name	ITV (Independent Television)
logofile	ITV_logo.svg
logosize	150px
launch	22 September 1955
share	14.8% (ITV Network)0.6% (+1)0.8% (HD)
share as of	June 2011
share source	BARB
owner	ITV plcSTV Group plcUTV MediaChannel Television
country	United Kingdom
sister names	ITV2ITV3ITV4
language	English
web	www.itv.com,www.stv.tv,www.u.tv,www.channelonline.tv
terr serv 1	Analogue
terr chan 1	Channel 3(Phased out nationwide by 2012)
terr serv 2	Freeview
terr chan 2	Channel 3Channel 33 (+1)Channel 51 (HD)
sat serv 1	Freesat
sat chan 1	Channel 103Channel 112 (+1, ITV1 regions only)Channel 119 (HD, ITV1 regions only)
sat serv 2	Sky
sat chan 2	Channel 103 Channel 114 (+1, ITV1 regions only)Channel 178 (HD, ITV1 regions only)
sat serv 3	Astra 2D|
sat chan 3	10758V 22000 5/6 10832H 22000 5/6 (HD)
cable serv 1	Virgin Media
cable chan 1	Channel 103Channel 114 (+1)Channel 113 (HD)
cable serv 2	Naxoo(Switzerland)
cable chan 2	Channel 217 (ITV1 London)
cable serv 3	Newtel Cable(Jersey)
cable chan 3	Channel 13 (Channel Television)
cable serv 4	UPC Cablecom(Switzerland)
cable chan 4	Channel 159/175 (ITV1 London)
cable serv 5	UPC Ireland
cable chan 5	Channel 110 (UTV)
cable serv 6	UPC Poland
cable chan 6	Channel 853 (ITV1 London)
iptv serv 1	Freewire
iptv chan 1	Channel 103
iptv serv 2	TalkTalk TV
iptv chan 2	Channel 3
online serv 1	itv.com
online chan 1	Watch live (ITV1 London, UK only)
online serv 2	TVCatchup
online chan 2	Watch live (ITV1 London, UK only) Watch live (ITV1+1, UK only)
online serv 3	Zattoo
online chan 3	Watch live (STV West, UK only)Watch live (UTV, UK only)
online serv 4	ITV Player
online chan 4	www.itv.com/itvplayer
online serv 5	STV Player
online chan 5	www.stv.tv/player
online serv 6	UTV Player
online chan 6	www.u.tv/utvplayer
online serv 7	cTV Player
online chan 7	www.channelonline.tv/ctvplayer }}

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network . Since the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990, its legal name has been Channel 3, the number 3 having no real meaning other than to distinguish it from BBC One, BBC Two and Channel 4. In part, the number 3 was assigned as televisions would usually be tuned so that the regional ITV station would be on the third button, the other stations being allocated to that of the number their name contained.

ITV is to be distinguished from ITV plc, the company that resulted from the merger of Granada plc and Carlton Communications in 2004 and which is the parent of ITV Broadcasting Limited to whom all of the Channel 3 broadcasting licences in England, Wales, Southern Scotland and the Isle of Man were transferred in November 2008. Similarly ITV1 is the brand used by ITV plc for the Channel 3 service in these areas. Of the companies external to ITV plc, Channel Television uses ITV's branding in the Channel Islands whilst STV and UTV use their own brands in their own respective areas (Northern and Central Scotland and Northern Ireland).

History

Independent Television was created following the Television Act 1954, with the Independent Television Authority set up to control and review the network. ITV initially launched in three main areas: London, the Midlands and the North of England in September 1955, February 1956 and May 1956 respectively. The shape of the ITV Network and the course it has taken down the years has largely been controlled by regular reviews by the Authority which occurred in 1964, 1968, 1974, 1982, and 1993, which saw regions and contract areas reshaped and licence holders changed. Additionally, since the Broadcasting Act 1990 the consolidation of ITV companies has also had an important bearing on the direction of the network. The 1990s saw the number of broadcasters drop dramatically, for instance in 1992, Yorkshire Television acquired Tyne Tees Television to create Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television, only for this entity to merge with Granada Television in 1997. A similar process happened with the Southern Regions, leaving Carlton Television and Granada Television as the two major players, until the failure of ITV Digital saw these two merge.

Today, all the ITV companies are in the hands of four companies: ITV plc, owners of twelve franchises in England, Wales, South Scotland and the Isle of Man and of the breakfast franchise; STV Group plc owners of two franchises in North and Central Scotland; UTV Media plc, owners of UTV and Channel Television Ltd.

Organization

Unlike many of the TV channels in the United Kingdom, ITV is not owned by one single company, although it has come close to becoming so in recent years. The network itself is goverened by a regulatory body, this was initially the Independent Television Authority (ITA) but later the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), the Independent Television Commision (ITC) and currently Ofcom, who issues licences to four companies to provide regional Channel 3 services. ITV Broadcasting Limited, a part of ITV plc, provides the service for 10 regions in England and Wales plus the Scottish borders and the Isle of Man, with a separate weekday and weekend licence for the London region. For the rest of Scotland, STV Central Limited holds the licence for the central Scotland, and STV North Limited holds the licence for northern Scotland, including the Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland Islands, with both services carrying on air branding as STV. Ulster Television Limited was issued the licence for Northern Ireland and is branded as UTV. In the Channel Islands, the licensee is Channel Television Limited which carries ITV1 branding.

The licences were last put out to full tender in 1991, and have since been renewed and modified on a rolling basis. It is generally unknown if there will be any further franchise rounds held by Ofcom. Carlton Television (now part of ITV plc) had its licence renewed without a contest in 2004, and UTV's expires on 31 December 2014. This is the longest ITV has gone with the same contractors. There may be a possible round in 2012 or 2014 with scaled down regions known as micro-regions, very similar to ITV's original regional variations pre-1999.

Since 1983, ITV has also included a national breakfast franchise for the period between 6:00 a.m. and 09:25 a.m., with the licence currently issued to ITV Breakfast Ltd. and using the on-screen programme names of Daybreak and Lorraine. The network's teletext service is also awarded on a contractual basis and is currently awarded to Teletext Ltd.

All the companies holding a franchise are members of ITV Network Limited (formerly the Independent Television Companies' Association Limited), a non-profit body. It is this body that commissions programmes for the network, and schedules the network programming. However, in practice ITV plc, which owns ITV Broadcasting Limited which hold eleven of the fifteen regional licences, dominates the system.

Much of the originated networked programme output (around 47%, but previously as high as 66% according to some reports) is contributed by ITV Studios, the production arm of ITV plc (consisting of the consolidated regional companies' network production departments), although a growing number of programmes are commissioned by the Network from independents (a minimum of 25% of total output, as stipulated by the 1990 Broadcasting Act). In addition, the entire network is obligated to broadcast national news sourced by a common contractor (currently ITN). All stations have the right to opt out of national programming (except for the national news) but generally do not, since most are owned by the one company and the others have limited resources for non-networked productions.

Digital Channel 3

Since 1998, each of the Channel 3 franchises have received gifted capacity on digital terrestrial television (DTT). As per the original agreement, each regional ITV contractor broadcasts its Channel 3 service from 9:25am to 6:00am daily, with the breakfast operator broadcasting in the remaining hours. However, unlike analogue broadcasts, the assigned capacity across DTT is able to carry multiple television services which, like Channel 3, are broadcast by the regional franchisee between the hours of 9:25am and 6:00am, with the breakfast contractor operating between 6:00am and 9:25am.

At present, all licensees opt to broadcast ITV plc-owned channels, being ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and CITV, as opposed to broadcasting their own. Up until 2002, UTV in Northern Ireland ran a service known as UTV2, while both Scottish and Grampian ran S2. The breakfast operator, currently ITV Breakfast, is obligated to broadcast between the hours of 6:00 and 9:25am daily. Alongside the Channel 3 breakfast service, ITV also broadcasts CITV Breakfast, which is on the same capacity as the CITV channel. ITV is available all across the UK and is also available in the Republic of Ireland on Freeview and Digital satellite. Channel 3 shares its space with Channel 4 on Multiplex 2, known as Digital 3&4.

Public service broadcasting

The right granted by Ofcom of Channel 3's nationally-available status on both analogue and digital television comes with responsibility, in the form of public service broadcasting. Alongside the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5, the members of the ITV Network and ITV Breakfast all have a responsibility to broadcast various programming of public importance on their analogue stations. This includes quotas for news, current affairs, independent and European programming, children's and religious programming, and output containing subtitles, signing and audio description. In addition, Channel 3 stations are legally obligated to screen party election broadcasts on behalf of all the major political parties, and also other political events such as the Budget.

The future

On 12 September 2007, ITV plc announced a major five-year restructuring plan targeting entertainment as their top priority to bring to the ITV network. A major overhaul of the regional structure of ITV was also proposed. The proposals would see a reduction of ITV plc's regional news programmes in England and Wales, with regions now broadcasting one service per region rather than multiple tailored local services (for example: Yorkshire Television would no longer broadcast separate Northern and Southern regions). The proposed changes would also fully merge Border Television with Tyne Tees Television and HTV West with Westcountry Television, effectively ending two regions' tenure as independent players within ITV. These changes started on the regional news service on 9 February 2009 when Meridian combined its South East, South, and Thames Valley news services into one programme.

There would be a certain amount of expansion elsewhere — ITV Network Limited currently commissions around 47% of its programmes from ITV plc's in-house production units. ITV plc hope for this to be increased to the maximum 75% allowed by the regulators over the coming years.

Programming disputes with STV

In July 2009, STV announced that they would be axing programmes made by ITV plc such as The Bill, Midsomer Murders and Lewis. The reason for the axing, STV claimed, was that the shows were too expensive and they would prefer to show programmes made in Scotland.

This move angered ITV especially since they had just revamped the schedule at that time to make The Bill the heart of their programming schedule. ITV's response to The Bill being axed was to air it on ITV3 as well as ITV1 so the majority of viewers in Scotland could still see it.

On 23 September 2009, The Press Association reported that ITV are to sue STV over the dropped shows. ITV has claimed that by dropping several hit shows to concentrate on catering for regional audiences, STV are in breach of their network agreements. The Press Association report that ITV are to sue STV for £38 million.

Licence details

The table below lists current Channel 3 regional and national licences and the licence holder. Licences in England and Wales were held by individual regional ITV plc owned companies prior to November 2008.

1961 STV Central Limited UTV Media plc Channel Television Limited ITV Broadcasting Limited ITV Broadcasting Limited ITV Broadcasting Limited ITV Broadcasting Limited ITV Broadcasting Limited ITV1 (ITV Wales & West ITV Broadcasting Limited ITV Broadcasting Limited ITV Broadcasting Limited ITV Broadcasting Limited ITV Broadcasting Limited 1993

		!Licence Holder	!Licence held since	!Parent Company	!Service Name	!On Air Name
colspan= 6>Regional Channel 3 Licences
Northern Scotland	STV North Limited	|	STV Group plc	Grampian Television	STV (TV network)>STV
Central Scotland	|	1957	STV Group plc	Scottish Television	STV (TV network)>STV
Northern Ireland	|	1959	UTV Media>UTV Media plc	UTV	UTV1
Channel Islands	|	1962	Yattendon Group plc	Channel Television>Channel)	ITV1 Channel Television2
English-Scottish border	|	November 2008	ITV plc	Border Television>Border)	ITV1
North East England	|	November 2008	ITV plc	Tyne Tees Television>Tyne Tees)	ITV1
Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and North Norfolk	|	November 2008	ITV plc	Yorkshire Television>Yorkshire)	ITV1
North West England 3 and Isle of Man 4	|	November 2008	ITV plc	Granada Television>Granada)	ITV1
Wales and West of England	|	November 2008	ITV plc	HTV Wales) <	ITV1 (HTV West)|| ITV1 Wales2 ITV1
English Midlands	Midlands 5	ITV Broadcasting Limited ||	November 2008	ITV plc	Central Independent Television>Central)	ITV1
East of England	|	December 2006 6	ITV plc	Anglia Television>Anglia)	ITV1
London Weekday	|	November 2008	ITV plc	Carlton Television>Carlton)	ITV1
London Weekend	|	November 2008	ITV plc	London Weekend Television>LWT)	ITV1
South England	South and South East England	|	November 2008	ITV plc	Meridian Broadcasting>Meridian)	ITV1
South West England	|	November 2008	ITV plc	Westcountry Television>Westcountry)	ITV1
colspan=6>National Channel 3 Licences
National breakfast time	ITV Breakfast Limited	|	ITV plc7	ITV Breakfast	Daybreak (ITV)

# [[ITV1 on air branding is used overnight # Usually Just ITV1. # Up to 1968, the service for a single Northern area consisting of both the current North West region and most of the current Yorkshire region was provided by Granada Television for Monday to Friday and by ABC Television for weekends. # Coverage was transferred from ITV1 Border and Tyne Tees to ITV1 Granada following DSO in the Isle of Man in July 2009. # Up to 1968, the service for the Midlands region was provided by Associated Television for Monday to Friday and by ABC Television for weekends. # "Anglia Television Limited", which had provided the service since 1959, had its name changed to "ITV Broadcasting Limited" on December 29, 2006. # ITV plc purchased the remaining stake of GMTV (now ITV Breakfast) from The Walt Disney Company in November 2009

Programming

For over 50 years of Independent Television, the homegrown programmes have become the best loved and remembered as well as being extremely successful. Before the 1990s, nearly all of the content for the channel was produced by the fifteen franchise licensees: the regional companies.

However, in the last decade, and following legislation in the Broadcasting Act 1990 imposing a 25% quota for commissioning of independent productions, the number of programmes from independent production companies not connected to the traditional ITV Network, has increased rapidly. Notable examples include Talkback Thames (one half of which, Thames Television, was itself a former ITV franchisee), producers of The Bill and co-producers of The X Factor, and 2waytraffic (previously Celador), producers of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

From the late 1990s, ITV's long-standing commitment to strong current affairs and documentary programming began to diminish with the ending of productions such as World in Action (Granada), This Week (Rediffusion/Thames), First Tuesday (Yorkshire Television), Network First, Survival (Anglia Television), and Weekend World (LWT) and their replacement with populist shows such as Tonight. News at Ten was also axed in 1999, although it was reinstated in 2008. In December 2009, the final edition of ITV's long-running arts programme, The South Bank Show was broadcast. The broadcaster has announced that it intends to cease funding regional news on the ITV Network by 2012.

Increasingly ITV's primetime schedules are dominated by its soap operas, such as the flagship Coronation Street and Emmerdale. At the start of the 21st century, Independent Television faced criticism for including a large amount of "reality TV" programmes in the schedule, such as Celebrity Fit Club, Celebrity Wrestling and Love Island. In its defence, ITV does continue to show its major strengths in the fields of sports coverage and drama productions, and it continues to schedule national news in primetime.

National and international news

Since the network started, Independent Television News Limited (ITN) has held the contract to produce news for the ITV Network, with 30 minute national news bulletins broadcast at 5:30am, 1:30pm, 6:30pm, and 10:00pm. These bulletins were broadcast under the ITN brand since the companys launch until 1999, and currently broadcasts under the ITV News brand.

ITN has long been respected in the news industry as a source of reliable information and news, and as a result the service has won many awards for their programmes, the latest being in May 2011 when News at Ten was named best news programme by the Royal Television Society and BAFTA.

Regional news

The regional ITV companies are required to provide local news as part of their franchise agreement, with the main local bulletin at 6pm and regional bulletins located after each national news programme. In addition to this, traditionally ITV companies would provide other regional programming based on current affairs, entertainment or drama. However, non-news regional programming was dropped by ITV plc in 2009, with the practice continued in the STV, UTV and Channel regions only.

Weather

The ITV National Weather forecast was first broadcast in 1989, using data supplied by the Met Office, and was presented by a number of weather forecasters. The forecasts are sponsered in which the sponsors message, as of 2011 The Co-operative Food, would appear prior to the forecast. The forecasts are made immediately after the main national news bulletins.

Prior to the creation of the national forecast, regional forecast provided by each regional companies were shown in each region only. The regional forecasts today are incorporated into the main regional news bulletins, and in the ITV plc regions, includes a Pollen Count.

Sport

ITV covers many popular sports. The channel emphasises coverage of football, with the channel holding the UK terrestrial rights to the UEFA Champions League and with the channel sharing coverage of international football events such as the World Cup with the BBC. On 30 March 2007 The Football Association confirmed that it had agreed a new four-year £425m television deal for ITV and Setanta Sports to show FA Cup and England home international matches (the Scottish regional broadcaster STV replaces these games with regular programming). The deal with the FA represented a 42% increase on the existing deal with BBC Sport and BSkyB.

In May 2009, ITV acquired the rights to broadcast live cricket from the Indian Premier League. The network also covers motorsport, rugby, and other sports.

Children's programming

The network broadcasts children's programming under the CITV (Children's ITV) strand. Children's programming is broadcast across the network on weekend mornings, during the ITV Breakfast broadcasting slot. In 2006, ITV plc launched their own Children's channel under the CITV brand, and all children's programming were relocated from the ITV line-up to the CITV Channel in 2007, a move which was challenged by Ofcom in April 2007.

Teletext provider

The Public Teletext Licence allows the holder to broadcast a text-based information service around the clock on Channel 3 (as well as Channel 4 and S4C) frequencies. Teletext on ITV was provided by ORACLE from 1974 until 1993 and from 1993 to 2010 by Teletext Ltd., whose news, sport and TV listings pages rivalled the BBC's offering, Ceefax on terrestrial and BBC Red Button on digital. Teletext Ltd. also provided digital teletext for the Channel 3 services, as well as the text output for both Channel 4 and S4C under the same licence and Channel 5. However, the licence was revoked by Ofcom on 29 January 2010 for failing to provide news and local non-news information on ITV and there is currently no teletext licence holder for ITV.

Schools Programming

Schools programming on the network began in 1957 in some regions and expanded as more regions began broadcasting. It is a contractual obligation for the ITV company to broadcast schools programming, and this was initially broadcast as part of the normal scheduling. The programmes were moved into a segment for broadcast during the day in the 1960s, under the banner Independent Television for Schools and Colleges and from 1987 were broadcast on Channel 4 in the ITV Schools on Channel 4 segment. In 1993, this segment became Channel 4 Schools and later in 2000 4Learning. These strands of programming consisted of schools programming from all the ITV companies or from independent sources. The schools strand itself is now defunct, with no particular branding segment used.

See also

List of British television channels

List of ITV channels

List of television programmes broadcast by ITV

List of ITV journalists and newsreaders

References

External links

The ITV companies

ITV plc

STV Group plc

UTV Media

Channel Television Limited

Unofficial sites about ITV

Transdiffusion Broadcasting System — a British communications history website

Independent TeleWeb — a history of ITV

The Historical Television Website — focusing on television in Southern England

Harlech House of Graphics — a site about ITV in Wales and the West of England

Tyne Tees Logo Page — about the North East England broadcaster

The TV Room — British and Irish television presentation

Video (audio) interview with Ray Fitzwalter on commercial TV in Britain, The rise and fall of ITV, Frontline Club, London, May 2008

Category:ITV Category:Television in the United Kingdom Category:Television channels and stations established in 1955 Category:Media companies of the United Kingdom Category:1955 establishments in the United Kingdom

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name	Katie Derham
birthname	Catherine Beatrice Margaret Derham
birth date	June 18, 1970
birth place	Stockport, Cheshire, England
education	Cheadle Hulme SchoolMagdalene College, Cambridge
occupation	Journalist, Presenter
spouse	John Vincent (1999–present)
children	2 daughters
ethnicity	English
credits	BBC Radio 3ITN/ITV News }}

Katie Derham (born Catherine Beatrice Margaret Derham on 18 June 1970) is a British newscaster and a presenter on television and radio.

Early life

Derham was born in Stockport to John and Margaret Derham, and grew up in Wilmslow. She was educated at Cheadle Hulme School and read Economics at Magdalene College, Cambridge graduating with a BA (Hons).

Broadcasting career

BBC (1995–1998)

Derham began her broadcasting career at the BBC, starting as a researcher on Radio 4's Moneybox. In 1995 she won the Bradford & Bingley "Best Personal Finance Broadcaster Award" for her work as a presenter on Radio 5 Live's Moneycheck. She moved to BBC television in 1996 as a consumer affairs correspondent and was also a reporter on the long-running Film programme.

ITN (1998–2010)

In 1998 she joined ITN as the Media and Arts Editor for ITV News and, at the age of 27, became the youngest newscaster on British national television since ITN's creation in 1955. In 2004, Derham became the main female presenter of the ITV News at 1:30, and a relief presenter of both the ITV News at 6:30 and the ITV News at Ten. She also co-presented the ITV London news programme London Tonight. Derham hosted her last programmes on ITV1 on 25 June 2010. On 3 August 2010 Derham hit out on the "perceptions of young female newsreaders".

BBC (2010 onwards)

In April 2010, it was announced Derham was to join the BBC. Derham has been given an arts brief, including fronting the coverage of the Proms for BBC Two, BBC Four and Radio 3.

Derham is a presenter of Radio 3's Afternoon on 3 and Breakfast programmes, having previously presented the Hall of Fame Concert on Classic FM, and she presents the Traveller's Tree series on Radio 4. Derham also makes the occasional guest presenter appearance on Saturday Live.

Other work

Derham hosted the Classical BRIT Awards ceremony four times from 2001 to 2004. In August 2008 she appeared in the BBC Two talent programme Maestro where she learnt to conduct orchestral, choral and operatic music, and, in 2010, in the Factual Entertainment programme First Love where she returned to the violin playing of her youth.

Personal life

Derham married restaurateur John Vincent in 1999 in Cheshire. They have two daughters, both born in Westminster, London: Natasha May (born 2000) and Eleanor Margaret (born 2005). The family live in Sussex. She plays the violin.

References

External links

Katie Derham at bbc.co.uk/radio3

Katie Derham at ClassicFM.com

Category:1970 births Category:Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Category:BBC Radio 3 presenters Category:English journalists Category:English radio presenters Category:English television presenters Category:ITN newsreaders and journalists Category:Living people Category:Old Waconians Category:People from Stockport

name	Leona Lewis
background	solo_singer
birth name	Leona Louise Lewis
born	April 03, 1985Islington, London, England
genre	Pop, R&B;
occupation	Singer
years active	2006–present
label	Syco, J
website	}}

Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer-songwriter. Lewis was a contestant in third series of the British television series The X Factor, which she won. Lewis is a multi-platinum selling artist and three time Grammy Award nominee. Her most successful single, "Bleeding Love", reached number one in over thirty countries around the world. She was proclaimed 'Top New Artist' by Billboard magazine in 2008. Lewis has released two albums to date, Spirit and Echo, in 2007 and 2009 respectively. Spirit became the fastest-selling debut album and the biggest seller of 2007 in both the United Kingdom and Ireland, and made Lewis the first British solo artist to top the Billboard 200 with a debut album. It has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide. Lewis has currently sold over 9 million albums worldwide. Lewis's debut single "A Moment Like This" became the fastest selling UK single after being downloaded over 50,000 times within thirty minutes of its release. In November 2008 she set a record in the UK for the fastest selling download-only release with her cover version of the Snow Patrol song "Run" which sold 69,244 copies in two days. Lewis's debut tour, The Labyrinth, took place in 2010.

Early life

Lewis was born in the London Borough of Islington, to Aural Josiah "Joe" Lewis of Afro-Guyanese descent, and Maria Lewis of Welsh, Italian and Irish descent. Her parents enrolled her at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and from there she attended the Italia Conti Academy and the BRIT School, where she learned to play instruments such as the guitar and piano, in the hope of becoming a singer-songwriter. Lewis wrote her first full-length song at the age of 12. She initially trained in opera, but went on to singing jazz and blues, eventually leading to popular music, citing Minnie Riperton, Eva Cassidy and Stevie Wonder as her main influences. After leaving the BRIT School at 17, she took a number of jobs to fund studio time, recording a demo album called Twilight. The album, almost exclusively comprising her own compositions, was recorded under Spiral Music, a production company based in Fulham. "I tried to secure a record deal by doing things my own way. I worked very hard but I never managed to land a contract", said Lewis. Other demos were recorded under licence from UEG Entertainment, later included on an album called Best Kept Secret. However, none of Lewis's demos were released and she considered taking a hiatus from her music career to attend university until her boyfriend persuaded her to enter The X Factor which subsequently severed her connections with UEG.

Music career

2006: The X Factor

Lewis auditioned for the third series of The X Factor in 2006, singing "Over the Rainbow". She was mentored by Simon Cowell and was announced the winner on 16 December 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract.

Her debut single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", was released on CD on 20 December 2006, and was available as a digital download from midnight on 17 December. It broke a world record after it was downloaded 50,000 times in thirty minutes. On 24 December, "A Moment Like This" was crowned the 2006 UK Christmas number-one single, having sold 571,253 copies, outselling the rest of the Top 40's sales combined. The single became the most downloaded song in 2006; it stayed at number one for four weeks and stayed at the top spot in the Irish Singles Chart for six weeks.

2007–2009: Spirit and international breakthrough

In February 2007, Lewis signed a £5 million ($9.7 million) five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records, and showcased for several American music executives. A press release was sent out revealing that Cowell and Davis would work together in a first-of-its-kind partnership on both the song and producer selection for Lewis's debut album, entitled Spirit. Lewis recorded tracks for the album in London, Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, and Atlanta, where she worked with several songwriters and record producers including Dallas Austin, Walter Afanasieff, Salaam Remi, Steve Mac, Stargate and Ne-Yo. It was released in November 2007 and entered both the Irish Albums Chart and the UK Albums Chart at number one, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in both countries, and the United Kingdom's fourth fastest selling album of all time. It was released in several other nations in January 2008, and went to number one in New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Germany, South Africa and Switzerland. Two further tracks were recorded in 2008 for the US release of the album: "Forgive Me", produced by Akon, and "Misses Glass", produced by Madd Scientist. It was released in the United States in April 2008 and entered the Billboard 200 at number one, making Lewis the first British artist to reach number one with a debut album. A special edition of Spirit was re-released in November 2008 in Europe, including the songs "Forgive Me", "Misses Glass" and a cover of the Snow Patrol song "Run". The album again went to number one in the UK Albums Chart. To date the album has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide and has a 9× platinum certification in the UK.

Lewis's second single, "Bleeding Love", produced by Ryan Tedder and written by Tedder and Jesse McCartney, was released in October 2007 in the UK, where it sold 218,805 copies in its first week, giving it the biggest first-week sales of 2007 to date. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, where it stayed for seven weeks, and in the Irish Singles Chart it remained at number one for eight weeks. It reached number one in the singles charts of New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria, Canada and the United States. "Bleeding Love" won The Record of the Year in December 2007. In February 2008, "Bleeding Love" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 85 and then went on to peak at number one for four non-consecutive weeks. The song became the first track by a UK female to reach number one since Kim Wilde's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" in 1987. Lewis's third single, a double A-side featuring "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand", was released in the United Kingdom in March 2008, in aid of Sport Relief, and she visited South Africa for the charity. The single reached a peak of number two in the UK singles chart selling over 40,000 copies in its first week of physical release. "Better in Time" was released as Lewis's second single in the US, where it peaked at number 11 in the Billboard Hot 100. "Forgive Me" was released as Lewis's fifth single in November 2008; it reached number five in the UK. "Run" was released as a download-only single in the UK, reaching number one, and becoming the UK's fastest-selling download-only single with 69,244 copies sold in two days. Lewis's last single from Spirit, "I Will Be", was released in January 2009, only in North America; it peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100. In August 2008, she performed "Whole Lotta Love" with guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin at the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing, representing the handover to London as the host of the 2012 Summer Olympics. In September 2008, she joined several female singers to perform a single for the anti-cancer campaign Stand Up to Cancer. The single, titled "Just Stand Up!", was performed live during the one-hour telethon that aired on all major US television networks. Lewis received three nominations for the 51st Grammy Awards in December 2008. "Bleeding Love" was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Spirit was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album. She was nominated for four BRIT Awards, in the categories British Female Solo Artist, British Breakthrough Act, British Album for Spirit, and British Single for "Bleeding Love", but despite being the favourite to win the most awards, she received none. She won two awards at the 2008 MOBO Awards: Best Album for Spirit and Best Video for "Bleeding Love". In December 2008 Lewis was named 'Top New Artist' by Billboard magazine.

2009–2010: Echo and The Labyrinth

Lewis's second album, Echo, was given a worldwide release in November 2009. Production took place throughout 2009, including work with Ryan Tedder, Justin Timberlake, Max Martin, Arnthor Birgisson, Kevin Rudolf, and John Shanks. It was recorded in Los Angeles and took nine months to produce. Lewis described the album as "more guitar-driven" compared to Spirit. Lewis performed her first full UK show at the Hackney Empire in London on 2 November 2009, performing songs from Spirit and Echo. Echo reached number one in the UK Albums Chart and the top ten of Austria, Ireland and Switzerland. Despite previous attempts from Lewis's lawyers to ban the release of Best Kept Secret by UEG Music, claiming that the singer had not given her consent, the album was released in January 2009 when the label insisted it owned the rights to the music and Lewis would receive a 50% share of the album's profits. However, a television advert for the album was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority, who said in a statement: "We considered that the claim 'Leona Lewis's new album' misleadingly implied it was the singer's latest recording rather than a new CD of tracks recorded some years ago." The album was released to iTunes in standard and deluxe editions, and two EPs, "Private Party" and "Dip Down"/"Joy", were released in September 2009. The first single released from Echo was "Happy", which was written by Lewis, Tedder and Evan Bogart and produced by Tedder. The single was released on 15 September 2009, peaking at number two in the UK, and reaching the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Japan and Switzerland. Lewis also recorded the theme song for the 2009 science fiction film Avatar, directed by James Cameron. The song, "I See You (Theme from Avatar)", was written by James Horner and Simon Franglen. It was nominated for Best Original Song at the 67th Golden Globe Awards. In January 2010, Lewis provided vocals on a cover of "Everybody Hurts", released to help raise money for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The second single from Echo, "I Got You", was released in February 2010. The song "My Hands" was used as the theme song for Final Fantasy XIII In April 2010, she featured on a duet with Italian singer Biagio Antonacci, called "Inaspettata (Unexpected)", from his album Inaspettata. They performed the song on the Italian TV show Io Canto on 22 October 2010. Lewis performed a 13-piece set list at the Rock in Rio festival in Lisbon, Portugal, on 22 May 2010, including songs from Spirit and Echo. Her first tour, titled The Labyrinth supporting Spirit and Echo, started in May 2010, with a theme based on the film Labyrinth. Lewis was scheduled to tour North America from July to August 2010 supporting Christina Aguilera's Bionic Tour, however, Aguilera postponed the tour until 2011, leaving Lewis's plans unknown. A DVD of the tour, along with a ten-track CD, was released with the title The Labyrinth Tour Live from The O2 on 29 November 2010.

2010–present: Glass Heart

Lewis began work on her third album shortly after she had completed The Labyrinth tour. She suggested the album would be "a bit different from what people have heard" from her before, adding that she planned to "go in and create and just see what happens". Lewis later described the album as "more progressive", "more eclectic", "more uptempo" and "a bit darker". Reports suggested that the album had taken a dubstep direction, with songwriters asked to submit dance songs and no ballads. It was also reported that Simon Cowell had set a deadline for the album for a summer 2011 release. On 25 May 2011, Lewis was named as an ambassador for BBC Radio 1's Hackney Weekend 2012, the BBC's biggest ever free-ticketed live music event, and one of the artists confirmed to be performing at the event, which will take place on 23 and 24 June 2012. Following the announcement, she performed a special Live Lounge at the Hackney Empire, with a reggae version of "Better in Time", which incorporated Rihanna's "Man Down", and a cover of Labrinth's "Let the Sun Shine". In June 2011, when asked about the upcoming album, Lewis described it as "energetic, deep, [and] unique". She also commented that it would have a darker tone and that she would be putting her "heart into [her] lyrics". She cited Tracy Chapman, Kate Bush and Tears for Fears as the album's primary influences.

On 14 July 2011, it was confirmed that "Collide" would be the first track to be taken from Lewis's third studio album, Glass Heart. The dance-pop anthem, written by Autumn Rowe and produced by Sandy Vee, had its first UK radio play on The Scott Mills Show on BBC Radio 1 on 15 July 2011. It will be released in the UK on 4 September 2011 and Germany on 9 September 2011. The single courted controversy after it was claimed to have plagiarised Swedish musician Avicii's 2010 song "Penguin". Berg took the case to the British High Court.

For the album, Lewis has worked with numerous writers and producers including: Ammo, Jonas Quant, Chuck Harmony, Claude Kelly, Ryan Tedder, Fraser T. Smith, Al Shux, Steve Robson, Dallas Austin, Rico Love and Ne-Yo. In May 2011, it was reported that Lewis had recorded a track called "Trouble" written by Emeli Sandé and Naughty Boy. Lewis also recorded a track called "Mountains" written by Sandé, Naughty Boy and Blazin' Squad members Flava (James Murray) and Mus (Mustafa Omer).

It has been confirmed that the album is entitled Glass Heart and to be released in the UK on 28 November 2011.

Voice

A mezzo-soprano, Lewis is often compared with other singers such as Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Lewis is also known to sing opera, stating that she practises operatic scales every week. Music critic Neil McCormick, of The Daily Telegraph, has praised Lewis's technical skills, writing, "Her mezzo-soprano range allows her to take melodies from luxurious low notes to high-flying falsetto, gliding with elegant power and impressive control through all kinds of fluctuations and modulations." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic adds, "Lewis can hit [high belted] notes but make it seem easy, never straining her voice and building nicely to the climax." In the same vein, Slant describes Lewis's vocals as "technically unimpeachable".

Other activities

In October 2008, The Times reported that Lewis had turned down a $1 million deal with Mohamed Al Fayed to open a Harrods sale. Lewis commented in the press that she turned down the deal on the grounds that Harrods is the only UK department store which continues to stock clothing made from animal fur. She told The Big Issue, "I got a lot of flak for that. There were people who said I should have done it and given the money to charity, but that would have been such a contradiction." She announced in October 2008 that she was in the "bargaining period" of launching her own ethical line of accessories through Topshop, and that she was in the late stages of releasing her own perfume for Europe. Her perfume, Leona Lewis, was launched by LR in July 2009. In 2010, she set up a fashion company with her then boyfriend, Lou Al-Chamaa, called LOA Clothing Ltd.

Lewis signed a book deal in January 2009 to release an illustrated autobiography in October 2009. The book, entitled Dreams, contains mostly pictures taken by photographer Dean Freeman. In 2010, it was reported Lewis was offered a cameo role in the second series of the American television programme Glee.

Personal life

Lewis lives in Hackney. She lived with her boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa until their split in June 2010. Lewis and Al-Chamaa knew each other since she was approximately ten years old. A vegetarian since she was 12, Lewis won PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian along with Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis in 2008, and Europe's Sexiest Vegetarian in 2009 with actor Scott Maslen. She also was named PETA's Person Of The Year for 2008. Lewis is a supporter of the World Society for the Protection of Animals.

At a book signing for Dreams on 14 October 2009 at the Piccadilly branch of Waterstone's book store in central London, Lewis received a punch to the head from Peter Kowalczyk, a 29-year-old man from south London. Kowalczyk was arrested at the scene, and Lewis suffered bruising. She later released a statement thanking fans for their support. Kowalczyk was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and was charged with common assault, which he admitted to. He was ordered to remain in hospital for an indeterminate period.

Discography

Spirit (2007)

Echo (2009)

Glass Heart (2011)

Tours

2010: The Labyrinth

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School Category:English crime victims Category:English female singers Category:English-language singers Category:English people of Guyanese descent Category:English people of Irish descent Category:English people of Italian descent Category:English people of Welsh descent Category:English pop singers Category:English rhythm and blues singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English soul singers Category:English vegetarians Category:People educated at the BRIT School Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:J Records artists Category:Singers from London Category:People from Islington Category:Sony BMG artists Category:The X Factor (UK) contestants Category:World Music Awards winners Category:X Factor series winners

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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."

2008–10: Discovery, My Worlds, and subsequent releases

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.

"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.

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.

Criticism

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".

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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name	Noele Gordon
birth name	Joan Noele Gordon
birth date	25 December 1919
birth place	East Ham, London
death date
death place	Birmingham
occupation	Television actress
website	}}

Noele Gordon (25 December 1919 - 14 April 1985) was a British film and television actress.

Early life

Gordon's father was an engineer in the merchant navy and she was born in East Ham, London. After attending Convent School at Forest Gate, Noele was taught to dance by the late Maude Wells and later spent several years living in Southend. She made her first public appearance at the East Ham Palace. Shortly afterwards, she showed another aspect of her talents, singing 'Dear Little Jammy Face' at a restaurant in London. After this event, her mother and her aunt were keen for the young Noele to begin a stage career. The family later moved to Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex. She attended RADA, she appeared in repertory theatres, including 1,000 performances in Brigadoon.

Early television and film career

She was credited as the first woman to be seen on colour television sets, as she took part in the BBC's early tests in colour broadcasting in the 1940s. Gordon appeared in two movies in the 1940s, produced in Britain and then distributed to the United States (29 Acacia Avenue and Lisbon Story). Her acting career came to a halt in 1955 when she joined Associated TeleVision in London where she presented their first-ever programme, The Weekend Show. She also worked behind the scenes as Head of Lifestyle programmes. Gordon then studied the television medium at New York University in America and upon her return helped Reg Watson and Ned Sherrin launch a new station, ATV Midlands in 1956. This was a spin-off station from the already established ATV London. As well as being a producer, Gordon turned her hand to presenting again for the new Birmingham based service. Her first television appearance for ATV in the Midlands, Tea With Noele Gordon, was the first popular ITV chat show and whilst presenting this, she became the first woman to interview a British Prime Minister (Harold Macmillan). Initially commissioned as an emergency schedule filler, the show became so successful that she gave up her executive position to concentrate on programme presentation. She then moved on to present a daily live entertainment show, Lunchbox a programme which pioneered daytime broadcasts.

Crossroads

In the summer of 1964 Lunchbox came to an end after over 2000 episodes. It was axed to make way for a new daily soap opera, The Midland Road, retitled Crossroads at the last minute, in which Gordon took the role of motel owner Meg Richardson (later Meg Mortimer).

First in 1969 and then during the following decade, she won the TV Times award for most popular television actress on eight occasions.

Gordon was the only member of the Crossroads cast who had a permanent contract; all other cast members were booked as and when on an 'ad hoc' basis. Gordon, however, had been a staff member on the board of ATV since her days of Lunch Box.

Noele stayed with the programme until the producers sacked her in 1981, when ATV was re-constituted into a new company, Central Independent Television. The decision to axe Gordon was taken by Head of Programmes Charles Denton and Head Of Drama Margaret Matheson - who was new to ATV and wanted to ditch soap opera for more expensive and lavish drama production. Gordon made a brief return to the series in 1983, when Meg met up with her daughter Jill and son-in-law Adam on their Venice honeymoon.

In 1985 Matheson's successor Ted Childs ordered Crossroads to be revamped. This new-look was designed to bring back Noele Gordon on an 'as and when' basis, starting with a three month stint from April 1985. Gordon's return as Meg was devised by the new Producer, Phillip Bowman, who himself axed Crossroads stalwarts Ronald Allen and Sue Lloyd in order for the motel to be sold - and thus Meg's daughter Jill was to face a tough choice of whether to agree to the sale, or hold on to the shares her mother left her in 1981. Meg's return was to advise Jill to sell the shares, as Meg, we were to discover, was good friends with the new to be owner - Nicola Freeman (played by Gabrielle Drake) and so Gordon's character would have many reasons to return to Crossroads once more. This storyline never came about as Gordon died before the planned return.

Gordon had battled cancer publicly since 1982, undergoing two major operations. It didn't stop her making a return to Crossroads in August 1983 for two episodes during the honeymoon episodes of Jill and Adam, filmed in Venice.

Post Crossroads

After her sacking, Gordon appeared in Gypsy at Leicester's Haymarket theatre followed by a revival of Irving Berlin's musical Call Me Madam at the Victoria Palace Theatre. Her last stage appearance was in 'The Boyfriend' at Plymouth's Theatre Royal produced by Roger Redfarn (she took ill during the run and had to be replaced).

In an interview she gave the TV Times in 1981 she announced she may, once her stage work had come to an end, take up the offer of returning to presenting. In the same 1981 TV Times interview she commented that a future role as a breakfast television presenter was being negotiated. She would however not return to television full time due to her theatre commitments. Speaking in 1984 she said "I did several mornings on TV-am a week or so ago. And I have been recording some programmes for my local radio station. But I would like to do more television - and I am ready for it," However she fell ill, and that promised more regular presenting role at TV-am never materialised because of her failing health, also her grand 1985 comeback in Crossroads also never happened, with the actor Edward Clayton who had previously played Stan Harvey in the show returning to take her place in the storyline.

She retired to her home in Birmingham, where she died in 1985 of cancer. Her grave is in Ross-on-Wye where she had lived in a large white-washed country house (beside the A40 road to Monmouth)called Weir End for many years in the 1960s and early 1970s. Noele Gordon never married, although she was engaged to someone who later became a leading lawyer. She had no children of her own. Rumours circulated for many years that Gordon was a lesbian.

Tony Adams who played Adam Chance in the series commented in 1985 just after her death that "There has never been a star of Crossroads, although Nolly was Crossroads."

References

External links

Noele Gordon at the Internet Movie Database

Noele Gordon Interview

Category:1919 births Category:1985 deaths Category:People from East Ham Category:English soap opera actors Category:English actors