In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing. A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs. The lyrics (words) of songs are typically of a poetic, rhyming nature, though they may be religious verses or free prose.

A song may be for a solo singer, a duet, trio, or larger ensemble involving more voices. Songs with more than one voice to a part are considered choral works. Songs can be broadly divided into many different forms, depending on the criteria used. One division is between "art songs", "pop songs", and "folk songs". Other common methods of classification are by purpose (sacred vs secular), by style (dance, ballad, Lied, etc.), or by time of origin (Renaissance, Contemporary, etc.).

A song is a piece of music for accompanied or unaccompanied voice or voices or, "the act or art of singing," but the term is generally not used for large vocal forms including opera and oratorio. However, the term is, "often found in various figurative and transferred sense (e.g. for the lyrical second subject of a sonata...)." The word "song" has the same etymological root as the verb "to sing" and the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') defines the word to mean "that which is sung".

Cultural types

Art songs

Art songs are songs created for performance in their own right, usually with piano accompaniment, although they can also have other types of accompaniment such as an orchestra or string quartet, and are always notated. Generally they have an identified author(s) and composer and require voice training for acceptable performances. German-speaking communities use the term art song ("Kunstlied") to distinguish so-called "serious" compositions from folk song ("Volkslied"). The lyrics are often written by a poet or lyricist and the music separately by a composer. Art songs may be more formally complicated than popular or folk songs, though many early Lieder by the likes of Franz Schubert are in simple strophic form. They are often important to national identity. Art songs feature in many European cultures, including but not limited to: Russian (romancy), German (Lieder), Italian (canzoni), French (mélodies), Scandinavian (sånger), Portuguese (canções), Spanish (canciones). There are also highly regarded British and American art songs in the English language. Cultures outside of Europe that have a classical music tradition, such as India, may or may not feature art songs. The accompaniment of European art songs is considered as an important part of the composition. The art song of the period in which they originally flowered is often a duet in which the vocalist and accompanist share in interpretive importance. The pieces were most often written to be performed in a home or salon setting, although today the works enjoy popularity as concert pieces. The emergence of poetry during this era was much of what inspired the creation of these pieces by Brahms, Schumann, Schubert and other composers. These composers set poems in their native language. Many works were inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Heinrich Heine. Another method would be to write new music for each stanza to create a unique form; this was through-composed form known in German as ''durchkomponiert''. A combination of both of these techniques in a single setting was called a modified strophic form. Often romantic art songs sharing similar elements were grouped as a song cycle.

Folk songs

Folk songs are songs of often anonymous origin (or are public domain) that are transmitted orally. They are frequently a major aspect of national or cultural identity. Art songs often approach the status of folk songs when people forget who the author was. Folk songs are also frequently transmitted non-orally (that is, as sheet music), especially in the modern era. Folk songs exist in almost every, if not all, culture(s). For more on folk songs, see Folk music.

Popular songs

Modern popular songs are typically distributed as recordings, and are played on the radio, though all other mass media that have audio capabilities are involved. Their relative popularity is inferred from commercially significant sales of recordings, ratings of stations and networks that play them, and ticket sales for concerts by the recording artists. A popular song can become a modern folk song when members of the public who learn to sing it from the recorded version teach their version to others. Popular songs may be called pop songs for short, although pop songs or pop music may instead be considered a more commercially popular genre of popular music as a whole. Many people consider songs in popular music to have in general simpler structures than art songs, however, musicologists who are "both contemptuous and condescending [of popular music] are looking for types of production, musical form, and listening which they associate with a different kind of music...'classical music'...and [thus] they generally find popular music lacking".

See also

Air (music)

Animal song: bird song, whale song, zoomusicology

Aria

Ballad

Canticle

:Category:Musical forms

Hymn

Lied

Madrigal (music)

Song structure (popular music)

Vocal music

Theme song

Poem and song

References

Further reading

Marcello Sorce Keller (1984), "The Problem of Classification in Folksong Research: a Short History", Folklore, XCV, no. 1, 100- 104.

ar:أغنية an:Canta arc:ܙܡܝܪܬܐ ay:Q'uchu az:Mahnı bəstələyənlər ba:Йыр be:Песня be-x-old:Песьня bg:Песен bs:Pjesma br:Kanaouenn ca:Cançó cv:Юрă cs:Píseň cy:Cân da:Sang de:Lied et:Laul el:Τραγούδι es:Canción eo:Kanto fa:ترانه fr:Chanson gd:Òran gl:Canción ko:노래 hy:Երգ hi:गीत hr:Pjesma io:Kansono id:Lagu ia:Canto is:Lag it:Canzone (musica) he:פזמון krc:Джыр ka:სიმღერა sw:Wimbo ku:Stran ky:Ыр la:Carmen lv:Dziesma lb:Lidd lt:Daina lmo:Canson hu:Dal ml:ഗാനം ms:Lagu nah:Cuīcatl nl:Lied ja:歌 no:Sang nn:Song nrm:Caunchoun oc:Cançon mhr:Муро pnb:گانا ps:سندره nds:Leed (Musik) pl:Piosenka pt:Canção ro:Cântec qu:Rimay taki rue:Пісня ru:Песня sq:Kënga scn:Canzuna (mùsica) simple:Song sk:Pieseň szl:Pjosynka so:Hees ckb:گۆرانی sr:Песма sh:Pjesma fi:Laulu (teos) sv:Sång tl:Awitin ta:பாட்டு te:పాట th:เพลง tr:Şarkı (edebiyat) uk:Пісня ur:گیت vi:Bài hát wa:Tchanson war:Karantahon yi:ליד zh-yue:歌 bat-smg:Dainė zh:歌曲

Best of both worlds may refer to:

;Albums

''Best of Both Worlds'' (Midnight Oil album), a 2004 Midnight Oil live album and video

''The Best of Both Worlds'' (R. Kelly & Jay-Z album), a 2002 album by R. Kelly & Jay-Z

''The Best of Both Worlds'' (Marillion album), a 1997 compilation album by Marillion

''The Best of Both Worlds'' (Van Halen album), a 2004 greatest hits album by Van Halen

;Songs

"Best of Both Worlds", a Single from Chris Crocker's Debut Album "Turned On"

"Best of Both Worlds", a song from the Midnight Oil album ''Red Sails in the Sunset''

"The Best of Both Worlds" (song), theme song to the 2006 television series ''Hannah Montana''

"Best of Both Worlds" (Van Halen song), a 1986 song from the album ''5150'' by Van Halen

Best of Both Worlds, a 1978 song by Robert Palmer from the album ''Double Fun''

;Tours

Best of Both Worlds Tour, the 2007-2008 concert tour headlining Miley Cyrus and her alter-ego Hannah Montana

Unfinished Business (R. Kelly & Jay-Z album)#Best_of_Both_Worlds_tour, 2004 R. Kelly & Jay-Z tour

;Theatre

Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert

"The Best of Both Worlds" (''Star Trek: The Next Generation''), a two-part episode of ''Star Trek: The Next Generation''

fr:The Best of Both Worlds it:Best of Both Worlds lv:The Best of Both Worlds pl:The Best of Both Worlds pt:The Best of Both Worlds fi:The Best of Both Worlds

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

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

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

Personal life

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

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

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

Career

1995–1999: Early career and success

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A State of Trance 500 (ASOT 500)

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

Discography

''76'' (2003)

''Shivers'' (2005)

''Imagine'' (2008)

''Mirage'' (2010)

References

External links

Armin van Buuren's profile on Trancepedia

Armada Music – the record label of Armin van Buuren

Armin van Buuren - A State of Trance episodes

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

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name	Markus Schulz
landscape	yes
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
origin	Eschwege, Germany
birth name	Markus Schulz
genre	Trance
years active	1990–present
label	Coldharbour Recordings, Armada Music, Ultra Records
associated acts	Dakota, Himmel
website	http://www.markusschulz.com }}

Markus Schulz born February 03, 1975 is a German trance music DJ and producer who resides in Miami, Florida, USA. He is best-known for his weekly radio show titled Global DJ Broadcast that airs on Digitally Imported radio, After Hours FM and other online stations. He is also the founder of the EDM label Coldharbour Recordings.

Producing

Schulz has released six mix compilations and three artist albums under his own name. He has also released productions and albums, Thoughts Become Things and Thoughts Become Things II, under the alias Dakota. Through his work with remixing tracks, he has had the opportunity to work with such artists as: Depeche Mode, Madonna, Everything But The Girl, Jewel, Oceanlab, Gabriel & Dresden, Télépopmusik, Fat Boy Slim, Miro, Book Of Love, Blue Amazon, and PQM. His remixes of "Intuition" and "Stand" by Jewel both hit #1 on the Billboard club chart.

Performing

When not in the studio working on new mixes, Schulz maintains an extensive international touring schedule. He originally held a seven-year residency at The Works in Phoenix, Arizona, where he developed his style. Since then, he has performed at clubs all over the world and has DJ'ed at some of the largest festivals and events, including: Electric Daisy Carnival, Electric Zoo, Monster Massive, Together As One, Ultra Music Festival, Amsterdam Dance Event, Nature One, Dance Valley, Love Parade, Global Gathering, ETD Pop, Trance Energy 2010, Bang Music Festival, Future Music Festival, Bal en Blanc and at the Episodes 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, and 500 of A State Of Trance.

On October 28, 2010, DJ Magazine announced the results of their annual Top 100 DJ Poll, placing Schulz at #8 DJ in the world.

Discography

Albums

''Without You Near'' (2005, Armada Music) ''Progression'' (2007, Armada Music)

''Progression Progressed - The Remixes'' (2008, Armada Music)

''Dakota - Thoughts Become Things'' (2009, Armada Music) ''Do You Dream?'' (2010, Armada Music)

''Do You Dream? - The Remixes (2011, Armada Music)''

''Markus Schulz presents Dakota – Thoughts Become Things II (1 July 2011, Armada Music)''

Compilations

''Coldharbour Sessions'' (2004, Armada Music) ''Miami '05'' (2005, Moist Music) ''Ibiza '06'' (2006, Moist Music) ''Amsterdam '08'' (2008, Armada Music) ''Toronto '09'' (2009, Armada Music) ''Las Vegas '10'' (2010, Armada Music) ''Prague '11'' (2011, Armada Music)

Singles

1998 Markus Schulz - You Won’t See Me Cry

1999 Dakota - Swirl

2002 Dakota - Frozen Time

2002 Dakota - Lost in Brixton

2002 Dakota - Jah Powah

2002 Dakota - Zero Gravity

2002 Dakota - Sunshine Yellow

2003 Dakota - Abandoned in Queens

2003 Markus Schulz presents Elevation - Clear Blue

2004 Markus Schulz presents Elevation - Largo

2004 Markus Schulz presents Elevation - Somewhere

2005 Markus Schulz featuring Anita Kelsey - First Time

2005 Markus Schulz and Departure with Gabriel & Dresden - Without You Near

2006 Markus Schulz featuring Carrie Skipper - Never be the Same Again

2007 Markus Schulz vs. Chakra - I Am

2007 Markus Schulz - Fly to Colors

2007 Dakota - Amsterdam

2007 Dakota - Progression

2008 Dakota - Hypnotic

2008 Markus Schulz featuring Departure - Cause You Know

2008 Markus Schulz featuring Dauby – Perfect

2008 Markus Schulz vs. Andy Moor - Daydream

2008 Markus Schulz - The New World

2009 Dakota - Chinook

2009 Dakota - Johnny the Fox

2009 Dakota - Sin City

2009 Markus Schulz - Do You Dream

2009 Dakota - Roxy ’84

2009 Dakota - Koolhaus

2009 Dakota - Steel Libido

2009 Dakota - Mr. Cappuccino

2010 Markus Schulz featuring Khaz - Dark Heart Waiting

2010 Markus Schulz featuring Justine Suissa - Perception

2010 Markus Schulz - Rain

2010 Markus Schulz - Future Cities

2011 Dakota - Sinners

2011 Markus Schulz & Jochen Miller - Rotunda

2011 Dakota - Sleepwalkers

Remixes

1993 Sagat - Why Is It? Fuk Dat

1993 The Movement - Shake That

1994 Glenn "Sweet G" Toby - I Can Tell

1994 Sweet Sable - Old Times' Sake

1994 Transglobal Underground - Temple Head

1994 2 Unlimited - Throw The Groove Down

1994 Sandra Bernhard - You Make Me Feel

1995 Amber McFadden - Do You Want Me

1995 Truce - Pump It

1995 Real McCoy - Come And Get Your Love

1995 Bette Midler - To Deserve You

1995 Backstreet Boys - We've Got It Going On

1996 Lina Santiago - Feels So Good (Show Me Your Love)

1996 Backstreet Boys - Get Down (You're The One For Me)

1996 Technotronic - Move It To The Rhythm

1996 Madonna - Love Don't Live Here Anymore

1996 Liz Torres - Set Yourself Free

1996 Armand Van Helden - The Funk Phenomena

1996 James Newton Howard - Theme From ER

1996 Backstreet Boys - We've Got It Going On

1997 RuPaul - A Little Bit Of Love

1997 Groove Junkies -

1997 Poe - Hello

1997 e-N Feat. Ceevox - That Sound

1997 Tilly Lilly - Roller Coaster

1997 Electronic - Second Nature

1997 Blue Amazon - No Other Love

1997 LNR - Work It To The Bone

1998 Cynthia - If I Had The Chance

1998 Vertigo Deluxe - Out Of My Mind

1998 The B-52's - Debbie

1999 Everything But The Girl - Lullaby Of Clubland

1999 Dream Traveler - Time

2000 Himmel - Celebrate Life

2000 Masters Of Balance - Dreamworld

2000 Pablo Gargano - Eurogoal

2000 PQM - The Flying Song

2000 Aaron Lazarus - Your Time Will Come

2001 Pablo Gargano - Absolution

2001 Carissa Mondavi - Solid Ground

2001 Rouge - Jingalay

2001 Daniel Ash - Burning Man

2001 Fatboy Slim - Sunset (Bird Of Prey)

2001 Luzon - Manilla Sunrise

2001 Book Of Love - I Touch Roses

2002 Miro - By Your Side

2003 Motorcycle - As The Rush Comes

2003 Jewel - Intuition

2003 Karada - Last Flight

2003 Billy Paul Williams - So In Love

2003 Jewel - Stand

2004 Aly & Fila - Spirit Of Ka

2004 George Hales - Autumn Falls

2004 Solid Globe - Sahara

2004 Filterheadz - Yimanya

2004 Plastic Angel - Distorted Reality

2004 Clubbervision - Dream Off

2004 Kobbe & Austin Leeds - Fusing Love

2004 Airwave - Ladyblue

2004 Myth - Millionfold

2004 OceanLab - Satellite

2004 Piece Process - Solar Myth

2004 Space Manoeuvres - Stage One

2004 Deepsky - Talk Like A Stranger

2004 Whirlpool - Under The Sun

2004 Mark Otten – Tranquility

2005 Tomonari & Tommy Pi - C Sharp 2005

2005 Ridgewalkers - Find

2005 Departure - She Turns

2005 Nalin & Kane - Open Your Eyes (The Child You Are)

2006 Kyau & Albert - Are You Fine?

2006 Eluna - Severence

2006 Yoshimoto - Du What U Du

2007 Kamera - Lies

2007 Andrew Bennett - Menar

2007 Joop - The Future

2008 Destination X - Dangerous

2008 John O'Callaghan feat. Audrey Gallagher - Big Sky

2008 Rank 1 - Airwave

2008 Sia - Buttons

2008 Mike Foyle - Bittersweet Nightshade

2009 Dance 2 Trance - Power of American Natives

2009 Jester Music feat. Lavoie - Dressed In White

2009 Cosmic Gate - Sign Of The Times

2009 Ferry Corsten - Brain Box

2010 Cosmic Gate - The Drums

External links

Official Website

Markus Schulz Facebook Page

Markus Schulz MySpace Page

Markus Schulz Twitter Page

Markus Schulz YouTube Page

References

Category:Electronic music radio shows Category:German trance musicians Category:Remixers Category:Living people Category:Armada Music artists Category:1966 births

bg:Маркус Шулц cs:Markus Schulz de:Markus Schulz es:Markus Schulz fa:مارکوس شولتز fr:Markus Schulz it:Markus Schulz lt:Markus Schulz hu:Markus Schulz nl:Markus Schulz pl:Markus Schulz pt:Markus Schulz ru:Шульц, Маркус sl:Markus Schulz tr:Markus Schulz

name	R. Kelly
background	solo_singer
birth name	Robert Sylvester Kelly
birth date	January 08, 1967
origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
genre	R&B;, soul, hip hop soul, gospel, hip hop
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, executive producer, record executive, remixer, multi-instrumentalist, music video director
instrument	Vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar
years active	1989–present
label	Jive, Zomba Recording
associated acts	Ron Isley, Fat Joe, Kelly Price, Aaliyah, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Twista, Usher, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion
website	}}

Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), better known by his stage name R.Kelly, is an American R&B; singer-songwriter, arranger, performer and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album ''12 Play''. He is known for a collection of major hit singles including "Bump n' Grind", "Your Body's Callin'", "I Believe I Can Fly", "Gotham City", "Ignition (Remix)", "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time", "The World's Greatest", "I'm a Flirt", and the hip-hopera "Trapped in the Closet". In 1998, Kelly won three Grammy Awards for "I Believe I Can Fly".

Kelly has also written, produced and remixed songs for many artists including Ronald Isley and The Isley Brothers, Quincy Jones, Luther Vandross, N-Phase, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Maxwell, Gerald LeVert, Britney Spears, Usher, Ray J, B2K, Ciara, Mary J. Blige, and Jennifer Lopez among others.

Early life

Born on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, Kelly was the third of four children. Kelly's single mother, Joanne, was a singer and a Baptist. Kelly's father was absent throughout most of Kelly's life. Kelly began singing in church at age eight. In Chicago, Kelly's family lived in the projects at 63rd Street before relocating to a small house at 107th and Parnell Streets. Kelly entered Kenwood Academy in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood in the fall of 1980 where he met his music teacher Lena McLin, who encouraged Kelly to perform the Stevie Wonder classic Ribbon in the Sky in a highschool talent show. As a teenager, Kelly began street performing (or busking) under the Chicago 'L' trains before he eventually formed a group with his friend Marc McWilliams. In 1989, Kelly and McWilliams formed the group MGM (Musically Gifted Men). Along with Vincent Corey Walker and Shawnth Brooks, Kelly performed on the TV talent show ''Big Break'', hosted by Natalie Cole, and went on to win the $100,000 grand prize.

Recording career

1992–2000: ''Born into the 90's''–''TP-2.com''

Kelly and the group Public Announcement released their debut album, ''Born into the 90's,'' in early 1992. Released during the new jack swing period of the early nineties, the album yielded the hits "She's Got That Vibe", "Honey Love", "Dedicated", and "Slow Dance (Hey Mr. DJ)", all of which were led by Kelly. During late 1992, Kelly and Public Announcement embarked on a tour called "60653", whose title was the zip code of Kelly's neighborhood. Kelly left Public Announcement in January 1993.

Kelly's solo album, ''12 Play'', was released in the fall of 1993 and yielded the singer's first number-one hit, "Bump n' Grind", which spent a record-breaking 12 weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B; Singles chart. Subsequent hit singles were "Your Body's Callin'" and "Sex Me". ''12 Play'' was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1994, eventually going six times platinum. Kelly also produced ''Age Ain't Nothing But a Number'', the 1994 debut album by R&B; singer Aaliyah. Kelly was attributed to writing "You Are Not Alone" for Michael Jackson for Jackson's 1995 album, ''HIStory,'' but has been faced with allegations of plagiarism. During this time, as well as writing and producing, Kelly also became known for his remixes. He remixed his own songs, "Bump N Grind", "Your Body's Callin" featuring Aaliyah, and "Sex Me", as well as songs for other artists including Aaliyah, Changing Faces, and Toni Braxton. He also produced a remix for Janet Jackson's 1994 hit "Any Time, Any Place" Kelly's success continued with the release of his second solo album, ''R. Kelly'', popular for the singles "You Remind Me of Something", "I Can't Sleep (Baby If I)", and "Down Low", a duet with Ronald Isley. Kelly's self-titled album sold four million copies, thus receiving 4× platinum certification from the RIAA. Kelly promoted the album with a 50-city "Down Low Top Secret Tour" with LL Cool J, Xscape, and Solo. In May 1996 Kelly was featured on the cover of Ebony Man (EM) magazine with the headline proclaiming "R. Kelly The new King of R&B;" where he discussed touring, working with Quincy Jones, Toni Braxton, and Janet Jackson ("When I first met them, I could tell they liked my albums. There was always a certain song they named off my album. They said they wanted something like that." Braxton liked "My Body's Calling".), as well as his influences Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway ("The way he approached the woman he loved in his songs. He didn't hold back" he says of Hathaway. "He was raw with what he had to say. And Marvin Gaye was the same.") and Michael Jackson's dedication to music ("He's another person that I feel is married to his music. That's why we related so well.")

In 1996, Kelly released one of his most successful singles with "I Believe I Can Fly", an inspirational song originally released on the soundtrack for the film ''Space Jam''. "I Believe I Can Fly" reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and No. 1 on the UK charts for three weeks and won three Grammy Awards in 1998. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine named it as the 406th of its top 500 songs of all time. For the film ''Batman & Robin'', Kelly recorded the top ten single "Gotham City".

In 1997, Kelly fulfilled a longtime dream of his and signed a contract to play professional basketball with the Atlantic City Seagulls of the USBL. Kelly wore the number 12 in honor of his album 12 Play. Kelly said "I love basketball enough to not totally let go of my music, but just put it to the side for a minute, and fulfill some dreams of mine that I've had for a long time." Kelly's USBL contract contained a clause that would allow him to fulfill a music obligation when necessary. "If Whitney Houston needs a song written", Gross said, "he would be able to leave the team to do that and come back". Kelly is believed to be the first music artist to play professional basketball.

In 1998, Kelly released ''R.'', his is the fourth studio album and first double album. It was released in the United States on November 17, 1998 (see 1998 in music). It was the first time that Kelly allowed other record producers to produce or co-produce on his album, as opposed to producing the entire album himself, and his first time collaborating with various artists on his album. It is currently Kelly's biggest selling album to date, selling 8 million copies in the US according to RIAA.

''R.'' went to number one on the R&B; albums chart as the third album to do so, and went second place on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. It spawned Kelly's second number one U.S. pop hit, "I'm Your Angel", a duet with Celine Dion. The album also contains the number one R&B; hit, "I Believe I Can Fly", which had been released two years earlier on the Space Jam soundtrack.

In 1998, Kelly wrote and produced the debut album of his new female artist Sparkle, which was released on his Rockland label, distributed through Interscope. The album went platinum due to the success of the first single, "Be Careful", a duet featuring Kelly and Sparkle. Kelly also found success with soundtracks such as "Gotham City" from ''Batman & Robin'', and "The World's Greatest" from ''Ali''. In 1999, Kelly wrote and produced, along with Wyclef Jean, the majority of the soundtrack to the Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence film ''Life''. Kelly composed ten songs on the soundtrack, while Jean composed five. Kelly also contributed two songs, "Bad Man" and "Up and Outta Here," to the updated Samuel L. Jackson movie ''Shaft.'' In 2000, Kelly released ''TP-2.com'', which yielded the hits "I Wish" and the remix to "Fiesta", which featured Jay-Z. Because of the success of that song and another Kelly/Jay-Z collaboration, "Guilty 'Til Proven Innocent", from Jay-Z's ''Dynasty'' album, it was announced in early 2002 that the duo would collaborate on a joint album and tour entitled ''The Best of Both Worlds''. Due to controversy surrounding Kelly at the time, however, there was little promotion for the album when it was finally released and Kelly instead refocused his attention on his solo work as both a recording artist and producer.

During late 2001 and early 2002, Kelly began working on the follow-up to his album ''TP-2.com'', titled ''Loveland''. The album was scheduled to be released in November 2002, but as with ''Best of Both Worlds'' before it, heavy bootlegging led to its being delayed. The singer then rerecorded the entire album, titled ''Chocolate Factory'', which featured several of the bootlegged tracks on the bonus Loveland disc.

2003–06: ''Chocolate Factory'', ''Happy People/U Saved Me'', and ''Unfinished Business''

In early 2003, ''Chocolate Factory'' became a runaway success for Kelly, selling over three million copies due to the success of singles such as "Ignition". "Snake" and "Step in the Name of Love" were also popular singles. "Snake", incidentally, became the basis of the dancehall reggae riddim known as Baghdad. Later that year Kelly followed that success by releasing his first greatest hits collection ''The R in R&B; Collection Volume 1'', the album as well as a DVD collection. In 2004, Kelly released the ambitious two-disc set ''Happy People/U Saved Me'', with the first disc including feel-good, stepping-inspired tracks, while focusing on gospel and inspirational material on the second disc. That same year, Kelly performed The Star-Spangled Banner during the introduction of the world championship boxing fight between Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor. His performance, which included a line of dancers doing the "stepping" routine and a prerecorded instrumental track set to the sound of "Happy People", was met with a mixed reaction. In October 2004, Kelly reunited with Jay-Z to do a follow-up to their ''Best of Both Worlds'' album shortly after announcing a tour to coincide with the project after the duo performed together during Jay-Z's "farewell" concert at Madison Square Garden a year before. The duo's ''Unfinished Business'' album was released and peaked at number one on the Billboard chart.

The ''Unfinished Business'' tour was plagued by a rivalry between the two stars and Kelly reportedly showing up late or not at all to gigs. The singer, according to Jay-Z, often complained that the touring lights were not directed towards him and often left during the middle of sets. Another night during the concert, Kelly stayed on his tour bus for two hours before finally coming out to perform an uninspired set. Jay-Z eventually removed R. Kelly halfway through the tour, after a member of Jay-Z's entourage attacked R. Kelly with Mace or pepper spray. On April 25, 2006, it was confirmed that Jay-Z's younger cousin, Tyran (Ty-Ty) Smith confessed in a Manhattan Criminal Court to pepper-spraying R. Kelly and four of his bodyguards at Madison Square Garden in October 2004. Smith had been charged with assault, but was allowed to plead guilty to disorderly conduct for four days of community service. After the original incident, Jay-Z made Smith an executive of Def Jam Records. Kelly also launched a $75 million lawsuit against Jay-Z for removing him from the tour, which received a countersuit by Jay-Z which was thrown out by the judge.

2007–08: ''Double Up''

On May 29, 2007, R Kelly released his eighth studio album ''Double Up'' included the hit single "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", featuring T.I. and T-Pain. The original track entitled "I'm a Flirt", also produced and co-written by R. Kelly, appeared as a hidden track on Bow Wow's ''The Price of Fame'' (2006). However, Kelly never gave the rights for the song to be released as a formal single, although it was played by many radio stations before the remix version. Kelly's first single from ''Double Up'' was "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", Bow Wow was not featured on this version of the song. In Kelly's video for "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", he encourages fans to call a number which flashes up quickly on the screen. Fans who called the number were greeted by a recording of Kelly talking about his upcoming album and playing snippets of new songs in the studio. "I'm a Flirt (Remix)" was successful for Kelly. The song peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks. Another hit on the album, "Same Girl", was a collaboration between Kelly and Usher. The single peaked at number 20 on the Hot 100 and peaked at number four on the R&B; chart. Other singles such as "Rock Star" featuring Ludacris and Kid Rock, "Sex Planet" and "Freaky in the Club" were R&B; charters, although the latter two were not officially released as singles, nor was the title track featuring Snoop Dogg.

Kelly's other single from ''Double Up'' titled "Rise Up" was a tribute to the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre. The song was officially released as a digital download May 15, 2007. Proceeds were donated to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, a fund that helped family members of the victims of the shootings.

Kelly began his ''Double Up'' tour with Ne-Yo, Keyshia Cole and J. Holiday opening for him. After two shows, promoter Leonard Rowe had Ne-Yo removed from the tour because of a contract dispute. However, Ne-Yo alleges that the reason for the dropout was because Ne-Yo believes he received a better response from critics and fans, even though he only performed at two shows. Ne-Yo filed a lawsuit against Rowe Entertainment. It was shown that Kelly was not mentioned in the lawsuit. In December 2007, Kelly was showing up to another preliminary court hearing on his case due to his tour bus being held up in Utah. The judge threatened to revoke Kelly's bond, but the judge eventually decided not to. In 2008, Kelly released a rap track titled "I'm a Beast" in which he coarsely attacked his detractors, though Kelly himself never mentioned by name who the song was directed to.

In 2008, ''Billboard'' reported that Kelly had plans to release his newest album titled ''12 Play: Fourth Quarter'' in the summer of that year but the album was postponed. ''Billboard'' also named Kelly among the most successful artists ever for its 50th Anniversary List. In the spring, the first promotional single "Hair Braider", peaked at No. 56 on Billboard's R&B; chart. On July 28, the entire album leaked online. The album was then pushed back to be released in the fall. On September 18, Kelly released the video to the second promotional single "Skin". However, the album still has no official release date. Though Kelly has not released an album, he has kept busy in the studio doing featured guest spots on numerous remixes including "Lookin Boy" remix by Hotstylz, Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" remix, a verse for a remix to Kanye West's single "Love Lockdown", Raheem DeVaughn's "Customer" remix, Beyoncé Knowles' "If I Were a Boy" remix, T-Pain's "Chopped 'n' Skrewed" remix, among others. A recent track was leaked on the internet titled "I Believe". Kelly states on his official MySpace page that Obama's election inspired him to write the song, which contains an excerpt from Barack Obama's presidential acceptance speech. This song was available on iTunes as a free download the first week it was released.

2009: ''Untitled''

On June 3, 2009, Kelly released his first ever mixtape, ''The Demo Tape (Gangsta Grillz) presented by DJ Skee and DJ Drama'' as a way to reintroduce himself to fans.

While at the Velvet Room in Atlanta in February 2009, Kelly announced that he was out there working on the album and that it would be called ''Untitled''. The album was given a September 29, 2009 release date, but was delayed until October 13, 2009. The album release was again delayed and was released under Jive Records on December 1, 2009. It got mixed to positive reviews from critics. The single "Number One", which features Keri Hilson, peaked at #8 on the US R&B; Chart.

Kelly performed for the first time in Africa headlining the Arise African Fashion Awards in Johannesburg, South Africa on June 20, 2009. Kelly scheduled to perform in Cape Town before heading to Nigeria as part of the annual ThisDay music and fashion festival in July. Kelly also performed in Kampala, Uganda in January 2010. He also scheduled to perform in London as part of his first international tour in eight years, but he did not make his London concert. "I'm very excited about my first visit to Africa, I've dreamed about this for a long time and it's finally here," Kelly said in a statement. "It will be one of the highlights of not only my career but my life. I can't wait to perform in front of my fans in Africa — who have been some of the best in the world."

2010-present: ''Epic'', ''Love Letter'' and ''Black Panties''

Kelly performed the inspirational song "Sign of a Victory" at the 2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony on June 11, 2010.

On July 13, 2010, a song called "Tongues" surfaced, reportedly the lead single from Kelly's upcoming album ''Zodiac''. The song is produced by Bangladesh and features Ludacris. The first single from ''Love Letter'' is called "When a Woman Loves". The music video for the song was released in August 2010.

In an interview in the September 2010 issue of ''XXL'' magazine, Kelly mentioned that he is currently working on three new albums entitled ''Zodiac'', ''Love Letter'' and ''Epic''.

On September 13, 2010, Kelly released one of his three new albums, ''Epic''. A collection of Kelly's most "epic" ballads, including five new songs; the compilation was only released in Europe.

In March 2011, Kelly was named the #1 R&B; artist of the last 25 years by ''Billboard''.

Kelly collaborated with several African musicians forming a supergroup known as One8. The group features 2Face from Nigeria, Alikiba from Tanzania, Congolese singer Fally Ipupa, 4X4 from Ghana, hip-hop artist Movaizhaleine from Gabon, Zambia's JK, Ugandan hip-hop star Navio and Kenya's Amani, the only female in the group. The first release from the group is "Hands Across the World" written and produced by Kelly.

Kelly is presently working on his memoirs entitled ''Soulacoaster'', expected be released in the fall of 2011. The book is said to be an intimate look at the events of his life and shed some light on how he dealt with life-shaping events like the child molestation charges and being blacklisted by several urban radio stations.

Kelly's latest album ''Love Letter'' was released on December 14, 2010 worldwide. The album includes 15 songs, the latter being a bonus track which is a cover of Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone", which was written and produced by Kelly as well. The next single, "Love Letter" and "A Love Letter Christmas", the Christmas remix to "Love Letter", were released as singles on November 22, 2010. ''Love Letter'' has been critically acclaimed by music critics and highly-praised by critics and fans alike. The first single "When a Woman Loves" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B; Vocal Performance at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. In promotion of "Love Letter" he performed at the 2010 Soul Train Music Awards and on ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon''. All songs on the album were written & produced by Kelly.

Legal issues

After a July 1996 brawl at a Lafayette, Louisiana health club involving bodyguard William Robert Savy, Kelly was placed on a year's unsupervised probation starting August 13, 1997. One of the victims, Christopher Mahoney, needed 110 facial stitches.

Kelly was arrested on April 8, 1998 on three misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, including one charge on violating noise ordinance for playing loud music from his car. Prosecutors from the district attorney's office dropped the first two charges on May 7 and the noise charge on July 22 that year.

On February 3, 2002, a video allegedly showing Kelly engaging in sex with, and urinating on, an underage girl, released by an unknown source, was sent to the ''Chicago Sun-Times''; the newspaper that broke the story. Kelly denied that he was the man in the video. Bootleg copies of that tape became widely available on the black market and over file sharing networks. In June 2002, Kelly was indicted in Chicago on 21 counts of having sex with a minor, which were later reduced to soliciting a minor for child pornography, seven counts of videotaping the acts, and seven counts of producing child pornography. After a number of delays, on October 27, 2006, a Cook County, Illinois, court hearing for pre-trial motions set the date of the actual trial to February 7, 2007. On the date of the trial, Kelly's lawyer informed the court that his client was unable to attend because he was "undergoing surgery for a burst appendix". He also announced that Kelly was "in good condition and was expected to be released from the hospital later in the day." His attorney stated that Kelly (who pleaded not guilty) would be in attendance on the next trial date of February 21, 2007. It had previously been announced by the court that the videotape that allegedly showed Kelly performing sex acts with an underage girl would be publicly shown as evidence in the trial. The trial, however, was delayed due to disputes over when the tape was made and to give medical recuperation time to the sitting judge following a fall resulting in broken bones. Later the case was set for a September 17 date. It took more than six years for the case to go to trial. Jury selection began on May 9, 2008, and the trial officially started on May 20 with opening statements from the prosecution and defense. After two weeks, the prosecution's case wrapped on June 3 while the defense's wrapped six days later, on June 9. After less than a day of deliberations, on June 13, 2008, a Chicago jury found Kelly not guilty of all 14 counts.

In January 2003 in Florida, Kelly was arrested again on child pornography charges. In June 2002, authorities searched his house in Davenport, Florida. Officers allegedly found pictures of an underage girl as well as a video of Kelly having sex with an underage girl on a digital camera – wrapped in a towel in a duffel bag. In March 2004 these charges were dropped due to a lack of probable cause for the search warrants.

On October 4, 2006, former employee Henry "Love" Vaughn (who claims to have been a "mentor and guide" to Kelly since he was a teenager) filed a lawsuit against Kelly accusing him of assault, false imprisonment, and a breach of contract that defrauded him of songwriting royalties. Vaughn claims Kelly and his associates dragged him to the basement of Kelly’s Olympia Fields home on February 19, 2006, and Kelly "repeatedly struck him about the face and body with his fists." Vaughn also claims he gave Kelly the "concept" for the song "Steppin". Kelly's spokesman declared that Vaughn was merely trying to extort money and told reporters that a police investigation found no evidence to Vaughn's assault allegations. Olympia Fields police confirmed that they had investigated the matter but would not comment beyond saying "We didn't file any charges on this case."

Discography

;Studio albums

''12 Play'' (1993)

''R. Kelly'' (1995)

''R.'' (1998)

''TP-2.com'' (2000)

''Chocolate Factory'' (2003)

''Happy People/U Saved Me'' (2004)

''TP.3 Reloaded'' (2005)

''Double Up'' (2007)

''Untitled'' (2009)

''Love Letter'' (2010)

''Black Panties'' (2011)

;Collaboration albums

''Born into the 90's'' (1992) (with Public Announcement)

''The Best of Both Worlds'' (2002) (with Jay-Z)

''Unfinished Business'' (2004) (with Jay-Z)

;Compilation albums

''The R. In R&B; Collection, Vol. 1'' (2003)

''Remix City, Volume 1'' (2005)

''My Diary'' (2005)

''Playlist: The Very Best of R. Kelly'' (2010)

''Epic'' (2010)

; Unreleased albums

''Loveland (2002)''

''12 Play: 4th Quarter (2008)''

Filmography

''Trapped in the Closet (1–12)'' (2005)

''Trapped in the Closet (13–22)'' (2007)

''Trapped in the Closet (1–22) The Big Package'' (2007)

''R. Kelly Live the Light It Up Tour'' (2007)

''Trapped in the Closet (22-TBA)'' (TBA)

Official tours

The 12 Play Very Necessary Tour (w/ Salt-N-Pepa) (1994)

The Budweiser Superfest (w/ Coolio, Warren G, & Heavy D) (1995)

The Down Low Top Secret Tour (1996)

The Get Up on a Room Tour (w/ Kelly Price, Nas, Foxy Brown, Deborah Cox, Sparkle) (1999)

The TP-2.com Tour (w/ Sunshine Anderson & Syleena Johnson) (2001)

The Key in the Ignition Tour (w/ Ashanti (entertainer)) (2003)

The Best of Both Worlds Tour (w/ Jay Z) (2004)

The Light It Up Tour (2006)

The Double Up Tour (w/ J. Holiday & Keyshia Cole) (2007)

The Ladies Make Some Noise Tour (w/ K. Michelle, Pleasure P) (2009)

Love Letter Tour (w/ Keyshia Cole, Marsha Ambrosius) (2011)

Awards

American Music Award

*1993: Favorite Soul/R&B; Single ("Honey Love")

*1995: Favorite Soul/R&B; Album (''12 Play'')

*1997: Favorite Soul/R&B; Male Artist

*2000: Favorite Soul/R&B; Male Artist

*2005: Favorite Soul/R&B; Male Artist

*2007: Favorite Soul/R&B; Album (''Double Up'')

BET Awards

*2003: Best Male R&B; Artist

Billboard Awards

*2001: Top R&B;/Hip Hop Artist

*2001: Top R&B;/Hip Hop Album (''TP2.com'')

*2001: Top R&B;/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks ("Fiesta")

*2001: Top R&B;/Hip Hop Artist

*2001: Top R&B;/Hip Hop Album Artist

*2001: Top R&B;/Hip Hop Album Artist – Male

BMI Awards

*1998: Pop Songwriter of the Year (for "I Believe I Can Fly", "I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)", and "I Don't Want To" (recorded by Toni Braxton))

Grammy Awards

*1998: Best R&B; Song ("I Believe I Can Fly")

*1998: Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance ("I Believe I Can Fly")

*1998: Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media ("I Believe I Can Fly")

MOBO Awards

*2001: MOBO Outstanding Achievement

NAACP Image Awards

*2001: Outstanding Male Artist

*2001: Outstanding Music Video ("I Wish")

Soul Train Awards

*1999: Best R&B;/Soul Album, Male (''R.'')

*1999: Sammy Davis Jr. Entertainer of the Year Award

*2000: Best R&B;/Soul or Rap Album (''R.'')

*2001: Best R&B;/Soul Single, Male ("I Wish")

*2001: Best R&B;/Soul Album, Male (''TP2.com'')

*2004: R&B;/Soul Album, Male (''Chocolate Factory'')

*2004: Quincy Jones Award for Outstanding Career Achievements

*2006: Stevie Wonder Award for Outstanding Achievements in Song Writing

Source Hip Hop Awards

*1999: R&B; Artist of the Year

*2001: R&B; Artist of the Year

Vibe Awards

*2003: R&B; Vanguard Award

References

External links

on BlackPlanet

La biographie SoulRnB.com consacrée à R. Kelly

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:American Christians Category:African-American Christians Category:African American male singers Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:African American singers Category:African American musicians Category:African American pianists Category:American multi-instrumentalists Category:American soul musicians Category:American male singers Category:American record producers Category:American composers Category:African American composers Category:African American record producers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American tenors Category:American soul singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hip hop singers Category:Jive Records artists Category:Rappers from Chicago, Illinois

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