A (named ''a'', plural ''aes'') is the first letter and a vowel in the basic modern Latin alphabet. It is similar to the Ancient Greek letter Alpha, from which it derives.

Origins

The earliest certain ancestor of "A" is aleph (also called 'aleph), the first letter of the Phoenician alphabet (which, by consisting entirely of consonants, is an abjad rather than a true alphabet). In turn, the origin of aleph may have been a pictogram of an ox head in Egyptian hieroglyphs.

! Egyptian	! Phoenician ''aleph''	''Alpha (letter)>Alpha''	! Etruscan A	! Roman/Cyrillic A

In 1600 B.C., the Phoenician alphabet's letter had a linear form that served as the base for some later forms. Its name must have corresponded closely to the Hebrew or Arabic aleph.

{| cellspacing="10" cellpadding="0" style="background-color: white; float: right;" |- align="center" |Blackletter ABlackletter A |Uncial AUncial A |Another Capital AAnother Blackletter A  |- align="center" |64 px|Modern Roman AModern Roman A |64 px|Modern Italic AModern Italic A |64 px|Modern Script AModern Script A |} When the ancient Greeks adopted the alphabet, they had no use for the glottal stop—the first phoneme of the Phoenician pronunciation of the letter, and the sound that the letter denoted in Phoenician and other Semitic languages—so they used an adaptation of the sign to represent the vowel , and gave it the similar name of alpha. In the earliest Greek inscriptions after the Greek Dark Ages, dating to the 8th century BC, the letter rests upon its side, but in the Greek alphabet of later times it generally resembles the modern capital letter, although many local varieties can be distinguished by the shortening of one leg, or by the angle at which the cross line is set.

The Etruscans brought the Greek alphabet to their civilization in the Italian Peninsula and left the letter unchanged. The Romans later adopted the Etruscan alphabet to write the Latin language, and the resulting letter was preserved in the modern Latin alphabet used to write many languages, including English.

The letter has two minuscule (lower-case) forms. The form used in most current handwriting consists of a circle and vertical stroke (), called Latin alpha or "script a". This slowly developed from the fifth-century form resembling the Greek letter tau in the hands of dark-age Irish and English writers. Most printed material uses a form consisting of a small loop with an arc over it (). Both derive from the majuscule (capital) form. In Greek handwriting, it was common to join the left leg and horizontal stroke into a single loop, as demonstrated by the Uncial version shown. Many fonts then made the right leg vertical. In some of these, the serif that began the right leg stroke developed into an arc, resulting in the printed form, while in others it was dropped, resulting in the modern handwritten form.

Usage

The letter A currently represents six different vowel sounds. In English, "a" by itself frequently denotes the near-open front unrounded vowel () as in ''pad''; the open back unrounded vowel () as in ''father'', its original, Latin and Greek, sound; a closer, further fronted sound as in "hare", which developed as the sound progressed from "father" to "ace"; in concert with a later orthographic vowel, the diphthong as in ''ace'' and ''major'', due to effects of the great vowel shift; the more rounded form in "water" or its closely related cousin, found in "was".

In most other languages that use the Latin alphabet, "a" denotes an open front unrounded vowel (). In the International Phonetic Alphabet, variants of "a" denote various vowels. In X-SAMPA, capital "A" denotes the open back unrounded vowel and lowercase "a" denotes the open front unrounded vowel.

"A" is the third most commonly used letter in English, and the second most common in Spanish and French. In one study, on average, about 3.68% of letters used in English tend to be ⟨a⟩, while the number is 6.22% in Spanish and 3.95% in French.

"A" is often used to denote something or someone of a better or more prestigious quality or status: A-, A or A+, the best grade that can be assigned by teachers for students' schoolwork; A grade for clean restaurants; A-List celebrities, etc. Such associations can have a motivating effect as exposure to the letter A has been found to improve performance, when compared with other letters.

Related letters and other similar characters

Α α : Greek letter Alpha

А а : Cyrillic letter A

: Latin letter Alpha / Script A : a turned lowercase letter A, used by the International Phonetic Alphabet for the near-open central vowel : a turned capital letter A, used in predicate logic to specify universal quantification

ª : an ordinal indicator

Æ æ : Latin letter Æ

Computing codes

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:right |- align=center | align=right | character || colspan=2 | A || colspan=2 | a |- align=center | align=right | Unicode name || colspan=2 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A || colspan=2 | LATIN SMALL LETTER A |- | align=left | character encoding || decimal || hex || decimal || hex |- | align=left | Unicode || 65 || 0041 || 97 || 0061 |- | align=left | UTF-8 || 65 || 41 || 97 || 61 |- | align=left | Numeric character reference || A || A || a || a |- | align=left | EBCDIC family || 193 || C1 || 129 || 81 |- | align=left | ASCII 1 || 65 || 41 || 97 || 61 |}

¹ and all encodings based on ASCII, including the DOS, Windows, ISO-8859 and Macintosh families of encodings.

Other representations

References

External links

History of the Alphabet

Category:ISO basic Latin letters Category:Vowel letters

ace:A af:A als:A ar:A an:A arc:A ast:A az:A zh-min-nan:A ba:A (латин хәрефе) be:A, літара be-x-old:A (літара) bar:A bs:A br:A (lizherenn) bg:A ca:A cs:A tum:A co:A cy:A da:A de:A dv:އޭ et:A el:A eml:A es:A eo:A eu:A fa:A fr:A (lettre) fy:A fur:A gv:Aittyn gd:A gl:A gan:A xal:A үзг ko:A hr:A io:A ilo:A id:A ia:A is:A it:A he:A jv:A ka:A kw:A sw:A ht:A ku:A (tîp) la:A lv:A lb:A (Buschtaf) lt:A lmo:A hu:A mk:A (Латиница) mg:A ml:A mr:A mzn:A ms:A my:A nah:A nl:A (letter) ja:A nap:A no:A nn:A nrm:A mhr:A (латин тиште) uz:A (harf) pl:A pt:A crh:A ro:A qu:A ru:A (латиница) se:A stq:A scn:A simple:A sk:A sl:A szl:A srn:A sr:A (слово латинице) sh:A su:A fi:A sv:A tl:A th:A tr:A (harf) tk:A uk:A (латиниця) vi:A vo:A war:A yi:A yo:A zh-yue:A diq:A bat-smg:A zh:A

Name	Nicki Minaj
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Onika Tanya Maraj
Birth date	December 08, 1982
Birth place	Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago
Origin	South Jamaica, Queens, New York, USA
Genre	Hip hop, R&B;, pop
Occupation	Rapper, singer-songwriter
Years active	2002 – present
Label	Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment, Universal Republic Records, Universal Motown
Associated acts	Young Money
website	}}

Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982), known by her stage name Nicki Minaj (), is a Trinidadian-born American musician. She was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago, and moved to the New York borough of Queens when she was five.

After releasing three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009 and being signed to Young Money Entertainment in August 2009, Minaj released her debut album, ''Pink Friday'', in November 2010. It quickly became a commercial success, peaking at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 and being certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a month after its release. She became the first female solo artist to have seven singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at the same time. Her second single, "Your Love", reached #1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Rap Songs chart, making Minaj the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. She also became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List. Minaj was named the 2011 ''Rising Star'' by ''Billboard''. Her second studio album, ''Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded'' will be released on April 3, 2012.

Early life

Maraj was born in 1982 in Saint James, a suburb of Trinidad and Tobago's capital city Port of Spain. Her parents are of mixed Indian and Afro-Trinidadian ancestry and she lived in Saint James with her grandmother until age five, because her parents were looking for a place to live in the Queens borough of New York City at the time. Her mother would occasionally visit, and one day, when Minaj was five, her mother picked her up to move to Queens. According to Minaj, her father drank heavily, took drugs, and once tried to kill her mother by setting the house on fire.

She attended Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School 210, where she played the clarinet. She graduated from LaGuardia High School. At LaGuardia, a school specializing in music and the visual and performing arts, Minaj participated in the drama program. She had initially planned to sing at LaGuardia, but lost her voice on the day of the audition.

Career

2007–09: Mixtapes and Young Money

Minaj released her first mixtape in 2007 after releasing ''Playtime Is Over'' with ''Dirty Money Records''. She released another mixtape on July 7, 2008, titled ''Sucka Free'', under the label ''Be''. On April 18, 2009, Minaj released a third mixtape and appeared in ''XXL'' magazine. She won the Female Artist of the Year award at the 2008 Underground Music Awards. Minaj released ''Beam Me Up Scotty'', another mixtape, in April 2009 under the label of ''Trapaholics Records''; it received positive coverage on both BET and MTV.

In August 2009, Minaj signed a record deal with Young Money Entertainment, with distribution from Universal Motown Records, after fellow American rapper Lil Wayne discovered her and secured the record deal. She then had a solo rap verse in their single "BedRock," which became a commercial success, reaching #2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Minaj also appeared on "Roger That", which charted at #56. The song, and in particular Minaj, received positive reviews from critics. Both songs were included in Young Money Entertainment's debut collaborative studio album ''We Are Young Money'', which was released in December 2009. The album charted in the top ten on the ''Billboard'' 200, reaching #9 and later receiving a Gold Certification by the RIAA. She was then chosen by Mariah Carey to be featured on her single and music video for "Up Out My Face". Critics praised her collaboration for helping to maintain Carey's feminine image and providing a polite track for the female R&B; singer.

2010–present: ''Pink Friday'' and ''Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded''

After a major record label bidding war, Young Money Entertainment announced on August 31, 2009 that Minaj had been released a 360 deal with the label in which she retains and owns all of her 360 rights – including merchandising, sponsorships, endorsements, touring and publishing. In an interview with 95.8 Capital FM, Rihanna stated that after the two collaborated on "Raining Men" from her album ''Loud'' that the duo would be teaming up together for a possible second collaboration on Minaj's ''Pink Friday''. Hip-hop rap artist and producer Kanye West was also confirmed for the album. On August 3, 2010 Minaj revealed on a Ustream.tv channel that the album's name would be ''Pink Friday'', in reference to Black Friday.

''Pink Friday'' was released on November 19, 2010 in both standard and deluxe versions. A buzz single, "Massive Attack", was released in April. In August, Minaj released "Your Love" as the first official single from her debut album. The single peaked at 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, 7 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart and topped the Rap Songs chart. Minaj became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List and the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. In October 2010, Minaj became the first artist to have seven songs on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart simultaneously. Minaj released a joint single with The Black Eyed Peas front man, will.i.am titled, "Check It Out", which is Minaj's most successful single to date in Europe. "Right thru Me" was released September 24, 2010; the music video was released in late October. "Moment 4 Life" was released as the fourth single. The track featured Canadian rapper Drake and was released on December 7, 2010, becoming a success on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The single peaked at number 5 on the Hot Rap Songs. The album gained a Platinum certification in the United States a month after the release. It was hinted by Simon Cowell that Minaj would join the judging panel of the American version of the ''The X Factor.'' Starting in June 2011, Minaj will be supporting ''Pink Friday'' by serving as an opening act along with Jessie and the Toy Boys and Nervo on Britney Spears' sixth concert tour, the Femme Fatale Tour, in support of her seventh studio album, ''Femme Fatale''. She also was featured on the official remix of Spears' track "Till the World Ends" along with Spears and singer Kesha, which charted at number 3 in the US in April 2011. "Super Bass" was released from ''Pink Friday'' in May 2011, the single charted within the top 10 in many countries including; United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada and more. The song gained positive reviews from critics. Minaj will voice a character in the 3D animated film, ''Ice Age: Continental Drift'', as an unknown character. Minaj is also featured on French DJ David Guetta's 2011 album, ''Nothing but the Beat'' on "Where Them Girls At" and "Turn Me On". She will be featured alongside Madonna and M.I.A. on an upcoming single from Madonna's twelfth studio album, for which a music video has been directed by Megaforce. The trio performed "Give Me All Your Luvin'" from Madonna's new album for the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show.

Minaj's second studio album, ''Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded'', was announced through Twitter in November 2011 and is set to be released on April 3, 2012. The album's first single, "Starships", was released on February 14. On February 12, 2012, Minaj debuted her song "Roman Holiday" at the 54th Grammy Awards. The exorcism-themed perfomance drew a mixed response online.

Musical style and image

Image

In an interview with ''Vibe'' Minaj discussed her sexual image stating, "[w]hen I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly. The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot... and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing." In an interview with ''Interview'', Minaj commented on her sexual image again stating, "I made a conscious decision to try to tone down the sexiness, I want people—especially young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You’ve got to have something else to go with that.” Minaj has a tattoo in Chinese characters that reads "" (''shangdi yu ni chang zai'') on her left arm, meaning, "God is always with you."

Alter egos

While growing up, Minaj's home life was often chaotic, with her parents constantly fighting. As a means of escape, she would create characters and live her life through them. In an interview with ''New York'' she stated, "To get away from all their fighting, I would imagine being a new person. 'Cookie' was my first identity – that stayed with me for a while. I went on to 'Harajuku Barbie,' then 'Nicki Minaj'. Fantasy was my reality."

For her debut album, Minaj created another alter-ego named "Roman Zolanski". She stated that in songs like "Bottoms Up" with Trey Songz it is not Minaj rapping, but instead Roman Zolanski, and claims that Roman is her "twin sister". She claims that he was born inside her, out of rage, and becomes him when she is angry. She has also said 'He is a demon inside her'. Roman has been compared to Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady, and on the song "Roman's Revenge" from ''Pink Friday'', Minaj and Eminem collaborate, using these alter egos. On the collaboration, she said "The new album is going to have a lot of Roman on it ... And if you're not familiar with Roman, then you will be familiar with him very soon. He’s the boy that lives inside of me. He's a lunatic and he's gay and he'll be on there a lot." Roman also has a "mother" called "Martha Zolanski", who also appeared on the song Roman's Revenge, with a British accent. Martha appears in the video for "Moment 4 Life" where she appears to be Minaj's magical Godmother. In songs such as "All I Do Is Win (Remix)" it is Minaj rapping. Minaj stated that on her debut album, fans will get to "meet" Nicki, Roman and Onika.

On November 18, 2010, Minaj assumed a different alter-ego named "Nicki Teresa". Wearing a colorful scarf around her head, she went around as the "healer to her fans" as she visited them at The Garden of Dreams Foundation at Fuse studios in New York City. Minaj made an appearance on ''Lopez Tonight'' on December 6, 2010 and presented a different alter-ego for the Spanish-inspired occasion, named "Rosa" (pronounced Rrrrrosa).

Influences

Minaj has stated that artists who have influenced her musical style include Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Lil Wayne, Lauryn Hill, Jadakiss, Natasha Bedingfield, Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim and Missy Elliott. She was also inspired by Janet Jackson, Madonna, Britney Spears, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Jones, M.I.A., and Cyndi Lauper.

Personal life

While some songs and interviews have implied that Minaj is bisexual, she has said that she does not date nor have sex with women, but added in an interview with ''Out'' magazine, "I don’t date men either." In an interview with ''Vibe'' she commented, "I just embrace all people of all lifestyles and I don’t tell them they are bad people. And I say girls are beautiful and girls are sexy and they need to be told that, and if they don’t have anyone to tell them that and mean it, I’m gonna tell them that. But I feel like people always wanna define me and I don’t wanna be defined." She reiterated her dislike of being labeled in an interview with ''Out'', saying: "The point is, everyone is not black and white. There are so many shades in the middle, and you’ve got to let people feel comfortable with saying what they want to say when they want to say it."

During an interview in the May 2010 issue of ''Details'', Minaj was asked if she felt hip-hop was becoming more gay-friendly. She responded, "I think the world is getting more gay-friendly, so hip-hop is too. But it's harder to imagine an openly gay male rapper being embraced, people view gay men as having no street credibility. But I think we'll see one in my lifetime."

In July 2011, Minaj's cousin Nicholas Telemaque was murdered near his home in Brooklyn, New York City.

Discography

''Pink Friday'' (2010)

''Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded'' (2012)

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Nicki Minaj

Notes

References

External links

Category:Nicki Minaj Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:African American female singers Category:African American rappers Category:American musicians of Indian descent Category:American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Category:Female rappers Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Category:Hip hop singers Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:People from Queens Category:People from Port of Spain Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Singers from New York City Category:Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United States Category:Trinidad and Tobago musicians Category:Trinidad and Tobago people of Dougla descent Category:Young Money Entertainment artists

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Name	Selena Gomez
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Selena Marie Gomez
Birth date	July 22, 1992
Birth place	Grand Prairie, Texas, U.S.
Genre	Pop rock, dance-pop, electropop
Occupation	Actress, singer, businesswoman
Instrument	Vocals, piano, guitar, drums
Years active	2002–present
Label	Hollywood
Associated acts	Selena Gomez & the Scene, Demi Lovato
Website	150pxSelena Gomez's signature }}

Selena Marie Gomez (born July 22, 1992) is an American actress and singer best known for portraying Alex Russo in the Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel television series ''Wizards of Waverly Place''. She subsequently ventured into feature films and has starred in the television movies ''Another Cinderella Story'', ''Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie'', and ''Princess Protection Program''. She made her starring theatrical film debut in ''Ramona and Beezus''.

Her career has expanded into the music industry; Gomez is the lead singer and founder of the pop band Selena Gomez & the Scene, which has released two RIAA Gold certified studio albums, ''Kiss & Tell'' and ''A Year Without Rain'' and spawned three RIAA Platinum certified singles, "Naturally", "Who Says" and "Love You Like a Love Song". As of April 2011, the band has sold 1,354,000 albums in the United States. Gomez has also contributed to the soundtracks of ''Tinker Bell'', ''Another Cinderella Story'', ''Wizards of Waverly Place'', and ''Shake It Up'' after signing a record deal with Hollywood Records. In 2008, Gomez was designated a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Personal life

Gomez was born in Grand Prairie, Texas. She is the daughter of former stage actress Amanda Dawn "Mandy" Teefey (née Cornett) and Ricardo Joel Gomez. Her father is of Mexican ancestry, and her mother is of part Italian descent. Regarding her Hispanic heritage, Gomez said: "My family does have Quinceañeras, and we go to the communion church. We do everything that's Catholic, but we don't really have anything traditional except [that we] go to the park and have barbecues on Sundays after church." Her birth parents divorced when she was five years old, and she was raised as an only child by her working mother. In 2006, Mandy remarried Brian Teefey. She is named after Tejano singer Selena, who died almost three years after Gomez was born. In a 2009 interview with ''People'', Gomez mentioned that she developed an early interest in acting from watching her mother prepare for and act in theater productions. She earned a high school diploma through homeschooling in May 2010.

On February 27, 2011, Gomez attended the 2011 Vanity Fair Oscar Party with Canadian singer Justin Bieber, confirming several months of media speculation about a romantic relationship between the pair. The relationship has since continued to garner significant media attention.

Acting career

2002–06: ''Barney & Friends'' and early work

Gomez began her acting career at age seven, playing Gianna on ''Barney & Friends''. She later had minor roles in ''Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over'' and the TV film ''Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial By Fire''. Gomez also starred in the television movie ''Brain Zapped''. (Selena Gomez also found out that she wanted to be an actress because in E Special she states that "I would also watch my mom on stage do her lines".)

In 2004, Gomez was discovered by the Disney Channel in a USA-wide scouting. Gomez appeared as a guest star on ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' and had a guest appearance – that later turned into a recurring role – on ''Hannah Montana'' from seasons two to three. Gomez previously taped two different pilots that were spin-offs to two previous Disney series. The first one, ''What's Stevie Thinking?'', was the spin-off to ''Lizzie McGuire''. Gomez played Stevie Sanchez, Miranda Sanchez's little sister. The other show was titled ''Arwin!'', the spin-off to ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'', in which she played Alexa. Neither series was picked up.

2007–09: ''Wizards of Waverly Place''

In early 2007 Gomez was cast in the Disney Channel series ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' as one of the three main characters, Alex Russo. The show premiered to an audience of 5.9 million, becoming a hit. Many news outlets began dubbing Gomez the next 'Miley Cyrus' causing some controversy and a reported 'feud'. Gomez clarified that there was no feud and that she was flattered by the comparison, saying: "It's a little overwhelming, but I think really, it's a compliment. She's obviously extremely successful, and I think she's a wonderful performer ... So being compared to her, I was very, very flattered."

In 2008, Gomez appeared in ''Another Cinderella Story'', the direct-to-DVD sequel to the 2004 Hilary Duff film, opposite Drew Seeley. She also had a minor voiceover role as one the Mayor's ninety-six daughters in ''Horton Hears a Who!'' which released in March of that year. In April, Lacey Rose, of ''Forbes'' ranked Gomez as being fifth on their "Eight Hot Kid Stars To Watch" list; and Rose described Gomez as having been "a multitalented teen".

In February 2009, Gomez signed on to star as one of the two female leads in ''Ramona and Beezus'', a film adaption of the children's novel series by Beverly Cleary. Gomez stated that she felt no pressure in taking more adult roles: "I think I’m fully aware of my audience and I’m still just a kid myself. I wouldn’t do a role I don’t feel comfortable doing or that my audience wouldn’t feel comfortable seeing."

In June 2009, Gomez did a guest appearance as herself in one episode of best friend Demi Lovato's Disney Channel television show, ''Sonny with a Chance'', entitled "Battle of The Network Stars". That same month Gomez appeared alongside Lovato in the made-for-television Disney Channel movie, ''Princess Protection Program''. The telecast garnered 8.5 million viewers becoming, at the time, the third most watched Disney Channel Original Movie. One month later, Gomez, along with two cast members of ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' appeared in a television three-way cross-over episode with ''Hannah Montana'' and ''The Suite Life on Deck'', entitled ''Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana''.

On August 28, two months after appearing in ''Princess Protection Program'', Gomez starred in ''Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie'', a made-for-television film based on the show. The film premiered to an audience of 11.4 million viewers becoming cable's No. 1 scripted telecast of 2009 and Disney Channel's second most-viewed film premiere after ''High School Musical 2''. In 2010, the film adaptation won ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' its second consecutive Emmy for "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards over its television series counterpart which had won in the same category at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards.

2010–present: Focus on film

Gomez's first theatrical film ''Ramona & Beezus'' premiered on July 23, 2010 and met with generally positive reviews. In March 2010, ''Variety'' reported that Gomez was set to star as one of the three lead roles in ''Monte Carlo'', alongside Leighton Meester and Katie Cassidy. In the film Gomez plays Grace, a girl who’s “mistaken for a socialite while on a trip to Paris.” To prepare for the role Gomez learned how to play polo and also took two weeks of vocal training to learn two different British accents. The same year Gomez confirmed that the fourth season of her hit Disney Channel show, ''Wizards of Waverly Place'', would be its last.

In February 2011, Deadline.com reported that Universal Pictures and Strike Entertainment had acquired the novel ''Thirteen Reasons Why'' by Jay Asher with Gomez attached to the lead. That same month TV Guide reported that Gomez would make a cameo in the ''Muppets'' film. Production for the final season of ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' came to a wrap on May 14, 2011. Gomez co-hosted the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards on June 19. She also hosted the 2011 MTV EMAs on November 6, 2011, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where she performed her band's new single "Hit The Lights". In early November, ''Variety'' reported that Gomez was in talks to star in the upcoming film ''Spring Breakers'' alongside James Franco, Emma Roberts, and Vanessa Hudgens. Gomez confirmed to ''MTV'' that she had signed on for the project and that production will begin in early 2012.

Music career

2009: Solo career

In 2008, Gomez recorded a cover of "Cruella de Vil"—which included a music video—for the compilation album ''DisneyMania 6''. Gomez recorded three songs for the ''Another Cinderella Story'' soundtrack, which Gomez appears in.left|thumb|Selena Gomez permorming [[Naturally (Selena Gomez & the Scene song)|Naturally on Good Morning America|150px]] Gomez also recorded "Fly to Your Heart" for the 2008 animated film ''Tinker Bell''. In July 2008, before Gomez' sixteenth birthday, she signed a recording deal with Hollywood Records, a music label owned by ''Disney''. In 2009, Gomez recorded "One and the Same" for ''Princess Protection Program'' as a duet with her co-star Lovato. Gomez recorded four songs, one of which was a cover, for the ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' soundtrack, only one single (Magic) from the album was released. In May, of the same year, Gomez was featured, with Forever the Sickest Kids, on a duet version of the non-album song "Whoa Oh!".

2009–present: Selena Gomez & the Scene

Formed in 2009, Selena Gomez & the Scene is a teen pop band which consists of Selena Gomez on vocals, Ethan Roberts on guitar, Joey Clement on bass, Greg Garman on drums and Dane Forrest on keyboards. ''Kiss & Tell'' is the band's debut studio album and was released on September 29, 2009 by Hollywood Records. On March 5, 2010, the album was certified Gold by RIAA. The album's single, "Naturally", was certified Platinum by the RIAA on July 15, 2010. The band's second album ''A Year Without Rain'' was released on September 17, 2010. The record debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 4, selling 66,000 copies. On January 19, 2011, the album was certified Gold by RIAA. The band's third album ''When the Sun Goes Down'', previously titled ''Otherside'', released on June 28, 2011. The album debuted at number 4 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 78,000 copies its first week. The following week, the album rose to number 3 on the, becoming the band's highest charting album to date. The album's lead single, "Who Says" was certified Platinum by RIAA on June 23, 2011 and has become the band's highest charting song on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 to date, peaking at number 21.

Other projects

Philanthropy

Gomez was involved in the UR Votes Count campaign which encouraged teenagers to learn more about 2008 presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. In October 2008, Gomez participated in St. Jude's Children's Hospital "Runway For Life" benefit. Gomez is a spokesperson for Borden Milk; she is featured in the campaign's print and television ads. She is the ambassador of DoSomething.org after being involved with the charity Island Dog, which help dogs in Puerto Rico. She got involved while filming ''Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie'' in Puerto Rico. Gomez is a spokesperson for State Farm Insurance, and is featured in their TV commercials; which air on the Disney Channel, to raise awareness of being a safe driver. Gomez is also involved with the charity RAISE Hope For Congo, an initiative of the Enough Project, which helps raise awareness about conflict minerals and violence against Congolese women.

In October 2008, Gomez was named UNICEF's spokesperson for the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign, which encouraged children to raise money on Halloween to help children around the world. She said that she was "extremely excited" to "encourage other kids to make a difference in the world."

In August 2009, a 17-year-old Gomez became the youngest UNICEF ambassador ever, passing fellow songstress Hayley Westenra, who was 18 when she was chosen. In her first official field mission, Gomez traveled to Ghana on September 4, 2009 for a week to witness first-hand the stark conditions of vulnerable children that lack vital necessities including clean water, nourishment, education and healthcare. Gomez explained during an interview with Associated Press that she wanted to use her star power to bring awareness to Ghana: “That’s why I feel very honored to have a voice that kids listen to and take into consideration [...] I had people on my tour asking me where IS Ghana, and they Googled it [...] and because I went there, they now know where Ghana is. So it’s pretty incredible.” Gomez said of her role as ambassador that: "Every day 25,000 children die from preventable causes. I stand with UNICEF in the belief that we can change that number from 25,000 to zero. I know we can achieve this because every moment, UNICEF is on the ground providing children with the lifesaving assistance needed to ensure zero becomes a reality."

Gomez was named spokesperson for UNICEF's 2009 Trick-or-Treat campaign, for the second year in a row. Gomez, who raised over $700,000 for the charity in 2008, stated that she hopes to be able to raise 1 million dollars in 2009. Gomez participated in a celebrity auction and hosted a live web cast series on Facebook in support of the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign. Gomez returned as the UNICEF spokesperson for the 60th anniversary of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign in 2010. In celebration of the 60th anniversary, Gomez and her band, The Scene, held a benefit concert donating all proceeds to the campaign.

In February 2011, Gomez traveled to Chile to witness and meet with the families of UNICEF's supported program, "Programa Puente" which helps families better understand and develops skills to deal effectively with early childhood education, development and other issues related to raising children. From her field trip experience, Gomez said "UNICEF is helping Chilean families get out of poverty, prevent violence within the home and promote education. To witness first hand these families' struggles, and also their hope and perseverance, was truly inspiring." In March 2011, Gomez participated in the UNICEF Tap Project's "Celebrity Tap Pack," limited-edition, custom-made water bottles featuring tap water from the homes of each celebrity advocate, in order to raise funds and increase profile for the clean water and sanitation programs. She is also featured in videos promoting the campaign.

Gomez is involved in Disney's Friends for Change, an organization which promotes "environmently-friendly behavior", and appears in its public service announcements. Gomez, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, and the Jonas Brothers recorded "Send It On", a charity single with all of its proceeds to the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 20. Also in 2009, Gomez made a surprise visit to a Los Angeles elementary school as part of the "A Day Made Better" program that was sponsored by OfficeMax. During her visit, Gomez gave the school an award and $1,000 worth of school supplies, and talked to students about the importance of giving back to the community.

Gomez is also the owner of six rescue dogs and describes herself as a "huge animal-lover".

Entrepreneurship and sponsorships

thumb|left|upright|Gomez on the set of her music video for "Tell Me Something I Don't Know" in July 2008 Gomez was part of Sears back-to-school fashion ad campaign. As part of the campaign Gomez was featured in the television commercials. In August 2009, Gomez also hosted the "Sears Arrive Air Band Casting Call" – to select five people for the first-ever "Sears Air Band", which performed at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

In October 2008, Gomez launched her own production company, July Moon Productions, and partnered with XYZ Films to create star vehicles for Gomez. As part of the agreement Gomez will have the opportunity to be able option articles, hire writers and create talent packages to shop to studios. Also, as part of the deal, "XYZ Films will allow Gomez to star in and produce at least two films. ''Variety'' reported that: "In August, XYZ [Films] inked a similar deal with Time Inc. and management-production company the Collective to finance the development of the print media giant's content for the bigscreen [...] As part of the July Moon-XYZ deal, [Selena] Gomez will have the ability to cherry-pick projects from the vast Time Inc. library, which includes Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Life."

In October 2009, Gomez announced her plan to launch her own fashion line, called "Dream Out Loud by Selena Gomez". The clothing line launched in the fall of 2010. The collection consists of and features bohemian dresses, floral tops, jeans, skirts, jackets, scarves and hats, all made from recycled or eco-friendly materials. Gomez said that the line will reflect her own personal style and described the clothing as being "pretty, feminine, and bohemian," and: "With my line, I really want to give the customer options on how they can put their own looks together [...] I want the pieces that can be easy to dress up or down, and the fabrics being eco-friendly and organic is super important [...] Also, the tags will all have some of my inspirational quotes on them. I'm just looking to send a good message." Gomez, who has no background in fashion, teamed up with designers Tony Melillo and Sandra Campos, both who have worked with big-name fashion houses. Gomez said of the partnering: "When I met Tony and Sandra, I was instantly comfortable with them and now they are just like family to me [...] They are so creative and I love how I can just call them up whenever and talk to them about everything, even if it's just about changing a button [...] They've been so cool about everything." The brand will be manufactured by, Melillo and Campos teamed with New York-based Adjmi Apparel and formed by Adjmi CH Brands LLC; which is the holding company for the brand.

It was announced on July 14, 2011, that Gomez had signed a license agreement with Adrenalina, an extreme sports and adventure-themed lifestyle brand, to develop, manufacture, and distribute the actress' fragrance. It is expected to debut in the spring of 2012. Chairman and C.E.O. of Adrenalina, Ilia Lekach, said, "We are incredibly enthused to be working with Ms. Gomez and will reveal more details pertaining to the fragrance as we get closer to the launch date."

Filmography

Film

Notes
2003	''Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over''	Waterpark Girl	Minor role
2005	''Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire''	Julie	Television movie
2008	''Another Cinderella Story''	Mary Santiago	Direct-to-videoMain role
2008		96 daughters	(Voice)
2009	''Princess Protection Program''	Carter Mason
2009	''Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie''	Alex Russo
2009	''Arthur and the Vengeance of Maltazard''	Princess Selenia
2009	''Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds''	Princess Selenia	(Voice)
2010	''Ramona and Beezus''		Main role
2011		Grace Bennett/Cordelia Winthrop Scott	Main role
2011		Herself	Cameo appearance
2012		Hannah Baker	Main Role
2012	''Hot Mess''	TBA	Main Role
2013	''Spring Breakers''	TBA	Main Role

Television

Notes
2002–2003	''Barney & Friends''	Gianna	Recurring role
	''Brain Zapped''	Emily Grace Garcia	Unsold pilot
''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody''	Gwen
2007–2008	''Hannah Montana''	Mikayla	"I Want You to Want Me... to Go to Florida" (Season 2, episode 13)"That's What Friends Are For?" (Season 2, episode 18)"(We're So Sorry) Uncle Earl" (Season 2, episode 22) (uncredited)
2007–2012	''Wizards of Waverly Place''	Alex Russo	Lead role
	''The Suite Life on Deck''	Alex Russo
''Hannah Montana''	Alex Russo	"Double Crossed"
''Sonny With a Chance''	Herself
	''So Random!''	Herself
''PrankStars''	Herself	Guest star

Music videos

Notes
2008	"Burnin' Up"	Jonas Brothers	Played Nick Jonas' love interest
2011	"The Dance Routine"	The Midnight Beast	Cameo

Discography

Soundtrack albums

+ List of albums, with selected chart positions	scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:15em;"	Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"		! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"
! scope="row"		* Released: August 26, 2008	* Formats: CD, digital download	* Label: Walt Disney Records	116	8	—
scope="row"	''Wizards of Waverly Place''		* Released: August 4, 2009	* Formats: CD, digital download	* Label: Walt Disney Records	24	4	2

Singles

+ List of singles, with selected chart positions	scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;"	Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
! scope="col" style="width:4em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:4em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:4em;font-size:90%;"
"Tell Me Something I Don't Know"	2008	58	—	—	''Another Cinderella Story#Soundtrack	Another Cinderella Story''
scope="row"	"Magic"		61	86	5	''Wizards of Waverly Place (soundtrack)	Wizards of Waverly Place''
scope="row"	"One and the Same" (with Demi Lovato)	82	—	—	''Disney Channel Playlist''
scope="row"	"Shake It Up"	2011	—	—	—	''Shake It Up: Break It Down''

Featured singles

+ List of singles, with selected chart positions	Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
! scope="col" style="width:6em;font-size:90%;"
! scope="row"		—	non-album song
! scope="row"	20	non-album song

Other appearances

Song	Year	Album
! scope="row"		''Disneymania 6''
"Fly to Your Heart"
"Everything Is Not What It Seem"		''Disney Channel Playlist''
"Everything Is Not What It Seem"	''Pop It Rock It!''
! scope="row"		''Disneymania 7''
"Winter Wonderland"	''Family Holiday, Vol. 2''

Music videos

Song	Year	Album
"Cruella De Vil"		Unknown
"Tell Me Something I Don't Know"	Unknown
"Fly to Your Heart"	Unknown
"One and the Same"		Unknown
"Send It On"	Unknown

Awards and nominations

! Year	! Award	! Category	! Work	! Outcome
	ALMA Award	Outstanding Female Performance in a Comedy Television Series		rowspan=3
Imagen Awards	Best Actress – Television
	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Program – Series or Special
	Favorite TV Actress	rowspan=2
	Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries, or Special – Leading Young Actress	''Another Cinderella Story''
Best Performance in a TV Series – Leading Young Actress	''Wizards of Waverly Place''	rowspan=2
Best Performance in a Voice-over Role
	"Choice Summer- Celebrity Dancer"	''Another Cinderella Story''	rowspan=4
"Choice Summer – TV Star-Female"	''Princess Protection Program''
"Choice Other Stuff – Red Carpet Icon: Female"
Hollywood Style Awards	Style Igenue
Imagen Awards	Best Actress – Television
Alma Award	Special Achievement Comedy – Television – Actress
Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards	Fave International TV Star
	Gracie Award	Outstanding Female Rising Star in a Comedy Series
NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Program – Series or Special
	Favorite TV Actress
Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries, or Special – Leading Young Actress	''Princess Protection Program''	rowspan=3
BET Awards	YoungStars Award
American Latino Awards	Favorite American Latino Actor
rowspan="3"	Choice TV Actress: Comedy	rowspan=2
Choice Red Carpet Fashion Icon: Female	Herself
Choice Summer: Movie Star- Female	''Ramona and Beezus''	rowspan=2
Imagen Awards	Best Actress – Television	''Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie''
Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards	Fave TV Star
	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Program – Series or Special
rowspan=2	Favorite TV Actress
Favorite Female Singer
rowspan=4	Choice Female Hottie	rowspan=2
Choice TV Actress: Comedy	''Wizards of Waverly Place''
Choice Summer: Movie Star- Female		rowspan=2
Choice Summer: Music Star- Female	Herself
Imagen Awards	Best Young Actress – Television
	Favorite TV Actress – Leading Role in a Comedy	rowspan=4
Favorite Movie Actress – Comedy/Musical	''Monte Carlo''
Favorite Female Music Artist
	Biggest Fans
Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards	Fave TV Star	''Wizards of Waverly Place''	rowspan=2
Nickelodeon Argentina Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite International Singer	''Selena Gomez & the Scene''

References

External links

Selena Gomez at Disney.com

Category:1992 births Category:Actors from Texas Category:American bloggers Category:American actors of Mexican descent‎ Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American musicians of Mexican descent Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American pop singers Category:American rock singers Category:American television actors Category:American television personalities Category:American voice actors Category:American women in business Category:Barney & Friends Category:Child pop musicians Category:Female American rock drummers Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Texas Category:People from Grand Prairie, Texas Category:Pop rock singers Category:UNICEF people

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