Coordinates	39°46′5.88″N86°9′29.52″N
name	Last.fm
logo
url	last.fm
commercial	Yes
type	Music, Statistics & Community
registration	In the US, UK, and Germany, free, with subscription option for extra features at €3/month. In all other countries, free 50 Track trial, then subscription required. Free for Xbox Live Gold members (In regions available).
owner	CBS Interactive
language	Multilingual (12)
author	Communal
launch date	2002
current status	Active
alexa	551 () }}

Last.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m (US$280m).

Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the songs the user listens to, either from Internet radio stations, or the user's computer or many portable music devices. This information is transferred ("scrobbled") to Last.fm's database either via the music player itself (Rdio, Spotify, Amarok) or via a plugin installed into the user's music player. The profile data is then displayed on the user's profile page. By April 2011 Last.fm reported more than 50 billion scrobbles.

The service is free, however users living outside the UK, US, and Germany, require a subscription to use the radio service (€3.00 per month after a 50 track free trial). The site offers numerous social networking features and can recommend and play artists similar to the user's favourites.

History

Audioscrobbler and Last.fm (2002–2006)

The current Last.fm website was developed from two separate sources: ''Audioscrobbler'' and ''Last.fm'', which were merged in 2005. Audioscrobbler began as a computer science project by Richard Jones while he attended the University of Southampton School of Electronics and Computer Science in the United Kingdom. Jones developed the first plugins, and then opened an API to the community, after which many music players on different operating system platforms were supported. Audioscrobbler was limited to recording music its users played on a registered computer, which allowed for charting and collaborative filtering. Last.fm was founded in 2002 by Felix Miller, Martin Stiksel, Michael Breidenbruecker and Thomas Willomitzer, all of them from Germany or Austria, as an internet radio station and music community site, using similar music profiles to generate dynamic playlists. The site name takes advantage of a domain hack using .fm, the top level domain of Micronesia, popular with FM radio related sites. The "love" and "ban" buttons allowed users to gradually customise their profiles. Last.fm won the Europrix 2002 and was nominated for the Prix Ars Electronica in 2003.

The Audioscrobbler and Last.fm teams began to work closely together, both teams moving into the same offices in Whitechapel, London, and by 2003 Last.fm was fully integrated with Audioscrobbler profiles. Input could come through an Audioscrobbler plugin or a Last.fm station. The sites also shared many community forums, although a few were unique to each site. The old Audioscrobbler site at the audioscrobbler.com domain name was wholly merged into the new Last.fm site on 9 August 2005. This launched audioscrobbler.net as a separate development-oriented site on 5 September 2005. However, at the very bottom of each of the Last.fm pages there was an Audioscrobbler "slogan", which changes each time the page is refreshed. Based on well-known sayings or advertisements, these originally appeared at the top of the old Audioscrobbler website pages and were all created and contributed by the original site members.

An update to the site was made on 14 July 2006 which included a new software application for playing Last.fm radio streams and for logging of tracks played with other media players. Other changes included the improvement of the friends system and updating it to require a two-way friendship, the addition of the Last.fm "Dashboard" where users can see on one page relevant information for their profile, expanded options for purchasing music from online retailers and a new visual design for the web site (including an optional black colour scheme). The site began expanding its language base on 15 July 2006, when a Japanese version of the site was launched. Currently, the site is available in various other languages, including German, Spanish, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Russian, Turkish and Simplified Chinese. In late 2006, the site won Best Community Music Site at the BT Digital Music Awards in October. Last.fm also teamed with EMI on Tuneglue-Audiomap. Furthermore, in January 2007 it was nominated for Best Website at the NME Awards.

CBS Acquisition and redesign (2007–2009)

At the end of April 2007, rumours of negotiations between Viacom and Last.fm emerged, suggesting that Viacom intended to purchase Last.fm for about £225 million. ($449 million USD) In May 2007 it was announced that Channel 4 Radio was to broadcast a weekly show called Worldwide Chart reflecting what Last.fm users around the world were listening to. On 30 May 2007, it was announced that Last.fm has been bought by CBS for £140 million with Last.fm's current management team staying in place. In July 2008, the "new generation" Last.fm was launched featuring a completely new layout, color-scheme and several new features as well as some old ones removed. This was, however, met with dissatisfaction amongst some users, who complained about "ugly and non-user-friendly layout", bugs and slowness. Still, a month after the redesign a CBS press release credited the redesign with generating a 20% growth in the site's traffic.

On 22 February 2009, Techcrunch claimed that "[the] RIAA asked social music service Last.fm for data about its user's listening habits to find people with unreleased tracks on their computers. And Last.fm, which is owned by CBS, allegedly handed the data over to the RIAA." This led to several public postings from both Last.fm and Techcrunch, with Last.fm denying passing any personal data to RIAA. The request was purportedly prompted by the leak of U2's then-unreleased album ''No Line On The Horizon'', and its subsequent widespread distribution via peer-to-peer file sharing services and BitTorrent.

Three months later, on 22 May 2009, Techcrunch claimed that it was CBS, the parent company of Last.fm, that handed over the data. Last.fm again denied that this was the case, saying that CBS couldn't have handed over the data without Last.fm knowing.

Changes to streaming and access on other platforms (2009–present)

On 24 March 2009, Last.fm announced a change in free stream listening policy. According to the blog post "[...] In the United States, United Kingdom and Germany, nothing will change. In all other countries, listening to Last.fm Radio will soon require a subscription of €3.00 per month." The change went into effect on 22 April 2009. The announcement has led to a wave of disappointment among the users, resulting in users stopping the submission of their data, refusing to change signatures/avatars and even deleting their accounts.

On 11 September 2009, CBS Radio announced that Last.fm programming will be available in four major market FM stations for the first time on their HD Radio multicasts. This includes KCBS-HD2 in Los Angeles, CA; KITS-HD3 in San Francisco, CA; WWFS-HD2 in New York City; and WXRT-HD3 in Chicago, IL. The programming, which consists mostly of music aggregated by Last.fm's user-generated weekly music charts as well as live performances and interviews from the Last.fm studios in New York City debuted on October 5.

On 12 April 2010, Last.fm announced that they would be removing the option to preview entire tracks, instead redirecting to sites such as the free 'Hype Machine' and pay-to-listen 'Mog' for this purpose. This provoked a large negative reaction from some of the Last.fm user community who perceive the removal as hindering the ability of lesser-known and unsigned artists to gain exposure for their music and general enjoyment of the site. A new 'Play direct from artist' feature was introduced soon after, which allowed artists to select individual tracks for users to be able to stream in full.

The ability to listen to custom radio stations ('personal tag radio', 'loved tracks radio') was withdrawn on 17 November 2010 (tag radio still exists but the criteria for calling up tracks has been widened). This change provoked an angry response among some users. Last FM claim that the move is due to "licensing". The change of 17 November 2010 means that a tag radio stream will include ALL music tagged as such, not just that tagged by each individual user: effectively widening the number of tracks that might be streamed under any one tag set.

Funding and staff

Last.fm Ltd is funded from the sale of online advertising space, monthly user subscriptions, and donations. On Tuesday, 24 March 2009 it was announced on the official Last.fm blog that Last.fm will charge users—except for those in the United States, United Kingdom, or Germany—a subscription fee of €3.00 per month for use of Last.fm radio.

Funding prior to acquisition

In 2004, the company received the first round of angel money, from Peter Gardner, an investment banker who was introduced to the founders as early as 2002. A second round was led by Stefan Glaenzer (joined by Joi Ito and Reid Hoffman), who bought into Michael Breidenbrueckers shares as well. In 2006 the company received the first round of venture capital funding from European investors Index Ventures, whose General Partners Neil Rimer and Danny Rimer also joined Last.fm's board of directors, consisting of Felix Miller, Martin Stiksel and Stefan Glaenzer (Chair).

Original founders Felix Miller, Martin Stiksel and Richard Jones left the company in summer 2009.

Features

User accounts

The free user account includes access to all the main features listed below. Registered Users are also able to post in the Last.fm forums, send and receive private messages and use the Last.fm client music player. For users living outside the UK, US and Germany, the radio service will require a subscription for €3.00 per month after a 30 track free trial.

Profile

A Last.fm user can build a musical profile using any or all of several methods: by listening to their personal music collection on a music player application on a computer or an iPod with an Audioscrobbler plugin, or by listening to the Last.fm internet radio service, either with the Last.fm client, or with the embedded flash player. All songs played are added to a log from which personal top artist/track bar charts and musical recommendations are calculated. This automatic track logging is called scrobbling.

Last.fm automatically generates a profile page for every user which includes basic information such as their user name, avatar, date of registration and total number of tracks played. This can be customized with additional information or photographs if desired but the fundamental layout cannot be changed. There is also a Shoutbox for public messages. Profile pages are visible to all, together with a list of top artists and tracks, and the 10 most recently played tracks (can be expanded). Each user's profile has a 'Taste-o-Meter' which gives a rating of how compatible your music taste is.

Profile pages can also include lists of friends, weekly musical "neighbours", favourite tags, groups and events. An optional customizable playlist may be also added, with tracks that the user wishes to share or promote. Other features include the ability to remove songs listened to within a 2 week time-frame, navigation to linked profiles (such as friends and musical neighbours) and a list of individual users' favourite albums.

A customizable display of Recently Played tracks, is now available via web services, allowing users to add them to blogs, MySpace or as forum signatures.

Recommendations

The most recent expanded service on Last.fm is a personal recommendations page known as "The Dashboard". This is only visible to the user concerned and lists suggested new music, events, journal entries and other people with similar tastes, all tailored to the user's own preferences.

Recommendations are calculated using a collaborative filtering algorithm so users can browse and hear previews of a list of artists not listed on their own profile but which appear on those of others with similar musical tastes. The page also lists music that has been directly recommended to the user and groups the user belongs to, journals written by users about artists the user listens to, and other users who have listened to similar music recently. There is also a 'recommendation radio' station which will play music specifically filtered based on the user's last week of listening. Last.fm also permits users to manually recommend specific artists, songs or albums to other users on their friends list or groups they belong to, providing the recommendation in question is included in the Last.fm database.

Groups

Last.fm allows the formation of user groups between users with something in common (for example, fans of an artist, a genre of music, or membership of another internet forum). Groups may be linked to artists and countries. Any user may start a group and add members. Most groups are open to all, but membership may be subject to approval by the Group Leader. Last.fm will generate a group profile similar to the users' profiles, showing an amalgamated set of data and charting the group's overall tastes. Individual groups have their own discussion forums and journal space, and a group radio station based on members' music profiles is automatically generated once a sufficient number of members have joined. Group members are also able to submit recommendations of artists or tracks to all the other members of their group.

Events

With the October 2006 update, events functionality was added, which lets users specify a location and a radius from the location, then suggests gigs or festivals that that user may want to see in the area. Users can set themselves as attending an event. Any registered user may add a new venue or event which will then be listed on the band or artist's main page, together with other details if available. There is also a facility to submit reviews and photographs of past events.

Subscriber accounts

Last.fm offers paid accounts, costing £3, €3 or $3 per month. Some of the extra features that paid users receive are:

No advertising

The ability to view recent visitors to one's own profile page

Priority on Last.fm server

The ability to play Last.fm radio outside of the UK, US or Germany

Access to radio on mobile apps and hardware devices

Xbox 360

On November 17, 2009, Last.fm was fully rolled out to all Xbox Live Gold members, after a 3 month successful trial to selected gold members via a redeemable code. The application may be downloaded from the Xbox 360 Dashboard. Users cannot listen whilst playing games; reasons for this are still unclear but point to Microsoft not allowing the application to use too much of system resources to allow maximum processing for games and live services.

Last.fm on the Xbox 360 is available only to players in the United States and United Kingdom, regardless of Last.fm or Xbox LIVE subscription status.

Microsoft announced that Last.fm for Xbox 360 will also be available in Germany soon.

Artist pages

Once an artist has had a track or tracks "scrobbled" by at least one user, Last.fm automatically generates a main artist page, even if there is no music available for streaming on the radio. This page shows details of the total number of plays, the total number of listeners, the most popular weekly and overall tracks, the top weekly listeners, linked groups and journals, a list of similar artists, most popular tags and a shoutbox for messages. There are also links to events, additional album and individual track pages and similar artists radio. Official music videos and other videos imported from YouTube may also be viewed on the relevant artist and track pages.

Users may add relevant biographical details and other information to any artist's main page in the form of a Wiki. Edits are regularly moderated to prevent vandalism. A photograph of the artist may also be added. If more than one is submitted, the most popular is chosen by public vote. User submitted content is licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License and GNU Free Documentation License.

Last.fm currently cannot disambiguate artists with the same name; a single artist profile is shared between valid artists with the same name. Also Last.fm currently does not differentiate between the Composer and the Artist of music which makes for disorganization in classical music genres.

Music catalogue

Last.fm's music library contains well over 12 million individual audio tracks from artists on all the major commercial and independent labels. Users are not allowed to upload copyrighted audio files but commercially available albums are regularly added by Last.fm staff. Most currently popular and other well-known artists have tracks available for streaming, although there are significant gaps in coverage and the most recent releases are not always added immediately. The music catalogue includes a wide variety of genres including classical, opera and musicals, as well as many little known and specialist recordings which are no longer generally available.

In February 2007 Warner Music, the world's third-largest music company, announced that it had signed a deal to allow its entire catalogue to be played on Last.fm. Warner's music would be made available over Last.fm's service in Europe and North America. The site's co-founder, Martin Stiksel, said they were also in talks with the other three major labels and content holders. However in June 2008 Warner cancelled its deal with last.fm and removed all Warner artists from the site's on demand streaming catalogue, Warner have indicated that they are in disagreement over the financial compensation offered by last.fm.

On 9 July 2007, it was announced that Last.fm had also signed a deal with the Sony BMG record label. The partnership will give the service's users access to the entire Sony BMG catalogue of music.

Independent artists and record labels

Independent record labels and unsigned artists are encouraged to promote their music on Last.fm, because the filtering and recommendation features mean that the music will be played for users who already like similar artists. Labels and artists can upload their own music for streaming and Last.fm provides access to weekly airplay statistics, with facilities for promoting individual artists or tracks. Labels and artists may choose whether their music is to be made available for streaming only, or for purchase or free download.

Full length promotional tracks and free downloads

30-second previews of any of the 12 million streamable tracks are available on demand, from anywhere in the site, by clicking on the grey arrow next to the name of the track or artist. Some tracks were also available to preview in full if the label or artist has specifically authorized it.

In October 2006, Last.fm brought back its free download service which allowed users to download select tracks as specified by the artist or the label. The service only includes tracks on "indie" labels or by bands who upload their own material, although some artists who have since moved onto a major label (such as Coheed and Cambria and My Chemical Romance) have kept their free songs available for download. More than 500,000 indie artists and labels have used the Last.fm Music Manager to upload more than 3 million tracks to be played on Last.fm's radio, 2 Million can be played "directly from artist" and ore than 1M of these songs are currently downloadable, and there is a separate free download chart, updated weekly, showing the 200 most popular tracks. This database of music currently powers the relaunched Mp3.com site that went live in June 2011.

Play-on-demand features and their removal

On 23 January 2008, Last.fm changed its business model with the Free the Music initiative. Most tracks and albums could be streamed from the website free of charge up to three times. The artists were paid each time the track is played. This service was still in beta mode and free on demand listening was only available to users in the US, UK and Germany.

Last.fm switched this off on April 12, 2010, which upset some Last.fm users, instead partnering with third party music services as MOG, Spotify, and Hype Machine to provide listenable content. All tracks are played in full when users listen to Last.fm's radio.

Tags

Last.fm supports user-end tagging or labeling of artists, albums, and tracks to create a site-wide folksonomy of music. Users can browse via tags, but the most important benefit is ''tag radio'', permitting users to play music that has been tagged a certain way. This tagging can be by genre, mood, artist characteristic, or any other form of user-defined classification. However, since tagging is not moderated, it is prone to manipulation by the site's users, most often resulting in genre disagreements among users or pushing certain artists higher up on certain tag charts.

Until November 2010, subscribers were also able to create personal tag radio stations containing only tracks and artists that they have tagged themselves. All tag radio stations (including subscriber's personal tag stations) could be played by anybody, including non-subscribers in certain countries including US and some others. In other countries playing requires subscribing.

Charts

One particular feature of Last.fm is the automatic weekly generation and archiving of detailed personal music charts and statistics which are created as part of its profile building. Users have several different charts available, including Top Artists, Top Tracks, and Top Albums, as well as Weekly Top Artists and Weekly Top Tracks. Each of these charts is based on the actual number of people listening to the track, album or artist recorded either through an Audioscrobbler plugin or the Last.fm radio stream.

Additionally, charts are available for the top tracks by each artist in the Last.fm system as well as the top tracks for individual albums (when the tagging information of the audio file is available). Artist profiles also keep track of a short list of Top Fans, which is calculated by a formula meant to portray the importance of an artist in a fan's own profile, balancing out users who play hundreds of tracks overall versus those who play only a few.

As the information generated is largely compiled from the ID3 data from audio files "scrobbled" from user's own computers, and which may be incorrect or misspelled, there are many errors in the listings. Tracks with ambiguous punctuation are especially prone to separate listings, which can dilute the apparent popularity of a track. Artists or bands with the same name are not always differentiated. The system attempts to translate some different artist tags to a single artist profile, and has recently attempted to harmonise track names.

Charts are also available for user groups, thus providing a view into a demographic slice, and can reveal interesting new music based on the preferences of similar users.

Global charts

Last.fm generates weekly "global" charts of the top 400 artists and tracks listened to by all Last.fm users. To prevent the artificial boosting of an artist or song by deliberately repeated tracks from a single listener, these charts are based on the total number of individual listeners (the reach) and not the number of actual plays.

The result is notably different from traditional commercial music charts provided by the UK Top 40, Billboard magazine, Soundscan and others, which are based on radio plays or sales. Last.fm charts are less volatile and a new album's release may be reflected in play data for many months or years after it drops out of commercial charts. For example, The Beatles have consistently been a top 5 band at Last.fm, reflecting the continued popularity of the band's music irrespective of current album sales. Significant events, such as the release of a highly anticipated album or the death of an artist can have a large impact on the charts.

The Global Tag Chart shows the 100 most popular tags that have been used to describe artists, albums, and tracks. This is based on the total number of times the tag has been applied by Last.fm users since the tagging system was first introduced and does not necessarily reflect the number of users currently listening to any of the related "global tag radio" stations.

Radio stations

Last.fm offers customized virtual "radio stations" consisting of uninterrupted audio streams of individual tracks selected from the music files in the music library.

Stations can be based on the user's personal profile, the user's "musical neighbors", or the user's "friends". Groups based around common interests or geography also have radio stations if there are enough members, and tags also have radio stations if enough music has the same tag. Radio stations can also be created on the fly, and each artist page allows selection of a "similar artists" or "artist fan" radio station. As of May 2009, Last.fm introduced Visual Radio, an improved version of last.fm radio. This brought features such as an artist slideshow and combo stations, which allows for listening to stations consisting of common similar artists of up to either 3 artists or 3 tags.

Under the terms of the station's "radio" license, listeners may not select specific tracks (except as previews), or choose the order in which they are played, although any of the tracks played may be skipped or banned completely. The appropriate royalties are paid to the copyright holders of all streamed audio tracks according to the law in the UK. The radio stream uses an MP3 stream encoded at 128 kbit/s 44.1 kHz, which may be played using the in-page flash player or the downloaded Last.fm client, but other community-supported players are available as well as a proxy which allows using a media player of choice.

On 24 March 2009, Last.fm announced that Last.fm Radio will require a subscription of €3.00 per month for users living outside the US, the UK and Germany. This change was to take effect on March 30, but was postponed until April 22. The decision resulted in over 1000 comments, most of them negative, on the last.fm blog.

Player

name	Last.fm player
logo
screenshot
developer	Last.fm
latest release version	1.5.4.27091
latest release date	28 October 2010
operating system	Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Unix
genre	Media player
license	GNU General Public License
website	http://www.last.fm/download }}

An "in-page" Flash-based player is provided automatically for all listeners with Adobe Flash installed on their computers; it is necessary to download and install the Flash software in order to listen to the music available from the Last.fm music library using this method if it is not already installed. Furthermore, it is necessary to download and install the Last.fm client if a user also wishes information about played tracks from their own digital music collection to be included in their personal music profile.

Prior to August 2005, Last.fm generated an open stream that could be played in the user's music player of choice, with a browser-based player control panel. This proved difficult to support and has been officially discontinued. The Last.fm client is currently the only officially supported music player for playing customized Last.fm radio streams on desktop computers. The current version combines the functions of the music player with the plugin that transmits all track data to the Last.fm server, and effectively replaces the separate Last.fm Player and the standalone track submission plugins. It is also free software licensed under the GNU General Public License and available for GNU/Linux, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows operating systems.

The player allows the user to enter the name of any artist or tag which then gives a choice of a number of similar artist stations, or similar global tag stations. Alternatively, Recommendation radio or any of the user's personal radio stations may be played without the necessity to visit the website.

The player displays the name of the station and track currently playing, the song artist, title and track length as well as album details, the artist's photo and biographical details, album cover art when available, lists of similar artists and the most popular tags and top fans. There are several buttons, allowing the user to ''love'', ''skip'', or ''ban'' a song. The ''love'' button adds the song to the user's ''loved tracks'' list; the ''ban'' button ensures that the song will not be played again. Both features affect the user's profile. The ''skip'' button does not. Other buttons allow the user to tag or recommend the currently playing track. Other features offered by the application are: minor editing of the user's profile including removing recently played artists and songs from the loved, banned, or previously played track lists; lists of friends and neighbours, lists of tags and a list of previously played radio stations. Users can also open their full Last.fm profile page directly from the player.

The client also enables the user to install player plugins, these integrate with various standalone media players to allow the submission of tracks played in those programs.

In the latest version of the Last.fm Player application, the user can select to use an external player. When this is done, the Last.fm Player provides the user with a local URL, through which the Last.fm music stream is proxied. Users can then open the URL in their preferred media player.

Last.fm has also developed client software for mobile phones running the iPhone OS, and the Android OS.

Audioscrobbler plugin

Last.fm can optionally build a profile directly from a user's music played on their personal computer. Users must download and install a plugin for their music player, which will automatically submit the artist and title of the song after either half the song or the first four minutes have played, whichever comes first. When the track is shorter than 30 seconds (31 seconds in iTunes) or the track lacks metadata (ID3, CDDB, etc.), the track is not submitted. To accommodate dial-up users, caching of the data and submitting it in bulk is also possible.

List of supported media players

The following applications have native support for sending song information:

1by1

AlbumPlayer

AIMP

Amarok

aTunes

Audacious

Banshee

Billy

BMPx

Clementine

cmus

Cog

EMMS (Emacs Multimedia System)

Exaile

Ezmo

Google Chrome

Grooveshark

Guayadeque

Helium Music Manager

iScrob iScrobble Pick 'n' Mix iScrobble Premium

Herrie

Listen

LobsterTunes

MediaMaster

MediaPortal

MP3Toys

MusicIP Mixer

Pocket Tunes

Rdio

Sansa San Clip+

Songbird

Spotify

Subsonic

Vagalume Vibe Streamer

VLC media player

Vox

VUPlayer

WiMP

Xbox 360

XBoxMediaCenter (XBMC)

YamiPod

The following services support sending service-specific recently played track feeds:

Rhobbler for Rhapsody (beta)

Plugins are available for the following applications:

AmigaAMP

Audiosurf

Banshee

Beep Media Player

DeaDBeeF

foobar2000

DivX Connected

gmusicbrowser (unofficial plugin)

iTunes

iPod touch and iPhone

LAUNCHcast

J. River Media Center

MediaMonkey (using Winamp plugin, or official beta plugin)

Muine (unofficial plugin)

MPD (unofficial)

musikCube (unofficial beta plugin)

MXPlay

Napster Web Radio

Noatun

Pandora

Pithos

Pocket Player (a music player for Pocket PC and Smartphone devices running the Windows mobile operating system)

Rhapsody

Rhythmbox - (plugin installed by default)

Slacker

Quintessential Player/QCD

Quod Libet

RealPlayer (unofficial plugin)

SlimServer

Songbird

Winamp

Windows Media Player (32-bit & 64-bit)

XMMS

XMMS2

XMPlay

Yahoo Music Engine

Supported audio players (hardware)

There is some support for portable audio players. Since most of these are offline (which breaks the Last.fm concept), track info has to be batch scrobbled. Players for which batch upload software is available:

iPod: The most recent version of the Last.fm software for Windows and Mac (introduced in May 2008) features iPod scrobbling. Although this was introduced in a previous version of Last.fm many users had complained that such features had ceased to function in recent updates. iPod Touch and iPhone: With iPod touch and iPhone's firmware version 2.0, Last.fm has created an official client for streaming its music. Alternatively, through the process of Jailbreaking your iPod Touch/iPhone, MobileScrobbler can both stream radio and scrobble tracks via Wi-Fi or an EDGE/3G mobile connection. Track plays are counted using iTunes's system of registering a play if the last 5 seconds of a track are listened to, as opposed to Last.fm's conventional method which scrobbles a play once 50% of a track has elapsed. When the iPod syncs with iTunes, play count data is transferred, which is then extracted by the Last.fm software. iScrobble is a realtime Scrobbler that doesn't require a jailbreak and supports non-realtime and realtime background Scrobbling direct from iDevices. iScrob is a realtime backgrounding Scrobbler that doesn't require a jailbreak.

Rhythmbox's plugin supports iPod scrobbling

Smartphones running Google's Android operating system using the Last.fm app which is free from the Android Market.

Microsoft Zune via Zuse

Nokia N900 (mafw-lastfm plugin for Maemo 5 devices like the Nokia N900)

Mobbler for Symbian smartphones. With Mobbler, songs played through the phone's music player can either be scrobbled live through an internet connection, or cached and scrobbled later. It also has last.fm radio functionality, along with various other features.

Aspy Player for Symbian smartphones, e.g. Samsung i8510 where Mobbler doesn't work.

PlayStation Portable with third party software LightMP3

Rockbox replacement firmware

Various other players: supported with the Rockbox firmware - logs made by these players can be uploaded to Last.fm using third party software. Such software includes the web based dap-scrob, and the GUI based Qt4 program QTScrobbler

Zenses is an open source utility program for MTP compatible devices such as iriver clix, Toshiba's Gigabeat line, SanDisk's Sansa series, Samsung's YP series, Microsoft Zune, & Creative's Zen players. It lets you submit play counts from the player to Last.fm, view charts on what you've played and create recently added playlists. Zenses was designed and developed for use with Creative's Zen Vision:M media player; however it should also work with most other MTP compatible devices. A new version of the application is currently in development by Adam Livesley.

TrekStor Vibez with scrobbler It'sGotTheVibez

foobar2000 (Windows) Plugins foo_dop and foo_audioscrobbler combined.

Frontier Silicon-based connected audio devices.

INQ1 mobile phone supports scrobbling from its native media player

Sonos Wireless HiFi Multi-Room Music System supports scrobbling and streaming Last.fm radio

Squeezebox (network music player) supports scrobbling and streaming Last.fm radio

Other third party applications

Supported applications

Build Last.fm As of March 2008, the website has added a section titled "Build" where third party applications can be submitted for review, and then posted to the page. SXSW Band-Aid Last.fm partnered up with the SXSW festival by creating an application embedded in the corresponding group page that filters the various artists at the festival by a user's listening statistics, and then uses Last.fm's recommendation service to also suggest other performing artists that said user hasn't listened to.

Other applications

iScrob is a full realtime backgrounding Scrobbler for iPhone and iPod touch

iScrobble is a Last.fm Live Scrobbler with Full Realtime Background Scrobbling and non-realtime scrobbling for when the app isn't running and is available for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad and will be coming to the Mac soon

Pocket Scrobbler for Windows Mobile enables scrobbling from supported media players as well as streaming radio from Last.fm

LastFmLib.net (LGPL) for using the Last.fm web services in VB.Net/C#

Last.fm Java bindings (BSD) for using the Last.fm web services in Java

Last.fm recent tracks widget for Mac OS X displays a user's most recently played tracks.

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References

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Audioscrobbler development site

The Old Last.fm

Free Last.fm Music Streamer Plugin for Chrome

Tiny webcaster Last.fm causes major online splash, Rockbites, 22 July 2003

Last.fm: Music to Listeners' Ears, Wired, 7 July 2003

The Musical Myware, Audio presentation by CEO Felix Miller, IT Conversations, 7 March 2006

Guardian Unlimited Interview, Guardian Unlimited Interview with Last.fm co-founder, Martin Stiksel, 4 November 2006

The Celestial Jukebox, New Statesman on the story of Last.fm, June 2009

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Coordinates	39°46′5.88″N86°9′29.52″N
Name	Michelle Obama
Image name	Michelle Obama official portrait headshot.jpg
Office	First Lady of the United States
Term start	January 20, 2009
Predecessor	Laura Bush
Birth date	January 17, 1964
Birth place	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Birthname	Michelle LaVaughn Robinson
Nationality	American
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Barack Obama (m. 1992)
Children	Malia (born 1998) Sasha (born 2001)
Residence	Hyde Park, Chicago (private)The White House (official)
Alma mater	Princeton University (A.B.)Harvard Law School (J.D.)
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Protestant Christian
Signature	Michelle Obama signature.svg }}

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School before returning to Chicago and to work at the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met her future husband. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband's presidential bid and delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She is the mother of two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and is the sister of Craig Robinson, men's basketball coach at Oregon State University. As the wife of a Senator, and later the First Lady, she has become a fashion icon and role model for women, and an advocate for poverty awareness, nutrition and healthy eating.

Family and education

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was born on January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois, to Fraser Robinson III, a city water plant employee and Democratic precinct captain, and Marian (née Shields), a secretary at Spiegel's catalog store. Her mother was a full-time homemaker until Michelle entered high school. The Robinson and Shields families can trace their roots to pre-Civil War African Americans in the American South. Specifically, her roots can be traced to the Gullah people from South Carolina's Lowcountry region. Her paternal great-great grandfather, Jim Robinson, was an American slave in the state of South Carolina, where some of her paternal family still reside. Her maternal great-great-great grandmother, Melvinia Shields, also a slave, became pregnant by a white man. His name and the nature of their union have been lost. She gave birth to Michelle's biracial maternal great-great grandfather, Dolphus T. Shields.

Michelle grew up in a two-story house on Euclid Street in Chicago's South Shore community area. Her parents rented a small apartment on the house's second floor from her great-aunt, who lived downstairs. She was raised in what she describes as a "conventional" home, with "the mother at home, the father works, you have dinner around the table". The family entertained together by playing games such as Monopoly and by reading. They attended services at nearby South Shore Methodist Church. The Robinsons used to vacation in a rustic cabin in White Cloud, Michigan. She and her brother, Craig (who is 21 months older), skipped the second grade. By sixth grade, Michelle joined a gifted class at Bryn Mawr Elementary School (later renamed Bouchet Academy).

She attended Whitney Young High School, Chicago's first magnet high school, where she was a classmate of Jesse Jackson's daughter Santita. The round trip commute from the Robinsons' South Side home to the Near West Side, where the school was located, took three hours. She was on the honor roll for four years, took advanced placement classes, a member of the National Honor Society and served as student council treasurer. Obama graduated in 1981 as the salutatorian of her class.

Michelle was inspired to follow her brother to Princeton University; he graduated in 1983. At Princeton, she challenged the teaching methodology for French because she felt that it should be more conversational. As part of her requirements for graduation, she wrote a thesis entitled "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community." "I remember being shocked," she says, "by college students who drove BMWs. I didn't even know parents who drove BMWs." While at Princeton, she got involved with the Third World Center (now known as the Carl A. Fields Center), an academic and cultural group that supported minority students, running their day care center which also included after school tutoring. Robinson majored in sociology and minored in African American studies and graduated ''cum laude'' with a Bachelor of Arts in 1985. She earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. At Harvard she participated in demonstrations advocating the hiring of professors who were members of minorities and worked for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, assisting low-income tenants with housing cases. She is the third First Lady with a postgraduate degree, after her two immediate predecessors, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Laura Bush. In July 2008, Obama accepted the invitation to become an honorary member of the 100-year-old black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, which had no active undergraduate chapter at Princeton when she attended.

She met Barack Obama when they were among the few African Americans at their law firm, Sidley Austin (she has sometimes said only two, although others have pointed out there were others in different departments), and she was assigned to mentor him as a summer associate. Their relationship started with a business lunch and then a community organization meeting where he first impressed her. The couple's first date was to the Spike Lee movie ''Do the Right Thing''. They married in October 1992, and have two daughters, Malia Ann (born 1998) and Natasha (known as Sasha, born 2001). After his election to the U.S. Senate, the Obama family continued to live on Chicago's South Side, choosing to remain there rather than moving to Washington, D.C. Throughout her husband's 2008 campaign for President of the United States, she made a "commitment to be away overnight only once a week — to campaign only two days a week and be home by the end of the second day" for their two children. She is the first cousin, once removed, of Rabbi Capers C. Funnye Jr., one of the country’s most prominent black rabbis.

She once requested that her then-fiancé meet her prospective boss, Valerie Jarrett, when considering her first career move. Now, Jarrett is one of her husband’s closest advisors. The marital relationship has had its ebbs and flows; the combination of an evolving family life and beginning political career led to many arguments about balancing work and family. Barack Obama wrote in his second book, ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream'', that "Tired and stressed, we had little time for conversation, much less romance". However, despite their family obligations and careers, they continue to attempt to schedule date nights.

The Obamas' daughters attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, a private school. As a member of the school's board, Michelle fought to maintain diversity in the school when other board members connected with the University of Chicago tried to reserve more slots for children of the university faculty. This resulted in a plan to expand the school. Malia and Sasha now attend Sidwell Friends School in Washington, after also considering Georgetown Day School. Michelle stated in an interview on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' that they do not intend to have any more children. The Obamas have received advice from past first ladies Laura Bush, Rosalynn Carter and Hillary Rodham Clinton about raising children in the White House. Marian Robinson, Michelle's mother, has moved into the White House to assist with child care.

Career

Following law school, she was an associate at the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin, where she first met her future husband. At the firm, she worked on marketing and intellectual property. She continues to hold her law license, but as she no longer needs it for her work, it has been on a voluntary inactive status since 1993.

In 1991, she held public sector positions in the Chicago city government as an Assistant to the Mayor, and as Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development. In 1993, she became Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit organization encouraging young people to work on social issues in nonprofit groups and government agencies. She worked there nearly four years and set fundraising records for the organization that still stood 12 years after she left.

In 1996, she served as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago, where she developed the University's Community Service Center. In 2002, she began working for the University of Chicago Hospitals, first as executive director for community affairs and, beginning May 2005, as Vice President for Community and External Affairs. She continued to hold the University of Chicago Hospitals position during the primary campaign, but cut back to part time in order to spend time with her daughters as well as work for her husband's election; she subsequently took a leave of absence from her job. According to the couple’s 2006 income tax return, her salary was $273,618 from the University of Chicago Hospitals, while her husband had a salary of $157,082 from the United States Senate. The Obamas' total income, however, was $991,296, which included $51,200 she earned as a member of the board of directors of TreeHouse Foods, and investments and royalties from his books.

She served as a salaried board member of TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (), a major Wal-Mart supplier with whom she cut ties immediately after her husband made comments critical of Wal-Mart at an AFL-CIO forum in Trenton, New Jersey, on May 14, 2007. She serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

2008 Presidential election

Although Obama has campaigned on her husband's behalf since early in his political career by handshaking and fund-raising, she did not relish the activity at first. When she campaigned during her husband's 2000 run for United States House of Representatives, her boss at the University of Chicago asked if there was any single thing about campaigning that she enjoyed; after some thought, she replied that visiting so many living rooms had given her some new decorating ideas.

At first, Obama had reservations about her husband's presidential campaign, due to fears about a possible negative effect on their daughters. She says that she negotiated an agreement in which her husband was to give up smoking in exchange for her support of his decision to run. About her role in her husband's presidential campaign she has said: "My job is not a senior adviser." During the campaign, she has discussed race and education by using motherhood as a framework.

In May 2007, three months after her husband declared his presidential candidacy, she reduced her professional responsibilities by 80 percent to support his presidential campaign. Early in the campaign, she had limited involvement in which she traveled to political events only two days a week and traveled overnight only if their daughters could come along; by early February 2008 her participation had increased significantly, attending thirty-three events in eight days. She made several campaign appearances with Oprah Winfrey. She wrote her own stump speeches for her husband's presidential campaign and generally spoke without notes.

Throughout the campaign, the media often labeled her as an "angry black woman," and some Web sites attempted to propagate this image, prompting her to respond: "Barack and I have been in the public eye for many years now, and we've developed a thick skin along the way. When you’re out campaigning, there will always be criticism. I just take it in stride, and at the end of the day, I know that it comes with the territory." By the time of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in August, media outlets observed that her presence on the campaign trail had grown softer than at the start of the race, focusing on soliciting concerns and empathizing with the audience rather than throwing down challenges to them, and giving interviews to shows like ''The View'' and publications like ''Ladies' Home Journal'' rather than appearing on news programs. The change was even reflected in her fashion choices, wearing more informal clothes in place of her previous designer pieces. The ''View'' appearance was partly intended to help soften her public image, and it was widely-covered in the press.

The presidential campaign was her first exposure to the national political scene; even before the field of Democratic candidates was narrowed to two, she was considered the least famous of the candidates' spouses. Early in the campaign, she told anecdotes about the Obama family life; however, as the press began to emphasize her sarcasm, she toned it down. ''New York Times'' op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd wrote: }}

On the first night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Craig Robinson introduced his younger sister. She delivered her speech, during which she sought to portray herself and her family as the embodiment of the American Dream. Obama said both she and her husband believed "that you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond, and you do what you say you're going to do, that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them." She also emphasized loving her country, in response to criticism for her previous statements about feeling proud of her country for the first time. That keynote address was largely well received and drew mostly positive reviews. A Rasmussen Reports poll found that her favorability among Americans reached 55%.

On an October 6, 2008 broadcast, Larry King asked her if the American electorate was past the Bradley effect. She stated that her husband's achievement of the nomination was a fairly strong indicator that it was. The same night she also was interviewed by Jon Stewart on the ''Daily Show'' where she deflected criticism of her husband and his campaign. On Fox News' ''America's Pulse'', E. D. Hill referred to the fist bump shared by the Obamas on the night that he clinched the Democratic presidential nomination as a "terrorist fist jab"; Hill was taken off air and the show itself was cancelled.

First Lady of the United States

Public image and style

With the ascent of her husband as a prominent national politician, Michelle Obama has become a part of popular culture. In May 2006, ''Essence'' listed her among "25 of the World's Most Inspiring Women." In July 2007, ''Vanity Fair'' listed her among "10 of the World's Best Dressed People." She was an honorary guest at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball as a "young'un" paying tribute to the 'Legends,' which helped pave the way for African American Women. In September 2007, ''02138'' magazine listed her 58th of 'The Harvard 100'; a list of the prior year's most influential Harvard alumni. Her husband was ranked fourth. In July 2008, she made a repeat appearance on the ''Vanity Fair'' international best dressed list. She also appeared on the 2008 ''People'' list of best-dressed women and was praised by the magazine for her "classic and confident" look.

At the time of her husband's election, some sources anticipated that as a high-profile African-American woman in a stable marriage she would be a positive role model who would influence the view the world has of African-Americans. Her fashion choices were part of the 2009 Fashion week, but Obama's influence in the field did not have the impact on the paucity of African-American models who participate, that some thought it might.

She has been compared to Jacqueline Kennedy due to her sense of style, and also to Barbara Bush for her discipline and decorum. Her white, one-shoulder Jason Wu 2009 inaugural gown was said to be "an unlikely combination of Nancy Reagan and Jackie Kennedy". Obama's style is described as populist. She often wears clothes by designers Calvin Klein, Isabel Toledo, Narciso Rodriguez, Donna Ricco and Maria Pinto, and has become a fashion trendsetter, in particular her favoring of sleeveless dresses that showcase her toned arms.

She appeared on the cover and in a photo spread in the March 2009 issue of ''Vogue''. Every First Lady since Lou Hoover (except Bess Truman) has been in ''Vogue'', but only Hillary Clinton had previously appeared on the cover.

The media have been criticized for focusing more on the first lady's fashion sense than her serious contributions. She has stated that she would like to focus attention as First Lady on issues of concern to military and working families. ''U.S.News & World Report'' blogger, PBS host and Scripps Howard columnist Bonnie Erbe has argued that Obama's own publicists seem to be feeding the emphasis on style over substance. Erbe has stated on several occasions that she is miscasting herself by overemphasizing style.

Work undertaken and causes promoted

During her early months as First Lady, she visited homeless shelters and soup kitchens. She also sent representatives to schools and advocated public service. On her first trip abroad in April 2009, she toured a cancer ward with Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. She has begun advocating on behalf of military families. Like her predecessors Clinton and Bush, who supported the organic movement by instructing the White House kitchens to buy organic food, Obama has received attention by planting an organic garden and installing bee hives on the South Lawn of the White House, which will supply organic produce and honey to the First Family and for state dinners and other official gatherings.

Obama has become an advocate of her husband's policy priorities by promoting bills that support it. Following the enactment of the Pay equity law, Obama hosted a White House reception for women's rights advocates in celebration. She has pronounced her support for the economic stimulus bill in visits to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and United States Department of Education. Some observers have looked favorably upon her legislative activities, while others have said that she should be less involved in politics. According to her representatives, she intends to visit all United States Cabinet-level agencies in order to get acquainted with Washington.

She gained growing public support in her early months as first lady. She is notable for her support from military families and some Republicans. As the public is growing accustomed to her, she is becoming more accepted as a role model. ''Newsweek'' described her first trip abroad as an exhibition of her so-called "star power" and MSN described it as a display of sartorial elegance. There were questions raised in the American and British media regarding protocol when the Obamas met Queen Elizabeth II, and Michelle reciprocated a touch on her back by the Queen during a reception, purportedly against traditional royal etiquette. Palace sources denied that any breach in etiquette had occurred.

On June 5, 2009, the White House announced that Michelle Obama was replacing her current chief of staff, Jackie Norris, with Susan Sher, a longtime friend and adviser. Norris will become a senior adviser to the Corporation for National and Community Service. Then in February 2010, the resignation of White House Social Secretary, Desiree Rogers was announced to be effective the following month. Rogers had been at odds with other administration officials, such as David Axelrod, and then the White House State Dinner faux pas occurred on November 24, 2009. Rogers was replaced by Julianna Smoot.

After a year as First Lady, she undertook her first lead role in an administrationwide initiative. Her goal was to make progress in reversing the 21st century trend of childhood obesity. She stated that her goal is to make this effort her legacy: "I want to leave something behind that we can say, ‘Because of this time that this person spent here, this thing has changed.’ And my hope is that that’s going to be in the area of childhood obesity." She has named the movement "Let's Move!". This effort does not supplant her other efforts: supporting military families, helping working women balance career and family, encouraging national service, promoting the arts and arts education, and fostering healthy eating and healthy living for children and families across the country. She has earned widespread publicity on the topic of healthy eating by planting the first White House vegetable garden since Eleanor Roosevelt served as First Lady.

References

Further reading

External links

First Lady Michelle Obama at Whitehouse.gov

"About Michelle Obama" at BarackObama.com

Michelle Obama collected news and commentary at ''Chicago Tribune''

Michelle Obama collected news and commentary at U.S.News & World Report

Michelle Obama On Love, Family & Politics, interview with Katie Couric of ''CBS News'', February 15, 2008

Photoessay in ''Newsweek''

Category:1964 births Category:African American history Category:African American female lawyers Category:First Ladies of the United States Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:Illinois Democrats Category:Illinois lawyers Category:Living people Category:Obama family Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:Princeton University alumni Category:Spouses of Illinois politicians Category:Spouses of United States Senators Category:United Church of Christ members Category:Whitney M. Young Magnet High School alumni Category:Women in Illinois politics

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Coordinates	39°46′5.88″N86°9′29.52″N
name	Christina Aguilera
background	solo_singer
birth name	Christina María Aguilera
alias	Xtina
birth date	December 18, 1980
birth place
origin
genre	Pop, R&B;, soul, dance
occupation	Singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, television personality, actress
instrument	Vocals
years active	1993–present
label	RCA
website	}}

Christina María Aguilera (born December 18, 1980) is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the ''Star Search'' program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' from 1993–1994. Aguilera signed to RCA Records after recording "Reflection", the theme song for the animated film ''Mulan'' (1998).

In 1999, Aguilera came to prominence following her debut album ''Christina Aguilera'', which was a commercial success spawning three number one singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100—"Genie in a Bottle", "What a Girl Wants", and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)." Her sophomore and her debut Latin-pop album, ''Mi Reflejo'' (2000), a Christmas third studio album, ''My Kind of Christmas'' (2000), and several collaborations followed which garnered Aguilera worldwide success, though she was displeased with her lack of input in her music and image. After parting from her management, Aguilera took creative control over her fourth studio album, ''Stripped'' (2002). The album's second single, "Beautiful," was a commercial success and helped the album's commercial performance amidst controversy over Aguilera's image. Aguilera followed up ''Stripped'' with the soul, jazz and blues inspired, ''Back to Basics'' (2006), released to positive critical acclaim. Four years later Aguilera released her sixth studio album, ''Bionic'' (2010), which incorporated aspects of R&B;, electropop, and synthpop and was met with mixed reviews and poor sales.

Aside from being known for her vocal ability, music videos and image, musically, she includes themes of dealing with public scrutiny, her childhood, and female empowerment in her music. Apart from her work in music, she has also dedicated much of her time as a philanthropist for charities, human rights and world issues which include her work as a UN ambassador for the World Food Programme. She made her feature film debut in the musical ''Burlesque'' (2010), earning Aguilera a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song. Aguilera's work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, four Grammy Awards and a Latin Grammy Award, amongst fifteen and three nominations respectively. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked her number fifty-eight on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, ranking as the youngest and only artist on the list under the age of thirty. She was ranked the 20th Artist of the 2000–09 decade by ''Billboard'' and is the second top selling single artist of the 2000s behind Madonna. Christina Aguilera has sold 50 million records worldwide making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

Life and career

1980–98: Early life and career beginnings

Aguilera was born in Staten Island, New York, to Fausto Wagner Xavier Aguilera, a sergeant in the US Army at the time, and Shelly Loraine (née Fidler), a Spanish teacher. Aguilera's father was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador and her mother is of German, Irish, Welsh, and Dutch ancestry. Her father was stationed at Earnest Harmon Air Force Base in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador and Japan. Aguilera lived with both her father and mother, up until their divorce when she was seven years old. Aguilera then lived with her mother, and her younger sister Rachel, at her grandmother's home in Rochester, Pennsylvania, a town outside Pittsburgh. According to both Aguilera and her mother, her father was very controlling, as well as physically and emotionally abusive. In an interview with ''Rolling Stone'' Aguilera revealed, "there was so much domestic violence going on when I grew up with my dad travelling in the military. I think the reason that my drive was so strong and I was so passionate about music was because I grew up in an environment of domestic violence." She later sang about her difficult childhood in the songs "I'm OK" on ''Stripped'', and "Oh Mother" on ''Back to Basics''. Even though he has made several attempts to reconnect with her, Aguilera ruled out any chance of a reunion. Since then, her mother has married a paramedic named Jim Kearns, and has changed her name.

As a child, Aguilera aspired to be a singer. She was known locally as "the little girl with the big voice", singing in local talent shows and competitions. She attended Marshall Middle School near Wexford and North Allegheny Intermediate High School. On March 15, 1990, she appeared on ''Star Search'' singing "A Sunday Kind of Love", but lost the competition at number 2. Soon after losing on ''Star Search'', she returned home and appeared on Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV's ''Wake Up With Larry Richert'' to perform the same song. Throughout her youth in Pittsburgh, Aguilera sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, Pittsburgh Steelers football and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball games, including during the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals. Her talent was kept a secret to avoid bullying of other children. Following her television appearances Aguilera experienced resentment and bullying including an incident in which her peers slashed the tires on her family's car. Following several incidents Aguilera was later home schooled. Aguilera recalls, "doing what I did and maybe being a little smaller, I was definitely picked on and bullied for the attention that I got. It was definitely unwanted attention and there was a lot of unfairness about it."

In 1991 Aguilera auditioned for a role on ''The Mickey Mouse Club''; however, she did not meet the age requirements. Two years later, she joined the cast, performing musical numbers and sketch comedy, until the show's cancellation in 1994. Her co-stars included Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling and Keri Russell where they nicknamed her "the Diva" for her performance style and voice. At the age of fourteen, Aguilera recorded her first song, "All I Wanna Do", a hit duet with Japanese singer Keizo Nakanishi. In 1997, she represented the United States at the international Golden Stag Festival with a two-song set. Aguilera entered talent contests on "teen night" at the Pegasus Lounge, a gay and lesbian nightclub in Pittsburgh and later at Lilith Fair. In 1998, Aguilera sent in a demo of her singing Whitney Houston's "Run to You" to Disney who were looking for a singer to record the song "Reflection" for their animated feature film ''Mulan'' (1998). The demo caught the attention of producer and label executive Ron Fair who would later mentor her throughout her career and led to Aguilera earning a contract with RCA Records the same week. and over seventeen million copies worldwide. The album is also included in the Top 100 Albums of All Time list of The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) based on US sales. Released during the teen pop era of 1999 the album was well received by several critics, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of ''AllMusic'' writes that Aguilera's debut "remains firmly within the teen-oriented dance-pop genre, but done right." Concluding that the album is "lightweight in the best possible sense – breezy, fun, engaging, and enjoyable on each repeated listen. Out of the deluge of teen-pop albums in 1999, this feels like the best of the lot." Her debut single, "Genie in a Bottle" was an instant hit reaching No.1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and in several countries worldwide. Her follow-up singles "What a Girl Wants" and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" topped the Hot 100 as well during 1999 and 2000 while "I Turn to You" reached number three. She is one of the few artists to have multiple No.1 singles from a debut album in ''Billboard'''s history. She made a cameo appearance on an episode of ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', performed on MTV's New Year's Special as MTV's first artist of the millennium, and the Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show. Aguilera wanted to display the range and audacity in her voice during the promotion of the album, and performed acoustic sets and appeared on television shows accompanied only by a piano. At the 42nd Grammy Awards Aguilera received a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy nomination for "Genie in a Bottle" and despite earlier predictions, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

In 2000, Aguilera began recording her first Spanish-language album with producer Rudy Pérez in Miami. Later in 2000, Aguilera, first emphasized her Latin heritage by releasing her first Spanish album, ''Mi Reflejo'' on September 12, 2000. This album contained Spanish versions of songs from her English debut as well as new Spanish tracks. Though some criticized Aguilera for trying to cash in on the Latin music boom at the time. According to Pérez, Aguilera was only semi-fluent, while recording. She understood the language, because she has grown up with her father, who is a native of Ecuador. He added "Her Latin roots are undeniable". The album peaked at number twenty-seven on the ''Billboard'' 200 and went number one on the ''Billboard'' Latin charts for a record 20 weeks. In 2001, it won Aguilera a Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album. The album went Gold in the U.S. She also won the World Music Award and ''Billboard'' award as the best selling Latin artist that year. Aguilera also released a Christmas album on October 24, 2000 called ''My Kind of Christmas'' and performed "The Christmas Song" at the White House that year. It peaked at number twenty-eight on the ''Billboard'' 200, and has been certified Platinum in the U.S. Aguilera was ''Billboard'''s top female artist for 2000.

Aguilera's first concert tour, Sears & Levis US Tour (also known as "Christina Aguilera: In Concert") began in the summer of 2000 in the US and ended early 2001 where she toured South America and Asia. A concert special aired on ABC titled ''My Reflection'' and was released to DVD and certified Gold in the US. Aguilera was rumored to have dated MTV VJ Carson Daly. Rumors of their relationship were fueled after the release of Eminem's song, "The Real Slim Shady" in which he also insinuated a romance between her and rocker Fred Durst. Aguilera responded saying the lyrics were "disgusting, offensive and, above all, not true." Their feud ended two years later backstage at the Video Music Awards after Aguilera presented the rapper an award onstage. She dated Puerto Rican dancer Jorge Santos. Santos appeared on her tour and music videos throughout 2000. They dated for nearly two years until the relationship ended on September 11, 2001. He remained her dancer well into 2002.

Ricky Martin asked Aguilera to duet with him on the track "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" from his album ''Sound Loaded''; released in 2001 as the album's second single. The single reached number one on the World Chart and top ten in several countries. In 2001, Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa, and Pink were chosen to remake Labelle's 1975 single "Lady Marmalade" for the film ''Moulin Rouge!'' and its soundtrack. The song peaked at number-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for five weeks and was the most successful airplay-only single in history. It also reached number one in eleven other countries and earned all four performers a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Aguilera's appearance in the music video was compared to that of Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider. The video won two MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year in 2001, where Aguilera accepted the award saying, "I guess the big hair paid off."

That same year, the single "Just Be Free" emerged into record stores which was one of the demos Aguilera recorded when she was around fifteen years old. When RCA Records discovered the single, they advised fans not to purchase it. Months later, Warlock Records was set to release ''Just Be Free'', an album which contains the demo tracks. Aguilera filed a breach of contract and unfair competition suit against Warlock and the album's producers to block the release. Instead, the two parties came to a settlement to release the album. Aguilera lent out her name, likeness and image for an unspecified amount of damages. Many of the details of the lawsuit remain confidential. When the album was released in August 2001, it had a photograph of Aguilera when she was fifteen years old.

Although Aguilera's debut album was commercially successful, she was dissatisfied with the music and image her management had created for her. Aguilera was marketed as a bubblegum pop singer because of the genre's upward financial trend. She mentioned plans of her next album to have much more depth, both musically and lyrically. Aguilera's views of Steve Kurtz's influence in matters of the singer's creative direction, the role of being her exclusive personal manager and overscheduling had in part caused her to seek legal means of terminating their management contract. In October 2000, Aguilera filed a breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit against her manager Kurtz for improper, undue and inappropriate influence over her professional activities, as well as fraud. According to legal documents, Kurtz did not protect her rights and interests. Instead, he took action that was for his own interest, at the cost of hers. The lawsuit came about when Aguilera discovered Kurtz used more of her commissionable income than he was allotted, and had paid other managers to assist him. She also petitioned the California State Labor Commission to nullify the contract. She revealed while recording her then upcoming album, "I was being overworked. You find out that someone you thought was a friend is stealing money behind your back, and it's heartbreaking. I put faith in the people around me, and unfortunately, it bit me in the butt." Kurtz was terminated as her manager. After terminating Kurtz's services, Irving Azoff was hired as her new manager. Kurtz countersued later that month for breach of contract, claiming that the singer violated the same agreement she had sued to void. In the lawsuit, he included others close to Aguilera, alleging their intent to sabotage his business relationship with her. He also singled out Azoff for being in violation of the terms of Kurtz's contract.

2002–05: New image, ''Stripped'' and marriage

On October 29, 2002, Aguilera's fourth studio album, ''Stripped'', was released. The album sold more than 330,000 copies in the first week and peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200. Unlike her previous work, the album showcased Aguilera's raunchier side. The majority of ''Stripped'' was co-written by Aguilera (who had recently signed a global music publishing contract with BMG Music Publishing), and was influenced by many different subjects and music styles, including contemporary R&B;, gospel, soul, balladry, pop rock, and hip hop. The majority of the album was produced by Scott Storch and singer-songwriter Linda Perry who produced her more personal records. Rockwilder and singer Alicia Keys also contributed a track each. Upon initial release, the album was very well-received by critics, although Aguilera's vocals were overlooked as she began to cultivate a more sexually provocative image. After the release of the album, she took part in photoshoots for magazines, many of these photographs featured her nude or semi-nude. Her cover for ''Rolling Stone'', featured the singer only wearing boots and a well-placed electric guitar. It was during this time Aguilera referred to herself as "Xtina", even getting a tattoo of her nickname on the back of her neck and several piercings.

Initially, the raunchy image had a negative effect on Aguilera in the U.S., especially after the release of her controversial "Dirrty" music video. It appeared at number ten on ''Billboard'''s year-end album chart and Aguilera was the top female artist for 2003. Kelly Clarkson's second single "Miss Independent" was co-written by Aguilera, having been half-finished for ''Stripped''.

Aguilera joined Justin Timberlake that June on the final leg of his international ''Justified'' tour, held in the US. This portion of the tour became a co-headliner called the Justified/Stripped Tour. In August, an overhead lighting grid collapsed from the ceiling of the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, causing major damage to the sound and video equipment below. Because the collapse occurred hours before the show, only a few stagehands were injured, but a few shows were cancelled or postponed. In the fourth quarter of that year, Aguilera continued to tour internationally without Timberlake, and changed the name of the tour to the Stripped World Tour. She also dyed her hair black. It was one of the top-grossing tours of that year, and sold out most of its venues. ''Rolling Stone'' readers named it the best tour of the year. That same year she hosted the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards and was a special guest performer with the Pussycat Dolls' dance troupe performing at the Roxy Theatre and Viper Room in Los Angeles. She also appeared on a ''Maxim'' spread alongside them, her second ''Maxim'' cover that year set record sales for the issue making it the top selling issue to date. By the end of the year she topped the annual ''Hot 100'' list saying, "we had fun working with certain clothes, or the lack thereof."

Aguilera's first DVD live-recording from a concert tour, ''Stripped Live in the U.K.'', was released in November 2004. In light of the tour's success, another U.S. tour was scheduled to begin in mid-2004 with a new theme. The tour however was scrapped because of the vocal cord injuries Aguilera suffered shortly before the tour's opening date. In a tribute to Madonna's performance at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards, Aguilera performed a kiss with the singer-actress at the 2003 edition of the ceremony in August. The incident occurred during the opening performance of Madonna's songs "Like a Virgin" and "Hollywood" with fellow popstar Britney Spears. Also in 2004, she hosted a ''Saturday Night Live'' episode which included a ''Sex & The City'' skit where she portrayed Samantha Jones revealing to everyone she was a man the entire time.

Aguilera later decided to embrace a more mature image; this move was met with more praise than criticism, with articles using punch lines such as "From Crass to Class." She eventually dyed her hair cherry blonde and recorded a jingle, "Hello", for a Mercedes-Benz ad. Shortly after, she dyed her hair flaxen blonde and cut it short, and took on a Marilyn Monroe look; she is one of the main proponents (along with Dita Von Teese, Gwen Stefani, and Ashley Judd) in bringing back the 1920s–1940s Hollywood glamour look. In late summer 2004, Aguilera released two singles. The first, "Car Wash", was a remake of the Rose Royce disco song recorded as a collaboration with rapper Missy Elliott for the soundtrack to the film ''Shark Tale''. She voiced a small singing part in the film playing a Rastafarian jellyfish in the film's closing musical number. The second song was also a collaboration, but this time as a second single from one of Nelly's double-release albums, ''Sweat'', titled "Tilt Ya Head Back". Both singles failed commercially in the US, but did considerably better in other parts of the world. Aguilera collaborated with jazz artist Herbie Hancock on a cover of Leon Russell's "A Song for You" recorded for Hancock's album ''Possibilities'', released in August 2005. Aguilera and Hancock were later nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. She helped open the 50th Anniversary for Disneyland performing "When You Wish upon a Star", and she also collaborated with Andrea Bocelli on the song "Somos Novios" for his album ''Amore''. Aguilera began dating music marketing executive Jordan Bratman in 2002. Their engagement was announced in February 2005, and they married on November 19, 2005, in a Napa Valley estate.

2006–09: ''Back to Basics'', motherhood and greatest hits album

Aguilera's fifth studio album, ''Back to Basics'' was released August 15, 2006. The album debuted at No.1 in the US, the UK and eleven other countries. Aguilera described the double CD as "a throwback to the 20s, 30s, and 40s-style jazz, blues, and feel-good soul music, but with a modern twist." The album received generally positive reviews, although many critics commented on the album's length saying, "At one disc, this would have been nothing short of masterful." A review in ''AllMusic'' adds, "''Back to Basics'' also makes clear that ''Stripped'' was a necessary artistic move for Christina: she needed to get that out of her system in order to create her own style, one that is self-consciously stylized, stylish, and sexy." The critically acclaimed lead single "Ain't No Other Man" was a substantial success, reaching No.2 on the World Chart, No.6 in the US, and No.2 in the UK. Producers on the album included DJ Premier, Kwamé, Linda Perry, and Mark Ronson. The follow-up singles did very well in different regions, "Hurt" in Europe and "Candyman" in the Pacific. She co-directed both music videos, the former with Floria Sigismondi who directed her "Fighter" video, and the latter, "Candyman", with director/photographer Matthew Rolston which was inspired by The Andrews Sisters. ''Back to Basics'' has sold 4.5 million units worldwide, with over 1.7 million sold in the US.

In late 2006 Aguilera collaborated with Sean "Diddy" Combs on a track, titled "Tell Me", from his album ''Press Play''. She also began the Back to Basics Tour in Europe followed by a 41-date North American tour in early 2007. After this, she toured Asia and Australia, where it was supposed to end on August 3, however she canceled her dates in Melbourne and her final two in Auckland due to an illness. Her extravagant arena tour included cabaret, three-ring circus and juke joint sets and 10 piece costumes designed by Roberto Cavalli. She released her concert DVD ''Back to Basics: Live and Down Under'' the following year. The tour grossed nearly 50 million by the end of the year in North America and an additional 40 million worldwide in her Europe and Australia dates, grossing almost 90 million by the end of the tour. It was the most successful US tour by a female in 2007.

At the 49th Grammy Awards, Aguilera again won the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Ain't No Other Man". She made a noteworthy performance at the ceremony paying tribute to James Brown with her rendition of his song "It's a Man's Man's Man's World". In January 2007, she was named the 19th richest woman in entertainment by ''Forbes'', with a net worth of US$60 million. Aguilera performed "Steppin' Out With My Baby" with Tony Bennett on his NBC special ''Tony Bennett: An American Classic'' and on ''Saturday Night Live''. They performed at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards where both specials received Emmys. "Steppin' Out" was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

Aguilera confirmed she was pregnant on November 4, 2007, though Paris Hilton accidentally revealed her pregnancy several weeks prior during a party Aguilera hosted. She gave birth to her son, Max Liron Bratman, in Los Angeles early the following year and held a bris for him with Bratman, who is of Jewish descent, where the baby was circumcised in accordance with Jewish practice. Aguilera was reportedly paid $1.5 million by ''People'' for her son's baby pictures—the sixth most expensive celebrity baby photos ever taken.

In 2008 Aguilera appeared in the Martin Scorsese documentary ''Shine a Light'' which chronicles a two day Rolling Stones concert in New York City's Beacon Theatre. The film features Aguilera performing "Live With Me" alongside Mick Jagger. ''Shine a Light'' premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and was released worldwide on April 4, 2008. She also had brief cameo in the comedy film ''Get Him to the Greek'', and appeared as a guest judge on the sixth season of ''Project Runway'' on Lifetime Television. She and designer Bob Mackie were the inspiration for the challenge in which they had to design a stage outfit for Aguilera. To commemorate Aguilera's ten years in the music industry, RCA Records released, ''Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits'' on November 11, 2008 exclusively at Target stores in the US. The greatest hits included her first three number one singles, and other songs released from her previous three albums. "Lady Marmalade" and several Spanish singles from ''Mi Reflejo'' were included in the worldwide releases. The album's only single, "Keeps Gettin' Better", was premiered at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, and debuted and peaked at No.7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, her highest debut on the chart. Following the greatest hits, Aguilera took over a year hiatus in 2009 working on her then upcoming album and film. She was one of ''Billboard'''s Top 20 Artists of the Decade in their year-end charts.

2010–present: ''Bionic'', ''Burlesque'' and ''The Voice''

Aguilera's sixth studio album ''Bionic'' was released on June 8, 2010. The album's producers included Tricky Stewart, Samuel Dixon, Polow da Don, Le Tigre, Switch, Ester Dean, songwriters Sam Endicott, Sia Furler, Claude Kelly, Linda Perry and collaborations with M.I.A., Santigold, Nicki Minaj, and Peaches. The album's only two singles, "Not Myself Tonight" and "You Lost Me" peaked at No.1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play Charts but were unsuccessful elsewhere. ''Bionic'''s material consisted of many mainstream and pop records along with electronic and dance music. The album was released to mixed reviews from music critics, with Jon Pareles of ''The New York Times'' writing that the singer's new music direction "makes her sound as peer-pressured as a pop singer can be." Allison Stewart of ''The Washington Post'' described the album as being "noisy, robotic and overstuffed" adding that the disc's "greatest disappointments" is its "virtual abandonment" of Aguilera's voice. She concluded that Aguilera attempts "to do it all," which was to try to "revel in her newfound domesticity, to wrest her crown from Gaga and to reestablish her sex kitten bona fides." Dan Martin of the ''NME'' wrote, "Perhaps best of all is ‘Monday Morning.' Written with Santigold and The Bravery’s Sam Endicott, it’s a Day-Glo disco jam that sounds like Gwen Stefani doing "Borderline". Sales of ''Bionic'' were underwhelming in the US compared to her previous releases selling 110,000 copies in its first week landing at #3. The album has sold 280,000 units in the US to date. Shortly after the album's release, further promotion ended and a scheduled summer tour for the album was cancelled due to "inadequate rehearsal time". "You Lost Me" was her first single to not chart the Hot 100 while ''Bionic'' was her first English studio album not to receive a Grammy nomination. Aguilera later responded in an interview saying, "I was really proud of that record. I think there was a lot of promotion issues, coming from a standpoint of how everything resulted. Nothing is ever a setback. If anything, it just motivates you for what’s next."

Aguilera confirmed news reports that she and Bratman had separated, saying in a statement, "Although Jordan and I are separated, our commitment to our son Max remains as strong as ever." Aguilera filed for divorce from Bratman on October 14, 2010, seeking joint legal and physical custody of their son, and specifying September 11, 2010 as the date of separation. They later reached a settlement agreement and custody deal, details of their agreement were private. Their divorce was finalized on April 15, 2011. The following month, Aguilera appeared as herself on the ''Entourage'' season seven finale as a client/friend of Ari Gold. On November 15, 2010, Aguilera received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

It was confirmed in 2009 that Aguilera would appear in her first feature film, the musical ''Burlesque'', released in November 2010. She portrayed a small town girl, Ali Rose, who finds love and success in a Los Angeles neo-burlesque club. Aguilera performed eight of the musical numbers on the film's soundtrack released on November 22, 2010 and co-wrote a number of the tracks working with producers and writers including Tricky Stewart, Sia Furler, Samuel Dixon, Linda Perry, Claude Kelly, Danja, and Ron Fair. The remaining two tracks were sung by Cher, who co-starred alongside Aguilera. Distributed by Screen Gems, the film was directed Steve Antin who also wrote the script. Antin wrote the role of Ali specifically for Aguilera. Aguilera's co-stars also included Cam Gigandet as her love interest, Eric Dane, Kristen Bell and Stanley Tucci. Several critics praised Aguilera's performance. A review in ''TIME'' states, "Aguilera might not be to your taste, or mine, but in terms of sheer power, she's impressive. If Ali were real, she'd have already been discovered on ''American Idol''." While ''Variety'' wrote, "Aguilera, while undeniably entertaining when her character is onstage, cannot spin the slight backstory into anything resembling a full-blooded person." Though ''Burlesque'' was released to mixed reviews from critics, the film received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture – Musical or Comedy and earned Aguilera, alongside co-writer Sia Furler and writer/producer Samuel Dixon, a nomination for Best Original Song for the track "Bound to You". ''Burlesque'' has grossed over $90 million worldwide.

Following the release of ''Burlesque'', Aguilera collaborated with rapper T.I. on the track, "Castle Walls" which is included on his album ''No Mercy''. Aguilera performed the U.S. national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner", during the Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011 and created embarrassment when she omitted a line of the anthem and messed up the song's lyrics. She later apologized, telling CNN that "I got so caught up in the moment of the song that I lost my place. I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through." The following week, Aguilera, alongside Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride, Yolanda Adams, and Florence Welch opened the 53rd Grammy Awards paying tribute to Aretha Franklin.

Aguilera began dating musician and production assistant, Matt Rutler who she met during the filming of ''Burlesque''. Her personal life was the subject of scrutiny and reports over out of control behavior, excessive drinking and a reported confrontation with her co-star Julianne Hough. On March 1, 2011, Aguilera was arrested for public intoxication in West Hollywood as her boyfriend was arrested for DWI. She was later released on bail and no charges were filed. Although the L.A. Sheriff's office stated Aguilera's mug shot would not be released to the public, ''E! News'' obtained the mug shot which circulated social networks and the media shortly after her release. Rutler's DWI charge was dismissed due to insufficient evidence, after his BAC at the time of arrest was determined to be at .06%, below the legal limit in the state of California.

Aguilera signed to be a part of the John de Mol created singing competition ''The Voice'' which debuted on NBC in April. Aguilera, alongside other musicians Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Cee Lo Green serve as judges and coaches, with Carson Daly as the show's host. The show's first episode was released to positive reviews making its debut at number one on the American rating list chart, delivering the strongest ratings for a series premiere on a major network since ''Undercover Boss'' debuted after the Super Bowl in February 2010. The show became an instant hit for NBC following the its debut. Aguilera performed "Moves Like Jagger" on ''The Voice'' – the single with Maroon 5 on which she is featured, off their album, ''Hands All Over (Deluxe Edition)''. The song was an instant hit reaching No.3 in the UK, No.1 on the World Chart and earned Aguilera her fifth No.1 single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, a decade after her last No.1, "Lady Marmalade". This also marks the first time two former Best New Artist Grammy Award winners have collaborated on a Hot 100 hit.

In May 2011, Aguilera stated that she is recording a new studio album in an interview at ''Live with Regis and Kelly''. Aguilera told RTL: "It's going to be a very heartfelt, deep-rooted and introspective record for me" and that she's hoping for release in spring/summer 2012.

Artistry

Vocal ability

Aguilera is said to have the vocal range of a soprano, and has been referred to as the "voice of her generation" and a blue eyed soul singer. Aguilera also topped COVE's list of the 100 Best Pop Vocalists with a score of 50/50 and came fifth in MTV's 22 Greatest Voices in Music. Her rendition of "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" at the 49th Grammy Awards ranked third in the Grammy's Greatest Moments List behind Celine Dion's performance of "My Heart Will Go On" and Green Day's performance of "American Idiot". In an interview, Dion described Aguilera as "probably the best vocalist in the world." ''Rolling Stone'' ranked Aguilera at 58 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, the youngest singer on the list.

Describing Aguilera's voice, singing teachers Phyllis Fulford and Michael Mailler said, "The low register is light and tired, the belting register is ample and full, but very scratchy because she screams; and head voice as well as whistle register are light, pure and bright. Her vocal range extends from G below middle C to C one octave above soprano high C (G₃ – C₇). She can belt to F one octave and a third above middle C (F₅). She possesses a good-sized technical arsenal. Her trill is solid, she has a big mastery of melismas, and can sustain very long notes." ''Los Angeles Times'' writer Margaret Wappler adds Aguilera can deliver "a well-executed legato." However, countertenor Philippe Jaroussky said: "She has no breath support and often sing out of tune. People say she can cover four octave, but it's not true because below A3, the low notes are forced, unsupported, her belting voice is throaty and forced and for her highest notes she doesn't use head voice but falsetto or whistle register, they are disconnected registers. So, she can hit good notes only from A3 to B4. Her melismas are always show-off, they are almost never connected with the rhythm and the structure of the songs."

Since her debut in 1999 Aguilera has been compared to the likes of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. David Browne of ''The New York Times'' writes, "Aguilera has been one of the foremost practitioners of the overpowering, Category 5 vocal style known as melisma. Ms. Carey, Ms. Houston and Ms. Aguilera, to name its three main champions, are most associated with the period from the late ’80s through the late ’90s." A review in the ''Los Angeles Times'' compared Aguilera's vocal stylings to Barbra Streisand, Gladys Knight, and Aretha Franklin adding, "Aguilera's Streisand-esque tendencies are a good thing; they're helping her figure out how to become the "great singer" she's been dubbed since she released her first single, the wise-beyond-its-years "Genie in a Bottle", at 18." Although praised for her vocals, Aguilera has been labeled for oversinging in her songs and concerts. Longtime producer and writer, Linda Perry, commented on working on the record, "Beautiful", saying, "I tried to keep it straight. I told her to get rid of the finger waves. Every time she'd start going into "hoo-ha", I'd stop the tape. I'm like, 'You're doing it again.'" Perry ended up using the first take saying, "She had a hard time accepting that as the final track. It's not a perfect vocal – it's very raw. She knows her voice really well, and she knows what's going on. She can hear things that nobody else would catch."

Themes and musical style

The constant theme in Aguilera's music and lyrics is love, although she has written on other subjects including spirituality, female empowerment, and grief. Aguilera has also written about her childhood in two of her records which dealt with domestic abuse. In an interview Aguilera admitted she feels responsible to reveal her most vulnerable feelings and to share the darker sides of her life adding "People that can relate might not feel as alone in the circumstance." She has been noted to constantly changing her sound in her music and lyrical content. Originally marketed as a bubblegum pop singer during the late 90s pop scene, she quickly departed into a broad range of musical genres for her follow-up album ''Stripped''. A review states, "Clearly afflicted with Premature Serious Artist Syndrome, Aguilera wants to demonstrate the range of her interests – vampy soul, quasi-metal, piano-bar intimacy, quiet-storm R&B;, bounce-bounce hip-hop, and semi-exotic rock, all of it dutifully accomplished."

The majority of the songs are characterized by Aguilera's loud vocals, though she has used breathy and soft vocals. Her 2006 release, ''Back to Basics'' included producer DJ Premier. ''The New York Times'' exclaims, "Her decision to work with the low-key DJ Premier was also a decision to snub some of the big-name producers on whom pop stars often rely." Aguilera has often cited that she prefers working with producers that are not in popular demand, saying "I don't necessarily go to the main people that are the No. 1 chart-toppers in music." The album included live instrumentation and samples of past jazz and soul records. Some tracks on the album included non-traditional forms of pop music such as swing jazz and big band, drawing comparisons to Madonna's ''I'm Breathless'' and the musical film ''Cabaret''. Her first feature film, ''Burlesque'', influenced by ''Cabaret'', featured mainstream producers Tricky Stewart and Danja on the soundtrack where several established songs were updated and worked into dance numbers, a style similar to 2001's ''Moulin Rouge!'' "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" was performed by Aguilera in the film, a musical number also performed by Nicole Kidman in ''Moulin Rouge!''

Influences

One of Aguilera's major influences and idol is blues singer Etta James, whose classic song "At Last" has been covered by Aguilera throughout her career. Aguilera says, "Etta is my all-time favorite singer. I've said it for the last seven years – since I had my first debut record out – in every interview. I mean, all of Etta's old songs, countless songs I could name, I grew up listening to." The majority of her album, ''Back to Basics'', pays tribute to James and other pop standard singers who many originated from the 1950s. In her early years she listened to vintage jazz, blues, and soul music. The album included an unreleased song, "Slow Down Baby", which sampled a Gladys Knight & the Pips song. A review in ''The Guardian'' declared, "Practically everything recorded before Aguilera was born blurs into one amorphous genre, which she categorises, somewhat inadequately, as "fun music". Aguilera has also named Madonna and Janet Jackson as two of her biggest influences "for being re-inventive and being brave as strong females, to explore whatever, even if they do get bad press. It's just like they were fearless." Her other musical influences include Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Nina Simone.

Aguilera cites the musical ''The Sound of Music'' and its lead actress, Julie Andrews as an early inspiration for singing and performing. She mentioned the "Golden age of Hollywood" as another inspiration in which she says, "I'm referencing Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Carole Lombard, Greta Garbo, Veronica Lake". Ironically, her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located near Julie Andrews and is next to Greta Garbo. In her music video for "Ain't No Other Man" she plays her alter ego, "Baby Jane" in reference to the film ''Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?''. The film's stars included actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The third single off ''Back to Basics'', "Candyman" was inspired by the 1941 song, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by The Andrews Sisters which was played during World War II. She was also inspired by pin-up girls and several paintings by Alberto Vargas. Aguilera has expressed interest in cultural icons Nico, Blondie and artists Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. She has often worked with photographer and close friend, David LaChapelle who once worked with Warhol. Chapelle has shot many of Aguilera's music videos, magazine shoots and advertisements. She is also a fan of graffiti artist Banksy. In 2006 she purchased three of Banksy's works during a private art exhibition, one of them included a pornographic picture of Queen Victoria in a lesbian pose with a prostitute. She has mentioned in several interviews that she is a fan of actress Angelina Jolie, and her ''Burlesque'' co-star, Cher. Fashion has also been a part of Aguilera's music career and image which she has used as a form of expression during performances and music videos. In 2003 she became the muse and inspiration for Donatella Versace's 2003 fall line. Versace also designed pieces her tour the following year. Aguilera is also a fan of Roberto Cavalli, John Galliano, Marc Jacobs, and Alexander McQueen whose designs she has worn throughout her career.

Other ventures

In 2000, Aguilera was the face for make-up line ''Fetish'' where she worked in choosing colors and packaging for the line. She ended her contract the following year. Throughout her career Aguilera has endorsed several brands, including Skechers, Mercedes-Benz, Verizon Wireless, and soft drink giants Coca-Cola in 2001, and Pepsi in 2006. She became the muse and model for fashion house Versace appearing in a campaign for the 2003 fall line. In 2004 Aguilera earned £200,000GBP (about $300,000USD) for opening the summer sale at London's Harrods store which took in record breaking profits during the four week period. In 2005 she was reportedly paid $3.6 million to sing a three song set for Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko's wedding. Aguilera signed a contract with European cell phone operator Orange to promote the new Sony Ericsson Walkman phone during the 2006 World Cup. In 2010, Aguilera was paid $1 million by investor, Charles Brandes to perform at a private party.

In 2008 jewelry designer Stephen Webster and close friend of Aguilera released "Shattered", a collection of sterling silver pieces, through Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. Aguilera, who inspired the collection, was featured as a Hitchcock heroine saying, "Working together on this campaign and collection has been an incredible experience. I am honored to be a part of it all." They reprised their work together for Webster's 2009 spring line. In 2011, Aguilera attended São Paulo Fashion Week to premiere her new line of clothing for Brazilian department store C&A; which launched in April.

Aguilera released two fragrances throughout Europe, the first one ''Xpose'', was released in late 2004 and sold relatively well. Through Procter and Gamble Aguilera released her signature fragrance, ''Simply Christina'' in 2007. In Christmas 2007, the fragrance became the number one perfume in the UK, and later in 2009 it became the 4th best selling perfume in the UK, and Germany where it topped sales for the year. The perfume won as the people's choice for favorite celebrity fragrance at the annual UK Fifi Awards 2008. She released her third fragrance, ''Inspire'', accompanied with a body care collection, on September 1, 2008. The perfume hit shelves in the US, Canada, Latin America, Asia and Northern and Eastern Europe. It was Aguilera's first fragrance released outside of Europe. Her worldwide ad campaign included a television ad shot by David LaChapelle and was released in the US through Macy's department stores. The release coincided with Macy's 150th anniversary which featured Aguilera in commemorative photos. She released her fourth fragrance ''By Night'' in October, which became the third best selling fragrance in the UK in 2009. Both “By Day“ and “By Night“ were nomitated for Best Perfume of the Year in the Broad Appeal category at the FIFI Awards 2011. In 2010 the range was further augmented by ''Royal Desire'' her fifth fragrance, which won a 2011 Glammy Award for best perfume by German magazine ''Glamour''. Aguilera announced she will be releasing a sixth fragrance later this year, ''Secret Potion''.

Philanthropy

Throughout her career, Aguilera has been involved with several charities. She signed a letter from PETA to the South Korean government asking that the country stop its alleged killing of dogs for food. During her 2007 tour she unknowingly wore a fur stole during the beginning of her tour, which designer Roberto Cavalli provided without informing Aguilera. After receiving a video from PETA Vice President Dan Mathews on the treatment of foxes, she replaced the stole with faux fur for the remainder of her tour. Aguilera was reportedly upset adding, "I only ever wear fake fur". In 2010 Aguilera auctioned off tickets for her upcoming tour for Christie's A Bid to Save the Earth. Proceeds benefit nonprofit environmental groups Conservation International, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, and The Central Park Conservancy. Aguilera also supports Defenders of Wildlife, Missing Kids, National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations, Women's Cancer Research Fund, and Cedars-Sinai Women's Cancer Research Institute. She has also worked alongside nonprofit organization Do Something saying, "Every individual has the power to inspire young people across the country." In 2010 she was nominated for a VH1 Do Something Award for her work with the organization and her efforts in the response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. She was featured in the campaign for photographer, Brie Childers with the goal of helping women of all ages, races and lifestyles feel beautiful and confident about themselves and the body and skin they were born with. Proceeds from benefit several women's charities nationwide. Aguilera is still a major contributor in her hometown of Pittsburgh contributing regularly to the Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh. According to her official website, she toured the center and donated $200,000 to the shelter. She also has auctioned off front row seats and back stage passes for the Pittsburgh-based charity. She has continued her donations and visits to the shelter, and plans to open an additional one. She also supports the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Refuge UK. Since then she has worked with Lifetime Television's 'End violence against women' campaign. Her work there included a public service announcement which aired on the network and during her 2007 tour.

Aguilera is a supporter of the LGBT community and is considered a gay icon by many. She was honored at the GLAAD Awards for using gay and transgender images in her music video for "Beautiful". When accepting the award Aguilera said, "My video captures the reality that gay and transgender people are beautiful, even though prejudice and discrimination against them still exists." In 2005 she appeared on a compilation album titled, ''Love Rocks'', proceeds benefit the Human Rights Campaign, an organization dedicated to fighting for equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. In 2008 she publicly spoke out against California's Proposition 8 which eliminates same-sex marriage in California saying, "Why you would put so much money behind something [aimed at] stopping from people loving each other and bonding together? I just don't understand it. It's hard for me to grasp. But I would've been out there with my rally sign as well." In 2011 Aguilera was honored at The Abbey, a gay club in West Hollywood, for her contributions to the gay community as the first honoree on their Gay Walk of Fame joining Dame Elizabeth Taylor in being immortalized forever.

Aguilera contributes in the fight against AIDS, by participating in AIDS Project Los Angeles' Artists Against AIDS "What's Going On?" cover project. In 2004, Aguilera became the new face for cosmetic company M·A·C and spokesperson for M·A·C AIDS Fund. Aguilera appeared in advertisements of the M·A·C's Viva Glam V lipstick and lipgloss, and was featured on ''Vanity Fair'' in recognition of her campaign work. In addition, Aguilera contributed to YouthAIDS by posing for a joint YouthAIDS and Aldo Shoes campaign for "Empowerment Tags" in Canada, the U.S. and the UK. She was featured with one of three ubiquitous slogans, "Speak No Evil?" and stated, "HIV is something that people don’t want to talk about, hear about, or face." Singer Elton John featured Aguilera in his charity book titled "Four Inches" benefiting the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Elton also hand-picked Aguilera, for his annual "Fashion Rocks" charity concert which accompanies music and fashion to benefit the fight against AIDS/HIV.

In the run-up to the 2004 United States presidential election, Aguilera was featured on billboards for the "Only You Can Silence Yourself" online voter registration drive run by the nonpartisan, non-profit campaign "Declare Yourself". In these political advertisements, shot by David LaChapelle, Aguilera was shown with her mouth sewn shut, to symbolize the effects of not voting. She appeared on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' to discuss the importance of voting. In late 2007 Aguilera became the spokesperson for "Rock the Vote" where she urged young people to vote in the 2008 presidential election. In partnership with "Rock the Vote", she appeared in a public service announcement which aired in summer 2008. The advert showed Aguilera with her son, Max Bratman, wrapped in an American flag, while singing "America the Beautiful".

In November 2005, all of her wedding gifts were submitted to various charities around the nation in support of Hurricane Katrina victims. That year she also performed at "Unite of the Stars" concert in aid of Unite Against Hunger in Johannesburg, South Africa and at the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund at the Coca-Cola Dome. In March 2007 Aguilera took part in a charity album (remaking Lennon's "Mother"), proceeds benefit Amnesty International's efforts to end genocide in Darfur. The album titled, ''Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur'', was released June 12, 2007 and featured various artists. In 2008 she headlined London's Africa Rising charity concert at Royal Albert Hall which raises awareness for finding substantial issues facing the continent. Later that year she appeared on the Turkish version of ''Deal or No Deal'' "Var mısın? Yok musun?" , where she won $180,000. Proceeds were donated to a charity program for orphans.

In 2009 Aguilera became the global spokesperson for World Hunger Relief appearing in advertisements, online campaigns and a public service announcement. Aguilera and her husband traveled to Guatemala with the World Food Programme to bring awareness to issues such as the high malnutrition rate in that country. She met with families of the villages and some of the beneficiaries of WFP's nutrition programs. Aguilera adds, "The people of WFP do such a great job helping hungry children and mothers. I'm thankful for the opportunity to be part of such a wonderful project." Since becoming a global spokeswoman Aguilera has helped raise over $22 million which helped provide over 90 million meals. She was honored at ''Variety'''s annual "Power of Women" luncheon in late 2009 alongside other women in entertainment for her contribution to philanthropic and charitable causes. In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Aguilera donated a signed Chrysler 300 which was auctioned for relief efforts. She was one of the many artists who appeared on the ''Hope for Haiti'' telethon on January 22, 2010, donations directly benefited Oxfam America, Partners In Health, Red Cross and UNICEF. She later appeared on a second public service announcement alongside sports icon Muhammad Ali to raise funds for the World Food Programme's efforts to bring food to survivors of the earthquake. Later that year Aguilera made her first visit to Haiti as an ambassador against hunger where she visited two schools in the town of Léogâne. During her time there she assisted in the ongoing efforts to help the badly damaged town where she served meals and highlighted reconstruction efforts in the country. That year, Aguilera was appointed UN ambassador for the WFP.

Filmography

''Shine a Light (film) ''Get Him to the Greek'' ''Burlesque (film)

+Films	Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2004	''Shark Tale''	Herself
2008	Shine a Light'' ||	Herself
2010	|	Herself	Cameo appearance
2010	Burlesque'' ||	Ali Rose	Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song>Golden Globe for Best Original Song

''Beverly Hills, 90210'' ''Saturday Night Live'' ''Project Runway'' ''Entourage (TV series) ''The Voice (U.S. TV series)

+Television	Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1993–1995	''The Mickey Mouse Club''	Herself/Various Roles
1999	|	Herself	"Let's Eat Cake"
2000–2006	|	Herself	Host, musical guest, 4 episodes
2009	|	Herself	Guest Judge, "Sequins, Feathers and Fur, Oh My!"
2010	Entourage'' ||	Herself	"Lose Yourself"
2011–present	The Voice'' ||	Herself	Coach and judgeReturning series

Discography

''Christina Aguilera'' (1999)

''Mi Reflejo'' (2000)

''My Kind of Christmas'' (2000)

''Stripped'' (2002)

''Back to Basics'' (2006)

''Bionic'' (2010)

Tours

;Headlining

Christina Aguilera in Concert (2000–01) (also known as the "Psykoblast Tour" and the "Sears & Levis US Tour")

Stripped World Tour (2003)

Back to Basics Tour (2006–07)

;Co-headlining

Justified/Stripped Tour (2003) (with Justin Timberlake)

See also

List of Christina Aguilera tours

List of best-selling music artists

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart

List of awards and nominations received by Christina Aguilera

Honorific nicknames in popular music

References

External links

ChristinaAguilera.com – Christina Aguilera official website

Twitter – Official Twitter account.

Category:1980 births Category:American child singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American female singers Category:American feminists Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:American music video directors Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American pop singer-songwriters Category:American pop singers Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:BRIT Award winners Category:English-language singers Category:Feminist musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Living people Category:Military brats Category:Mouseketeers Category:Musicians from New York City Category:Musicians from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:People from Staten Island Category:RCA Records artists Category:Sony BMG artists Category:Spanish-language singers Category:The Voice judges Category:World Music Awards winners

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Coordinates	39°46′5.88″N86°9′29.52″N
name	Glenn Miller
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Alton Glenn Miller
birth date	March 01, 1904
birth place	Clarinda, Iowa, U.S.
death date	Missing in action December 15, 1944
death place	English Channel (assumed)
origin	Glenn Miller Orchestra
instrument	Trombone
genre	Swing music, Big band
occupation	Bandleader, Musician, Arranger, Composer
years active	1923–1944
label	}}

Alton Glenn Miller (March 1, 1904 – missing in action December 15, 1944) was an American jazz musician (trombone), arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands". Miller's notable recordings include "In the Mood", "American Patrol", "Chattanooga Choo Choo", ""A String of Pearls"", "Tuxedo Junction", "Moonlight Serenade", "Little Brown Jug" and "Pennsylvania 6-5000". While he was traveling to entertain U.S. troops in France during World War II, Glenn Miller disappeared in bad weather over the English Channel.

Early life and career

Miller was born on a farm in Clarinda, Iowa, to Lewis Elmer Miller and Mattie Lou (née Cavender). He went to grade school in North Platte in western Nebraska. In 1915, Miller's family moved to Grant City, Missouri. Around this time, Miller had finally made enough money from milking cows to buy his first trombone and played in the town orchestra. In 1918, the Miller family moved again, this time to Fort Morgan, Colorado, where Miller went to high school. During his senior year, Miller became very interested in a new style of music called "dance band music." He was so taken with it that he formed his own band with some classmates. By the time Miller graduated from high school in 1921, he had decided he wanted to become a professional musician.

In 1923, Miller entered the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he joined Sigma Nu Fraternity, but spent most of his time away from school, attending auditions and playing any gigs he could get, most notably with Boyd Senter's band in Denver. He dropped out of school after failing three out of five classes one semester, and decided to concentrate on making a career as a professional musician. He later studied the Schillinger technique with Joseph Schillinger, under whose tutelage he composed what became his signature theme, "Moonlight Serenade". In 1926, Miller toured with several groups, eventually landing a good spot in Ben Pollack's group in Los Angeles. During his stint with Pollack, Miller wrote several musical arrangements of his own. He also co-wrote his first composition, "Room 1411", written with Benny Goodman and released as a Brunswick 78, 4013, credited to Bennie Goodman's Boys. In 1928, when the band arrived in New York City, he sent for and married his college sweetheart, Helen Burger. He was a member of Red Nichols's orchestra in 1930, and because of Nichols, Miller played in the pit bands of two Broadway shows, ''Strike Up the Band'' and ''Girl Crazy'' (where his bandmates included big band leaders Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa).

During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Miller managed to earn a living working as a freelance trombonist in several bands. On a March 21, 1928 Victor session Miller played alongside Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and Joe Venuti in the All-Star Orchestra, directed by Nat Shilkret. On November 14, 1929, an original vocalist named Red McKenzie hired Glenn to play on two records that are now considered to be jazz classics: "Hello, Lola" and "If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight". Beside Glenn were clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, guitarist Eddie Condon, drummer Gene Krupa and Coleman Hawkins on tenor saxophone.

In the early-to-mid-1930s, Miller also worked as a trombonist and arranger in The Dorsey Brothers, first when they were a Brunswick studio group (under their own name and providing accompaniment for many of The Boswell Sisters sessions), and finally when they formed an ill-fated co-led touring and recording orchestra. Miller composed the song "Annie's Cousin Fanny" and "Dese Dem Dose" for the Dorsey Brothers Band in 1934 and 1935. In 1935, he assembled an American orchestra for British bandleader Ray Noble, developing the arrangement of lead clarinet over four saxophones that eventually became the sonic keynote of his own big band. Members of the Noble band included future bandleaders Claude Thornhill, Bud Freeman and Charlie Spivak.

Glenn Miller made his first movie appearance in the 1935 Paramount Pictures release ''The Big Broadcast of 1936'' as a member of the Ray Noble Orchestra performing "Why Stars Come Out at Night". ''The Big Broadcast of 1936'' starred Bing Crosby, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Ethel Merman, Jack Oakie, and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and also featured other performances by Dorothy Dandridge and the Nicholas Brothers, who would appear with Miller again in two movies for Twentieth Century Fox in 1941 and 1942.

Glenn Miller compiled several musical arrangements and formed his first band in 1937. The band failed to distinguish itself from the many others of the era, and eventually broke up. Benny Goodman said in 1976, "In late 1937, before his band became popular, we were both playing in Dallas. Glenn was pretty dejected and came to see me. He asked, 'What do you do? How do you make it?' I said, 'I don't know, Glenn. You just stay with it.'"

Success from 1938 to 1942

Discouraged, Miller returned to New York. He realized that he needed to develop a unique sound, and decided to make the clarinet play a melodic line with a tenor saxophone holding the same note, while three other saxophones harmonized within a single octave. George T. Simon discovered a saxophonist named Wilbur Schwartz for Glenn Miller. Miller hired Schwartz, but instead had him play the lead clarinet. According to Simon, "Willie's tone and way of playing provided a fullness and richness so distinctive that none of the later Miller imitators could ever accurately reproduce the Miller sound." With this new sound combination, Glenn Miller found a way to differentiate his band's style from the many bands that existed in the late thirties. Miller talked about his style in the May, 1939 issue of ''Metronome'' magazine. "You'll notice today some bands use the same trick on every introduction; others repeat the same musical phrase as a modulation into a vocal ... We're fortunate in that our style doesn't limit us to stereotyped intros, modulations, first choruses, endings or even trick rhythms. The fifth sax, playing clarinet most of the time, lets you know whose band you're listening to. And that's about all there is to it."

In September 1938, the Miller band began making recordings for the RCA Victor, Bluebird Records subsidiary. Si Shribman, a prominent East Coast businessman, began financing the band, providing a much needed infusion of cash. In the spring of 1939, the band's fortunes improved with a date at the Meadowbrook Ballroom in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, and more dramatically at the Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, New York. The Glen Island date according to author Gunther Schuller attracted "a record breaking opening night crowd of 1800..." With the Glen Island date, the band began a huge rise in popularity. In 1939, ''TIME'' magazine noted: "Of the twelve to 24 discs in each of today's 300,000 U.S. jukeboxes, from two to six are usually Glenn Miller's." There were record-breaking recordings such as "Tuxedo Junction" which sold 115,000 copies in the first week. Miller's huge success in 1939 culminated with his band appearing at Carnegie Hall on October 6, with Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, and Fred Waring also the main attractions.

From 1939 to 1942, Miller's band was featured three times a week during a quarter-hour broadcast for Chesterfield cigarettes on CBS, first with the Andrews Sisters and then on its own. On February 10, 1942, RCA Victor presented Miller with the first gold record for "Chattanooga Choo-Choo". "Chattanooga Choo Choo" was performed by the Miller orchestra with his singers Gordon "Tex" Beneke, Paula Kelly and the vocal group, the Modernaires. Other singers with this orchestra included Marion Hutton, Skip Nelson, Ray Eberle and to a smaller extent, Kay Starr, Ernie Caceres, Dorothy Claire and Jack Lathrop. Pat Friday ghost sang with the Miller band in their two films, ''Sun Valley Serenade'' and ''Orchestra Wives'' with Lynn Bari lip synching.

Motion pictures

Miller and his band appear in two Twentieth Century Fox films. In 1941's ''Sun Valley Serenade'' they are major members of the cast, which also features comedian Milton Berle. The Miller band returned to Hollywood to film 1942's ''Orchestra Wives'', featuring Jackie Gleason playing a part as the group's bassist, Ben Beck. Miller had an ailment that made laughter extremely painful. Since Jackie Gleason was a comedian, Miller had a difficult time watching Gleason more than once, because Miller would start laughing. Henry Morgan appears as Cully Anderson, the unrequited love interest of Ann Rutherford's character, Connie Ward. Miller was contracted to do a third movie for Fox, ''Blind Date'', but as he entered the U.S. Army, this never panned out.

Critical reaction

In 2004, Miller orchestra bassist Herman "Trigger" Alpert explained the band's success: "Miller had America's music pulse ... He knew what would please the listeners." Although Miller had massive popularity, many jazz critics of the time had misgivings. They believed that the band's endless rehearsals and according to critic Amy Lee in ''Metronome magazine'', "letter-perfect playing", diminished any feeling from performances. They also felt that Miller's brand of swing shifted popular music away from the "hot jazz" bands of Benny Goodman and Count Basie toward commercial novelty instrumentals and vocal numbers. For years, even after Miller died, the Miller estate maintained an unfriendly stance toward critics that derided the band during Miller's lifetime. Miller was often criticized for being too commercial. His answer to the criticism was, "I don't want a jazz band". Many modern jazz critics still harbor similar antipathy toward Miller. Jazz critics Gunther Schuller (1991) and Gary Giddins (2004) have separately defended the Miller orchestra for whatever deficiencies earlier critics have found. In an article written for ''The New Yorker'' in 2004, Gary Giddins says he feels that these early critics erred in denigrating Glenn Miller's music, and that the popular opinion of the time should hold greater sway. The article states: "Miller exuded little warmth on or off the bandstand, but once the band struck up its theme, audiences were done for: throats clutched, eyes softened. Can any other record match 'Moonlight Serenade' for its ability to induce a Pavlovian slaver in so many for so long?" Schuller, notes, "[The Miller sound] was nevertheless very special and able to penetrate our collective awareness that few other sounds have..." He compares it partially to "Japanese Gagaku [and] Hindu music" in its purity. Schuller and Giddins do not take completely uncritical approaches to Miller. Schuller says that Ray Eberle's "lumpy, sexless vocalizing dragged down many an otherwise passable performance." However finally Schuller notes: "How much further [Miller's] musical and financial ambitions might have carried him must forever remain conjectural. That it would have been significant, whatever form(s) it might have taken, is not unlikely."

Reaction from musical peers

Louis Armstrong thought enough of Miller to carry around his recordings transferred to seven-inch tape reels when he went on tour. "[Armstrong] liked musicians who prized melody, and his selections ranged from Glenn Miller to Jelly Roll Morton to Tchaikovsky." Jazz pianist George Shearing's quintet of the 1950s and 1960s was influenced by Miller: "with Shearing's Locked hands style piano (influenced by the voicing of Miller's saxophone section) in the middle [of the quintet's harmonies]." Frank Sinatra and Mel Tormé held the orchestra in high regard. Tormé credited Miller with giving him helpful advice when he first started his singing and song writing career in the 1940s. Mel Tormé met Glenn Miller in 1942, the meeting facilitated by Tormé's father and Ben Pollack. Tormé and Miller discussed "That Old Black Magic" which was just emerging as a new song by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen. Miller told Tormé to pick up every song by Mercer and study it and to become a voracious reader of anything he could find, because "all good lyric writers are great readers." In an interview with George T. Simon in 1948, Sinatra lamented the inferior quality of music he was recording in the late forties and in comparison with "those great Glenn Miller things" from eight years earlier. With the opposite opinion, fellow bandleader Artie Shaw frequently disparaged the band after Miller's death: "All I can say is that Glenn should have lived, and 'Chattanooga Choo Choo' should have died."

Clarinetist Buddy DeFranco surprised many people when he led the Glenn Miller Orchestra in the late sixties and early seventies. De Franco was already the veteran of bands like Gene Krupa and Tommy Dorsey in the 1940s. He was also a major exponent of modern jazz in the 1950s. But DeFranco is extremely fond of certain aspects of the Glenn Miller sound and according to him, never sees Miller as leading a swinging jazz band. "I found that when I opened with the sound of 'Moonlight Serenade,' I could look around and see men and women weeping as the music carried them back to years gone by." De Franco says, "the beauty of Glenn Miller's ballads [...] caused people to dance together."

The Army Air Force Band 1942–1944

In 1942, at the peak of his civilian career, Miller decided to join the war effort. At 38, Miller was too old to be drafted, and first volunteered for the Navy but was told that they did not need his services. Miller then wrote to Army Brigadier General Charles Young. He persuaded the United States Army to accept him so he could, in his own words, "be placed in charge of a modernized Army band." After being accepted into the Army, Glenn’s civilian band played its last concert in Passaic, New Jersey, on September 27, 1942.

At first placed in the United States Army, Glenn Miller was transferred to the Army Air Force. Captain Glenn Miller served initially as assistant special services officer for the Army Air Forces Southeast Training Center at Maxwell Field, Montgomery, Alabama, in December 1942. He played trombone with the Rhythmaires, a 15-piece dance band, in both Montgomery and in service clubs and recreation halls on Maxwell. Miller also appeared on both WAPI (Birmingham, Alabama) and WSFA radio (Montgomery), promoting the activities of civil service women aircraft mechanics employed at Maxwell.

Miller initially formed a large marching band that was to be the core of a network of service orchestras. Miller's attempts at modernizing military music were met with some resistance from tradition-minded career officers. For example, Miller's arrangement of "St. Louis Blues March", combined blues and jazz with the traditional military march. Miller's weekly radio broadcast "I Sustain the Wings", for which he co-wrote the eponymous theme song, moved from New Haven to New York City and was very popular. This led to permission for Miller to form his 50-piece Army Air Force Band and take it to England in the summer of 1944, where he gave 800 performances. While in England, now Major Miller recorded a series of records at HMV- (now EMI-) owned Abbey Road Studios. HMV at this time was the British and sometime European distributor for the American record company that handled and originated Glenn Miller's recordings, RCA Victor. The recordings the AAF band made in 1944 at Abbey Road were propaganda broadcasts for the Office of War Information. Many songs are sung in German by Johnny Desmond and Glenn Miller speaks in German about the war effort. Also, the Miller-led AAF Orchestra recorded songs with the American singer Dinah Shore. These were done at the Abbey Road studios and were the last recorded songs made by the band while being led by Miller. They were stored with HMV/EMI for fifty years, never being released until their copyright expired in Europe in 1994. In summarizing Miller's military career, General Jimmy Doolittle said, “next to a letter from home, that organization was the greatest morale builder in the European Theater of Operations.”

Disappearance

Miller spent his last night alive at Milton Ernest Hall, on the outskirts of Bedford, Bedfordshire. On December 15, 1944, Miller was to fly from the United Kingdom to Paris, France, to play for the soldiers there. His plane (a single-engined UC-64 Norseman, USAAF serial 44-70285) departed from RAF Twinwood Farm in Clapham, Bedfordshire and disappeared while flying over the English Channel. No trace of the aircrew, passengers or plane has ever been found. Miller's status is missing in action.

There are three main theories about what happened to Miller's plane, including the suggestion that he might have been hit by Royal Air Force bombs after an abortive raid on Siegen, Germany. One hundred and thirty-eight Lancaster bombers, short on fuel, jettisoned approximately 100,000 incendiaries in a designated area before landing. The logbooks of Royal Air Force navigator Fred Shaw recorded that he saw a small, single-engined monoplane spiraling out of control and crashing into the water. However, a second source, while acknowledging the possibility, cites other RAF crew members flying the same mission who stated that the drop area was in the North Sea. Further research by British scholars also seems to indicate that this is the most likely probability, making Miller's death a "friendly fire" incident. In his 2006 self-published book, Clarence B. Wolfe — a gunner with Battery D, 134th AAA Battalion, in Folkestone, England — claims that his battery shot down Miller's plane. Another book by Lt. Col. Huton Downs, a former member of Dwight D. Eisenhower's personal staff, argues that the U.S. government covered up Miller's death. Downs suggested that Miller, who spoke German, had been enlisted by Eisenhower to covertly attempt to convince some German officers to end the war early. The book goes on to suggest that Miller was captured and killed in a Paris brothel, and his death covered up to save the government embarrassment. However the ''Publishers' Weekly'' review talks of "breathlessly written suppositions."

When Glenn Miller disappeared, he left behind his wife, the former Helen Burger, originally from Boulder, Colorado, and the two children they adopted in 1943 and 1944, Steven and Jonnie. Helen Miller accepted the Bronze Star medal for Glenn Miller in February 1945.

Civilian band legacy

The Miller estate authorized an official Glenn Miller "ghost band" in 1946. This band was led by Tex Beneke, former lead saxophonist and a singer for the civilian band. It had a make up similar to the Army Air Force Band: it had a large string section. The orchestra's official public début was at the Capitol Theatre on Broadway where it opened for a three week engagement on January 24, 1946. Future television and film composer Henry Mancini was the band's pianist and one of the arrangers. This ghost band played to very large audiences all across the United States, including a few dates at the Hollywood Palladium in 1947, where the original Miller band played in 1941. In a website concerning the history of the Hollywood Palladium, it is noted "[e]ven as the big band era faded, the Tex Beneke and Glenn Miller Orchestra concert at the Palladium resulted in a record-breaking crowd of 6,750 dancers." By 1949, economics dictated that the string section be dropped.

This band recorded for RCA Victor, just as the original Miller band did. Beneke was struggling with how to expand the Miller sound and also how to achieve success under his own name. What began as the "Glenn Miller Orchestra Under the Direction of Tex Beneke" finally became "The Tex Beneke Orchestra". By 1950, Beneke and the Miller estate parted ways. The break was acrimonious and Beneke is not currently listed by the Miller estate as a former leader of the Glenn Miller orchestra.

When Glenn Miller was alive, various bandleaders like Bob Chester imitated his style. By the early 1950s, various bands were again copying the Miller style of clarinet-led reeds and muted trumpets, notably Ralph Flanagan, Jerry Gray, and Ray Anthony. This, coupled with the success of ''The Glenn Miller Story'' (1953), led the Miller estate to ask Ray McKinley to lead a new ghost band. This 1956 band is the original version of the current ghost band that still tours the United States today. The official Glenn Miller orchestra for the United States is currently under the direction of Gary Tole. The officially sanctioned Glenn Miller Orchestra for the United Kingdom has toured and recorded with great success under the leadership of Ray McVay. The official Glenn Miller Orchestra for Europe has been led by Wil Salden since 1990.

Army Air Force band legacy

In the mid-1940s, after Miller's disappearance, the Miller-led Army Air Force band was decommissioned and sent back to the United States. "[T]he chief of the European theater asked [Warrant Officer Harold Lindsay] Lin [Arinson] to put together another band to take its place, and that's when the 314 was formed." According to singer Tony Bennett who sang with it while in the service, the 314 was the immediate successor to the Glenn Miller led AAF orchestra. The Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band's long term legacy has carried on with the Airmen of Note, a band within the United States Air Force Band. This band was created in 1950 from smaller groups within the Bolling Air Force Base in Washington D.C. and continues to play jazz music for the Air Force community and the general public.

Posthumous events

Glenn Miller's widow, Helen, died in 1966. Herb Miller, Glenn Miller's brother, led his own band in the United States and England until the late 1980s. Herb's son, John continues the tradition leading a band playing mainly Glenn Miller style music. In 1989, Glenn Miller's daughter Jonnie purchased her father's house where he was born. The Glenn Miller Foundation was created to oversee the subsequent restoration.

In 1953, Universal-International pictures released ''The Glenn Miller Story'', starring James Stewart as the lead. In 1953, Glenn Miller was voted into the Down Beat magazine Jazz Hall of Fame in the Readers' Poll. In 1978, In 1996, the U.S. Postal Service issued a Glenn Miller postage stamp. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammys), honored Glenn Miller by including three of his recordings in their Hall of Fame: In 1983, "In The Mood", Bluebird B-10416-A, was inducted. The recording of "Moonlight Serenade", Bluebird B-10214-B, was also honored by the Grammys in similar fashion in 1991. "Chattanooga Choo Choo", Bluebird B-11230-B, was inducted in 1996. In 2003, Miller received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

In the United States and England, there are a few archives that are devoted to Glenn Miller. The University of Colorado, Boulder, has an extensive Glenn Miller Archive, which houses many of Miller's recordings, gold records and other memorabilia, which is open to scholarly research and the general public. This archive, formed by Alan Cass, includes the original manuscript to Miller's theme song, "Moonlight Serenade", among other items of interest. In 2002, the Glenn Miller Museum opened to the public at the former RAF Twinwood Farm, in Clapham, Bedfordshire, England. Miller's surname resides on the 'Wall of Missing' at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial. A monument stone was also placed in Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut next to the campus of Yale University.

Glenn Miller arranging staff and compositions

Miller had a staff of arrangers who wrote originals like "String of Pearls" (written and arranged by Jerry Gray) or took originals like "In The Mood" (writing credit given to Joe Garland and arranged by Eddie Durham) and "Tuxedo Junction" (written by bandleader Erskine Hawkins and arranged by Jerry Gray) and arranged them for the Miller band to either record or broadcast. Glenn Miller's staff of arrangers in his civilian band, that handled the bulk of the work were Jerry Gray (a former arranger for Artie Shaw), Bill Finegan (a former arranger for Tommy Dorsey), Billy May and to a much smaller extent, George Williams, who worked very briefly with the band as well as Andrews Sisters arranger Vic Schoen According to Norman Leyden, "[s]everal others [besides Leyden] arranged for Miller in the service, including Jerry Gray, Ralph Wilkinson, Mel Powell, and Steve Steck." In 1943, Glenn Miller wrote ''Glenn Miller's Method for Orchestral Arranging'', published by the Mutual Music Society in New York, a one hundred sixteen page book with illustrations and scores that explains how he wrote his musical arrangements.

Discography

Glenn Miller composed individually or in collaboration with others at least fourteen songs that are available on recordings. He added lyrics to an additional tune. These and many other songs were recorded by Miller with his pre-war civilian bands and his Army Air Force band.

Band alumni

Many of the Miller musicians went on to studio and touring careers in Hollywood and New York after World War II. Musicians who went from the Miller bands to important reputations afterwards include:

George Siravo, 1916–2000 was an arranger with Glenn Miller's first band in the late 1930s. Siravo went on to become a staff arranger with Columbia Records in the 1940s, working with Frank Sinatra and Doris Day.

Billy May, 1916–2004 a trumpeter and an arranger for the civilian band, became a much-coveted arranger and studio orchestra leader after that band broke up, going on to work with Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Anita O'Day, and Bing Crosby, among other singers of the post-war era.

Cornetist Bobby Hackett,1915–1976 solos on "A String of Pearls", with Miller in 1941, for Bluebird records. " Hackett went on to work with Jackie Gleason and Dizzy Gillespie.

Johnny Desmond, 1919–1985 a lead vocalist from the Army Air Force Band, became a popular singer in the 1950s, and appeared on Broadway in the 1960s in ''Funny Girl'' with Barbra Streisand.

Kay Starr, b. 1922 became a pop, jazz and country singer in the post-war period. In 1939, Marion Hutton, the regular "girl singer", became sick and sixteen year old Kay Starr was flown in to replace her. Kay Starr's two recordings with Glenn Miller were two 1939 sides, "Baby Me" and "Love With a Capital You".

Artie Malvin, 1922–2006 Glenn Miller's AAF Band had a vocal group called "The Crew Chiefs". Artie Malvin was the baritone of the four men. After World War II and Miller's death, Malvin became heavily immersed in the popular music of the forties and fifties, being involved in everything from children's music to the nascent beginnings of rock to jingles for commercials. By the 1970s Artie Malvin was involved with "The Carol Burnett Show" doing special musical material.

Paul Tanner, b.1917 trombonist for the civilian band, went on to create the electrotheremin and perform on songs such as Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys

Some of the Army Air Force members went on to notable careers in classical music and modern jazz. Three such are:

Norman Leyden b. 1917 an arranger from the Army Air Force Band later became a noted arranger in New York, composing arrangements for Sarah Vaughan, among other artists. His long career culminated with his highly regarded work for the Oregon Symphony, now as Laureate Associate Conductor.

Mel Powell, 1923–1998, was the pianist and one of the arrangers in the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. Gary Giddins comments on "[Miller's] splendid forty-two-piece Army Air Force Band’s startling performance of 'Mission to Moscow.'” "Mission to Moscow" was arranged by Mel Powell, the former pianist for the Benny Goodman orchestra before he was drafted into the service and subsequently joined the Miller orchestra. "Pearls on Velvet" with the Air Force Band is also one of his compositions. "In 1949, he decided on a radical change of direction, setting aside jazz and enrolling as a pupil of the composer and teacher Paul Hindemith at Yale University." Powell started teaching at the California Institute for the Arts in Los Angeles in 1969.

Addison Collins, Jr. played French Horn in the service band. He is featured as "Junior" Collins on the Miles Davis ''Birth of the Cool'' recordings of 1949–50.

Drummer and biographer:

George T. Simon 1912–2001. George Simon knew and worked with Glenn Miller from his early sideman days to the days of leading his civilian band and finally, worked with him when he was stateside with the Army Air Force band. Simon was a drummer for some of the Miller bands. He helped his friend Glenn Miller with personnel using the connections that Simon had as editor with the now defunct ''Metronome magazine''. George Simon wrote the liner notes for eleven Miller reissues, among them: ''Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band'', 1955, ''Glenn Miller On The Air'', 1963 and ''Glenn Miller: A Legendary Performer'', 1974. During a long career, he also wrote articles with topics ranging from Miller and Frank Sinatra to Thelonious Monk. In 1974, Simon won a Grammy award for his liner notes for the RCA record: ''Bing Crosby: A Legendary Performer''.

See also

Death in absentia

List of people who have mysteriously disappeared

List of swing/big band musicians

Notes

Bibliography

ASIN: B0007DMEDQ

External links

Glenn Miller Radio Show (9 episodes from 1940)

The Glenn Miller Birthplace Society, organizing the annual Glenn Miller Birthplace Festival in Clarinda, IA

Website listing recordings Glenn Miller made for Brunswick records as a sideman in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

A World War II Soldier's Insight into the mysterious disappearance of Glenn Miller

In Search Of... television program, segment on ''Glenn Miller'' hosted by Leonard Nimoy.

George's Spink's article, "Glenn Miller: The Sound of an Era" written for the Chicago Sun-Times in December 1984 on the 40th anniversary of Miller's disappearance .

Category:People from Fort Morgan, Colorado Category:1904 births Category:1944 deaths Category:Swing bandleaders Category:Big band bandleaders Category:Swing trombonists Category:American jazz bandleaders Category:American jazz trombonists Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Vocalion Records artists Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:People from Clarinda, Iowa Category:United States Army Air Forces officers Category:Cultural history of World War II Category:University of Colorado alumni Category:Musicians from Colorado Category:Missing in action Category:Missing air passengers Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in international waters Category:United States Army officers Category:People from North Platte, Nebraska

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Coordinates	39°46′5.88″N86°9′29.52″N
Name	Carrie Underwood
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Carrie Marie Underwood
Birth date	March 10, 1983
Birth place	Muskogee, Oklahoma
Origin	Checotah, Oklahoma, United States
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, actress
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano
Genre	Country, country pop
Years active	2005–present
Label	19 / Arista Nashville (2005–current)Arista (2005–2009)
Associated acts	Brad Paisley, Randy Travis
Website	}}

Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of ''American Idol'', in 2005. Underwood has since become a multi-platinum selling recording artist, a winner of several Grammy Awards, Billboard Music Awards and American Music Awards, a Golden Globe Award nominee, a three-time Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association Female Vocalist winner, and a two-time ACM Entertainer of the Year. She is the first-ever female artist to win back-to-back Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards for Entertainer of the Year (2009/10). Underwood was inducted into and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2008. She was also inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2009.

Her debut album, ''Some Hearts'', was certified seven times platinum and, since February 2006, is the fastest selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history. It is also the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history, since February 2008. ''Some Hearts'' yielded three number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs. Her second album, ''Carnival Ride'', was released on October 23, 2007. It has sold over 3 million copies as of January 2010, being certified 3 times Platinum, and produced four consecutive number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs. Underwood released her third album, ''Play On'', on November 3, 2009. It has been certified 2 times Platinum by the RIAA As of May 16, 2011, Carrie became the "American Idol" US Top Earner, selling so far 12.3 million album copies and 18.5 million digital tracks, along with amassing $66 million in tour revenues, since winning Season 4.

Having eleven number one hits on Billboard Hot Country Songs, Underwood is tied with Reba McEntire as the Female Country Artist with Most number one Hits on such chart from 1990 to present. She is the only artist in history to have all singles on the top 2 of the Hot Country Songs. Underwood is also the only solo Country Artist to have a number one hit on Billboard Hot 100 Songs in the 2000 decade, as "Inside Your Heaven" reached the top of the chart on July 2005. Some Hearts, Underwood's debut album, was named the ''Best Country Album of the 2000 Decade'' by Billboard, and she's the only Female Artist to appear on the Top 10 of Billboard's Best Country Artists of the 2000 Decade list, ranked at #10. She was also ranked number 50 on the Artists of the Decade list by Billboard. In June 2011, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Carrie as the #11 Queen of Pop, based on a lot of criteria from 2009 until 2011. In July 2011, Forbes reported that Underwood earned over $20 million between May 2010 and May 2011.

Early life

Underwood was born to Stephen and Carole Underwood on March 10, 1983, in Muskogee, Oklahoma. She was raised on her parents' farm in the rural town of Checotah, Oklahoma. Her father worked in a sawmill, while her mother taught elementary school. She has two older sisters, Shanna and Stephanie. During her childhood, Underwood performed at Robbins Memorial Talent Show, and sang at her local church, First Free Will Baptist Church. She later sang for local events in Checotah, including Old Settler's Day and the Lion's Club.

A local admirer arranged for her to go to Nashville when she was 14 to audition for Capitol Records. While at Checotah High School, she was an Honor Society member and also played basketball, softball, and cheerleading. Underwood graduated from Checotah High School in 2001 as salutatorian. She chose not to pursue singing after graduation. She said, "After high school, I pretty much gave up on the dream of singing. I had reached a point in my life where I had to be practical and prepare for my future in the 'real world'". She spent part of one of her summers as a page for Oklahoma State Representative Bobby Frame. She also waited tables at a pizzeria, worked at a zoo, and at a veterinary clinic. For two years during the summer, she performed in Northeastern State University's Downtown Country show in Tahlequah. She also competed in numerous beauty pageants at the university and was selected as Miss NSU runner-up in 2004.

''American Idol''

In the summer of 2004, Carrie was part of Downtown Country at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The show was under the direction of Kelli Doolen Farmer. Underwood auditioned for ''American Idol'' in St. Louis, Missouri. After she sang "Could've Been" by Tiffany on the top 12 girls night, judge Simon Cowell commented that she would be one of the favorites to win the competition. During the top 11 finalists' performance on the March 22, 2005, ''Idol'' episode, Underwood sang a rendition of the number one 1980s rock hit "Alone", made famous by Heart, and Cowell predicted that Underwood would not only win the competition, but she would also outsell all previous ''Idol'' winners. One of the show's producers later said she dominated the voting, winning each week handily. She gained a fan base known as "Carrie's Care Bears" during the course of the show. During the final, she sang with Rascal Flatts their song "Bless the Broken Road". Underwood became the fourth season winner on May 25, 2005. Her winnings included a recording contract worth at least a million dollars, use of a private jet for a year, and a Ford Mustang convertible.

Performances and results

!Week	!Theme	!Song	!Original artist	!Result
Auditions	Contestant's Choice	"I Can't Make You Love Me"	Bonnie Raitt	Advanced
Hollywood Round 1	Contestant's Choice	"Young Hearts Run Free"	Candi Staton	Advanced
Top 75	Contestant's Choice		Martina McBride	Advanced
Semi-Finals 1	Contestant's Choice	"Could've Been"		Safe
Semi-Finals 2	Contestant's Choice	"Piece of My Heart"	Erma Franklin	Safe
Semi-Finals 3	Contestant's Choice	"Because You Love Me"	Jo Dee Messina	Safe
Top 12	Song of the 1960s		The Everly Brothers	Safe
Top 11	Billboard Number Ones		i-TEN	Safe
Top 10	1990s	"Independence Day"	Martina McBride	Safe
Top 9	Classic Broadway		from ''The King and I''	Safe
Top 8	Year They Were Born	"Love Is a Battlefield"	Pat Benatar	Safe
Top 7	1970s Dance Music		Richard Harris	Safe
Top 6	21st Century	"When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues"	Martina McBride	Safe
Top 5	Lieber & StollerCurrent Billboard Chart		Elvis PresleyNitty Gritty Dirt Band	Safe
Top 4	CountryGamble & Huff	"Sin Wagon""If You Don't Know Me by Now"	Dixie ChicksHarold Melvin & the Blue Notes	Safe
Top 3	Clive Davis' ChoiceContestant's ChoiceJudge's Choice: Randy Jackson		Roy OrbisonAir SupplyShania Twain	Safe
Top 2	Idol SingleContestant's ChoiceProducer's Choice	"Inside Your Heaven""Independence Day""Angels Brought Me Here"	Carrie Underwood/Bo BiceMartina McBrideGuy Sebastian	Winner

Career

2005–2007: ''Some Hearts''

Underwood's debut album, ''Some Hearts'', was released in November 2005, entering the ''Billboard'' charts with 315,000 copies sold, debuting at number one on the Hot Country Albums and at number two on the Hot 200 Albums. The large first week sales of ''Some Hearts'' made it the biggest debut of any country artist since the advent of the SoundScan system in 1991. The album was the Best-Selling Album overall of 2006 in the United States and the Best-Selling country album of both 2006 and 2007 in the U.S.. ''Some Hearts'' has since been certified seven-times Platinum by the RIAA, and is the fastest-selling debut country album in the history of the SoundScan era and also the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history, as of February 2008. "Inside Your Heaven", Underwood's first single, was released in June, debuting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian Singles Chart. It was the longest running single of 2005 in Canada. "Inside Your Heaven" is the only single by a solo country artist in the 2000 decade to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It sold nearly one million copies and was certified gold by the RIAA and two times platinum by the CRIA. The album's second single, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was released to radio in October and later peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs, topping it for six consecutive weeks, and at twenty on the Hot 100. Underwood's third single, "Some Hearts", was also released in October, but just to the pop radios. "Don't Forget to Remember Me", her fourth single also proved successful, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Later that autumn, Underwood's third country single, "Before He Cheats", hit number one on Billboard's Hot Country Songs, staying there for 5 consecutive weeks. The song peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, achieving the slowest climb ever to the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, breaking the record that was previously held by Creed from July 2000. On April 11, 2007, Underwood continued her streak of top Country singles with the release of "Wasted". The song peaked at number one on the Hot Country Songs Chart. On August 2008, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was reported to have been certified Platinum, making Underwood the first country artist ever to have two songs hit Platinum Mastertone status together with "Before He Cheats", which has been certified earlier in 2007. Underwood started her first headlined tour, Carrie Underwood: Live 2006, with dates across North America.

At the 2005 Billboard Music Awards, her hit song "Inside Your Heaven" won the coveted Top-Selling Hot 100 Song of the Year award and also Top-Selling Country Single of the Year award. At the 2006 Academy of Country Music Awards, she won Top New Female Vocalist and Single of the Year, for "Jesus, Take the Wheel". At the 40th Annual Country Music Association Awards she won both the Horizon Award (now Best New Artist) and Female Vocalist of the Year. At the 2006 CMT Awards, Underwood won both the Breakthrough Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year for "Jesus, Take The Wheel". She later won the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award at the American Music Awards, and was also nominated for Favorite Female Country Artist. She won 5 awards at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards, including the coveted Album of the Year, Top 200 Female Artist of the Year, Female Country Artist, New Country Artist, and Country Album of the Year. Also that year, Underwood won a Gospel Music Association (GMA) Dove Award for Country Recorded Song of the Year, for "Jesus, Take The Wheel". At the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2007, Underwood won Album of the Year, Video of the Year, and Female Vocalist of the Year. She was nominated for "World's Best Selling New Artist" at the 2006 World Music Awards. At the 2007 CMT Awards in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 16, Underwood's "Before He Cheats" won three awards, including Video of the Year, Female Video of the Year, and Video Director of the Year. Underwood won two awards at the 2007 CMA Awards: Female Vocalist of the Year, for the second consecutive time, and Single Record of the Year, for "Before He Cheats". In 2007, at the 49th Grammy Awards, ''Some Hearts'' received four Grammy nominations and Underwood won her first two Grammy Awards: Best New Artist and Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Jesus, Take the Wheel. She sang the Eagles song "Life in the Fast Lane" alongside Grammy nominees Rascal Flatts. She also sang the Eagles' "Desperado" to honour Don Henley of The Eagles. She also paid tribute to Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys by performing "New San Antonio Rose". At the 50th Grammy Awards, in 2008, Underwood was nominated for two more Grammys: Best Female Country Vocal Performance, for "Before He Cheats" and Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, for "Oh, Love" a duet with Brad Paisley. She won one Grammy Award that night, for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, and performed the song at the ceremony.

In December 2005, Underwood was named Oklahoman of the Year by ''Oklahoma Today''. In December 2006, Underwood joined Tony Bennett, Michael Bublé and Josh Groban to sing "For Once In My Life" on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Also that month, she paid tribute to Dolly Parton, by singing "Islands in the Stream" with Kenny Rogers (originally by Parton and Rogers) at the Kennedy Center Honors, which honored Parton that year. Underwood performed with the USO Christmas Tour in Iraq during the 2006 Holiday season. Underwood also performed at the 2007 Idol Gives Back concert singing "I'll Stand By You", a cover of The Pretenders hit. Her version of the song debuted at #6 on Billboard's Hot 100 Songs. Also in 2007, Victoria's Secret named Underwood the Sexiest Female Musician.

2007–2009: ''Carnival Ride''

Underwood's second album, ''Carnival Ride'', was released in October 2007. On ''Carnival Ride'', Underwood was more involved in the songwriting process; she set up a writers' retreat at Nashville's famed Ryman Auditorium to collaborate with such Music Row tunesmiths as Hillary Lindsey, Craig Wiseman, Rivers Rutherford, and Gordie Sampson. ''Carnival Ride'' moved over 527,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number one on both the Billboard Hot 200 Albums and Hot Country Albums, as well as number one on the Canadian Albums Chart and United World Chart. ''Carnival Ride'' was certified double platinum in just two months after its release, in December. The album is certified 3-time Platinum by the RIAA, for sales of over three million. "So Small", the first single from the album, was released in July 2007 and reached number one on ''Billboard'''s Hot Country Songs. "All-American Girl", the second single, also reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs. The next single "Last Name" reached number one on the Hot Country Song chart as well. This made Underwood the first female artist to have two consecutive albums each release three number-ones on this chart since Shania Twain in 1998. Her single, "Just a Dream" was released on July 2008 and later peaked at number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, staying there for 2 consecutive weeks. With that, Underwood became the third female artist in country music history to have released four consecutive Number Ones from the same album with Rosanne Cash's "King's Record Shop" and Shania Twain's "The Woman in Me" being the other two that have done so. The album's fifth single, "I Told You So", a duet with the original singer of the song, Randy Travis, was released in February 2009. It peaked at number two on the Billboard Country charts and #9 on the Hot 100. As of February 2011, ''Carnival Ride'' produced 2 platinum selling singles, "All American Girl" and "Last Name". In January 2008, Underwood embarked on a joint tour with Keith Urban named the ''Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride Tour'', with dates fixed nationwide that continued through April. She then started her headlined tour, the Carnival Ride Tour, in February 2008, with dates across all North America, and ended it on December 14, 2008.

By the end of 2007, Underwood won 5 awards at the Billboard Awards, including the coveted Billboard 200 Artist of the Year and also Country Artist of the Year. Also in late 2007, she won three American Music Awards: Artist of the Year, Favorite Female Country Artist and Favorite Country Album, for her debut album, Some Hearts. At the 2008 Academy of Country Music Awards, she won Female Vocalist of the Year, for the 2nd consecutive time. She received two nominations for the 2008 Country Music Association Awards. Underwood and Brad Paisley co-hosted the awards show and she walked away with the Female Vocalist of the Year award for the third consecutive time, but lost the Album of the Year award to George Strait. At the 2008 American Music Awards, Carnival Ride won the Favorite Country Album award, thus making that her 2nd consecutive win in such category. In 2008, Underwood also won her first international award, which was "Female Vocalist of the Year" at the European Country Music Association Awards. For the 44th Academy of Country Music Awards, in 2009, Underwood was nominated for four major awards. Underwood won for Female Vocalist of the Year and ''Entertainer of The Year'', thus making her the first woman to win the award in ten years and the 7th female to take it in the award show's four decade run. Underwood was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2009 CMT Awards for "Just A Dream". In 2009, at the 51st Grammy Awards, she won, for the third year in a row, the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, for "Last Name", and performed the song at the ceremony. At the 52nd Grammy Awards, in 2010, Underwood won her fifth Grammy Award: She won the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for "I Told You So" with Randy Travis and was also nominated again for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, for "Just A Dream". At the ceremony, she performed with Celine Dion, Usher, Smokey Robinson and Jennifer Hudson during the 3-D Michael Jackson tribute. Grammy Awards producer Ken Ehrlich stated that Michael Jackson greatly admired Underwood, which is why she was hand-picked to perform during his tribute.

On May 13, 2008, Underwood was invited by Randy Travis to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry, later that month she was officially inducted by Garth Brooks into the Grand Ole Opry. A few months earlier, she sang Julie Andrews' classic, the title song from The Sound of Music, at the 2007 ''Movies Rock: A Celebration Of Music In Film''. On October 22, 2008, Underwood unveiled her wax figure at Madame Tussauds New York. In 2009, ''Forbes'' reported that Underwood was the top earning ''American Idol'' alumni from June 2008 – May 17, 2009. She earned more than twice as much as the second place finisher, with estimated earnings of $14 million during this time period. She appeared on the holiday CD ''Hear Something Country Christmas 2007'' with a rendition of "Do You Hear What I Hear?". The song reached number two on the AC Chart, and remained there for 3 consecutive weeks. She recorded the song "Ever Ever After" for the soundtrack of the 2007 Walt Disney film ''Enchanted''. Underwood co-wrote a song for ''Idol'' alum Kristy Lee Cook's major-label debut album ''Why Wait''. At the 2008 Idol Gives Back, she sang George Michael's classic "Praying For Time" and later recorded it. In November 2008, Underwood recorded a virtual and posthumous duet with Elvis Presley, on his classic "I'll Be Home For Christmas", for his 2008 album ''Christmas Duets''. Elvis' ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, herself asked Underwood to do the duet: "Priscilla wanted me to do 'I'll Be Home For Christmas,'" she says. "I couldn't say 'no'." In March 2009, she tracked a cover of Mötley Crüe's ballad "Home Sweet Home" for the American Idol season 8 farewell theme. Her version debuted at #21 on the Hot 100 Songs.

2009–present: ''Play On''

Underwood released her third studio album in November 2009. The album debuted atop both the Billboard Hot 200 Albums and Hot Country Albums, selling nearly 318,000 copies, giving Underwood the second-highest female artist first week sales for 2009. Underwood wrote a song with pop/R&B; singer-songwriter Ne-Yo for the album. The first single from the album, "Cowboy Casanova", co-written by Underwood, Brett James and hip hop producer Mike Elizondo, was released in September, peaked at number one on ''Billboard'''s Hot Country Songs and at eleven on the Hot 100 Songs, sold 1.6 million and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Second single, "Temporary Home" hit number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and the RIAA certified it Gold. "Undo It", Underwood's third single from "Play On", was released to radio in May. It was later certified Platinum by the RIAA and hit number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, giving Underwood her 10th #1 single on the Hot Country Songs. The 4th single from Play On, Mama's Song, was released to country radio in September and peaked at two on the Hot Country Songs. The album is certified Double Platinum by the RIAA. The second leg of the tour started on September 25, 2010 in Portland, Oregon, and ended January 1, 2011 in Detroit, Michigan. Underwood sold out the prestigious Hollywood Bowl on October 2, 2010. In December 2010, Pollstar.com ranked the Play On Tour one of the Top 50 tours of 2010, at #18 on the North American raking, and #31 worldwide. ''Billboard'' also ranked Underwood's tour at #24 for all worldwide tours of 2010. On January 4, 2011, official statistics revealed that Underwood played to over 1 million fans throughout the tour.

At the 2009 CMA Awards she received two nominations and co-hosted the ceremony with Brad Paisley. Underwood was nominated for 6 Academy of Country Music Awards. At the show, Underwood was named Entertainer of the Year, making her the only country female artist in history to win this award twice. Host Reba McEntire presented Underwood with the "ACM Triple Crown Award" signifying her winning Top New Artist, Top Female Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year during her career. She was only the second Female to win the coveted "Triple Crown Award", the first being Barbara Mandrell. At the CMT Music Awards Underwood walked away with Video of the Year for "Cowboy Casanova". She also won CMT Performance of the Year for "Temporary Home" from CMT: Invitation Only presents Carrie Underwood. Underwood won two international awards at the 8th French Country Music Awards, wich were Best Female Vocalist and Video of the Year, for "Cowboy Casanova". At the 2010 American Music Awards, she won "Favorite Country Album", for "Play On", making her the only artist in the American Music Award history to have all albums awarded in such a category. She co-hosted the 2010 CMA Awards with Brad Paisley for the third year in a row. Underwood was the 2010 American Country Awards' top winner with six wins, Artist of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for (''Play On''), Female Artist Single of the Year for ("Cowboy Casanova"), Female Artist Video of the Year for ("Cowboy Casanova") and Touring Artist of the Year. At the 2011 Grammy Awards, Underwood was nominated for 'Best Female Country Vocal Performance' for "Temporary Home." Underwood was honored by the CMT Artists of the Year special as one of the 5 top Artists of the year in 2010 in country music. The event aired on CMT on December 3, 2010. At the 2011 Academy of Country Music Awards, Underwood sang with Steven Tyler both her song "Undo It" and Aerosmith's "Walk This Way". In May 2011, Underwood was one of the seven women to be honered by the Academy of Country Music at the ''Girls' Night Out: Superstar Women of Country'' special. She was recognized for being the first and only female artist in the Academy's history to ever win Entertainer of the Year twice. At the ceremony, Vince Gill introduced Underwood and presented her with the special award. He sang one of her hits, "Jesus, Take The Wheel", and joined Underwood on a rendition performance of "How Great Thou Art". The video of the performance turned into a viral sensation, reaching 3 million views on YouTube within two days.

In late 2009, Underwood had her very own CMT Invitation Only and also hosted a Christmas special, ''Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special'', a two-hour variety show on Fox that featured Dolly Parton, with whom she sang a rendition duet of "I Will Always Love You", seventh-season ''American Idol'' champion David Cook, Kristin Chenoweth, Brad Paisley and others. In May 2010, Underwood was selected on People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People List for 2010. This was the 4th year in a row that she was selected for this prestigious list. Also in May, Victoria's Secret named her legs the Sexiest Legs in Hollywood. Underwood appeared on the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother". Her character, Tiffany, is a pharmaceutical sales representative who becomes the love interest for another main character on the show. A few months earlier, she performed a voice-over as 'Carrie Underworm', a parodied "worm" character, in an episode of the PBS children's television series, ''Sesame Street'', Underwood co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "There's a Place for Us," the lead single from ''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader''. Underwood and songwriters, David Hodges and Hillary Lindsey, received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. In March 2011, Underwood sang John Lennon's "Instant Karma!" at the NBC's special ''All Together Now – A Celebration of Service'', which honored ex-President George H. W. Bush. She made her big screen debut in ''Soul Surfer'', in April 2011. At the season ten finale of ''American Idol'' Underwood selected a song for contestant Lauren Alaina to sing.

Carrie is featured on "Remind Me", a duet with Brad Paisley that reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs, giving Underwood her 11th #1 single on such chart and 14th overall. She has also a duet with Tony Bennett on his 2011 album ''Duets II'' and another duet with Randy Travis on his 2011 ''Anniversary Celebration'' album. Underwood will be one of the headliners of the iHeartRadio Music Festival. The event will take place on September 23 and 24, 2011.

Voice and Recognition

Carrie Underwood's voice spans up to a four octave vocal range. Since winning American Idol in 2005, Underwood's Voice has been hugely praised by the critics and celebrities some like Simon Cowell who said, "when she came into the room it was like everything went from black and white to color, Anything she sings sounds amazing." Randy Jackson commented on Jimmy Kimmel Live; "She's the best American Idol of all time." Another celebrity was Brad Paisley who said, "I think she's the best singer we have, maybe ever had, in any format"; while country music legend Vince Gill praised Underwood by saying, "The possibility of Carrie's longevity is through the roof. There are fine singers, and there are gifted, great singers, and she's one of those. Her vocal skills are unbelievable!". Loretta Lynn's stated: "Carrie's right on the beat. She's done it. She's great, she's a great singer." Dolly Parton's also praised Underwood: "She's the real thing", she says, "Another country gal like me who sings from the heart. I loved working with her and I love listening to her." Michael Jackson was also reported to have had "greatly admired Underwood", as stated by Grammy Award producer Ken Ehrlich.

Personal interests

Underwood is an animal lover and a vegetarian. She stopped eating meat at the age of thirteen because she could not stand the thought of eating one of her own animals. She was voted "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" by PETA in 2007 for the second time, the first being in 2005 alongside Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. In a 2007 interview with PETA, Underwood stated, "Ever since I was little I loved animals [...] If you told me I could never sing again, I'd say that was horrible, but it's not my life. If you told me I could never be around animals again, I would just die." Underwood is a supporter of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and has done several public service announcements for the organization. Underwood has also done a "Protect Your Pets" public service announcement for Do Something.

To benefit cancer research, in August 2008 Underwood joined Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige and other female artists to record the song "Just Stand Up!". The proceeds benefited Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C). As a result of their fund raising efforts, the SU2C scientific advisory committee, overseen by the American Association for Cancer Research was able to award $73.6 million towards novel, groundbreaking research. The song peaked at #11 on Billboard's Hot 100 Songs. In August 2009, she formed the Checotah Animal Town and School (C.A.T.S.) Foundation to benefit her hometown of Checotah, Oklahoma. On August 28, 2009, Underwood visited Checotah High School with ABC news anchor Robin Roberts, where she gave a presentation on stage, sang with a young girl in front of students and school faculty, and donated over $117,000 worth of musical instruments to three music programs at three of Checotah's schools. Underwood has participated in the annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball tournament for charity for many years. The event takes place in Nashville, Tennessee, and benefits research for life-threatening diseases.

Underwood has also stated she has a great interest in sports. In 2005, she performed the "Star-Spangled Banner" at Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons, and in 2006 at the NBA All-Star Game. She also performed the "Star-Spangled Banner" at the NFC Championship Game between the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers in 2006, as well as at the 2006 edition of NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600, the MLB All Star Game in Pittsburgh, P.A., and at Game 3 of the 2007 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies. On February 7, 2010, Underwood performed the National Anthem for Super Bowl XLIV.

Personal life

Underwood performed at halftime of the 2006 Thanksgiving Day football game at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas, and was friends with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. She attended his birthday party in April 2007, and on May 15, 2007, he escorted her to the Academy of Country Music Awards. They were rumored to be dating on and off throughout 2007. Although she denied the rumor when asked, Romo confirmed it by saying "[...] I'm dating Carrie Underwood" on his website. He also told an Illinois newspaper that they were dating. In August 2007, Underwood began dating Chace Crawford of the American television series ''Gossip Girl''. On October 4, 2007, ''People'' magazine reported that the two were seen holding hands in New York City, though according to further reports, they ended their relationship in the spring of 2008.

She became engaged in December 2009 to then Ottawa Senators (now Nashville Predators) hockey player Mike Fisher, whom she began dating after they met at one of her concerts in 2008. Underwood and Fisher appeared together publicly for the first time in January 2010, at the Bell Sens Soiree, an annual fundraiser in Gatineau for the Ottawa Senators' official charity. After appearing together at the CMT Awards in June 2010, Underwood told reporters that Fisher was planning a surprise honeymoon for the two of them after their summer wedding.

On July 10, 2010, Underwood and Fisher wed at the Ritz Carlton Resort at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia, with more than 250 people in attendance. The couple gave ''People'' the following statement, which they signed "Mike & Carrie Fisher": "We could not feel more blessed to have found each other and to have shared this day with our friends and family that mean so much to us!" According to ''People'', Monique Lhuillier created a dress of Chantilly lace for Underwood and also designed the bridesmaids' dresses. The ceremony featured classical music and readings of the couple's favorite Bible verses. National Hockey League players, as well as Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, ''American Idol'' contestants, and judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson were in attendance. She surprised her husband by having one of their favorite artists, Brandon Heath, sing his song "Love Never Fails" for their first dance.

On February 11, 2011, 105.3 CISS-FM, an Ottawa radio station, banned Underwood's music to be played because her husband, Mike Fisher, was traded to the Nashville Predators the day before. Due to Underwood's fans' threats to never tune into the radio station on Facebook, the station later modified their statements. They apologized for their actions, saying that their statements were meant to be taken as a joke as they do not play Underwood's country songs anyway and was their tongue-in-cheek way of wishing Mike Fisher the best of luck in Nashville. Mike Fisher later criticized the station saying "obviously Carrie had nothing to do with the move or the trade or anything so to imply something like that was just wrong", and both he and Underwood were disappointed in the negativity that was created by the radio station.

Discography

2005: ''Some Hearts''

2007: ''Carnival Ride''

2009: ''Play On''

Filmography

!Year	!Appearance	!Role
2005	''American Idol''	Herself – Winner
2009	''Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special''	Herself
	''How I Met Your Mother''	Tiffany
''Sesame Street''	"Carrie Underworm"
''The Buried Life''	Herself
''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition''	Herself
		Sarah Hill
''Blue Bloods''	Herself

Tours

2005: American Idols LIVE! Tour 2005

2006: Carrie Underwood: Live 2006

2008: Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride Tour (w/ Keith Urban)

2008: Carnival Ride Tour

2010: Play On Tour

Awards

List of awards received by Carrie Underwood

See also

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. country chart

List of best-selling music artists in the United States

List of best-charting music artists in the U.S.

References

Bibliography

Tracey, Kathleen. ''Carrie Underwood: American Idol IV''. September 2005. Blue Banner Biography series (Juvenile) ISBN 1-58415-425-X

Footnotes

External links

Official site of Carrie Underwood from Arista Records

Carrie Underwood at Billboard.com

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:People from Muskogee, Oklahoma Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American female singers Category:American pianists Category:American female guitarists Category:American country guitarists Category:American Idol winners Category:American singers of Native American descent Category:American vegans Category:Arista Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:Northeastern State University alumni Category:Musicians from Oklahoma Category:American Christians Category:Baptists from the United States Category:Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame inductees

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