Events

1293 – Raden Wijaya is crowned as the first monarch of Majapahit kingdom of Java, taking throne name Kertarajasa Jayawardhana.

1444 – Battle of Varna: The crusading forces of King Vladislaus III of Varna (aka Ulaszlo I of Hungary and Wladyslaw III of Poland) are crushed by the Turks under Sultan Murad II and Vladislaus is killed.

1520 – Danish King Christian II executes dozens of people in the Stockholm Bloodbath after a successful invasion of Sweden.

1619 – René Descartes has the dreams that inspire his Meditations on First Philosophy.

1659 – Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Maratha King kills Afzal Khan, Adilshahi in the battle popularly known as Battle of Pratapgarh. This is also recognised as the first defence of Swarajya

1674 – Anglo-Dutch War: As provided in the Treaty of Westminster, Netherlands cedes New Netherlands to England.

1766 – The last colonial governor of New Jersey, William Franklin, signs the charter of Queen's College (later renamed Rutgers University).

1775 – The United States Marine Corps is founded at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia by Samuel Nicholas.

1793 – A Goddess of Reason is proclaimed by the French Convention at the suggestion of Chaumette.

1821 – Cry of Independence by Rufina Alfaro at La Villa de Los Santos, Panama setting into motion a revolt which lead to Panama's independence from Spain and to it immediately becoming part of Colombia

1847 – The passenger ship Stephen Whitney is wrecked in thick fog off the southern coast of Ireland, killing 92 of the 110 on board. The disaster results in the construction of the Fastnet Rock lighthouse.

1865 – Major Henry Wirz, the superintendent of a prison camp in Andersonville, Georgia, is hanged, becoming the only American Civil War soldier executed for war crimes.

1871 – Henry Morton Stanley locates missing explorer and missionary, Dr. David Livingstone in Ujiji, near Lake Tanganyika, famously greeting him with the words, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?".

1898 – Beginning of the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, the only instance of a municipal government being overthrown in US history.

1910 – The date of Thomas A. Davis' opening of the San Diego Army and Navy Academy, though the official founding date is November 23, 1910.

1918 – The Western Union Cable Office in North Sydney, Nova Scotia receives a top-secret coded message from Europe (that would be sent to Ottawa, Ontario and Washington, DC) that said on November 11, 1918 all fighting would cease on land, sea and in the air.

1919 – The first national convention of the American Legion is held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, ending on November 12.

1942 – World War II: Germany invades Vichy France following French Admiral François Darlan's agreement to an armistice with the Allies in North Africa.

1944 – The ammunition ship explodes at Seeadler Harbour, Manus, Admiralty Islands, killing at least 432 and wounding 371.

1945 – Heavy fighting in Surabaya between Indonesian nationalists and returning colonialists after World War II, is celebrated as Heroes' Day (Hari Pahlawan).

1951 – Direct-dial coast-to-coast telephone service begins in the United States.

1954 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower dedicates the USMC War Memorial (Iwo Jima memorial) in Arlington National Cemetery.

1958 – The Hope Diamond is donated to the Smithsonian Institution by New York diamond merchant Harry Winston.

1969 – National Educational Television (the predecessor to the Public Broadcasting Service) in the United States debuts the children's television program Sesame Street.

1970 – Vietnam War: Vietnamization – For the first time in five years, an entire week ends with no reports of American combat fatalities in Southeast Asia.

1970 – The Soviet Lunar probe Lunokhod 1 is launched.

1971 – In Cambodia, Khmer Rouge forces attack the city of Phnom Penh and its airport, killing 44, wounding at least 30 and damaging nine aircraft.

1972 – Southern Airways Flight 49 from Birmingham, Alabama is hijacked and, at one point, is threatened with crashing into the nuclear installation at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After two days, the plane lands in Havana, Cuba, where the hijackers are jailed by Fidel Castro.

1975 – The 729-foot-long freighter sinks during a storm on Lake Superior, killing all 29 crew on board.

1975 – United Nations Resolution 3379: United Nations General Assembly approves a resolution equating Zionism with racism (the resolution is repealed in December 1991 by Resolution 4686).

1979 – A 106-car Canadian Pacific freight train carrying explosive and poisonous chemicals from Windsor, Ontario, Canada derails in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada just west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, causing a massive explosion and the largest peacetime evacuation in Canadian history and one of the largest in North American history.

1984 – The first Breeders' Cup takes place at Hollywood Park Racetrack.

1989 – Fall of the communist regime in Bulgaria.

1995 – In Nigeria, playwright and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, along with eight others from the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop), are hanged by government forces.

1997 – WorldCom and MCI Communications announce a $37 billion merger (the largest merger in US history at the time).

2001 – Apple resellers start selling the iPod

2006 – Sri Lankan Tamil Parliamentarian Nadarajah Raviraj is assassinated in Colombo.

2007 – ¿Por qué no te callas? incident between King Juan Carlos of Spain and Venezuela's president Hugo Chávez.

Births

1341 – Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, English statesman and former Lord Marshall (d. 1408)

1433 – Charles, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1477)

1480 – Bridget of York, English princess and nun (d. 1517)

1483 – Martin Luther, German Protestant reformer (d. 1546)

1565 – Laurentius Paulinus Gothus, Swedish theologian and astronomer (d. 1646)

1566 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, English politician (d. 1601)

1577 – Jacob Cats, Dutch poet, jurist and politician (d. 1660)

1620 – Ninon de l'Enclos, French courtesan and writer (d. 1705)

1668 – Louis III, Prince of Condé (d. 1710)

1668 – François Couperin, French composer (d. 1733)

1683 – George II of Great Britain (d. 1760)

1695 – John Bevis, English physician and astronomer (d. 1771)

1697 – William Hogarth, English artist (d. 1764)

1710 – Adam Gottlob Moltke, Danish statesman (d. 1792)

1728 – Oliver Goldsmith, English playwright (d. 1774)

1735 – Granville Sharp, English abolitionist (d. 1813)

1759 – Friedrich Schiller, German writer (d. 1805)

1801 – Samuel Gridley Howe, American social reformer (d. 1876)

1801 – Vladimir Dal, Russian lexicographer (d. 1872)

1810 – George Jennings, English sanitary engineer (d. 1882)

1834 – José Hernández, Argentine author of Martín Fierro (d. 1886)

1844 – Henry Eyster Jacobs, American theologian (d. 1932)

1845 – Sir John Sparrow David Thompson, fourth Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1894)

1848 – Sir Surendranath Banerjea, leader, Indian National Congress (d. 1925)

1850 – Arthur Goring Thomas, English composer (d. 1892)

1868 – Gichin Funakoshi, Japanese martial artist (d. 1957)

1871 – Winston Churchill, American novelist (d. 1947)

1873 – Henri Rabaud, French composer and conductor (d. 1949)

1874 – Idabelle Smith Firestone, American composer and songwriter (d. 1954)

1878 – Cy Morgan, American baseball player (d. 1962)

1879 – Vachel Lindsay, American poet (d. 1931)

1879 – Patrick Pearse, Irish political activist (d. 1916)

1880 – Jacob Epstein, American sculptor (d. 1959)

1887 – Arnold Zweig, German author (d. 1968)

1888 – Andrei Tupolev, Russian aircraft designer (d. 1972)

1889 – Claude Rains, English actor (d. 1967)

1891 – Carl Stalling, American film composer (d. 1972)

1893 – John P. Marquand, American writer (d. 1960)

1894 – Boris Furlan, Slovenian legal theorist and politician (d. 1957)

1895 – Mabel Normand, American silent actress (d. 1930)

1895 – John Knudsen Northrop, American airplane manufacturer (d. 1981)

1896 – Jimmy Dykes, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976)

1896 – Olga Grey, Hungarian-born American silent actress (d. 1973)

1906 – Josef Kramer, German concentration camp commandant (d. 1945)

1907 – Jane Froman, American actor and singer (d. 1980)

1907 – John Moore, English author (d. 1967)

1908 – Charles Merritt, Canadian Army officer and Victoria Cross recipient (d. 2000)

1909 – Paweł Jasienica, Polish historian (d. 1970)

1909 – Johnny Marks, American songwriter (d. 1985)

1912 – Birdie Tebbetts, American baseball player and manager (d. 1999)

1916 – Billy May, American composer, arranger and bandleader (d. 2004)

1916 – Louis le Brocquy, Irish painter

1918 – Ernst Otto Fischer, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)

1919 – George Fenneman, American radio and television announcer (d. 1997)

1919 – Michael Strank, American flag raiser on Iwo Jima (d. 1945)

1919 – Mikhail Kalashnikov, Russian inventor

1919 – François Périer, French actor (d. 2002)

1919 – Moise Tshombe, Congoian politician (d. 1969)

1920 – Jennifer Holt, American actress (d. 1997)

1920 – Rafael del Pino, Spanish entrepreneur (d. 2008)

1923 – Hachiko, world famous dog (d. 1935)

1924 – Russell Johnson, American actor (Gilligan's Island)

1924 – Bobby Limb, Australian entertainer (d. 1999)

1925 – Richard Burton, Welsh actor (d. 1984)

1927 – Sabah (singer), Lebanese singer and actress

1928 – Ennio Morricone, Italian composer

1929 – Marilyn Bergman, American composer and songwriter

1932 – Don Henderson, English actor (d. 1997)

1932 – Roy Scheider, American actor (d. 2008)

1933 – Ronald Evans, American astronaut (d. 1990)

1934 – Lucien Bianchi, Belgian racing driver (d. 1969)

1935 – Bernard Babior, American biochemist

1935 – Igor Dmitrievich Novikov, Russian astrophysicist

1937 – Albert Hall, American actor

1939 – Russell Means, Native American activist

1939 – Allan Moffat, Canadian-Australian race car driver

1940 – Screaming Lord Sutch, English musician and politician (d. 1999)

1941 – John Geoghegan, American soldier and Silver Star recipient (d. 1965)

1942 – Robert F. Engle, American economist, Nobel laureate

1942 – Hans-Rudolf Merz, Swiss Federal Councilor

1943 – Saxby Chambliss, American politician, senior senator of Georgia

1944 – Silvestre Reyes, American politician

1944 – Sir Tim Rice, English lyricist

1945 – Donna Fargo, American singer

1946 – Roy Thomas Baker, English record producer

1947 – Glen Buxton, American musician (Alice Cooper) (d. 1997)

1947 – Bachir Gemayel, Lebanese military commander (d. 1982)

1947 – Greg Lake, British musician (Emerson, Lake & Palmer)

1947 – Dave Loggins, American songwriter and singer

1948 – Aaron Brown, American broadcast journalist

1948 – Shigesato Itoi, Japanese novelist and video game designer.

1948 – Hugh Moffatt, American songwriter

1948 – Vincent Schiavelli, American actor (d. 2005)

1949 – Ann Reinking, American dancer

1950 – Debra Hill, American screenwriter and film producer (d. 2005)

1950 – Bob Orton, Jr., American wrestler

1952 – Gerry DiNardo, American football coach

1955 – James Chapman, American novelist

1955 – Jack Clark, American baseball player

1955 – Roland Emmerich, German film producer and director

1956 – Mohsen Badawi, Egyptian entrepreneur and activist

1956 – Sinbad, American actor

1958 – Stephen Herek, American film director

1958 – George Lowe, American voice actor

1958 – Massimo Morsello, Italian singer (d. 2001)

1958 – Brooks Williams, American musician

1959 – Linda Cohn, American sports reporter

1959 – Mackenzie Phillips, American actress

1959 – Mike McCarthy, American football coach

1960 – Neil Gaiman, English writer

1960 – Dan Hawkins, American college football coach

1961 – Rudolf Grimm, Austrian physics professor

1961 – John Walton, English darts player

1963 – Hugh Bonneville, English actor

1964 – Kenny Rogers, American baseball player

1964 – Magnús Scheving, Icelandic athlete

1965 – Jamie Dixon, American basketball coach

1965 – Eddie Irvine, Northern Irish racing driver

1965 – Sean Hughes, Irish comedian

1966 – Vanessa Angel, English actress

1966 – Bill DeMott, American wrestler

1967 – Michael Jai White, American actor

1968 – Steve Brookstein, English X Factor winner

1968 – Tracy Morgan, American actor/comedian

1969 – Faustino Asprilla, Colombian footballer

1969 – Jens Lehmann, German footballer

1969 – Ellen Pompeo, American actress

1969 – Jason Huling, Library president, and future ruler of the world

1970 – Warren G, American rapper

1970 – Freddy Loix, Belgian rally driver

1970 – Vince Vieluf, American actor

1970 – Tay Ping Hui, Singaporean actor

1971 – Walton Goggins, American actor

1972 – DJ Ashba, American musician (Guns N' Roses)

1972 – Isaac Bruce, American football player

1972 – Shawn Green, American baseball player

1973 – Patrik Berger, Czech footballer

1974 – Niko Hurme, Finnish musician

1974 – Chris Lilley, Australian comedian

1976 – Steffen Iversen, Norwegian footballer

1976 – Shefki Kuqi, Finnish footballer

1977 – Josh Barnett, American Mixed Martial Artist

1977 – Brittany Murphy, American actress (d. 2009)

1977 – Won Bin, Korean actor

1978 – Kyla Cole, Slovak pornographic actress

1978 – Eve, American rapper

1978 – Drew McConnell, Irish musician (Babyshambles)

1979 – Chris Joannou, Australian musician, (Silverchair)

1980 – Troy Bell, American basketball player

1980 – Calvin Chen, Taiwanese singer, (Fei Lun Hai/Fahrenheit)

1980 – Donté Stallworth, American football player

1981 – Tony Blanco, Dominican baseball player

1981 – Jason L. Dunham, American Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2004)

1982 – Heather Matarazzo, American actress

1983 – Miranda Lambert, American singer

1983 – Craig Smith, American basketball player

1984 – Kendrick Perkins,Texanian basketball player

1985 – Ricki-Lee Coulter, New Zealand/Australian singer

1985 – Giovonnie Samuels, American television actress

1985 – Krystian Trochowski, German rugby player

1986 – Ilias Iliadis, Greek judoka

1986 – Josh Peck, American actor

1987 – Charles Hamilton, American hip-hop artist

1987 – Jessica Tovey, Australian actress

1989 – Aditya Kesarkar, Advertising Copywriter and Photographer

2000 – Mackenzie Foy, American actress and model

Deaths

627 – Justus, Archbishop of Canterbury

901 – Queen Adelaide of Paris

1241 – Pope Celestine IV

1444 – King Władysław III of Poland (b. 1424)

1549 – Pope Paul III (b. 1468)

1596 – Peter Wentworth, English Puritan politician (b. 1530)

1605 – Ulisse Aldrovandi, Italian naturalist (b. 1522)

1617 – Barnabe Rich, English soldier and writer

1624 – Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, English theater patron (b. 1573)

1644 – Luís Vélez de Guevara, Spanish writer (b. 1579)

1659 – Afzal Khan, Adilshahi Emperor by Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Maratha King in Battle of Pratapgarh

1673 – Michael of Poland (b. 1640)

1727 – Alphonse de Tonty, French explorer and American settler (b. 1659)

1728 – Fyodor Apraksin, Russian admirals (b. 1661)

1772 – Pedro Antonio Joaquim Correa da Serra Garção, Portuguese poet (b. 1724)

1777 – Cornstalk, Shawnee chief

1808 – Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, British soldier and Governor of Quebec (b. 1724)

1865 – Henry Wirz, Swiss-born American POW commandant (b. 1823)

1869 – John E. Wool, American soldier (b. 1822)

1891 – Arthur Rimbaud, French poet, (b. 1854)

1909 – George Essex Evans, Australian poet (b. 1863)

1912 – Louis Cyr, Canadian strongman (b. 1863)

1917 – Harry Trott, Australian cricketer (b. 1866)

1936 – Louis Gustave Binger, French officer and explorer (b. 1856)

1938 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkish statesman (b. 1881)

1964 – Jimmie Dodd, American actor (b. 1910)

1973 – David "Stringbean" Akeman, American country music banjo player (b. 1915)

1975 – Ernest M. McSorley, American ship captain (b. 1912)

1981 – Abel Gance, French film director, producer, and actor (b. 1889)

1982 – Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (b. 1906)

1984 – Xavier Herbert, Australian author (b. 1901)

1986 – Rogelio de la Rosa, Filipino actor and politician (b. 1916)

1986 – Gordon Richards, British jockey. (b. 1904)

1990 – Aurelio Monteagudo, Cuban baseball player (b. 1943)

1990 – Mário Schenberg, Brazilian physicist (b. 1914)

1991 – William Afflis, American professional wrestler (b. 1929)

1992 – Chuck Connors, American actor and pro athlete (b. 1921)

1994 – Carmen McRae, American singer (b. 1920)

1995 – Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigerian writer and activist (b. 1941)

1997 – Tommy Tedesco, American musician (b. 1930)

1998 – Mary Millar, English actress (b. 1936)

2000 – Jacques Chaban-Delmas, Frech statesman (b. 1915)

2000 – Adamantios Androutsopoulos, Greek lawyer and politician (b. 1919)

2001 – Ken Kesey, American author (b. 1935)

2002 – Michel Boisrond, French film director (b. 1921)

2003 – Canaan Banana, Zimbabwen politician (b. 1936)

2003 – Irv Kupcinet, American columnist and television personality (b. 1912)

2004 – Katy de la Cruz, Filipino singer (b. 1907)

2006 – Diana Coupland, British comedy actress (b. 1932)

2006 – Gerald Levert, American singer (b. 1966)

2006 – Jack Palance, American actor (b. 1919)

2006 – Nadarajah Raviraj, Sri Lankan politician (b. 1962)

2006 – Fokko du Cloux, mathematician (b. 1954)

2007 – Laraine Day, American actress (b. 1920)

2007 – Augustus F. Hawkins, American politician and civil rights figure (b. 1907)

2007 – Norman Mailer, American author (b. 1923)

2008 – Miriam Makeba, South African singer and anti-apartheid activist (b. 1932)

2008 – Arthur Shawcross, American serial killer (b. 1945)

2008 – Wannes Van de Velde, Flemish singer (b. 1937)

2009 – Gheorghe Dinica, Romanian actor (b. 1934)

2009 – Robert Enke, German footballer (b. 1977)

2009 – Tomaž Humar, Slovenian mountaineer (b. 1969)

2009 – John Allen Muhammad, American convicted spree killer (b. 1960)

2010 – Dino De Laurentiis, Italian film producer (b. 1919)

2010 – Dave Niehaus, American sportscaster (b. 1935)

2010 – Nicolo Rizzuto, Sicilian-born Canadian organized crime figure (b. 1924)

Holidays and observances

Christian Feast Day:

*Andrew Avellino

*Justus

*Pope Leo I

*November 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Cry of Independence Day (Panama)

Day of Remembrance of Ataturk (Turkey)

Day of Russian Militsiya (Russia)

Day of Tradition or Día de la Tradición, celebrated on the birthday of José Hernández (Argentina, especially San Antonio de Areco)

Heroes' Day or Hari Pahlawan (Indonesia)

United States Marine Corps birthday ball (United States)

External links

BBC: On This Day

On This Day in Canada

----

Category:Days of the year Category:November

af:10 November ar:ملحق:10 نوفمبر an:10 de noviembre frp:10 novembro ast:10 de payares az:10 noyabr bn:নভেম্বর ১০ bjn:10 Nupimbir zh-min-nan:11 goe̍h 10 ji̍t be:10 лістапада be-x-old:10 лістапада bcl:Nobyembre 10 bs:10. novembar br:10 Du bg:10 ноември ca:10 de novembre cv:Чӳк, 10 ceb:Nobiyembre 10 cs:10. listopad co:10 nuvembri cy:10 Tachwedd da:10. november de:10. November dv:ނޮވެމްބަރު 10 et:10. november el:10 Νοεμβρίου myv:Сундерьковонь 10 чи es:10 de noviembre eo:10-a de novembro eu:Azaroaren 10 fa:۱۰ نوامبر hif:10 November fo:10. november fr:10 novembre fy:10 novimber fur:10 di Novembar ga:10 Samhain gv:10 Mee Houney gd:10 an t-Samhain gl:10 de novembro gan:11月10號 gu:નવેમ્બર ૧૦ xal:Үкр сарин 10 ko:11월 10일 hy:Նոյեմբերի 10 hi:१० नवम्बर hr:10. studenog io:10 di novembro bpy:নভেম্বর ১০ id:10 November ia:10 de novembre is:10. nóvember it:10 novembre he:10 בנובמבר jv:10 November kl:Novemberi 10 kn:ನವೆಂಬರ್ ೧೦ pam:Nobiembri 10 krc:10 ноябрь ka:10 ნოემბერი csb:10 lëstopadnika kk:Қарашаның 10 sw:10 Novemba kv:10 вӧльгым ht:10 novanm ku:10'ê sermawezê la:10 Novembris lv:10. novembris lb:10. November lt:Lapkričio 10 li:10 november lmo:10 11 hu:November 10. mk:10 ноември ml:നവംബർ 10 mr:नोव्हेंबर १० xmf:10 გერგობათუთა arz:10 نوفمبر ms:10 November mn:11 сарын 10 nah:Tlamahtlāccēti 10 nl:10 november nds-nl:10 november ne:१० नोभेम्बर new:नोभेम्बर १० ja:11月10日 nap:10 'e nuvembre no:10. november nn:10. november nrm:10 Novembre nov:10 de novembre oc:10 de novembre mhr:10 Кылме uz:10-noyabr pa:੧੦ ਨਵੰਬਰ pag:November 10 nds:10. November pl:10 listopada pt:10 de novembro ro:10 noiembrie qu:10 ñiqin ayamarq'a killapi rue:10. новембер ru:10 ноября sah:Сэтинньи 10 se:Skábmamánu 10. sco:10 November sq:10 Nëntor scn:10 di nuvèmmiru simple:November 10 sk:10. november sl:10. november ckb:١٠ی تشرینی دووەم sr:10. новембар sh:10.11. su:10 Nopémber fi:10. marraskuuta sv:10 november tl:Nobyembre 10 ta:நவம்பர் 10 kab:10 wember tt:10 ноябрь te:నవంబర్ 10 th:10 พฤศจิกายน tg:10 ноябр tr:10 Kasım tk:10 noýabr uk:10 листопада ur:10 نومبر vec:10 de novenbre vi:10 tháng 11 vo:Novul 10 fiu-vro:10. märtekuu päiv wa:10 di nôvimbe vls:10 november war:Nobyembre 10 yi:10טן נאוועמבער yo:10 November zh-yue:11月10號 bat-smg:Lapkristė 10 zh:11月10日

Volume 10 is a hip hop artist from Los Angeles, California. He was part of the Heavyweights Crew, which included artists Freestyle Fellowship, Medusa, Ganjah K, and other Los Angeles acts from what would later become Project Blowed. His 1994 hit single Pistol Grip Pump was released to critical acclaim despite being edited for radio and referred to simply as Pump.

Volume 10 is featured in Ava DuVernay's 2008 hip hop documentary This Is the Life.

Discography

Albums

Hip-Hopera (1994)

Psycho (2000)

Pawn Shop (2007)

Singles

Pistol Grip Pump (1994)

Sunbeams (1994)

Cameos

"Heavyweights" (Freestyle Fellowship - Innercity Griots)

"What It Do?" (Project Blowed - 10th Anniversary CD/DVD) (2005)

Chart history

;Album

Chart (1994)	Peakposition
align="left"

;Singles

Billboard Hot 100	Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	Hot Rap Singles
	"Pump"

Trivia

Volume 10's single "Pistol Grip Pump" was covered by Rage Against The Machine on their album Renegades.

"Pistol Grip Pump" was also featured in the movie Set It Off but was briefly heard.

"Pistol Grip Pump" was featured on the video game Def Jam: Fight For New York as a soundtrack song.

Sources

Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California Category:African American rappers Category:Living people

Name	Stephen Hawking
Birth name	Stephen William Hawking
Birth date	January 08, 1942
Birth place	Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Residence	United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Fields	Applied mathematicsTheoretical physicsCosmology
Workplaces	Cambridge UniversityCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPerimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Alma mater	Oxford UniversityCambridge University
Doctoral advisor	Dennis Sciama
Academic advisors	Robert Berman
Doctoral students	Bruce AllenRaphael BoussoFay DowkerMalcolm PerryBernard CarrGary GibbonsHarvey ReallDon PageTim PrestidgeRaymond LaflammeJulian Luttrell
Known for	Black holesTheoretical cosmologyQuantum gravityHawking radiation
Influences	Dikran TahtaAlbert Einstein
Awards
Spouse	Jane Hawking(m. 1965–1991, divorced)Elaine Mason(m. 1995–2006, divorced)
Signature	Hawkingsig.svg }}

Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA (born 8 January 1942) is a British theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and in 2009 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.

Hawking was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge for 30 years, taking up the post in 1979 and retiring on 1 October 2009. He is now Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge. He is also a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and a Distinguished Research Chair at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario. He is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, especially in the context of black holes. He has also achieved success with works of popular science in which he discusses his own theories and cosmology in general; these include the runaway best seller A Brief History of Time, which stayed on the British Sunday Times best-sellers list for a record-breaking 237 weeks.

Hawking's key scientific works to date have included providing, with Roger Penrose, theorems regarding gravitational singularities in the framework of general relativity, and the theoretical prediction that black holes should emit radiation, which is today known as Hawking radiation (or sometimes as Bekenstein–Hawking radiation).

Hawking has a motor neurone disease that is related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a condition that has progressed over the years and has left him almost completely paralysed.

Early life

Stephen Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 to Dr. Frank Hawking, a research biologist, and Isobel Hawking. He had two younger sisters, Philippa and Mary, and an adopted brother, Edward. Though Hawking's parents were living in North London, they moved to Oxford while his mother was pregnant with Stephen, desiring a safer location for the birth of their first child. (London was under attack at the time by the Luftwaffe.) According to Hawking, a German V-2 missile struck only a few streets away.

After Hawking was born, the family moved back to London, where his father headed the division of parasitology at the National Institute for Medical Research. In 1950, Hawking and his family moved to St Albans, Hertfordshire, where he attended St Albans High School for Girls from 1950 to 1953. (At that time, boys could attend the Girls' school until the age of ten.) From the age of eleven, he attended St Albans School, where he was a good, but not exceptional, student. When asked later to name a teacher who had inspired him, Hawking named his mathematics teacher Dikran Tahta. He maintains his connection with the school, giving his name to one of the four houses and to an extracurricular science lecture series. He has visited it to deliver one of the lectures and has also granted a lengthy interview to pupils working on the school magazine, The Albanian.

Hawking was always interested in science. Inspired by his mathematics teacher, he originally wanted to study the subject at university. However, Hawking's father wanted him to apply to University College, Oxford, where his father had attended. As University College did not have a mathematics fellow at that time, it would not accept applications from students who wished to read that discipline. Hawking therefore applied to read natural sciences, in which he gained a scholarship. Once at University College, Hawking specialised in physics. His interests during this time were in thermodynamics, relativity, and quantum mechanics. His physics tutor, Robert Berman, later said in The New York Times Magazine:

Hawking was passing, but his unimpressive study habits resulted in a final examination score on the borderline between first and second class honours, making an "oral examination" necessary. Berman said of the oral examination:

After receiving his B.A. degree at Oxford in 1962, he stayed to study astronomy. He decided to leave when he found that studying sunspots, which was all the observatory was equipped for, did not appeal to him and that he was more interested in theory than in observation. He left Oxford for Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he engaged in the study of theoretical astronomy and cosmology.

Career

Almost as soon as he arrived at Cambridge, he started developing symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, known colloquially in the United States as Lou Gehrig's disease), a type of motor neurone disease which would cost him almost all neuromuscular control. During his first two years at Cambridge, he did not distinguish himself, but, after the disease had stabilised and with the help of his doctoral tutor, Dennis William Sciama, he returned to working on his PhD.

Hawking was elected as one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal Society in 1974, was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1982, and became a Companion of Honour in 1989. Hawking is a member of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

In 1974, he accepted the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Scholar visiting professorship at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) to work with his friend, Kip Thorne, who was a faculty member there. He continues to have ties with Caltech, spending a month each year there since 1992.

Hawking's achievements were made despite the increasing paralysis caused by the ALS. By 1974, he was unable to feed himself or get out of bed. His speech became slurred so that he could be understood only by people who knew him well. In 1985, he caught pneumonia and had to have a tracheotomy, which made him unable to speak at all. A Cambridge scientist built a device that enables Hawking to write onto a computer with small movements of his body, and then have a voice synthesiser speak what he has typed.

Research fields

Hawking's principal fields of research are theoretical cosmology and quantum gravity.

In the late 1960s, he and his Cambridge friend and colleague, Roger Penrose, applied a new, complex mathematical model they had created from Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. This led, in 1970, to Hawking proving the first of many singularity theorems; such theorems provide a set of sufficient conditions for the existence of a gravitational singularity in space-time. This work showed that, far from being mathematical curiosities which appear only in special cases, singularities are a fairly generic feature of general relativity.

He supplied a mathematical proof, along with Brandon Carter, Werner Israel and D. Robinson, of John Wheeler's no-hair theorem – namely, that any black hole is fully described by the three properties of mass, angular momentum, and electric charge.

Hawking also suggested upon analysis of gamma ray emissions that after the Big Bang, primordial mini black holes were formed. With Bardeen and Carter, he proposed the four laws of black hole mechanics, drawing an analogy with thermodynamics. In 1974, he calculated that black holes should thermally create and emit subatomic particles, known today as Bekenstein-Hawking radiation, until they exhaust their energy and evaporate.

In collaboration with Jim Hartle, Hawking developed a model in which the universe had no boundary in space-time, replacing the initial singularity of the classical Big Bang models with a region akin to the North Pole: one cannot travel north of the North Pole, as there is no boundary. While originally the no-boundary proposal predicted a closed universe, discussions with Neil Turok led to the realisation that the no-boundary proposal is also consistent with a universe which is not closed.

Along with Thomas Hertog at CERN, in 2006 Hawking proposed a theory of "top-down cosmology," which says that the universe had no unique initial state, and therefore it is inappropriate for physicists to attempt to formulate a theory that predicts the universe's current configuration from one particular initial state. Top-down cosmology posits that in some sense, the present "selects" the past from a superposition of many possible histories. In doing so, the theory suggests a possible resolution of the fine-tuning question: It is inevitable that we find our universe's present physical constants, as the current universe "selects" only those past histories that led to the present conditions. In this way, top-down cosmology provides an anthropic explanation for why we find ourselves in a universe that allows matter and life, without invoking an ensemble of multiple universes.

Hawking's many other scientific investigations have included the study of quantum cosmology, cosmic inflation, helium production in anisotropic Big Bang universes, large N cosmology, the density matrix of the universe, topology and structure of the universe, baby universes, Yang-Mills instantons and the S matrix, anti de Sitter space, quantum entanglement and entropy, the nature of space and time, including the arrow of time, spacetime foam, string theory, supergravity, Euclidean quantum gravity, the gravitational Hamiltonian, Brans-Dicke and Hoyle-Narlikar theories of gravitation, gravitational radiation, and wormholes.

At a George Washington University lecture in honour of NASA's fiftieth anniversary, Hawking theorised on the existence of extraterrestrial life, believing that "primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare."

Losing an old bet

Hawking was in the news in July 2004 for presenting a new theory about black holes which goes against his own long-held belief about their behaviour, thus losing a bet he made with Kip Thorne and John Preskill of Caltech. Classically, it can be shown that information crossing the event horizon of a black hole is lost to our universe, and that thus all black holes are identical beyond their mass, electrical charge and angular velocity (the "no hair theorem"). The problem with this theorem is that it implies the black hole will emit the same radiation regardless of what goes into it, and as a consequence that if a pure quantum state is thrown into a black hole, an "ordinary" mixed state will be returned. This runs counter to the rules of quantum mechanics and is known as the black hole information paradox.

Human spaceflight

At the fiftieth anniversary of NASA in 2008, Hawking gave a keynote speech on the final frontier exhorting and inspiring the space technology community on why we (the human race) explore space.

At the celebration of his sixty-fifth birthday on 8 January 2007, Hawking announced his plan to take a zero-gravity flight in 2007 to prepare for a sub-orbital spaceflight in 2009 on Virgin Galactic's space service. Billionaire Richard Branson pledged to pay all expenses for the latter, costing an estimated £100,000. Stephen Hawking's zero-gravity flight in a "Vomit Comet" of Zero Gravity Corporation, during which he experienced weightlessness eight times, took place on 26 April 2007. He became the first quadriplegic to float in zero-gravity. This was the first time in forty years that he moved freely, without his wheelchair. The fee is normally US$3,750 for 10–15 plunges, but Hawking was not required to pay the fee. A bit of a futurist, Hawking was quoted before the flight saying: }} In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, he suggested that space was the Earth's long term hope. He continued this theme at a 2008 Charlie Rose interview.

Existence and nature of extraterrestrial life

Hawking has indicated that he is almost certain that alien life exists in other parts of the universe and uses a mathematical basis for his assumptions. "To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational. The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like." He believes alien life not only certainly exists on planets but perhaps even in other places, like within stars or even floating in outer space. He also warns that a few of these species might be intelligent and threaten Earth. Contact with such species might be devastating for humanity. "If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans," he said. He advocated that, rather than try to establish contact, humans should try to avoid contact with alien life forms.

Illness

Stephen Hawking is severely disabled by a motor neurone disease known as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), sometimes known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Hawking's illness is markedly different from typical ALS because if confirmed, Hawking's case would make for the most protracted case ever documented. A survival for more than ten years after diagnosis is uncommon for ALS; the longest documented durations, other than Hawking's, are 32 and 39 years and these cases were termed benign because of the lack of the typical progressive course.

When he was young, he enjoyed riding horses. At Oxford, he coxed a rowing team, which, he stated, helped relieve his immense boredom at the university. Symptoms of the disorder first appeared while he was enrolled at University of Cambridge; he lost his balance and fell down a flight of stairs, hitting his head. Worried that he would lose his genius, he took the Mensa test to verify that his intellectual abilities were intact. The diagnosis of motor neurone disease came when Hawking was 21, shortly before his first marriage, and doctors said he would not survive more than two or three years. Hawking gradually lost the use of his arms, legs, and voice, and as of 2009 has been almost completely paralysed.

During a visit to the research centre CERN in Geneva in 1985, Hawking contracted pneumonia, which in his condition was life-threatening as it further restricted his already limited respiratory capacity. He had an emergency tracheotomy, and as a result lost what remained of his ability to speak. He has since used an electronic voice synthesiser to communicate.

The DECtalk DTC01 voice synthesiser he uses, which has an American English accent, is no longer being produced. Asked why he has still kept it after so many years, Hawking mentioned that he has not heard a voice he likes better and that he identifies with it. Hawking is said to be looking for a replacement since, aside from being obsolete, the synthesiser is both large and fragile by current standards. As of mid 2009, he was said to be using NeoSpeech's VoiceText speech synthesiser.

In Hawking's many media appearances, he appears to speak fluently through his synthesiser, but in reality, it is a tedious drawn-out process. Hawking's setup uses a predictive text entry system, which requires only the first few characters in order to auto-complete the word, but as he is only able to use his cheek for data entry, constructing complete sentences takes time. His speeches are prepared in advance, but having a live conversation with him provides insight as to the complexity and work involved. During a TED Conference talk, it took him seven minutes to answer a question.

He describes himself as lucky, despite his disease. Its slow progression has allowed him time to make influential discoveries and has not hindered him from having, in his own words, "a very attractive family." When his wife, Jane, was asked why she decided to marry a man with a three-year life expectancy, she responded, "Those were the days of atomic gloom and doom, so we all had a rather short life expectancy." On 20 April 2009, Cambridge University released a statement saying that Hawking was "very ill" with a chest infection, and was admitted to Addenbrooke's Hospital. The following day, it was reported that his new condition was "comfortable" and he would make a full recovery from the infection.

As popular science advocate

Hawking has played himself on numerous television shows and has been portrayed in many more. He has played himself on a Red Dwarf anniversary special, played a hologram of himself on the episode "Descent" of Star Trek: The Next Generation, appeared in a skit on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and appeared on the Discovery Channel special Alien Planet. He has also played himself in several episodes of The Simpsons and Futurama, and has had an action figure made of his Simpsons likeness. In 2008, Hawking was the subject of and featured in the documentary series Stephen Hawking, Master of the Universe for Channel 4. In September 2008, Hawking presided over the unveiling of the 'Chronophage' (time-eating) Corpus Clock at Corpus Christi College Cambridge. His actual synthesiser voice was used on parts of the Pink Floyd song "Keep Talking" from the 1994 album The Division Bell, as well as on Turbonegro's "Intro: The Party Zone" on their 2005 album Party Animals, Wolfsheim's "Kein Zurück (Oliver Pinelli Mix)".

Recognition

Acclaim

On 19 December 2007, a statue of Hawking by renowned late artist Ian Walters was unveiled at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology, University of Cambridge. In May 2008, the statue of Hawking was unveiled at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cape Town. The Stephen W. Hawking Science Museum in San Salvador, El Salvador is named in honour of Stephen Hawking, citing his scientific distinction and perseverance in dealing with adversity. Stephen Hawking Building in Cambridge opened on 17 April 2007. The building belongs to Gonville and Caius College and is used as an undergraduate accommodation and conference facility.

Distinctions

Hawking's belief that the lay person should have access to his work led him to write a series of popular science books in addition to his academic work. The first of these, A Brief History of Time, was published on 1 April 1988 by Hawking, his family and friends, and some leading physicists. It surprisingly became a best-seller and was followed by The Universe in a Nutshell (2001). Both books have remained highly popular all over the world. A collection of essays titled Black Holes and Baby Universes (1993) was also popular. His book, A Briefer History of Time (2005), co-written by Leonard Mlodinow, aims to update his earlier works and make them accessible to an even wider audience. In 2007 Hawking and his daughter, Lucy Hawking, published George's Secret Key to the Universe, a children's book focusing on science that has been described as "like Harry Potter, but without the magic." The book includes information on Hawking radiation.

Hawking supports the children's charity SOS Children's Villages UK.

Awards and honours

1975 Eddington Medal

1976 Hughes Medal of the Royal Society

1979 Albert Einstein Medal

1981 Franklin Medal

1982 Order of the British Empire (Commander)

1985 Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society

1986 Member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences

1988 Wolf Prize in Physics

1989 Prince of Asturias Awards in Concord

1989 Companion of Honour

1999 Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize of the American Physical Society

2003 Michelson Morley Award of Case Western Reserve University

2006 Copley Medal of the Royal Society 2008 Fonseca Prize of the University of Santiago de Compostela 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States

Personal life

Hawking revealed that he did not see much point in obtaining a doctorate if he were to die soon. Hawking later said that the real turning point was his 1965 marriage to Jane Wilde, a language student. After gaining his PhD at Trinity Hall, he became first a Research Fellow, and later on a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College. Jane Hawking (née Wilde), Hawking's first wife, cared for him until 1991 when the couple separated, reportedly because of the pressures of fame and his increasing disability. They had three children: Robert, Lucy, and Timothy. Hawking then married his nurse, Elaine Mason (who was previously married to David Mason, the designer of the first version of Hawking's talking computer), in 1995. In October 2006, Hawking filed for divorce from his second wife amid claims by former nurses that she had abused him.

In 1999, Jane Hawking published a memoir, Music to Move the Stars, detailing the marriage and his breakdown; in 2010 she published a revised version, Travelling to Infinity, My Life with Stephen. Hawking's daughter, Lucy, is a novelist. Their oldest son, Robert, emigrated to the United States, married, and has a son. After a period of estrangement, Hawking and his first family were reconciled in 2007.

His view on how to live life is to "seek the greatest value of our action".

Hawking was asked about his IQ in a 2004 newspaper interview, and replied, "I have no idea. People who boast about their I.Q. are losers." Yet when asked "Are you saying you are not a genius?", Hawking replied "I hope I'm near the upper end of the range."

Hawking strongly opposed the US-led Iraq War, calling it "a war crime" and "based on lies". In 2004, he personally attended a demonstration against the war in Trafalgar Square, and participated in a public reading of the names of Iraqi war victims.

Religious views

In his early work, Hawking spoke of "God" in a metaphorical sense, such as in A Brief History of Time: "If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason—for then we should know the mind of God." In the same book he suggested the existence of God was unnecessary to explain the origin of the universe. His 2010 book The Grand Design and interviews with the Telegraph and the Channel 4 documentary Genius of Britain, clarify that he does "not believe in a personal God". Hawking writes, "The question is: is the way the universe began chosen by God for reasons we can't understand, or was it determined by a law of science? I believe the second." He adds, "Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing."

His ex-wife, Jane, said during their divorce proceedings that he was an atheist. Hawking has stated that he is "not religious in the normal sense" and he believes that "the universe is governed by the laws of science. The laws may have been decreed by God, but God does not intervene to break the laws." In an interview published in The Guardian newspaper, Hawking regarded the concept of Heaven as a myth, stating that there is "no heaven or afterlife" and that such a notion was a "fairy story for people afraid of the dark."

Hawking contrasted religion and science in 2010, saying: "There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, [and] science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works."

Selected publications

Technical

Singularities in Collapsing Stars and Expanding Universes with Dennis William Sciama, 1969 Comments on Astrophysics and Space Physics Vol 1 No.1

The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time with George Ellis, 1973, ISBN 0-521-09906-4

The Nature of Space and Time with Roger Penrose, foreword by Michael Atiyah, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1996, ISBN 0-691-05084-8

The Large, the Small, and the Human Mind, (with Abner Shimony, Nancy Cartwright, and Roger Penrose), Cambridge University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-521-56330-5 (hardback), ISBN 0-521-65538-2 (paperback), Canto edition: ISBN 0-521-78572-3

Information Loss in Black Holes, Cambridge University Press, 2005

God Created the Integers: The Mathematical Breakthroughs That Changed History, Running Press, 2005 ISBN 0762419229

Popular

A Brief History of Time, (Bantam Press 1988) ISBN 055305340X

Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays, (Bantam Books 1993) ISBN 0553374117

The Universe in a Nutshell, (Bantam Press 2001) ISBN 055380202X

On The Shoulders of Giants. The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy, (Running Press 2002) ISBN 076241698X

A Briefer History of Time, coauthored with Leonard Mlodinow, (Bantam Books 2005) ISBN 0553804367

The Grand Design, coauthored with Leonard Mlodinow, (Bantam Press 2010) ISBN 0553805371

Children's fiction

These are co-written with his daughter Lucy.

George's Secret Key to the Universe, (Random House, 2007) ISBN 9780385612708

George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt, (Simon & Schuster, 2009) ISBN 9781416986713

Films and series

A Brief History of Time (1991)

Stephen Hawking's Universe (1997)

Horizon: The Hawking Paradox (2005)

Masters of Science Fiction (2007)

Stephen Hawking: Master of the Universe (2008) Into The Universe with Stephen Hawking (2010) A list of Hawking's publications through the year 2002 is available on his website.

See also

Basic concepts of quantum mechanics

Many-worlds interpretation, or flexiverse

Susskind–Hawking battle – see Black hole information paradox

References

Further reading

A layman's guide to Stephen Hawking

Ferguson, Kitty (1991). Stephen Hawking: Quest For A Theory of Everything. Franklin Watts. ISBN 0-553-29895-X

Highly influential in the field. A much cited centennial survey.

Pickover, Clifford, Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them, Oxford University Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0195336115

External links

Stephen Hawking's web site

Stephen Hawking's page on Academia.edu

The Life of Stephen Hawking – slideshow by The First Post

Video: Stephen Hawking – discussion of two views of the universe

Videos: Stephen Hawking's concept of God, The role of God within the no boundary cosmology and Imaginary time

;Dated

Stephen Hawking says universe not created by God

Public Lectures, including debate with Roger Penrose 1996–2006

Hawking celebrates own brief history, 7 January 2002, BBC

"Leaping the Abyss", interview in Reason by Gregory Benford 2002-04-01

2002-03-24

, 22 July 2004, BBC">Black holes turned "inside out", 22 July 2004, BBC

Return of the time lord, Interview about "A Brief History of Time", 27 September 2005, The Guardian.

Stephen Hawking touches on God and science – Physicist says Pope John Paul told scientists not to study universe's origins msnbc June 2006

Press Release from the Catholic League on misquote of Pope by Hawking 2006-06-16

BBC interview 2008-12-05

Category:1942 births Category:Academics of the University of Cambridge Category:Adams Prize recipients Category:Albert Einstein Medal recipients Category:Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Category:Alumni of University College, Oxford Category:Calculating prodigies Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Cosmologists Category:English astronomers Category:English theoretical physicists Category:English science writers Category:Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Category:Fellows of the Royal Society Category:People educated at St Albans School, Hertfordshire Category:Honorary Fellows of University College, Oxford Category:Living people Category:Lucasian Professors of Mathematics Category:Members of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Category:Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Category:Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences Category:People from Oxford Category:People from St Albans Category:People with motor neurone disease Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:Recipients of the Copley Medal Category:Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society Category:Religious skeptics Category:Wolf Prize in Physics laureates Category:20th-century philosophers Category:21st-century philosophers Category:People educated at St Albans High School for Girls

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name	Kelly Clarkson
background	solo_singer
birth name	Kelly Brianne Clarkson
background	solo_singer
birth date	April 24, 1982
birth place	Fort Worth, Texas
origin	Burleson, Texas, United States
genre	Pop rock, pop
occupation	Singer-songwriter, record producer, actress
instrument	Vocals
years active	2002–present
label	RCA Records
associated acts	Reba McEntire
website	www.Kellyclarkson.com }}

Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after winning the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.

In 2003, Clarkson released her debut album, Thankful which was a commercial success and established herself in the pop music industry. The release of its first single, "A Moment Like This" (2002), broke The Beatles' record for the biggest leap to number one, from 52, in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. After parting ways with her management, Clarkson developed a more rock-oriented music with the release of her critically acclaimed sophomore album, Breakaway (2004), which had sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and which garnered Clarkson more worldwide success as a pop rock artist. The album's single, "Because of You" (2005), became the best-selling single by an Idol contestant worldwide. In 2007, Clarkson took full creative control for her third with a more rock inspired, My December, which was met with controversy and mild success. Clarkson later returned to a more pop-oriented sound with All I Ever Wanted (2009), which became a commercial and critical success. The album's lead single, "My Life Would Suck Without You" (2009), currently holds the record for biggest leap to number 1 on Billboard Hot 100 Chart, and earning her first number 1 single in the United Kingdom. Clarkson is set to release her fifth studio album, Stronger, on October 25, 2011.

In a career spanning almost a decade, Clarkson has sold over 23 million albums and 36 million singles around the world, gaining her the recognition as the most successful Idol contestant worldwide, according to Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan. Clarkson's work also gained her numerous accolades, including two Grammy Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, and a Women's World Award. Billboard also ranked Clarkson the #14 artist of the 2000-10 decade, as well as being also ranked on the top 200 album sellers of the Nielsen SoundScan era at number 187.

Early life

Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in the small town of Burleson, a suburb of Fort Worth. She is the third and youngest child of Jeanne Rose, a first grade English teacher of Greek descent, and Stephen Michael Clarkson, a former engineer of Irish and Welsh extraction.

Clarkson's siblings include her older brother and sister, Jason and Alyssa. When Clarkson was six years old, her parents divorced after seventeen years of marriage. The family settled in Burleson, where Clarkson's mother married her second husband, Jimmy Taylor.

Clarkson's family struggled financially, and after her parents divorced, music became her refuge. Clarkson attended Pauline G Hughes Middle School and Burleson High School. She wanted to become a marine biologist but changed her mind after seeing the movie Jaws. In seventh grade, a teacher (Mrs. Cynthia Glenn) overheard her singing in a hallway and asked her to audition for the school choir; Clarkson told the teacher that she had never received professional vocal training.

In high school, Clarkson performed in musicals such as Annie Get Your Gun, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Brigadoon. She sang at her high school talent show, after which an audience member shared some inspiring words with her: "God has given you this gift. You've got to sing. You're destined to sing." Clarkson continued singing and soon started classical training, hoping that music would be her ticket to a college scholarship.

Upon high school graduation, Clarkson was offered full scholarships to The University of Texas at Austin, University of North Texas, and Berklee, but decided against college because she had "already written so much music and wanted to try it on her own," and she figured "you're never too old to go to college."

Music career

2002–03: American Idol and World Idol

Clarkson won the first season of American Idol on September 4, 2002, earning 58% of the vote to 42% for runner-up Justin Guarini. Choking back tears, Clarkson performed the ballad "A Moment Like This", the song written for the winner of American Idol, which would subsequently appear on her debut album, Thankful. When released as a single in October 2002, it set a record on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart when it rose from number 52 to number one. This achievement was largely due to the impact from Idol as the CD single managed to sell 236,000 copies in its first week of sales in the U.S.; it spent five weeks at number one in Canada.

American Idol season 1 performances and results

{|class="wikitable" |- !Week # !Theme !Song choice !Original artist !Order # !Result |- |Audition |Dallas |"Express Yourself" "At Last" |MadonnaEtta James |rowspan="4"|N/A |rowspan="5"|Advanced |- |Top 121 |Hollywood round 1 |"Respect" |Otis Redding |- |Top 65 |Hollywood round 2 |"I Say a Little Prayer" |Dionne Warwick |- |Top 45 |Hollywood round 3 |"Save The Best For Last" |Vanessa L. Williams |- |Top 30 |Semifinal/Group 2 |"Respect" |Otis Redding |9 |- |Top 10 |Motown |"You're All I Need to Get By" ||Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell |8 |rowspan="7"|Safe |- |Top 8 |1960s |"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" |Aretha Franklin |rowspan="2"|5 |- |Top 7 |1970s |"Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" |Ben E. King |- |Top 6 |Big Band |"Stuff Like That There" |Betty Hutton |6 |- |Top 5 |Burt Bacharach Love Songs |"Walk On By" |Dionne Warwick |1 |- |Top 4 |1980s1990s |"It's Raining Men""I Surrender" |The Weather GirlsCeline Dion |37 |- |Top 3 |Judges' ChoiceIdol's Choice |"Without You""Think Twice" |BadfingerCeline Dion |36 |- |Top 2 |Finale |"A Moment Like This""Respect""Before Your Love" |Kelly ClarksonOtis ReddingKelly Clarkson |246 |Winner |}

World Idol performance and results

9

Song choice !! Germany !! Australia !! Pan-Arabia !! Canada !! Netherlands !! South Africa !! Poland !! USA !! Belgium !! UK !! Norway !! Total !! Result
"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"	9	|	5	9	9	8	8	12	9	9	10	97	Runner-up

In December 2003, a competition titled World Idol was held at the Pop Idol stage in London, gathering the winners of the first seasons of Idol series around the world. Clarkson was contractually obligated to participate, and placed second behind Norwegian Idol Kurt Nilsen. She performed Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". She left immediately after the competition, later explaining to fans that she was not feeling well.

2003–04: Thankful

Shortly following the completion of the first season of American Idol, Clarkson was accused of working with a record company. American Idol's rules stated that a contestant was not allowed to compete on the program if they had been linked to a record company. However, she was cleared of all allegations, as she only had a contract in order to conduct demonstration work.

Following the release of "A Moment Like This", Clarkson's full-length debut album Thankful was released in North America by RCA Records on April 15, 2003. It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200. In October that year she performed in Australia at the 2003 NRL grand final. "A Moment Like This" was certified double platinum by the RIAA for sales of two million copies on December 8, 2003 and platinum by the CRIA for sales of 100,000 copies on February 10, 2004. Thankful peaked at number forty-one on the UK albums chart and at number 33 on the Australian albums chart.

Reviews for the album were generally favorable. However, several critics noted that her early achievement was established due to her performances on American Idol. Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the album for its vocal ability: "throughout this record, [Clarkson] makes it seem effortless and charming. She can croon, she can belt out a song, she can be sexy and sassy while still being graceful and as wholesome as the girl next door". Rachel Kipp of JS Online criticized Clarkson for not having the same personality on Thankful that she had on American Idol, and wrote: "on American Idol, Clarkson showcased a great voice and an endearing, 'aw-shucks' personality. That personality is missing on Thankful, and there lies the album's greatest fault". Kipp blamed the producers behind the album for not allowing Clarkson to be herself. Clarkson covered Danielle Brisebois' "Just Missed the Train" on the album.

"Miss Independent" was released as the second single from Thankful. It reached the top ten of the U.S. and Canadian singles charts, and earned Clarkson a 2004 Grammy Award nomination for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance". When the single was released in the United Kingdom and Australia, it reached the top ten of the charts. "Low", the third single from Thankful, reached number two in Canada, but it was unable to make the top 40 of the U.S. chart. The final single, "The Trouble with Love Is", was not released in Canada, and it failed to chart in the U.S..

2004–06: Breakaway

Distancing herself from her American Idol image, Clarkson parted ways with 19 Management and took more creative control with her second studio album Breakaway, to develop a more rock-oriented image. Clarkson co-wrote six of the songs with songwriters such as former Evanescence band members Ben Moody, David Hodges and producer Max Martin; the title track was co-written by punk-pop singer Avril Lavigne.

Breakaway was released by RCA Records on November 30, 2004. The album debuted within the U.S. top five and Canadian top ten, but sales were initially low in comparison to Thankful. The singles from Breakaway were very successful, and the album become only the fourth album in history to stay in the Billboard 200 top 20 for a consecutive year, as well as being certified six times platinum in the U.S. in late 2007 and five times platinum in Canada in May, 2006.. With worldwide sales of over 12 million copies, Breakaway is the most successful album by an Idol.

Breakaway received different responses from critics; Rolling Stone commented that "on Kelly Clarkson's second album, ... she embraces her rock side rather than the pop pageantry that put her on top of the American Idol heap". TeenInk noted the strength of her vocals on Breakaway, and praised the change from pop music to contemporary rock: "[Clarkson] retains the incredible power and beauty of her voice while switching to rock". Stylus magazine also enjoyed Clarkson's foray into rock music, however, she was called out because of her American Idol image, which reviewer Charles Merwin believed she had yet to lose. He praised the non-singles and wrote that they "maintain a quality high". Allmusic called the album "a nice, low-key relief". "Breakaway" served as the original song for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004) and achieved considerable success across the world; it became Clarkson's third top-ten single in the U.S. and fourth top-ten single in Canada. It reached number ten in Australia, and number 22 in the UK. The second single, "Since U Been Gone", which was produced by Max Martin, became the most successful release from the album. It reached number two in the U.S. and the top five across the world. It also earned Clarkson her first Grammy Award for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance"; she won a second award for "Best Pop Vocal Album".

The third and fourth single releases, "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and "Because of You", also followed with chart success. The video for "Because of You" won the 2006 MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video, her second consecutive win in that category (following "Since U Been Gone"). Clarkson was the most-played artist of 2006 on American radio, despite releasing only one single in the entire year, "Walk Away" (the fifth single from Breakaway). She was also the most radio-broadcasted artist of 2006 in Australia and "Because of You" was the third most broadcast song of the same year, despite being released in 2005.

In 2005, Clarkson made a performance during the 2005 NBA All-Star Weekend as part of the festivities leading up to the All-Star Game. Later that year, she performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons She also performed that spring as part of the 2005 NCAA Final Four festivities in St. Louis, Missouri.

Clarkson performed during the festivities of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. In mid 2006, Clarkson lent Ford Motor Co. a song titled "Go", written by Clarkson and Rhett Lawrence ("Miss Independent"). The song was used in the company's advertising campaign in 2006, "Bold Moves" and the song, along with its music video, was made available free at Ford's AddictedtoKelly.com website (now defunct).

2006–08: My December

During her tour in Europe in 2006, Clarkson began writing songs for her third album, My December. The first single from My December was "Never Again", which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number eight. Clarkson released "Sober" as the second single. She returned to American Idol for the season 6 finale, performing "Never Again" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry during a Beatles medley.

Clarkson parted with her management, The Firm, in June 2007, amid low radio airplay for "Never Again" and low ticket sales for her then-upcoming tour. Clarkson would then sign with Starstruck Entertainment, run by Narvel Blackstock — the husband of Reba McEntire – on July 2, 2007. The same month, Live Nation announced that the tour—her first nationwide arena tour—had been canceled due to underwhelming ticket sales, to be rescheduled after the release of the My December album at smaller, more intimate concert environments. Clarkson reinstated plans to tour the U.S. during 2007, with a much smaller tour than the one she canceled in June. She began her My December Tour in October 2007 in venues significantly smaller than those previously booked. The August 2007 issue of Blender included a feature on Clarkson and her new album, as well as her music label woes.

My December was released in the U.S. on June 26, 2007. The album debuted at number two in the U.S. with 291,000 albums sold, a slightly higher debut than Clarkson's previous album, Breakaway, which debuted at number three. In Canada, the album was awarded a platinum certification for shipments of more than 100,000 copies. My December was certified platinum in December 2007 by the RIAA. It has sold more than three million copies worldwide.

In April 2007, Clarkson appeared on the Idol Gives Back charity show aimed at raising money for tackling poverty, hunger and AIDS in Africa, as well as the Hurricane Katrina appeal. Clarkson noted that she was in a dispute with her record label bosses and executives as to which song to perform for the event. Clarkson refused to perform her new single "Never Again" viewing it as simple self-promotion through a charitable event. She is quoted as saying,

She opted to perform Patty Griffin's "Up to the Mountain". After the performance, the audience who watched Clarkson perform live gave her a standing ovation. American Idol judge Simon Cowell described her as "incredible", saying, "When you let her [Clarkson] come back on the show it makes everybody else look like an amateur." On July 7, 2007, Clarkson performed on the American leg of Live Earth. Clarkson was the celebrity coach for Canadian Idol during its Top 5 week of the fifth season, aired on the CTV network on August 20, and she performed on the results show the next night. Clarkson also performed at the 2007 NFL opening kickoff where she sang the national anthem and songs from My December. Clarkson also performed in the halftime show for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets game on Thanksgiving Day.

In addition to her roles as spokeswoman for the acne treatment Proactiv as well as Vitaminwater, Clarkson partnered with NASCAR for the 2007 season. She appeared in televised advertising spots, performed at pre-race concerts, promoted NASCAR Day, and appeared at the Champions' Banquet in December. In April 2008, Clarkson participated in a Papal Youth Rally at the campus of St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie in Yonkers, New York performing a mini-concert for those in attendance. This was the Papal Visit of Pope Benedict XVI. She performed Schubert's "Ave Maria" for the Pope later in the day following the Pope's speech. Clarkson, raised a Baptist, was said to be honored by the invitation and appreciative of the rosary given to her and her band by the Pope, who were invited over by the Pope immediately following the performance for the rosary honor.

2008–10: All I Ever Wanted

Clarkson's fourth album, All I Ever Wanted, was released on March 10, 2009. During recording of the album, Clarkson worked closely with producer-songwriters Ryan Tedder, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Howard Benson, among others. In its first week of sales, it sold 255,000 copies in the U.S., debuting at number one on the Billboard 200; it stayed at number one for two weeks. All I Ever Wanted received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Album". Clarkson was placed eighth on Billboard Magazine's Top Female Artists of 2009 and ninth on Billboard Magazine's Top Hot Artists of 2000s. She was ranked second on Billboard Magazine's Best of 2000s: Pop Song Artist, behind Pink.

The first single from All I Ever Wanted, "My Life Would Suck Without You", entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 97 and rose to number one the following week; this broke the record for the largest leap to the top spot, formerly held by Britney Spears' "Womanizer".This was the second time Clarkson broke this record. Moreover, "My Life Would Suck Without You" was Clarkson's first number one in the United Kingdom and it made her the first American Idol winner to achieve a number one single in the UK. The album's second single, "I Do Not Hook Up", peaked at number 20 in the U.S. "I Do Not Hook Up" didn’t fair very well overseas and the believed reason for this is due to a lack of radio support because a previous version had been recorded by Katy Perry. The third single, "Already Gone", reached number 13 in the USA but didn’t achieve international success as it only reached number 66 in the UK.

"Already Gone" sparked another conflict between Clarkson and her label. There was a widely reported scandal with the album's third single, "Already Gone" which Clarkson wrote with OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder. Many critics had noticed that the backing track and style of the song sounded similar to Beyonce's "Halo". Clarkson, after becoming aware of the comparisons did not want to release the song out of respect for Beyonce, and wanted to release her self penned song, "Cry" which had extremely positive reviews, notably from the BBC. However, her record company refused, releasing "Already Gone" against Clarkson's desires. In response to the whole fiasco, Clarkson penned a song called "Wash Rinse Repeat" in which she states her view on the lack of creativity record lables give their artists, and it is widely believed the song is an attack on Ryan Tedder.

The fourth single was "All I Ever Wanted". Clarkson performed as one of many guests for the return of VH1 Divas in September 2009.

Clarkson was announced as one of the VH1 Save the Music Foundation ambassadors for 2009–2010. She began her 32-date All I Ever Wanted tour in October, following a string of summer concerts around the United States. Clarkson toured all over the world with the album, reaching territories such as Europe, South Africa, Oceania and Asia.The fall tour shows were performed in arena/theater type venues, with the summer tour being performed in outdoor amphitheatres. Her Indonesia show was initially sponsored by tobacco company Djarum, but after complaints from some fans and anti-tobacco groups, the promoter removed the sponsor. The tour ended in May 2010 in China.

2010–present: Stronger

In November 2009, Clarkson gave an interview to MTV.com saying that she was currently writing songs for her fifth studio album while on tour, and hoped for a late 2010 release. She collaborated with All I Ever Wanted producers Howard Benson and Claude Kelly, My December producer Jason Halbert. as well as Rodney Jerkins and Toby Gad.

Clarkson later completed recording her album on February 28, 2011 and stated that it "was influenced by Prince, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow, Radiohead and there's a little bit of a country vibe/influence on a couple of songs." On March 15, 2011 She announced that the album has been pushed back to September 2011. Rodney Jerkins told The Hollywood Reporter that it was a "smart decision", while Claude Kelly, said to MTV News that the move could work in her favor. Associated Content also reported that the delay was caused by the company restructuring at Sony Music with the former Universal Music Group chairman Doug Morris entering as its new CEO.

On June 6, 2011 RCA released Clarkson's album into pre-order format through her official online store.

On August 17, 2011 Clarkson also revealed the title of the album to be Stronger; the album is set to release on October 25, 2011.. The cover of the single was released on her facebook page that same day.

The first single "Mr. Know It All" premiered via live webcast on Kelly's official website on August 30, 2011; the song will be available on iTunes on September 5, 2011.

Collaborations

Clarkson performed "What Hurts the Most" with Rascal Flatts at the ACM Awards in 2006 and returned again to sing a duet with Reba McEntire in 2007. This was her second performance on a country music award show, even though she is in the pop/rock genre. Along with her performance with Rascal Flatts, Clarkson also performed "Cigarettes", with the country duo The Wreckers during one of their shows in Texas.

Building on her country music status, Clarkson and Reba McEntire, who first met after Clarkson won the first season of American Idol, recorded an hour-long CMT Crossroads special at Nashville's famed Ryman Auditorium on February 22, 2007. It aired on CMT and Palladia (then known as MHD) on June 24, 2007. Previously, Clarkson was a performer on CMT's Giants: Reba McEntire. where she sang McEntire's hit song "Why Haven't I Heard From You", introduced Dolly Parton, and later also sang McEntire's hit "Does He Love You" with Martina McBride. Clarkson also appeared on an episode of McEntire's sitcom Reba, that aired on January 14, 2007.

At the Academy of Country Music Awards on May 16, 2007, Clarkson and McEntire sang a duet of Clarkson's own 2005 single, "Because of You", which also became the lead single from McEntire's album of all-star duets. The music video for this version of the song later debuted on June 20, 2007. This collaboration with McEntire earned Clarkson a CMA Award nomination for "Musical Event of the Year" in 2007 and a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Country Collaboration With Vocal" in 2008. Additionally, the song was featured on Now That's What I Call Country, which was released in August 2008.

Clarkson was a surprise guest at the 2007 CMA Music Festival in Nashville on June 7, 2007, where she performed "Does He Love You" and "Because of You" with Reba McEntire during the internationally-renowned annual event. The performance of "Because of You" was taped and aired as part of the "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night To Rock" television special that aired on ABC on July 23, 2007.

On January 17, 2008, Clarkson embarked on the 2 Worlds, 2 Voices Tour 2008, a co-headlining tour with Reba McEntire. Reba and Clarkson have since stayed in touch and Clarkson is now managed by McEntire's husband Narvel Blackstock.

On May 18, 2008, Clarkson performed on stage at the Academy of Country Music Awards All-Star Jam with Reba McEntire and Ronnie Dunn of Brooks and Dunn. The All-Star jam is the final event of the week taking place immediately after the awards show. Clarkson was not announced ahead of time for an appearance.

On August 23, 2010, it was announced that Clarkson had recorded a duet called "Don't You Wanna Stay" with country star Jason Aldean for Aldean's upcoming album, My Kinda Party. They performed the song at the 2010 CMA Awards on November 10, 2010 and again on April 14, 2011 during the elimination show of American Idol season ten. On the week ending February 27, 2011, the song moved to number one on Billboard Hot Country Songs, making Clarkson the third American Idol contestant to score a number one hit on the chart. The feat was first accomplished by Josh Gracin and followed by Carrie Underwood.. As of July 21, 2011, Don't You Wanna Stay has sold nearly 1.5 million digital singles, becoming the most downloaded country music collaboration of all time .

Film career

Soon after the first season of American Idol ended, Clarkson starred with Idol runner-up Justin Guarini in the movie From Justin to Kelly (2003). The film was poorly received by critics and grossed only $5 million at the North American box office, less than half its reported budget. Clarkson has mentioned in interviews that she is shocked when people send her scripts after From Justin to Kelly, often citing contractual obligation as her sole reason for involvement in the film. Clarkson was quoted telling People, "I knew when I read the script it was going to be real, real bad, but when I won, I signed that piece of paper and I could not get out of it." The script was written by Kim Fuller, Simon Fuller's sister.

She played Brenda Lee in the television drama American Dreams and appeared in the sitcom Reba. She also participated in sketch comedy on MADtv (2002) and Saturday Night Live (2005).

Filmography (acting roles only)

Source: IMDb {|class="wikitable" |- style="text-align:center;" ! style="background:#b0c4de;" | Year ! style="background:#b0c4de;" | Title ! style="background:#b0c4de;" | Role ! style="background:#b0c4de;" | Episode |- |rowspan=4|2002 ||Sabrina the Teenage Witch ||rowspan=2| as an extra (uncredited) || "The Whole Ball of Wax" |- |That '80s Show || "Valentine's Day" (S1, Ep2) |- |Issues 101 ||Crystal (as an extra) || Theatrical film |- |MADtv ||Herself / Skits || Season 8, Ep 1 |- |rowspan=2|2003 ||From Justin to Kelly ||Kelly Taylor|| Theatrical film |- |rowspan=2| American Dreams ||rowspan=2| Brenda Lee || "And Promises To Keep" |- |rowspan=2|2004 || "Tidings of Comfort and Joy" |- |King of the Hill ||Herself / Dawn|| "Stressed For Success" |- | rowspan=2|2005 || Saturday Night Live ||Herself / Skits / Musical Guest|| Host – Jason Bateman |- |Damage Control ||Herself||Season 1, Ep. 1 |- |2007 ||Reba ||Kelly|| "As We Forgive Those" |- |2009 || Saturday Night Live ||Herself / Musical Guest|| Host – Tracy Morgan |}

Musicianship and artistry

Clarkson's vocal talents and abilities have been met with praise from critics and celebrities alike. On an interview with Good Morning America, Simon Cowell was asked of the then six American Idol winners, who he thought had the best voice. Cowell immediately answered that Clarkson did "by a mile", noting that she was "up there" with other great singers such as Celine Dion.

Reflecting back on Clarkson's performance during the Idol Gives Back special, Jeff Beck described Clarkson as having a "soul voice" that "demands attention".

After attending a rehearsal for American Idol's season six finale (in which Clarkson was scheduled to perform), Blender described Clarkson's voice as follows:

{{Bquote|"The Texas native has one of the great voices in pop music, a powerful and versatile instrument that's steeped in the rhythm and blues and country music she grew up with in the South. If Mariah Carey's five-octave voice is the equivalent of an expensively bred poodle, then Clarkson's is a bloodhound: friendly, earthy, but fierce just the same." |30px|30px|}}

Arion Berger of Rolling Stone has said of Clarkson that "her high notes are sweet and pillowy, her growl is bone-shaking and sexy, and her midrange is amazingly confident for a pop posy whose career is tied for eternity to the whims of her American Idol overlords."

Dr. Luke, a songwriter and producer of some of Clarkson's hits stated that "She has powerful lungs. She's like the Lance Armstrong of vocal cords."

Esquire magazine named her the best voice in the history of pop music.

Discography

Thankful (2003)

Breakaway (2004)

My December (2007)

All I Ever Wanted (2009)

Stronger (2011)

Tours

Awards

See also

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart

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

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

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Top 40 chart

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

List of best-charting music artists in the U.S.

List of Idol series winners

References

Further reading

Jenkins, Debi. A profile of Kelly Clarkson—From Burleson, Texas to American Idol (2003). Local Celebrity. Retrieved February 11, 2006.

"Hooman interviews Kelly". KLLC Radio Alice 97.3. May 25, 2005. Retrieved February 11, 2006. ("[Clarkson's] parents were together for seventeen years, and then all of a sudden, something went wrong".) Phares, Heather. [ "Kelly—Biography"]. Allmusic. Retrieved February 11, 2006.

Lamb, Bill. "Kelly Clarkson—Profile". About.com. Retrieved February 11, 2006.

Phares, Heather. "Kelly Clarkson—Biography". Yahoo LAUNCHcast. Retrieved February 11, 2006.

International charting information. Top40-Charts.com. Retrieved February 12, 2006.

Kelly Gets Cocky. Idol winner fires Simon Fuller. PopSugar.com. Blog Archives. Retrieved February 25, 2006.

. E! Online. [Some films defy criticism.] Retrieved May 4, 2006.

Croatto, Pete. From Justin to Kelly. [Watching From Justin to Kelly, one question looms over the entire production: Why was this movie made?] Retrieved May 4, 2006.

External links

KellyClarkson.com — Official Site

Category:1982 births Category:Actors from Texas Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American Idol winners Category:American people of Greek descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:American Christians Category:Baptists from the United States Category:American pop singers Category:American pop singer-songwriters Category:American record producers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Texas Category:People from Fort Worth, Texas Category:RCA Records artists

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name	Taio Cruz
background	solo_singer
born	April 23, 1983)
birth name	Jacob Taio Cruz
birth place	London, England, UK
genre	Electropop, R&B;, hip hop soul
occupation	Singer-songwriter, record producer, rapper, entrepreneur
years active	2002–present
label	Rokstarr Entertainment Division, Island, Republic, Mercury (US)
associated acts	Luciana Caporaso, Ludacris, David Guetta, Cheryl Cole, McFly
website	}}

Taio Cruz (born Jacob Taio Cruz on April 23, 1983) is a English singer-songwriter, record producer, occasional rapper, and entrepreneur. In 2008, he released his debut album Departure, which Cruz wrote, arranged and produced himself. It achieved initial success in the UK and earned him a MOBO Award nomination. In June 2010, Cruz released his follow-up album Rokstarr, which includes the number one singles "Break Your Heart" and "Dynamite". In November 2010, Cruz collaborated with Kylie Minogue and Travie McCoy on his single "Higher". Additionally, Cruz penned and recorded the song "Telling the World" as the lead single from the soundtrack to the 2011 animated film Rio.

Early life

Cruz was born in London, to a Nigerian father and a Brazilian mother. He attended Christ's Hospital, a boarding school in West Sussex.

Music career

Career beginnings

Cruz began writing songs when he was 12. His songwriting career began at age 19 as part of Tricky Stewart's writing collective, RedZone Entertainment. Cruz achieved notability in 2005 when he was awarded a BRIT Award for co-writing Will Young's 2004 single, "Your Game".

Cruz is the founder and chief executive of Rokstarr Music London, which in 2006 released his debut single "I Just Wanna Know". The single attracted significant attention from radio, and also from music industry insiders, who were already well aware of the artist's potential; manager Jamie Binns, who began representing Cruz at this time, later told HitQuarters: "He was a guy that everyone had earmarked to do damage in the future." Although the single received a reasonable amount of radio airplay, it did not perform as well as expected in either territory. However, rather than lose faith in Cruz, the labels were eager to negotiate an album deal, as by this time they had listened to his other songs and were ever more convinced by his capability.

Cruz's admirers included Island Records's Darcus Beese and Universal Republic's Monte Lipman, whom, according to Binns: "Both believed 'I Just Wanna Know' fitted the format on both sides of the Atlantic." In 2006, Cruz signed a split single deal with Universal Music Group companies, Republic Records and the UK branch of Island Records.

Departure (2006–2008)

Taio Cruz released his second single "Moving On" in September 2007 which made the top 30 in the UK. In March 2008 his next single, "Come On Girl," featuring Luciana, peaked at No. 5 on the UK charts. The related album Departure appeared on 17 March and peaked at No. 17. This was followed by the single "I Can Be," which reached No. 18 in May. On 18 August, "She's Like a Star" was released, which was a remix of the previous single and featured American rapper Busta Rhymes and girl-group Sugababes. The remix later appeared on the Sugababes studio album Catfights & Spotlights, which peaked at No. 20. It was later revealed that Cruz narrowly missed out on the chance to record the song "Umbrella" which was eventually recorded by Rihanna and ended up topping charts around the world.

Rokstarr and International breakthrough'' (2009)

Cruz was featured on Tinchy Stryder's breakout single "Take Me Back" which peaked at No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart. According to Cruz's official Myspace blog, as of 1 January 2009, Rokstarr Music London officially changed its name to Rokstarr Entertainment Division and abbreviated to R.E.D Inc.

During 2009, he worked on his follow-up album which was originally titled T.W.O. (This Way Out) but later changed to Rokstarr. It was released on 12 October through R.E.D Inc/Island Records and is entirely written and produced by Cruz, with co-writes and co-productions predominantly with UK producer Fraser T Smith. The album's lead single "Break Your Heart" was released on 14 September and reached number one in the UK, where it stayed for three weeks. The success of the song attracted the attention of David Massey and Daniel Werner from Mercury/Island Def Jam who were excited and aggressive about releasing "Break Your Heart" in the US on their label. According to Cruz's manager Jamie Binns, the relationship with Monte Lipman at Universal Republic had "gone a bit quiet" by this point and as Taio wanted to be with the label that was most enthusiastic about his music, a move from Universal Republic to Mercury/Island Def Jam was engineered.

The single reached the top spot in the US for one week on the Billboard charts. In an interview for The Guardian it was stated that "Cruz was clever to have hooked up with a US rapper Ludacris on his breakthrough hit". In order to introduce Cruz into the US market, David Massey had suggested that the single feature an American rapper with chart credibility. The album spawned two other UK singles, "No Other One", and the top-ten hit "Dirty Picture" featuring American electropop singer Kesha. The album's fourth single (second in the US) titled "Dynamite" debuted at 26 and despite peaking at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Dynamite" peaked at number 1 on US top 40 earning Cruz his second US number 1 record.

The Rokstarr Collection

Rokstarr was followed by the compilation album The Rokstarr Collection which includes songs both from Departure and the international version of Rokstarr. Cruz later released three versions of his single "Higher" - one featuring Kylie Minogue, one featuring Travie McCoy and with just himself.

Cruz has also been featured on the soundtrack of American reality TV series Jersey Shore.

Cruz is the main featured artist on David Guetta's 2011 single 'Little Bad Girl' which also features US rapper Ludacris.

Troublemaker

On 13 January 2011, Cruz used social networking website Twitter to tells fans that his upcoming third album would be titled Troublemaker. In June 2011, a music video for the title song was put into production, directed by Martin Weisz. It is expected to be unveiled in July 2011 as the lead single from the album. The album is due for release on October 17.

Other ventures

Writing and producing

Cruz has written songs on albums by Cheryl Cole, JLS, The Saturdays, The Wanted and David Guetta. Cruz wrote and featured on Tinchy Stryder's hit single "Take Me Back". Boyband McFly recorded "Shine a Light" which not only features, but was also was penned and produced by Cruz for their fifth studio album. 2011 will see him writing for Justin Bieber's next album. Jennifer Lopez's 2011 single "I'm Into You", featuring Lil Wayne, is also penned by Cruz. On 13 April 2011, Cruz confirmed that he had written and contributed vocals to a Guetta track called "Little Bad Girl" which is the second single from Guetta's fifth album, Nothing But the Beat. Additionally, a track dubbed "Troublemaker (Believe In Me Now)" with Cruz's vocals and said to be produced by Swedish House Mafia was leaked in early May and is most probably featured on Cruz's coming album.

Rokstarr brand

On 1 September 2009, Cruz launched the brand Rokstarr; the fashion and accessories brand has a focus on sunglasses. Musicians such as Kanye West, Shontelle, Keri Hilson and Kelly Rowland have been seen wearing them. Speaking in October to R&B; writer Pete Lewis, Cruz stated: "There's a load of US celebrities that are all rocking the sunglasses already – Kid Cudi, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West... Then in the UK we have The Saturdays, JLS, Daniel Merriweather – who've all been twittering and writing on their blogs how much they love them. So yeah, it's definitely my new album 'Rokstarr' and the fashion brand that are my two main focuses at the moment."

Meanwhile, speaking again to Lewis in April 2010, Cruz revealed: "We're currently looking to expand the brand and possibly go into things like watches. I've also got a new subsidiary of Rokstarr called 'Rok By Rokstarr'. And we've just started doing things like jeans and T-shirts, and stuff that more of the fans of Taio Cruz can buy. Because with Rokstarr in itself being so expensive, a lot of the kids out there who want to buy Rokstarr things can't. So we're bringing in stuff that's a little bit more High Street and more affordable."

Discography

Departure (2008)

Rokstarr (2009)

Troublemaker (2011)

Awards and nominations

Best British Song MOBO AwardsAmerican Music Awards BRIT Awards iTunes Best Album & Song Ascap Vanguard Award BRIT Awards rowspan=3>Virgin Media Awards Best Collaboration rowspan=6>2011 Billboard Music Awards Top Hot 100 Song rowspan=1>2011 MuchMusic Video Awards

Year
2004	Brit Awards>BRIT Awards	|	Your Game
2008	|	Best UK Male
2010	|	Breakthrough Artist
2010	|	Best British Song	Break Your Heart
2010	|	Best Song	Dynamite (Taio Cruz song)>Dynamite
2010	|	Recognition of Album	Departure (Taio Cruz album)>Departure
2011	|	Best British Song	Dynamite
2011	|	Best Male		<
2011	|	Dirty Picture
2011	Best Video
2011	Billboard Awards ||	Top New Artist		<
2011	|	Dynamite
2011	Top Digital Song
2011	Top Radio Song
2011	Top Streaming Song
2011	Top Pop Song
2011	|	MuchMusic.com Most Watched Video	Dynamite

References

External links

Taio Cruz on justRHYMES.com

Taio Cruz 'Blues & Soul' interview by Pete Lewis February 2008

Taio Cruz at Billboard.com

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Black British musicians Category:Christ's Hospital Old Blues Category:English rhythm and blues singers Category:English pop singers Category:English male singers Category:English people of Nigerian descent Category:British people of Brazilian descent Category:Musicians from London Category:Island Records artists

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