboxed along with his teammates, including Chris Sligh, Rudy Cárdenas and Tom Lowe, to "How Deep Is Your Love" by Bee Gees in the Hollywood's Week. The memorable performance received a standing ovation from the audience and Paula Abdul, who commented "that brought down the house". In an early episode of the United Kingdom edition of American Idol, Lewis recalled his first solo performance in the Hollywood's Week was "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" by The Temptations. When later he sang it in front of the other finalists, Phil Stacey felt that it was the best performance he has seen from Lewis.

Lewis ended up the last male contestant standing, despite Simon's first impression that the singer was a bit "over the top" adding "I don't know if you're as good as you think you are". But soon afterward, the judges began predicting Lewis' "front runner" status. In an exclusive interview with X17Online on March 4, 2007, Simon Cowell foresaw Lewis' chance to take the crown. After Lewis' performance of "Lovesong" by The Cure/311 on March 27, Paula Abdul said that she would love to see him in the finale. Cowell further confirmed that Lewis was the front runner of male contestants on American Idol. Lewis, upon entering the top 2 on May 16, 2007, he thus became the first ever contestant from the Northwestern United States (specifically, Washington) to compete in the finale. Lewis' beatboxing and scat singing skills had been featured occasionally throughout the competition, notably in the performances such as "Virtual Insanity", "All Mixed Up", "Time of the Season", "You Give Love a Bad Name", "You Should Be Dancing", "This Is Where I Came In" and "This Love". He had also rearranged songs including "You Keep Me Hangin' On" and "You Give Love a Bad Name". Although Lewis' first performance in the semi-final weeks, "Somewhere Only We Know", was pure singing and inspired judges to make comments about his contemporary vibe, his signature performance on the show was probably "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi. Lewis incorporated a substantial beatboxing component, making the song sound significantly different from its original version. Jon Bon Jovi, the lead singer of the band who also coached the contestants that week, noted that Lewis' rendition was "rolling the dice". All three judges acknowledged the huge risk of Lewis' arrangement, but also praised him for his originality including beatboxing. Randy Jackson believed that it was the most original performance ever on the show. Cowell even predicted that 50% of the audience "would absolutely hate it" but another half would love it. The groundbreaking performance was later ranked #6 in top 20 all-time greatest American Idol performances on AOL.com.

Several original versions of songs Lewis performed re-entered Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart shortly after the show. Lewis' first performance on-stage, "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane, re-entered the chart at #26 (#19 on Hot Digital Tracks chart); "Time of the Season", a The Zombies' hit in 1968, reached #67; Ryan Adams’s “When the Stars Go Blue” hit #39 (#37 on Hot Digital Tracks chart); Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" shot up to #29; "This Love" and "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5 jumped to #41 and #45 respectively. Maroon 5’s album Songs About Jane had re-entered the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart at #5 on June 2, 2007 as well.

On May 11, 2007, Lewis visited his hometown, Seattle, Washington for the traditional Idol Top 3 hometown visits. He made numerous appearances at radio stations and then played a concert in Seattle at Westlake Center, including a performance of "Baby Got Back" with Sir Mix-a-Lot. He also visited the top of the Space Needle. Fans followed him to Bothell for a parade and concert at the Sammamish River Park. Afterwards, he proceeded to Safeco Field to sing the national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner", for the Seattle Mariners's Game.

Lewis claimed 311 as his all-time favorite band after his performance of "All Mixed Up". Responding to a viewer question on March 13, 2007, he had also confessed his love of "underground hip hop, electronic music" such as Common Market and Panda Conspiracy, with an addition of The Mob Law, which in Lewis' opinion, "should be signed to a major label".

While being the last two contestants waiting for the results on May 2, Lewis and Chris Richardson answered Ryan Seacrest's question about their close relationship, saying that they are best friends. Interestingly, Lewis has "Chris Sligh, Rudy Cárdenas", contestants from the sixth season of American Idol, listed as his own "American idols" on his profile on American Idol official website, while Sligh and Cárdenas also have Lewis on their lists. Furthermore, Lewis claimed in an interview with The Blaker Girls that besides Richardson, Cárdenas and Sligh, his best friends on the show were Brandon Rogers, Jordin Sparks and Gina Glocksen.

Jimmie Walker Blue, his alter ego was introduced in the middle of the Idol.

Performances/Results

{|class="wikitable" align="left" |colspan="110" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Week |colspan="110" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Theme |colspan="110" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Song Choice |colspan="110" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Artist |colspan="110" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Order # |colspan="110" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Result |- |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 24 (12 Men) |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|N/A |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"Somewhere Only We Know" |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Keane |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 20 (10 Men) |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|N/A |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"Virtual Insanity" |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Jamiroquai |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 16 (8 Men) |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|N/A |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"All Mixed Up" |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|311 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 12 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Diana Ross |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"You Keep Me Hangin' On" |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|The Supremes |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 11 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|British Invasion |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"Time of the Season" |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|The Zombies |colspan="110" 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bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Marc Anthony |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 7 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Country |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"When the Stars Go Blue" |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Ryan Adams |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Bottom 3 |- |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 6 (Week 1) |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Inspirational |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"Imagine" |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|John Lennon |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|3 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|SafeNon-Elimination Week |- |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 6 (Week 2) |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Bon Jovi |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"You Give Love a Bad Name" |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Bon Jovi |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|4 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 4 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Barry Gibb |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"You Should Be Dancing""This Is Where I Came In" |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Bee Gees |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|26 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 3 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Judge's Choice (Paula Abdul)Producers' ChoiceContestant's Choice |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"Roxanne""This Love""When I Get You Alone" |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|The PoliceMaroon 5Robin Thicke |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|258 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Finale |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Previous SongNew SongCoronation Song |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"You Give Love a Bad Name""She Will Be Loved""This Is My Now" |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Bon JoviMaroon 5Blake Lewis |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|135 |colspan="110" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Runner-up |}

Post-Idol

Lewis' songs from the American Idol have been on sale at the iTunes Store and the American Idol official website as Blake Lewis - EP (called a "bundle" on Idol official website) shortly after the finale of Idol, along with other songs that did not make the EP's cut that are being sold as individual singles. Figures from SoundScan which were posted on USA Today indicated that Lewis' "You Give Love a Bad Name" was "the biggest-selling download of the season", with 192,000 copies sold.

After the finale of Idol, Blake Lewis has made several appearances on television shows. He performed Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved" on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet (combined with a snippet of U2's "With or Without You"), The Today Show, Live with Regis and Kelly and The Early Show. In the episode of The View on June 14, 2007, he sang "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane. On July 4, 2007, Lewis performed "God Bless America" and "America the Beautiful" on Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular with Sparks and Melinda Doolittle.

Lewis took part in the "American Idols Live! Tour 2007" from July 6 - September 23, 2007, along with other contestants in the top ten. He revealed on The View on June 14, 2007 that all the male contestants on the show would be playing musical instruments on the tour (for the first time ever), "doing like a folk band," and that he would bring along his loop pedals for his beatboxing.

Lewis was named #5 in the list of the 10 sexiest Idol contestants ever on the website during the running of the sixth season of American Idol and was ranked #21 in the list of music's 21 sexiest single men on June 11, 2007 on AOL.com. Later in the issue of People magazine on June 15, 2007, the brand-new runner-up of Idol appeared on its list of "Hottest Bachelors of 2007". He has also made a cut on the list of 50 hottest guys on Elle Girl.

Career

2007-2008: A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)

On March 6, 2008, he performed "How Many Words", from his album A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream), on the American Idol result show.

On the release of his second single, Blake Lewis spent much of his time promoting the single "How Many Words" at various radio stations. While Blake Lewis parted with his label, Arista Records, in June 2008, he will begin his national tour starting on the East Coast at the end of September with the help of 19 Recordings and will be playing songs from A.D.D. as well as new songs. Details about the tour can be found at Blake Lewis's myspace page or the website of his official street team, the Blake Lewis Army.

Upon his record deal with Arista Records/19 Recordings which was announced officially on August 24, 2007, A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream), Lewis' "electro-funk-soul-pop" first studio album, was released on December 4, 2007. In fact, the singer has been recording his album in the studio "for all night long" since June 18. "Break Anotha", the first single from A.D.D., was released to radio on October 30, 2007 and on iTunes Music Store on November 13.

Blake's second single, "How Many Words" was released on March 10, 2008. A.D.D. has been made available at iTunes and includes his music video for his first single "Break Anotha". On June 25, 2008 Entertainment Weekly officially announced that Lewis was dropped by his label, Arista, but will remain on Idol creator Simon Fuller's 19 Recordings roster.

Lewis has said he's already written four songs for his second album, which he's working on with his band's drummer, KJ "Quantize" Sawka. The pair will be co-producing the effort, which Lewis describes as "Massive Attack meets Zero 7 — drum-and-bass with a little pop influence."

It was reported that Lewis has collaborated with his friends on the band, Project Lionheart at a track called "My Eyes" and "Hell Yeah". Aside from that, he also collaborated with Common Market's "Trouble Is", where he contributed backing vocals. Blake says who is currently producing his record with his drummer, KJ Sawka. Blake also recorded a track at 311 frontman Nick Hexum’s house for the next album. Blake finished a charity song called "Selfless" with Darude for Dance4Life. In September, Blake was featured on a song for BT's album, which he says is a “throwback to Flock of Seagulls.”. Blake has also been in Darude's song "I Ran" which hit the charts and is on local radio stations constantly.

2009-Present: Heartbreak on Vinyl

On April 30, 2009, Lewis performed at the 2009 Congressional Clubs' First Lady's Luncheon to Honor Michelle Obama. He performed three songs including a beatbox version of "America the Beautiful".

His second album will be distributed under Tommy Boy Records - the seminal dance/hip hop/electronic label whose catalog includes albums by Africa Bambaataa, Biz Markie and De La Soul. He signed a deal on Tommy Boy Entertainment to record an electronica album.

"I'm doing an electro-pop slash real-hip hop-influenced album," he told Billboard. "It's a great record already and we're only five songs into it. We're hoping to have it out for April, so I'm working my butt off." Blake says there will be a "ton of guests" on the record, mostly Seattle vocalists, but he also has his sights on someone we didn't quite expect: Ben Gibbard from Death Cab For Cutie. Turns out, Blake's got a connection. "My manager Leslie Lewis is Jenny Lewis' sister, so it's all a community thing," he said. "I'm hoping to talk to him about it at the Grammys." Jenny Lewis and Ben Gibbard, along with Jimmy Tamborello, make up the electro-pop band, The Postal Service. In the meantime, Blake, who was dropped by Arista after one album, is getting a kick out of watching the new season of American Idol for the first time since his near win in 2007. And he's also commenting on it, as a special correspondent for his local FOX station. "It's comedy to me," he said. "Because with the audition episodes, I was there for 12 hours, and to see how they cut it into two cities in a one-hour show, I just laugh about it."

Lewis recently announced on his YouTube channel that his new album will be released on October 6, and the single, "Sad Song," will be released "on July 21st." In a recent interview, he said that he is considering 'Universal Imagery' as the title for his new album. He mentioned that, "I have had others, but not as good. I'll know more when I get more of the tracks done and more of a picture has been painted.". On June 17, Lewis confirmed in his official Twitter page the title for his new album would be Heartbreak on Vinyl. Lewis also stated that he had recorded new songs including "Freak", "Electric Touch" and "Binary Love".

The first single from the album, "Sad Song", was released on July 21, 2009. The album, Heartbreak on Vinyl was released on October 6, 2009.

Philanthropy

Lewis has been supporting cancer research at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle by donating 50% of the proceeds from the merchandise of The Blaker Girls. He chose to put his support behind this organization after a best friend of his as well as his friend's girlfriend were diagnosed with lymphoma. In 2010 Lewis competed on Don't Forget the Lyrics to raise money for the Seattle Children's Hospital, a charity that he has worked with for over ten years.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Notes: ¹ Since Blake Lewis (EP) was available exclusively through the iTunes Store, it was not eligible to chart on the Billboard 200.

Singles

Notes:

¹ While Jordin Sparks, the winner of the sixth season of American Idol, had "This Is My Now" as her official single, Lewis did not announce his choice of single officially, despite the fact that "You Give Love a Bad Name" was the highest-charting track among his "bundle" of songs available for downloading. "You Give Love a Bad Name" entered a number of charts.

² Unlike the debut songs of previous winners and runners-up of American Idol, all five songs that appeared on Blake Lewis (EP) were released digitally only, not physically.

"Dumpty Humpty"

"Emotional Waterfalls"

"Four Letter Word"

"Give It to Me" (duet with Laura Blue)

"Jealousy"

"My MySpace" (featuring The Sampler)

"Transmission"

"Love Takeover"

"Drivin' Me Crazy"

Guest vocals

2003: Unexpected Arrival, "Julie" (featuring Blake Lewis); "Take Control" (featuring Blake Lewis) Both chorus's written by Blake

2007: Caleb Cunningham/K-Tone, "My Eyes" (featuring Blake Lewis) 2007: KJ Sawka, "Brotherhood of the Drum" (featuring Blake Lewis); "Move On" (featuring Blake Lewis); "WTO" (featuring Blake Lewis) (from the album Cyclonic Steel)

2008: Darude, "Selfless" (featuring Blake Lewis); "I Ran (So Far Away) (featuring Blake Lewis)

2009: DJ Dan, "Operator" (featuring Blake Lewis)

Cameos

2006: The Sampler, "The Chuck Norris Rap, The Harry Potter Rap, Snakes On A Plane Rap" (Music Video)

2007: Jordin Sparks, "Tattoo" (music video)

Footnotes

External links

Blake Lewis Official Website

Blake Lewis on Sony BMG Musicbox Network

Blake Lewis on AOL.com

Blake Lewis on Last.fm

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:American Idol participants Category:American male singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Blue-eyed soul singers Category:American tenors Category:Beatboxers Category:Hip hop singers Category:American guitarists Category:American pianists Category:American drummers Category:Idol series runners-up Category:American musicians of German descent Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:Musicians from Washington (U.S. state) Category:People from Redmond, Washington

Name	Princess Superstar
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Concetta Kirschner
Born	February 25, 1971
Origin	Spanish Harlem, New York, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, guitar
Genre	Electronica, Hip hop, Dance
Occupation	Musician, DJ
Years active	1993–present
Label	Corrupt Conglomerate Records, Studio !K7, Dark Beloved Cloud Records, 5th Beetle
Associated acts	Gamma Rays, Kool Keith, MC Paul Barman, Trussed Recordings
Url	Princess Superstar Website

Princess Superstar (born Concetta Kirschner, February 25, 1971 in Spanish Harlem, New York) is an American emcee and DJ.

Her musical style, as she describes it, is flip-flop — a mixture of 'hip hop, electroclash and electronica'.

Background

Kirschner was born to a Jewish father of Russian and Polish descent and a Sicilian-American mother who converted to Judaism. Kirschner identifies as a "spiritual Jew". Her parents were psychologists. When Kirchner was a child, the family moved to rural Pennsylvania and then to the suburbs of Philadelphia. She attended school at the Germantown Academy, a private high school, where she was a member of the Singing Club, the Theatre Club and the Black Student Union. She moved to NYC at the age of 17 and went to NYU, where she got her BFA in drama. She is a vegan, active in the animal rights movement and a member of Mensa.

Career

After graduating from high school, she moved to New York City and studied acting at New York University. She took up the guitar, Around the same time, Kirschner was composing hip hop-styled songs on a 4-track recorder.

Princess Superstar

In 1994, Kirschner made a demo tape called, Mitch Better Get My Bunny, under the name "Princess Superstar". She sent the tape to the College Music Journal (CMJ) and to the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal Records. she collaborated with various producers such as Arthur Baker, Jacques Lu Cont, Junior Sanchez, Armand Van Helden, Todd Terry, and DJ Mighty Mi. My Machine contains the track, "Perfect" which was used remixed using Mason's Exceeder. This went to #3 on the UK charts in 2007.

In 2008, Kirschner sang on the "Licky" single by long-time associate, Larry Tee.

In 2009 Kirschner is featured on Grandmaster Flash's record The Bridge, alongside Snoop Dogg and Busta Rhymes. She is currently working on her new album to be released soon.

DJ

Kirschner is also a DJ who plays sets all over the world. She has released DJ recordings, such as Princess Is a DJ in 2002, Now Is the Winter of Our Discothèque in 2005, and American Gigolo III on International DeeJay Gigolo Records in 2007.

Discography

Albums

1996 Strictly Platinum (5th Beetle)

1997 CEO (A Big Rich Major Label)

2000 Last of the Great 20th Century Composers (Corrupt Conglomerate)

2001 Princess Superstar Is (Studio !K7/Rapster)

2005 My Machine (Studio !K7)

2007 The Best of Princess Superstar (Studio !K7)

2011 The New Evolution

EPs/singles

1994 "Mitch Better Get My Bunny" (cassette EP)

1999 "Come Up to My Room"

1999 "I Hope I Sell a Lot of Records at Christmastime"

2001 "Wet!Wet!Wet!/Keith n' Me"

2002 "Bad Babysitter" (chart position #11 in the UK)

2002 "Keith N' Me" (feat. Kool Keith) (Rerelease)

2002 "Fuck Me On The Dancefloor" (Disco D feat. Princess Superstar, single from his record A Night at the Booty Bar)

2003 "Do It like A Robot"

2003 "Jam For The Ladies (Moby vs. Princess Superstar, original version on the Moby album 18)

2004 "Memphis Bells" (The Prodigy featuring Princess Superstar)

2005 "Coochie Coo"

2005 "Perfect"

2005 "My Machine"

2006 "Perfect (Exceeder)" (Mason vs. Princess Superstar) (#3 UK, #1 UK Dance Chart, #17 NL)

2008 "Licky" (Larry Tee featuring Princess Superstar)

2009 "Life Is But a Dream"

2010 "Ground Control"

Music videos

1996 "Smooth"

2002 "Bad Babysitter"

2002 "Keith N' Me"

2003 "Jam For The Ladies"

2005 "Perfect"

2007 "Perfect (Exceeder)"

2008 "Licky (Herve Radio edit)"

DJ albums

2002 Princess Is a DJ

2005 Now Is The Winter Of Our Discothèque

2005 Now Is The Winter Of Our Discothèque Pt. 2

2007 American Gigolo III

Guest appearances

Interview on Channel V (Australia) with Yumi Stynes [2006]

MTV's "Made" - Made coach.

"Lovage" - MC Paul Barman

2000: MTV Get Off The Air, Part 2 - MC Paul Barman It's Very Stimulating

2001: The Jump Off - The High & Mighty Presents Eastern Conference All Stars II

2003: Jam For The Ladies Remix Moby

2003: Fuck Me On The Dancefloor Disco D

2003: Return To NY - Arthur Agent

2003: Soft Shoe Snoozin - Gonzales Z

2004: Memphis Bells - The Prodigy Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned

2004: Mein Schatzi - Munk Aperitivo

2005: Unholy Matrimony - The High & Mighty 12th Man

2005: Darling Nikki - XLOVER Pleasure & Romance

2006: Iron Man - Lotterboys Animalia

2006: Eat It - Dr Octagon The Return Of Doctor Octagon

2006: European Accent DJs Are Not Rockstars

2006: V.I.P. DJs Are Not Rockstars

2006: Computer Arling & Cameron Hi-Fi Underground

2006: Lick The Alphabet Diskokaines

2006: Rock-A-Boogie Diskokaines

2006: Goes Busters LBL

2006: Licky Larry Tee

2006: Pussy (Greenskeepers Remix) One Fingered Pocket

2006: Let's Get Old DJ Yoda The Amazing Adventures Of DJ Yoda

2006: Lips On Fire Agoria The Green Armchair

2006: Dayglo Fetisch

2007: Wanna Make Out The Glimmers

2007: Detonator Shinichi Osawa The One

2009: Monday Morning Sharam Jey & LouLou Players

2009: Those Chix Grandmaster Flash The Bridge (Concept Of A Culture)

2009: Rock U Alexander Technique

See also

List of female rappers

References

External links

Official website

Interview with Princess Superstar

Category:American vegetarians Category:American vegans Category:Female rappers Category:Hip hop DJs Category:Hip hop singers Category:People of Jewish descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American people of Sicilian descent Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American musicians of Russian descent Category:Jewish American musicians Category:American female singers Category:Jewish rappers Category:American rappers of Italian descent Category:1971 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:Rappers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Musicians from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Name	Carl Cox
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Carl McDonald Cox
Born	July 29, 1962
Origin	Barbados
Genre	HouseTechno
Occupation	Producer, DJ
Label	Intec Records
Url	http://www.carlcox.com/

Carl Cox (born 29 July 1962, Barbados

Discography

Albums

1996 At The End Of The Cliche, edel UK Records/Worldwide Ultimatum Records

1999 Phuture 2000, edel UK Records/Worldwide Ultimatum Records

2005 Second Sign, Play It Again Sam

Singles

1991 "I Want You (Forever)", Perfecto Records

1995 "Two Paintings And A Drum", edel UK Records/Worldwide Ultimatum Records

1996 "Sensual Sophis-ti-cat", edel UK Records/Worldwide Ultimatum Records

1996 "Tribal Jedi", edel UK Records/Worldwide Ultimatum Records

1998 "Phuture 2000", edel UK Records/Worldwide Ultimatum Records

1999 "Dr. Funk", edel UK Records/Worldwide Ultimatum Records

1999 "The Latin Theme", edel UK Records/Worldwide Ultimatum Records

2002 "Club Traxx Vol.1", Trust The DJ

2003 "Club Traxx Vol.2", Trust The DJ

2003 "Dirty Bass", 23rd Century Records

Compilations

1994 Nonstopmix 1994, Liquid Rec.

1994 Fantazia III - Made in Heaven Remix, Fantazia

1994 Fantazia The DJ Collection Carl Cox, Fantazia

1995 F.A.C.T., React

1997 F.A.C.T. 2, Worldwide Ultimatum Records

1998 DJF 250, Sony Music Entertainment

1998 Non Stop 98/01, FFRR Records

1998 The Sound Of Ultimate B.A.S.E., Worldwide Ultimatum Records

1999 Non Stop 2000, FFRR Records

1999 F.A.C.T. Australia, X-Over Recordings

2000 Mixed Live Crobar Nightclub, Chicago, Moonshine Music

2002 Global, Play It Again Sam

2002 Mixed Live 2nd Session Area 2, Detroit, Moonshine Music

2003 F.A.C.T. Australia II, Warner Music Group

2003 U60311 Compilation Techno Division Vol. 3, V2 Records

2004 Back To Mine, DMC Publishing

2004 Pure Intec, Intec Records

2006 Intec 50 EP, Intec Records

2007 Global, Play It Again Sam

2008 Ultimate Carl Cox, Ministry of Sound Australia

2010 ''Global Underground 38 - Black Rock Desert

Remixes

1991 Supreme Love Gods - "Cherry White (Carl Cox Remix)", One Little Indian

1991 art of Noise - "Shades Of Paranoimia (Carl Cox Remix)", China Records

1992 Eternal - "Eternal (Carl Cox Remix)", Underground Level Recordings

1992 Robert Owens - "Gotta Work (Carl's Renaissance Remix)", Freetown Inc.

1992 Patti Day - "Hot Stuff (Carl Cox Remix)", Starway Records

1992 DJ Phantasy - "Jepron (Carl Cox Remix)", Liquid Wax Recordings

1992 Sunscreem - "Perfect Motion (Carl Cox's Rhythm's A Drug Remix)", Sony BMG Music Entertainment

1993 Visa - "Let Me See Ya Move (Carl Cox's Militant March Remix)", MMR Productions

1993 Smooth But Hazzardous - "Made You Dance (Carl Cox Remix)", Sound Entity Records

1994 Laurent Garnier - "Astral Dreams (Carl Cox's MMR Remix)", F-Communications

1994 Trevor Rockcliffe Presents Glow - "Break The Law (Carl's Reconstructed Remix)", MMR Productions

1994 Quench - "Hope (Carl Cox Remix)", Infectious Records

1994 FKW - "Jingo (Carl Cox Remix)", PWL

1994 O.T.T. - "Raw (Carl Cox Remix)", Industrial Strength Records

1994 Aurora Borealis - "Raz (Carl's MMR Remix)", F-Communications

1994 English Muffin - "The Blood Of An English Muffin (Carl Cox Remix)", MMR Productions

1994 Lunatic Asylum - "The Meltdown (Carl Cox & John Selway's Circular Cycle Remix)", MMR Productions

1995 Jam & Spoon - "Angel (Ladadi O-Heyo) (Carl Cox Remix)", Epic Records

1995 The Stone Roses - "Begging You (Cox's Ultimatum Remix)", Geffen Records

1995 Yello - "L'Hotel (Carl Cox's Hands On Yello Remix)", Urban

1995 Dr. Fernando "Stomach Substance (Carl Cox Remix)", MMR Productions

1995 Infrequent Oscillation - "Burning Phibes (Carl Cox Remix)", MMR Productions

1995 Technohead - "Get Stoned (Carl Cox Remix)", Mokum Records

1995 AWeX - "It's Our Future (Carl Cox's Ultimate Remix)", Plastic City UK

1995 Slab - "Rampant Prankster (Carl Cox's Jumper Remix)", Hydrogen Dukebox

1995 Steve Mason & Tony Crooks - "Shallow Grave (Carl Cox's After Hours Remix)", Rain Forest Records

1995 Josh Abrahams - "March Time (Carl Cox Remix)", MMR Productions

1996 System 7 - "Hangar 84 (Cox's W.W. Ultimatum Remix)", Butterfly Records

1996 Electroliners - "Loose Caboose (Carl Cox Remix)", XL Recordings

1996 Barefoot Boys - "Need No Man (Cox's Harder Remix), Stealth Records

1996 The Advent - "Mad Dog (Carl Cox Remix)", Internal

1996 JX - "There's Nothing I Won't Do (Carl Cox's Full House Remix)", FFRR Records

1996 Consolidated - "This Is Fascism (Carl Cox's Burning Gold Remix)", MC Projects

1996 Vernon - "Vernon's Wonderland (Carl Cox's Full Remix)", Eye Q

1996 Poltergeist - "Vicious Circles (Carl Cox's MMR Remix)", Manifesto

1997 DJ SS - "DJs Anthem (Carl Cox Remix)", Formation Records

1997 Tenth Chapter - "Prologue (Carl Cox & Paul van Dyk Remix)", Jackpot

1999 Needle Damage - "That Zipper Track (Carl Cox Remix)", Worldwide Ultimatum Records

1999 Grooverider - "Where's Jack The Ripper (Carl Cox's Techno Radio Edit)", Higher Ground Records

2000 Tony Moran Featuring Cindy Mizelle - "Shine On (Carl Cox's Sweat Dub)", Contagious Records

2001 Slam - "Positive Education (Carl Cox's Intec Remix)", VC Recordings

2001 Trevor Rockcliffe & Blake Baxter - "Visions Of You (Carl Cox Remix)", Intec Records

2001 Ramirez - "Volcan De Passion (Carl Cox Remix)", Terapia

2002 Cormano - "Mangamana vs. Revenge (Carl Cox's Turntable Remix)" 4 Play Records, Inc.

2003 Tomaz vs Filterheadz - "Sunshine (Carl Cox Remix)", Intec Records

2003 Bad Cabbage - "You're Rude (Get Fucked) (Carl Cox's Not So Rude Remix)", Mutant Disc

2004 Eric Powell - "Don't Deny It (Carl Cox Remix)", 23rd Century Records

2004 Johan Cyber - "Natural Funk (Carl Cox Remix)", 23rd Century Records

2004 Cohen vs Deluxe - "Just Kick! (Carl Cox Remix)", Intec Records

2007 Sander Van Doorn - "Riff (Carl Cox's Global Remix)", Doorn Records

References

External links

CarlCox.com - Official website

Discogs.com - Discography

Coxy's big break - the move to Frankston

Carl Cox at Heaven

Carl Cox live at Space Ibiza (video)

Category:1962 births Category:Club DJs Category:Electronic music radio shows Category:English DJs Category:English electronic musicians Category:English house musicians Category:English techno musicians Category:E1 Music artists Category:Living people Category:Hardcore musicians Category:Musicians from Manchester Category:Music from Oldham Category:People from Oldham Category:Remixers