Flying may refer to:

The act or process of flight

Aviation

''Flying'' (magazine), a monthly publication

"Flying", a poem by Patti Smith from her book ''Woolgathering''

''UFO 2: Flying'', a 1971 album by UFO

''Flying'' (Grammatrain album)

''Flying'', an album by Korean singer Bae Seul-Ki

''Flying'', the debut album by The Hometown Band

''Flying'', an album by Nice Little Penguins

"Flying" (The Beatles song), 1967

"Flying" (Bryan Adams song), 2004

"Flying" (Cast song), 1996

"Flying", the 1969 debut single by the Faces

"Flying", a song by James Newton Howard on the ''Peter Pan'' soundtrack

"Flying", a song by Anathema on the album ''A Natural Disaster''

''Flying'' (1986 film), a 1986 drama film

See also

Flying and gliding animals

Fly (disambiguation)

it:Flying nl:Flying ja:フライング ru:Flying (значения) fi:Flying

Coordinates	6°33′41″N78°38′55″N
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, U.S.
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 when she was 5 years of age she moved to the New York City borough of Queens, where she grew up.

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 number 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'' was 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 number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Minaj also appeared on "Roger That", which charted at number 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 number 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.

2010–11: ''Pink Friday''

After a major record label bidding war, Young Money Entertainment announced on August 31, 2009 that Minaj had been released from 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".

2011–present: ''Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded''

Minaj's second studio album, ''Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded'', was first announced through Twitter in November 2011 and was released on April 2, 2012. It has spawned four promotional singles as of April 2012: Roman in Moscow (which didn't make the final cut of the album), "Stupid Hoe," "Roman Reloaded," and "Beez in the Trap." The album's first single, "Starships", was released on February 14. The album also had another single, Right by My Side. The album features collaborations with producers Hit-Boy, Dr. Luke, Rico Beats, Kenoe, RedOne and Oak. Cash Money A&R; Joshua Berkman told HitQuarters that Minaj was extremely particular about the beats and music she used saying: "She wouldn't just rap or sing on anything – I could give her a thousand tracks and she may only like one or two."

On February 12, 2012, Minaj debuted her song "Roman Holiday" at the 54th Grammy Awards. The exorcism-themed performance drew a mixed response online.

She was featured on Madonna's twelfth studio album, titled ''MDNA'', alongside M.I.A. on its lead single "Give Me All Your Luvin'", for which a music video has been directed by Megaforce. The trio performed the song for the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show. She was also featured on a song called "I Don't Give A", another track from the album.

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."

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).

In April 2012, Nicki was asked if Roman, Martha and Rosa come out in the bedroom saying “No, they don’t come out in the bedroom, but other people come out in the bedroom,” she told Big Boy during his “Backstage Breakfast,” adding, “And there’s only one person that would know who that personality is". Nicki did not name her alter-ego.

Roman Zolanski

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 brother". 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.

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

Nicki Minaj is a Christian, and on Christmas Day in 2011, she indicated her faith in Jesus by tweeting John 3:16. In addition, she states that after her father went to rehab and started attending church, "he got saved and started changing his life." Minaj states that her heroes are "God. And my mother."

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. Telemaque was referenced in Minaj's song "Champion" in her second studio album.

Discography

''Pink Friday'' (2010)

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

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Nicki Minaj

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:Rappers from Long Island 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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Steve Barakatt (born May 17, 1973 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian composer, music producer, pianist, and singer. When he was only four, he fell under the spell of music and began piano lessons. Over the next 10 years he studied classical music, and then switched to jazz.

Steve enjoyed many challenging musical experiences from an early age, including that of guest soloist with l'Orchestre symphonique de Québec when he was only 13. When he was 16, Steve became fascinated by composition, arranging and production. He studied the new technology available and soon mastered all the intricacies of music programming. So much so that the prestigious Japanese firm Roland invited him to present their new products at the 1992 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California.

A versatile and imaginative musician, Steve has been invited to appear on various recordings and live performances with many artists and ensembles from the Alexandrov Red Army Choir to the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. A true passionate artist, Steve enjoys meeting musicians and exploring all styles of music.

Recording Artist

Steve Barakatt recorded his first solo album, Double Joie, when he was only 14. It was released in Canada on November 11, 1987 and less than a week later the album was in the top 20 best-selling albums.

Steve has composed and produced numerous instrumental albums: Audacity, Escape, Steve Barakatt LIVE, Quebec, Eternity, A Love Affair, All About Us & Someday, Somewhere. These recordings reached the charts in many countries around the world and his music is broadcast on various radio stations. A number of his compositions are also used as themes for popular TV shows.

Composer/Producer

As composer/producer, Steve Barakatt has collaborated with many artists from all over the world. In 1997 Steve produced the young Canadian singer, Natasha St-Pier’s album. His composition Sans le Savoir instantly hit the top 5 on the radio charts, and the video of the song became number one on Musique Plus, Quebec’s MTV.

In 1997 he wrote many other songs including C’est une Promesse for Canadian singer Johanne Blouin and En la arena for Argentina’s male singer Guillermo Saldana.

In Hong Kong, Steve has been asked to compose for a number of great artists. In 1995, he composed Mou Tian which was performed by the Asian stars Kelly Chen, Joyce Yau, Daniel Chan and Ray Chan. In 1996 he composed a duet for superstars Leon Lai and Alan Tam, Song of Stars, which featured them singing together for the first time on record. Steve also wrote Ni Shi Shui for Leon Lai’s solo album Feel Leon released the same year.

In Japan, Steve’s song Kaze To Kino Uta-Quebec 1608 was performed by the Japanese singer Sincere. The popular singer Yoko Oginome recorded Steve’s composition We’ll Be Together and the song became the main theme for the highly popular TV show Shitteru Tsumori on the NTV network. Steve composed Watashi Dake De Ite for superstar Noriko Sakai. His instrumental selection Nuit d’Amour à Paris was the theme for the TV drama Kiss Again on the NHK network. Steve’s compositions have been used in major TV sports programs including the FIFA World Cup 2002 in Japan (NHK) as well as for the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco (Fuji TV).

Steve also composed the score for the TV series Urban Myth Chillers starring Omar Sharif. In 2006, Steve composed and produced the song Here We Are, in which he duets with Canadian singer, Audrey de Montigny. The song is featured on Steve’s first vocal album "Here I Am" and simultaneously on Audrey’s album Take Me As I Am. In 2007, Steve collaborates again with Audrey when he produced John Lennon’s song “Love” for the Amnesty International project “Make Some Noise” in collaboration with Yoko Ono.

Ad Vitam Aeternam

In 2003, Barakatt was inspired to create a music work of a major scale, by composing and conceiving a symphonic work based on the sixteen stages of human experience. After more than 30 months creating this work, on September 30, 2005, the world premiere of "Ad Vitam Aeternam" was presented at the Grand Théâtre de Québec accompanied by Orchestre Symphonique de Québec.

On June 16, 2006 the European premiere was presented at Yaroslavl, Russia with the "Yaroslav Symphony Orchestra" under the baton of renowned conductor Murad Annamamedov.

On September 7, 2007, Ad Vitam Aeternam was performed by Steve Barakatt for the first time in Asia with the Ditto Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Canadian conductor Gilles Ouellet.

This production was an official event for the 400th anniversary of Quebec City, Canada. Several concerts were presented on June 17–18-19, 2008, at the Grand Theatre of Quebec. In 2010, "Ad Vitam Aeternam" will be performed during the festivities celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of the city of Yaroslavl, Russia a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Barakatt dreams of combining this symphonic work with scenic and artistic elements which include dance, projections, acrobats and visual effects. It would allow the completion of the creation of the artistic, physical and philosophical universe of Ad Vitam Aeternam to one day become a permanent show.

Here I Am (vocal project)

In 2007, Steve Barakatt released his first vocal album “Here I Am”. Several songs have been recorded at Sir George Martin’s Air Studios in London featuring the Foundation Philharmonic Orchestra and several renowned musicians.

Lullaby, The UNICEF Anthem

In 2009, Steve Barakatt composed the UNICEF International Anthem, ''Lullaby'', a choral symphony which has been premiered by symphony orchestras on five continents and in space on the international space station on November 20th, 2009. Several musicians and ensembles have performed in the original recording including conductor Myung-whun Chung, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Nana Mouskouri, Angélique Kidjo, Helmut Lotti, Leon Lai, Agnes Chan, Maxim Vengerov, Richard O'Neill, Miri Ben-Ari, la Maitrise de Radio France and The choir of the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Live Performances (by city)

Bangalore (India)

Beijing (China)

Busan (South Korea)

Edmundston (Canada)

Fukoshima (Japan)

Fukuoka (Japan)

Gifu (Japan)

Hiroshima (Japan)

Hong Kong (China)

Kanagawa (Japan)

Kawaguchi (Japan)

Kiev (Ukraine)

Kushiro (Japan)

Kyoto (Japan)

Los Angeles (USA)

London (UK)

Manila (Philippines)

Matsumoto (Japan)

Miyagi (Japan)

Montreal (Canada)

Moscow (Russia)

Mumbai (India)

Nagano (Japan)

Nagasaki (Japan)

Nagoya (Japan)

New York City (USA)

Omiya (Japan)

Osaka (Japan)

Ottawa (Canada)

Quebec City (Canada)

Seoul (South Korea)

Sendai (Japan)

Sapporo (Japan)

Taipei (Taiwan)

Taichung (Taiwan)

Tokyo (Japan)

Vancouver (Canada)

Yaroslavl (Russia)

Yokohama (Japan)

Awards and honours

Winner of the Sillery music festival (1984 and 1986)

3 Nominations by the ADISQ (Between 1987 and 2005)

Youngest recipient of the Order of Merit of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (1988)

Nominated for the "Prix Rayonnement hors Québec" - Grands Québécois (1996)

Certificate of acknowledgement from the United Nations (2004)

Recipient of the ARISTA Bank of Montreal Prize "Young International Business Leader in Quebec" (2005)

Young Personality of the Year (National and International) Youth Chamber of Commerce of Quebec (2005)

Recipient of the Pierre-Garon prize (Artist of the year, Quebec City) (2006)

Honorary Governor of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award in recognition of his contribution for the program in Quebec (2006)

SOCAN's Hagood Hardy Award-Composer of the Year-Instrumental (2010)

Discography

Work as recording artist

Double-Joie (1987)

Audace/Audacity (1994)

Escape (1996)

Steve Barakatt Live (1997)

Quebec (1998)

Eternity (1999)

A Love Affair (2000)

Rainbow Bridge - The Collection (2000)

All About Us (2001)

The Best of Steve Barakatt(2004)

The Best Inspirations (2005)

Here I Am (2007)

Someday, Somewhere (2011)

Work as a composer/producer/pianist

Emergence for Natasha St-Pier (1995)

Mou Tian for Kelly Chen, Daniel Chan, Joyce Yau, Ray Chan (1995)

En La Aerena for Guillermo Saldana (1995)

The Song of Stars for Leon Lai & Alan Tam (1996)

Ni Shi Shui for Leon Lai (1996)

C'est un promesse for Johanne Blouin (1997)

Kaze To Kino Uta for Sincere (1998)

Shitteru Tsumori for Yoko Oginome (1999)

Watashi Dake Ite for Noriko Sakai (2000)

Here We Are for Audrey De Montigny (2006)

Love performed by Audrey de Montigny for Amnesty International's Make Some Noise (2007)

Rainbow Bridge performed by SunMin (2010)

You Are Not Alone performed in duet with Wheesung (2010)

I'm Sorry + My Funny Valentine performed with John Park (2011)

UNICEF Ambassador

On March 9, 2007, Barakatt and his wife, the Olympic gymnast Elena Grosheva were both appointed UNICEF Canada Ambassadors becoming the first couple to be given that honor.

Ensembles and artists who performed Steve Barakatt's compositions

L'Orchestre symphonique de Québec (Canada)

L'Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal (Canada)

The Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra (Canada)

The Delta Youth Orchestra (Canada)

The Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra (Canada)

The Ottawa Youth Orchestra (Canada)

The Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra (Canada)

The Cleveland Symphony Orchestra (Australia)

The Lahti Symphony Orchestra (Finland)

L'Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (France)

La Maitrise de Radio France (France)

The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (China)

The choir of the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

The Edward Said National Youth Conservatory (Palestinian Occupied Territories)

Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Poland)

The Auckland Symphony Orchestra (New Zealand)

The Bilkent Symphony Orchestra (Turkey)

Nana Mouskouri

Richard O'Neill

Helmut Lotti

Angelique Kidjo

Maxim Vengerov

Agnes Chan

Miri Ben-Ari

The Alexandrov Red Army Choir

Natasha St-Pier

Joo-Hyun Kim

Kelly Chen ¸

Daniel Chan

Joyce Yau

John Park

Ray Chan

Guillermo Saldana

Leon Lai

Alan Tam

Johanne Blouin

Sincere

Yoko Oginome

Noriko Sakai

Audrey De Montigny

SunMin

References

External links

Official Web Site

Ad Vitam Aeternam

Quebec 400

Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:Canadian composers Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian pianists Category:People from Quebec City

fr:Steve Barakatt ko:스티브 바라캇 ja:スティーブ・バラカット ru:Баракатт, Стив

Yves Rossy (born 27 August 1959 in Neuchâtel) is a Swiss pilot, inventor and aviation enthusiast. He is the first person to achieve sustained human flight using a jet-powered fixed wing strapped to his back. This jet pack has led to his being nicknamed Jet Man, Rocket Man and Fusion Man.

Life and works

Rossy developed and built a system comprising a back pack with semi-rigid aeroplane-type carbon-fiber wings with a span of about , powered by four attached Jet-Cat P200 jet engines modified from large-model, kerosine fueled, aircraft engines. His first flight occurred in November 2006 in Bex, lasting nearly six minutes and nine seconds. Yves later successfully flew across the English Channel on 26 September 2008 in 9 minutes 7 seconds, reaching a speed of 299 km/h (186 mph) during the crossing

Later in 2008, he made a flight over the Alps, reaching a top descent speed of 304 km/h (189 mph) and a top average speed of 124 mph.

In November 2009, Rossy attempted a crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar, hoping to be the first person to fly between two continents using a jetpack. He leapt from a small plane about 1,950 m (6,500 ft) above Tangier in Morocco in the direction of Atlanterra in Spain. The flight was expected to take about a quarter of an hour but, due to strong winds and banks of cloud, Rossy ditched into the sea, to be picked up ten minutes later by his support helicopter 3 miles from the Spanish coast. He was flown to a hospital in Jerez, and later released unhurt. The Spanish Coast Guard later retrieved the jetpack (which had a parachute and a float).

On 5 November 2010, he flew a new version of his jet-powered flight system and successfully performed 2 aerial loops before landing via parachute. He launched from a hot air balloon piloted by Brian Jones at 2,400 meters (7,900 feet) and flew a total of 18 minutes before landing. The wingspan of Rossy's latest craft has been reduced to 2m.

On 7 May 2011, Rossy flew across the Grand Canyon in Arizona, after the United States Federal Aviation Administration classified his flight system as an aircraft, waived the normal 25 to 40 hours of flight testing time, and granted him permission to perform the flight.

Yves served as a fighter pilot in the Swiss Air Force, flying Dassault Mirage IIIs, Northrop F-5 Tiger IIs and Hawker Hunters. He flew Boeing 747s for Swissair. , he was flying for Swiss International Air Lines.

He was recently featured on an episode of Stan Lee's Superhumans.

See also

{{externalimage |align = right |width = 200px |image1 = Yves Rossy |image2 = In flight |image3 = Wing suit }}

Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi

Felix Baumgartner

Wingsuit flying

Gryphon (parachute system)

References

External links

Website of Jet Man

Clips of the flight

Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:People from Neuchâtel (city) Category:Swiss aviators Category:Swiss inventors

de:Yves Rossy es:Yves Rossy fr:Yves Rossy it:Yves Rossy he:איב רוסי nl:Yves Rossy ja:イブ・ロッシー pl:Yves Rossy pt:Yves Rossy sv:Yves Rossy vi:Yves Rossy

Coordinates	6°33′41″N78°38′55″N
name	Ray William Johnson
nationality	American
other names	RWJ, Ray Johnson, RayWJ
occupation	YouTube comedianrapper
years active	2007–present
known for	YouTube videos
website	raywj.com }}

Ray William Johnson is a comedian best known for his YouTube videos, which made him the most-subscribed content creator on that site by 2011, with the most-subscribed channel of all time, as of August 2011. Many of his videos include commentary on other videos under the show title ''Equals Three''. Many of the videos he comments on often enjoy a sudden growth in popularity, as noted by numerous press reports.

As of August 2011, his channel is the number one most subscribed on YouTube, with over 4.4 million subscribers, and over 1.2 billion video views. In February 2011, one industry publication noted that Johnson currently had six of the top twenty most watched videos of the month.

Background

When Johnson was studying at Columbia University to pursue a career in law, he became interested in watching YouTube videos, and eventually, making videos himself. He took notice of the fact that people visit YouTube either to watch viral videos or their favorite video bloggers. From that observation, he started his first formatted show, ''Equals Three'', as a way to combine video blogging and viral video reviews.

Current Projects

Equals Three

Italic title	no
Show name	Equals Three
Genre	ComedyReviewing
Creator	Ray William Johnson
Executive producer	Ray William Johnson
Producer	Erin Schmalfeld
Presenter	Ray William JohnsonGuest presenters:KassemG (2 episodes)Meekakitty (2 episodes)Dan Brown (1 episode)
Writer	Phil HaneySteve GreeneMarvin SilbermintzErin SchmalfeldIlana CohnRay William Johnson
Presented by	Ray William Johnson
Country	United States
Language	English Spanish (Igual A Tres)
Subscribers	approx. 4.3 million
|num episodes	218 (as of 20th of August 2011)
Editor	Brandon Perna
Channel	YouTube
First aired
Last aired	present
Related	BreakingNYC,Your Favorite Martian,Breaking Los Angeles,Igual A Tres
Website	http://RayWJ.com
Production website	}}

In Equals Three (stylized as "=3"), Ray William Johnson reviews, criticizes, and adds commentary to some of the internet's latest viral videos. The Equals Three comes from the three videos he review each episode. Equals Three episodes are usually uploaded to his Youtube channel twice in a week (every Monday and Thursday). In these episodes, Johnson interacts with his audience by posting a viewer-submitted "comment question of the day", then features five of his favorite comments in the proceeding episode. Equals Three is the most subscribed channel on YouTube to date, having over 4 million subscribers, and is recognized by Guinness World Records. Because of that, every Equals Three episode can consistently obtain millions of views within a week, often featured on the YouTube front page. Johnson later co-produced the Spanish version of Equals Three, ''Igual a Tres'', that is dedicated to his Spanish-speaking audiences who have been exceptionally supportive. Igual a Tres adopts the same format and concept of reviewing viral videos and is hosted by PeeDeeFlo.

Your Favorite Martian

In January 2011, Johnson launched a collaborative YouTube channel called "Yourfavoritemartian", which features animated music videos of comedic nature. The songs are performed by a virtual band of four fictional cartoon characters: PuffPuff Humbert (lead singer, voiced by Ray William Johnson), DeeJay (DJ, voiced by Robin "Big Rob" Truman), Axel Chains (drummer), and Benatar (guitar/keyboard). Ray writes lyrics, raps, sings, composes beats, and sometimes collaborates with other musicians to produce the songs. The following is a list of music videos that have been released so far:

''My Balls'' (January 26, 2011) {3:13}

''Zombie Love Song'' (February 9, 2011) {3:59}

''Bottles of Beer'' (February 23, 2011) {3:41}

''Club Villain'' (March 9, 2011) {4:12}

''The Stereotypes Song'' (March 23, 2011) {4:26}

''The Unofficial Smithers Love Song'' (April 6, 2011) {3:55}

''Orphan Tears'' featuring Wax (April 20, 2011) {3:36}

''Mr. DoucheBag'' (May 4, 2011) {3:55}

''Transphobic Techno" (Bitch Got a Penis)'' (May 18, 2011) {3:25}

''Grandma Got a Facebook'' (June 1, 2011) {3:33}

''Tig Ol' Bitties'' (June 15, 2011) {3:52}

''Fight to Win'' featuring DeStorm Power (June 29, 2011) {3:51}

''Stalkin' Your Mom'' featuring Wax (July 13, 2011) {3:13}

''Robot Bar Fight'' (July 27, 2011) {3:12}

''8-Bit World'' featuring Hoodie Allen (August 10, 2011) {3:30}

The newest song is yet to be released but on the YourFavoriteMartian channel it says it will be released on Septermber 7, 2011.

To date, Johnson has released 15 songs through the channel. As of August 2011, the channel has over 1.4 million subscribers and averaging over 10 million views per video. Due to the rapid growth of popularity of the channel and the music videos getting more views than the Equals Three episodes, Johnson has commented in his Breaking Los Angeles video blog that he at some point hopes to have the music videos released weekly instead of bi-weekly.

BreakingNYC / Breaking Los Angeles

"Breaking NYC" is a former daily video blog or "Vlog" that Johnson started in December 2009 while living in New York City. He made the vlogs almost daily until June 2010. After nearly a year-long hiatus, Johnson resumed contributing to the video blog channel, creating a new higher quality series with a similar format. The new series titled "Breaking Los Angeles and the Adventures of Puff Puff" is released every Friday and is filmed in Los Angeles. Ray often features rather notable guests in his new series, including rapper/musician Wax, slam poet George Watsky, rapper/musician Hoodie Allen, battle rapper Dumbfoundead, comedian Gabriel Iglesias, director/actor Bobcat Goldthwait, etc.

References

External links

Official Site

Category:Living people Category:American comedians Category:American Internet personalities

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