Coordinates

47°41′34″N116°46′48″N

{{infobox casino| casino

The Mirage| logoMirage_hotel_logo.png| imageMirage2010.JPG| themeFrench Polynesia| address3400 Las Vegas Blvd SouthLas Vegas, Nevada 89109| Image:Mirage2010.JPG| rooms3,044| date_openedNovember 22, 1989| space_gaming| attractionsThe Volcano''Dolphin Habitat''''The Secret Garden''| shows''Terry Fator''''LOVE''| restaurants''Japonais''''STACK''''Fin''''Kokomo's''''Onda Ristorante & Wine Lounge''''Samba Brazilian Steakhouse''| ownerMGM Resorts International| casino_typeLand-Based| names_pre''Sans Souci'' (1955)''Castaways'' (1963)''New Castaways'' (1967)| websitewww.themirage.com| }}

The Mirage is a 3,044 room hotel and casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States.

The Mirage is connected by a free tram to Treasure Island. The marquee in front of the Mirage is the largest free standing marquee in the world.

History

The Mirage was built by developer Steve Wynn and designed by Joel Bergman. It opened in November 1989 and was the first resort that was built with the money of Wall Street through the use of junk bonds. It was built on the site, formerly occupied by the Castaways and previous to that, the Red Rooster Nite Club.

The Mirage was the most expensive hotel-casino in history, with a construction cost of US$630 million. The hotel's distinctive gold windows get their color from actual gold dust used in the tinting process. It was reported that the resort would have to bring in a million dollars a day to pay off a 7-year construction loan. But in fact The Mirage did so well, the loan was paid off in just 18 months.

Its construction is also considered very noteworthy in that Wynn had set a new standard for Vegas resorts, and is widely considered to be the father of today's Las Vegas. Prior to The Mirage's opening, the city was experiencing a decline in tourism that began in the 70s, especially around the time that the state of New Jersey legalized gambling and tourists (in particular those on the East Coast) began to frequent the casinos of Atlantic City. Also, this was a time when Las Vegas was no longer considered a fashionable destination, so a new, high-profile, project was necessary to jump-start the ailing industry. When it opened, The Mirage was the first casino to use security cameras full time on all table games.

From 1990 through 2003, The Mirage was the venue for the ''Siegfried & Roy'' show. The two headliners combined magic and the use of wild animals. The closing of the popular attraction in 2003, after Roy Horn was injured by one of the white tigers used in the show, affected The Mirage for a while.

In 1993, The Mirage hosted an extended run of the Cirque du Soleil show ''Nouvelle Expérience'' in a tent in The Mirage parking lot. It was during this time that Steve Wynn decided to invite Cirque to create ''Mystère'' for the soon-to-be-built Treasure Island resort next door. Finally returning to where they began in Las Vegas, Cirque du Soleil has a permanent production at The Mirage, ''Love''.

In 2004, Danny Gans took over the main marquee becoming the resort's main entertainment attraction. In December 2006, the Beatles-themed REVOLUTION ultra-lounge opened. It was the first time Cirque du Soleil was involved in the development of a nightlife venue, operated by Light Group Las Vegas.

Gans left The Mirage in 2009 to star in a show at the Encore Las Vegas. In 2009, ventriloquist and 2007 ''America's Got Talent'' winner Terry Fator began a 5-year run at the hotel.

Also in 2009, The Mirage was featured on ''The Amazing Race 15'', where one team member had to bungee the other into the air to grab a bouquette of flowers presented in the ''Love'' theater. In 2010, the estate of Michael Jackson and Cirque du Soleil announced a deal to develop Michael Jackson shows. The Las Vegas permanent show, also in partnership with MGM Resorts International, is expected to open in late 2012.

Film history

The poker room at The Mirage was the dream destination of Matt Damon's character in the movie ''Rounders''.

The movie ''Vegas Vacation'' was filmed mainly at The Mirage.

The Mirage is parodied in at least three video games: ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' as 'The Visage', ''Need For Speed: Carbon'' as 'The Mirror' and ''Hitman: Blood Money'' as 'The Shamal'.

The Mirage was one of the three casinos that Danny Ocean and his crew robbed in the 2001 version of the film ''Ocean's Eleven''.

A scene from Steve Martin's ''SGT Bilko'' was shot at The Mirage.

The movie ''Pure Country'' featuring George Strait features scenes from The Mirage.

The show ''Criss Angel: Mindfreak'' sometimes takes place here.

Cher's 1991 CBS special ''Cher Extravaganza: Live at the Mirage'' was taped during stops of the singer 1990 Heart of Stone Tour.

In 2012 (film), The Mirage crumbled into pieces just after the Giant Antonov left Vegas.

Attractions

Notable features include:

Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat

An artificial volcano along the Strip that "erupts" nightly from 8pm–midnight on the hour. After sister property Bellagio opened, the design firm WET, the company that created the Fountains of Bellagio attraction, improved the technology behind the volcano effect to make it more spectacular in 1996. To avoid the smell of uncombusted natural gas odorant, the mercaptan is stripped from the natural gas and a pina colada fragrance is added to the natural gas stream. The Volcano closed for a second and more elaborate renovation in February 2008 and reopened on December 8, 2008. A new soundtrack complete with the sounds of actual volcanoes erupting has been included for an even more enhanced experience.

An atrium at the hotel entrance features a large number of palm trees, water features, and other "rainforest" flora.

The , aquarium behind the registration desk, recently renovated by top aquarium designers from around the world, is home to nearly 1000 specimens.

''Love'', a Cirque du Soleil theatrical production involving remixes of the Beatles.

Terry Fator is a current showcase after winning ''America's Got Talent''.

"Bare", a poolside lounge in which guests can traverse topless. While men are welcome, this attraction is mainly promoted for women since they are allowed in the lounge for $10–$20 as opposed to the charge for men of $20–$40. This is a rare experience for women since in most public places women must have some sort of covering over their breasts. One must be 21 years or older to enter.

Sporting events

1990-10-25 Evander Holyfield vs. James Buster Douglas

1996-05-18 Félix Trinidad vs. Freddie Pendleton

See also

List of largest hotels in the world

References

External links

Mirage.com - official website

Bare at the Mirage

Jet - Mirage Nightclub

Category:Landmarks in Nevada Category:Casinos in Las Vegas Category:Skyscraper hotels in the Las Vegas metropolitan area Category:Las Vegas Strip Category:Buildings and structures in Paradise, Nevada Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1989 Category:Resorts in Las Vegas Category:Hotels established in 1989 Category:Boxing venues Category:Kickboxing venues

de:The Mirage es:The Mirage (hotel y casino) fa:د میراژ fr:The Mirage id:The Mirage it:The Mirage he:מיראז' (מלון) lt:The Mirage hu:The Mirage nl:The Mirage ja:ミラージュ (ホテル) pl:The Mirage pt:The Mirage fi:The Mirage sv:The Mirage

Coordinates	47°41′34″N116°46′48″N
name	Aura Lewis
background	solo_singer
birth name	Aurelia Msimang
birth date	March 04, 1947
origin	Western Native Township, Johannesburg, South Africa
genre	Reggae, jazz
years active	Mid-1970s–present
label	Blue Moon
notable instruments	}}

Aura Lewis (born Aurelia Msimang on 4 March 1947) is a singer who worked with Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff and recorded an album with Lee "Scratch" Perry in the late 1970s.

Biography

Early life and career

She was born Aurelia Msimang in Western Native Township, Johannesburg, South Africa. After growing up in Johannesburg, she moved to the United States in the early 1970s and enrolled at New York's Hunter College. She married a jazz musician and became known as Aura Lewis. She became interested in reggae after seeing The Wailers perform at Max's Kansas City in 1972, and moved to Jamaica in 1976 where she enrolled in the Drama department of the Jamaica School of Arts, and began working with Cedric Brooks in the group United Africa. She was introduced to Jimmy Cliff, who asked her to join him on his 1977 West African tour as a backing vocalist, the tour filmed and released on video as ''Bongo Man''. Cliff's band stopped off in London before returning to Jamaica, where she was taken to Island Records by Cliff, while Lee Perry and Bob Marley were working on "Punky Reggae Party" (released on Bob Marley & the Wailers' ''Exodus'' album). Perry was looking for an additional backing vocalist and asked Lewis to contribute to the recording, joining Candy MacKenzie.

Full Experience

Back in Jamaica, Lewis became a regular backing vocalist for Perry at his Black Ark studio, and began working on a group project called Full Experience, along with another Black Ark session singer, Pamela Reed. Perry agreed to produce an album by the group, and drafted in Candy MacKenzie to make the group up to a trio. They recorded eleven tracks in 1978 with a backing band including Mikey "Boo" Richards, Winston Wright, Geoffrey Chung, Michael Chung, and Sticky, including a version of Nina Simone's "Young Gifted and Black", retitled "Young, Gifted and Broke", and the track "Full Experience" (originally called "Stricly Roots"), which featured Boris Gardiner on bass guitar. The tracks recorded also featured versions of the Swahili songs "Malaika" and "Haposamane". The album was never issued in Jamaica, amid tensions between band members and Perry's partner Pauline Morrison, and Perry's increasingly erratic behaviour, which would lead to the destruction of his studio, and eventually Lewis asked Jimmy Cliff to help her buy the master tapes from Perry. Cliff and Perry came to a deal, but then Cliff issued singles by another group under the Full Experience name on his Sunpower label in 1978, and refused to give Lewis the master tapes. Eventually, Lewis was able to obtain a tape containing five tracks from the sessions and these were licenced to the French Blue Moon label, and released in 1990. The album sleeve features an image of Lewis superimposed on a photograph of the outside of the Black Ark studio. "Full Experience" was included on the album ''Baffling Smoke Signal: The Upsetter Shop Volume 3'' in 2002.

Later career

Lewis left Jamaica and joined the Malopoets and a South African jazz group featuring Louis Moholo, and went on to work with Mory Kante and Maxime Le Forestier after becoming based in Paris where she recorded with Tony Coe in ''Les voix d'Itxassou''.

Discography

Albums

''Full Experience: Aura Meets Lee "Scratch" Perry at Black Ark Studio'' (1990) Blue Moon

Singles

"Azania"

References

External links

Full Experience at Roots Archives

Katz, David (1991) "Aura Lewis - Full Experience" (interview), ''Musical Roots'' magazine

Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:People from Johannesburg Category:South African reggae musicians Category:South African female singers

Coordinates	47°41′34″N116°46′48″N
name	Armin Van Buuren
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Armin van Buuren
alias	Amsterdance, Armania, Darkstar, Emc2, El Guitaro, Elect of DJ-RA, Gaia, Gig, Gimmick, Hyperdrive Inc., Misteri A, Perpetuous Dreamer, Problem Boy, Rising Star, The Shoeshine Factory
born	December 25, 1976Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands
origin	Koudekerk aan den Rijn, South Holland, Netherlands
instrument	Synthesizer, drum machine, equalizer, personal computer
genre	Trance, Progressive Trance, Vocal Trance, Uplifting Trance, Electro House, House Music
occupation	Remixer, Producer & DJ Composer
years active	1995–present
label	Armada Music (2003–present)
associated acts	Alibi, Dark Matter, Electrix, Lilmotion, Major League, Monsieur Basculant, Red & White, Technology, Triple A, Wodka Wasters
website	arminvanbuuren.com }}

Armin van Buuren (), (born in Leiden, Netherlands on 25 December 1976) is a Dutch trance producer and DJ. In 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 he was voted number one in DJ Magazine's annual top 100 list of the most popular DJs. Since 2001 van Buuren has hosted a weekly radio show called ''A State of Trance'' and claims to have over 30 million weekly listeners in more than 40 countries, which would make it the most listened radio show in the world. His 2008 studio album, ''Imagine'', entered the Dutch album chart at #1, a first for a dance artist in Dutch music history.

Armin van Buuren has always had his own studio and worked alone in the beginning of his career. Since the release of his third studio album ''Imagine'' from 2008 he has been working with Benno de Goeij and DJ-RA of Rank 1 on all solo productions and remixes. He is well known for his annual "Year Mix" which incorporates clips and custom mashups from the year's most popular trance tracks. Each year-mix consists of about 85 individual releases, edited into a 2 hour mix which is released on double CD as well as aired on his weekly radio show at the end of each year. According to van Buuren, each year-mix takes several months to make, including thousands of digital audio edits and hundreds of audio plugins.

Personal life

Armin Van Buuren was born in Leiden, the Netherlands on 25 December 1976, but grew up in Koudekerk aan den Rijn. He finished high school at the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden in 1995, and left for college to study law at Leiden University. While studying law, van Buuren's interest for making music blossomed, and he began working as a DJ in a local club called Nexus. As his musical career began to take off, he put his law degree on hold, although he did return to finish law school in 2003. Armin Van Buuren started making music when he was 14 and he often listened to music using the headphones that his father had given to him. He was inspired by French electronic music composer, Jean Michel Jarre, and wished to become a great electronic music composer like Jarre; finally meeting Jarre when van Buuren was the number 1 DJ of the world, along with DJ-RA (2009), in Amsterdam after Jarre's concert.

On 18 September 2009 Armin married Erika van Thiel in Wassenaar, Netherlands. They met during a vacation on Crete, and had been together for 9 years prior to the marriage.

On 12 January 2011, Armin announced the pregnancy of his wife Erika on Twitter. He hoped the baby, due this summer, will be his "best production ever." Their daughter, Fenna, was born on 24 July 2011.

Career

1995–1999: Early career and success

Since 1995, van Buuren has released many tracks on different labels with increasing success. His first big success was "Blue Fear" which was on Cyber Records at the age of 19. This 'Euro Trance blueprint' made it into the UK Chart. "Communication" was released on the same label, and had a huge impact on Ibiza, Spain in the summer of 1999. After being signed to AM PM Records, this track entered the UK Chart at #18 in 2000.

Van Buuren began his DJ career at club Nexus in Leiden, where he learned to play long DJ sets, which were regularly six to seven hours per set. During school holidays he played more than four times a week. In 1999, he met Dave Lewis who introduced him as a DJ in England and the United States. His career accelerated, entering the DJ magazine Top-100 in November 2001 at Number 27. He has played in more than 25 different countries and can often be found on the main stage at big summer festivals. Van Buuren played a record-breaking twelve and a half hour set for Dancetheater in The Hague (the Netherlands). In the United Kingdom he performs regularly at Passion (resident 2002), Godskitchen, Gatecrasher, Slinky, Ministry of Sound, Peach and Golden.

In the beginning of 1999, van Buuren started his label Armind together with United Recordings. The first release, Gig – "One," was well received. The second release "Touch Me," under the name Rising Star was signed to Ministry of Sound in the UK, before the record was released.

By the time of his third release, Gimmick – "Free" was signed to R&S; Records, van Buuren had managed to make his label popular very quickly. Under the surname Gaia he released "4 Elements" on Captivating Sounds, a sub-label of Warner Brothers. Teaming up with Tiësto, two new projects were born: Major League – "Wonder Where You Are?" was released on Black Hole Recordings and Alibi – "Eternity" was released on Armind. "Eternity" received club and chart success and was signed to Paul van Dyk's imprint Vandit Records. Another major collaboration followed this. Together with Ferry Corsten, van Buuren recorded a riff-classic titled "Exhale" for the System F. album. Released as a single, this track reached gold status in less than a month.

2000–2004: ''A State of Trance'' and ''76''

In 2000, van Buuren started his own Armin van Buuren compilation series. He managed to find a balance between progressive house,and vocal trance music styles. His first compilation album, ''A State of Trance'' (not to be confused with his weekly A State of Trance radio shows), sold more than 10,000 copies and contains van Buuren's well known remix of Moogwai, "Viola." His second album, ''Basic Instinct'' featured a new track: "Perpetuous Dreamer" – "The Sound of Goodbye." This track entered the Dutch charts in June 2001 at number 26. Later in the year, the track hit #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The third album, ''In Motion'' was released 6 August 2001. This album contained the real trance sound and was very popular in the United States. A fourth album, ''Transparence'', followed in 2002. In 2003, he worked with such artists such as DJ Seth Alan Fannin throughout a global tour on Dance Revolution in Europe, selling out to crowds of 20,000 people in Armin's home country of the Netherlands.

In March 2001, van Buuren started his own radio show on ID&T; Radio (traditionally broadcast in Dutch and later English since ASOT 183). In this weekly two-hour show, entitled ''A State of Trance'', he plays the latest popular trance music tracks. His show and the artists he features are popularized by publishing the artists and track titles on his website. This radio-show/website combination has proven popular internationally. When ID&T; Radio changed genres in 2004, van Buuren left and took ''A State of Trance'' with him. The show then moved to Fresh FM, a Dutch radio station. It is now a weekly feature on SLAM!FM, another Dutch radio station, DI.FM, an online radio station, and on XM Satellite Radio, channel 80 in the United States and Canada. A complete list of stations that broadcast ''A State of Trance'' can be found at the ASOT section of Armin's website. Also in 2004, van Buuren remixed the 24 theme song into a trance hit. In June 2005, the 200th episode was celebrated in Amsterdam and subsequently aired on radio. The 250th (8 hour) anniversary episode was celebrated in Club Asta in The Hague, Netherlands, featuring van Buuren, Jonas Steur, M.I.K.E., John Askew, Rank 1 and Menno de Jong.

In 2002, he had a residency at Glow in Washington D.C., and he has played in San Francisco, Houston, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Atlanta, Austin, Denver, New York City, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Seattle. He has also regularly appeared at Amnesia on the island of Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain. In October that year, van Buuren was voted Number 5 in the DJ Magazine 100 top DJ's. The following year, he jumped up to the #3 spot, and held 3rd place for the next 3 years. His work left him at the #2 spot, just below Paul van Dyk in the 2006 polls, and, in 2007, Armin reached #1, heading the 2007 DJ Mag Top 100. He was voted #1 again in 2008, 2009 and again in 2010.

In June 2003 van Buuren released his debut studio album, ''76'', named after his year of birth, 1976.

2005–present: ''Shivers'', ''Imagine'' and ''Mirage''

On 8 August 2005 van Buuren released his second studio album, ''Shivers''. On the album van Buuren worked with artists such as Pakistani American singer Nadia Ali, English singer Justine Suissa and American trance duo Gabriel & Dresden.

On 11 November 2006, he had a live performance called Armin Only in Ahoy Rotterdam for the second time (after 12 November 2005) with a 9 hour solo set, where he performed to over 11,000 fans.

In the summer of 2007, van Buuren recorded and released a live set at Amnesia, Ibiza. ''Universal Religion Chapter 3, Live from Amnesia at Ibiza'' was released on 28 September 2007 as a mix compilation on Armada Records and in the US as "Universal Religion 2008" on Ultra Records on 4 December 2007.

On 17 April 2008 van Buuren released his third studio album, ''Imagine''. It features collaboration with singers such as Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation and Jacqueline Govaert of Krezip. The album debuted at number one on the Dutch Albums Chart.

19 April 2008 saw the 3rd edition of Armin Only, this time in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, Netherlands. The event was attended by 16,000 fans and (partly) broadcast live on Dutch National TV. During the second half of 2008, van Buuren took this show abroad, with visits to Australia, Romania, Poland, Belgium, and a special New Years Eve 2008 show at Together As One in Los Angeles, U.S.

On 29 September 2008, Armin won the DJ Award for "Best Trance DJ" at Ibiza along with other nominees, that of Tiësto, Ferry Corsten and Paul van Dyk.

On 12 January 2008, van Buuren was given the "Buma Cultuur Pop Award," the most prestigious Dutch music award.

In 2009, Foreign Media Games announced the production of ''In The Mix: Featuring Armin van Buuren'', a music game being produced in collaboration with Cloud 9 Music and van Buuren's Armada Music label. The title is scheduled to be released sometime in 2010 exclusively for the Wii console.

He has collaborated with his brother, guitarist Eller van Buuren, in such venues as ''Together As One'' in Los Angeles, U.S., on New Year's Eve 2009, as well as on Armin's 2008 album ''Imagine''.

On 3 March 2010 van Buuren was awarded with the prestigious Golden Harp, for his musical work and contribution to Dutch music, by the music collecting society BUMA/STEMRA at the 2010 Buma Harpen Gala in Hilversum, the Netherlands.

On 23 June 2010 it was announced that Armin Van Buuren's fourth studio album, ''Mirage'' was due to be released on 10 September. The first single "Full Focus", was released through iTunes Store on 24 June at midnight. The song peaked at number sixty in the Netherlands. One of the confirmed tracks from the album is a collaboration with English singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor called ''Not Giving Up On Love'', which was released as a single from Bextor's fourth studio album, ''Make a Scene''. Armin also wrote a song for English singer Seal, but due to the release of his greatest hits album, ''Hits'', the collaboration never came together.

September 12, 2010, Armin van Buuren launched "A State of Sundays", a new weekly 24-hour radio show aired on Sirius XM Radio.

October 20, 2010, Armin van Buuren won the award for Most Popular International DJ presented by The Golden Gnomes.

On October 27, 2010, Armin van Buuren was announced, for the 4th year running, as the number 1 DJ, and thus prolonging his title as 'Most Popular DJ in the World'.

The 2010 edition of ''Armin Only: Mirage'' kicked off on November 13, 2010, in Utrecht, Netherlands, with more shows coming in Kiev, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Beirut, Poznań, Moscow and Bratislava .

On November 27, 2010, Armin Van Buuren made his third appearance in Shanghai, China. On his yearly Asia Tour, he always stops by at M2 for an unforgettable night with his Chinese fans.

A State of Trance 500 (ASOT 500)

To mark the 10 year anniversary and 500^th episode of his weekly radio show ''A State of Trance'', Armin performed at five shows across five continents over five consecutive weeks along with various artists. The first show was held on 19 March 2011 in Johannesburg, South Africa at the MTN Expo Center. In addition to Armin - Blake Jarrell, Protoculture, Lange, Leon Bolier, and Jorn van Deynhoven were performers. Super8 and TAB were to be part of the South African show, however a flight cancellation caused them to be absent for the event. The event was attended by over 20,000 people. Miami's show was performed at the Ultra Music Festival on 27 March, and part of the show were Marcus Schossow, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Cosmic Gate, Gareth Emery, Ferry Corsten, ATB, and Sander van Doorn. Argentina held the third celebration of ASOT 500 in club G.E.B.A Buenos Aires, where Heatbeat (Argentina's Trance music icons at the time), Jochen Miller, Dash Berlin, Marcus Schultz, AVB, John O'Callaghan and W & W. It was the only of the 5 ASOT 500 celebrations that was held roofless, where AVB recorded a live video with his cell phone and uploaded it to Twitter while playing his live set, showing Argentinean's passion for Trance. Den Bosch in The Netherlands followed with the biggest event of 2011. Accompanied by more than 30 DJ's from countries all over the world, Armin brought together over 30,000 people in one long night's worth of trance music. DJ friends present were Markus Schulz, Gareth Emery, Above & Beyond, Paul Oakenfold and Sean Tyas. The event was radio broadcasted live from Den Bosch by Armin himself to over 30 countries as well as many of the DJ's using their sets as their live weekly or monthly podcast. The final show was held in Sydney, Australia marking the 5th show of the ASOT 500 tour. It was held on 16 April at Acer Arena in Olympic Park and was a sold out event weeks before the night. Shogun, Australia's own tyDi, Menno de Jong, Aly & Fila, Alex M.O.R.P.H. and of course Armin Van Buuren were the lineup where Armin played for a 3 hour set in celebration of this epic 5 week tour.

Discography

''76'' (2003)

''Shivers'' (2005)

''Imagine'' (2008)

''Mirage'' (2010)

References

External links

Armin van Buuren's profile on Trancepedia

Armada Music – the record label of Armin van Buuren

Armin van Buuren - A State of Trance episodes

Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:Ableton Live users Category:Armada Music artists Category:Club DJs Category:Dutch DJs Category:Dutch electronic musicians Category:Dutch record producers Category:Dutch trance musicians Category:Eurodance musicians Category:People from Leiden Category:People from Rijnwoude Category:Remixers

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Coordinates	47°41′34″N116°46′48″N
name	Terry Fator
background	solo_singer
birth name	Terry Wayne Fator
alias	Million Dollar VoiceThe Human Jukebox
born	June 10, 1965Dallas, Texas, U.S.
occupation	Ventriloquist, impressionist, singer
years active	circa 1975 – present
website	Terry Fator Official Site
notable instruments	}}

Terry Wayne Fator (; born June 10, 1965) is a ventriloquist, impressionist, comedian, and singer from Mesquite, Texas. Fator is capable of doing over 100 ventriloquial impersonations, and uses 16 different puppets in his act. He was the winner of Season 2 of ''America's Got Talent'', and received the million dollar prize. The following year, he was signed on as the headliner at The Mirage hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Early life

Terry Fator was born on June 10, 1965 in Dallas, Texas, the son of Jephtha Wesley and Edith Marie (Clifton) Fator. Fator's second cousin is Chris Sligh, an ''American Idol'' season 6 finalist. Terry Fator says in his audio commentary of ''Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas (2009)'' that he went to college at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. The beginning of Fator's ventriloquism career dates back to when he was in fifth grade. While searching for a book for an assignment on Valentine's Day, he came across a book about ventriloquism titled, ''Ventriloquism for Fun and Profit'', by Paul Winchell. Fator checked out the book and started learning about ventriloquism. A few weeks later, Fator purchased a Willie Talk dummy from Sears and soon won a $25 prize for a performance at a church picnic.

Fator got his first ventriloquism dummy when he was ten years old. Throughout his childhood, Fator entertained family and friends with his ventriloquism and did impersonations of singers and actors. When Fator was in sixth grade, he appeared on a popular children's show in Dallas called Peppermint Place that starred "Mr. Peppermint" Jerry Haynes. Fator was able to save his money and got his first professional ventriloquism dummy when he was eighteen.

Fator says he found he had the ability to impersonate singers by practicing ventriloquism while driving his car. "One of the reasons I learned how to sing as a ventriloquist was because I like singing in the car," Fator says. "I’d see other people singing in the car, and they looked goofy, so I’d do it without moving my lips."

Band membership

Fator got his start touring as the lead singer of a band called "Freedom Jam" in 1987-88, produced by Young American Showcase. They performed at over 200 high schools and middle schools across the United States, averaging three performances per school day. right|thumb|Terry Fator (middle) with Freedom Jam in Young American Showcase. In mid 1988, he was the lead singer of a show band called 'Texas the Band' when he was 20, and incorporated his puppet Walter T. Airedale into his shows. Fator's band at one point was about to sign with a major record label and one of the label's representatives came to hear the band. Fator sang the songs impersonating the original vocalists. "He told me 'you gotta stop doing those impressions,' and wanted me to sing in my own voice," Fator says. "I tried it for a few weeks, and absolutely hated it. We told the record company 'no thanks.'"

Combining singing and ventriloquism

Fator left the band and did a solo act combining comedy and ventriloquism but for many years had little success. "Fairs would stick me on a little stage in the back of fair and have me do three shows in the hottest part of the afternoon," says Fator. "I had heat stroke a couple of times, almost passed out."

In May 2007, before appearing on ''America's Got Talent'', Fator was performing at a fair near Houston, Texas and the only spectator was a 12 year old boy. Discouraged, Fator contemplated pursuing another career, but his family encouraged him to hang in there. Terry entered the ''America's Got Talent'' competition with the hope that the exposure if he made it to the Top 20 might help his career and cause people to want to attend his shows. But Fator says the low point of his career was when he appeared at a 1,000 seat theater and had only one customer.

Fator's success stems from combining singing and ventriloquism. Fator had been the lead singer in a band and often did impersonations of singers Garth Brooks, Etta James, James Taylor and Dean Martin while ventriloquism was just a comic side gig for Fator. In 2005 Fator decided to join his two talents, ventriloquism and impersonations. "I had one of my characters sing Garth Brooks' "Friends in Low Places" and the audience went bananas," Fator says. "Boy, that was where my life changed." After his initial success Fator revamped his act. "It took me six months and I completely rewrote the show," says Fator. "It was then that people really noticed and I started getting standing ovations at the end of every show."

Prior to winning ''America's Got Talent'', Fator was an opening act for Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, Neal McCoy, and Styx. Fator also made corporate appearances at General Motors and AT&T;.

Success on ''America's Got Talent''

Before appearing on ''America's Got Talent'', Fator had almost given up on achieving success in show business as a ventriloquist. "It wasn't easy trying to keep going all these years, and by the time I was in my late 30s, I wasn't sure it was ever going to happen," says Fator.

On June 19, 2007, Fator made his first national appearance on ''America's Got Talent''. Fator never dreamed that he would win the show. "Not in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would win that show," says Fator. "Essentially I auditioned because the guy that was the ventriloquist the first season got on ''Late Show with David Letterman''... So I figured I'd do three episodes like he did and end up on 'David Letterman.'" After winning the show, Fator actually had to turn the Letterman gig down four times before he could appear. "My schedule got so packed, and it broke my heart every time I had to turn him down," Fator says.

When Fator first came onstage, judge David Hasselhoff said, "Oh, no, a ventriloquist." "I was thinking, there's no way I would win," Fator says. "I gave myself zero percent [chance]." The judges, Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and David Hasselhoff loved Fator and he won the competition. Judge Piers Morgan told Fator "You’re a great impersonator, a great singer and a great comedian." "You put a twist on the whole being a ventriloquist thing," added Judge Sharon Osborne. Even Simon Cowell approved. "Simon Cowell said I was one of the top two entertainers on the planet," says Fator. "And getting a compliment from Simon Cowell, well, not many people get a compliment like that."

After Fator won the $1 million prize, he bought his wife an expensive wedding ring and a dream house in Trophy Club, Texas near Dallas, Texas.

Performances/Results

{|class="wikitable" ! Week ! Song choice ! Original artist ! Puppet ! Result |- | Chicagoaudition | "At Last" | Glenn Miller and his orchestra | Emma Taylor | Advanced |- | Vegas Verdicts | N/A | N/A | N/A | Advanced |- | Top 20Group 2 | "What a Wonderful World"(Kermit the Frogimpersonation) | Louis Armstrong | Winston the Turtle | Safe |- | Top 10 | "Unforgettable" | Nat King Cole | Emma Taylor | Safe |- | Top 8 | "That's Amore""I Left My Heart in San Francisco" | Dean MartinTony Bennett | Johnny Vegas | Safe |- | Top 4Judges' ChoiceContestant's Choice | "Friends in Low Places""Crying" | Garth BrooksRoy Orbison | Walter T AiredaleWinston the Turtle | N/A |- | Finale | "You've Got a Friend" | Carole King | Johnny VegasKermit the Frog | Winner |}

Life after ''America's Got Talent''

It was announced on the show that in conjunction with winning, he was to appear at the Jubilee Theatre at Bally's. However, the spots were only going to be 15 minutes long, and in complete mutual cooperation with his management team and Bally's, the plan was dropped. Fator performed at Christian rock legend Larry Norman's 60th birthday party in April 2007. Later Fator flew Larry to tapings of ''America's Got Talent'' and also to his debut show at the Las Vegas Hilton as an honored guest. Norman told friends shortly before his death that it was one of the most fun years of his life.

On October 14 and 15, 2007, after winning ''America's Got Talent'', Fator took the stage of the Las Vegas Hilton (formerly the International, the same stage that Elvis Presley performed on for many years.) Both shows were sold out to standing room only. Another show was added for December 3 to satisfy the demand for tickets.

In early December 2007, Fator signed a contract for $1.5 million with the Las Vegas Hilton to do 3 shows a month from January 2008 to May 2008. Fator also performed a 6 p.m. early family New Year's Eve show on December 31, 2007.

In 2007, Fator became an official supporter of Ronald McDonald House Charities and is a member of their celebrity board, called the Friends of RMHC.

On March 17, 2008, Fator appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show along with American Idol Judge Simon Cowell. To the amazement of Oprah, Cowell referred to Fator as one of the "two most talented people on the planet." Fator performed with three of his dummies; country singer Walter T. Airedale performed a Garth Brooks song and Winston the impersonating Turtle sang a Bee Gees song. Julius performed a Marvin Gaye song; Julius was a favorite when he appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show. "As soon as I brought out Julius, she had this look on her face, wondering what I was about to do," Fator said. "Once I started into Marvin Gaye, she fell out of her chair."

On May 13, 2008 it was announced that Fator had signed a five year deal to perform nightly at The Mirage in Las Vegas. He replaced headliner Danny Gans and the theater was renamed the Terry Fator Theatre. Reportedly the deal is worth an astounding $100 million with an option to extend another five years making the entire deal worth over $200 million. This would be one of the largest entertainment deals in Las Vegas history.

Fator announced in July 2008 that he was at work on a book. "I never thought in my whole life I would write a whole book. It's called 'Who's the Dummy Now?'" Fator announced at the 2008 Bloomsburg Fair on the week of September 20–27, 2008 that he finished his book.

On September 10, 2008, Fator reappeared on ''America's Got Talent'''s Top Twenty Results Show as a guest. He brought back a larger Winston the Impersonating Turtle to sing Marvin Gaye's song, "Let's Get It On." Maynard Thomkins was also brought on to sing ''Viva Las Vegas''. Winston was not the only puppet that was reconfigured, on an August 1, 2008 ABCNews Now interview, he brought a reshaped Emma Taylor to sing "At Last."

Getting ventriloquism taken seriously

Fator has fought to be taken seriously as a ventriloquist. "There have been so few good, successful ventriloquists - Edgar Bergen in the 1940s and Paul Winchell in the 1960s were respected and successful," says Fator. "And in the 1970s, I used to watch Willie Tyler and his Lester as well as Jay Johnson and Bob. But over the years, there have been so many bad ventriloquists - and most of them doing corny shows for children - that people began to think of us as a bad joke."

Puppets

This is an incomplete list of the character names for the puppets that Terry Fator uses in his act. Walter T. Airedale - Airedale, a country singer, is the puppet that Fator has had the longest. Winston the Impersonating Turtle - Winston was inspired by Kermit the Frog. "Originally I had a Kermit the Frog puppet and I would have (him) sing "Rainbow Connection"," says Fator. "When I called up The Muppets to see if they would let me do a Kermit the Frog impression (on national TV), they said I could do the impression but I could not use the Kermit puppet. Necessity is the mother of invention, so I said, OK, I'll have a turtle do an impression of a frog singing with Louis Armstrong." Emma Taylor - "Emma Taylor is a lady who sang with me on 'America's Got Talent,'" says Fator. Fator says that Emma is his "best puppet friend." "I kind of like Emma. She's really cute," says Fator. Maynard Thomkins - "Maynard Tompkins is an Elvis impersonator --the only impersonator in the world who does not know any Elvis songs," says Fator. Julius - Julius is the soul singer. People are sometimes initially shocked by Julius as an African-American puppet. "Obviously, it’s going to be shocking. People look at me a little nervously," Fator said. "But when I start singing, all objections fade away and they love it." Julius was a favorite when he appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show. "As soon as I brought out Julius, she had this look on her face, wondering what I was about to do," Fator said. "Once I started into Marvin Gaye, she fell out of her chair.". Johnny Vegas - a lounge singer, often impersonating Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, etc.

Duggie Scott Walker - Introduced as Fator's annoying neighbor, he is a heavy metal music lover. Loves AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and others. He partied so much at concerts he always thinks there are strobe lights flashing.

Vikki the Cougar - a 49-year old (she keeps turning 49, so her actual age is unknown) female singer, singing songs from the Pussycat Dolls as an example. As her name implies, she prefers dating younger men, between the ages of 21 and 24, as she revealed in an interview on Las Vegas CBS affiliate KLAS-TV. Vikki is apparently Duggie's mother.

The Fifth Beatle - Patterned after Paul McCartney, he was kicked out of the Beatles.

Wrex - A crash test dummy that sings automobile-themed songs.

Fator is constantly creating new characters. "I've got several new ones I'm creating for the Mirage. We're going to be constantly creating new characters for the show," says Fator.

Other characters

Fator has often impersonated singers himself alongside his puppets and/or volunteers from the audience. Michael Jackson has been a regular figure Fator impersonates alongside his Walter T. Airedale puppet. Fator also has incorporated audience members into his act via a remote-control mask. A volunteer wears the mask and the remote allows Fator to move the mask's mouth with Fator providing all of the conversation and singing. Fator usually dresses the volunteer as Cher and performs the duet "I Got You, Babe" with Fator as Sonny Bono.

Charitable work

In July 2007 Fator appeared in Montana to help raise funds for the Kidsports Sports Complex in Kalispell and said he wanted to come back in 2008 to do another show. “We thought, we bet he wants to, but we bet he won’t have time,” said Nancy Manning of Rotary Club of Kalispell. “He made time because it’s so important to him.” All proceeds from Fator’s show went towards the field.

In 2007 Fator did a benefit performance for miners' families in Huntington, Utah.

In 2008, Fator performed at the Palace Theatre in Corsicana, Texas. Proceeds benefited the Navarro Council of the Arts and the Mildred Drama Club. Fator is a native of Corsicana.

On September 3, 2007, Fator made a special appearance in the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, thanking the crowd for the support. His acts were a repeat of the acts he made on ''America's Got Talent''. He brought back Emma Taylor to sing "At Last" and Winston the Turtle to sing "What a Wonderful World" again. He returned to the Telethon on September 1, 2008 and brought Julius to sing "Only You" from The Platters, Marvin Gaye's song, "Let's Get It On," and "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. Maynard Thomkins was also brought on to sing "Viva Las Vegas" to finish the show. Fator made his 3rd consecutive telethon appearance(this time via satellite from his showroom during a performance of his show) on September 6, 2009 with puppets The Fifth Beatle and Vikki The Cougar with special guests The Commodores, who joined Fator performing "Brick House".

In 2010, Terry did a doodle for a charity celebrity doodle auction for Neurofibromatosis, more commonly known as NF. 100% of the profit from all the doodles went to help families with NF.

All proceeds from Fator's original song "Horses in Heaven" go to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

DVD

On September 1, 2009, Fator's first DVD, ''Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas'' (recorded during a performance at the Mirage), was released just less than a week after its debut airing on CMT (originally aired on August 28, 2009) and copies sold at Target stores include footage not shown on the CMT broadcast.

Personal life

Fator married his first wife Melinda on January 8, 1991, and filed for divorce from her in February 2009. They had no children. On November 1, 2010, 24 hours after the divorce was finalized, Fator married 21-year old model, Taylor Makakoa, whom he had been dating for 18 months.

External links and references

NBC's ''America's Got Talent''

Terry Fator's website

References

Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:America's Got Talent contestants Category:Ventriloquists Category:American impressionists (entertainers) Category:Reality show winners

no:Terry Fator pt:Terry Fator

Coordinates	47°41′34″N116°46′48″N
name	Sophie Ellis-Bextor
background	solo_singer
birth name	Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor
alias	Mademoiselle EB (To the release of the Single "Circles (Just My Good Time)"
birth date	April 10, 1979
origin	Hounslow, London, England
instrument	Guitar, piano, bass guitar, voice
genre	Electropop, Dance, Disco, House
occupation	Singer, songwriter, model
years active	1997–present
label	Polydor, Fascination
associated acts	Theaudience, Manic Street Preachers, Spiller, The Freemasons,
website	sophieellisbextor.net
notable instruments	Guitar, piano }}

Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer, songwriter, model and occasional DJ. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s, as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo, achieving widespread success in the early 2000s. Her music is a mixture of mainstream pop, disco, nu-disco, and 1980s electronic influences.

Her solo debut album, ''Read My Lips'', was released in September 2001. The album reached number two on the UK albums chart and was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The record experienced international success; it sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. It produced four singles, three of which reached the top three in the UK. In 2003, ''Read My Lips'' won the Edison Award for "Best Dance Album". Ellis-Bextor's second album, ''Shoot from the Hip'', was released in October 2003. The album reached number nineteen in the UK and produced two top ten singles. ''Trip the Light Fantastic'', her third album, was released in May 2007. It album reached number seven in the UK. The album produced three singles, one of which reached the top ten in the UK.

Sophie has released on 15 June 2009 "Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer)", collaborating with the Freemasons, becoming her 9th Top 20 hit in the UK, and a worldwide dance smash hit. Sophie's first extended play, ''Sophie Ellis-Bextor: iTunes Live in London'', was released on iTunes in August 2009. Her fourth studio album ''Make a Scene'' was released in May 2011 in Russia and was released on 13 June 2011 in the UK.

History

1994

She appeared with her mother Janet Ellis along in a children's dvd compilation songs video entitled 'a day full of songs' which was released by retailer Marks & Spencer.

1997-99: ''The Audience''

Ellis-Bextor began her musical career in 1997, with an indie band called Theaudience. She sang the lead vocal in the band. While she was a band member, readers of ''Melody Maker'' elected her to the number-one position among the 'most sexy people in rock'. She recorded a duet with Manic Street Preachers—"Black Holes for the Young"—as a B-side for their 1998 single "The Everlasting". Several songs released by Theaudience are "I Got the Wherewithal", "If You Can't Do It When You're Young; When Can You Do It?", "I Know Enough (I Don't Get Enough)", and "A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed" (perhaps their best-known single). The band split in December 1998. In 1999, Ellis-Bextor made an appearance on the Departure Lounge album ''Out of Here''.

2000-03: ''Read My Lips''

After Theaudience split, Ellis-Bextor took a year off from singing. In 2000, Ellis-Bextor collaborated with Italian DJ Spiller on adding vocals to his then-instrumental club track "Groovejet", her first recorded work since that with Theaudience. "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" entered the UK charts at number one, just beating former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham on her first solo outing to the top spot. Since then, the two have been described as rivals. Both women deny, however, that there is any rivalry between the two of them. "Groovejet" won several awards: No. 1, Pop Top 20; No. 1, ILR; No. 1, Radio 1; No. 8, top dance track of 2000 and single of the year in ''Melody Maker''. In the ''Metro Newspaper'', it received ninth place in the contest for the Greatest No. 1 of all time. In 2000, it was a finalist in ''The Record of the Year''. In that same year, it won the awards for Best Single and Best Ibiza Tune at the Ericsson Muzik Awards.

In 2001, Ellis-Bextor released her debut album, ''Read My Lips''. It reached number two on the UK charts and spawned four top-twenty hit singles. Her rework of Cher's "Take Me Home" reached number two, as did "Murder on the Dancefloor", which became Ellis-Bextor's biggest single and was on charts for twenty-three weeks. "Murder on the Dancefloor" became Europe's most played song of 2002. In 2002, ''Read My Lips'' was re-released with two new songs (and a live version of "Groovejet") and Ellis-Bextor won the Recording Artist Award at that year's Showbusiness Awards. Her third single, "Get Over You"/"Move This Mountain", was released in June 2002 and reached number three. The fourth single, "Music Gets the Best of Me", rose to number fourteen in December. At the beginning of 2002, Ellis-Bextor was nominated for the "British Female Solo Artist" BRIT Award, going on to be nominated for a further two consecutive years.

2003–06: ''Shoot from the Hip''

Her second album, ''Shoot from the Hip'', was released in October 2003. Although it was not as commercially successful as her previous material, it held two further top-ten singles. The album reached no higher than number fourteen on the UK charts; its two singles were "Mixed Up World", which reached number seven, and "I Won't Change You", reaching number nine. Around this time, rivalry against Victoria Beckham was suggested again; Beckham's single "This Groove"/"Let Your Head Go" reached number three, a higher position in the charts than "I Won't Change You". During this time Ellis-Bextor became pregnant and plans for a third and fourth single from the album, as well as the Shoot from the Hip Tour, were scrapped. After that, Ellis-Bextor took a break from her musical career to take care of her first child.In early 2005, she performed on a track by the duo Busface, entitled "Circles (Just My Good Time)"; she was credited as "Mademoiselle E.B." in order to not have this be mistaken for a single from her next album.

In 2006, her track "Dear Jimmy" was released on the Popjustice compilation. It is believed to have been recorded in the same sessions as those for her third studio album, Trip The Light Fantastic, and was originally intended for use as the B-side to her single Catch You.

2007–08: ''Trip the Light Fantastic''

Her third album, ''Trip the Light Fantastic'', was released in May 2007 and debuted at number seven on the UK Albums Chart. Fred Schneider of The B-52s, Richard Barone (formerly of The Bongos), Shelly Poole (formerly of Alisha's Attic), Cathy Dennis and Kerin Smith (formerly of Theaudience) contributed to produce an album of disco-pop music. Before the album, two singles were released: "Catch You", which charted in the UK at number eight, and "Me and My Imagination (number twenty-three). ''Trip the Light Fantastic'' was certified Gold in July 2008, for selling 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The third single, "Today the Sun's on Us", debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number sixty-four.

Ellis-Bextor supported George Michael on his UK tour leg in June 2007. Her own UK tour, the Trip the Light Fantastic Tour, was due to start in August 2007, but it was postponed after Ellis-Bextor was invited to be the "special guest" on the forthcoming Take That European Tour, which commenced in October 2007. Ellis-Bextor stated that her tour would be re-scheduled for March 2008, with all tickets purchased being valid for the rescheduled concerts. The tour was never re-scheduled, and Ellis-Bextor subsequently refused to discuss the issue in interviews. In September 2007, Ellis-Bextor took part in Sopot Festival 2007 in Poland, representing the UK.

The song "If I Can't Dance" was announced as a single but later retracted, as was "Love Is Here"; Ellis-Bextor was supposed to release a single in late November to promote a greatest hits album, but the release date was pushed back to March 2008, and subsequently cancelled. However, "If I Can't Dance" has appeared on several compilations in Spain such as Supermodelo 2008 CD and ''Disco Estrella 2008''.

2009–present: ''Make a Scene ''

According to Ellis-Bextor in April 2008, recording sessions for her greatest hits collection proved fruitful, so she decided to release a fourth studio album before a hits compilation. She further indicated that she was considering a change in musical direction after the release of these two albums.

In October 2008, Ellis-Bextor covered the Dolly Parton song "Jolene"; the track was released on the soundtrack to the BBC2 sitcom Beautiful People.

In early November 2008, Ellis-Bextor recorded a track with the French DJ Junior Caldera; "Can't Fight This Feeling" was released in 2009. Caldera had released it as the fourth single from his album "Début". Ellis-Bextor released the single in February 2010 in France and was a Top 20 hit in the country.

In November 2008, Ellis-Bextor confirmed her next single would be "Sophia Loren", which was used in a Rimmel ad campaign in which she also starred, but a single release never materialised. In August 2009, she released a five-track live EP from the 2009 iTunes London Festival, during which she performed previous singles of hers and a new track, "Starlight" (not included on the EP). Freemasons worked with Ellis-Bextor for their album Shakedown 2 on "Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer)", which was released as a single in June 2009 and peaked at number thirteen in the UK. Ellis-Bextor performed at Birmingham's Nightingale Club in January 2010.[15]

Ellis-Bextor's fourth album, ''Make a Scene'', was released in June 2011, a week after the single "Starlight" was released in May 2011. Calvin Harris has contributed two songs, "Calling It Love" and "Off and On", an outtake from Róisín Murphy's 2007 album ''Overpowered'' written with Cathy Dennis; he also remixed "Off and On" for club play. At one point, "Off and On" had been chosen as the second single from the album. She also worked with Armin van Buuren ("Not Giving Up on Love"), Richard X ("Magic", "Starlight"), Dimitri Tikovoi, Hannah Robinson, Metronomy, and Liam Howe from the Sneaker Pimps.

The first single from the album, "Bittersweet" (co-written by Freemasons and Hannah Robinson), was released in May 2010 and reached number twenty-five on the UK Singles Chart. "Not Giving Up on Love" was released as the second single from the album, on 20 August 2010 in Europe, and made available worldwide on iTunes. On 13 April 2011 "Starlight" was announced as the new single through her official website with the release date given as 30 May 2011, with the album to follow on 13 June.

In May 2011 she revealed that she has already began work on her fifth album.

Other projects

In 2007, Ellis-Bextor appeared at Christmas in the Robbie the Reindeer episode, "Close Encounters of the Herd Kind". Ellis-Bextor was depicted as a female alien at the closure of the story, singing the song 'Supersonic', the last track on her third solo studio album ''Trip The Light Fantastic''. In November of this year she also launched the npower Greener Schools Programme, which aims to give schools in the UK a 'green makeover' by providing free energy audits, implementing tailor-made energy efficiency measures to reduce their carbon footprint, and educating children on how to be greener She also launched Capital Radio's Capital 95.8 'Lights Out London' campaign, which asks Londoners to switch off their lights for one hour in a bid to save 750 MWh and send a message to the world on the importance of climate change.

In 2008 she features in the short musical film The Town that Boars Me by photographer Ben Charles Edwards. The film also features Jodie Harsh, Kelly Osbourne and Zandra Rhodes amongst others. The film is set to debut in late summer at the Portobello Film Festival and is produced by Glass Loves and Shoot to Kill Productions.

An advocate for animal rights, she posed for PETA's anti–fur clothing advertisement. She is also currently fronting a campaign for The Children's Society encouraging people to log onto the Hundreds and Thousands of Childhood Memories Website to donate their favourite childhood memory.

She auditioned for the 2001 movie ''Moulin Rouge!'' for the part of Satine.

In May 2008 Ellis-Bextor was hired by cosmetics brand Rimmel as one of their new faces. A new song performed by Ellis-Bextor is featured in one of the Rimmel London' spot for the line "Sexy Curves". Ellis-Bextor is appearing as an advocate for Verdi on BBC World News classical music programme ''Visionaries'' in August 2008. Ellis-Bextor performed live at Manchester's Gay Pride, on 23 August 2008, having just arrived back from Moscow. On 24 August 2008, Ellis-Bextor performed a live cover version of Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better" outside Buckingham Palace as part of the Visa London 2012 Handover Party in the Mall.

Ellis-Bextor and her husband Richard Jones launched a DJ club project, called "Modern Love" in London.

Ellis-Bextor and her mother Janet Ellis appeared on Channel 4's game show The Million Pound Drop Live playing for charity. Despite losing on the final question, £5000 was donated to their chosen charity.

Ellis-Bextor will also be making a cameo appearance in the BBC2 sitcom, Life's Too Short, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, which centers on an angry entertainment agency boss who exploits his fellow dwarf clients. The sitcom will premiere in Autumn 2011.

Personal life

Ellis-Bextor was born in London on 10 April 1979, the daughter of Robin Bextor and former ''Blue Peter'' presenter Janet Ellis. As a young girl, she appeared on several ''Blue Peter'' items, with no indication given on-screen that she was Ellis's daughter.

She attended St. Stephen's School and later Godolphin and Latymer School in Hammersmith. Among her earliest public performances were with the W11 Opera children's opera from the age of thirteen, and she is now a patron of the organisation.

In 2005, Ellis-Bextor married The Feeling bassist Richard Jones in Italy. Ellis-Bextor's second son was born on 7 February 2009 weighing 2 lb 10oz nine weeks premature. This was her second complicated birth; her first son was born eight weeks prematurely by emergency cesarean section in April 2004 after Ellis-Bextor developed pre-eclampsia.

Current Band Members

Drums: Jackson Ellis Leach

Bass: James Ahwai

Keyboards: Christian Gulino

Guitar: Neil Jones

Tours

2002-2003: "Read My Lips Tour" (United Kingdom and Europe)

2006: "25 Live" (Supporting George Michael on his tour leg around the United Kingdom and Ireland)

2007: "Beautiful World Live" (Supporting Take That on their tour in the United Kingdom and Ireland)

2009/2010: "Straight to the Heart 2010 Tour" (United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and USA) 2010: "The Pandemonium Tour" (Supporting Pet Shop Boys on their UK Leg]

2011: "Erasure Total Pop! Forest UK Tour" (Supporting Erasure)

Discography

Studio albums

2001: ''Read My Lips''

2003: ''Shoot From The Hip''

2007: ''Trip the Light Fantastic''

2011: ''Make a Scene''

Extended plays

2009: ''Sophie Ellis-Bextor: iTunes Live in London''

DVD

2002: ''Watch My Lips''

References

External links

Ellis-Bextor's official website

[ Sophie Ellis-Bextor] at Allmusic

I am Sophie Ellis-Bextor... Heat World Interview (2009)

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:English female singers Category:English songwriters Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English dance musicians Category:English pop musicians Category:Fascination Records artists Category:LGBT rights activists from England Category:Old Dolphins Category:Polydor Records artists Category:Nu-disco musicians Category:British disco musicians

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