The origins of "okay" are unknown.
What is widely regarded as the earliest known example of the modern "ok" being set down on paper is a quintessential "we arrived ok" notation in the hand-written diary of William Richardson going from Boston to New Orleans in 1815, about a month after the Battle of New Orleans. One entry says "we traveled on to N. York where we arrived all well, at 7 P.M." By most reckonings a later similar entry uses "ok" in place of "all well": "Arrived at Princeton, a handsome little village, 15 miles from N Brunswick, ok & at Trenton, where we dined at 1 P.M." The original "ok &" was edited to read "o.k. and" in the print publication and that rendering was widely accepted at the time. H. L. Mencken considered it "very clear that 'o. k.' is actually in the manuscript." The editor of ''American Speech'' noted that this use of "o.k." was "likely to become a ''locus classicus'' of the expression." H.L. Mencken later recanted his endorsement of the expression in favor of one espoused by those who say that "O.K." was used no earlier than 1839. Mencken described the diary entry as a misreading of the author's self-correction, and stated it was in reality the first two letters of the words ''a h[andsome]'' before noticing the phrase had been used in the previous line and changing his mind.
Allen Walker Read identified the earliest known use of ''O.K.'' in print as 1839, in the March 23 edition of the ''Boston Morning Post'' (an American newspaper). The announcement of a trip by the Anti-Bell-Ringing Society (a "frolicsome group" according to Read) received attention from the Boston papers. Charles Gordon Greene wrote about the event using the line that is widely regarded as the first instance of this strain of ''okay'', complete with gloss:
}}
This apparently resulted from a fad for comical abbreviations that flourished in the late 1830s and 1840s. The abbreviation in this case is from the misspelled "oll korrect."
Read gives a number of subsequent appearances in print. Seven instances were accompanied ("glossed") with variations on "all correct" such as "oll korrect" or "ole kurreck", but five appeared with no accompanying explanation, suggesting that the word was expected to be well known to readers and possibly in common colloquial use at the time.
A year later, supporters of the American Democratic political party claimed during the 1840 United States presidential election that it stood for "Old Kinderhook," a nickname for a Democratic presidential candidate, Martin Van Buren, a native of Kinderhook, NY. "'Vote for OK' was snappier than using his Dutch name." In response, Whig opponents attributed ''OK'', in the sense of "Oll Korrect," to Andrew Jackson's bad spelling. The country-wide publicity surrounding the election appears to have been a critical event in ''okay'''s history, widely and suddenly popularizing it across the United States.
James Pyle, inventor of "Pyle's Pearline" purchased by Procter & Gamble in 1914 and renamed "Ivory Snow," placed an ad in the ''New York Times,'' October 23, 1862 which refers to James Pyle's O.K. Soap. The ''New York Times'' obituary of James Pyle dated January 21, 1900 says "Brought O.K. Into Popularity." The obituary states "He was the first to utilize in advertisements the letters OK in their business significance of all correct. He had the original use of these letters by Stonewall Jackson as an endorsement and was struck by their catchiness. By his extensive employment of them he probably did more than any other person to raise them to the dignity of a popular term and an established business institution."
However, and importantly for one candidate etymology, earlier documented examples exist of African slaves in America using phonetically identical or strikingly similar words in a similar sense to ''okay''. (See Wolof: waw-kay, below.)
Various etymologies have been proposed for ''okay'', but none has been unanimously agreed upon. Most are generally regarded to be unlikely or anachronistic.
There are four proposed etymologies which have received material academic support since the 1960s. They are: #Initials of ''Oll Korrect'', a "facetious alteration" of ''all correct'' #Initials of "Old Kinderhook" a nickname for President Martin Van Buren which was a reference to Van Buren's birthplace Kinderhook, NY. #Choctaw word ''okeh'' or ''hoke'' #Wolof and Bantu word ''waw-kay'' or the Mande (aka "Mandinke" or "Mandingo") phrase ''o ke''
''Oll Korrect'' has been extensively discussed by Allen Walker Read, although the primary purpose of those discussions was to promote "Old Kinderhook"; the two differ materially from other candidates in that they:
One theory of derivation is that it was a corruption from the speech of the large number of descendants of Scottish and Ulster Scots (Scots-Irish) immigrants to North America, of the common Scots phrase "och aye" ("oh yes"). Another postulation, that it derives from the Lakota word "Hokaheh" (also anglicised as "Hoka Hey" and "Hoka Hay") which has many popular mistranslations but which is probably most accurately rendered as "Let's go!", is very unlikely, as contact with the Lakota people was not really established at the time that "okay" or "ok" was first noted. A third suggestion is the loan of the Greek phrase Όλα Καλά or Ola Kala, meaning "All Good".
Allen Walker Read, revisiting and refuting his own work of 20 years earlier, contributed a major survey of the early history of ''okay'' in a series of six articles in the journal ''American Speech'' in 1963 and 1964. He tracked the spread and evolution of the word in American newspapers and other written documents, and later the rest of the world. He also documented controversy surrounding ''okay'' and the history of its folk etymologies, both of which are intertwined with the history of the word itself.
A key observation is that, at the time of its first appearance in print, a broader fad existed in the United States of "comical misspellings" and of forming and employing acronyms and initialisms. These were apparently based on direct phonetic representation of (some) people's colloquial speech patterns. Examples at the time included K.Y. for "know yuse" ("no use") and N.C. for "'nuff ced." ("enough said", commonly written today as "nuff said") This fad falls within the historical context, before universal "free" public education in America, where the poorly educated lower-classes of society were often easy entertainment for those who found fun in their non-universal language, epitomized by colloquial words and home-taught or self-deduced phonetic spellings. Motivated by this context, Noah Webster's dictionaries were published in 1806, 1828 and 1840, which both nationalized language usage and highlighted non-universal language by its introduction of unique American spellings, such as ''program'' rather than ''programme''.
The general fad may have existed in spoken or informal written U.S. English for a decade or more before its appearance in newspapers. ''OK'''s original presentation as "all correct" was later varied with spellings such as "Oll Korrect" or even "Ole Kurreck." Deliberate word play was associated with the acronym fad and was a yet broader contemporary American fad.
The chief strength of this etymology is its clear written record. A problem with this etymology is the implication that common usage was driven by the written appearance of a geographically and socially isolated slang term that was alien to the rest of the country. While appearing in written form often spreads and expands the usage of colloquial terms, it is rare for a single instance of written speech to make a term colloquial. The relatively slow take-up of the term by other English-speaking countries illustrates this pattern.
Van Buren was not by any means known as "Old Kinderhook" in general usage, and Read offered only two instances of the use of "O.K." that mentioned "Old Kinderhook." One was an 1840 ad for a breast pin celebrating Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. The other was a facetious use as part of a gag to take a swipe at the Whigs; indeed, to take the use of the abbreviations in that gag seriously is to miss the whole point. Many linguists, including the editors of ''The Dictionary of American English'' and the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' found these uses no more significant than any of other uses of "O.K." over the previous year and a half. They considered its use in the lapel pin ad an "afterthought" dropped into an ad that was essentially a celebration of Jackson and the frontier associations of the expression.
Read countered, however, that the ad made it evident "that the expression was strange and new at that time," that the earlier uses of "O.K." in Boston, Philadelphia, Providence, New Orleans, New York, etc. – including the humorous uses of "Oll Korrect" – were "not the real thing, but anticipative of the real thing." He said that, regardless of the surface meaning of those earlier uses, their true, although secret and cabalist reference, was to Van Buren's residence,
Read's etymology gained immediate acceptance, and is offered without reservation in most dictionaries. Modern dictionaries almost invariably offer an etymology that credits the historical use of "Oll Korrect", and some also discuss the apparent wider popularization of "O.K." as a product of the nearly contemporaneous "Old Kinderhook" usage.
The Choctaw expression "okeh" is still occasionally used, sometimes in rather unexpected contexts. The song "All Mixed Up" written by Pete Seeger and recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary in 1964 includes the verse
You know this language that we speak, is part German, Latin and part Greek Celtic and Arabic all in a heap, well amended by the people in the street. Choctaw gave us the word "okay"…
The Choctaw etymology is not generally accepted today. For example, ''The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang'' has four separate entries for "O.K." and says that "okeh" is the obsolete equivalent of each of them. It also says that "okeh" ('it is indeed') is a Choctaw expression. But it nevertheless says that "[w]ithout concrete evidence of a prior and established English borrowing from Choctaw-Chickasaw" any "derivational claims" about a Choctaw etymology are as "gratuitous" as those of the Liberian Djabo "O-ke," the Mandingo "O ke," or the Ulster Scots "Ough, aye!"
And a Jamaican planter's diary of 1816 records a negro as saying:
Possible origins that have been suggested are the Wolof and Bantu word ''waw-kay'' or the Mande (aka "Mandinke" or "Mandingo") phrase ''o ke''. However, there is apparently no concrete evidence linking the American usages with any particular African language, and the etymology is not generally accepted today.
!Variation!!Where used/Origins | |
oki or oky | A quick way of saying okay |
okeh | An alternative English spelling, no longer common. Also see Okeh Records. |
kay or 'kay | Notably used in Herman Wouk's ''The Caine Mutiny'' as a filler word by the maniacal Captain Queeg. |
k or kk | instant messaging, or in SMS messages. Before the days of SMS, K was used as a Prosigns for Morse code>Morse code prosign for "okay". |
'mkay, m'kay, mkay, or mk | In use long before, but popularized by Mr. Van Driessen in ''Beavis and Butt-head'' and Mr. Mackey in ''South Park''. |
Okey kokkey | Used frequently by Giovanni Capello from ''Mind Your Language''. |
Okie dokie | Popularly known at least by the 1930s in "The Little Rascals" (Oki doki). The phrase can be extended further, e.g. "Okie dokie (ala) pokie / smokie / artichokie," etc. |
okej | Polish language>Poland, although ''ok'' is more common in written language; sometimes ''oki'' is said. |
ôkê | Vietnamese language>Vietnam; ''okey'' also used, but ''ok'' more commonly. |
okei | Sometimes used in Norwegian languageNorwegian, Icelandic and Latvian. Quite common in Estonian and Finnish. |
Okai | Used in the Norwegian language. |
okej | Used in Swedish languageSwedish, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian and sometimes Latvian; ''ok'' also used, but less common. |
oké | Hungarian language>Hungarian. ''OK'', ''O.K.'', ''ok'' (especially in SMS), ''o.k.'', ''okés'', ''okézsoké'' are also commonly used; ''oxi'' and ''oksa'' was in sporadic use in the 1980s, now rare. |
oké | Dutch language>Dutch. ''okee'', ''ok'' and ''okay'' are also used, but are less common in the formal written language. |
okey | Especially in Spanish language |
occhei | Humorous phonetic translation in Italy. |
okaj | Sometimes used in the [[Danish language |
ochei | Alternative spelling in Italy, used without any humorous intent at all by Leo Ortolani in his comic "Rat-Man" published by Marvel Italia. |
ookoo | Used in Finland. Pronounced the same way as "OK", but spelled like the pronunciation of the letters. |
oukej | Used in Czech and Slovak. Pronounced as the English ''OK''. When written ''OK'', it is pronounced [o:ka:]. Neither version recognized as official. |
oquei | Phonetic translation to Latin American Spanish. |
okey or ok | Romanian language>Romanian. Also used is ''ochei'' which is a humorous way of reading the word phonetically. |
óla kalá (όλα καλά) or O.K | Greek language>Greek. The abbreviation is pronounced as the English ''OK''. |
okely dokely or okely dokely do | Variation of OK used by the character Ned Flanders in the television show "The Simpsons" |
''Okay'' meaning "all right" can be used as the stand-alone question ''Okay?'' asking if there are any problems or confusion. This question can also be used as an informal greeting, as in "''Okay'', Jack?" equivalent to "How are you, Jack?"
Depending on context and inflection, ''okay'' can also imply mediocrity. For example: "The concert was just ''okay''."
''Okay'' can be used as an adjective or adverb: "He ran an OK race", "He did OK."
''Okay'' can be used as an affirmative answer to a question or to express agreement with a statement, similar in both cases to "Yes."
''Okay'' is sometimes used merely to acknowledge a question without giving an affirmation. For example: "You're going to give back the money that you stole, right?" "Okay."
Saying ''okay'' in a sarcastic or questioning tone or elongating the word can indicate that the person one is talking to is considered crazy and/or exasperatingly stubborn in their view. "I really saw a UFO last night!" "''Okay...''"
''Okay!'' can also be used as an exclamation in place of words like "enough!" or "stop!"
''Okay'' can be a noun or verb meaning approval. "Did you get the supervisor's okay?" "The boss okayed the proposal."
''Okay'' has multiple uses in public speaking. As an interjection at the opening of a speech, lecture, or reading, ''okay'' is used to call for the audience's attention and to signal that the speaker is about to begin. Similarly, it can be used as a section break in the middle of speech to mark a shift in topic. Finally, ''okay'' can be used at the end of a speech, lecture, or explanation to request listener feedback, similar to "Are you with me?" or "Do you understand?" Based on context and convention, this usage can be seen as asking for various responses ranging from simple, silent headshaking or nodding to full, detailed questions or rebuttals.
When used in phone texting or short message system (SMS), "Okay" is occasionally truncated to a single "k".
Arabic speakers also use the word (أوكي) widely, particularly in areas of former British occupation like Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Iraq, and Palestine but also all over the Arab world due to the prevalence of American cinema and television. It is pronounced just as it is in English but is very rarely seen in Arabic newspapers and formal media.
In Israel, the word ''okay'' is common as an equivalent to the Hebrew words בסדר [b'seder] ('in order') and טוב [tov] ('good'). It is written as it sounds in English אוקיי.
It is used in Japan and Korea in a somewhat restricted sense, fairly equivalent to "all right." ''Okay'' is often used in colloquial Japanese as a replacement for 大丈夫 (daijōbu "all right") or いい (ii "good") and often followed by です (desu — the copula).
In Chinese, the term "好" (hǎo; literally: "good"), can be modified to fit most of usages of ''okay''. For example, "好了" (hao le) closely resembles the interjection usage of ''okay''. The "了" indicates a change of state, in this case it indicates the achievement of consensus. Likewise, "OK" is commonly transformed into "OK了" (OK le) when communicating with foreigners or with fellow Cantonese speaking people in at least Hong Kong and possibly to an extent, other regions of China. Other usages of ''Okay'' such as "I am okay" can be translated as "我还好." In Hong Kong, movies or dramas set in modern times use the term "ok" as part of the sprinkling of English included in otherwise Cantonese dialog. In Mandarin, it is also, somewhat humorously, used in the "spelling" of the word for karaoke, "卡拉OK," pronounced "kah-lah-oh-kei" (Mandarin does not natively have a syllable with the pronunciation "kei"). On the computer, okay is usually translated as "确定," which means "confirm" or "confirmed."
In Taiwan, it is frequently used in various sentences, popular among but not limited to younger generations. This includes the aforementioned "OK了" (Okay le), "OK嗎" (Okay ma), meaning "Is it okay?" or "OK啦" (Okay la), a strong, persuading affirmative, as well as the somewhat tongue-in-cheek explicit yes/no construction "O不OK?" (O bu Okay), "Is it okay or not?."
In the Philippines "okay lang" is a common expression, literally meaning "just okay" or "just fine." They also use it in sms but with the letter "k" only which means okay also.
In Malay, it is frequently used with the emphatic suffix "lah": OK-lah.
In Vietnamese, it is spelled "Ô kê"
In India it is often used after a sentence to mean "did you get it?", often not regarded politely, for example, "I want this job done, okay?" or at the end of a conversation (mostly on the phone) followed by "bye" as in, "Okay, bye."
In Nepal "thik cha" refers to as okay.
In Germany, it is spelled and pronounced in the same way as in English. The meaning ranges from acknowledgement to describing something neither good nor bad, same as in US/UK usage.
In Maldivian Okay is used in different ways, often used to agree with something, more often used while departing from a gathering "Okay Dahnee/Kendee".
''OK'' is used to label buttons in modal dialog boxes such as error messages or print dialogs, indicating that the user must press the button to accept the contents of the dialog box and continue. It is often placed next to a ''Cancel'' button which allows the user to dismiss the dialog box without accepting its contents. When a modal dialog box contains only one button, it is almost always labeled "OK" by convention and default. In this usage, it is usually rendered to the screen in upper case without punctuation: ''OK'', rather than ''O.K.'', ''Okay'', or ''Ok''. The ''OK'' button can probably be traced to user interface research done for the Apple Lisa. However, modern user interface guidelines prefer to avoid modal dialog boxes if possible, and use more specific verbs, such as ''Continue'', to label their action buttons instead of the generic ''OK''.
PLATO normally responded to user input with ''ok'' or ''no''.
PRIMOS, the operating system that ran on Prime computers, had a command interpreter which would print ''OK'' to indicate a command could be entered.
On the Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer (1980), there was an ''OK>'' prompt, which indicated that the Color Computer was ready to accept commands.
Many IBM PC compatible computers from the 1980s onwards performed a memory check during start-up. A counter showed the verified memory during the operation, sometimes suffixed with ''OK''.
Some programming language interpreters such as BASIC and Forth print ''ok'' when ready to accept input from the keyboard. This ''ok'' prompt is used on Sun, Apple, and other computers with the Forth-based Open Firmware (OpenBoot). The appearance of ''ok'' in inappropriate contexts on these systems is the subject of some humor.
In HTTP, the HyperText Transfer Protocol, upon which the World Wide Web is based, a successful response from the server is defined as ''OK'' (with the numerical code 200 as specified in RFC 2616). The Session Initiation Protocol also defines a response, ''200 OK'', which conveys success for most requests (RFC 3261).
Some Linux distributions, including those based on Red Hat, display boot progress on successive lines on-screen which include ''[ OK ]''.
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Name | Ingrid Michaelson |
---|---|
Background | solo_singer |
Birth name | Ingrid Ellen Egbert Michaelson |
Born | December 08, 1979 |
Origin | Staten Island, New York, U.S. |
Instrument | Vocals, guitar, piano, ukulele |
Genre | Indie pop, indie folk |
Occupation | Singer-songwriter, musician |
Years active | 2002–present |
Label | Cabin 24 Records |
Website | TwitterYouTube |
Domestic partner(s) | Greg Laswell (2009 - present) |
Past members | }} |
Ingrid Ewe Ellen Egbert Michaelson (born December 8, 1979) is a New York-based indie-pop singer-songwriter, known for her single "The Way I Am". Her music has been featured in episodes of several popular television shows, including ''Scrubs'', ''Bones'', ''Grey's Anatomy'' ''The Big C'' and ''One Tree Hill'', as well as in Old Navy's Fall 2007 Fair Isle and Opel's/Vauxhall's Meriva 2010 advertising campaign.
Toward the end of 2008, she opened for Jason Mraz on his Europe tour, touring in the UK, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and France among others. In the second half of 2009, Ingrid began her "Everybody" tour of the United States and Europe which continued in 2010.
Four of her songs have also appeared in ''One Tree Hill''. "Masochist" was featured in Season 4, Episode 13: "Pictures of You"; "Overboard", was used in Season 4, Episode 14: "Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers"; "The Way I Am" was used in Season 4, Episode 19: "Ashes of Dreams You Let Die"; and "Can't Help Falling In Love" was used in Season 6, Episode 23: "Forever And Almost Always". Other appearances include "The Way I Am" and "Breakable" in ''The Real World: Denver'', as well as "The Way I Am", "Die Alone" and "Far Away (Untitled)" in ''The Bad Girls Club''. "Breakable" was also featured in Season 2, Episode 3: "The List is Life" of ''Kyle XY''. Old Navy featured "The Way I Am" in their fall/winter advertisement. "Are We There Yet" was featured on the ABC family show "Make it or Break it"
On Valentine's Day 2008, Michaelson was the musical guest on ''Good Morning America'', and the following day she appeared on ''Live with Regis and Kelly''. She has also appeared on VH1, ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'', ''The AT&T; Blue Room'', ''Live From The Artists Den'', NPR's ''Bryant Park Project'', ''The Rachael Ray Show'' and ''Last Call with Carson Daly'', where she performed with Joshua Radin.
Her song "Be OK" appears in ''The House Bunny'', episode 15 of the second season of NBC's 2010 series ''Parenthood'', a Traveler's Insurance commercial, a Mott's Apple Juice commercial featuring actress Marcia Cross., and a Ritz Crackers commercial in 2011. It was also used in a season 4 episode of ''Ugly Betty''.
Michaelson recorded a duet with Sara Bareilles called "Winter Song", which featured on the ''The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs''. An animated music video was released to accompany the song. They performed the song on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' on December 9, 2008. This was also featured in ''Grey's Anatomy''s fifth season. "Winter Song" was also featured on the eighth episode of season 4 of ''Brothers & Sisters'', the seventeenth episode of ''Scrubs'' season eight, and on the fifth episode of the third season of ''Army Wives''. Michaelson and Bareilles performed the song at the 2010 National Christmas Tree Lighting.
Her song "Starting Now" appeared in ''Pretty Little Liars'' on July 20, 2010 in the seventh episode of season 1, "The Homecoming Hangover".
Her song "You and I", from the 2008 album ''Be OK'', plays over the credits of the 2010 romantic comedy ''My Girlfriend's Boyfriend'', starring Alyssa Milano, Christopher Gorham, Michael Landes, Tom Lenk and Beau Bridges.
Part of her song "Everybody" was featured in 2010's Ramona and Beezus.
Additionally, her song "The Chain" was featured in the CW show Hellcats, season 1, episode 12 "Papa, Oh Papa" on January, 24, 2011.
Her song "Maybe" was featured on the ABC medical drama "Body of Proof" in the episode "Society Hill", the sixth episode of the first season. It was also used on the USA network show, In Plain Sight, in the episode, "I'm a Liver, Not a Fighter," in Season 4.
Her song, Sort Of, was used on the advert for the internet browser Google Chrome. The advert premièred during the champions league final in May 2011. Her song "Turn to Stone" was featured on The Vampire Diaries in the episode "As I Lay Dying", the season 2 finale on May 12, 2011. On June 15, 2011 "Turn to Stone" was used for a contemporary dance routine on So You Think You Can Dance.
Her song "Keep Breathing" was featured on The Big C in Series one, Episode 2 towards the end of the episode
Ingrid and her friend Sara Bareilles co-wrote "Winter Song" which was featured on ''The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs'', a compilation of both original recordings as well as classic holiday tracks sung by a lineup of female singer-songwriters. Ingrid also worked with Bareilles, performing "Winter Song" for the President Obama and his family as well as many spectators at the National Christmas Tree Lighting in December 2010.
Ingrid provided back-up vocals on two songs from PlayRadioPlay!'s album ''Texas'', including "I'm a Pirate, You're a Princess" and the title track, "Texas".
Ingrid provided back-up vocals on Greg Laswell's album, ''Take A Bow'', which was released on May 4, 2010. Collaboration was done on the songs "Take Everything," "My Fight (For You)," and "Come Clean."
Ingrid's band includes Allie Moss and Bess Rogers on guitar, who are singer/songwriters in their own right. Allie Moss released a 2009 EP entitled ''Passerby''. A single from the EP, "Corner", has been picked up by BT for their BT Infinity television commercials in the UK. Other band members include Chris Kuffner (guitar), husband of Bess Rogers, Saul Simon-MacWilliams (keys) and Elliot Jacobson (drums).
In 2010, Ingrid co-wrote a song entitled "Parachute" with Marshall Altman which was covered by singer Cheryl Cole on her debut solo album ''3 Words''; it hit number 1 in the UK. Ingrid initially felt the track was "so poppy" that she could not release it herself. However, after the song was reworked by "Everybody" producer Dan Romer to make a more "interesting, funky production", Ingrid released the song as a personal single. To date, the song has received two separate music videos.
Of the release of "Parachute" and upcoming material, Ingrid explained in a 2010 interview with Billboard.com, "I just felt like I wanted to put something out. I'm not ready to put a full album out, so we thought we'd put this out and see how people take it or don't take it," saying that she expects to release her next album, "probably in the middle of next year."
Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
! width="35" | ! width="35" | ! width="35" | ! width="35" | ! width="35" | |||||
''Slow the Rain'' | * Release date: January 10, 2005 | * Label: self-released | Compact disc>CD, music download | — | — | — | — | — | |
! scope="row" | * Release date: May 16, 2007 | * Label: Cabin 24 Records | * Formats: CD, music download | 63 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 100 | |
! scope="row" | * Release date: October 14, 2008 | * Label: Cabin 24 Records | * Formats: CD, music download | 35 | 13 | — | 2 | — | |
! scope="row" | * Release date: August 25, 2009 | * Label: Cabin 24 Records | * Formats: CD, music download | 18 | 7 | — | — | — | |
Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||
! width="35" | ! width="35" | ! width="35" | ! width="35" | ! width="35" | ! width="35" | ! width="35" | ! width="35" | |||||
2007 | ! scope="row" | 37 | 20 | 15 | — | 36 | 51 | 69 | — | US">Music recording sales certification | Album | |
! width="35" | ! width="35" | ! width="35" | ! width="35" | ! width="35" | ! width="35" | ! width="35" | ! width="35" | |||||
2007 | ! scope="row" | 37 | 20 | 15 | — | 36 | 51 | 69 | — | US: Platinum | ||
2008 | ! scope="row" | 91 | — | — | — | 45 | — | 64 | 174 | |||
2009 | ! scope="row" | — | 27 | 14 | 38 | — | — | 97 | — | |||
2010 | "Everybody" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:Binghamton University alumni Category:People from New York City Category:People from Staten Island Category:Musicians from New York City Category:American singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American pianists Category:American sopranos Category:American guitarists Category:Ukulele players Category:American folk musicians
de:Ingrid Michaelson es:Ingrid Michaelson fr:Ingrid Michaelson it:Ingrid Michaelson nl:Ingrid Michaelson pl:Ingrid Michaelson pt:Ingrid Michaelson ro:Ingrid Michaelson ru:Майклсон, Ингрид uk:Інгрід МайкельсонThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | Junior Reid |
---|---|
background | solo_singer |
birth name | Delroy Reid |
birth date | June 03, 1965 |
origin | Kingston, Jamaica |
genre | Reggae, dancehall, reggae fusion |
occupation | Singer, producer |
years active | 1978–present |
label | JR, Big Life, Mercury, PolyGram, Greensleeves |
associated acts | Black Uhuru, Voice of Progress, Game, Mims |
website | Official MySpace Page }} |
By the early 80's, commissioned by the great Sugar Minott to record a number of tunes on Minott's Youth Promotion label, enjoying considerable popularity with tracks such as "Human Nature", "A1 Lover", and the evergreen "See How Me Black See How Me Shine", an uplifting and proud statement which became an anthem to the ghetto youth whom Reid increasingly championed. Reid was present at the 1983 shooting death of reggae singer Hugh Mundell; he was travelling in the same car as Mundell in Kingston. After the death of Mundell, Reid transferred his talents to King Jammy's studio on St. Lucia Road where his fast-growing success rose yet another notch. "Boom Shacka Lacka" was his first UK hit and led to another exceptional album. After a number of fine singles - which included "Youthman", "Bank Clerk", "Sufferation", "Give Thanks and Praises" and "Higgler Move" - his chance of a wider international audience came with the offer of replacing Michael Rose in Black Uhuru. Always a strong follower of Black Uhuru, and with a similar vocal style, Reid slipped into Rose's shoes with ease. The collaboration on his first Black Uhuru album, the Grammy-nominated ''Brutal'', in 1986, was well received by all. Two years and two albums later, Junior's interest to produce material for himself, and desire to regain his domestic popularity, drove him back into the solo arena and back to King Jammy's studio, as well as setting up his own JR label. Reid had a number 21 hit in the UK in 1988 with the collaboration with Coldcut, "Stop This Crazy Thing". He had an even bigger hit in 1990, with "I'm Free", recorded with The Soup Dragons, reaching number 5. Meanwhile, 1989's "One Blood" saw him re-established at the forefront of the reggae scene.
Reid appeared on the Blackout remix of Mims' "This Is Why I'm Hot" from his debut album ''M.I.M.S. (Music Is My Savior)''. This was one of the more popular remixes made in 2007. He recently did a song with Jim Jones, Max B and Mel Matrix called "What A Gwan", which features a sample from Barrington Levy's "Black Roses". Reid is on Fabolous's album ''From Nothin' to Somethin''' on the track "Gangsta Don't Play" and he has collaborated with Fat Joe on the track "More Money". He recently appeared on the remix of Smitty's song "Died In Your Arms" also featuring Rick Ross and T-Pain. In late 2007 he performed in the "Freedom Concert" in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and also went on to record the remix version of "Free" with The Indispensibles, a Nigerian hip hop duo. Reid was also proudly featured on the track "Fire" from San Francisco-based DJ and deep house producer Miguel Migs' 2007 album "Those Things."
On 18 November 2007, Reid performed alongside Alicia Keys at the 2007 American Music Awards. Reid is also featured on a remix version of Alicia Keys' single "No One". He also did a song with Lil Wayne called "Ghetto Youths Rock". In 2008, Reid was featured on Bun B's song "If It Was Up II Me" off his album II Trill.
Junior Reid has been working on his New album which will be releases in 2009 titled ''The Living Legend'' with artist featured such as Lil Wayne, Fat Joe, Cool and Dre, Snoop Dogg and more.
In 2009, Junior Reid teamed up with Mahad Dar of Symboliq Sounds. Since working together, Dar began and is currently managing Reid.
In 2011, Junior Reid teamed up with Ludacris, T-Pain, Busta Rhymes, Mavado, Bun B, Game, Twista, Jadakiss, Waka Flocka Flame, Fat Joe, Ace Hood & Birdman in the remix of Dj Khaled's Welcome To My Hood. Welcome To My Hood (Featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne & Plies) is the lead single of Dj Khaled's 5th studio album We The Best Forever.
Category:Living people Category:Jamaican reggae singers Category:1965 births Category:Dancehall musicians Category:Jamaican Rastafarians Category:Jamaican male singers Category:Reggae fusion artists Category:People from Kingston, Jamaica Category:Black Uhuru members
de:Junior Reid fr:Junior Reid ht:Junior Reid pl:Junior Reid sv:Junior Reid th:จูเนียร์ รีดThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
birth name | Whitney Elizabeth Houston |
---|---|
background | solo_singer |
born | August 09, 1963Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
origin | East Orange, New Jersey |
instrument | Vocals, piano |
genre | R&B;, pop, dance, soul, gospel |
occupation | Singer, actress, model, film producer, record producer, songwriter |
years active | 1977–present |
label | Arista/Sony Music |
associated acts | Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Bobby Brown, Kim Burrell, CeCe Winans, Mariah Carey, Luther Vandross, Jermaine Jackson |
website | }} |
Inspired by several prominent soul singers in her extended family, including mother Cissy Houston and cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, as well as her godmother, Aretha Franklin, Houston began singing with New Jersey church's junior gospel choir at age 11. After she began performing alongside her mother in night clubs in the New York City area, she was discovered by Arista Records label head Clive Davis. As of 2011, Houston has released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum, or gold certification.
Houston's 1985 debut album, ''Whitney Houston'', became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. Her second studio album, ''Whitney'' (1987), became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", enabled several African-American female artists to follow in her success.
Houston's first acting role was as the star of the feature film ''The Bodyguard'' (1992). The movie's original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its lead single, "I Will Always Love You", became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. The album makes her the only female act ranked in the list of the top-10 best-selling albums, at number four. Houston continued to star in movies and contribute to soundtracks, including with the films ''Waiting to Exhale'' (1995) and ''The Preacher's Wife'' (1996). Three years after the release of her fourth studio album, ''My Love Is Your Love'' (1998), she renewed her recording contract with Arista Records. She released her fifth studio album, ''Just Whitney'', in 2002, and the Christmas-themed ''One Wish: The Holiday Album'' in 2003. Amid widespread media coverage of personal and professional turmoil, Houston ended her 14-year marriage to singer Bobby Brown in 2006. In 2009, Houston released her seventh studio album, ''I Look To You''.
At the age of eleven, Houston began to follow in her mother's footsteps and started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play the piano. Her first solo performance in the church was "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah".
When Houston was a teenager, she attended a Catholic girls high school, Mount Saint Dominic Academy, where she met her best friend Robyn Crawford, whom she describes as the "sister she never had." While Houston was still in school, her mother continued to teach her how to sing. In addition to her mother, Franklin, and Warwick, Houston was also exposed to the music of Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and Roberta Flack, most of whom would have an impact on her as a singer and performer.
Houston had previously been offered several recording agencies (Michael Zager in 1980 and Elektra Records in 1981). In 1983, Gerry Griffith, an A&R; representative from Arista Records saw her performing with her mother in a New York City nightclub and was impressed. He convinced Arista's head Clive Davis to make time to see Houston perform. Davis too was impressed and offered a worldwide recording contract which Houston signed. Later that year, she made her national televised debut alongside Davis on ''The Merv Griffin Show''.
Houston signed with Arista in 1983 but did not begin work on her album immediately. The label wanted to make sure no other label signed the singer away. Davis wanted to ensure he had the right material and producers for Houston's debut album. Some producers had to pass on the project due to prior commitments. Houston first recorded a duet with Teddy Pendergrass entitled "Hold Me" which appeared on his album, ''Love Language''. The single was released in 1984 and gave Houston her first taste of success, becoming a Top 5 R&B; hit. It would also appear on her debut album in 1985.
At the 1986 Grammy Awards, Houston was nominated for three awards including ''Album of the Year''. She was ineligible for the ''Best New Artist'' category due to her previous duet recording with Teddy Pendergrass in 1984. She won her first Grammy award for 'Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female' for "Saving All My Love for You". At the same award show, she performed that Grammy-winning hit; that performance later winning her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. Houston won seven American Music Awards in total in 1986 and 1987, and an MTV Video Music Award. The album's popularity would also carry over to the 1987 Grammy Awards when "Greatest Love of All" would receive a ''Record of the Year'' nomination. Houston's debut album is currently listed as one of ''Rolling Stone's'' 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and on The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame's Definitive 200 list. Whitney Houston's grand entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to ''USA Today''. Following Houston's breakthrough, doors were opened for other African-American female artists such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker to find notable success in popular music and on MTV.
At the Grammy Awards in 1988, Houston was nominated for three awards, including ''Album of the Year'', winning her second Grammy for ''Best Female Pop Vocal Performance'' for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)". Houston also won two American Music Awards in 1988 and 1989 respectively. Following the release of the album, Houston embarked on the ''Moment of Truth World Tour'' which was one of the ten highest grossing concert tours of 1987. The success of the tour and her albums ranked Houston #8 for the highest earning entertainers list according to ''Forbes Magazine''. She was the highest earning African-American woman and the third highest entertainer after Bill Cosby and Eddie Murphy. The list included her concert grosses during 1986 and 1987.
Houston was a supporter of Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid movement. During her modeling days, the singer refused to work with any agencies who did business with the then-apartheid South Africa. In June 1988, during the European leg of her tour, Houston joined other musicians to perform a set at Wembley Stadium in London to celebrate a then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday. Over 72,000 people attended Wembley Stadium, and over a billion people tuned in worldwide as the rock concert raised over $1 million for charities while bringing awareness to apartheid. Houston then flew back to the US for a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City in August. The show was a benefit concert that raised a quarter of a million dollars for the United Negro College Fund. In the same year, she recorded a song for NBC's coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics, "One Moment in Time", which became a Top 5 hit in the US, while reaching number one in the UK and Germany. With her current world tour continuing overseas, Houston was still one of the top 20 highest earning entertainers for 1987–1988 according to ''Forbes'' magazine.
In 1989, Houston formed The Whitney Houston Foundation For Children, a non-profit organization that has raised funds for the needs of children around the world. The organization cares for homelessness, children with cancer or AIDS, and other issues of self-empowerment. With the success of her first two albums, Houston was undoubtedly an international crossover superstar, the most prominent since Michael Jackson, appealing to all demographics. However, some black critics believed she was "selling out". They felt her singing on record lacked the soul that was present during her live concerts. At the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards, when Houston's name was called out for a nomination, a few in the audience jeered. Houston defended herself against the criticism, stating, "If you're gonna have a long career, there's a certain way to do it, and I did it that way. I'm not ashamed of it." Houston took a more urban direction with her third studio album, ''I'm Your Baby Tonight'', released in November 1990. She produced and chose producers for this album and as a result, it featured production and collaborations with L.A. Reid and Babyface, Luther Vandross, and Stevie Wonder. The album showed Houston's versatility on a new batch of tough rhythmic grooves, soulful ballads and up-tempo dance tracks. Reviews were mixed. ''Rolling Stone'' felt it was her "best and most integrated album". while ''Entertainment Weekly'', at the time thought Houston's shift towards an urban direction was "superficial". The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and went on to be certified four times platinum in America while selling twelve million total worldwide. Two of the singles released from the album reached number one in the US.
With America at war, Houston performed "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in January 1991. VH1 listed the performance as the 12th greatest moment that rocked TV. Her recording of the song was released as a commercial single, and reached the Top 20 on the US Hot 100, making her the only act to turn the national anthem into a pop hit of that magnitude (Jose Feliciano's version reached #50 in November 1968). Houston donated all her share of the proceeds to the Red Cross. As a result, the singer was named to the Red Cross Board of Governors. Later that year, Houston put together her ''Welcome Home Heroes'' concert with HBO for the soldiers fighting in the Gulf War and their families. The free concert took place at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia in front of 3,500 servicemen and women. HBO descrambled the concert so that it was free for everyone to watch. Houston's concert gave HBO its highest ratings ever. She then embarked on the I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour.
With the commercial success of her albums, movie offers poured in, including offers to work with Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones, and Spike Lee; but Houston felt the time wasn't right. Houston’s first film role was in ''The Bodyguard'', released in 1992 and co-starring Kevin Costner. Houston played Rachel Marron, a star who is stalked by a crazed fan and hires a bodyguard to protect her. ''USA Today'' listed it as one of the 25 most memorable movie moments of the last 25 years. The movie is also notable for not mentioning or needing to explain its interracial aspect. Houston's mainstream appeal allowed people to look at the movie color-blind. Still, controversy arose as some felt the film's ads intentionally hid Houston's face to hide the film's interracial aspect. In an interview with ''Rolling Stone Magazine'' in 1993, the singer commented that "people know who Whitney Houston is—I'm black. You can't hide that fact." Houston received a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress. ''The Washington Post'' said Houston is "doing nothing more than playing Houston, comes out largely unscathed if that is possible in so cockamamie an undertaking", and ''The New York Times'' said she lacked passion with her co-star. Despite the film's mixed reviews, it was hugely successful at the box office, grossing more than $121 million in the U.S. and $410 million worldwide, making it one of the top 100 grossing films in film history at its time of release, though it is no longer in the top 100.
The film's soundtrack also enjoyed success. Houston executive produced and contributed six songs for the motion picture's adjoining soundtrack album. ''Rolling Stone'' said it is "nothing more than pleasant, tasteful and urbane". The soundtrack's lead single was "I Will Always Love You", written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1974. The single peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for a then-record-breaking 14 weeks, number one on the R&B; chart for a then-record-breaking 11 weeks, and number one on the Adult Contemporary charts for five weeks, thus becoming the first single to top those three charts simultaneously for five weeks. The song also hit number-one in many other countries. The soundtrack debuted at #1 and remained there for twenty non-consecutive weeks and became one of the fastest selling albums ever. At one point the soundtrack sold over a million copies within a week, becoming the first album to do so. With the follow-up singles "I'm Every Woman", a Chaka Khan cover, and "I Have Nothing" both peaking in the top five, Houston became the first female artist to ever have three singles in the Top 20 simultaneously. The album was certified 17× platinum in the United States with worldwide sales of 42 million, making ''The Bodyguard'' the only album by a female act on the list of the world's Top 10 best-selling albums. Houston won three Grammys for the album, including two of the Academy's highest honors, Album of the Year and Record of the Year. In addition, she won eight American Music Awards at that year's ceremony, including the Award of Merit, and a BRIT award. Following the success of the project, Houston embarked on another expansive global tour in 1993 and 1994. Her concerts, movie, and recording grosses made her the third highest earning female entertainer of 1993–1994, just behind Oprah Winfrey and Barbra Streisand according to ''Forbes Magazine''. Houston placed in the top five of ''Entertainment Weekly's'' annual "Entertainer of the Year" ranking and was labeled by ''Premier Magazine'' as one of the 100 most powerful people in Hollywood.
In October 1994, Houston attended and performed at a state dinner in the White House honoring newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela. At the end of her world tour, Houston performed three concerts in South Africa to honor President Mandela, playing to over 200,000 people. This would make the singer the first major musician to visit the newly unified and apartheid free nation following Mandela's winning election. The concert was broadcast live on HBO with funds of the concerts being donated to various charities in South Africa. The event was considered the nation's "biggest media event since the inauguration of Nelson Mandela."
The film's accompanying soundtrack, ''Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album'', was produced by Houston and Babyface. Though Babyface originally wanted Houston to record the entire album, she declined. Instead, she "wanted it to be an album of women with vocal distinction", and thus gathered several African-American female artists for the soundtrack, to go along with the film's strong women message. As a result, the album featured a range of contemporary R&B; female recording artists along with Houston, such as Mary J Blige, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, Patti Labelle, and Brandy. Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" peaked at #1, and then spent a record eleven weeks at the #2 spot and eight weeks on top of the R&B; Charts. "Count On Me", a duet with CeCe Winans, hit the US Top 10; and Houston's third contribution, "Why Does It Hurt So Bad", made the Top 30. The album debuted at #1, and was certified 7× Platinum in the United States, denoting shipments of seven million copies. The soundtrack received strong reviews as ''Entertainment Weekly'' said "the album goes down easy, just as you'd expect from a package framed by Whitney Houston tracks.... the soundtrack waits to exhale, hovering in sensuous suspense" and has since ranked it as one of the 100 Best Movie Soundtracks. ''Newsday'' called it "the most significant R&B; record of the decade." Later that year, Houston's children's charity organization was awarded a VH1 Honor for all the charitable work
In 1996, Houston starred in the holiday comedy ''The Preacher's Wife'', with Denzel Washington. She plays a gospel-singing wife of a pastor (Courtney B. Vance). Houston earned $10 million for the role, making her one of the highest paid actress in Hollywood at the time and the highest earning African American actress in Hollywood. The movie, with its all African-American cast, was a moderate success, earning approximately $50 million at the U.S. box offices. The movie gave Houston her strongest reviews so far. ''The San Francisco Chronicle'' said Houston "is rather angelic herself, displaying a divine talent for being virtuous and flirtatious at the same time" and that she "exudes gentle yet spirited warmth, especially when praising the Lord in her gorgeous singing voice." Houston was again nominated for an NAACP Image Award and won for Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture.
Houston recorded and co-produced, with Mervyn Warren, the film's accompanying gospel soundtrack. ''The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album'' included six gospel songs with Georgia Mass Choir that were recorded at the Great Star Rising Baptist Church in Atlanta. Houston also duetted with gospel legend Shirley Caesar. The album sold six million copies worldwide and scored hit singles with "I Believe in You and Me" and "Step by Step", becoming the largest selling gospel album of all time. The album received mainly positive reviews. Some critics, such as that of ''USA Today'', noted the presence of her emotional depth, while ''The UK Times'' said "To hear Houston going at full throttle with the 35 piece Georgia Mass Choir struggling to keep up is to realise what her phenomenal voice was made for."
In 1997, Houston's production company changed its name to BrownHouse Productions and was joined by Debra Martin Chase. Their goal was "to show aspects of the lives of African-Americans that have not been brought to the screen before" while improving how African-Americans are portrayed in film and television. Their first project was a made-for-television remake of Rodgers & Hammerstein's ''Cinderella''. In addition to co-producing, Houston starred in the movie as the Fairy Godmother along with Brandy, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, and Bernadette Peters. Houston was initially offered the role of Cinderella in 1993, but other projects intervened. The film is notable for its multi-racial cast and nonstereotypical message. An estimated 60 million viewers tuned into the special giving ABC its highest TV ratings in 16 years. The movie received seven Emmy nominations including Outstanding Variety, Musical or Comedy, while winning Outstanding Art Direction in a Variety, Musical or Comedy Special.
Houston and Chase then obtained the rights to the story of Dorothy Dandridge. Houston was to play Dandridge, who was the first African American actress to be nominated for an Oscar. She wanted the story told with dignity and honor. However, Halle Berry also had rights to the project and she got her version going first. Later that year, Houston paid tribute to her idols such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Dionne Warwick by performing their hits during the three-night HBO Concert ''Classic Whitney'', live from Washington, D.C. The special raised over $300,000 for the Children's Defense Fund.
In May 2000, ''Whitney: The Greatest Hits'' was released. The double disc set peaked at number five in the United States and reached number one in the United Kingdom. While ballad songs were left unchanged, the album is notable for featuring house/club remixes of many of Houston's up-tempo hits, in place of their original version. Also included on the album were four new songs: "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (a duet with Enrique Iglesias), "Same Script, Different Cast" (a duet with Deborah Cox), "If I Told You That" (a duet with George Michael), and "Fine". Along with the album, an accompanying DVD was released featuring the music videos to Houston's greatest hits. The greatest hits album was certified triple platinum in the US, with worldwide sales of ten million. Houston and Chase, along with Warner Brothers, were then set to produce a remake of the 1976 film Sparkle about a 1960s singing group of three sisters in Harlem. Aaliyah, who was to star in the remake, was killed in a plane crash in 2001 before production began.
In August 2001, Houston signed the biggest record deal in music history with Arista/BMG. She renewed her contract for $100 million to deliver six new albums, on which she would also earn royalties. She later made an appearance on ''Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special''. Her extremely thin frame further spurred rumors of drug use. Houston's publicist said, "Whitney has been under stress due to family matters, and when she is under stress she doesn't eat." The singer was scheduled for a second performance the following night but canceled. Within weeks, Houston's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" would be re-released after the terrorist attacks of September 11. The song peaked at #6 this time on the US Hot 100, topping its previous position. Houston donated her portion of the proceeds.
In 2002, Houston became involved in a legal dispute with John Houston Enterprise. Although the company was started by her father to manage her career, it was now actually run by company president Kevin Skinner. Skinner filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit and sued for $100 million (but lost), stating that Houston owed the company previously unpaid compensation for helping to negotiate her $100 million contract with Arista Records and for sorting out legal matters. Houston stated that her 81-year-old father had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Although Skinner tried to claim otherwise, John Houston never appeared in court. Houston's father later died in February 2003. The lawsuit was dismissed on April 5, 2004, and Skinner was awarded nothing.
Also in 2002, Houston did an interview with Diane Sawyer to promote her then-upcoming album. The interview was the highest-rated television interview in history. During the prime-time special, Houston spoke on topics including rumored drug use and marriage. She was asked about the ongoing drug rumors and replied, "First of all, let's get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. Okay? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is wack." The line would become infamous. Houston did, however, admit to using other substances at times.
In December 2002, Houston released her fifth studio album, ''Just Whitney...''. The album included productions from then-husband Bobby Brown, as well as Missy Elliott and Babyface, and marked the first time Houston did not produce with Clive Davis as Davis had been released by top management at BMG. Upon its release, ''Just Whitney...'' received mixed reviews. The album debuted at number 9 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and it had the highest first week sales of any album Houston had ever released. The four singles released from the album, didn't fare well on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but became Hot Dance Club Play hits. ''Just Whitney...'' was certified platinum in the United States, and sold approximately three million worldwide.
In late 2003, Houston released her first Christmas album ''One Wish: The Holiday Album'', with a song listing of traditional holiday songs. Houston produced the album with Mervyn Warren and Gordon Chambers. A single titled "One Wish (for Christmas)" reached the Top 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and the album was certified gold in the US. Having always been a touring artist, Houston spent most of 2004 touring and performing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Russia. In September 2004, she gave a surprise performance at the World Music Awards, in tribute to long time friend Clive Davis. After the show, Davis and Houston announced plans to go into studio to work on her new album.
In early 2004, husband Bobby Brown starred in his own reality TV program, ''Being Bobby Brown'' (on the Bravo network), which provided a view into the domestic goings-on in the Brown household. Though it was Brown's vehicle, Houston was a prominent figure throughout the show, receiving as much screen time as Brown. The series aired in 2005 and featured Houston in, what some would say, not her most flattering moments. The ''Hollywood Reporter'' said it was "undoubtedly the most disgusting and execrable series ever to ooze its way onto television." Despite the perceived train-wreck nature of the show, the series gave Bravo its highest ratings in its time slot and continued Houston's successful forays into film and television. The show was not renewed for a second season after Houston stated she would no longer appear in it, and Brown and Bravo could not come to an agreement for another season.
Houston later embarked on a world tour, entitled the Nothing But Love Tour. It was her first world tour in over ten years and was announced as a triumphant comeback. However, some poor reviews and rescheduled concerts brought some negative media attention. Houston canceled some concerts due to illness and received widespread negative reviews from fans who were disappointed in the quality of her voice and performance. Some fans reportedly walked out of her concerts.
In January 2010, Houston was nominated for two NAACP Image Awards, one for Best Female Artist and one for Best Music Video. She won the award for Best Music Video for her single "I Look to You." On January 16, she received the BET Honors Award for Entertainer citing her lifetime achievements spanning over 25 years in the industry. The 2010 BET Honors was held at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC and aired February 1, 2010. Jennifer Hudson and Kim Burrell performed in honor of her, garnering positive reviews. Houston also received a nomination from the Echo Awards, Germany's version of the Grammys, for Best International Artist. In April 2010, the UK newspaper ''The Mirror'' reported that Houston was thinking about recording her eighth studio album and would like to collaborate with will.i.am (of The Black Eyed Peas), her first choice for a collaboration. Houston also performed the song "I Look to You," on the 2011 BET ''Celebration of Gospel'', with gospel–jazz singer Kim Burrell, held at the Staple Center, Los Angeles. The performance aired on January 30, 2011. Early in 2011, she gave an uneven performance in tribute to cousin Dionne Warwick at music mogul Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy gala. In May 2011, Houston enrolled in rehabilitation center again, as an out-patient, citing drug and alcohol problems. A representative for Houston said that it was a part of Houston's "longstanding recovery process."
Houston's vocal stylings have had a significant impact on the music industry. She has been called the "Queen of Pop" for her influence during the 1990s, commercially rivaling Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. Stephen Holden from ''The New York Times'', in his review of Houston's Radio City Music Hall concert on July 20, 1993, praised her attitude as a singer highly, writing "Whitney Houston is one of the few contemporary pop stars of whom it might be said: the voice suffices. While almost every performer whose albums sell in the millions calls upon an entertainer's bag of tricks, from telling jokes to dancing to circus pyrotechnics, Ms. Houston would rather just stand there and sing." He added the comments on her singing style: "Her [Houston's] stylistic trademarks―shivery melismas that ripple up in the middle of a song, twirling embellishments at the ends of phrases that suggest an almost breathless exhilaration―infuse her interpretations with flashes of musical and emotional lightning." Elysa Gardner of ''Los Angeles Times'' in her review for ''The Preacher's Wife Soundtrack'' praised highly for Houston's vocal ability, commenting "She is first and foremost a pop diva―at that, the best one we have. No other female pop star―not Mariah Carey, not Celine Dion, not Barbra Streisand―quite rivals Houston in her exquisite vocal fluidity and purity of tone, and her ability to infuse a lyric with mesmerizing melodrama." Houston is commonly referred to as "The Voice", in reference to her exceptional vocal talent.
According to ''The New York Times'', Houston has "revitalized the tradition of strong gospel-oriented pop-soul singing". Ann Powers of the ''Los Angeles Times'' referred to the singer as a "national treasure". She is what many consider to be a "singer's singer" who has influenced countless other vocalists, both female and male. Similarly, Steve Huey from Allmusic wrote that the shadow of Houston's prodigious technique still looms large over nearly every pop diva and smooth urban soul singer - male or female - in her wake, and spawned a legion of imitators. ''Rolling Stone,'' on her biography, stated that Houston "redefined the image of a female soul icon and inspired singers ranging from Mariah Carey to Rihanna." ''Essence'' ranked Houston the fifth on their list of 50 Most Influential R&B; Stars of all time, calling her "the diva to end all divas."
A number of artists have acknowledged Houston as an influence. Mariah Carey, who was often compared to Houston, said, "Houston has been a big influence on me." She later told ''USA Today'' that "none of us would sound the same if Aretha Franklin hadn't ever put out a record, or Whitney Houston hadn't." Brandy stated "The first Whitney Houston CD was genius. That CD introduced the world to her angelic yet powerful voice. Without Whitney half of this generation of singers wouldn't be singing," picking Houston's first album as a work of inspired. Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson cites Houston as her biggest musical influence. She told ''Newsday'' that she learned from Houston the "difference between being able to sing and knowing how to sing". Leona Lewis, who has been called the New Whitney Houston, also cites her as an influence. Lewis stated that she idolized her as a little girl. Kelly Rowland, in an ''Ebony'''s feature articles for celebrationg black music in June 2006, recalled that "[I] wanted to be a singer after I saw Whitney Houston on TV singing 'Greatest Love of All'. I wanted to sing like Whitney Houston in that red dress." She added that "And I have never, ever forgotten that song[Greatest Love of All]. I learned it backward, forward, sideways. The video still brings chills to me. When you wish and pray for something as a kid, you never know what blessings God will give you." Beyoncé Knowles told the ''Globe and Mail'' that Houston "inspired [her] to get up there and do what [she] did." Alicia Keys, in the interview on her new studio album with the ''Billboard'' magazine, also said "Whitney is an artist who inspired me from [the time I was] a little girl." American recording artist Lady Gaga said that Houston has been one of her "vocal idols" for years. In an interview with IBN Live Gaga revealed that she used to listen Houston's version of The Star Spangled Banner over and over again. At the 2011 Grammys, Gaga gave a shout-out to Houston, and said that she wrote the song "Born This Way" thinking about Houston's vocals.
Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Ciara, P!nk, Robin Thicke, Jennifer Hudson, Amerie, Destiny's Child, Regine Velasquez, Lady Gaga, and Charice have all cited Houston as a musical inspiration.
Houston's debut is currently listed as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine and is on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Definitive 200 list. In 2004, ''Billboard'' picked the success of her first release on the charts as one of 110 Musical Milestones in its history. Houston's entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to ''USA Today'' in 2007. It stated that she paved the way for Mariah Carey’s chart-topping vocal gymnastics. In 1997, the Franklin School in East Orange, New Jersey was renamed to The Whitney E. Houston Academy School of Creative and Performing Arts. In 2001, Houston was the first artist ever to be given a BET Lifetime Achievement Award.
Houston is also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums and singles worldwide. Although she has released relatively few albums, she is ranked as the fourth best-selling female artist in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 55 million certified albums sold in the US alone.
She holds an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Grambling State University, Louisiana.
Film | |||||||||||||||
Year | Title | Role | Notes and awards | ||||||||||||
1992 | ''The Bodyguard'' | Rachel Marron(Main role) | Nominated — 1993 MTV Movie Award for Best Female PerformanceNominated — 1993 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough PerformanceNominated — 1993 MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo with co-star Kevin CostnerNominated — 1992 Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress | ||||||||||||
1995 | ''Waiting to Exhale'' | Savannah Jackson(Main role) | |||||||||||||
1996 | ''The Preacher's Wife'' | Julia Biggs(Main role) | Won — 1997 NAACP Image Award for
Television
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Year
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Network
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Role
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Notes
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| ''[[Gimme a Break!">NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture |
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Television | ||||
Year | Title | Network | Role | Notes |
''[[Gimme a Break!'' | NBC | Rita | "Katie's College" (Season 3, Episode 20) | |
''Silver Spoons'' | NBC | As herself | "Head Over Heels" (Season 4, Episode 1, Air date: September 15, 1985)She performed the edit version of "Saving All My Love for You," changing some of the words—"making love the whole night through" was changed to "holding each other the whole night through"—for the censors on the episode. | |
Fairy Godmother | ||||
''Boston Public'' | Fox | As herself | She performed her current hit Try it On My Own from the 2002 studio album, Just Whitney. |
TV Commercial | |||||||
Year | Company | Promoting | Country | Notes | |||
''Dr Pepper/Seven Up'' | Canada Dry(soft drink beverage) | United States | * Houston appeared in this commercial before debut as a professional singer and sang the praises of sugar free Canada Dry Ginger Ale. | ||||
''Coca-Cola'' | Diet Coke(soft drink beverage) | United States | * Houston sang the Diet Coke theme song, "Just for the taste of it." (see the commercial) | ||||
''Coca-Cola'' | Diet Coke(soft drink beverage) | United States | * Houston sang the other version of the Diet Coke advertising slogan at the time, "Just for the taste of it." (see the commercial) | * Outside the United States, the second version of advertising was released, in which "Greatest Love of All" was used as background music. (see the commercial) | 1989 MTV Video Music Awards#Video of the Year>Video of the Year winning "This Note's for You" by Neil Young, parodied parts of this advertising to criticize pop/rock stars who make commercial endorsements, most notably Michael Jackson for Pepsi and Houston for Diet Coke, using look-alike for them. | ||
Electronics(the stereo, TV) | Japan | Keith Thomas (producer)>Keith Thomas. It was released as a CD single in Japan and included in Japanese edition of ''I'm Your Baby Tonight.'' | |||||
''AT&T;'' | Telephone services | United States | * Houston sang its theme song, "True Voice." (see the commercial) |
Production | |||
Year | Title | Director | Notes and awards |
1997 | Robert Iscove | Executive producerNominated — 50th Primetime Emmy Awards | |
2001 | [[Garry Marshall | ProducerWon — 2002 Young Artist Award for Best Family Feature Film - ComedyNominated — 2002 Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Family Film (Live Action) Nominated — 2002 Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Family FilmNominated — 2002 Teen Choice Award for Film - Choice Movie, Comedy | |
2003 | Oz Scott | Producer | |
2004 | ''The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement'' | Garry Marshall | Producer |
2006 | Kenny Ortega | Co-executive producer |
;World tours
;Regional tours
;Notable concerts
Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats Category:1963 births Category:African American actors Category:African American female singers Category:American people of Native American descent Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American dance musicians Category:American female models Category:American film actors Category:American film producers Category:American pop singers Category:American record producers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American mezzo-sopranos Category:Arista Records artists Category:Baptists from the United States Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Newark, New Jersey
ar:ويتني هيوستن an:Whitney Houston bg:Уитни Хюстън ca:Whitney Houston cs:Whitney Houston cbk-zam:Whitney Houston cy:Whitney Houston da:Whitney Houston de:Whitney Houston et:Whitney Houston el:Γουίτνεϋ Χιούστον es:Whitney Houston eo:Whitney Houston fa:ویتنی هوستون fo:Whitney Houston fr:Whitney Houston ga:Whitney Houston ko:휘트니 휴스턴 hr:Whitney Houston io:Whitney Houston id:Whitney Houston is:Whitney Houston it:Whitney Houston he:ויטני יוסטון jv:Whitney Houston ka:უიტნი ჰიუსტონი sw:Whitney Houston lv:Vitnija Hjūstone lt:Whitney Houston hu:Whitney Houston ml:വിറ്റ്നി ഹ്യൂസ്റ്റൺ nl:Whitney Houston ja:ホイットニー・ヒューストン no:Whitney Houston nn:Whitney Houston pl:Whitney Houston pt:Whitney Houston ro:Whitney Houston ru:Хьюстон, Уитни sq:Whitney Houston simple:Whitney Houston sk:Whitney Houstonová sr:Витни Хјустон sh:Whitney Houston fi:Whitney Houston sv:Whitney Houston tl:Whitney Houston th:วิตนีย์ ฮูสตัน tr:Whitney Houston uk:Вітні Х'юстон vi:Whitney Houston yo:Whitney Houston zh:惠特妮·休斯顿This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | Beenie Man |
---|---|
background | solo_singer |
birth name | Anthony Moses Davis |
alias | Ras Moses, The Doctor, The Girls Dem Sugar, Henry Morgan |
birth date | August 22, 1973 |
origin | Kingston, Jamaica |
genre | Reggae, dancehall, reggae fusion, Ragga-Soca |
occupation | Musician, Songwriter, Deejay, Producer |
years active | late 1970s–present |
label | BrooklandUniversal RepublicIsland Jamaica/PolyGram RecordsVirgin/EMI Records |
Associated acts | Don Omar, Snow (musician), Talib Kweli, Memphis Bleek, YoungBloodZ, Pastor Troy, Johnny J |
website | www.beeniemanmusic.com }} |
Anthony Moses Davis (born August 22, 1973), better known by his stage name Beenie Man, is a Grammy award winning Jamaican reggae artist. He is the self-proclaimed "King of the Dancehall".
In 1995, Beenie Man collaborated with Dennis Brown and Triston Palmer to release ''Three Against War'' and Mad Cobra and Lieutenant Stitchie on ''Mad Cobra Meets Lt. Stitchie & Beenie Man''. He also collaborated with Lady Saw on "Healing", Sanchez on "Refugee", and Michael Prophet on "Gun 'n' Bass", further establishing his reputation. He took another step up the ladder in 1996, releasing the seminal ''Maestro'', produced by Patrick Roberts and shot him to UK fame. During the period from the mid to late 1990s, Beenie Man dominated the Jamaican charts to the extent that he perhaps had a good claim to the crown of "Dancehall King", a title only bestowed previously on Yellowman in the early 1980s. Beenie Man's first real break into the United States came in 1997. He heard an instrumental rhythm by an unknown producer named Jeremy Harding, and demanded to add his voice to the rhythm. So this was the birth of his first international hit; he recorded "Who Am I" and the single quickly went Gold. It opened the doors for the world to see a new reggae star in the pages of Newsweek and other major media outlets. The same year, Beenie Man topped the Jamaican singles chart with seven different singles.
In 1998, Beenie Man headlined ''Reggae Sunsplash'' and signed to Virgin Records to release albums in the United States. His first American offering was ''The Doctor'' (1998). During the late 1990s, Beenie Man began his conquest of America with the hits, "Romie", "Who Am I", and "Girls Dem Sugar", which featured American R&B; singer, Mýa. During this time he received an impressive number of international music awards including a MOBO Award for Best International Reggae Act in 1998, while remaining at the top of the local charts. In 2000, Beenie Man released ''Art & Life'', which featured Arturo Sandoval and Wyclef Jean (The Fugees), for which received a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. In the same year he co-produced (with Wyclef Jean) the debut album by actor Steven Seagal. Beenie Man, like many dancehall artists is outspoken on a number of social issues, as exemplified by songs such as "Steve Biko" and "Murderer".
In 2002, he had a sizeable hit with a duet with Janet Jackson called "Feel It Boy", but his biggest break in America came in early 2004 with the release of a remix of "Dude", featuring guest vocals by fellow Jamaican Ms. Thing, as well as rhymes by Shawnna. He thus cemented his fan base on both sides of the Atlantic.
He had hits in the UK in 1998 with "Who am I" (#10), in 2003 with "Street Life" (#13) and "Feel It Boy" (UK #9), a duet with Janet Jackson, and in 2004 with "Dude" (#7) and "King of the Dancehall" (#14).
He was also a judge for the 6th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.
In April 2008 it was announced that Beenie Man was to co-write and star in the film ''Kingston''. In October 2010 Beenie Man came out with the EP "I'm Drinking Rum and Red Bull", which included 4 songs, "Im drinking Rum and Red Bull", "I'm Okay" , and two versions of "Stack and Pile". He later relaased the full album on February 28, 2011."Im Drinking Rum and Red Bull" features Future Fambo. In September 2008 Beenie Man was cleared of charges of tax evasion.
In April 2009, Beenie Man signed with Brookland Entertainment, a new record label formed by Eric Nicks and The Trackmasters, in preparation to release his new album, "The Legend Returns". The music video for the release of his new single “Gimme Gimme” will be shot in Canada on April 18, 2009.
In 2007, it was reported that Beenie Man, along with several other artists, had signed the Reggae Compassionate Act, an agreement to cease performances of anti-gay material. He later denied that he had signed the act. As of 2010, protests have continued to cause cancellations of his concerts in some countries, including New Zealand, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Category:1973 births Category:People from Kingston, Jamaica Category:Virgin Records artists Category:Island Records artists Category:Dancehall musicians Category:Reggae fusion artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Jamaican reggae musicians Category:Living people Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:Pseudonymous musicians
de:Beenie Man es:Beenie Man fr:Beenie Man it:Beenie Man ht:Beenie Man hu:Beenie Man ja:ビーニ・マン pl:Beenie Man sv:Beenie ManThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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