Name	Sinik
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Thomas Idir
Alias	Sinik Malsain l'Assassin S.I.N.I.K.
Born	June 26, 1980
Origin	Essonne, France
Years active	1996 - present
Genre	French rap, hardcore rap
Label	6-0-9 (Six-O-Nine)
Official site	sinik609.com
Associated acts	Diam'sTandem James BluntL'SkadrilleVitaaJérôme Le BannerAlpha 5.20Seth GeckoHeboLfDAlibi MontanaJeff Le NerfKery JamesSopranoKennedyReenoBakarGrodashUl'TeamAtomAlibi Montana
Profession	Rapper

Thomas Idir a.k.a. Sinik (born June 26, 1980) is a French-language rap artist. His father is Algerian while his mother is French.

His meeting with Diam's at 14 was the turning point of his career. They consider themselves as brother and sister.

In 2001, he founded his label Six o Nine.

Le Toit du Monde, released in 2007, contains a song called Je Réalise which features British songwriter, James Blunt. The single is sung in two languages, English and French (French with Sinik and English with James Blunt).

Canadian UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre used Sinik's L'Homme a Abattre as ring entrance music in his bout with BJ Penn at UFC 94

Discography

2000 - Malsain (Maxi)

2003 - Artiste Triste (Maxi)

2004 - En attendant l'album (Street Album)

2005 - La Main Sur Le Coeur (9,000 copies sold in France)

2006 - Sang Froid (more than 10,000 copies sold in France)

2007 - Le Toit du Monde(4,000 copies sold in France)

2009 - Ballon d'or

External links

Sinik 609

Sinik - AOL Music

Sinik Sinik Sinik Category:Kabyle people Sinik

Name	Kayna Samet
Background	solo_singer
Born	September 27, 1980 Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Genre	Hip Hop, Soul, Rhythm and Blues
Occupation	Singer, Songwriter
Years active	1999 - present
Label	Virgin Voix Publik/Barclay Records, Six-O-Nine
Associated acts	BoobaSinikKery JamesIAM
Url	http://kaynasamet.artistes.universalmusic.fr/

Kayna Samet is a French singer of soul, hip-hop and R&B;, born 27 September 1980 in Nice.

Biography

Childhood

Born Malika Zoubir in Nice, France, on September 27, 1980, to Algerian parents, she grew up outside of neighbourhoods typical of Nice, by the will of her mother who refused to live in the ghetto.

During her childhood her parents divorced. Kayna first discovered her love of music, listening to Funk records of her grandfather, but she also enjoyed classically known French singers, such as Jacques Brel, Édith Piaf, and Léo Ferré.

Malika really found her passion for music at the age of 10 when she started to participate in her school's chorus group.

At age 15, she decided to immerse herself in the musical world, joining local rap groups, at first as a singer, then as a rapper.

Debut

With her first manager Nabila JAADI, Kayna modeled, financed by doing odd jobs and performing as an opening act. Soon her manager received a phone call from Philippe Fragione who proposed to take Kayna to Marseille record a song for a compilation. Ultimately, those plans never fully actualized.

In 1999, Kayna came out with her first demo, "Le Parcours d'une Goutte d'Eau." Her manager and she were always had high hopes, and she sent the tape to several major labels. It was then that doors began to open for her. In 2000, she performed the track "Jeune Fille d'en Bas" on the soundtrack of the movie La Squale. The song was produced by Cut Killer and DJ Abdel, and they reworked the song for an international R ‘n’ B compilation titled Vas-y Pars.

It was then that then Malika chose the name Kayna Samet, paying tribute to Kahina, the legendary Berber commander, and her maternal grandmother. She soon meets singer Matt Houston who offers her a part on the duet "Le Prix à payer", off of his second album. He further offers for Kayna to go on tour with him, which presented her first opportunity to meet Diam's.

In July 2002, Kayna Samet came out solo with the song Blazée D'la Life. Booba, after having heard said song, asked her to sing the hook on the track "Destinée", off of his album Temps Mort.

In 2003, she collaborated with IAM on their track "Nous," from their album Revoir un Printemps. She also got the chance to work with Rohff on the song "Pétrole" from his album La Fierté des Nôtres. In time, Kayna signed with the label Voix Publik and started working on writing her first album, working with various artists in the process.

Personal life

On 3 March 2009, she gave birth to a baby girl Inés whose father is Sinik.

Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:French female singers

Name	James Blunt
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	James Hillier Blount
Born	February 22, 1974Tidworth, Wiltshire, England, UK
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, organ, violin
Genre	Pop rock, folk rock
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician
Years active	2004 – present
Label	Warner Bros. Records, Atlantic, Custard
Notable instruments	Seagull Acoustic Guitars
Url

James Hillier Blount (born 22 February 1974), better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, and former army officer, whose debut album, Back to Bedlam and single releases, including "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover", brought him to fame in 2005. His repertoire can be best described as a mix of acoustic-tinged pop, rock and folk. After recording on the independent American label Custard Records, Blunt won two BRIT Awards, two Ivor Novello Awards, and by 2006 was nominated for five Grammy Awards. The following year, he released his second album All the Lost Souls (2007). Blunt's third studio album, Some Kind of Trouble, was released in November 2010.

Blunt was an officer in the Life Guards, a Cavalry regiment of the British Army, and served under NATO in Kosovo during the conflict there in 1999. While posted to Kosovo, Blunt was introduced to the work of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF or "Doctors Without Borders"). Since then, Blunt has supported MSF by holding meet-and-greet auctions at many of his concerts.

As of 4 October 2009 Blunt's primary residence is on the Spanish island of Ibiza.

Early life

James Blunt was born at an army hospital in Tidworth, Wiltshire, England; the first child born to Jane A.F. ( Amos) and Charles Blount. James spent his early childhood living in England, Cyprus, and Germany, while his father, a Colonel in the British Army Air Corps, and military helicopter pilot, was posted at various times.

James Blunt has two younger siblings. His father instilled in him a love of flying, and he earned his pilot's licence at age 16. The Blount family has a long history of military service, dating from the 10th century.

Education

Blunt was educated at two independent schools: at the age of seven, he was enrolled at Elstree School in Woolhampton in Berkshire, before continuing to Harrow School in Harrow on the Hill in north-west London (Elmfield House) on an army bursary. From Harrow School he gained an army-sponsored place at the University of Bristol, where he first studied Aerospace Manufacturing Engineering and then subsequently moved on to the study of Sociology.

Military service

Because the British Army sponsored his university education, Blunt was obliged to serve a minimum of four years in the armed forces. James stated on an interview in his Back to Bedlam sessions that he chose to join the military as "his Father was pushing for it, so that Blunt could obtain a secure work placement and income". Blunt trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Life Guards, a unit of the Household Cavalry, where he rose to the rank of Captain. One of his first assignments was to British Army Training Unit Suffield in Alberta, Canada, where his battalion was posted for six months in 1998 to act as the opposing army in combat training exercises.

In 1999, he served as an armoured reconnaissance officer in the NATO deployment in Kosovo. Initially assigned to reconnaissance of the Macedonia-Yugoslavia border, Blunt and his unit worked ahead of the front lines directing forces and targeting Serb positions for the NATO bombing campaign. His unit was given the assignment of securing the Pristina International Airport in advance of the 30,000-strong peacekeeping force; the Russian army had moved in and taken control of the airport before his unit's arrival. According to Blunt's own account of the incident he refused to follow orders from NATO command to attack the Russians. There were less intense moments during Blunt's Kosovo assignment, however. Blunt had brought along his guitar, strapped to the outside of his tank. At some places, the peacekeepers would share a meal with hospitable locals, and Blunt would perform. It was while on duty there that he wrote the song "No Bravery". The Scottish television sit-com that is broadcast on BBC Two Scotland and repeated on BBC One, "Gary: Tank Commander", is loosely based on Blunts exploits while serving in the British Army.

A keen skier, Blunt captained the Household Cavalry Alpine Ski Team in Verbier, Switzerland, eventually becoming champion skier of the entire Royal Armoured Corps. He had extended his military service in November 2000, and after an intensive six-month army riding course was posted to the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in London, England. He stood guard at the coffin of the Queen Mother during the days of her lying in State and was part of the funeral procession on 9 April 2002. Blunt left the army on 1 October 2002 having served six years.

Music career

Early career

Blunt took piano and violin lessons as a child, but his first significant exposure to popular music was at Harrow School. There, he was introduced to the guitar by a fellow student, and started playing guitar and writing songs at age 14. At University of Bristol, his undergraduate thesis was The Commodification of Image – Production of a Pop Idol; one of his main references for the thesis was Simon Frith, a sociologist and rock critic, and current chair of the Mercury Music Prize.

Blunt left the British Army in 2002 so that he could pursue his musical career. Shortly after leaving the Army, he was signed to EMI music publishers, and to Twenty-First Artists management. A record contract remained elusive however, with recording label executives pointing to Blunt's "" speaking voice as a barrier in class-divided Britain. and within a few days, Blunt signed a recording contract with Perry, and one month later he was in Los Angeles working with producer Tom Rothrock.

Back to Bedlam

Blunt recorded Back to Bedlam in 2003 with producer Tom Rothrock at Rothrock's home studio, using session musicians and performing on many different instruments himself. While in Los Angeles, he lodged with actress Carrie Fisher, whom he had met through the family of a former girlfriend. Fisher was very supportive of Blunt's aspirations, suggesting the name of the album and providing use of a bathroom in her home for Blunt to record the song "Goodbye My Lover". However, the song was chosen to appear in a Vodafone commercial in Italy, and was a Top 10 hit in that country. In March 2004, with Blunt performing in the support role for Katie Melua in Manchester, Alex McCann of Designer Magazine wrote, "Blunt's ascendance is a dead cert and this time next year it isn't that far removed from reality to suggest that a number 1 album, Brit Award and countless accolade's [sic] will be his for the taking." After release of the album, Concert support slots for Elton John and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions in late 2004 and early 2005 followed, as did a band residency at London club 93 Feet East. In March 2005, his second single, "Wisemen," was released.

Blunt's third single "You're Beautiful" was his break-out hit. The song debuted at number 12 in the UK, and rose all the way to the number one position six weeks after its debut. After the success of "You're Beautiful" in the UK, the song crossed over to mainland Europe, becoming one of the biggest hits of summer 2005 across the continent. In the U.S., "You're Beautiful" made its debut in the summer of 2005 on WPLJ, a prominent radio station in New York City, despite not having been released to radio yet. Once the song was released to radio stations in the fall of 2005, the song climbed into the Top 10 at three radio formats: Adult Contemporary Music, Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks, and Adult album alternative.

There was extensive promotion in the United States starting in the fall of 2005, with Blunt making appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show and as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Eight of the songs on the album were featured in television shows (The O.C., Grey's Anatomy and many more), films (Undiscovered), and advertising campaigns (Hilton Hotels, Sprint telecommunications) throughout 2005 and 2006.

The album eventually sold 11 million copies and topped the album charts in 16 territories worldwide. In Britain the album was certified 10x platinum, sold over three million copies, and entered the Guiness Book of World Records for the fastest selling album in one year. In 2005, Blunt performed in 90 live shows, mainly across the UK and Europe, ending the year supporting Jason Mraz in a North American tour. The "Back to Bedlam World Tour" started off in January 2006, covering cities in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, as well as three separate headline tours in North America, ending in November of that year.

A parody of You're Beautiful titled "You're Pitiful" was recorded by Weird Al Yankovic. James Blunt gave personal permission for this parody to be included on a Weird Al album, but Atlantic Records, Blunt's label, stepped in to forbid the commercial release of the song. Weird Al has since made the song available as a free MP3 download on his website. In a request by Yankovic to include the song on an upcoming compilation CD, Blunt's manager replied via email, "Thanks for your email, but both James and I will never approve this parody to be released on any label.".

On 28 December 2009, BBC Radio 1 announced that Back to Bedlam was the biggest selling album of the noughties decade in the United Kingdom.

All the Lost Souls

in San Francisco, 2007]] Blunt's second studio album, All the Lost Souls, was released on 17 September 2007 in the United Kingdom and one day later in North America. It sold 65,000 units in its first week, and was certified gold in the UK after only four days. By the end of January 2008, the album had sold 600,000 copies in the UK, and 4.5 million copies internationally. Blunt completed the album's songs at his home in Ibiza in the winter of 2006–2007. He performed five of the ten album tracks during his 2005–2006 tours; lyrics, melodies, and harmonies were refined for the studio recording, on which his touring band played and Tom Rothrock worked as producer. The album maintains a 53/100 rating at Metacritic, which the website describes as "mixed or average reviews." Yet, in her review of the album, Kerri Mason of Billboard said Blunt "shows the abandon and confidence of a long-term artist, not just a one-hit wonder". And of the album, Mason wrote, "there is not a misstep throughout". Equally effusive, Liz Hoggard of The Observer wrote that "it’s impossible to resist Blunt’s troubadour yearning.”

The first single from All the Lost Souls, "1973", was inspired by Blunt's nights out at Pacha, an Ibiza club, which opened in that year. The song became another hit for Blunt reaching number one the Billboard European Hot 100 Singles chart. D.J. Pete Tong remixed "1973" and played the track during his set at Pacha over the summer of 2007. The third single from the album was "Carry You Home", released in March 2008, peaking at number 20 in the U.K charts and bringing the album back into the Top 10, six months after its release. and his mother arranged for the purchase of his principal residence in Ibiza, where Blunt has holidayed since he was a teenager.

The musician's social life has been the subject of significant commentary, particularly in the tabloid press. Blunt himself has found the degree of interest in his personal life to be bizarre, stating that "fame and celebrity is something that other people have constructed that I'm not really party to".

Charitable and environmental causes

Blunt has raised funds for the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières through benefit concerts and by auctioning opportunities to meet him at his own shows. He first encountered MSF medical care workers during his tour of duty in Kosovo, and was impressed with their work despite minimal support and limited security. On 7 July 2007, Blunt performed at the Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium, London, and is the owner of one of two prototype electric cars made by Hybrid Technologies under a Space Act partnership with NASA.

As a former soldier, Blunt is a patron of Help for Heroes, a charity aiming to raise money to provide better facilities for wounded British servicemen, and has also held benefit concerts for this charity.

Blunt has also contributed with his vocals for the charity single, "Everybody Hurts" in aid of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake Appeal.

Discography

Back to Bedlam (2005)

All the Lost Souls (2007)

Some Kind of Trouble (2010)

Awards

Grammy Awards

|- | rowspan=5|2007 || James Blunt || Best New Artist || |- | rowspan=3 |"You're Beautiful" || Record of the Year|| |- | Song of the Year || |- | Best Male Pop Vocal Performance || |- | Back to Bedlam || Best Pop Vocal Album ||

2005

MTV Europe Music Awards – Best New Act

Q Awards – Best New Act

Digital Music Awards – Best Pop Act

2006

NRJ Music Awards (France) – Best International Newcomer

BRIT Awards – Best pop act and Best Male Vocalist

ECHO Awards (Germany) – Best International Newcomer

NME Awards – Worst Album

MTV Australia Video Music Awards – Song of the Year for You're Beautiful

Ivor Novello Awards – Most Performed Work and International Hit of the Year

MTV Video Music Awards – Best Male Video and Best Cinematography

World Music Awards – Best New Artist in the World and Biggest Selling British Artist in the World

Teen Choice Awards (United States) – Choice Music Male Artist

2008

ECHO Awards (Germany) – Best International Male Artist

References

Further reading

TV interview with The Hour on CBC

James Blunt interview and video on and POP

External links

JamesBlunt.com Official James Blunt website

Monkey King's Amazing Facts – James Blunt Online Encyclopedia

James Blunt on Twitter

Category:1974 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Alumni of the University of Bristol Category:British Life Guards officers Category:Custard Records artists Category:English folk singers Category:English guitarists Category:English keyboardists Category:English-language singers Category:English male singers Category:English multi-instrumentalists Category:English pianists Category:English singer-songwriters Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Living people Category:Old Harrovians Category:People from Tidworth Category:Sandhurst graduates Category:Warner Music Group artists Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:British expatriates in Spain

Cheb Bilal (born Bilal Mouffok) is a well-known raï singer. He was born on July 23, 1966 in Cherchel, Algeria.

Childhood

Bilal spent much of his youth in Oran, Algeria where he studied at the conservatory of music. He was raised by his grandfather.

Early career

Initially, Cheb Bilal performed at weddings and festivals around Oran. In 1980, he created the group El Ahouar. In 1989 he went to Marseilles, France, which he described as a turning point in his career.

It is said he gained his inspiration from former legendary singer Abdul.

References

Category:1966 births Category:Algerian male singers Category:Living people Category:People from Oran

Name	Big Ali
Background	solo_singer
Genre	Hip hop, rap
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, DJ, MC, rapper
Years active	2001 - present
Label	Up Music
Url	www.bigali.fr

Big Ali (earlier Breakingz) is an American singer-songwriter, DJ, and rapper born in Queens, New York and based in Paris, France since 2001. He is signed to Up Music, a Warner Music label, and has released his debut album Louder in May 2009 on the record label. The album featuring numerous French and international producers and artists. "Hit the Floor" taken from the album became his first big single in October 2008 followed by "Neon Music" released in March 2009. A third single "Universal Party followed in November 2009.

In collaborations, the joint 2006 single "Rock This Party (Everybody Dance Now)" by Sinclar and Cutee-B featuring Dollarman, Big Ali & Makedah stayed at #1 for 4 weeks on the Ultratop 40 Belgian charts. In 2007, it became a #1 hit in Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs.

The latest collaboration he did with Serbian singer Dara Bubamara.

Career

Big Ali wrote his first lyrics at the age of 8. He created a crew of DJs called "World Famous Vynil Squad". He also had radio and TV collaborations such radio show "Full Thrtottle" with national US emissions in led by his friend Fatman Scoop and is creator of the show Jumpoff hosted by Ed Lover and Doctor Dre. He hosted his own show "The Magic Hour" at the Vassar College in New York.

Big Ali has also worked in club venues in the United States, Asia, Latin America and Europe and is very famous in France. He participated as an MC at the Cannes’ Film Festival, and is at the Saint Tropez VIP Room every year. He has worked with many successful French artists such as Kool Shen, Amine, Jean Roch, Kore & Scalp, Leslie, Magic System, Bob Sinclar with Rohff on the hit "Dirty Hous" and more recently Sinik and others. Big Ali hosts one Saturday per month the show "Show Time" on Radio NRJ.

Discography

Albums

2008: Louder

Tracklist:

# L# Hit the Floor (feat. Dollarman) # Hunger # Shake It Up (feat. Kat DeLuna) # Neon Music 2009 (Remix 2009 by Soundshakerz) # Make Some Noïse # Burn It Up (feat. Luckie D) # Universal Party (feat. Gramps Morgan) # Can We Cut # Dancehall Queen (feat. Beenie Man) # High Energy # Drop (feat. One World) # Here We Go Now # Fun Time (feat. Chaka Demus & Pliers) # Des Larmes De Sang (feat. Florent Pagny) # I'm Sorry

Solo singles

2008: "Hit the floor" (feat. Dollarman)

2009: "Burn It Up" (feat. Lucky D)

2009: "Neon Music"

2009: "Universal Party" (feat. Gramps Morgan)

Featuring

2006: Midas Touch ( with Matt Houston ) on the album Phoenix 2006

2006: "Rock This Party (Everybody Dance Now)" (with Bob Sinclar, Cutee-B featuring Dollarman, Big Ali & Makedah)

2007: "C'est chaud, ça brule" (with Magic System)

2007: "Dirty House" Rhoff with Big Ali) in the album La Résurrection (Banlieue South Remix)

2008: "Stronger" (English version) / "Plus fort" (French version) (with Anggun) from her album Elevation

2008: "Habibi" (with Leslie and Amar)

2008: "Bienvenue chez les Bylkas" (with Sinik, Cheb Bilal)

2009: "No Stress" (with Laurent Wolf et DJ Snake)

2009: "New New New" (with Bob Sinclar) (Big Ali appears only in the music video for the song)

2009: "Groove On" (remix) (with Timati and Snoop Dogg)

2010: "Ce matin va être une pure soirée" (avec Fatal Bazooka, PZK, Dogg SoSo et DJ Chris Prolls)

2010: "Des larmes de sang" (with Florent Pagny)

2010: "Vem dançar kuduro" (with Lucenzo)

2010: "Calypso" (DJ Snake feat. Big Ali)

2010: "Playground" (with DJ Assad and Willy William)

2010: "Make Some Noise" (with Claude N'Joya and Richard Bahericz)

2010: "Ciao Amore" (with Dara Bubamara)

References

External links

Big Ali Official website

Big Ali MySpace site

Big Ali Twitter page

Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:American DJs Category:American male singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Living people Category:People from Queens Category:Rappers from New York City