Coordinates	35°0′42″N135°46′6″N
name	Justin Bieber
background	solo_singer
birth name	Justin Drew Bieber
birth date	March 01, 1994
birth place	London, Ontario, Canada
origin	Stratford, Ontario, Canada
instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, percussion, trumpet
genre	Pop, R&B;, teen pop
occupation	Singer, musician, actor
years active	2009–present
label	Island, RBMG
associated acts	Usher
website	justinbiebermusic.com }}

Justin Drew Bieber ( , born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian pop/R&B; singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher, and then to a recording contract with Island Records offered by L.A. Reid. Bieber's debut single, "One Time", was released in 2009 and peaked in the top ten in Canada and charted in the top thirty in several international markets. His debut album, the seven-track EP ''My World'', followed in November 2009, and was soon certified platinum in the United States (it was later reissued with two bonus tracks). He became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut album chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Bieber's first full-length studio album, ''My World 2.0'', was released in March 2010. It debuted at number one or within the top ten in several countries and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the worldwide top-ten single, "Baby". The music video of "Baby" is currently ranked as the most viewed and most discussed YouTube video. Bieber followed-up the release of his debut album with his first headlining tour, the My World Tour, the remix albums ''My Worlds Acoustic'' and ''Never Say Never – The Remixes'', and the 3D biopic-concert film ''Justin Bieber: Never Say Never'' – which had an opening weekend gross that nearly matched the record for the biggest opening weekend for a concert-film. Bieber released his second studio album, ''Under the Mistletoe'' in November 2011, which debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200. Bieber has received numerous awards, including Artist of the Year at the 2010 American Music Awards — and has been nominated for numerous awards, including Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards.

Life and career

1994–2007: Childhood and youth

Bieber was born on March 1, 1994, in London, Ontario, and was raised in Stratford, Ontario. Bieber's mother, Patricia Lynn "Pattie" Mallette, was 18 years old when she became pregnant with her son. Mallette, originally from Stratford, raised her son with the help of her parents, Bruce and Diane. Mallette worked a series of low-paying office jobs, raising Bieber as a single mother in low-income housing. Bieber has maintained contact with his father, Jeremy Jack Bieber, who married another woman and had two children. Bieber's paternal great-grandfather was a German immigrant to Canada. His mother's ancestry is French Canadian. Bieber attended French immersion school at Stratford school Jean Sauve.

During his childhood, Bieber was interested in hockey, soccer, and chess; he often kept his musical aspirations to himself. As he grew up, Bieber taught himself to play the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet. In early 2007, when he was twelve, Bieber sang Ne-Yo's "So Sick" for a local singing competition in Stratford and placed second. Mallette posted a video of the performance on YouTube for their family and friends to see. She continued to upload videos of Bieber singing covers of various R&B; songs, and Bieber's popularity on the site grew. Chris Hicks, Bieber's A&R; at Island/Def Jam, explained the young artist's huge online following to HitQuarters by saying:

"He was doing something different. He was an attractive white kid singing very soulful R&B; hits. That set him apart immediately from anyone in his range because no one was covering or singing these kind of records. But equally important was that you believed in these songs – it was real. And you wanted to hear more."

2008–09: Discovery and ''My World''

While searching for videos of a different singer, Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive of So So Def, clicked on one of Bieber's 2007 videos by accident. Impressed, Braun tracked down the theater Bieber was performing in, located Bieber's school, and finally contacted Mallette. Mallette was reluctant because of Braun's Jewish religion; she remembered praying, "God, I gave him to you. You could send me a Christian man, a Christian label! ... you don’t want this Jewish kid to be Justin’s man, do you?" However, after praying with her church elders and receiving their encouragement, she permitted Braun to fly Bieber, then 13, to Atlanta, Georgia, to record demo tapes. A week after arriving, Bieber sang for R&B; singer/songwriter Usher. Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher. Justin Timberlake was also reportedly in the running to sign Bieber, but lost the bidding war to Usher. Usher then sought assistance in finding a label home for the artist from then manager Chris Hicks, who helped engineer an audition with his contact Antonio L.A. Reid of Island Def Jam Music Group. Reid signed Bieber to Island Records in October 2008 (resulting in a joint venture between RBMG and Island Records) and appointed Hicks as executive Vice-President of Def Jam where he would be able manage Bieber's career at the label. At that point, Bieber and his mother moved to Atlanta temporarily, also the home of Usher and Braun, to record and get counseling from Braun. Braun became Bieber's manager.

Bieber's first single, "One Time", was released to radio while Bieber was still recording his debut album. The song reached number 12 on the Canadian Hot 100 during its first week of release in July 2009, and later peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. During fall 2009 it had success in international markets. The song was certified Platinum in Canada and the US and Gold in Australia and New Zealand. Bieber's first release, an extended play entitled ''My World'', was released on November 17, 2009. The album's second single, "One Less Lonely Girl", and two promo singles, "Love Me", and "Favorite Girl", were released exclusively on the iTunes store and charted within the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100. "One Less Lonely Girl" was later also released to radio and peaked within the top fifteen in Canada and the US, being certified Gold in the latter. ''My World'' was eventually certified Platinum in the US and Double Platinum in both Canada and the UK. To promote the album, Bieber performed on several live shows such as mtvU's VMA 09 Tour, European program ''The Dome'', YTV's ''The Next Star'', ''The Today Show'', ''The Wendy Williams Show'', ''Lopez Tonight'', ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'', ''It's On with Alexa Chung'', ''Good Morning America'', ''Chelsea Lately'', and BET's ''106 & Park'' with Rihanna. Bieber also guest starred in an episode of ''True Jackson, VP'' in late 2009.

Bieber performed Stevie Wonder's "Someday at Christmas" for U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House for ''Christmas in Washington'', which was broadcast on December 20, 2009, on U.S. television broadcaster TNT. Bieber was also one of the performers at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest on December 31, 2009. Bieber was a presenter at the 52nd Grammy Awards on January 31, 2010. He was invited to be a vocalist for the remake of We Are The World (a song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie) for its 25th anniversary to benefit Haiti after the earthquake. Bieber sings the opening line, which was sung by Lionel Richie in the original version. On March 12, 2010, a version of K'naan's "Wavin' Flag" recorded by a collective of Canadian musicians known as Young Artists for Haiti was released. Bieber is featured in the song, performing the closing lines.

2010: ''My World 2.0'' and continued success

"Baby", the lead single from his debut album, ''My World 2.0'', which features Ludacris, was released in January 2010 and became his biggest hit thus far, charting at number five in the U.S. and reaching the top ten in seven other countries. Two promo singles "Never Let You Go", and "U Smile" were top thirty hits on the U.S. Hot 100, and top twenty hits in Canada. According to review aggregator Metacritic, the album has received "generally favorable reviews". It debuted at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200, making Bieber the youngest solo male act to top the chart since Stevie Wonder in 1963. ''My World 2.0'' also debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, Irish Albums Chart, and Australian Albums Chart, and the New Zealand Albums Chart and reached the top ten of fifteen other countries. To promote the album, Bieber appeared on several live programs including ''The View'', the 2010 Kids Choice Awards, ''Nightline'', ''The Late Show with David Letterman'', ''The Dome'' and ''106 and Park''. Bieber collaborated with Sean Kingston on his single "Eenie Meenie" which also appeared on Bieber's debut album. The song reached the top ten in the United Kingdom and Australia, and the top-twenty of most other markets. thumb|left|Bieber performing at the Conseco Fieldhouse, in August 2010 On April 10, 2010, Bieber was the musical guest on ''Saturday Night Live''. On July 4, 2010, Bieber performed at the Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular in New York City. The second single from ''My World 2.0'', "Somebody to Love", was released in April 2010, and a remix was released featuring Bieber's mentor Usher. The single reached number ten in Canada, number fifteen in the United States, and the top twenty in multiple international countries.

On June 23, 2010, Bieber went on his first official headlining tour, the My World Tour, starting in Hartford, Connecticut, to promote ''My World'' and ''My World 2.0''. In July 2010, it was reported that Bieber was the most searched for celebrity on the Internet. That same month his music video, "Baby", surpassed Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" to become the most viewed, and most disliked YouTube video ever. In September 2010, it was reported that Bieber accounted for three percent of all traffic on Twitter, according to an employee of the social-networking site.

Bieber began recording his second album in July 2010 in New York City. At this point, because of puberty, his voice was deeper than it was when he recorded his first album. In April 2010, the singer discussing his vocals remarked, "It cracks. Like every teenage boy, I'm dealing with it and I have the best vocal coach in the world. [...] Some of the notes I hit on "Baby" I can't hit anymore. We have to lower the key when I sing live." British singer/songwriter Taio Cruz confirmed in July 2010 that he is writing songs for Bieber's next album. Hip hop producer Dr. Dre produced two songs with Bieber in July 2010 but it is unknown if they were made for the album, which is currently due for a 2011 release. Bieber guest-starred in the season premiere of the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', aired on September 23, 2010. He played a "troubled teen who is faced with a difficult decision regarding his only brother". Bieber was also in a subsequent episode which aired on February 17, 2011, in which his character is killed. Bieber performed a medley of "U Smile", "Baby", and "Somebody to Love" and briefly played the drums at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010. Bieber announced in October 2010 that he would release an acoustic album, called ''My Worlds Acoustic''. It was released on Black Friday in the United States and featured acoustic versions of songs from his previous albums, and accompanied the release of a completely new song titled "Pray".

2011–present: ''Never Say Never'' film, ''Under the Mistletoe'' and ''Believe''

A 3-D part-biopic, part-concert film starring Bieber entitled ''Justin Bieber: Never Say Never'', was released February 11, 2011, directed by ''Step Up 3D'' director Jon Chu. It topped the box office with an estimated grossing of $12.4 million on its opening day from 3,105 theaters. It grossed $30.3 million for the weekend and was narrowly beaten by the romantic comedy ''Just Go With It'', which grossed $31 million. ''Never Say Never'' is said to have exceeded industry expectations, nearly matching the $31.1 million grossed by Miley Cyrus's 2008 3-D concert film, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, which holds the record for the top debut for a music-documentary. The film is accompanied by his second remix album, ''Never Say Never – The Remixes'', released February 14, 2011, and features remixes of songs from his debut album, with guest appearances from Miley Cyrus, Chris Brown, and Kanye West, among others.

On February 27, 2011, Bieber attended the 2011 Vanity Fair Oscar Party with American actress and singer Selena Gomez, confirming several months of media speculation about a romantic relationship between the pair. The relationship has since continued to garner significant media attention.

In June 2011, Bieber was ranked number 2 on the Forbes list of Best-Paid Celebrities under 30. He is the youngest star and 1 of 7 musicians on the list raking in with $53 million earned in a 12 month period. On November 1, 2011, Bieber released ''Under the Mistletoe'', his second studio album. It debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 210,000 copies in its first week of release. Bieber is currently recording his third studio album entitled ''Believe''. Kanye West and Drake are confirmed to be featured on the album.

Image

''The Observer'' newspaper in the UK published a report indicating that Justin Bieber is more influential in the social networking sphere than Barack Obama or The Dalai Lama. According to Jan Hoffman of ''The New York Times'', part of Bieber's appeal stems from his YouTube channel. Long before he released his EP, ''My World'', in mid-November, the YouTube videos attracted millions of views. Braun recognized the appeal. Prior to flying him to Atlanta, Braun wanted to "build him up more on YouTube first" and had Bieber record more home videos for the channel. "I said: 'Justin, sing like there’s no one in the room. But let's not use expensive cameras.' We'll give it to kids, let them do the work, so that they feel like it's theirs", recalled Braun. Bieber continues to upload videos to the same channel and has opened a Twitter account, from which he interacts with fans regularly; his account was reported in November 2010 to have over 6 million followers. Since then he has been consistently gaining followers at an average of 24,000 per day. The accounts also serve marketing purposes; for example, Bieber's music video for "One Time" only began selling quickly after it was uploaded to YouTube. Usher comments that while he and Bieber were both signed at the same age, "I had the chance to ramp up my success, where this has happened to Bieber abruptly." As a result, Usher, Braun, Bieber's bodyguard Kenny, and other adults surrounding Bieber constantly coach him on handling fame and his public image. After signing Bieber, Usher appointed one of his former assistants, Ryan Good, to be Bieber's road manager and stylist. Good, once nicknamed Bieber's "swagger coach", created a "streetwise look" for the singer which consisted of baseball caps, hoodies, dog chains and flashy sneakers. Amy Kaufman of ''The Los Angeles Times'' comments, "Though a product of a middle-class suburban upbringing in Stratford, Ontario, Bieber's manner of dress and speech ("Wassup man, how you doin'?" or "It's like, you know, whateva' ") suggest he's mimicking his favorite rappers."

Bieber is often featured in teen magazines such as ''Tiger Beat'', and has been labeled as a "teen hearthrob". Bieber has released a collection of nail varnishes to raise awareness for charity. Wax statues of Bieber are on display at Madame Tussauds wax museums in New York, Amsterdam and London. His change of hairstyle in 2010, and the consequent alterations to Bieber products, led to it being called 'the most expensive musical haircut of all time; one company spent $100,000 to fix its dolls for the 2011 Christmas season.

Bieber has been criticized for looking and sounding younger than his age, his teen-pop music, image, and frequent media attention. He has been a frequent target of Internet bloggers and message board posters, notably by users of Internet message board 4chan and users of YouTube. Nick Collins of ''The Daily Telegraph'' speculated that "Bieber's character also appears to strike a particularly sour note with his Internet critics, with many remarks commenting on his youthful appearance, his teen-pop songs, his image as a heart-throb to young teenage girls and his manner of speech".

Personal views

Bieber is a Christian, and said he has a relationship with Jesus, talks to him and that "he's the reason I'm here".

Bieber's comments in a February 2011 profile in ''Rolling Stone'' sparked controversy. Asked whether a person should wait until marriage to have sex, Bieber responded, "I don't think you should have sex with anyone unless you love them." Asked about his opinion on abortion, Bieber said he does not "believe in abortion" and that it is "like killing a baby". When asked about abortion in cases of rape, he said, "Well, I think that's really sad, but everything happens for a reason. I don't know how that would be a reason. I guess I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that." In the same interview, Bieber talked about homosexuality, stating that "It's everyone's own decision to do that. It doesn’t affect me and shouldn't affect anyone else", and ''Rolling Stone'' commented, "It is not clear whether he intended to label homosexuality as a lifestyle choice." However, Bieber has also contributed to the It Gets Better Project, a project started in response to the suicide of Billy Lucas, a teenager who was the target of anti-gay bullying.

Bieber has said he is not interested in obtaining United States citizenship, praising Canada as being "the best country in the world", citing its health care system as an example.

Discography

''My World 2.0'' (2010)

''Under the Mistletoe'' (2011)

''Believe'' (2012)

Tour

2009: Urban Behavior Tour

2010–2011: My World Tour

Filmography

rowspan="4" ''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'' Himself

Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
rowspan="2"	2009	''True Jackson, VP''	>rowspan="3"| Guest star
''My Date With...''
	Silent Library (MTV series)>Silent Library''
''School Gyrls (film)	School Gyrls''	Cameo
''Saturday Night Live''
''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''	Jason McCann
''Hubworld''	Guest star
''The X Factor (UK)''	Performer
rowspan="9"	2011	|	Guest star
''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''	Jason McCann
''Khloé & Lamar''	|Episode:The Father In Law (uncredited) Himself playing the NBA Celebrity All Star Game
''Saturday Night Live''
''Justin Bieber: Never Say Never''	Himself
''Dancing With The Stars''	Guest star
''So Random!''	Himself
''Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade''	Guest star
''The X Factor (UK)''	Performer

Awards and nominations

References

Further reading

External links

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

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Coordinates	35°0′42″N135°46′6″N
name	Tay Zonday
background	solo_singer
birth name	Adam Nyerere Bahner
birth date	July 06, 1982
instrument	VocalsKeyboard
genre	Outsider musicR&B;Experimental musicSpoken word
occupation	singer, actor, announcer, musician
years active	2007–present
website	www.tayzonday.com
notable instruments	}}

Adam Nyerere Bahner (born July 6, 1982), better known by the pseudonym Tay Zonday, is an American musician, YouTube personality and voice actor. He is well known by listeners for his deep baritone voice whilst singing. He garnered mainstream exposure when his song "Chocolate Rain", and accompanying video on YouTube, became a popular Internet meme in July 2007. , "Chocolate Rain" has more than 80 million views.

Media response

In July 2007, Zonday went from being a grad student in Minneapolis, Minnesota to having his video featured on the front page of YouTube and making appearances on national television. He appeared on the ''Opie & Anthony Show'', G4TV's ''Attack of the Show!'', VH1's ''Best Week Ever'', ''Lily Allen and Friends'', ''Jimmy Kimmel Live'', Tosh.O, and Maury where he performed "Chocolate Rain" on national television a little over three months after he posted his composition on YouTube. He made the front page of Sunday's ''Los Angeles Times'' on August 12, 2007 with additional features in The ''Toronto Star'', The ''Chicago Tribune''''s ''RedEye'', The ''Star Tribune'' and ''People'' and has appeared on CNN for a televised interview. He also has appeared on Fox News. On February 12, 2008, he appeared on the television show ''Lily Allen and Friends'' on BBC Three, and performed a cover of Lily Allen's debut "Smile". In March 2008 the video won a YouTube-award in the category "Music".

The Australian ''Daily Telegraph'' newspaper wrote: "Tay Zonday has written perhaps the most listened to song in the world right now." ''People'' said: "He's scored a YouTube hit with his repetitive, keyboard-driven 'Chocolate Rain', and after a recent appearance on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live'', Tay Zonday's star is shining even brighter." The article also noted that celebrity musicians paid tribute to the song as its popularity rapidly peaked in August 2007. Singer John Mayer reportedly mimicked Zonday's keyboard riff with his guitar in concert, along with appearing on ''Best Week Ever'' improvising a parody to the tune of Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right". Green Day drummer Tré Cool recorded a cover of "Chocolate Rain" which he posted on Youtube. Zonday also became the subject of thousands of other parodies and remixes on YouTube. A clip of his video was also shown on CW11's ''Online Nation'', a new series. Zonday has been interviewed twice on ''Good Morning America'', in March and November 2008.

Career

Zonday starred in a commercial for Comedy Central's "Last Laugh 07", hosted by Lewis Black. He released a video titled "Cherry Chocolate Rain", in a promotion with Dr Pepper. He starred alongside Leslie Hall in a commercial for Firefox singing a song titled "Users Against Boredom" in a parody of We Are The World. Tay has said his voice is often compared to Ru Paul, Paul Robeson, Barry White, James Earl Jones, and Brad Roberts of the Crash Test Dummies. He appeared in-person at Intel's Consumer Electronics Show booth, rendering the source files of the "Chocolate Rain" YouTube video in Sony Vegas.

The Grammy Award-winning music video for rock band Weezer's single "Pork and Beans" featured Zonday along with other YouTube celebrities. In May 2008 as well, Zonday performed an acoustic version of the song with Brian Bell of Weezer, spoofing his own performance in "Chocolate Rain".

As a voice actor, Zonday voiced part of a multimedia presentation built to celebrate 50 years of NASA history. He also voiced a role in AdultSwim's Robot Chicken, spoofing his own song "Chocolate Rain".

Zonday was featured on the "Jace Hall Show", where he was comically interviewed at a famous Hollywood restaurant in a play on the dissonance between Internet-fame and the traditional entertainment industry.

In February 2010 Zonday cameoed in a Vizio Super Bowl commercial opened by Beyoncé. In October 2010, he appeared on Comedy Central's Night of Too Many Stars autism charity event during a musical number with Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert.

In August 2011, Zonday appeared on ''America's Got Talent'' and performed a grand total of 15 seconds of his song "Chocolate Rain".

Zonday was also featured in Dave Days' Youtube video spoof of Justin Bieber's song, Baby. The video has over 14 million views.

Zonday had a cameo in The Guild Season 5 episode 3, ''Megagame-o-ramacon!'', aired on August 9, 2011.

Tay Zonday is featured in a 2011 Mike Diva comedy YouTube video as a dubstep dancing mastermind.

See also

List of YouTube celebrities

Fifteen minutes of fame

References

External links

Tay Zonday Official site

Tay Zonday's YouTube channel

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:American Internet personalities Category:American male singers Category:Internet memes Category:Musicians from Minnesota Category:People from Minneapolis, Minnesota

ast:Tay Zonday cs:Tay Zonday de:Tay Zonday es:Tay Zonday fr:Tay Zonday ko:테이 존데이 nl:Tay Zonday no:Tay Zonday pl:Tay Zonday pt:Tay Zonday simple:Tay Zonday sv:Tay Zonday

Coordinates	35°0′42″N135°46′6″N
background	solo_singer
birth name	Charmaine Clarice Relucio Pempengco
born	May 10, 1992Laguna, Philippines
genre	pop, teen pop, electropop, R&B;, rock, CCM, soul
occupation	Singer-songwriter, actress
label	143/Reprise, Warner Bros. Records, Star Records
years active	2005–present
associated acts	David Foster, Oprah Winfrey, Celine Dion, Ashanti, Nick Jonas, Iyaz,
website	Official Website }}

Charmaine Clarice Relucio Pempengco (born May 10, 1992), popularly known by the mononym Charice, is a Filipino recording artist and actress who rose to popularity through YouTube. Dubbed by Oprah Winfrey as the ''Most Talented Girl in the World'', she released her first international studio album ''Charice'' in 2010. The album entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number-eight, making Charice the first Asian singer in history to land in the Top 10 of the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart.

She released the single "Pyramid" which featured singer Iyaz. It became her most successful single to-date, charting within the top 40 in a number of countries, and debuting on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' where she sang live vocals. Crossing over to acting on television, she joined the cast of TV series ''Glee'' as Sunshine Corazon. She has released a new lead single, "Before It Explodes", written by Bruno Mars, from her international sophomore studio album, ''Infinity''.

Early life

Pempengco was born in Laguna, Philippines. After barely escaping her violent father, Charice was raised by her single mother, Raquel. To help support her family she began to enter singing contests at age seven, from town fiestas in various provinces to singing competitions on TV. She is said to have competed in almost a hundred such contests.

In 2005 Charice joined ''Little Big Star'', a talent show in the Philippines loosely patterned after ''American Idol''. Eliminated after her first performance, she was called back as a wildcard contender and eventually became one of the finalists. Although she was a consistent top scorer in the final rounds, she did not win the title in the finale and only placed third.

Charice made minor appearances on local television shows and commercials, but essentially fell off the radar after her stint at ''Little Big Star''. It was not until 2007 that she gained worldwide recognition after an avid supporter under the username ''FalseVoice'', started posting a series of her performance videos on YouTube. These videos received over 15 million hits.

Career

Discovery (2007–2008)

In June 2007, Ten Songs/Productions, a music publishing company in Sweden, invited Charice to a demo-recording after producers saw her videos. She recorded seven songs – six covers and an original song entitled "Amazing". She was then invited to the South Korean talent show ''Star King'' on its October 13, 2007 edition, she sang "And I Am Telling You" and a duet of "A Whole New World" with Kyuhyun, from Super Junior.

After watching her ''Star King'' performance on YouTube, Ellen DeGeneres extended an on-air invitation to Pempengco to guest on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show''. She flew to the United States for the first time and performed two songs on the December 19, 2007 episode of the show – "I Will Always Love You" and "And I Am Telling You". Following her American debut on ''Ellen'', she made a second appearance on ''Star King'' as the "Most Requested Foreign Act" of the show. On its December 28 edition, she performed Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" and sang a duet with singer Lena Park. In January 2008, she was invited to the Malacañang Palace where she performed for Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

She returned to the international scene when she guested on the April 8 episode of ''The Paul O'Grady Show'' in London, England. Her self-titled Philippine debut album ''Charice'' was released in May 2008. The mini album, consisting of six songs and six backing tracks, was awarded gold certification in the Philippines in October 2008. The album eventually achieved platinum status in 2009. Pempengco appeared on the May 12 edition of ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' in an episode entitled the "World's Smartest Kids", where she performed Whitney Houston's ''I Have Nothing''. After the show, Oprah Winfrey contacted David Foster to see what the legendary music producer could do for Pempengco.

She performed with Foster for the first time as one of the entertainers on the May 17 opening of the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut. She made her debut on the international concert stage in Foster's May 23 tribute concert, ''Hitman: David Foster and Friends'', at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. She performed a medley of songs from ''The Bodyguard'' as well as her standard, "And I Am Telling You".

A CD/DVD of the concert, including Pempengco's ''The Bodyguard'' medley, was released on November 11, 2008. The show was aired several times on PBS and other public television networks starting in December 2008 under the ''Great Performances'' banner. One of the singers at the concert was Pempengco's idol, Andrea Bocelli. Bocelli subsequently expressed interest in performing a duet with her and personally invited her to be a guest on his birthday concert "The Cinema Tribute" held on July 20 at the Teatro del Silenzio in his hometown of Lajatico, Tuscany, Italy. Aside from her solo performance, she sang a duet of "The Prayer" with the famous tenor in front of more than 8,000 people.

She was invited to perform for the Feyenoord's Centennial Anniversary in the Netherlands held on September 26. Before a crowd of about 50,000 football (soccer) fans, she sang the team's anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone." When she guested on the "Dreams Come True" episode of ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' on September 9, Oprah referred to her as "The Most Talented Girl in the World." She sang Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" with David Foster on piano, after which Oprah surprised her with an appearance by Celine Dion via satellite, who invited her to sing a special duet at New York City's Madison Square Garden as part of Dion's Taking Chances Tour.

She performed her promised duet with Celine Dion on September 15. They sang "Because You Loved Me," dedicated to Pempengco's mother. The performance received rave reviews in The New York Post and The New York Times. The duet was eventually featured on the September 19 episode of ''The Oprah Winfrey Show''. She would then perform at the Andre Agassi Grand Slam for Children Benefit Concert at the Wynn Las Vegas casino resort. In November, she and David Foster guested on Good Morning America to promote Foster's tribute album, ''Hitman: David Foster and Friends''. She performed ''The Bodyguard'' medley and "I Will Survive."

Move to the United States (2009–2010)

In January 2009, Pempengco performed at two US presidential pre-inaugural events in Washington, D.C., namely the Martin Luther King Jr "Realizing The Dream" gala at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and at the "Pearl Presidential Inaugural Gala" at the Mandarin Hotel. In February she performed at two post-Oscar award events: Oscar Night at Mr. Chow's and Oprah's Oscar After Party held in Kodak Theatre. She debuted a new original song entitled "Fingerprint" composed by Robbie Nevil and produced by David Foster. In April, she appeared in the season premiere of ''Ti lascio una canzone'', an Italian musical variety show televised from Teatro Ariston in the city of Sanremo. She performed "I Will Always Love You", "I Have Nothing", "The Prayer", and "Listen". Later that same month, she would go on to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in front of 57,000 baseball fans during the Los Angeles Dodgers 52nd season home opener at Dodger Stadium.

In May she released her Philippine second album entitled ''My Inspiration''. The album consisted of 12 tracks, including "Always You" and a cover of Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World" performed as a duet with her mother. The album was certified gold in the Philippines within two months after release, and then platinum in December 2009. Also in May, she would again perform at a ''David Foster and Friends'' concert held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. On the May 18 episode "Finale: Oprah's Search for the World's Most Talented Kids" of ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', she debuted her first internationally released single "Note to God", written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster. The single was made available for digital download on the same day and debuted at #24 on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart, #44 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, #9 on the Hot Canadian Digital Singles chart and #35 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. Later that same month, she was again invited to sing at the ''Ti lascio una canzone'' show as a special guest.

She staged her first major concert called ''Charice: The Journey Begins'' on June 27 at the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia, Philippines to a sold-out audience. Her guests included Christian Bautista, Kuh Ledesma and ''Little Big Star'' finalists. On June 28, 2009, during her concert, Charice let the news slip about her planned duet with the legendary pop king Michael Jackson. She explained that Michael's lawyer approached her and said Michael chose her to be his special guest on his tour. Michael had seen videos of Charice dancing to his songs and said right away, "I want this kid". When announcing this news, Charice said "Yesterday morning, we were all shocked by the very sad news, the legendary pop singer Michael Jackson has gone away. Only two more weeks I was supposed to be with him on stage. We were going to perform Billie Jean." Pempengco contributed to two Christmas albums in 2009. The first as David Archuleta's duet partner for the song "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" in his Christmas album entitled ''Christmas from the Heart''. The second is a compilation Christmas album entitled ''A Very Special Christmas Volume 7'' in which she contributed her own rendition of "The Christmas Song". She was one of the headlining acts in the David Foster and Friends 10-City North American Tour that ran during the fall of 2009. She made a cameo appearance in her first feature film, ''Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel'', released in North America on December 23. She is also part of the official movie soundtrack with her rendition of "No One" by Alicia Keys accompanied by The Chipettes. Later in the month, she appeared on Singapore Idol's grand finale episode as a guest performer, where she performed two of her signature songs, ''The Bodyguard'' medley and "Note to God".

''Charice'' (2010-2011)

On January 23, 2010, she appeared on ''Io Canto'', a renowned singing competition in Italy. She performed her standards plus an Italian favorite called "Adagio" (made popular by Lara Fabian), in Italian. On January 31 she was featured as one of the musical acts on the NBC Sports program ''Silk Soy Milk Skate for the Heart'', a show designed to raise awareness of heart disease. She performed "Note to God" and debuted two new songs included in her debut album, "In This Song" and "Breathe Out" (later retitled as "Breathe You Out"). The album version and club remixes of her second single, "Pyramid" (featuring Iyaz), from her international debut album were released on February 23, 2010 and March 2, 2010. Her self-titled international debut album with Reprise Records was released on May 11, 2010. On its first week, the album reached #8 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, making her the first Asian to enter the Top 10. On the same day as part of her album launching, she again made a guest appearance on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' along with another YouTube-discovered singer Justin Bieber. Pempengco's world-wide promotion of her album was shown in a 12-part mini-documentary entitled ''30 Days with Charice'', which was filmed by Alloy TV and published at Teen.com. On June 22, Pempengco herself confirmed that she will join the cast of the hit US television series ''Glee'' on its second season. Later in the week, she released a promotional single entitled "Crescent Moon" in Japan. The single is an English rendition of the Japanese song "Mikazuki" by Ayaka.

During the inauguration of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III on June 30, 2010, Charice sang the Philippine national anthem in front of a crowd estimated at more than half a million. In July she embarked on an album promotional tour of Asia covering Thailand, the Philippines, Japan and South Korea. While in South Korea, she appeared on the show ''Star King'' for the third time. On September 7 the premiere of ''Glee'''s second season was held in Hollywood with Pempengco in attendance. Cast in a recurring role, she plays an exchange student from the Philippines named Sunshine Corazon who presents serious competition against lead character Rachel Berry (played by Lea Michele). On November 30 she appeared on NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center and performed two songs from her Christmas EP, "Grown-Up Christmas List" and "Jingle Bell Rock", with producer and mentor David Foster. She also performed "The Prayer" with the Canadian Tenors and David Foster on the piano for a Christmas special on CBC Television. In December she became Operation Smile's official Smile Ambassador. She joins other celebrity Smile Ambassadors such as Jessica Simpson, Billy Bush, and Zachary Levi in the organization's global efforts of providing free surgeries to children born with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities. On February 13, 2011, her very first television musical special entitled ''Charice: Home for Valentine's'' was broadcasted on Philippine television's GMA 7 network. From February 21 to February 25, she embarked on her very first solo tour performing in four shows held at three different Zepp music halls in Japan (Nagoya, two Tokyo dates, and Osaka).

''Infinity'' (2011-present)

It was announced that she began to record new material for her upcoming sophomore international album. "Before It Explodes", her comeback single, written by Bruno Mars, was released on April 18, 2011. The following day after its release, another song, titled "One Day", was released on iTunes, which was co-written and co-produced by Nick Jonas. "Louder", the second single was released on May 20 which was bundled with another song, "Lost The Best Thing". On September 14, 2011, it was revealed in a Japanese broadcast that she will be singing the theme song to the video game ''Final Fantasy XIII-2'', titled "New World".

Her second studio album, ''Infinity'', was released exclusively in Japan on October 5, 2011.

Personal life

In October 2011, the estranged father of singer Charice was stabbed to death in her hometown in the Philippines, leading the teen star Tuesday to pull out of a concert in Singapore. Her father, 40-year-old construction worker Ricky Pempengco, had been at a small grocery store in San Pedro township south of Manila late Monday when he brushed against a drunk man who became angry and stabbed him with an ice pick in the chest and back, according to the Laguna province police chief, Senior Supt. Gilbert Cruz. Charice posted in her twitter account about the death of her father,

"I want to thank my fans from around the world for their support and love at this very difficult time for my family and I," she said in a statement. "We are all very sad about this terrible tragedy" and "I loved him and I will still love him," she wrote. "He's still my Dad after all."

Musical influences

Charice has mentioned many times that she looks up to her mother as her top musical influence. A former vocalist in a band, Charice's mother Raquel always practiced with her band and sang everywhere throughout Charice's childhood. Envious of her mother, Charice begged to be taught how to sing. Ever since the age of four Charice began forming her voice to become the powerhouse it is today. Growing up she listened to many types of music but mostly music from Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Destiny's Child. Aside from her mother, the two performers that Charice expresses much appreciation for are Lady Gaga and Beyonce. Charice has always said that she looks up to Lady Gaga and Beyonce for their attitude, fashion awareness, and their beautiful voices. One of her wishes is to work with both of them someday. Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion and Justin Timberlake are some other artists that Charice is a big fan of. She has also mentioned that some artists she would love to work with one day besides Lady Gaga and Beyonce, are Eminem, Dr. Dre, Chris Brown and NeYo. Charice has performed once with NeYo at the David Foster and Friends Special in Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas back in October 2010. They performed "Earth Song" by Michael Jackson.

Voice

In an ABC News interview, David Foster mentioned that she has the ability to mimic other people's voices, which, according to him, is a characteristic of good singers. In a separate interview, Josh Groban stated that Charice's voice is one of the most beautiful voices he has heard in a long time. The ''New York Post'' once called her a vocal prodigy for being able to sing 'big songs' even at her tender age. Ryan Murphy, the executive music producer of the hit US television series ''Glee'', said, "When that girl opens her mouth, angels fly out." Charice was recently featured in Oprah's bookazine, “Oprah’s Farewell Celebration: Inside 25 Extraordinary Years of ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show,” and is mentioned to have a "soaring soprano voice" and a "5-octave" voice. Charice released a new web series "30 Days With Charice", in early 2011 and on its 3rd episode, entitled "Charice On The Road : NYC" her manager Marc Johnston said of Charice's remarkable talent and extraordinary voice, "Vocally, she's probably the greatest female pop singer in the world right now...what other great vocalists are out there that can do what she's doing?". The highest note that Charice has sung in chest voice in a live performance would be a G#5 in the song "One Moment In Time" in 2009, when Charice was only 17. Her videos and songs on youtube now have over 300 million views altogether.

Awards and recognition

3rd Place – Little Big Star Big Division, Season 1, Philippines

Most Requested Foreign Act of 2007 – StarKing, South Korea

Most Memorable Moment of 2007 – ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'', USA

Pinoy World Class Talent – 20th Year Anniversary of the Music Museum, 2008, Philippines

Key To The City of Rotterdam – Mayor Ivo Opstelten, 2008, The Netherlands

Best New Female Recording Artist – Aliw Awards, 2008, Philippines

First Standing Ovation on the Paul O Grady Show - Paul O' Grady Show 2008, England

Best New Female Artist 2008 - ALIW Awards : Philippines Newsmaker of the Year 2008, 2009 and 2010 – Balitang America, USA People of the Year 2008 – People Asia Magazine, 2009, Philippines Plaque of Recognition – The Spirit of EDSA Foundation, 2009, Philippines Special Citation Award – MYX Music Awards 2009, Philippines National Newsmaker of the Year 2008 – Ateneo de Davao University TAO Awards, 2009, Philippines Outstanding Global Achievement – 40th Box Office Entertainment Awards (Guillermo Awards), 2009, Philippines Best Selling Album of the Year - 22nd Awit Awards, 2009, Philippines Best Musical Performance of 2009 – ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', USA Person of the Year for 2009 – Philnews.com, Philippines MDWK Magazine's Top Newsmakers of 2009 – Asian Journal's MDWK Magazine, Philippines Fun, Fearless Female Award – Cosmopolitan Magazine Philippines, 2010 21 Under 21: Music's Hottest Minors (Number 4) – ''Billboard'', 2010 USA Icon of Tomorrow – J-14 Magazine, 2010 USA BPInoy Award: Outstanding Filipino – Bank of the Philippine Islands, 2010 Philippines Best Inspirational or Religious Song (for "Always You") - 23nd Awit Awards, 2010, Philippines Number 4 in Yahoo!'s 2010 Most Irresistible Lyrics for 'Pyramid' – Yahoo!, 2010 Number 7 in Reader's Choice Favorite Album of 2010: 'Charice' - Billboard Number 17 in Best Dance Club Songs of 2010: 'Pyramid' – Billboard Number 56 in Billboard's Hot 100 Songs of 2010 : 'Pyramid" - Billboard Number 8 in Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart : 'Charice' - Billboard Number 4 in Canadian Album Chart of 2010 : 'Charice' Number 1 in Billboard's Dance/Club Songs of 2010 : 'Pyramid' Number 32 in Billboard's Digital Songs : 'Pyramid' Number 58 in European Hot 100 : 'Pyramid' Number 4 in Japan Hot 100 Songs : 'Pyramid' Number 41 in Canadian Hot 100 : 'Pyramid' Number 15 in AOL Music Video : 'Pyramid' Number 1 in Yahoo's Music Videos : 'Pyramid' Number 59 in Japan Hot 100 Songs of 2010: 'Pyramid' – Billboard J-Wave Tokio Hot 100 Award: Best New Artist - J-Wave Radio, 2011, Japan Female Concert Performer of the Year - 42nd Box-Office Entertainment Awards, 2011, Philippines Number 11 in US Weekly's Hottest Glee Guests List : February 2011, [USA] Number 7 in Entertainment Weekly - {USA, 2011 BPinoy Award - Philippines Womanity Award Winner - Entertainment : Female Network's Womanity Awards Number 2 in Hottest Girl Chart : August 2011 issue of J-14 Magazine Coolest Female Singer Award : Yahoo OMG Awards Philippines

Best Major Concert (Female Category) – 24th Aliw Awards, 2011, Philippines

Entertainer of the Year – 24th Aliw Awards, 2011, Philippines.

Discography

''Charice'' (2010)

''Infinity'' (2011)

Filmography

Movies
Year	Film	Role	Film Production	Notes
2009	''Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel''	Talent show contestant	20th Century Fox
2010	''Celine: Through the Eyes of the World''	Herself	The Hot Ticket
2012	''Here Comes the Boom''	Malia Dela Cruz		Filming
Television
Year	Title	Role	Network	Notes
		Herself	ABS-CBN	2008—2010
''Maalaala Mo Kaya''	Herself	ABS-CBN	Episode "Ice Cream"
	''May Bukas Pa''	Choir member	ABS-CBN	Final Chapter "Amen"
			20th Century Fox	Glee (season 2)	Audition (Glee)>Episode 2.01: "Audition"	A Night of Neglect>Episode 2.17: "A Night of Neglect"	New York (Glee)>Episode 2.22: "New York"
2011	''Charice: Home for Valentine's''	Herself	GMA Network	a GMA Network Valentine's special
2011	''TV5 Presents: Christmas with Charice''	Herself		a TV5 Christmas special

References

External links

Official Website by Warner Bros. Records

Official MySpace

Official YouTube Channel

Charice at Billboard.com

Category:1992 births Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism Category:Filipino child singers Category:Filipino female singers Category:Filipino Roman Catholics Category:Filipino singers Category:Filipino television personalities Category:Internet memes Category:Internet personalities Category:Living people Category:People from Laguna (province)

ar:شارمين كلاريس bcl:Charice Pempengco de:Charice es:Charice Pempengco fa:شاریس fr:Charice Pempengco ko:채리스 펨핀코 ilo:Charice Pempengco id:Charice Pempengco it:Charice Pempengco nl:Charice Pempengco ja:シャリース・ペンペンコ pl:Charice pt:Charice ru:Чарис Пемпенгко fi:Charice Pempengco sv:Charice Pempengco tl:Charice Pempengco th:ชารีซ เพ็มเพ็งโค zh:夏芮絲

Coordinates	35°0′42″N135°46′6″N
name	Daniel Kanter
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
born	June 10, 1981Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
origin	Canada
instrument	Guitar, Keyboards
occupation	Guitarist }}

Daniel Kanter (born on June 10, 1981 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and academic. As of 2011, he works for Justin Bieber as co-musical director and guitarist.Dan Kanter also works as a producer on YTV's The Next Star. Dan is a fan of the Ottawa Senators, and is of Jewish decent.

References

Category:Living people Category:Canadian pop guitarists Category:1981 births Category:Article Feedback 5 Category:Canadian Jews