name	Robyn
background	solo_singer
birth name	Robin Miriam Carlsson
birth date	June 12, 1979
birth place	Stockholm, Sweden
genre	Electropop, synthpop, R&B;
occupation	Singer, songwriter, record producer
instrument	Vocals, piano, keyboards
years active	1994–present
label	BMG, RCA, Jive, Konichiwa, Interscope
website	}}

Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), better known by her stage name Robyn, is a Swedish recording artist, singer, and songwriter. Robyn became known in the late nineties for her worldwide dance-pop hit "Do You Know (What It Takes)" from her debut album ''Robyn Is Here'' (1997). She co-wrote the song "Du gör mig hel igen" ("You Make Me Whole Again") for Melodifestivalen 1997. The popularity of her number-one hit "With Every Heartbeat" and subsequent album release ''Robyn'' (2005) brought her mainstream success worldwide. In January 2009 Robyn won a Swedish Grammis award for Best Live Act 2008.

Robyn released the first of a trilogy of albums to be released over the course of 2010 titled ''Body Talk Pt. 1'', in June of that year, peaking at number one. It was her first album since ''Robyn''. The album's lead single "Dancing on My Own" was released a few weeks prior to the album's release; it became a hit single worldwide and brought her a Grammy Award nomination for the category of Best Dance Recording in 2011. A follow-up album, ''Body Talk Pt. 2'', was released on 6 September, entering straight at number one the Swedish chart, and the final album of the trilogy, ''Body Talk'', was released on 22 November 2010 with lead single "Indestructible". "Call Your Girlfriend" was the second single to be released from ''Body Talk''.

Music career

1989–1990: Voice acting

Robyn voiced the character Miranda in the 1989 Swedish-Norwegian animated film ''The Journey to Melonia''. The film, directed by Per Åhlin, is very loosely based on William Shakespeare's ''The Tempest''. She also did the Swedish voice of Anne-Marie in All Dogs Go to Heaven.

1991–93: Musical Beginnings

In 1991, at the age of twelve, Robyn recorded the theme song for the Swedish television show ''Lilla Sportspegeln'', named ''Du kan alltid bli nummer ett'' ("You can always be number one"). She performed her first self-written song at this age on another television show, ''Söndagsöppet''.

Robyn was rediscovered by Swedish pop singer Meja in the early nineties. Meja and her band Legacy of Sound visited Robyn's school and were involved with a musical workshop. Robyn's performances impressed Meja so much so that she contacted her management and a meeting was arranged with Robyn and her parents. Following the completion of her middle school education, Robyn signed to Ricochet Records Sweden, a subsidiary of BMG. She collaborated with producers Max Martin and Denniz Pop, who provided the singer with a gritty yet popular sound. Writing duties were assisted by Ulf Lindstrom and Johan Ekhé, who also helped to produce the album, and they stayed on board with Robyn until the completion of her album ''Don't Stop the Music'' in 2003.

1994–97: ''Robyn Is Here'' and Success

Robyn started her career in the pop music industry at the age of sixteen. She signed a record deal with RCA Records in 1994 to release her debut single, "You've Got That Somethin'", in Sweden. Later that same year, her Swedish breakthrough came with the single "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)". These singles became part of the album ''Robyn Is Here'', released in October 1996. Robyn contributed vocals to Blacknuss' 1996 single "Roll with Me". Robyn entered Sweden's pre-selection for Eurovision Song Contest 1997, as co-writer and producer of the song "Du gör mig hel igen", which was performed by Cajsalisa Ejemyr. In Melodifestivalen 1997 the song ended up in fourth place.

Robyn's U.S. breakthrough came in 1997, when the dance-pop singles "Show Me Love" and "Do You Know (What It Takes)" reached the top ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. She performed on the children's show ''All That'' in 1997, singing "Show Me Love", proving her growing popularity in the United States. The songs also performed well in the UK. Robyn re-released "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)" internationally but it did not fare as well as the other releases. In the U.S., it was ineligible to chart because there was no retail single available, but it reached number thirty-two on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. The song "Show Me Love" was prominently used in the 1998 Lukas Moodysson film ''Fucking Åmål'', and the song's title was used as the film's title in English-speaking countries.

As Robyn's popularity grew across the globe, especially in the United States, she was diagnosed with exhaustion and quickly returned to Sweden to recover.

1998–04: ''My Truth'' and ''Don't Stop the Music''

Recording began on Robyn's second album in 1998. The album, ''My Truth'', was released in May 1999 in Sweden, with subsequent releases elsewhere in the continent. The single "Electric" was a hit across Europe, and propelled ''My Truth'' to number two position in Sweden. ''My Truth'' was an autobiographical release for Robyn, and included the tracks "Universal Woman" and "Giving You Back", which explained her secret abortion. Despite her success in the U.S market with ''Robyn Is Here'', ''My Truth'' did not receive an international release.

In 1999, Robyn contributed to Christian Falk's debut solo album ''Quel Bordel'', appearing on the tracks "Remember" and "Celebration". In 2000, she appeared on the track "Intro/ Fristil" on Petter's self-titled album. In 2001, Robyn performed the song "Say You'll Walk the Distance" to the soundtrack for the film ''On the Line''.

In November 2002, Robyn swapped labels at BMG (from RCA to Jive Records) and released the album ''Don't Stop the Music'' in Sweden. Singles Keep This Fire Burning and Don't Stop The Music graced playlists in Scandinavia and mainland Europe. The title track (a subsequent single) was later covered by Swedish girl group Play, and the lead single, "Keep This Fire Burning", was covered by British soul singer Beverley Knight.

In May 2004, the album ''Robyn's Best'' was released in America. It is essentially a condensed version of her debut album; containing no material from her later releases. In 2006, following her departure from BMG, ''Det Bästa Med Robyn'' (''The Best of Robyn'') was released in Sweden. It included material from her first three albums. Notable omissions from this release were the singles "Don't Stop the Music" and "Keep This Fire Burning".

2005–08: Konichiwa Records and ''Robyn''

The decade-long relationship between Robyn and her label ceased in 2004. When they reacted negatively to "Who's That Girl?", which showcased a new electro-pop sound, Robyn decided to release music on her own. In early 2005, she announced she would be leaving Jive Records to start her own record label. Konichiwa Records was created, with its aim firmly set on liberating Robyn artistically. Robyn revealed on her website that her new album would be released earlier than anticipated, and noted several fabled collaborators on the album, including Klas Åhlund from Teddybears STHLM, Swedish duo The Knife and former Cheiron producer Alexander Kronlund.

Robyn released the single "Be Mine!" in March 2005. A month later, her fourth studio album, ''Robyn'', became her first number-one album upon its release in Sweden. Sampling influences from electronica, rap, R&B; and new age, ''Robyn'' received rave reviews, and gained the singer three Swedish Grammy Awards in 2006 for "Årets Album" (Best Album), "Årets Kompositör" (Best Writer, alongside Klas Åhlund) and "Årets Pop Kvinnlig" (Best Pop Female). It also garnered Robyn interest on a global level. She gained recognition for co-writing the song "Money for Nothing" for Darin Zanyar, his debut single. Robyn released three more singles—"Who's That Girl?", "Handle Me" and "Crash and Burn Girl"—from the eponymous LP, which proved immensely popular in Sweden.

Robyn featured on the Basement Jaxx track "Hey U", taken from their album ''Crazy Itch Radio'', released in 2006. The year also marked the release of Christian Falk's second album, ''People Say'', on which Robyn contributed the tracks "Dream On" and "C.C.C".

In December 2006, Robyn released ''The Rakamonie EP'' in the UK as a preview to her more recent material. This was followed by the release of "Konichiwa Bitches" in March 2007. The revised edition of ''Robyn'' was released in the UK in April 2007, and contains two new tracks—"With Every Heartbeat" (a collaboration with Kleerup) and "Cobrastyle" (a cover of a 2006 single by Swedish rockers Teddybears)—alongside slightly altered versions of two of the original songs. It was removed from British stores to make way for an August re-release.

The second single from the UK release was "With Every Heartbeat", released in late July and reaching number one on the UK singles chart. Robyn was featured on Jo Whiley's BBC Radio 1 showcase show, ''Live Lounge'', a reflection of her growing popularity in Britain. Follow-up singles "Handle Me", "Be Mine!", "Who's That Girl?" and "Dream On" were top thirty hits. In Australia, where ''Robyn'' reached the top ten of the iTunes Store's album chart, "With Every Heartbeat" received substantial attention on radio and video networks in Australia. Also in 2007, Robyn contributed vocals to Fleshquartet's single "This One's for You", from their album ''Voices of Eden''.

Konichiwa Records signed an international licensing deal with Universal Music Group to launch and distribute Robyn's music globally. Releases in the UK are issued under the Island Records label. ''The Rakamonie EP'' was released in January 2008 under Cherrytree Records, a subsidiary of Interscope, and the U.S. edition of ''Robyn'' was released in April 2008. "With Every Heartbeat", "Handle Me" and "Cobrastyle" were top ten club hits, and the former received airplay at U.S. pop and dance radio stations. Robyn was visible in the U.S. market in 2007 when Britney Spears released the single "Piece of Me", which contains Robyn's backing vocals. She was also featured on the Fyre Department remix of "Sexual Eruption" by rapper Snoop Dogg.

Robyn completed a short U.S. tour to promote ''Robyn'', and was the supporting act for Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour at select European dates in 2008.

2009–present: ''Body Talk'' and Touring

In January 2009, Robyn won a Swedish Grammis Award for Best Live Act 2008; in her acceptance speech, she said that Madonna was to thank for the prize.

Robyn stated to ''Aftonbladet'', a Swedish newspaper site, that she wanted to start recording a new album in the beginning of 2009 and that she will work with producers such as Kleerup ("With Every Heartbeat") as well as Klas Åhlund who she worked with on ''Robyn''. Robyn is featured on Norway's premier electronic outfit Röyksopp's 2009 album ''Junior'' with the song "The Girl and the Robot". The song was accompanied by a music video featuring the artist and released internationally as the 2nd single from the album. It peaked at No.2 on the Norwegian singles charts. In 2009, she appeared together with International pop artist Dr. Alban on stage at Way Out West 2009, performing his hit single, "No Coke".

In March 2010 Robyn appeared on the Swedish television series ''Dom kallar oss artister''. She said that her goal is to have the new album out in June. She also said that the album will be very personal, like a diary. The track listing was confirmed, including: "Don’t Fucking Tell Me What to Do" which is written by Robyn and Klas Åhlund, "None of Dem" with Röyksopp, "Dance Hall Queen" with Diplo, "Fembot" and "Dancing on My Own", written by Robyn and Patrik Berger.

In an interview with Swedish magazine ''Bon'', Robyn announced that she had plans to release three new albums in 2010. The first is due in the spring, with subsequent albums released in the summer and autumn/winter. In May Robyn said in an interview with Stereogum, "I think this splitting a full album up into different releases is, in a way, how people listen to music as well. It's more about songs now. But for me this is not an EP or a lesser version of an album. It's an album, but it's maybe not the normal length, so I can go back to the studio again and release these songs while they're actually fresh, and go back to the studio and work on more stuff while touring." To promote the forthcoming album Robyn released the songs "Fembot", "Dancehall Queen" and "None of Dem" (featuring Röyksopp) to digital outlets as promotional singles on 13 April 2010.

Robyn released the first part in the ''Body Talk'' series, ''Body Talk Pt. 1'', on 14 June 2010 in the Nordic countries through EMI and on June 15 in the U.S. through Interscope. It was preceded by the single, "Dancing on My Own", on 1 June 2010. The song became Robyn's first number one hit in Sweden, and her fourth top ten hit in both the UK and the U.S., peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and at number three on ''Billboard'''s Hot Dance Club Songs chart. In July 2010 she sang a minimalist electro cover of Alicia Keys' "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart" for a live performance on iheartradio. Robyn embarked on the All Hearts Tour in July–August 2010 with American singer Kelis in support of the ''Body Talk'' albums, as well as a four-date UK tour at the end of October.

On 6 September 2010 ''Body Talk Pt. 2'' was released in the United Kingdom. It was preceded by the lead single, a dance version of the song "Hang with Me" from ''Body Talk Pt. 1'', on September 5. The album contains a duet with American rapper Snoop Dogg, "U Should Know Better". Robyn appeared and performed "Dancing on My Own" with deadmau5 at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on 12 September 2010. In an interview with BBC ''Newsbeat'' Robyn reflected on the decision to release a trilogy of albums in one year, "It was just something I felt like I needed to do. I just never thought about selling records or not, making this decision. I just did it for myself. It's a way of, for me, to stay inspired and to be able to do the things I like to do." She said she will not release three albums in the span of a year again, "When you do 16 or 13 songs in one go, you kind of empty yourself, and it takes a while to fill back up and have new things to talk about, so I think it's good for everyone."

Robyn announced the release of the single, "Indestructible", on 13 October 2010. An acoustic version appeared on her previous album, ''Body Talk Pt. 2''. The song is set to be released on 17 November 2010 in Scandinavia and on 22 November in the United Kingdom. It is co-written by Klas Åhlund, and has been described as a "pulsating full power version [that] takes every ounce of that emotion and wraps it up in another exceptional disco-pop record worthy of any dance-floor or passion-laden sing-a-long." On 20 October 2010 Robyn announced the details of ''Body Talk'' on her official website, along with the track listing and artwork. She described the album as the "turbo version of the Body Talk album", as it includes five songs from each previous ''Body Talk'' album along with five new songs." Robyn will collaborate with Swedish producer Max Martin on the song "Time Machine". Martin was responsible for producing Robyn's US breakthrough hits "Do You Know (What It Takes)" and "Show Me Love", which both charted inside the top ten of the ''Billboard'' 100 in 1996 and 1997. Combined, the ''Body Talk'' albums have sold 91,000 copies in the United States.

In 2010, Robyn guest-starred in "War at the Roses", an episode which was on ''Gossip Girl'', where she performed the acoustic version of "Hang With Me". "Dancing on My Own" was also featured at the end of the episode.

In a November, 2010 video interview with Perez Hilton, Robyn revealed that she was returning to the studio in January, 2011, and had enough material to release a new album later in the year.

Personal life

As the daughter of two Swedish actors, Robyn grew up in a creative and artistic environment; she herself was involved in acting at the age of 9, with a role as an extra in Kronbruden at the Swedish theatre Dramaten.

After the release of her second album in 1999, ''My Truth'', Robyn became a UNICEF ambassador and visited, among other countries, Kenya and Tanzania. During her two years of dedicating herself to this work, she intended to draw attention to UNICEF and their worldwide work for children in need of aid.

In 2000, Povel Ramel awarded her the Karamelodiktstipendiet, a scholarship for her musical achievements for which most of the reward lies in the prestige and honour, rather than financial incentives.

Robyn has been engaged to mixed martial artist and artist Olof Inger since 2008. The couple began dating in 2002.

Discography

''Robyn Is Here'' (1995)

''My Truth'' (1999)

''Don't Stop the Music'' (2002)

''Robyn'' (2005)

''Body Talk Pt. 1'' (2010)

''Body Talk Pt. 2'' (2010)

''Body Talk'' (2010)

Awards and nominations

! Year	! Award	! Category	! Nominated work	! Result
1999	rowspan="8"	Best Female Pop/Rock Artist	''My Truth''
2002	Best Female Pop/Rock Artist
	Best Album
Best Composer
Best Pop Female
Best Artist
Best Song	''Be Mine!''
2008	Best Live Act
2009
		"Dancing on My Own"
rowspan="7"	Best Artist
Best Female Artist
Best Composer
Best Album
Best Song	"Dancing on My Own"
Best International Success
Best Innovator
	Best International Female
	Performance Woodie
	Best Commercial Dance Track	"Dancing on My Own"
	Best Live Act
Best Pop Artist
Best Artist
Best Song	''Dancing on my Own''

References

External links

Official website

Robyn interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' March 2008

Robyn interview on Buzznet.com

Robyn interview on musicOMH.com

Robyn interview on ilikemusic.com

Robyn interview by Rashmi Shastri

Robyn's AOL Music Session

Bellaboo interview with Robyn

Robyn Exclusive Student Pocket Guide Interview

Robyn Exclusive interview with Exclaim! Magazine

Pop queen Robyn

Category:1979 births Category:Interscope Records artists Category:Living people Category:People from Stockholm Category:RCA Records artists Category:Sommar hosts Category:Swedish dance musicians Category:Swedish electronic musicians Category:Swedish female singers Category:Swedish feminists Category:Swedish pop singers Category:Swedish singer-songwriters

cs:Robyn da:Robyn de:Robyn es:Robyn eo:Robyn fr:Robyn fy:Robyn it:Robyn mk:Робин nl:Robyn ja:ロビン (歌手) no:Robin Miriam Carlsson nn:Robyn pt:Robyn ru:Робин (певица) sr:Робин (певачица) fi:Robyn sv:Robyn tr:Robyn zh:蘿蘋

name	David Letterman
pseudonym	Earl Hofert
birth date	April 12, 1947
birth place	Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
medium	Stand-up, talk show
nationality	American
genre	Observational comedy, surreal humor, deadpan
subject	Self-deprecation, everyday life
influences	Steve Allen, Johnny Carson, Jack Paar, Paul Dixon
influenced
website	CBS.com/latenight/lateshow
active	1974–present
domesticpartner	Regina Lasko (1986-2009)
spouse	Michelle Cook (1969–1977)Regina Lasko (2009–present)
Religion	Lutheran
notable work	Host of ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (NBC)Host of ''Late Show with David Letterman'' (CBS)
signature	David Letterman Autograph.svg

}} David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, ''Late Show with David Letterman'', broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman'' on NBC. Only Letterman's friend and mentor Johnny Carson had a longer late-night hosting career in the United States.

Letterman is also a television and film producer. His company Worldwide Pants produces his show as well as its network follow-up ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''. Worldwide Pants has also produced several prime-time comedies, the most successful of which was ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', currently in syndication.

In 1996, David Letterman was ranked #45 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.

Early life and career

Letterman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Harry Joseph Letterman (April 1915 – February 1973), was a florist of British descent; his mother Dorothy Letterman (''née'' Hofert, now Dorothy Mengering), a Presbyterian church secretary of German descent, is an occasional figure on the show, usually at holidays and birthdays.

Letterman lived on the north side of Indianapolis (Broad Ripple area), not far from Speedway, IN, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he enjoyed collecting model cars, including racers. In 2000, he told an interviewer for ''Esquire'' that, while growing up, he admired his father's ability to tell jokes and be the life of the party. Harry Joseph Letterman survived a heart attack at age 36, when David was a young boy. The fear of losing his father was constantly with Letterman as he grew up. The elder Letterman died of a second heart attack at age 57.

Letterman attended his hometown's Broad Ripple High School at the same time as Marilyn Tucker Quayle (wife of the former Vice President) and worked as a stock boy at the local Atlas supermarket. According to the ''Ball State Daily News'', he originally had wanted to attend Indiana University, but his grades weren't good enough, so he decided to attend Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana. He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, and he graduated from what was then the Department of Radio and Television, in 1969. A self-described average student, Letterman endowed a scholarship for what he called "C students" at Ball State.

Though he registered for the draft and passed his physical after graduating from college, he was not drafted for service in Vietnam due to receiving a draft lottery number of 352 (out of 365).

Letterman began his broadcasting career as an announcer and newscaster at the college's student-run radio station—WBST—a 10-watt campus station which now is part of Indiana Public Radio. He was fired for treating classical music with irreverence.

Letterman then became involved with the founding of another campus station—WAGO-AM 570 (now WWHI, 91.3).

Letterman credits Paul Dixon—host of the ''Paul Dixon Show'', a Cincinnati-based talk show also shown in Indianapolis while Letterman was growing up—for inspiring his choice of career: :"I was just out of college [in 1969], and I really didn't know what I wanted to do. And then all of a sudden I saw him doing it [on TV]. And I thought: That's really what I want to do!"

Weatherman

Letterman began his career as a radio talk show host on WNTS (AM), and on Indianapolis television station WLWI (now called WTHR) as a local anchor and weatherman. He received some attention for his unpredictable on-air behavior, which included congratulating a tropical storm for being upgraded to a hurricane and predicting hail stones "the size of canned hams." He would also occasionally report the weather and the day's very high and low temps for fictitious cities ("Eight inches of snow in Bingree and surrounding areas.") while on another occasion saying that a state border had been erased. ("From space you can see the border between Indiana and Ohio has been erased. I'm not in favor of this.") He also starred in a local kiddie show, made wisecracks as host of a late night TV show called "Freeze-Dried Movies" (he once acted out a scene from "Godzilla" using plastic dinosaurs), and hosted a talk show that aired early on Saturday mornings called "Clover Power," in which he interviewed 4-H members about their projects.

In 1971, Letterman appeared as a pit road reporter for ABC Sports' tape-delayed coverage of the Indianapolis 500. David is initially introduced as Chris Economaki in his job as a corner reporter. He interviews Mario Andretti who has just crashed out of the race and asks him a question about traffic on the course.

Move to Los Angeles

In 1975, encouraged by his then-wife Michelle and several of his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers, Letterman moved to Los Angeles, California, with hope of becoming a comedy writer. He started off by writing material for comedian Jimmie Walker. He also began performing stand-up comedy at The Comedy Store, a proving ground for unknown comics.

Letterman appeared in the summer of 1977 on the short-lived ''Starland Vocal Band Show''. He has since joked about how fortunate he was that nobody would ever see his performance on the program (due to its low ratings).

Letterman had a stint as a cast member on Mary Tyler Moore's variety show, ''Mary''; a guest appearance on ''Mork & Mindy'' (as a parody of EST leader Werner Erhard); and appearances on game shows such as ''The $20,000 Pyramid'', ''The Gong Show'', ''Password Plus'' and ''Liar's Club''. He also hosted a 1977 pilot for a game show entitled ''The Riddlers'' that was never picked up. He was also screen tested for the lead role in ''Airplane!'', a role that eventually went to Robert Hays.

His dry, sarcastic humor caught the attention of scouts for ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', and Letterman was soon a regular guest on the show. Letterman became a favorite of Carson's and was a regular guest host for the show beginning in 1978. Letterman credits Carson as the person who influenced his career the most.

NBC

Morning show

On June 23, 1980, Letterman was given his own morning comedy show on NBC, ''The David Letterman Show''. It was originally 90 minutes long, but was shortened to 60 minutes in August 1980. The show was a critical success, winning two Emmy Awards, but was a ratings disappointment and was canceled in October 1980.

''Late Night with David Letterman''

NBC kept Letterman under contract to try him in a different time slot. ''Late Night with David Letterman'' debuted February 1, 1982; the first guest on the first show was Bill Murray. Murray also guested on January 31, 2012 - 30 years later. The show ran Monday through Thursday at 12:30 a.m. Eastern Time, immediately following ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (a Friday night broadcast was added in June 1987. It was seen as being edgy and unpredictable, and soon developed a cult following (particularly among college students). Letterman's reputation as an acerbic interviewer was borne out in verbal sparring matches with Cher (who even called him an asshole on the show), Shirley MacLaine, Charles Grodin, and Madonna. The show also featured comedy segments and running characters, in a style heavily influenced by the 1950s and '60s programs of Steve Allen. Although Ernie Kovacs is often cited as an influence on the show, Letterman has denied this.

The show often featured quirky, genre-mocking regular features, including "Stupid Pet Tricks", dropping various objects off the roof of a five-story building, demonstrations of unorthodox clothing (such as suits made of Alka-Seltzer, Velcro and suet), a recurring Top 10 list, the Monkey-Cam (and the Audience Cam), and a facetious letter-answering segment. The Top 10 list, several "Film[s] by My Dog Bob" in which a camera was mounted on Letterman's own dog (often with comic results), Stupid Human Tricks, Small Town News, and Stupid Pet Tricks (which had its origins on Letterman's morning show) all eventually moved with Letterman to CBS.

Other memorable moments included Letterman using a bullhorn to interrupt a live interview on ''The Today Show'', announcing that he was the NBC president while not wearing any pants; interrupting Al Roker on WNBC-TV's broadcast of ''Live at Five'' by walking into their studio (which occupied the same floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza as Letterman's studio); and staging "elevator races", complete with commentary by NBC Sports' Bob Costas. In one infamous appearance, in 1982, Andy Kaufman (who was already wearing a neck brace) appeared to be slapped and knocked to the ground by professional wrestler Jerry Lawler (though Lawler and Kaufman's friend Bob Zmuda later revealed that the event was staged.) In another memorable exchange, sex expert Dr. Ruth Westheimer included cucumbers in a list of handy sex objects that women could find at home. The following night, guest Ted Koppel asked Letterman "May I insert something here?" and Dave responded "OK, as long as it's not a cucumber."

''Late Show with David Letterman''

In 1992, Johnny Carson retired, and many fans believed that Letterman would become host of ''The Tonight Show''. When NBC instead gave the job to Jay Leno, Letterman departed NBC to host his own late-night show on CBS, opposite ''The Tonight Show'' at 11:30 p.m., called the ''Late Show with David Letterman''. The new show debuted on August 30, 1993 and was taped at the historic Ed Sullivan Theater, where Ed Sullivan taped his eponymous variety series from 1948 to 1971. For Letterman's arrival, CBS spent $8 million in renovations. In addition to that cost, CBS also signed Letterman to a lucrative three-year, $14 million/year contract, doubling his ''Late Night'' salary. The total cost for everything (renovations, negotiation right paid to NBC, signing Letterman, announcer Bill Wendell, Shaffer, the writers and the band) was over $140 million.

But while the expectation was that Letterman would retain his unique style and sense of humor with the move, ''Late Show'' was not an exact replica of his old NBC program. Recognizing the more formal mood (and wider audience) of his new time slot and studio, Letterman eschewed his trademark blazer with khaki pants and white sneakers wardrobe combination in favor of expensive shoes, tailored suits and light-colored socks. The monologue was lengthened and Paul Shaffer and the "World's Most Dangerous Band" followed Letterman to CBS, but they added a brass section and were rebranded the "CBS Orchestra" as a short monologue and a small band were mandated by Carson while Letterman occupied the 12:30 slot. Additionally, because of intellectual property disagreements, Letterman was unable to import many of his ''Late Night'' segments verbatim, but he sidestepped this problem by simply renaming them (the "Top Ten List" became the "Late Show Top Ten", "Viewer Mail" became the "CBS Mailbag", etc.)

Popularity

The main competitor of ''The Late Show'' is NBC's ''The Tonight Show'', which was hosted by Jay Leno for nearly 16 years, but from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, was hosted by Conan O'Brien. In 1993 and 1994, ''The Late Show'' consistently gained higher ratings than ''Tonight''. But in 1995, ratings dipped and Leno's show consistently beat Letterman's in the ratings; Leno typically attracted about 5 million nightly viewers between 1999 and 2009. ''The Late Show'' lost nearly half its audience during its competition with Leno, attracting 7.1 million viewers nightly in its 1993–94 season and about 3.8 million per night as of Leno's departure in 2009. In the final months of his first stint as host of ''The Tonight Show'', Leno beat Letterman in the ratings by a 1.3 million viewer margin (5.2 million to 3.9 million), and ''Nightline'' and ''The Late Show'' were virtually tied. Once O'Brien took over ''Tonight'', however, Letterman closed the gap in the ratings. O'Brien initially drove the median age of ''Tonight Show'' viewers from 55 to 45, with most older viewers opting to watch ''The Late Show'' instead.

Following Leno's return to ''The Tonight Show'', however, Leno has regained his lead.

Letterman's shows have garnered both critical and industry praise, receiving 67 Emmy Award nominations, winning 12 times in his first 20 years in late night television. From 1993–2009, Letterman ranked higher than Leno in the annual Harris Poll of ''Nation's Favorite TV Personality'' 12 times. For example, in 2003 and 2004 Letterman ranked second in that poll, behind only Oprah Winfrey, a year that Leno was ranked fifth. Leno was higher than Letterman on that poll three times during the same period, in 1998, 2007, and 2008.

Hosting the Academy Awards

On March 27, 1995, Letterman acted as the host for the 67th Academy Awards ceremony. Critics blasted Letterman for what they deemed a poor hosting of the Oscars, noting that his irreverent style undermined the traditional importance and glamor of the event. In a joke about their unusual names (inspired by a similar joke by Woody Allen), he started off by introducing Uma Thurman to Oprah Winfrey, and then the both of them to Keanu Reeves: "Oprah...Uma. Uma...Oprah," "Have you kids met Keanu?" This and many of his other jokes fell flat. Although Letterman attracted the highest ratings to the annual telecast since 1983, many felt that the bad publicity garnered by Letterman's hosting caused a decline in the ''Late Show'''s ratings.

Letterman recycled the apparent debacle into a long-running gag. On his first show after the Oscars, he joked, "Looking back, I had no idea that thing was being televised." He lampooned his stint two years later, during Billy Crystal's opening Oscar skit, which also parodied the plane-crashing scenes from that year's chief nominated film, ''The English Patient''.

For years afterward, Letterman recounted his hosting the Oscars, although the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continued to hold Letterman in high regard and they had invited him to host the Oscars again. On September 7, 2010, he made an appearance on the premiere of the 14th season of ''The View'', and confirmed that he had been considered for hosting again.

Heart surgery hiatus

On January 14, 2000, a routine check-up revealed that an artery in Letterman's heart was severely obstructed. He was rushed to emergency surgery for a quintuple bypass.

During the initial weeks of his recovery, reruns of the ''Late Show'' were shown and introduced by friends of Letterman including Drew Barrymore, including Dr. O. Wayne Isom and physician Louis Aronne, who frequently appears on the show. In a show of emotion, Letterman was nearly in tears as he thanked the health care team with the words "These are the people who saved my life!" The episode earned an Emmy nomination. For a number of episodes, Letterman continued to crack jokes about his bypass, including saying, "Bypass surgery: it's when doctors surgically create new blood flow to your heart. A bypass is what happened to me when I didn't get ''The Tonight Show!'' It's a whole different thing." In a later running gag he lobbied his home state of Indiana to rename the freeway circling Indianapolis (I-465) "The David Letterman Bypass." He also featured a montage of faux news coverage of his bypass surgery, which included a clip of Dave's heart for sale on the Home Shopping Network. Letterman became friends with his doctors and nurses. In 2008, a ''Rolling Stone'' interview stated "he hosted a doctor and nurse who'd helped perform the emergency quintuple-bypass heart surgery that saved his life in 2000. 'These are people who were complete strangers when they opened my chest,' he says. 'And now, eight years later, they're among my best friends.' "

Additionally, Letterman invited the band Foo Fighters to play "Everlong", introducing them as "my favorite band, playing my favorite song." During a later Foo Fighters appearance, Letterman said that Foo Fighters had been in the middle of a South American tour which they canceled to come play on his comeback episode.

Letterman again handed over the reins of the show to several guest hosts (including Bill Cosby, Brad Garrett, Elvis Costello, John McEnroe, Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, Bonnie Hunt, Luke Wilson and bandleader Paul Shaffer) in February 2003, when he was diagnosed with a severe case of shingles. Later that year, Letterman made regular use of guest hosts—including Tom Arnold and Kelsey Grammer—for new shows broadcast on Fridays. In March 2007, Adam Sandler—who had been scheduled to be the lead guest—served as a guest host while Letterman was ill with a stomach virus.

Re-signing with CBS

In March 2002, as Letterman's contract with CBS neared expiration, ABC offered him the time slot for long-running news program ''Nightline'' with Ted Koppel. Letterman was interested as he believed he could never match Leno's ratings at CBS due to Letterman's complaint of weaker lead-ins from the network's late local news programs, but was reluctant to replace Koppel. Letterman addressed his decision to re-sign on the air, stating that he was content at CBS and that he had great respect for Koppel.

On December 4, 2006, CBS revealed that Letterman signed a new contract to host ''The Late Show with David Letterman'' through the fall of 2010. "I'm thrilled to be continuing on at CBS," said Letterman. "At my age you really don't want to have to learn a new commute." Letterman further joked about the subject by pulling up his right pants leg, revealing a tattoo, presumably temporary, of the ABC logo.

"Thirteen years ago, David Letterman put CBS late night on the map and in the process became one of the defining icons of our network," said Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Corporation. "His presence on our air is an ongoing source of pride, and the creativity and imagination that the ''Late Show'' puts forth every night is an ongoing display of the highest quality entertainment. We are truly honored that one of the most revered and talented entertainers of our time will continue to call CBS 'home.'"

According to a 2007 article in ''Forbes'' magazine, Letterman earned $40 million a year. A 2009 article in ''The New York Times'', however, said his salary was estimated at $32 million per year. In June 2009, Letterman's Worldwide Pants and CBS reached agreement to continue the ''Late Show'' until at least August 2012. The previous contract had been set to expire in 2010, and the two-year extension is shorter than the typical three-year contract period negotiated in the past. Worldwide Pants agreed to lower its fee for the show, though it had remained a "solid moneymaker for CBS" under the previous contract.

On the February 3, 2011, edition of the ''Late Show'', during an interview with Howard Stern, Letterman said he would continue to do his talk show for "maybe two years, I think."

2007–2008 writers' strike

The Late Show went off air for eight weeks during the months of November and December because of the Writers Guild of America strike. Letterman's production company—Worldwide Pants—was the first company to make an individual agreement with the WGA, thus allowing his show to come back on air on January 2, 2008. On his first episode since being off air, he surprised the viewing audience with his newly grown beard, which signified solidarity with the strike. His beard was shaved off during the show on January 7, 2008.

Letterman and Carson

NBC's decision to select Jay Leno and not Letterman to succeed Johnny Carson as host of ''The Tonight Show'' was an embarrassment to Carson, who had all but promised the succession to Letterman. Letterman maintained a close relationship with Carson through his break with NBC. Three years after he left for CBS, HBO produced a made-for-television movie called ''The Late Shift'', based on a book by ''New York Times'' reporter Bill Carter, chronicling the battle between Letterman and Leno for the coveted ''Tonight Show'' hosting spot. Letterman would mock the film for months afterward, specifically on how the actor playing him, John Michael Higgins, did not resemble him in the least. ("They took a guy who looked nothing like me and with make-up and special camera angles, turned him into a guy who looked nothing like me, with red hair.")

Carson later made a few cameo appearances as a guest on Letterman's show. Carson's final television appearance came May 13, 1994, on a ''Late Show'' episode taped in Los Angeles, when he made a surprise appearance during a 'Top 10 list' segment. The audience went wild as Letterman stood up and proudly invited Carson to sit at his desk. The applause was so protracted that Carson was unable to say anything, and he finally returned backstage as the applause continued (it was later explained that Carson had laryngitis, though Carson can be heard talking to Letterman during his appearance).

In early 2005, it was revealed that Carson still kept up with current events and late-night TV right up to his death that year, and that he occasionally sent jokes to Letterman, who used these jokes in his monologue; according to CBS senior vice president Peter Lassally (a onetime producer for both men), Carson got "a big kick out of it." Letterman would do a characteristic Johnny Carson golf swing after delivering one of Carson's jokes. In a tribute to Carson, all of the opening monologue jokes during the first show following Carson's death were written by Carson.

Lassally also claimed that Carson had always believed Letterman, not Leno, to be his "rightful successor." Letterman also frequently employs some of Carson's trademark bits on his show, including "Carnac the Magnificent" (with Paul Shaffer as Carnac), "Stump the Band" and the "Week in Review."

Letterman and Oprah Winfrey

On September 10, 2007, Letterman made his first appearance on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He shared pictures of his son and live-in girlfriend. The so-called feud between Letterman and Winfrey apparently ended in 2005 when Winfrey appeared on CBS's ''Late Show with David Letterman'' on December 2, in an event Letterman jokingly referred to as "the Super Bowl of Love". Winfrey had previously appeared on Letterman's show when he was hosting NBC's ''Late Night'' on May 2, 1989.

Winfrey and Letterman also appeared together in a Late Show promo that aired during CBS's coverage of Super Bowl XLI in February 2007, with the two sitting next to each other on the couch watching the game. Since the game was played between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, the Indianapolis-born Letterman wears a Peyton Manning jersey, while Winfrey—who tapes her show in Chicago—is in a Brian Urlacher jersey. Three years later, during CBS's coverage of Super Bowl XLIV, the two appeared again, this time with Winfrey sitting on a couch between Letterman and Jay Leno. The appearance was Letterman's idea: Leno flew to New York City in an NBC corporate jet, sneaking into the Ed Sullivan Theater during the ''Late Show'''s February 4 taping wearing a disguise, meeting Winfrey and Letterman at a living room set created in the theater's balcony where they taped their promo.

Response to Internet death threat

On August 17, 2011, it was reported that a Muslim militant had posted a death threat against Letterman on a website frequented by Al-Qaeda supporters, calling on American Muslims to kill Letterman for making a joke about the death of an Al-Qaeda leader killed in a drone strike in Pakistan in June 2011. In his show on August 22, Letterman joked about the threat, saying "State Department authorities are looking into this. They're not taking this lightly. They’re looking into it. They're questioning, they're interrogating, there's an electronic trail — but everybody knows it's Leno."

Appearances in other media

Letterman appeared in issue 239 of the Marvel comic book ''The Avengers'', in which the title characters are guests on ''Late Night''. A parody of Letterman, named "David Endochrine," is gassed to death along with his bandleader named "Paul" and their audience in Frank Miller's ''The Dark Knight Returns''.

Letterman appeared in the pilot episode of the short-lived 1986 series "Coach Toast", and he appears with a bag over his head as a guest on Bonnie Hunt's ca. 1993 sitcom ''The Building''. He also appears in The Simpsons, as himself in a couch gag when The Simpsons find themselves (and the couch) in "Late Night with David Letterman." He had a cameo in the feature film ''Cabin Boy'', with Chris Elliott, who worked as a writer on Letterman's show. In this and other appearances, Letterman is listed in the credits as "Earl Hofert", the name of Letterman's maternal grandfather. He also appeared as himself in the Howard Stern biopic Private Parts as well as the 1999 Andy Kaufman biopic ''Man on the Moon'', in a few episodes of Garry Shandling's 1990s TV series ''The Larry Sanders Show'' and in "The Abstinence", a 1996 episode of the sitcom ''Seinfeld''. Letterman also made an uncredited appearance in the first episode of the third season of the sitcom The Nanny.

Letterman provided vocals for the Warren Zevon song "Hit Somebody" from ''My Ride's Here'', and provided the voice for Butt-head's father in the 1996 animated film ''Beavis and Butt-head Do America''.

In 2010, a documentary ''Dying to Do Letterman'' was released directed by Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina featuring Steve Mazan, a stand up comic, who has cancer and wants to appear on the Letterman Show. The film won Best Documentary and Jury Awards at the Cinequest Film Festival. Steve Mazan published a same-titled book (full title, ''Dying to Do Letterman: Turning Someday into Today'' about his own saga.

Other projects

Worldwide Pants

Letterman started his own production company—Worldwide Pants Incorporated—which produced his show and several others, including ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', ''The Late Late Show'', and several critically acclaimed, but short-lived television series for Bonnie Hunt. Worldwide Pants also produced the dramedy program ''Ed'', which aired on NBC from 2000–2004. It was Letterman's first association with NBC since he left the network in 1993. During ''Ed's'' run, the star, Tom Cavanagh, appeared as a guest on ''The Late Show'' several times.

In 2005, Worldwide Pants produced its first feature film, ''Strangers with Candy'', which was a prequel to the Comedy Central TV series of the same title. In 2007, Worldwide Pants produced the ABC comedy series, ''Knights of Prosperity''.

Worldwide Pants made significant news in December 2007 when it was announced that Letterman's company had independently negotiated its own contract with the Writers Guild of America, East, thus allowing Letterman, Craig Ferguson, and their writers to return to work, while the union continued its strike against production companies, networks and studios who had not reached an agreement.

Record company

In late April 2010, several music industry websites reported that Letterman started a record label named Clear Entertainment/C.E. Music and signed his first artist, Runner Runner. Lucy Walsh announced on her MySpace page that she has been signed by Letterman and Clear Entertainment/C.E. Music and is working on her album.

Rahal Letterman Racing

Rahal Letterman Racing (RLR) is an auto racing team that currently races in the American Le Mans Series, and part-time in the Indy Racing League. It is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal and Letterman himself, and is based in Hilliard, Ohio. The team won the 2004 Indianapolis 500 with driver Buddy Rice. Letterman was a pit reporter for ABC in the 1971 Indianapolis 500.

American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming

American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming is Letterman's private foundation. Through it, Letterman has donated millions of dollars to charities and other non-profits in Indiana and Montana, celebrity-affiliated organizations such as Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, universities such as Ball State, and other organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Salvation Army, and Doctors Without Borders.

Personal life

Marriages and long-term relationships

In 1969, Letterman married Michelle Cook; the marriage ended by divorce in 1977. He also had a long-term relationship with former head writer and producer on ''Late Night'', Merrill Markoe. In fact, Markoe was the mind behind several ''Late Night'' staples, such as "Stupid Pet/Human Tricks".

Letterman has a son, Harry Joseph Letterman (born on November 3, 2003), with Regina Lasko. Harry is named after Letterman's father. In 2005, police discovered a plot to kidnap Harry Letterman and ransom him for $5 million. Kelly Frank, a house painter who had worked for Letterman, was charged in the conspiracy.

Letterman and Lasko, who had been together since 1986, wed on March 19, 2009, during a quiet courthouse civil ceremony in Choteau, Montana, where he purchased a ranch in 1999. Letterman announced the marriage during the taping of his March 23 show, shortly after congratulating Bruce Willis for getting married the previous week. Letterman told the audience he nearly missed the ceremony because his truck became stuck in mud two miles from their house. The family resides in North Salem, New York, on a estate.

Stalking incidents

Beginning in May 1988, Letterman was stalked by Margaret Mary Ray, a woman suffering from schizophrenia. She once stole his Porsche, repeatedly broke into his house, and camped out on his tennis court. Her exploits drew national attention, and Letterman occasionally joked about her behavior in his show, although never mentioning her name. After she committed suicide in 1998, Letterman told the ''New York Times'' that he had had great compassion for her, and publicly expressed sympathy.

Extortion attempt and revelation of affairs

On his October 1, 2009, show, Letterman announced that he had been the victim of an extortion attempt by someone threatening to reveal that he had had sex with several of his female employees, confirming the relationships. He stated that three weeks earlier (on September 9, 2009) someone had left a package in his car with material he said he would write into a screenplay and a book if Letterman did not pay him $2 million. Letterman said that he contacted the Manhattan District Attorney's office, ultimately cooperating with them to conduct a sting operation involving giving the man a phony check. Subsequently, Robert J. "Joe" Halderman, a producer of the CBS true crime journalism series ''48 Hours'', was arrested after trying to deposit the check. He was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury and pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted grand larceny on October 2, 2009. Eventually, on March 9, 2010, he pleaded guilty to this same felony and served a 6-month jail sentence, followed by probation and community service.

A central figure in the case and one of the women Letterman had had a sexual relationship with was his longtime personal assistant Stephanie Birkitt who often appeared with him in his show. She had also worked for ''48 Hours''. Until a month prior to the revelations she had shared a residence with Halderman, who allegedly had copied her personal diary and used it, along with private emails, in the blackmail package.

On October 3, 2009, a former CBS employee, Holly Hester, announced that she and Letterman had engaged in a year-long "secret" affair in the early 1990s while she was his intern and a student at New York University.

In the days following the initial announcement of the affairs and the arrest, several prominent women, including Kathie Lee Gifford, co-host of NBC's ''Today Show'', and NBC news anchor Ann Curry questioned whether Letterman's affairs with subordinates created an unfair working environment. A spokesman for Worldwide Pants said that the company's sexual harassment policy did not prohibit sexual relationships between managers and employees. According to business news reporter Eve Tahmincioglu, "CBS suppliers are supposed to follow the company's business conduct policies" and the CBS 2008 Business Conduct Statement states that "If a consenting romantic or sexual relationship between a supervisor and a direct or indirect subordinate should develop, CBS requires the supervisor to disclose this information to his or her Company's Human Resources Department..."

On October 5, 2009, Letterman devoted a segment of his show to a public apology to his wife and staff. Three days later, Worldwide Pants announced that Birkitt had been placed on a "paid leave of absence" from the ''Late Show''. On October 15, CBS News announced that the company's Chief Investigative Correspondent, Armen Keteyian, had been assigned to conduct an "in-depth investigation" into Halderman's blackmail of Letterman.

Awards and honors

Awards

In his capacities as either a writer, producer, performer, or as part of a writing team, Letterman is among the most nominated people in Emmy Award history with 52 nominations, winning two Daytime Emmys and five Primetime Emmys since 1981. His nomination record is second only to producer Jac Venza, who holds the record for the most Emmy nominations for an individual (57). Letterman has been nominated every year since 1984, when he first appeared on late night television as the host of ''Late Night with David Letterman.'' Additionally, he has won four American Comedy Awards. Letterman was the first recipient of the Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence at The Comedy Awards in 2011.

David Letterman Communication and Media Building

On September 7, 2007, Letterman visited his alma mater, Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, for the dedication of a communications facility named in his honor for his dedication to the university throughout his career as a comedian. The $21 million, David Letterman Communication and Media Building opened for the 2007 fall semester. It features state-of-the-art recording equipment and facilities. Thousands of Ball State students, faculty, and local residents welcomed Letterman back to Indiana. Letterman's emotional speech touched on his struggles as a college student and his late father, and also included the "top ten good things about having your name on a building", finishing with, "if reasonable people can put my name on a $21 million building, anything is possible."

At the same time, Letterman also received a Sagamore of the Wabash award given by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, which recognizes distinguished service to the state of Indiana.

References

External links

David Letterman's Feb. 24, 1978 appearance on ''90 Minutes Live''

Official ''Late Show'' biography

1999 article on Letterman from Salon.com

Tape of Letterman announcing affairs/extortion attempt on Late Show

Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:American entertainment industry businesspeople Category:American people of German descent Category:American television talk show hosts Category:Ball State University alumni Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Indianapolis, Indiana television anchors Category:Indy Racing League owners Category:People from Indianapolis, Indiana Category:Weather presenters Category:American people of British descent

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name	Rye Rye
background	solo_singer
birth name	Ryeisha Berrain
alias	Rye Rye
origin	Baltimore, Maryland, US
genre	Electronic, Dance
occupation	Rapper, Dancer
years active	2000s
label	N.E.E.T./Interscope
associated acts	M.I.A., Blaqstarr, Diplo, Robyn, Crookers, The Count & Sinden
website	Rye Rye Myspace Rye Rye official website }}

Rye Rye is the stage name of Ryeisha Berrain, an American rapper and dancer from Baltimore, Maryland, United States signed to N.E.E.T. Recordings. She is currently finishing work on her debut album, ''Go! Pop! Bang!'', scheduled for release in September of 2011.

Career

Early career

Rye Rye began performing at the age of 16. She wanted to join the music industry because she "honestly felt there was potential there." "I love performing, singing, dancing, all of that and I felt that given the opportunity I would destroy it." Speaking of the ease at which writing her lyrics comes to her, Rye Rye notes that listening to her songs' beats repeatedly in the studio helps her to focus. Rye Rye has spoken of her intention to work with Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Rihanna and Jay Z as well as a Disney Channel artist to reach out to child audiences. She says "Of course I want to work with artists that can dance so in saying that I have to say that Ciara is someone I really want to work with, as that girl have moves. Not forgetting Ms. Missy Elliot of course as I think her videos are crazy."

She met the musician Blaqstarr, a friend of her sister's, and worked with him on her early material after leaving a rap verse on his answering machine. She says her music output began out of boredom, telling "I used to like to write poetry and stories. One day I was home, bored, and started to compose songs. Her song "Shake It To The Ground," produced in collaboration with Blaqstarr, was a club hit in 2006, leading to local speculation that Rye Rye could be a fresh, new female success within hip hop music. A meeting between Rye Rye, M.I.A. and Diplo in a studio in 2006/2007 was arranged by Blaqstarr after the song caught M.I.A.'s attention. Blaqstarr had told Rye Rye somebody wanted to meet her, but refused to say more. Although upon meeting them Rye Rye did not know who they were, M.I.A. told the rapper that she had been looking for her. At the time, Rye Rye was in her junior year at Dr. Samuel L. Banks High School. She toured with M.I.A. during the KALA Tour in fall and winter of 2007, which included opening for her during the CMJ Music Marathon and dates in the United Kingdom in 2007, the People Vs. Money Tour in early 2008 and briefly with Afrikan Boy. They both appeared in M.I.A.'s 2007 music video for the song "Paper Planes."

''Go! Pop! Bang!''

Rye Rye is the first artist signed to M.I.A.'s record label N.E.E.T., imprint of Interscope Records. Her debut album, titled ''Go! Pop! Bang!'' was set to come out in March 2009, but its release was delayed. In the interim, she recorded guest verses for other songs. She performed the song "Get it from my Mama" with Blaqstarr and M.I.A. in live performances; other recordings completed but not confirmed for her album included "Gangsta Girl" with Zakee, "Bang" with M.I.A., "Wassup Wassup" with DJ Diplo, "Hardcore Girls" with The Count & Sinden and "Reasons" as well as "Older Man", a song about falling in love with someone twice your age, and "Quit Swinging." A music video for "Shake It To The Ground" was made. Rye Rye appears on M.I.A.'s remix of Busy Signal's "Tic Toc" and she performed in Sweden in summer of 2008, featuring on the rapclash remix of Adrian Lux's single "Strawberry". She features on a remix of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" with Afrikan Boy, which she performed during her 2007 live dates on the Kala Tour and appears on the ''Paper Planes - Homeland Security Remixes EP''. In an interview with ''Nylon'' during the making of "Bang", M.I.A. described Rye Rye as "the voice of Baltimore". Rye Rye also worked with The Neptunes while recording her debut. In October 2008, she performed the song "Paper Planes" with Pharrel Williams and a pregnant M.I.A. at the Diesel XXX party at Pier 3 in Brooklyn.

The ''LA Times'' described her music as a "hardcore club sound." Rye Rye collaborated on the album with executive producer and songwriter M.I.A.. ''Rolling Stone'' described ''Go! Pop! Bang!'' as "the hip-hop album most likely to set the club on fire" while ''Paper'' stated the album "will take over car stereos one impossibly ear-catching kinetic party jam at a time." ''Bust'' described her debut album as "Baltimore grime at its best." Rye Rye is styled by M.I.A., who Rye Rye describes as her fashion icon. She told ''Rap-Up TV'' that her favourite clothing designer is Jeremy Scott.

Rye Rye's single "Bang" (featuring M.I.A.) appeared on the ''Fast & Furious'' motion picture soundtrack, and she released her video for the track, written, produced and directed by M.I.A., in 2009. ''Rolling Stone'' called the track "gloriously showoffy". Rye Rye's performance at SXSW in 2010 was well received by critics and festival goers. She performed at the Winter Music Conference in Miami before opening for indie rock band The Gossip in April 2010.

After several date changes, an official release date was announced for February 22, 2011. However, the album did not come out and is presently slated for a Fall 2011 release. Rye Rye performed at the 2010 Alexander Wang fashion week after party. The first single to be lifted from her debut album ''Go! Pop! Bang!'' entitled "Sunshine", was released on October 5 and leaked online a day earlier. A music video with M.I.A. was shot in September 2010, and released on October 8. Rye Rye has recently joined M.I.A. to perform on her tour of international shows in 2010.

On June 7, 2011, she released a second single "Never Will Be Mine" featuring/sampling Robyn. The video featuring the two artists came out on June 15, 2011 and had two days later, on June 17, 2011 been viewed 2,740,998 times.

Rye Rye released her single "New Thing" in 2011, which showcases and soundtracks fashion designer Prabal Gurung's collection and an Adidas advert.

Other work

Rye Rye is featured on the Crookers debut album, ''Tons of Friends'', rapping on the track, "Hip Hop Changed".

Rye-Rye also appears on a track by Tel-aviv based Soulico called "Exotic On The Speaker"

On February 9, around midnight, Rye Rye put up her highly anticipated pre-album mixtape, "RYEot PowRR" for download.

Rye Rye is featured on the track "Have You Heard?" by Ceci Bastida, produced by Diplo. The music video was directed by David Herrera

In 2011, she sings on the song "X Girl" for the electro-duo Teenage Bad Girl's second album "Backwash".

Personal life

Pursuing her music career, Rye Rye has also expressed interest in attending college to study child care. Although Rye Rye was slated be part of the A-Trak tour, she had to pull out as she was expecting her first child. She had a baby girl, Kennidi Malaysia Battle, with boyfriend Evan Battle on September 30, 2009.

Discography

Albums

''Go! Pop! Bang!'' (2011)

Mixtapes

''RYEot PowRR'' (2011)

Singles

"Bang" (featuring M.I.A.) (2009)

"Sunshine" (featuring M.I.A.) (2010)

"Never Will Be Mine" (featuring Robyn) (2011)

As featured artist

"Shake It To The Ground" (2007) (Blaqstarr featuring Rye Rye)

"Hardcore Girls" (2008) (The Count & Sinden featuring Rye Rye)

"Wassup Wassup" (2008) (Diplo featuring Rye Rye)

"Lovely" (2009) (Johnny Spanish featuring Rye Rye)

"Exotic On The Speaker" (2009) (Soulico featuring Rye Rye)

"Hip Hop Changed" (2010) (Crookers featuring Rye Rye)

"Kawaii" (2011) (Missill featuring Rye Rye)

"X Girl" (2011) (Teenage Bad Girl featuring Rye Rye)

References

External links

Rye Rye official website

Rye Rye at Interscope

Fashion Meets Music: Rye Rye for Prabal Gurung

Category:Female rappers Category:Living people Category:1990 births Category:People from Baltimore, Maryland Category:Rappers from Baltimore, Maryland Category:American rappers

da:Rye Rye

name	Alicia Keys
background	solo_singer
birth name	Alicia Augello Cook
alias	Lellow
birth place	January 25, 1981
origin	New York City, New York, United States
instrument	Vocals, piano, keyboards, cello, synthesizer, vocoder, guitar, bass guitar
genre	Soul, R&B;, pop, hip hop, jazz, neo soul, electronic
occupation	singer-songwriter, record producer, actress
years active	1997–present
label	RCA, J, Arista, Columbia
website	}}

Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American R&B; singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Keys was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16 as valedictorian. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.

Keys' debut album, ''Songs in A Minor'', was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. She became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B; artist of 2001. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'". Her second studio album, ''The Diary of Alicia Keys'', was released in 2003 and was also another success worldwide, selling eight million copies. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005. Later that year, she released her first live album, ''Unplugged'', which debuted at number one in the United States. She became the first female to have an ''MTV Unplugged'' album to debut at number one and the highest since Nirvana in 1994.

Keys made guest appearances on several television series in the following years, beginning with ''Charmed''. She made her film debut in ''Smokin' Aces'' and went on to appear in ''The Nanny Diaries'' in 2007. Her third studio album, ''As I Am'', was released in the same year and sold six million copies worldwide, earning Keys an additional three Grammy Awards. The following year, she appeared in ''The Secret Life of Bees'', which earned her a nomination at the NAACP Image Awards. She released her fourth album, ''The Element of Freedom'', in December 2009, which became Keys' first chart-topping album in the United Kingdom. Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and 25 million singles, which makes her one of the best selling artists of all time. ''Billboard'' magazine named her the top R&B; artist of the 2000–2009 decade, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time. In 2010, VH1 included Keys on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. ''Billboard'' magazine placed her number ten on their list of Top 50 R&B;/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years.

Life and career

1981–96: Early life

Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook on January 25, 1981, in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan, in New York City, New York. She is the only child of Teresa Augello, a paralegal and part-time actress, and Craig Cook, a flight attendant. Keys' mother is of Italian, Scottish, and Irish descent, and her father is African American; Keys has expressed that she was comfortable with her biracial heritage because she felt she was able to "relate to different cultures". Her parents separated when she was two and she was subsequently raised by her mother during her formative years in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan. In 1985, Keys made an appearance on ''The Cosby Show'' at the age of four, where she and a group of girls played the parts of Rudy Huxtable's sleepover guests in the episode "Slumber Party". Throughout her childhood, Keys was sent to music and dance classes by her mother. She began playing the piano when she was seven and learned classical music by composers such as Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin. Keys enrolled in the Professional Performing Arts School at the age of 12, where she majored in choir and began writing songs at the age of 14. She graduated in three years as valedictorian at the age of 16.

In 1994 Keys met long-term manager Jeff Robinson after she enrolled in his brother's after-school program. The following year Robinson introduced Keys to her future A&R; at Arista Records, Peter Edge, who later described his first impressions to HitQuarters: "I had never met a young R&B; artist with that level of musicianship. So many people were just singing on top of loops and tracks, but she had the ability, not only to be part of hip-hop, but also to go way beyond that." Edge helped Robinson create a showcase for Keys and also got involved in developing her demo material. He was keen to sign Keys himself but was unable to do so at that time due to being on the verge of leaving his present record company. Keys signed to Columbia Records soon after. At the same time as signing a recording contract with Columbia Records, Keys was accepted into Columbia University. At first, Keys attempted to manage both but after four weeks dropped out of college to pursue her musical career fulltime.

1997–2000: Career beginnings

Keys signed a demo deal with Jermaine Dupri and So So Def Recordings, where she appeared on the label's Christmas album performing "The Little Drummer Girl". She also co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "Dah Dee Dah (Sexy Thing)", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1997 film, ''Men in Black''. The song was Keys' first professional recording; however, it was never released as a single and her record contract with Columbia ended after a dispute with the label. Keys was unhappy with the label because her career had stalled during her two years under contract at Columbia due to executive indecision over her direction and major changes within the company. Keys called Clive Davis, who sensed a "special, unique" artist from her performance and signed her to Arista Records, which later disbanded. Keys almost chose Wilde as her stage name until her manager suggested the name Keys after a dream he had. Keys felt that name represented her both as a performer and person. Following Davis to his newly formed J Records label, she recorded the songs "Rock wit U" and "Rear View Mirror", which were featured on the soundtracks to the films ''Shaft'' (2000) and ''Dr. Dolittle 2'' (2001), respectively.

2001–2002: ''Songs in A Minor''

Keys released her first studio album, ''Songs in A Minor'', in June 2001. It debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 and sold 236,000 copies in its first week. The album sold over 6.2 million copies in the United States, where it was certified six times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide, establishing Keys' popularity both inside and outside the United States, where she became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B; artist of 2001. The album's lead single, "Fallin'", spent six weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The album's second single, "A Woman's Worth", was released in February 2002 and peaked at number 7 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number three on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'', as her second Top 10 single in both charts. The album's third single, "How Come You Don't Call Me", was released in June 2002 and peaked at number 59 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number 30 on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''. The album's fourth single, "Girlfriend", was released in November 2002 in UK and peaked at number 82 on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''. The following year, the album was reissued as ''Remixed & Unplugged in A Minor'', which included eight remixes and seven unplugged versions of the songs from the original.

''Songs in A Minor'' led Keys to win five awards at the 2002 Grammy Awards: Song of the Year, Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance, and Best R&B; Song for "Fallin'", Best New Artist, and Best R&B; Album; "Fallin'" was also nominated for Record of the Year. Keys became the second female solo artist to win five Grammy Awards in a single night, following Lauryn Hill at the 41st Grammy Awards. That same year, she collaborated with Christina Aguilera for the latter's upcoming album ''Stripped'' on a song entitled "Impossible", which Keys wrote, co-produced, and provided with background vocals. During the early 2000s, Keys also made small cameos in television series ''Charmed'' and ''American Dreams''.

2003–2005: ''The Diary of Alicia Keys'' and ''Unplugged''

Keys followed up her debut with ''The Diary of Alicia Keys'', which was released in December 2003. The album debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling over 618,000 copies its first week of release, becoming the largest first-week sales for a female artist in 2003. It sold 4.4 million copies in the United States and was certified four times Platinum by the RIAA. It sold eight million copies worldwide, becoming the sixth biggest-selling album by a female artist and the second biggest-selling album by a female R&B; artist. The album's lead single, "You Don't Know My Name", peaked at number three on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number one on ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'' for eight consecutive weeks, his first Top 10 single in both charts since 2002's "A Woman's Worth ". The album's second single, "If I Ain't Got You", was released in February 2004 and peaked at number 4 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number one on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'' for six weeks. The album's third single, "Diary", peaked at number 8 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number two on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'' chart, being their third consecutive Top 10 single in both charts. The album's fourth and final single, "Karma", which peaked at number 20 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number 17 on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'', first release to fail to achieve top ten status on both charts. "If I Ain't Got You" became the first single by a female artist to remain on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart for over a year. Keys also collaborated with recording artist Usher on the song "My Boo" from his 2004 album, ''Confessions (Special Edition)''. The song topped the ''Billboard Hot 100'' for six weeks and ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'' for three weeks, became her first number-one single in ''Hot 100'' since 2001's "Fallin'".

Keys won Best R&B; Video for "If I Ain't Got You" at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards; she performed the song and "Higher Ground" with Lenny Kravitz and Stevie Wonder. Later that year, Keys released her novel ''Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics'', a collection of unreleased poems from her journals and lyrics. The title derived from one of her poems, "Love and Chains" from the line: "I don't mind drinking my tears for water." She said the title is the foundation of her writing because "everything I have ever written has stemmed from my tears of joy, of pain, of sorrow, of depression, even of question". The book sold over US$500,000 and Keys made ''The New York Times'' bestseller list in 2005. The following year, she won a second consecutive award for Best R&B; Video at the MTV Video Music Awards for the video "Karma". Keys performed "If I Ain't Got You" and then joined Jamie Foxx and Quincy Jones in a rendition of "Georgia on My Mind", the Hoagy Carmichael song made famous by Ray Charles in 1960 at the 2005 Grammy Awards. That evening, she won four Grammy Awards: Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance for "If I Ain't Got You", Best R&B; Song for "You Don't Know My Name", Best R&B; Album for ''The Diary of Alicia Keys'', and Best R&B; Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" for "My Boo" with Usher.

Keys performed and taped her installment of the ''MTV Unplugged'' series in July 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. During this session, Keys added new arrangements to her original songs and performed a few choice covers. The session was released on CD and DVD in October 2005. Simply titled ''Unplugged'', the album debuted at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart with 196,000 units sold in its first week of release. The album sold one million copies in the United States, where it was certified Platinum by the RIAA, and two million copies worldwide. The debut of Keys' ''Unplugged'' was the highest for an ''MTV Unplugged'' album since Nirvana's 1994 ''MTV Unplugged in New York'' and the first ''Unplugged'' by a female artist to debut at number one. The album's first single, "Unbreakable", peaked at number 34 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number four on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs. It remained at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Adult R&B; Airplay for 11 weeks. The album's second and final single, "Every Little Bit Hurts", was released in January 2006, it failed to enter the U.S. charts.

Keys opened a recording studio in Long Island, New York, called The Oven Studios, which she co-owns with her production and songwriting partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers. The studio was designed by renowned studio architect John Storyk of WSDG, designer of Jimi Hendrix' Electric Lady Studios. Keys and Brothers are the co-founders of KrucialKeys Enterprises, a production and songwriting team who assisted Keys in creating her albums as well as create music for other artists.

2006–2008: Film debut and ''As I Am''

In 2006, Keys won three NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Song for "Unbreakable". She also received the Starlight Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In October 2006, she played the voice of Mommy Martian in the "Mission to Mars" episode of the children's television series ''The Backyardigans'', in which she sang an original song, "Almost Everything Is Boinga Here". That same year, Keys nearly suffered a mental breakdown. Her grandmother had died and her family was heavily dependent on her. She felt she needed to "escape" and went to Egypt for three weeks. She explained: "That trip was definitely the most crucial thing I've ever done for myself in my life to date. It was a very difficult time that I was dealing with, and it just came to the point where I really needed to—basically, I just needed to run away, honestly. And I needed to get as far away as possible."

Keys made her film debut in early 2007 in the crime film ''Smokin' Aces'', co-starring as an assassin named Georgia Sykes opposite Ben Affleck and Andy García. Keys received much praise from her co-stars in the film; Reynolds said that Keys was "so natural" and that she would "blow everybody away". ''Smokin' Aces'' had a hit moderate performance at the box office, earning only $57,103,895 worldwide during its theatrical run. In the same year, Keys earned further praise for her second film, ''The Nanny Diaries'', based on the 2002 novel of the same name, where she co-starred alongside Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans. ''The Nanny Diaries'' had a hit moderate performance at the box office, earning only $44,638,886 worldwide during its theatrical run. She also guest starred as herself in the "One Man Is an Island" episode of the drama series ''Cane''.

Keys released her third studio album, ''As I Am'', in November 2007; it debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 742,000 copies in its first week. It gained Keys her largest first week sales of her career and became her fourth consecutive number one album, tying her with Britney Spears for the most consecutive number-one debuts on the ''Billboard'' 200 by a female artist. The week became the second largest sales week of 2007 and the largest sales week for a female solo artist since singer Norah Jones' album ''Feels like Home'' in 2004. The album has sold nearly four million copies in the United States and has been certified three times Platinum by the RIAA. It has sold nearly six million copies worldwide. Keys received five nominations for ''As I Am'' at the 2008 American Music Award and ultimately won two. The album's lead single, "No One", peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for fifth consecutive weeks and Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs for ten consecutive weeks, became her first number-one single in ''Hot 100'' since 2004's "My Boo" and becoming Keys' third and fifth number-one single on each chart, respectively. The album's second single, "Like You'll Never See Me Again", was released in late 2007 and peaked at number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'' for seven consecutive weeks. From October 27, 2007, when "No One" reached No. 1, through February 16, 2008, the last week "Like You'll Never See Me Again" was at No. 1, the Keys was on top of the chart for 17 weeks, more consecutive weeks than any other artist in ''Hot R&B;/Hip/Hop Songs'' chart. The album's third single, "Teenage Love Affair", which peaked at number 54 on the '''Billboard Hot 100'' and number three on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''. The album's fourth and final single, "Superwoman", which peaked at number 82 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number 12 on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''.

"No One" earned Keys the awards for Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance and Best R&B; Song at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Keys opened the ceremony singing Frank Sinatra's 1950s song "Learnin' the Blues" as a "duet" with archival footage of Sinatra in video and "No One" with John Mayer later in the show. Keys also won Best Female R&B; Artist during the show. She starred in "Fresh Takes", a commercial micro-series created by Dove Go Fresh, which premiered during ''The Hills'' on MTV from March to April 2008. The premiere celebrated the launch of new Dove Go Fresh. She also signed a deal as spokesperson with Glacéau's VitaminWater to endorse the product, and was in an American Express commercial for the "Are you a Cardmember?" campaign. Keys, along with The White Stripes' guitarist and lead vocalist Jack White, recorded the theme song to ''Quantum of Solace'', the first duet in Bond soundtrack history. In 2008, Keys was ranked in at number 80 the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists. She also starred in ''The Secret Life of Bees'', a film adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's acclaimed 2003 bestseller novel of the same name alongside Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning, Paul Bettany and Queen Latifah, released in October 2008 via Fox Searchlight. ''The Secret Life of Bees'' had a hit moderate performance at the box office, earning only $39,947,322 worldwide during its theatrical run. Her role earned her a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards. She also received three nominations at the 2009 Grammy Awards and won Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance for "Superwoman".

In an interview with ''Blender'' magazine, Keys allegedly said "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other, 'gangsta rap' didn't exist" and went on to say that it was created by "the government". The magazine also claimed she said that Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. were "essentially assassinated, their beefs stoked by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing". Keys later wrote a statement clarifying the issues and saying her words were misinterpreted. Later that year, Keys was criticized by anti-smoking campaigners after billboard posters for her forthcoming concerts in Indonesia featured a logo for the A Mild cigarette brand sponsored by tobacco firm Philip Morris. She apologized after discovering that the concert was sponsored by the firm and asked for "corrective actions". In response, the company withdrew its sponsorship.

2009–2010 ''The Element of Freedom'', marriage and motherhood

Keys and manager Jeff Robinson signed a film production deal to develop live-action and animated projects with Disney. Their first film will be a remake of the 1958 comedy ''Bell, Book and Candle'' and will star Keys as a witch who casts a love spell to lure a rival's fiancé. Keys and Robinson also formed a television production company called Big Pita. Keys and Robinson will develop live-action and animated projects from their company, Big Pita and Little Pita, with Keys as producer, thespian, banner spearheading soundtrack and music supervision.

Keys collaborated with the record producer Swizz Beatz to write and produce "Million Dollar Bill" for Whitney Houston's seventh studio album, ''I Look to You''. Keys had approached Clive Davis for permission to submit a song for the album. Keys also collaborated with the recording artist Jay-Z on the song "Empire State of Mind" from his 2009 album, ''The Blueprint 3''. The song topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became her fourth number-one single on that chart. At the 53rd Grammy Awards ceremony, "Empire State of Mind" won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Rap Song. It had also been one of the five nominees for Record of the Year. The following month, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers honored Keys with the Golden Note Award, an award given to artists "who have achieved extraordinary career milestones". She collaborated with Spanish recording artist Alejandro Sanz for "Looking for Paradise", which topped the Hot Latin Songs chart, this was Keys' first number one on all three charts, which also made her the first African-American of non-Hispanic origin to reach #1 on the ''Hot Latin Tracks''. Keys released her fourth studio album, ''The Element of Freedom'', in December 2009. It debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 417,000 copies in its first week. As part of the promotional drive for the album, she performed at the Cayman Island Jazz Festival on December 5, the final night of the three day festival which will be broadcast on Black Entertainment Television (BET). The album's lead single, "Doesn't Mean Anything", has peaked at number 60 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 14 on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''. Keys was ranked as the top R&B; recording artist of the 2000–2009 decade by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranked at number five as artist of the decade, while her song, "No One", was ranked at number six on the magazine's songs of the decade. In the United Kingdom, ''The Element of Freedom'' became Keys' first album to top the UK Albums Chart. The album's second single, "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart", was released in November 2009 and peaked at number 27 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number two on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''. The album's third single, "Put It in a Love Song", featuring Grammy-winner Beyoncé, peaked at number 60 on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''. The music video for the single, which was filmed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been postponed several times, and later it was confirmed that Alicia Keys' team made a decision not to release the video. The album's fourth single, "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down", was released in February 2010 and peaked at number 55 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number 76 on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''. The album's fifth single, "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)", was released in May 2010 and peaked at number 21 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number one on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'', for twelve consecutive weeks and became the album's most successful single, becoming Keys' eighth number-one single on ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'' chart. The album's sixth and final single, "Wait Til You See My Smile", was released in December 2010 in the U.K only.

In May 2009, Swizz Beatz announced that he and Keys were romantically involved, and in May 2010, a representative for Keys and Swizz Beatz confirmed that they were engaged and expecting a child together. During the time of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the couple took part of a union and had the unborn child blessed in a Zulu ceremony, which took place in the Illovo suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. Keys and Swizz Beatz were married on the French island of Corsica on July 31, 2010. On October 14, 2010, Keys gave birth to a son, Egypt Daoud Ibarr Dean, in New York City.

2011-Present: Ten Year Celebration, Project 5, Stick Fly and Upcoming New Album

In June 2011, ''Songs in A Minor'' was re-released as deluxe and collector's editions in commemoration of its 10th anniversary. To support the release, Keys embarked on a four-city promotional tour, entitled Piano & I: A One Night Only Event With Alicia Keys, featuring only her piano. Keys is also set to co-produce the Broadway premiere of ''Stick Fly'', which will open in December 2011. On September 26, 2011, was the premiere of ''Project 5'' known as ''Five'', short film that marks the debut of Alicia Keys as a director. It is a documentary of five episodes that tell stories of five women who were victims of breast cancer and how it affected their lives. The production also has co-direction of the actresses Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore and film director Patty Jenkins.

On September 23, she performed at ''iHeart Music Festival'' and sang her new song "A Place Of My Own", which is present in her fifth studio album. On October 7, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding J Records along with Arista Records and Jive Records. With the shutdown, Keys (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release her future material on the RCA Records brand.

Musical style

An accomplished pianist, Keys incorporates piano into a majority of her songs and often writes about love, heartbreak and female empowerment. She has cited several musicians as her inspirations, including Prince, Nina Simone, Barbra Streisand, Marvin Gaye, Quincy Jones, Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder. Keys' style is rooted in gospel and vintage soul music, supplemented by bass and programmed drumbeats. She heavily incorporates classical piano with R&B;, soul and jazz into her music. She began experimenting with other genres, including pop and rock, in her third studio album, ''As I Am'', transitioning from neo soul to a 1980s and 1990s R&B; sound with her fourth album, ''The Element of Freedom''. Patrick Huguenin of the ''New York Daily News'' stated that her incorporation of classical piano riffs contributed to her breakout success. ''Jet'' magazine states she "thrives" by touching her fans with "piano mastery, words and melodious voice". ''The Independent'' described her style as consisting of "crawling blues coupled with a hip-hop backbeat", noting that her lyrics "rarely stray from matters of the heart". ''Blender'' magazine referred to her as "the first new pop artist of the millennium who was capable of changing music."

Keys has a vocal range of a contralto, which spans three octaves. She can sing from B flat over an octave below middle C (B₂) to B below soprano C (B₅). Often referred to as the "Princess of Soul", Keys has been commended as having a strong, raw and impassioned voice; others feel that her voice is "emotionally manufactured" at times and that she pushes her voice out of its natural range. Keys' songwriting is often criticized for lack of depth, which has led to her writing abilities being called limited. Her lyrics have been called generic, clichéd and that her songs revolve around generalities. Greg Kot of the ''Chicago Tribune'' feels that she "[pokes] around for multi-format hits rather than trying to project any sort of artistic vision". Diversely, Jon Pareles of ''Blender'' magazine stated that the musical composition of her songs makes up for their lyrical weakness, while Gregory Stephen Tate of ''The Village Voice'' compared Keys' writing and production to 1970s music.

Joanna Hunkin of ''The New Zealand Herald'' reviewed one of Keys' performances, where Kylie Minogue also attended. She described Minogue's reaction to Keys' performance, saying "it was obvious she was just as much of a fan as the 10,000 other people at Vector Arena". She went on to say that Minogue was "the original pop princess bowing down to the modern-day queen of soul". Hunkin characterized Keys' opening performance as a "headbanging, hip-gyrating performance" and her energy as "high-octane energy most bands save for their closing finale". At the end of her two-hour performance, fans "screamed, stomped and begged for a second encore". Hillary Crosley and Mariel Concepcion of ''Billboard'' magazine noted that her shows are "extremely coordinated" with the audience's attention span "consistently maintained". The show ended with a standing ovation and Keys "proved that a dynamic performance mixed with superior musicianship always wins". Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and is listed on the Recording Industry Association of America's best-selling artists in the United States, with 15 million certified albums. She has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and has established herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time.

Philanthropy

Keys is the co-founder and Global Ambassador of Keep a Child Alive, a non-profit organization that provides medicine to families with HIV and AIDS in Africa. Keys and U2 lead singer Bono recorded a cover version of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush's "Don't Give Up", in recognition of World AIDS Day 2005. Keys and Bono's version of the song was retitled "Don't Give Up (Africa)" to reflect the nature of the charity it was benefiting. She visited African countries such as Uganda, Kenya and South Africa to promote care for children affected by AIDS. Her work in Africa was documented in the documentary ''Alicia in Africa: Journey to the Motherland'' and was available in April 2008.

Keys has also donated to Frum tha Ground Up, a non-profit organization that aids children and teenagers with scholarships. She performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the worldwide Live 8 concerts to raise awareness of the poverty in Africa and to pressure the G8 leaders to take action. In 2005, Keys performed on ''ReAct Now: Music & Relief'' and ''Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast'', two benefit programs that raised money for those affected by Hurricane Katrina. In July 2007, Keys and Keith Urban performed The Rolling Stones' 1969 song "Gimme Shelter" at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey at the American leg of the Live Earth concerts.

Keys performed Donny Hathaway's 1973 song "Someday We'll All Be Free" at the ''America: A Tribute to Heroes'' televised benefit concert following the September 11 attacks. She participated in the Nobel Peace Prize Concert which took place at the Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, 2007, along with other various artists. She recorded a theme song for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. She joined Joss Stone and Jay-Z on the effort, which served as a theme song for Obama's campaign. For her work, Keys was honored at the 2009 BET Awards with the Humanitarian Award. Keys performed the song "Prelude to a Kiss", retitled "Send Me an Angel", from her 2007 album ''As I Am'' for the "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" telethon in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Discography

''Songs in A Minor'' (2001)

''The Diary of Alicia Keys'' (2003)

''As I Am'' (2007)

''The Element of Freedom'' (2009)

''TBA'' (2012)

;Live albums

''Unplugged'' (2005)

Tours

{|class="wikitable" ! style="background:darkGrey;"| Year !! style="background:darkGrey;"| Title !! style="background:darkGrey;"| Number ofperformances |- style="background:#dcdcdc;" | style="text-align:center; width:5px;;"| 2001/2002 || style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| ''Songs in A Minor Tour'' || style="background:#dcdcdc;"| 58 |- style="background:#dcdcdc;" | style="text-align:center; width:5px;;"| 2004|| style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| ''Verizon Ladies First Tour'' || style="background:#dcdcdc;"| 25 |- style="background:#dcdcdc;" | style="text-align:center; width:5px;;"| 2005 || style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| ''The Diary Tour'' || style="background:#dcdcdc;"| 36 |- style="background:#dcdcdc;" | style="text-align:center; width:5px;;"| 2008 || style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| ''As I Am Tour'' || style="background:#dcdcdc;"| 94 |- style="background:#dcdcdc;" | style="text-align:center; width:5px;;"| 2010 || style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| ''The Freedom Tour'' || style="background:#dcdcdc;"| 50 |- style="background:#dcdcdc;" | style="text-align:center; width:5px;;"| 2011 || style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| ''Piano & I: A One Night Only Event With Alicia Keys'' || style="background:#dcdcdc;"| 5 |}

Filmography

Television
!Year	!Title	!Role	!Notes
1985	''The Cosby Show''	Maria
2001	''Charmed''	P3 VIP Patron (uncredited)
	''American Dreams''	Fontella Bass	"Rescue Me" (season 2, episode 6)
''The Proud Family''	Herself (voice)
2005	''Sesame Street''	Herself	Season 36
2006	''The Backyardigans''	Mommy Martian (voice)
		Herself	"One Man Is an Island" (season 1, episode 7)
''Elmo's Christmas Countdown''	Herself	Christmas television special
2008		Alex	Starred in all five episodes
2010	American Idol (season 9)	Herself	Mentor
Film
!Year	!Title	!Role	!Notes
	''Smokin' Aces''	Georgia Sykes	Debut filmMain role
	Lynette	Support role
2008		June Boatwright	Main role
Director
!Year	!Title	!Type	!Notes
	2004		Music video	MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B; Video
2011	''Project 5''	Short film/Documentary

See also

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of awards and nominations received by Alicia Keys

List of honorific titles in popular music

References

Further reading

External links

Alicia Keys at Billboard.com

Alicia Keys at Discogs

Alicia Keys at Metacritic

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from New York City Category:African American composers Category:African American female singer-songwriters Category:African American film actors Category:African American pianists Category:African American poets Category:African American record producers Category:American contraltos Category:American hip hop musicians Category:American multi-instrumentalists Category:American music arrangers Category:American music video directors Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American philanthropists Category:American pop singer-songwriters Category:American rhythm and blues keyboardists Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American soul keyboardists Category:American soul singers Category:American television actors Category:Echo winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hip hop singers Category:Neo soul singers Category:People from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Category:J Records artists Category:RCA Records artists Category:Rhythm and blues pianists Category:Singers from New York City Category:Songwriters from New York Category:World Music Awards winners

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