- go to the top
- About WN
- Contact
- Feedback
- Privacy Policy
- © 2012 World News Inc., all Rights Reserved
Billboard Music Awards
Open Collage in a new Window
Email the Collage
- Loading...
Loading suggestions ...
-
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003) and The Massacre (2005). Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified 8 times platinum by the RIAA and has sold over 15 million copies worldwide. His album The Massacre has been certified 5 times platinum by the RIAA and has sold 11 million copies worldwide.
http://wn.com/50_Cent -
Akon
Akon (born Aliaune Badara Akon Thiam), (), is a Senegalese-American R&B; singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist.
http://wn.com/Akon -
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette (born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards.
http://wn.com/Alanis_Morissette -
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American recording artist, musician and actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began to play classical music on the piano. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16 as valedictorian. She later attended Columbia University before dropping out to pursue her music career. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.
http://wn.com/Alicia_Keys -
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish recording artist, better known as being one member of the duo Eurythmics, which she formed in 1980. Lennox penned some of the band's best-known tracks to date, including "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", "Here Comes The Rain Again", "Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)" "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" and "Love Is a Stranger".
http://wn.com/Annie_Lennox -
Ashanti (singer)
http://wn.com/Ashanti_(singer) -
Bernie Mac
Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (October 5, 1957August 9, 2008) better known by his stage name Bernie Mac, was an American actor and comedian. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined comedians Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D. L. Hughley as The Original Kings of Comedy.
http://wn.com/Bernie_Mac -
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981), often known simply as Beyoncé ( ), is an American Pop/R&B; singer, songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B; girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time.
http://wn.com/Beyoncé_Knowles -
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to the RIAA.
http://wn.com/Billy_Joel -
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album in 1999. During her first decade within the music industry, she became a prominent figure in mainstream popular music and popular culture, followed by a much-publicized personal life. Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records, while title tracks "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" became international number-one hits. Spears was credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s.
http://wn.com/Britney_Spears -
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born July 20, 1947) is a Mexican American rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion. The band's sound featured his melodic, blues-based guitar lines set against Latin and African rhythms featuring percussion instruments such as timbales and congas not generally heard in rock music. Santana continued to work in these forms over the following decades. He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s. Rolling Stone named Santana number 15 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2003. He has won 10 Grammy Awards and 3 Latin Grammy Awards.
http://wn.com/Carlos_Santana -
Carrie Underwood
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.
http://wn.com/Carrie_Underwood -
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), better known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who created, along with Owen Bradley, the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.
http://wn.com/Chet_Atkins -
Céline Dion
http://wn.com/Céline_Dion -
David Spade
David Wayne Spade (born July 22, 1964) is an American actor, comedian and television personality who first became famous in the 1990s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and from 1997 until 2003 starred as Dennis Finch on Just Shoot Me!. He also starred as C.J. Barnes, along with Katey Sagal, James Garner and Kaley Cuoco on 8 Simple Rules.
http://wn.com/David_Spade -
Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller (November 3, 1953) is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references. He rose to fame as a cast member of Saturday Night Live in 1985, and subsequently hosted a string of his own talk shows on HBO, CNBC and in syndication. He currently hosts a daily, three-hour, self-titled talk radio program, nationally syndicated by Westwood One.
http://wn.com/Dennis_Miller -
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known by his stage name Eminem, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Eminem quickly gained popularity in 1999 with his major-label debut album, The Slim Shady LP, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The following album, The Marshall Mathers LP, became the fastest-selling solo album in United States history. It brought Eminem increased popularity, including his own record label, Shady Records, and brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition.
http://wn.com/Eminem -
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including Linda Ronstadt, Elvis Costello and Dolly Parton.
http://wn.com/Emmylou_Harris -
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962), best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon.. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at #2 in the US country album chart while climbing to #13 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart. Brooks' integration of rock elements into his recordings and live performances has earned him immense popularity. This progressive approach allowed him to dominate the country single and album charts while quickly crossing over into the mainstream pop arena, exposing country music to a larger audience.
http://wn.com/Garth_Brooks -
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English rock guitarist, singer-songwriter and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian mysticism, and helped broaden the horizons of the other Beatles, as well as those of their Western audience. Following the band's break-up, he had a successful career as a solo artist and later as part of the Traveling Wilburys, and also as a film and record producer. Harrison is listed at number 21 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
http://wn.com/George_Harrison -
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Carrboro, North Carolina. He owns a house in the Berkshire County town of Washington, Massachusetts. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
http://wn.com/James_Taylor -
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American recording artist and actress. Born in Gary, Indiana, and raised in Encino, Los Angeles, she is the youngest child of the Jackson family of musicians. She first performed on stage with her family at the age of seven, and started her career as an actress with the variety television series The Jacksons in 1976. She went on to appear in other television shows throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including Good Times and Fame.
http://wn.com/Janet_Jackson -
Jerome Benton
Jerome Benton (born September 19, 1962) is an American musical performer, backup dancer and lender of comedic antics to various musical acts. He can be seen in music videos by Janet Jackson and Prince, but he is best known for his association with The Time.
http://wn.com/Jerome_Benton -
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, television personality and fashion designer who rose to fame in 1999. She has achieved seven Billboard Top 40 hits, and five studio albums of which four have been positioned in the top 10 on Billboard 200 and besides that have been certified by the RIAA, three gold and two Multi- Platinum. Simpson starred with her then-husband Nick Lachey in the MTV reality show . She ventured into the country music market in 2008 and released Do You Know. She has sold 20 million records worldwide. Simpson has a total of records sales in Australia of more than 426,000 copies and was ranked in the # 113 on the 1000 artists chart of ARIA Music Decade Charts (1980–2010). In 2009, Billboard named Simpson as the 95th overall best Artists of the Decade. Also was ranked at number 86 on Billboard 200 Artists, solely based on album sales.
http://wn.com/Jessica_Simpson -
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian. He is widely known as host of The Daily Show, a satirical news program that airs on Comedy Central.
http://wn.com/Jon_Stewart -
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC, (born Roberta Joan Anderson; November 7, 1943) is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and painter.
http://wn.com/Joni_Mitchell -
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber (, ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian pop-R&B; singer. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who happened across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher, and then to a recording contract with Island Records offered by L.A. Reid.
http://wn.com/Justin_Bieber -
Ke$ha
http://wn.com/Ke$ha -
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson rose to fame after winning the first season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later represent the United States in the World Idol competition in 2003.
http://wn.com/Kelly_Clarkson -
Ken Jeong
Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong, MD (born c. 1969), also known as "Dr. Ken," is an American comedian, actor, and physician.
http://wn.com/Ken_Jeong -
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), better known by the stage name Lady Gaga, is an American recording artist. She began performing in the rock music scene of New York City's Lower East Side in 2003 and enrolled at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She soon signed with Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. During her early time at Interscope, she worked as a songwriter for fellow label artists and captured the attention of Akon, who recognized her vocal abilities, and signed her to his own label, Kon Live Distribution.
http://wn.com/Lady_Gaga -
LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for her work in country music. She is best known for her rich vocals similar to country music singer Patsy Cline,
http://wn.com/LeAnn_Rimes -
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1970) is an American R&B; singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. She made her recording debut, in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola and became the first recording artist to have her first five singles top the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Following her marriage to Mottola, in 1993, a series of hit records established her position as Columbia's highest-selling act. In 1998, Carey received the World Music Awards for becoming the "World's Best Selling Recording Artist of the 1990's" as well as the award for "World's Best Selling R&B; Artist."
http://wn.com/Mariah_Carey -
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige (surname ; born January 11, 1971), also known as Mary J. Blige, is an American singer, producer, songwriter, actress, and rapper. A recipient of nine Grammy Awards and many other honors, Blige has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. Blige has received the World Music Legends Award for combining hip hop and soul in the early 1990s. She was ranked number 100 in the list of 100 greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. As of 2010, Blige has sold over 50 million albums and 15 million singles. Blige has cited Anita Baker, Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin as influences.
http://wn.com/Mary_J_Blige -
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and philanthropist. Referred to as the King of Pop, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The eighth child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in the mid-1960s, and began his solo career in 1971.
http://wn.com/Michael_Jackson -
Morris Day
Morris E. Day (born December 13, 1957) is an American musician and composer. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time.
http://wn.com/Morris_Day -
Nick Lachey
Nicholas Scott "Nick" Lachey ( "la-SHAY"; born November 9, 1973) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and television personality. Lachey rose to fame as a member of the boy band 98 Degrees. He later starred in the reality television series with his then-wife, Jessica Simpson. He has released two solo album, SoulO and ''What's Left of Me''.
http://wn.com/Nick_Lachey -
Patti LaBelle
Patti LaBelle (born Patricia Louise Holte; May 24, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She fronted two groups, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, which received minor success on the pop charts in the 1960s, and Labelle, which received acclaim and a mainstream breakthrough in 1974 with their song "Lady Marmalade". She went on to have a solo recording career, earning another U.S. #1 single in 1986 with "On My Own", a duet with Michael McDonald.
http://wn.com/Patti_LaBelle -
Paul Shaffer
Paul Allen Wood Shaffer, CM (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian, and composer, best known for his work alongside comedian David Letterman. He is the bandleader and sidekick on the Late Show with David Letterman, and has appeared on Letterman's shows since 1982.
http://wn.com/Paul_Shaffer -
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, keyboardist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for English progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist.
http://wn.com/Phil_Collins -
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks, and the internationally syndicated chart show American Top 40, also syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks. On television, Seacrest hosts E! News, and ''American Idol.
http://wn.com/Ryan_Seacrest -
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Judkins (born May 13, 1950), name later changed to Stevland Hardaway Morris, known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist. Blind from shortly after birth, Wonder signed with Motown Records' Tamla label at the age of eleven, and continues to perform and record for Motown to this day.
http://wn.com/Stevie_Wonder -
Sting (musician)
Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, CBE (born 2 October 1951), better known by his professional name Sting, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, activist, actor and philanthropist. Prior to starting his solo career, he was the principal songwriter, lead singer and bassist of the rock band The Police.
http://wn.com/Sting_(musician) -
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American country pop singer-songwriter and actress.
http://wn.com/Taylor_Swift -
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty (born October 20, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T. Wilbury, Jr. and Muddy Wilbury.
http://wn.com/Tom_Petty -
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett (born Anthony Dominick Benedetto; August 3, 1926) is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz.
http://wn.com/Tony_Bennett -
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Raymond IV (born October 14, 1978; ), who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American recording artist and actor. He rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his sophmore album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit, "Nice and Slow". It also spawned two more successful singles "You Make Me Wanna...", and "My Way". Both reached number-two on the Hot 100. His followup album 8701 (2001) produced the Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". As well "U Don't Have to Call" which reached number-three on the Hot 100. My Way has been certified six-times platinum by the RIAA and 8701 has been certified four-times platinum by the RIAA. Both albums sold over 8 million copies worldwide.
http://wn.com/Usher_(entertainer) -
Usher (singer)
http://wn.com/Usher_(singer) -
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born August 9, 1963) is an American R&B;/Pop singer, actress, and former fashion model. A relative of several soul singers, including her mother Cissy Houston, cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, and close family friend Aretha Franklin, Houston began singing at her New Jersey church as a member of a junior gospel choir at age eleven. After she began performing alongside her mother at night clubs in the New York City area, she was discovered by Arista Records label head Clive Davis. Houston has released studio albums and movie soundtrack albums throughout her career, all of which have had diamond, multi-platinum, platinum, or gold certification.
http://wn.com/Whitney_Houston
-
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; , Spanish for "The Angels") is the second most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of California and the western United States, with a population of 3.83 million within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Los Angeles extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of over 14.8 million and it is the 14th largest urban area in the world, affording it megacity status. The metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is home to nearly 12.9 million residents while the broader Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside combined statistical area (CSA) contains nearly 17.8 million people. Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated and one of the most multicultural counties in the United States. The city's inhabitants are referred to as "Angelenos" ().
http://wn.com/Los_Angeles -
United States
The United States of America (also referred to as the United States, the U.S., the USA, or America) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Caribbean and Pacific.
http://wn.com/United_States
- 50 Cent
- Ace of Base
- Adam Corolla
- AEG Live
- Akon
- Alanis Morissette
- Alicia Keys
- American Music Award
- Andy Dick
- Annie Lennox
- Ashanti (singer)
- Backstreet Boys
- Bernie Mac
- Beyoncé Knowles
- Billboard magazine
- Billy Joel
- Britney Spears
- Buddy Guy
- Carlos Santana
- Carrie Underwood
- Chet Atkins
- Chris Rock
- Céline Dion
- David Spade
- Dennis Miller
- Destiny's Child
- Eminem
- Emmylou Harris
- Garth Brooks
- George Harrison
- Grammy Award
- Heather Locklear
- James Taylor
- Janet Jackson
- Jerome Benton
- Jessica Simpson
- John Mellencamp
- Jon Stewart
- Joni Mitchell
- Justin Bieber
- Kathy Griffin
- Ke$ha
- Kelly Clarkson
- Ken Jeong
- Lady Gaga
- LeAnn Rimes
- LL Cool J
- Los Angeles
- M.C. Hammer
- Mariah Carey
- Mary J. Blige
- Michael Jackson
- Morris Day
- Neil Diamond
- New York City
- New York Coliseum
- Nick Lachey
- Patti LaBelle
- Paul Shaffer
- Phil Collins
- Randy Newman
- Rihanna
- Ryan Seacrest
- Santa Monica Airport
- Stevie Wonder
- Sting (musician)
- Taylor Swift
- TLC (band)
- Tom Petty
- Tony Bennett
- United States
- Usher (entertainer)
- Usher (singer)
- Whitney Houston
Send this Playlist by SMS
Email this Page
billboard music awards 2011 part 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 66:47
- Published: 23 May 2011
- Updated: 09 Apr 2012
billboard music awards 2011 (part 2) www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/billboard_music_awards_2011_part_1
Beyoncé - Run The World (Girls) - Billboard Music Awards
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:54
- Published: 23 May 2011
- Updated: 08 Apr 2012
Beyonce
http://wn.com/Beyoncé__Run_The_World_Girls__Billboard_Music_Awards
One Republic, Far East Movement, & Snoop Dog perform- Billboard Music Awards 2011 Part 13
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:15
- Published: 23 May 2011
- Updated: 06 Apr 2012
One Republic, Far East Movement, & Snoop Dog perform- Billboard Music Awards 2011 Part 13
http://wn.com/One_Republic,_Far_East_Movement,_Snoop_Dog_perform_Billboard_Music_Awards_2011_Part_13
Nicki Minaj - Billboard's Rising Star of 2011
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:30
- Published: 04 Dec 2011
- Updated: 08 Apr 2012
Check out more Nicki: bit.ly Nicki Minaj gets emotional over her "Rising Star" Award at this years Billboard Women In Music Awards.
http://wn.com/Nicki_Minaj__Billboard's_Rising_Star_of_2011
Whitney Houston - Billboard Music Awards (1993) - I Have Nothing
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:45
- Published: 05 Mar 2012
- Updated: 21 Mar 2012
Whitney Houston - Billboard Music Awards (1993) - I Have Nothing Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 -- February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, producer, and model. Houston was the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records. Her list of awards includes 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. Inspired by several prominent soul singers in her family, including mother Cissy Houston and cousins Dionne Warwick and the late Dee Dee Warwick, as well as her godmother, Aretha Franklin, Houston began singing with New Jersey church's junior gospel choir at age 11. After she began performing alongside her mother in night clubs in the New York City area, she was discovered by Arista Records label head Clive Davis. As of 2011, Houston had released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum, or gold certification. Houston was the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits ("Saving All My Love for You", "How Will I Know", "Greatest Love of All", "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional", and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"). She was the second artist behind Elton John and the only female <b>...</b>
http://wn.com/Whitney_Houston__Billboard_Music_Awards_1993__I_Have_Nothing
Ne-Yo ft Pitbull performing Everything Tonight-Billboard Music Awards 2011 Part 7
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:39
- Published: 23 May 2011
- Updated: 06 Apr 2012
Neyo performs with Pitull
http://wn.com/Ne-Yo_ft_Pitbull_performing_Everything_Tonight-Billboard_Music_Awards_2011_Part_7
Rihanna and Britney Spears - S&M - Billboard Music Awards
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:31
- Published: 27 Jan 2012
- Updated: 05 Apr 2012
Rihanna and Britney Spears - S&M - Billboard Music Awards
http://wn.com/Rihanna_and_Britney_Spears__S&M__Billboard_Music_Awards
U2 at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards - Top Touring Artist
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:06
- Published: 24 May 2011
- Updated: 31 Mar 2012
U2 accepts the Touring Award at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards. Check out: www.u2.com
http://wn.com/U2_at_the_2011_Billboard_Music_Awards__Top_Touring_Artist
Beyoncé Tribute & Performance Billboard Music Awards 2011
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:54
- Published: 23 May 2011
- Updated: 07 Apr 2012
@OficiaL_DeLmaR www.facebook.com www.orkut.com.br
http://wn.com/Beyoncé_Tribute_Performance_Billboard_Music_Awards_2011
Billboard Music Awards 2011 - ABC promo
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:32
- Published: 10 May 2011
- Updated: 31 Mar 2012
The Billboard Music Awards come to ABC. Live Sunday May 22nd at 8pm!
http://wn.com/Billboard_Music_Awards_2011__ABC_promo
Rihanna & Britney Spears - S&M; Billboard Music Awards
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:28
- Published: 23 May 2011
- Updated: 08 Apr 2012
Acesse também; www.youtube.com www.youtube.com Vídeo da apresentação da Rihanna com a Britney Spears na noite do dia 22/05/2011, no Billboard Music Awards. Rihanna's video presentation with Britney Spears on the night of 22/05/2011, the Billboard Music Awards.
http://wn.com/Rihanna_Britney_Spears__S&M;_Billboard_Music_Awards
Beyonce performs Who Run tha World (Girls)- Billboard Music Awards 2011- Part 9
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:53
- Published: 23 May 2011
- Updated: 09 Apr 2012
BEYONCE KILLED THE STAGE!!! SHE IS AMAZING!! Special award at the end!!
http://wn.com/Beyonce_performs_Who_Run_tha_World_Girls_Billboard_Music_Awards_2011_Part_9
Beyonce Billboard Awards 2011 Performance VS Lorella Cuccarini 2010 performance
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:43
- Published: 23 May 2011
- Updated: 04 Apr 2012
Beyonce Billboard Awards 2011 Performance VS Lorella Cuccarini 2010 performance watch the full performance here video.libero.it
http://wn.com/Beyonce_Billboard_Awards_2011_Performance_VS_Lorella_Cuccarini_2010_performance
billboard music awards 2011 part 2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 61:06
- Published: 24 May 2011
- Updated: 08 Apr 2012
billboard music awards 2011
http://wn.com/billboard_music_awards_2011_part_2
EMINEM, JUSTIN BIEBER, RIHANNA, BRITNEY SHINE AT BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:26
- Published: 23 May 2011
- Updated: 08 Apr 2012
The Billboard Music Awards took place from Las Vegas on ABC-TV, and big winners included Eminem, Justin Bieber and Rihanna, and performances included Far East Movement, Neil Diamond, and Britney Spears paired with Nicki Minaj and earlier Rihanna (complete winners list).
http://wn.com/EMINEM,_JUSTIN_BIEBER,_RIHANNA,_BRITNEY_SHINE_AT_BILLBOARD_MUSIC_AWARDS
Beyonce- Millennium Award at the Billboard music awards 2011
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:50
- Published: 23 May 2011
- Updated: 08 Apr 2012
Beyonce-receives Milenium Award from her mother Tina Knowles at the Billboard music awards 2011, who runs the world(girls).
http://wn.com/Beyonce_Millennium_Award_at_the_Billboard_music_awards_2011
Beyoncé performs 'Run the World (Girls)' at the Billboard Awards
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:57
- Published: 15 Dec 2011
- Updated: 09 Apr 2012
Beyonce - Billboard Music Awards 2011 (Run the World )
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:08
- Published: 23 May 2011
- Updated: 31 Mar 2012
Beyonce performs her current hit single at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards!
http://wn.com/Beyonce__Billboard_Music_Awards_2011_Run_the_World_
Run The World (Girls) - Beyoncé Live In Billboard Music Awards 2011
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:08
- Published: 23 May 2011
- Updated: 08 Apr 2012
Run The World (Girls) - Beyoncé Live In Billboard Music Awards 2011
http://wn.com/Run_The_World_Girls__Beyoncé_Live_In_Billboard_Music_Awards_2011
2011 Billboard Music Awards (Beyonce Rihanna Nicki Minaj Perform)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 28:52
- Published: 23 May 2011
- Updated: 06 Apr 2012
Follow Us On Twitter Kevin www.twitter.com Makael www.twiter.com
http://wn.com/2011_Billboard_Music_Awards_Beyonce_Rihanna_Nicki_Minaj_Perform
Beyonce Billboard Awards Performance 2011
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:53
- Published: 04 Jun 2011
- Updated: 09 Apr 2012
Beyonce Billboard Awards Performance 2011
http://wn.com/Beyonce_Billboard_Awards_Performance_2011
Cee Lo Green- 2011 Billboard music awards
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:04
- Published: 23 May 2011
- Updated: 05 Apr 2012
This is crazy shit Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. No infringement of copyright is intended in any way under DMCA, under the terms of fair use for education. No profit is made by me on any material contained herein. No profit is made by me on any of the covered material contained herein.
http://wn.com/Cee_Lo_Green_2011_Billboard_music_awards
Billboard Music Awards 2011 Nicki Minaj Feat Britney Spears Super Bass+Til The World Ends Remix HD 1080p
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:38
- Published: 04 Jun 2011
- Updated: 09 Apr 2012
Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons / Thore Siebrands
Public Domain / Estormiz
Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons
WN / Bhaskar Mallick
WN / Bhaskar Mallick
Creative Commons / Jbarta
Public Domain / Estormiz
Public Domain / Estormiz
UN / Paulo Filgueiras
WN / Bhaskar Mallick
WN / Bhaskar Mallick
WN / Bhaskar Mallick
WN / Bhaskar Mallick
WN / Bhaskar Mallick
Creative Commons / Eileen Sandá
WN / juliapreston
Public Domain / Eric Wilson,
Public Domain / Jerry Morrison
Creative Commons / Officer
Public Domain / Efren Lopez
Public Domain / Diligent
Public Domain / Lombroso
photo: AP / Jon Super
03 May 2012
Amazing the difference an England manager makes. Barely 24 hours after Roy Hodgson's appointment, the effects were obvious. For the first time in 2012, Tottenham won on their travels in the league....
photo: AP / Markus Schreiber
03 May 2012
MADRID, May 3 (Reuters) - Jose Mourinho believes winning La Liga was the toughest of the seven league titles he has sealed in coaching stints in his native Portugal, England, Italy and Spain, the Real...
photo: AP / Juan Manuel Serrano Arce
03 May 2012
Gonzalo Higuain smashed home a superb 16th-minute opener after Cristiano Ronaldo had earlier missed horribly from the penalty spot. But the Portuguese recovered to beautifully create a second for...
Most Popular
RELATED LINKS
- *NSYNC
- 50 Cent
- Ace of Base
- Adam Corolla
- AEG Live
- Akon
- Alanis Morissette
- Alicia Keys
- American Music Award
- Andy Dick
- Annie Lennox
- Ashanti (singer)
- Backstreet Boys
- Bernie Mac
- Beyoncé Knowles
- Billboard magazine
- Billy Joel
- Britney Spears
- Buddy Guy
- Carlos Santana
- Carrie Underwood
- Chet Atkins
- Chris Rock
- Céline Dion
- David Spade
- Dennis Miller
- Destiny's Child
- Eminem
- Emmylou Harris
- Garth Brooks
- George Harrison
- Grammy Award
- Heather Locklear
- James Taylor
- Janet Jackson
- Jerome Benton
- Jessica Simpson
- John Mellencamp
- Jon Stewart
- Joni Mitchell
- Justin Bieber
- Kathy Griffin
- Ke$ha
- Kelly Clarkson
- Ken Jeong
- Lady Gaga
- LeAnn Rimes
- LL Cool J
- Los Angeles
- M.C. Hammer
- Mariah Carey
- Mary J. Blige
- Michael Jackson
- Morris Day
- Neil Diamond
- New York City
- New York Coliseum
- Nick Lachey
- Patti LaBelle
- Paul Shaffer
The Billboard Music Awards, sponsored by ''Billboard magazine'', is one of several United States music awards shows (among the others are the Grammy Awards and the American Music Awards). It had been held annually in December until it went dormant in 2007, but it returned in May 2011. Janet Jackson has won the most awards.
1990 - M.C. Hammer
1991 - Mariah Carey
1993 - Céline Dion
1994 - Ace of Base
1995 - TLC
1996 - Alanis Morissette
1997 - Céline Dion
1998 - Usher
1999 - Backstreet Boys
2000 - Destiny's Child
2001 - Destiny's Child
2002 - Céline Dion
2003 - 50 Cent
2004 - Usher
2005 - 50 Cent
2006 - Chris Brown
2007 - Akon*
2008 - Chris Brown*
2009 - Taylor Swift*
2010 - Lady Gaga*
2011 - Eminem
*: received the nomination, from the Billboard magazine in end of the years.
1992 - George Harrison
1993 - Buddy Guy
1994 - Billy Joel
1995 - Joni Mitchell
1996 - Carlos Santana
1997 - Chet Atkins
1998 - James Taylor
1999 - Emmylou Harris
2000 - Randy Newman
2001 - John Mellencamp
2002 - Annie Lennox
2003 - Sting
2004 - Stevie Wonder
2005 - Tom Petty
2006 - Tony Bennett
2007-2010 - ''No award''
2011 - Neil Diamond
2011 - Beyoncé Knowles
1999 - Mariah Carey received the award from Patti LaBelle.
2009 - Eminem won the award
1 Janet Jackson - 34 awards
2 Michael Jackson - 31 awards
3 Mariah Carey - 30 awards
3 Whitney Houston - 30 awards
5 Garth Brooks - 25 awards
6 Backstreet Boys - 24 awards
7 Usher - 22 awards
8 Mary J. Blige - 20 awards
9 Destiny's Child - 19 awards
10 Rihanna - 18 awards
11 Eminem - 17 awards
12 Lady Gaga - 17 awards
13 Madonna - 16 awards
14 Carrie Underwood - 16 awards
15 LeAnn Rimes - 12 awards
16 Beyoncé Knowles - 11 awards
17 Alicia Keys - 10 awards
18 Britney Spears - 15 awards
Janet Jackson is the award show's biggest winning artist to date.
Michael Jackson is the award show's biggest winning male and pop artist to date.
Backstreet Boys is the award show's biggest winning group to date.
Rihanna is the award show's biggest winning international artist to date.
Garth Brooks is the award show's biggest winning country artist to date.
Eminem is the award show's biggest winning rapper to date.
Madonna is the award show's biggest winning dance artist to date.
Usher - 14 (2004)
Michael Jackson - 13 (1983)
Whitney Houston - 11 (1993)
Kelly Clarkson - 11 (2005)
Janet Jackson - 10 (1990)
Destiny's Child - 9 (2001)
Mary J. Blige - 9 (2006)
Lady Gaga - 9 (2009) (tie)
Ke$ha - 8 (2010)
Ashanti - 8
Alicia Keys - 8 (2004)
Justin Bieber - 7 (2011)
1990-1991: The first two years were shot at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and aired later.
From 1992 onwards, the shows have been live:
1992-1994: The Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles
1995: The (now demolished) Coliseum in New York City.
Then the BMAs became the first awards show to move to Las Vegas:
1996: Center for Performing Arts and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas
1997-2006: MGM Grand Garden Arena.
2007-2010: There was no venue for 2007 as that year's ceremony was canceled, and no awards were held until 2011.
2011: The awards show returned to the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
1990 - Paul Shaffer and Morris Day (with Jerome Benton)
1991 - Paul Shaffer
1992 - Phil Collins
1993 - Phil Collins
1994 - Dennis Miller & Heather Locklear
1995 - Jon Stewart
1996 - Chris Rock
1997 - David Spade
1998 - Kathy Griffin & Andy Dick
1999 - Kathy Griffin & Adam Corolla
2000 - Kathy Griffin & *NSYNC
2001 - Bernie Mac
2002 - Cedric the Entertainer
2003 - Ryan Seacrest with Nick Lachey & Jessica Simpson
2004 - Ryan Seacrest
2005 - LL Cool J
2006 - ''No host''
2007-2010 - ''No Award''
2011 - Ken Jeong
Millennium Award (Since 2011)
Century Award (2011: renamed to Icon Award)
Artist of the Year
Male Artist of the Year
Duo/Group of the Year
Female Artist of the Year
Album of the Year
Breakout Artist (Since 2011)
Hot 100 Male Artist
Hot 100 Female Artist
Hot 100 Group
Hot 100 Producer
Hot 100 Songwriter
Hot 100 Single of the Year
R&B; Artist
R&B;/Hip-Hop Group
R&B; Producer
R&B; Songwriter
New R&B; Artist
New Male R&B; Artist
Rap Artist
Country Artist
Country Album
Hot 100 Airplay Single of The Year
Mainstream Top 40 Track
Digital Track
Latin Artist
Latin Song
Latin Album
Touring Venue Award
Concert Venue Award
New Male Artist
New Female Artist
New Group of the Year
Modern Rock Artist
Modern Rock Track
No. 1 Classical Crossover Artist
No. 1 Classical Crossover Album
Independent Album Artists
Independent Album
Bestselling Single
No. 1 Rhythmic Top 40 Title
Soundtrack Single
Billboard Touring Awards
Billboard Latin Music Awards
Billboard Mid Year Music Awards
Billboard Japan Music Awards
Billboard
BMAs honors winners based on ''Billboard'''s year-end music charts, which are based on Nielsen data for sales, downloads and airplay. Awards were given for the top album/artist/single in every genre. Since 1992, the awards also give out a Billboard Century Award - the magazine's highest honor for creative achievement and named for Billboard's centennial in 1994. The award was renamed the Icon Award in 2011.
Since its inception (created by Rick Garson), the BMAs had been telecast on the Fox network; however due to contractual expirations and other unforeseen circumstances, the awards were cancelled for 2007. Plans for a new version of the awards in 2008 (in association with AEG Live) fell through, and the BMAs were not held until 2011.
On February 17, 2011, Billboard announced that it would bring the BMAs back to television, moving from its original home on Fox to its new network, ABC, on May 22, 2011.
Awards
Artist of the Year awards
Billboard Century Awards
Icon Award
Billboard Millennium Award
Artist of the Decade
Most awards
The artists with the most Billboard Music Awards are:
Records
In any one year the biggest winners are:
Venues
Hosts
Award categories
From 1990-2006, the show had the same categories and category names every year. In 2011, for the first time, all of the awards were renamed to "Top [award title]". The "of the year" portion of each category title no longer exists, and many of the awards have been further renamed. Other awards, including both "crossover" awards (No. 1 Classical Crossover Artist and No. 1 Classical Crossover Album) were discontinued.Currentily categories
Defunt categories (1990-2006)
See also
External links
Category:Billboard charts Category:Fox network shows Category:American Broadcasting Company network shows Category:Awards established in 1990 Category:Awards disestablished in 2007 Category:Awards established in 2011 Category:Annual television programs
de:Billboard Music Awards fa:جوایز موسیقی بیلبورد fr:Billboard Music Awards ko:빌보드 뮤직 어워드 it:Billboard Music Award ka:ბილბორდის მუსიკალური დაჯილდოება lt:Billboard Muzikos Apdovanojimai nl:Billboard Music Award ja:ビルボード・ミュージック・アワード pl:Billboard Music Awards pt:Billboard Music Awards ru:Billboard Music Awards sk:Billboard Music Awards fi:Billboard Music Awards tr:Billboard Müzik ÖdülleriThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Coordinates | 12°58′0″N77°34′0″N |
|---|---|
| Name | Snoop Dogg |
| Birth name | Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. |
| Birth date | October 20, 1971 |
| Origin | Long Beach, California, United States |
| Occupation | Rapper |
| Religion | Islam |
| Genre | Hip hop |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Label | Death Row (1992-1997)No Limit (1998-2001)Priority (1998-present), Star Trak (2004-2005) Geffen (2004-2008), Doggystyle (1999-present) |
| Associated acts | Tha Dogg Pound, Tha Eastsidaz, 213, Dr. Dre, Warren G, Nate Dogg, 2Pac, Pharell, R. Kelly, Ice Cube, Akon, 50 Cent, Brandy Norwood, Eminem, Katy Perry, The-Dream, Wiz Khalifa |
| Website | |
| Background | solo_singer }} |
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. (born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (formerly known as Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school. Shortly after graduation, he was arrested for cocaine possession and spent six months in Wayside County Jail. His music career began in 1992 after his release when he was discovered by Dr. Dre. He collaborated on several tracks on Dre's solo debut, ''The Chronic'' and on the titular theme song to the film ''Deep Cover''.
Snoop's debut album ''Doggystyle'', was released in 1993 under Death Row Records making a debut at No.1 on both the Billboard 200 and R&B; charts. Selling almost a million copies in the first week of its release, ''Doggystyle'' quickly became certified 4x platinum in 1994 and spawned several hit singles, including "What's My Name" and "Gin & Juice". In 1994, Snoop released a soundtrack on Death Row Records for the short film ''Murder Was The Case'', starring himself. In early 1996, Snoop Dogg was cleared of charges over his bodyguard's 1993 murder of Philip Woldemariam. His second album, late 1996's ''Tha Doggfather'', also debuted at No.1 on both charts with "Snoop's Upside Ya Head" as the lead single. The album sold only half as well, being certified double platinum in 1997.
''Tha Doggfather'' was his last release for Death Row before he signed with No Limit Records, where he recorded his next three albums. ''Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told'' in 1998, ''No Limit Top Dogg'' in 1999 (making it his last album of the 90s), and ''Tha Last Meal'' in 2000, which was his last No Limit Records album. Snoop then signed with Priority/Capitol/EMI Records in 2002, where he released his album ''Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss''. Then he signed with Geffen Records in 2004 for his next three albums ''R&G; (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece'', ''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment'', and ''Ego Trippin'''. ''Malice 'n Wonderland'' (2009) and ''Doggumentary'' (2011), his most recent release, were on Priority.
In addition to music, Snoop Dogg has starred in motion pictures and hosted several television shows: ''Doggy Fizzle Televizzle'', ''Snoop Dogg's Father Hood'' and ''Dogg After Dark''. He also coaches a youth football league and high school football team. He has run into many legal troubles, some of which caused him to be legally banned from the UK and Australia, although the UK ban was later reversed after a long legal battle. He is the cousin of Nate Dogg, Daz Dillinger, RBX and Lil' ½ Dead and the cousin of R&B; singers Brandy and Ray J. Starting September 2009, Snoop was hired by EMI as the chairman of a reactivated Priority Records.
Life and career
Early life
Named after his stepfather, Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Sr. (December 10, 1948 – November 9, 1985, Los Angeles), Calvin Broadus was born October 20, 1971 at the Los Altos Hospital in Long Beach, California, the second of three sons of Beverly Broadus (née Tate; born April 27, 1951, McComb, Mississippi). His father, Vernall Varnado (born December 13, 1949, Magnolia, Mississippi), was a Vietnam veteran, singer, and mail carrier who was said to be frequently absent from his life. Broadus' parents nicknamed him "Snoopy" as a child because of his appearance, but usually addressed him as Calvin at home. His mother and stepfather divorced in 1975. At an early age, Broadus began singing in Golgotha Trinity Baptist Church and playing piano; when he was in sixth grade, he began rapping. He attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School, and was convicted for cocaine possession, serving six months at the Wayside County Jail.As a teenager, Snoop Dogg frequently ran into trouble with the law. Snoop Dogg was a member of the Rollin' 20 Crips gang in the Eastside of Long Beach, although he stated in 1993 that he never joined a gang. Shortly after graduating from high school, he was arrested for possession of cocaine. Snoop Dogg's conviction caused him to be frequently in and out of prison for the first three years after he graduated from high school. Snoop, along with his cousins Nate Dogg and Lil' ½ Dead and friend Warren G, recorded home made tapes as a group called 213, named after the Long Beach area code at the time. One of his early solo freestyles over En Vogue's "Hold On" had made it to a mixtape which was heard by influential producer Dr. Dre, who phoned to invite him to an audition. Former N.W.A member The D.O.C. taught him how to structure his lyrics and separate the thematics into verses, hooks and chorus.
1992–93: ''Doggystyle''
When he began recording, Broadus took the stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg. Dr. Dre began working with Snoop Dogg, first on the theme song of the 1992 film ''Deep Cover'', and then on Dr. Dre's debut solo album ''The Chronic'' with the other members of his former starting group, Tha Dogg Pound. The huge success of Snoop Dogg's debut ''Doggystyle'' was partially because of this intense exposure.To fuel the ascendance of West Coast G-funk hip hop, the singles "Who Am I (What's My Name)?" and "Gin and Juice" reached the top ten most-played songs in the United States, and the album stayed on the Billboard charts for several months. Gangsta rap became the center of arguments for censorship and labeling, with Snoop Dogg often used as an example of violent and misogynistic musicians. ''Doggystyle'', much like ''The Chronic'', featured a host of rappers signed to or affiliated with the Death Row label including Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, Nate Dogg and others. ''Rolling Stone'' music critic Touré asserted that Snoop had a relatively soft vocal delivery compared to other rappers: "Snoop's vocal style is part of what distinguishes him: where many rappers scream, figuratively and literally, he speaks softly."
A short film about Snoop Dogg's murder trial called ''Murder Was The Case'', was released in 1994, along with an accompanying soundtrack. On July 6, 1995, Doggy Style Records, Inc., a record label founded by Snoop Dogg, was registered with the California Secretary of State as business entity number C1923139.
1996–97: ''Tha Doggfather''
After Snoop Dogg was acquitted of murder charges on February 20, 1996, he and the mother of his son and their kennel of 20 pit bulls moved into a home in the hills of Claremont, California and by August 1996 Doggy Style Records, a subsidiary of Death Row Records, signed The Gap Band's Charlie Wilson as one of the record label's first artists.However, by the time Snoop Dogg's second album, ''Tha Doggfather'', was released in November 1996, the price of living (or sometimes just imitating) the gangsta life had become very evident. Among the many notable hip hop industry deaths and convictions were the death of Snoop Dogg's friend and labelmate 2Pac and the racketeering indictment of Death Row co-founder Suge Knight. Dr. Dre had left Death Row earlier in 1996 because of a contract dispute, so Snoop Dogg co-produced ''Tha Doggfather'' with Daz Dillinger and DJ Pooh.
This album featured a distinct change of style as compared to ''Doggystyle'', and the leadoff single, "Snoop's Upside Ya Head", featured a collaboration with Gap Band frontman Charlie Wilson. While the album sold reasonably well, it was not as successful as its predecessor. However, ''Tha Doggfather'' had a somewhat softer approach to the G-funk style. The immediate aftermath of Dr. Dre's withdrawal from Death Row Records, realizing that he was subject to an iron-clad time-based contract (i.e., that Death Row practically owned anything he produced for a number of years), Snoop Dogg refused to produce any more tracks for Suge Knight, other than the insulting "Fuck Death Row", until his contract expired. In an interview with Neil Strauss in 1998, Snoop Dogg stated that though he had been given lavish gifts by his former label they had withheld royalty payments to the artist.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that after ''Tha Doggfather'', Snoop Dogg began "moving away from his gangsta roots toward a calmer lyrical aesthetic": for instance, Snoop participated in the 1997 Lollapalooza concert tour, which featured mainly alternative rock music. Troy J. Augusto of ''Variety'' noticed that Snoop's set at Lollapalooza attracted "much dancing, and, strangely, even a small mosh pit" in the audience.
1998–2000: ''No Limit'', ''Top Dogg'' and ''Tha Last Meal''
Snoop signed with Master P's No Limit Records (distributed by Priority/EMI Records) in 1998 and debuted on the label with ''Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told'' that year. His other albums from No Limit were ''No Limit Top Dogg'' in 1999 (selling over 1,503,865 copies) and ''Tha Last Meal'' in 2000 (selling over 1,000,000). In 2001, his autobiography, ''Tha Doggfather'', was published.
2002: ''Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$''
In 2002 he released the album ''Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$'', on Priority/Capitol/EMI Records, selling over 1,300,000 copies. The album featured the hit singles "From tha Chuuuch to da Palace" and "Beautiful", featuring guest vocals by Pharrell. By this stage in his career, Snoop Dogg had left behind his "gangster" image and embraced a "pimp" image.
2004–05: ''R&G; (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece''
In 2004, Snoop signed to Geffen Records/Star Trak Entertainment both of which are distributed through Interscope Records; Star Trak is headed by producer duo The Neptunes, which produced several tracks for Snoop's 2004 release ''R&G; (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece''. "Drop It Like It's Hot" (featuring Pharrell), the first single released from the album, was a hit and became Snoop Dogg's first single to reach number one. His third release was "Signs", featuring Justin Timberlake and Charlie Wilson, which entered the UK chart at #2. This was his highest entry ever in the UK chart. The album sold 1,724,000 copies in the U.S. alone, and most of its singles were heavily played on radio and television. Snoop Dogg joined Warren G and Nate Dogg to form the group 213 and released album ''The Hard Way'' in 2004. Debuting at No.4 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and No.1 on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums, it included single "Groupie Luv". Together with fellow rappers Lil' Jon, Xzibit and David Banner, Snoop Dogg appeared in the music video for Korn's "Twisted Transistor".
2006: ''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment''
Snoop Dogg's appeared on two tracks from Ice Cube's 2006 album ''Laugh Now, Cry Later'', including the single "Go to Church", and on several tracks on Tha Dogg Pound's ''Cali Iz Active'' the same year. Also, his latest song, "Real Talk", was leaked over the Internet in the summer of 2006 and a video was later released on the Internet. "Real Talk" was a dedication to former Crips leader Stanley "Tookie" Williams and a diss to Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor of California. Two other singles on which Snoop made a guest performance were "Keep Bouncing" by Too $hort (also with will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas) and "Gangsta Walk" by Coolio.Snoop's 2006 album, ''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment'', debuted on the Billboard 200 at No.5 and has sold over 850,000 copies. The album and the second single "That's That Shit" featuring R. Kelly were well received by critics. In the album, he collaborated in a video with E-40 and other West Coast rappers for his single "Candy (Drippin' Like Water)".
2007–08: ''Ego Trippin' ''
In July 2007, Snoop Dogg also made history by becoming the first artist to release a track as a ringtone prior to its release as a single, which was "It's the D.O.G." On July 7, 2007, Snoop Dogg performed at the Live Earth concert, Hamburg. Snoop Dogg has ventured into singing for Bollywood with his first ever rap for an Indian movie ''Singh Is Kinng''; the title of the song is also "Singh is Kinng". He also appears in the movie as himself.
The album featuring the song was released on June 8, 2008 on Junglee Music Records. He released his ninth studio album, ''Ego Trippin''' (selling 400,000 copies in the U.S.), along with the first single, "Sexual Eruption". The single peaked at No.7 on the Billboard 100, featuring Snoop using autotune. The album featured production from QDT (Quik-Dogg-Teddy).
2009–10: ''Malice n Wonderland'' and ''More Malice''
Snoop was appointed an executive position at Priority Records. His tenth studio album, ''Malice n Wonderland'', was released on December 8, 2009. The first single from the album, "Gangsta Luv", featuring The-Dream, peaked at No.35 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album debuted at No.23 on the Billboard 200, selling 61,000 copies its first week, making it his lowest charting album. His third single, "I Wanna Rock", peaked at No.41 on the Billboard Hot 100. Snoop features on the latest Gorillaz album, ''Plastic Beach''. The fourth single from ''Malice n Wonderland'', titled "Pronto", featuring Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, was released on iTunes on December 1, 2009. Snoop re-released the album under the name ''More Malice''.
2011–12: ''Doggumentary''
Snoop collaborated with Katy Perry on the first single from her second mainstream album, "California Gurls", which was released on May 11, 2010. Snoop can also be heard on the track "Flashing" by Dr. Dre and on Curren$y's song "Seat Change". He was also featured on a new single from Australian singer Jessica Mauboy, titled "Get 'em Girls" (released September 2010). Snoop's latest effort was backing American recording artist, Emii, on her second single entitled "Mr. Romeo" (released October 26, 2010 as a follow-up to "Magic"). Snoop also collaborated with American comedy troupe The Lonely Island in their song "Turtleneck & Chain", in their 2011 album ''Turtleneck & Chain''.Snoop Dogg's newest studio album is ''Doggumentary'', The album was renamed to ''Doggumentary'' and was released during March 2011. Snoop was featured on Gorillaz' latest album ''Plastic Beach'' on a track called: "Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach" with the The Hypnotic Brass, he also completed another track with them entitled "Sumthing Like This Night" which does not appear on ''Plastic Beach'', yet does appear on ''Doggumentary''. He also appears on the latest Tech N9ne album ''All 6's and 7's'' (released June 7, 2011) on a track called "Pornographic" which also features E-40 and Krizz Kaliko.
2012–present: ''Reincarnated''
On February 4, 2012, Snoop Dogg announced a new documentary alongside his new upcoming studio album entitled ''Reincarnated''. Snoop Dogg is set to headline the Osheaga Festival in Montreal, Canada this summer.
Other ventures
Media appearances
Snoop Dogg has appeared on television and in films throughout his career. In 1998, Snoop had a cameo appearance in the film ''Half Baked'' as the "Scavenger Smoker". In 2000, Snoop (as "Michael J. Corleone") directed ''Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle'', a pornographic film produced by Hustler. The film, combining hip hop with x-rated material, was a huge success and won "Top Selling Release of the Year" at the 2002 AVN Awards. Snoop then directed ''Snoop Dogg's Hustlaz: Diary of a Pimp'' in 2002 (using the nickname "Snoop Scorsese").In 2001, Snoop lent his voice to the animated show ''King of the Hill'', in which he played a white pimp named Alabaster Jones. He played a lead character in the movie ''The Wash'' with Dr. Dre. He portrayed a drug dealer in a wheelchair in the film ''Training Day'', featuring Denzel Washington. In 2001, Snoop starred in the horror film ''Bones'', with him playing a murdered mobster who returns from the dead to exact his revenge against those who murdered him.
In 2002, Snoop hosted, starred in, and produced his own MTV sketch comedy show entitled Doggy Fizzle Televizzle. Snoop was filmed for a brief cameo appearance in the television movie ''It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie'' (2002), but his performance was omitted from the final cut of the movie. On November 8, 2004, Snoop Dogg was starred in the episode "Two of a Kind" of NBC's series ''Las Vegas''.
In 2004, Snoop appeared on the Showtime series ''The L Word'' as the character "Slim Daddy". He also notably played the drug dealer-turned-informant character of Huggy Bear, in the 2004 remake film of the 1970s TV-series of the same name, ''Starsky & Hutch''. He appeared as himself in the episode "MILF Money" of ''Weeds'', and made an appearance on the TV shows ''Entourage'' and ''Monk'', for which he recorded a version of the theme, in July 2007.
Snoop founded his own production company, Snoopadelic Films, in 2005. Their debut film was ''Boss'n Up'', a film inspired by Snoop Dogg's album ''R&G;'', starring Lil Jon and Trina.
In December 2007, his reality show ''Snoop Dogg's Father Hood'' premiered on the E! channel. Snoop Dogg joined the NBA's Entertainment League. On March 30, 2008 he appeared at WrestleMania XXIV as a ''Master of Ceremonies'' for a tag team match between Maria and Ashley Massaro as they took on Beth Phoenix and Melina.
On May 8 and May 9, 2008, Snoop appeared as himself on the ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live'', with a new opening theme recorded by the artist presented for both episodes. In the episodes, Snoop performs at the bachelorette party for character Adriana Cramer, and credits Bo Buchanan with helping him get his start in show business. On February 24, 2010, Snoop Dogg reprised his role, performing his song "I Wanna Rock" from his new album, ''Malice n Wonderland'', as well as once again performing a special remixed, vocal rendition of the show's opening theme. In recent interviews he has explained that, as a child, ''One Life to Live'' was one of his favorite shows, and he still regards the show fondly. He has also stated that he has always been a particular fan of Robert S. Woods, who has portrayed the character of Bo Buchanan since 1979.
In 2009, Snoop Dogg appeared in Sacha Baron Cohen's film ''Brüno'' as himself performing a rap addition to the song "Dove Of Peace". On October 19, 2009, Snoop Dogg was the guest host of ''WWE Raw''.
In July 2009, Snoop revealed his desire to appear in the popular soap opera Coronation Street while touring in the UK. However ITV bosses were said to be less keen.
In 2010, Snoop Dogg appeared in an episode of I Get That a Lot on CBS as a parking-lot attendant.
In June 2010, Snoop created a music video for True Blood accompanying a song he wrote for one of the main characters of the show entitled "Oh Sookie."
In March 2011, Snoop participated in Comedy Central's Roast of Donald Trump with other comedians and media personalities.
January 2, 2012, appeared on the The Price Is Right and raised $72,000 for his charity, Snoop Youth Football League.
Endorsements
Style and rap skills
Kool Moe Dee ranks Snoop at No.33 in his book ''There's a God on the Mic'', and says he has "an ultra-smooth, laidback delivery", and "flavor-filled melodic rhyming". Peter Shapiro describes Snoop's delivery as a "molasses drawl" and Allmusic notes his "drawled, laconic rhyming" style. Kool Moe Dee refers to Snoop's use of vocabulary, saying he "keeps it real simple...he simplifies it and he's effective in his simplicity".Snoop is known to freestyle some of his lyrics on the spot for some songs – in the book ''How to Rap'', Lady of Rage says, "Snoop Dogg, when I worked with him earlier in his career, that's how created his stuff... he would freestyle, he wasn't a writer then, he was a freestyler," and The D.O.C. states, "Snoop's [rap] was a one take willy, but his shit was all freestyle. He hadn't written nothing down. He just came in and started busting. The song was "Tha Shiznit"—that was all freestyle. He started busting and when we got to the break, Dre cut the machine off, did the chorus and told Snoop to come back in. He did that throughout the record. That's when Snoop was in the zone then."
Peter Shapiro says that Snoop debuted on "Deep Cover" with a "shockingly original flow – which sounded like a Slick Rick born in South Carolina instead of South London" and adds that he "showed where his style came from by covering Slick Rick's 'La Di Da Di'". as well as 'linking with rhythm' in his compound rhymes, using alliteration, and employing a "sparse" flow with good use of pauses.
Snoop re-popularized the use of ''-izzle speak'', particularly in the pop and hip-hop music industry.
Personal life
Broadus's father left the family when Broadus was three months old. Snoop married his high school sweetheart, Shante Taylor, on June 12, 1997. On May 21, 2004, he filed for divorce from Shante, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple renewed their wedding vows on January 12, 2008. R&B; singers Brandy and Ray J are his first cousins. In 2002, the rapper announced he was giving up marijuana, one of his image trademarks, for good. According to his IMDb biography, Snoop is a fan of the thrash metal band Metallica and performed their song "Sad But True" on the band's 2003 MTV Icon Special which is available on YouTube. A DNA test read by George Lopez on ''Lopez Tonight'' revealed Snoop Dogg to be of 0% East Asian, 23% Native American, 6% European, and 71% African descent.Snoop is an avid fan of hometown teams Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Lakers. Snoop is also an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan. and is often seen wearing Pittsburgh Steelers apparel. Snoop has mentioned that his love for the Steelers began in the 1970s during the team's dynasty years while watching the team with his grandfather growing up in L.A. In the 2005 offseason, Snoop mentioned that he wanted to be an NFL head coach, "probably for the Steelers". The following year, he was in attendance for the Steelers' victory in Super Bowl XL and later in Super Bowl XLIII. He is also a fan of the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys, often wearing a No.5 jersey, and has been seen at Raiders training camps. He did his own free style rap based on his similarities with Tony Romo. He is also a fan of the USC Trojans Football team. He has also shown affection for the New England Patriots, as he has been seen performing at the Gillette Stadium and picked the Patriots as the favorite to win Super Bowl XXXIX against the Eagles. On August 6, 2009, Snoop visited the training camp of the Baltimore Ravens at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He was invited by Ray Lewis the day after his concert at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.
A certified football coach, Snoop Dogg has been head coach for his son's youth football teams and the John A. Rowland High School team.
Snoop Dogg is an avid hockey fan; he sported a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey (with the name and number 'GIN AND JUICE' 94 on the back) and a jersey of the now-defunct Springfield (MA) Indians of the American Hockey League in his 1994 music video, "Gin And Juice". On the E! show, ''Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood'', Snoop Dogg and his family received lessons on playing hockey from the Anaheim Ducks, then returning to the Honda Center to cheer on the Ducks against the Vancouver Canucks in the episode ''Snow in da Hood''.
In 2009, it was revealed that Snoop Dogg was a member of the Nation of Islam. On March 1, 2009, he made an appearance at the Nation of Islam's annual Saviours' Day holiday, where he praised minister Louis Farrakhan. Snoop claimed to be a member of the Nation of Islam, but he declined to give the date on which he joined. He also donated $1,000 to the organization.
Snoop claimed in a 2006 interview with ''Rolling Stone'' magazine that unlike other hip hop artists who've superficially adopted the pimp persona, he was an actual professional pimp in 2003 and 2004, saying "That shit was my natural calling and once I got involved with it, it became fun. It was like shootin' layups for me. I was makin' 'em every time." He goes on to say that upon the advice of some of the other pimps he knew, he eventually gave up pimping to spend more time with his family.
Legal issues
Shortly after graduating from high school, he was arrested for possession of cocaine.While recording ''Doggystyle'' in August 1993, Snoop Dogg was arrested in connection with the death of Phillip Woldermarian, a member of a rival gang who was shot and killed by Snoop's bodyguard, McKinley Lee; Snoop was charged with murder along with Lee as he was driving the vehicle from which the shooting had commenced. Snoop and Lee were defended by Johnnie Cochran. Both Snoop and Lee were acquitted; Lee was acquitted on grounds of self-defense, but Snoop Dogg remained entangled in the legal battles around the case for three years.
In July 1993, Snoop was stopped for a traffic violation and a firearm was found by police while conducting a search of his car. In February 1997, he pleaded guilty to possession of a handgun and was ordered to record three public service announcements, pay a $1,000 fine, and serve three years' probation.
In May 1998, Snoop Dogg was fined and arrested for a misdemeanor of marijuana possession.
In October 2001, Snoop Dogg was arrested again for a misdemeanor of marijuana possession. In 2002 he pleaded no contest and was fined a total of $398.30 and received a suspended 30-day jail sentence.
Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, and The Game were sued for assaulting a fan on stage at a May 2005 concert at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, Washington. The accuser, Richard Monroe, Jr., claimed he was beaten by the artists' entourage while mounting the stage. He alleged that he reacted to an "open invite" to come on stage. Before he could, Snoop’s bodyguards grabbed him and he was beaten unconscious by crewmembers, including the rapper and producer Soopafly; Snoop and The Game were included in the suit for not intervening. The lawsuit focuses on a pecuniary claim of $22 million in punitive and compensatory damages, battery, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The concerned parties appeared in court in April 2009.
On April 26, 2006, Snoop Dogg and members of his entourage were arrested after being turned away from British Airways' first class lounge at Heathrow Airport. Snoop and his party were not allowed to enter the lounge because some of the entourage were flying first class, other members in economy class. After the group was escorted outside, they vandalized a duty-free shop by throwing whiskey bottles. Seven police officers were injured in the midst of the disturbance. After a night in jail, Snoop and the other men were released on bail on April 27, but he was unable to perform at the Premier Foods People's Concert in Johannesburg on the same day. As part of his bail conditions, he had to return to the police station in May. The group has been banned by British Airways for "the foreseeable future." When Snoop Dogg appeared at a London police station on May 11, he was cautioned for affray under Section 4 of the Public Order Act for use of threatening words or behavior. On May 15, the Home Office decided that Snoop Dogg should be denied entry to the United Kingdom for the foreseeable future due to the incident at Heathrow as well as his previous convictions in the United States for drugs and firearms offenses. Snoop Dogg's visa card was rejected by local authorities on March 24, 2007 because of the Heathrow incident. A concert at London's Wembley Arena on March 27 went ahead with Diddy (with whom he toured Europe) and the rest of the show. However the decision affected four more British performances in Cardiff, Manchester and Glasgow and Budapest (due to rescheduling). As of March 2010, Snoop Dogg has been allowed back into the UK.
On September 27, 2006, Snoop Dogg was detained at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California by airport security, after airport screeners found a collapsible police baton in Snoop's carry-on bag. The baton was confiscated but Snoop was allowed to board the flight. He has been charged with various weapons violations stemming from this incident. Donald Etra, Snoop's lawyer, told deputies the baton was a prop for a musical sketch. Snoop was sentenced to three years' probation and 160 hours of community service starting on September 20, 2007.
Snoop Dogg was arrested again on October 26, 2006 at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California while parked in a passenger loading zone. Approached by airport security for a traffic infraction, he was found in possession of marijuana and a firearm, according to a police statement. He was transported to Burbank Police Department Jail, booked, and released on $35,000 bond. He faced firearm and drug possession charges on December 12 at Burbank Superior Court.
He was again arrested on November 29, 2006, after performing on ''The Tonight Show'', for possession of marijuana and a firearm.
Snoop was arrested again on March 12, 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden after performing in a concert with P. Diddy in Stockholm's Globe Arena after he and a female companion reportedly "reeked" of marijuana. They were released four hours later after providing a urine sample. The results on urine determined whether charges would be pressed. However the rapper denied all charges.
On April 26, 2007, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship banned him from entering the country on character grounds, citing his prior criminal convictions. He had been scheduled to appear at the MTV Australia Video Music Awards on April 29, 2007. Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship lifted the ban in September 2008 and had granted him visa to tour Australia. DIAC said "In making this decision, the department weighed his criminal convictions against his previous behaviour while in Australia, recent conduct – including charity work – and any likely risk to the Australian community ... We took into account all relevant factors and, on balance, the department decided to grant the visa."
Snoop Dogg's many legal issues forced San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom to withdraw his plan to issue a proclamation to the rapper.
Snoop Dogg was banned from Parkpop, a festival in the Netherlands on June 27, 2010, where he was scheduled to perform. The mayor and law enforcement officials asked organizers of the festival to find an artist more “open and friendly” to play the event.
Snoop Dogg was arrested again on January 7, 2012 for possession of Marijuana charge after Border control agents discovered a small amount of marijuana on his tour bus. Snoop Dogg was stopped at the same Sierra Blanca, Texas, checkpoint on Saturday where country singer Willie Nelson was arrested for marijuana possession in 2010. The agents conducted a routine inspection of his tour bus at the U.S.– Mexico border checkpoint, east of El Paso, Texas and thought they smelled marijuana. Snoop Dogg was issued a citation for possession of drug paraphernalia, released and given a court date of Friday, January 20, 2012.
Discography
Filmography
Awards
Snoop Dogg was also a judge for the 7th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.
Further reading
References
External links
Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:African American film actors Category:American rappers Category:American people of Native American descent Category:African American rappers Category:American cannabis activists Category:American film actors Category:American film producers Category:American hip hop record producers Category:American music industry executives Category:American music video directors Category:American pop musicians Category:American record producers Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Crips Category:Death Row Records artists Category:G-funk Category:Hip hop activists Category:Hip hop singers Category:Hip hop record producers Category:Members of the Nation of Islam Category:No Limit Records artists Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People acquitted of murder Category:People convicted of drug offenses Category:People from Long Beach, California Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:Priority Records artists Category:Pseudonymous rappers Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California Category:West Coast hip hop musicians
ar:سنوب دوغ bg:Снуп Дог bs:Snoop Dogg ca:Snoop Dogg cs:Snoop Dogg cy:Snoop Dogg da:Snoop Dogg de:Snoop Dogg et:Snoop Dogg es:Snoop Dogg eo:Snoop Dogg eu:Snoop Dogg fa:اسنوپ داگ fo:Snoop Dogg fr:Snoop Dogg fy:Snoop Dogg ko:스눕 독 hy:Սնուփ Դոգ hi:स्नूप दॉग hr:Snoop Dogg id:Snoop Dogg is:Snoop Dogg it:Snoop Dogg he:סנופ דוג ka:სნუპ დოგი kk:Snoop Dogg sw:Snoop Doggy lv:Snoop Dogg lt:Snoop Dogg hu:Snoop Dogg nl:Snoop Dogg ja:スヌープ・ドッグ no:Snoop Dogg pl:Snoop Dogg pt:Snoop Dogg ro:Snoop Dogg ru:Snoop Dogg stq:Snoop Dogg simple:Snoop Dogg sk:Snoop Dogg sr:Снуп Дог sh:Snoop Dogg fi:Snoop Dogg sv:Snoop Dogg ta:ஸ்னூப் டாக் th:สนูป ด็อกก์ tr:Snoop Dogg uk:Snoop Dogg yo:Snoop Dogg zh:史努比狗狗This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Coordinates | 12°58′0″N77°34′0″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
See also
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
ar:نيكي مناج bg:Ники Минаж ca:Nicki Minaj cs:Nicki Minaj da:Nicki Minaj de:Nicki Minaj et:Nicki Minaj es:Nicki Minaj eu:Nicki Minaj fa:نیکی میناژ fr:Nicki Minaj ko:니키 미나즈 hi:निकी मिनाज hr:Nicki Minaj id:Nicki Minaj it:Nicki Minaj he:ניקי מינאג' la:Nicki Minaj lv:Niki Minaža lt:Nicki Minaj hu:Nicki Minaj mk:Ники Минаж nl:Nicki Minaj ne:निकी मिनाज ja:ニッキー・ミナージュ no:Nicki Minaj pl:Nicki Minaj pt:Nicki Minaj ro:Nicki Minaj ru:Ники Минаж sq:Nicki Minaj simple:Nicki Minaj sk:Nicki Minaj sr:Ники Минаж fi:Nicki Minaj sv:Nicki Minaj tl:Nicki Minaj th:นิกกี มินาจ tr:Nicki Minaj uk:Нікі Мінаж vi:Nicki Minaj zh:妮琪·米娜This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Coordinates | 12°58′0″N77°34′0″N |
|---|---|
| birth name | Whitney Elizabeth Houston |
| background | solo_singer |
| birth date | August 09, 1963 |
| birth place | |
| death date | February 11, 2012 |
| death place | |
| instrument | Vocals, piano |
| genre | R&B;, soul, pop, dance, gospel |
| occupation | Singer, actress, model, film producer, record producer, songwriter |
| years active | 1977–2012 |
| label | Arista, RCA |
| associated acts | Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, Dee Dee Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Jermaine Jackson, Mariah Carey, Enrique Iglesias, Bobby Brown |
| website | 130pxWhitney Houston's autograph }} |
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the ''Guinness World Records'' cited her as the most-awarded female act of all-time. Houston was one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", influenced several African American female artists to follow in her footsteps.
Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits. She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one ''Billboard'' 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Album") on the ''Billboard'' magazine year-end charts. Houston's 1985 debut album ''Whitney Houston'' became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. The album was named ''Rolling Stone''s best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on ''Rolling Stone''s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her second studio album ''Whitney'' (1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart.
Houston's first acting role was as the star of the feature film ''The Bodyguard'' (1992). The film's original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its lead single "I Will Always Love You", became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. With the album, Houston became the first act (solo or group, male or female) to sell more than a million copies of an album within a single week period under Nielsen SoundScan system. The album makes her the top female act in the top 10 list of the best-selling albums of all time, at number four. Houston continued to star in movies and contribute to their soundtracks, including the films ''Waiting to Exhale'' (1995) and ''The Preacher's Wife'' (1996). ''The Preacher's Wife'' soundtrack became the best-selling gospel album in history.
Life and career
1963–1976: Early life
Whitney Houston was born in what was then a middle-income neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, the second child of Army serviceman and entertainment executive John Russell Houston, Jr. (September 13, 1920 – February 2, 2003), and gospel singer Cissy Houston (née Emily Drinkard). She was of African American, Native American and Dutch descent. Her mother, along with cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, godmother Darlene Love and honorary aunt Aretha Franklin were all notable figures in the gospel, rhythm and blues, pop, and soul genres. She met her honorary aunt at age 8, or 9, when her mother took her to a recording studio. Houston was raised a Baptist, but was also exposed to the Pentecostal church. After the 1967 Newark riots, the family moved to a middle-class area in East Orange, New Jersey, when she was four.At the age of 11, Houston began to follow in her mother's footsteps and started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play the piano. Her first solo performance in the church was "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah". When Houston was a teenager, she attended Mount Saint Dominic Academy, a Catholic girls' high school in Caldwell, New Jersey, where she met her best friend Robyn Crawford, whom she described as the "sister she never had". While Houston was still in school, her mother continued to teach her how to sing. In addition to her mother, Franklin, and Warwick, Houston was also exposed to the music of Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and Roberta Flack, most of whom would have an impact on her as a singer and performer.
1977–1984: Early career
Houston spent some of her teenage years touring nightclubs where her mother Cissy was performing, and she would occasionally get on stage and perform with her. In 1977, at age 14, she became a backup singer on the Michael Zager Band's single "Life's a Party". In 1978, at age 15, Houston sang background vocals on Chaka Khan's hit single "I'm Every Woman", a song she would later turn into a larger hit for herself on her monster-selling ''The Bodyguard'' soundtrack album. She also sang back-up on albums by Lou Rawls and Jermaine Jackson.In the early 1980s, Houston started working as a fashion model after a photographer saw her at Carnegie Hall singing with her mother. She appeared in ''Seventeen'' and became one of the first women of color to grace the cover of the magazine. She was also featured in layouts in the pages of ''Glamour'', ''Cosmopolitan'', ''Young Miss'', and appeared in a Canada Dry soft drink TV commercial. Her striking looks and girl-next-door charm made her one of the most sought after teen models of that time. While modeling, she continued her burgeoning recording career by working with producers Michael Beinhorn, Bill Laswell and Martin Bisi on an album they were spearheading called ''One Down'', which was credited to the group Material. For that project, Houston contributed the ballad "Memories", a cover of a song by Hugh Hopper of Soft Machine. Robert Christgau of ''The Village Voice'' called her contribution "one of the most gorgeous ballads you've ever heard". She also appeared as a lead vocalist on one track on a Paul Jabara album, entitled ''Paul Jabara and Friends'', released by Columbia Records in 1983.
Houston had previously been offered several recording agencies (Michael Zager in 1980, and Elektra Records in 1981), however her mother declined the offers stating her daughter must first complete high school. In 1983, Gerry Griffith, an A&R; representative from Arista Records, saw her performing with her mother in a New York City nightclub and was impressed. He convinced Arista's head Clive Davis to make time to see Houston perform. Davis too was impressed and offered a worldwide recording contract which Houston signed. Later that year, she made her national televised debut alongside Davis on ''The Merv Griffin Show''.
Houston signed with Arista in 1983, but did not begin work on her album immediately. The label wanted to make sure no other label signed the singer away. Davis wanted to ensure he had the right material and producers for Houston's debut album. Some producers had to pass on the project due to prior commitments. Houston first recorded a duet with Teddy Pendergrass entitled "Hold Me" which appeared on his album, ''Love Language''. The single was released in 1984 and gave Houston her first taste of success, becoming a Top 5 R&B; hit. It would also appear on her debut album in 1985.
1985–1986: Rise to international prominence
With production from Michael Masser, Kashif, Jermaine Jackson, and Narada Michael Walden, Houston's debut album ''Whitney Houston'' was released in February 1985. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine praised Houston, calling her "one of the most exciting new voices in years" while ''The New York Times'' called the album "an impressive, musically conservative showcase for an exceptional vocal talent". Arista Records promoted Houston's album with three different singles from the album in the US, UK and other European countries. In the UK, the dance-funk "Someone for Me", which failed to chart in the country, was the first single while "All at Once" was in such European countries as the Netherlands and Belgium, where the song reached the top 5 on the singles charts, respectively.In the US, the soulful ballad "You Give Good Love" was chosen as the lead single from Houston's debut to establish her in the black marketplace first. Outside the US, the song failed to get enough attention to become a hit, but in the US, it gave the album its first major hit as it peaked at No. 3 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and No. 1 on the Hot R&B; chart. As a result, the album began to sell strongly, and Houston continued promotion by touring nightclubs in the US. She also began performing on late-night television talk shows, which were not usually accessible to unestablished black acts. The jazzy ballad "Saving All My Love for You" was released next and it would become Houston's first No. 1 single in both the US and the UK. She was then an opening act for singer Jeffrey Osborne on his nationwide tour. "Thinking About You" was released as the promo single only to R&B-oriented; radio stations, which peaked at number ten on the US R&B; Chart. At the time, MTV had received harsh criticism for not playing enough videos by black, Latino, and other racial minorities while favoring white acts. The third US single, "How Will I Know", peaked at No. 1 and introduced Houston to the MTV audience thanks to its video. Houston's subsequent singles from this, and future albums, would make her the first African-American female artist to receive consistent heavy rotation on MTV.
By 1986, a year after its initial release, ''Whitney Houston'' topped the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart and stayed there for 14 non-consecutive weeks. The final single, "Greatest Love of All", became Houston's biggest hit at the time after peaking No. 1 and remaining there for three weeks on the Hot 100 chart, which made her debut the first album by a female artist to yield three No. 1 hits. Houston was No. 1 artist of the year and ''Whitney Houston'' was the No. 1 album of the year on the 1986 ''Billboard'' year-end charts, making her the first female artist to earn that distinction. At the time, Houston released the best-selling debut album by a solo artist. Houston then embarked on her world tour, ''Greatest Love Tour''. The album had become an international success, and was certified 13× platinum (diamond) in the United States alone, and has sold a total of 25 million copies worldwide.
At the 1986 Grammy Awards, Houston was nominated for three awards including Album of the Year. She was not eligible for the Best New Artist category due to her previous hit R&B; duet recording with Teddy Pendergrass in 1984. She won her first Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for "Saving All My Love for You". Houston's performance of the song during the Grammy telecast later earned her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.
Houston won seven American Music Awards in total in 1986 and 1987, and an MTV Video Music Award. The album's popularity would also carry over to the 1987 Grammy Awards when "Greatest Love of All" would receive a Record of the Year nomination. Houston's debut album is listed as one of ''Rolling Stone''s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and on The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Definitive 200 list. Houston's grand entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to ''USA Today''. Following Houston's breakthrough, doors were opened for other African-American female artists such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker to find notable success in popular music and on MTV.
1987–1991: ''Whitney'', ''I'm Your Baby Tonight'' and "The Star Spangled Banner"
With many expectations, Houston's second album, ''Whitney'', was released in June 1987. The album again featured production from Masser, Kashif and Walden as well as Jellybean Benitez. Many critics complained that the material was too similar to her previous album. ''Rolling Stone'' said, "the narrow channel through which this talent has been directed is frustrating". Still, the album enjoyed commercial success. Houston became the first female artist in music history to debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart, and the first artist to enter the albums chart at number one in both the US and UK, while also hitting number one or top ten in dozens of other countries around the world. The album's first single, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)", was also a massive hit worldwide, peaking at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and topping the singles chart in many countries such as Australia, Germany and the UK. The next three singles, "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional", and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" all peaked at number one on the US Hot 100 chart, which gave her a total of seven consecutive number one hits, breaking the record of six previously shared by The Beatles and The Bee Gees. Houston became the first female artist to generate four number-one singles from one album. ''Whitney'' has been certified 9× Platinum in the US for shipments of over 9 million copies, and has sold a total of 20 million copies worldwide.At the 30th Grammy Awards in 1988, Houston was nominated for three awards, including Album of the Year, winning her second Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)". Houston also won two American Music Awards in 1988 and 1989, respectively, and a Soul Train Music Award. Following the release of the album, Houston embarked on the ''Moment of Truth World Tour'', which was one of the ten highest grossing concert tours of 1987. The success of the tours during 1986–87 and her two studio albums ranked Houston No. 8 for the highest earning entertainers list according to ''Forbes'' magazine. She was the highest earning African-American woman overall and the third highest entertainer after Bill Cosby and Eddie Murphy.
Houston was a supporter of Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid movement. During her modeling days, the singer refused to work with any agencies who did business with the then-apartheid South Africa. On June 11, 1988, during the European leg of her tour, Houston joined other musicians to perform a set at Wembley Stadium in London to celebrate a then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday. Over 72,000 people attended Wembley Stadium, and over a billion people tuned in worldwide as the rock concert raised over $1 million for charities while bringing awareness to apartheid. Houston then flew back to the US for a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City in August. The show was a benefit concert that raised a quarter of a million dollars for the United Negro College Fund. In the same year, she recorded a song for NBC's coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics, "One Moment in Time", which became a Top 5 hit in the US, while reaching number one in the UK and Germany. With her world tour continuing overseas, Houston was still one of the top 20 highest earning entertainers for 1987–88 according to ''Forbes'' magazine.
In 1989, Houston formed The Whitney Houston Foundation For Children, a non-profit organization that has raised funds for the needs of children around the world. The organization cares for homelessness, children with cancer or AIDS, and other issues of self-empowerment. With the success of her first two albums, Houston was undoubtedly an international crossover superstar, the most prominent since Michael Jackson, appealing to all demographics. However, some black critics believed she was "selling out". They felt her singing on record lacked the soul that was present during her live concerts.
At the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards, when Houston's name was called out for a nomination, a few in the audience jeered. Houston defended herself against the criticism, stating, "If you're gonna have a long career, there's a certain way to do it, and I did it that way. I'm not ashamed of it". Houston took a more urban direction with her third studio album, ''I'm Your Baby Tonight'', released in November 1990. She produced and chose producers for this album and as a result, it featured production and collaborations with L.A. Reid and Babyface, Luther Vandross, and Stevie Wonder. The album showed Houston's versatility on a new batch of tough rhythmic grooves, soulful ballads and up-tempo dance tracks. Reviews were mixed. ''Rolling Stone'' felt it was her "best and most integrated album". while ''Entertainment Weekly'', at the time thought Houston's shift towards an urban direction was "superficial".
The album contained several hits: the first two singles, "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "All the Man That I Need" peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart; "Miracle" peaked at number nine; "My Name Is Not Susan" peaked in the top twenty; "I Belong to You" reached the top ten of the US R&B; chart and garnered Houston a Grammy nomination; and the sixth single, the Stevie Wonder duet "We Didn't Know", reached the R&B; top twenty. The album peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200 and went on to be certified 4× platinum in the US while selling twelve million total worldwide.
In 1990, Houston was the spokesperson for a youth leadership conference hosted in Washington, D.C. She had a private audience with President George H. W. Bush in the Oval Office to discuss the associated challenges.
With America entangled in the Persian Gulf War, Houston performed "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium on January 27, 1991. Due to overwhelming response to her rendition, it was released as a commercial single and video of her performance, and reached the Top 20 on the US Hot 100, making her the only act to turn the national anthem into a pop hit of that magnitude (Jose Feliciano's version reached No. 50 in November 1968). Houston donated all her share of the proceeds to the American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund. As a result, the singer was named to the Red Cross Board of Governors.
Her rendition was considered the benchmark for singers and critically acclaimed. ''Rolling Stone'' commented that "her singing stirs such strong patriotism. Unforgettable", and the performance ranked No. 1 on the 25 most memorable music moments in NFL history list. VH1 listed the performance as one of the greatest moments that rocked TV. Following the attacks on 9/11, it was released again by Arista Records, all profits going towards the firefighters and victims of the attacks. This time it peaked at No. 6 in the Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Later in 1991, Houston put together her ''Welcome Home Heroes'' concert with HBO for the soldiers fighting in the Persian Gulf War and their families. The free concert took place at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia in front of 3,500 servicemen and women. HBO descrambled the concert so that it was free for everyone to watch. Houston's concert gave HBO its highest ratings ever. She then embarked on the ''I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour''.
1992–1994: ''The Bodyguard''
With the commercial success of her albums, movie offers poured in, including offers to work with Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones, and Spike Lee; but Houston felt the time wasn't right. Houston's first film role was in ''The Bodyguard'', released in 1992 and co-starring Kevin Costner. Houston played Rachel Marron, a star who is stalked by a crazed fan and hires a bodyguard to protect her. ''USA Today'' listed it as one of the 25 most memorable movie moments of the last 25 years in 2007. Houston's mainstream appeal allowed people to look at the movie color-blind.Still, controversy arose as some felt the film's advertising intentionally hid Houston's face to hide the film's interracial relationship. In an interview with ''Rolling Stone'' in 1993, the singer commented that "people know who Whitney Houston is – I'm black. You can't hide that fact." Houston received a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress. ''The Washington Post'' said Houston is "doing nothing more than playing Houston, comes out largely unscathed if that is possible in so cockamamie an undertaking", and ''The New York Times'' commented that she lacked passion with her co-star. Despite the film's mixed reviews, it was hugely successful at the box office, grossing more than $121 million in the U.S. and $410 million worldwide, making it one of the top 100 grossing films in film history at its time of release, though it is no longer in the top 100 due to rising ticket prices since the time the film was released.
The film's soundtrack also enjoyed big success. Houston executive produced and contributed six songs for the motion picture's adjoining soundtrack album. ''Rolling Stone'' said it is "nothing more than pleasant, tasteful and urbane". The soundtrack's lead single was "I Will Always Love You", written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1974. Houston's version of the song was acclaimed by many critics, regarding it as her "signature song" or "iconic performance". ''Rolling Stone'' and ''USA Today'' called her rendition "the tour-de-force". The single peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for a then-record-breaking 14 weeks, number one on the R&B; chart for a then-record-breaking 11 weeks, and number one on the Adult Contemporary charts for five weeks, thus becoming the first single to top those three charts simultaneously for five weeks.
The single was certified 4× platinum by the RIAA, making Houston the first female artist with a single to reach that level in the RIAA history and becoming the best-selling single by a female artist in the US. The song also became a global success, hitting number-one in almost all countries, and one of the best-selling singles of all time with 12 million copies sold. The soundtrack topped the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and remained there for 20 non-consecutive weeks, the longest tenure by any album on the chart in the Nielsen SoundScan era, and became one of the fastest selling albums ever. During Christmas week of 1992, the soundtrack sold over a million copies within a week, becoming the first album to achieve that feat under Nielsen SoundScan system. With the follow-up singles "I'm Every Woman", a Chaka Khan cover, and "I Have Nothing" both reaching the top five, Houston became the first female artist to ever have three singles in the Top 11 simultaneously. The album was certified 17× platinum in the US alone, with worldwide sales of 44 million, making ''The Bodyguard'' the biggest-selling album by a female act on the list of the world's Top 10 best-selling albums, topping Shania Twain's 40 million sold for ''Come On Over''.
Houston won three Grammys for the album in 1994, including two of the Academy's highest honors, Album of the Year and Record of the Year. In addition, she won a record 8 American Music Awards at that year's ceremony including the Award of Merit, 11 Billboard Music Awards, 3 Soul Train Music Awards in 1993–94 including Sammy Davis, Jr. Award as Entertainer of the Year, 5 NAACP Image Awards including Entertainer of the Year, a record 5 World Music Awards, and a BRIT award. Following the success of the project, Houston embarked on another expansive global tour, ''The Bodyguard World Tour'', in 1993–94. Her concerts, movie, and recording grosses made her the third highest earning female entertainer of 1993–94, just behind Oprah Winfrey and Barbra Streisand according to ''Forbes'' magazine. Houston placed in the top five of ''Entertainment Weekly''s annual "Entertainer of the Year" ranking and was labeled by ''Premiere'' magazine as one of the 100 most powerful people in Hollywood.
In October 1994, Houston attended and performed at a state dinner in the White House honoring newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela. At the end of her world tour, Houston performed three concerts in South Africa to honor President Mandela, playing to over 200,000 people. This would make the singer the first major musician to visit the newly unified and apartheid free nation following Mandela's winning election. The concert was broadcast live on HBO with funds of the concerts being donated to various charities in South Africa. The event was considered the nation's "biggest media event since the inauguration of Nelson Mandela".
1995–1997: ''Waiting to Exhale'', ''The Preacher's Wife'', and ''Cinderella''
In 1995, Houston starred alongside Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon in her second film ''Waiting to Exhale'', a motion picture about four African-American women struggling with relationships. Houston played the lead character Savannah Jackson, a TV producer in love with a married man. She chose the role because she saw the film as "a breakthrough for the image of black women because it presents them both as professionals and as caring mothers". After opening at number one and grossing $67 million in the US at the box office and $81 million worldwide, it proved that a movie primarily targeting a black audience can cross over to success, while paving the way for other all-black movies such as ''How Stella Got Her Groove Back'' and the Tyler Perry movies that have become popular in the 2000s. The film is also notable for its portrayal of black women as strong middle class citizens as opposed to stereotypes. The reviews were mainly positive for the ensemble cast. ''The New York Times'' said "Ms. Houston has shed the defensive hauteur that made her portrayal of a pop star in 'The Bodyguard' seem so distant." Houston was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture", but lost to her co-star Bassett.The film's accompanying soundtrack, ''Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album'', was produced by Houston and Babyface. Though Babyface originally wanted Houston to record the entire album, she declined. Instead, she "wanted it to be an album of women with vocal distinction", and thus gathered several African-American female artists for the soundtrack, to go along with the film's strong women message. As a result, the album featured a range of contemporary R&B; female recording artists along with Houston, such as Mary J Blige, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, Patti Labelle, and Brandy. Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" peaked at No. 1, and then spent a record eleven weeks at the No. 2 spot and eight weeks on top of the R&B; Charts. "Count On Me", a duet with CeCe Winans, hit the US Top 10; and Houston's third contribution, "Why Does It Hurt So Bad", made the Top 30. The album debuted at No. 1, and was certified 7× Platinum in the United States, denoting shipments of seven million copies. The soundtrack received strong reviews as ''Entertainment Weekly'' said "the album goes down easy, just as you'd expect from a package framed by Whitney Houston tracks.... the soundtrack waits to exhale, hovering in sensuous suspense" and has since ranked it as one of the 100 Best Movie Soundtracks. Later that year, Houston's children's charity organization was awarded a VH1 Honor for all the charitable work.
In 1996, Houston starred in the holiday comedy ''The Preacher's Wife'', with Denzel Washington. She plays a gospel-singing wife of a pastor (Courtney B. Vance). It was largely an updated remake of the 1948 film "The Bishop's Wife" which starred Loretta Young, David Niven and Cary Grant. Houston earned $10 million for the role, making her one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood at the time and the highest earning African American actress in Hollywood. The movie, with its all African-American cast, was a moderate success, earning approximately $50 million at the U.S. box offices. The movie gave Houston her strongest reviews so far. ''The San Francisco Chronicle'' said Houston "is rather angelic herself, displaying a divine talent for being virtuous and flirtatious at the same time" and that she "exudes gentle yet spirited warmth, especially when praising the Lord in her gorgeous singing voice". Houston was again nominated for an NAACP Image Award and won for Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture.
Houston recorded and co-produced, with Mervyn Warren, the film's accompanying gospel soundtrack. ''The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album'' included six gospel songs with Georgia Mass Choir that were recorded at the Great Star Rising Baptist Church in Atlanta. Houston also duetted with gospel legend Shirley Caesar. The album sold six million copies worldwide and scored hit singles with "I Believe in You and Me" and "Step by Step", becoming the largest selling gospel album of all time. The album received mainly positive reviews. Some critics, such as that of ''USA Today'', noted the presence of her emotional depth, while ''The Times'' said "To hear Houston going at full throttle with the 35 piece Georgia Mass Choir struggling to keep up is to realise what her phenomenal voice was made for".
In 1997, Houston's production company changed its name to BrownHouse Productions and was joined by Debra Martin Chase. Their goal was "to show aspects of the lives of African-Americans that have not been brought to the screen before" while improving how African-Americans are portrayed in film and television. Their first project was a made-for-television remake of Rodgers & Hammerstein's ''Cinderella''. In addition to co-producing, Houston starred in the movie as the Fairy Godmother along with Brandy, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, and Bernadette Peters. Houston was initially offered the role of Cinderella in 1993, but other projects intervened. The film is notable for its multi-racial cast and nonstereotypical message. An estimated 60 million viewers tuned into the special giving ABC its highest TV ratings in 16 years. The movie received seven Emmy nominations including Outstanding Variety, Musical or Comedy, while winning Outstanding Art Direction in a Variety, Musical or Comedy Special.
Houston and Chase then obtained the rights to the story of Dorothy Dandridge. Houston was to play Dandridge, who was the first African American actress to be nominated for an Oscar. She wanted the story told with dignity and honor. However, Halle Berry also had rights to the project and she got her version going first. Later that year, Houston paid tribute to her idols such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Dionne Warwick by performing their hits during the three-night HBO Concert ''Classic Whitney'', live from Washington, D.C. The special raised over $300,000 for the Children's Defense Fund. Houston received The Quincy Jones Award for outstanding career achievements in the field of entertainment at the 12th Soul Train Music Awards.
1998–2000: ''My Love Is Your Love'' and ''Whitney: The Greatest Hits''
After spending much of the early and mid 1990s working on motion pictures and their soundtrack albums, Houston's first studio album in eight years, the critically acclaimed ''My Love Is Your Love'', was released in November 1998. Though originally slated to be a greatest hits album with a handful of new songs, recording sessions were so fruitful that a new full-length studio album was released. Recorded and mixed in only six weeks, it featured production from Rodney Jerkins, Wyclef Jean and Missy Elliott. The album debuted at number thirteen, its peak position, on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. It had a funkier and edgier sound than past releases and saw Houston handling urban dance, hip hop, mid-tempo R&B;, reggae, torch songs, and ballads all with great dexterity.From late 1998 to early 2000, the album spawned several hit singles: "When You Believe" (US No. 15, UK No. 4), a duet with Mariah Carey for 1998's ''The Prince of Egypt'' soundtrack, which also became an international hit as it peaked in the Top 10 in several countries and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song; "Heartbreak Hotel" (US No. 2, UK No. 25) featured Faith Evans and Kelly Price, received a 1999 MTV VMA nomination for Best R&B; Video, and number one on the US R&B; chart for seven weeks; "It's Not Right But It's Okay" (US No. 4, UK No. 3) won Houston her sixth Grammy Award for Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance; "My Love Is Your Love" (US No. 4, UK No. 2) with 3 million copies sold worldwide; and "I Learned from the Best" (US No. 27, UK No. 19). These singles became international hits as well, and all the singles, except "When You Believe", became number one hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance/Club Play chart. The album sold four million copies in America, making it certified 4× platinum, and a total of eleven million copies worldwide.
The album gave Houston some of her strongest reviews ever. ''Rolling Stone'' said Houston was singing "with a bite in her voice" and ''The Village Voice'' called it "Whitney's sharpest and most satisfying so far". In 1999, Houston participated in VH-1's Divas Live '99, alongside Brandy, Mary J. Blige, Tina Turner, and Cher. The same year, Houston hit the road with her 70 date ''My Love Is Your Love World Tour''. The European leg of the tour was Europe's highest grossing arena tour of the year. In November 1999, Houston was named Top-selling R&B; Female Artist of the Century with certified US sales of 51 million copies at the time and ''The Bodyguard Soundtrack'' was named the Top-selling Soundtrack Album of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). She also won The Artist of the Decade, Female award for extraordinary artistic contributions during the 1990s at the 14th Soul Train Music Awards, and an MTV Europe Music Award for Best R&B;.
In May 2000, ''Whitney: The Greatest Hits'' was released worldwide. The double disc set peaked at number five in the United States, reaching number one in the United Kingdom. In addition, the album reached the Top 10 in many other countries. While ballad songs were left unchanged, the album features house/club remixes of many of Houston's up-tempo hits. Included on the album were four new songs: "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (a duet with Enrique Iglesias), "Same Script, Different Cast" (a duet with Deborah Cox), "If I Told You That" (a duet with George Michael), and "Fine", and three hits that had never appeared on a Houston album: "One Moment in Time", "The Star Spangled Banner", and "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful", a duet with Jermaine Jackson from his 1986 ''Precious Moments'' album. Along with the album, an accompanying VHS and DVD was released featuring the music videos to Houston's greatest hits, as well as several hard-to-find live performances including her 1983 debut on ''The Merv Griffin Show'', and interviews. The greatest hits album was certified 3× platinum in the US, with worldwide sales of 10 million.
2000–2005: ''Just Whitney''
In August 2001, Houston signed the biggest record deal in music history with Arista/BMG. She renewed her contract for $100 million to deliver six new albums, on which she would also earn royalties. She later made an appearance on ''Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special''. Her extremely thin frame further spurred rumors of drug use. Houston's publicist said, "Whitney has been under stress due to family matters, and when she is under stress she doesn't eat." The singer was scheduled for a second performance the following night but canceled. Within weeks, Houston's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" would be re-released after the September 11 attacks, with the proceeds donated to the New York Firefighters 9/11 Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Fraternal Order of Police. The song peaked at No. 6 this time on the US Hot 100, topping its previous position.In 2002, Houston did an interview with Diane Sawyer to promote her then-upcoming album. The interview was the highest-rated television interview in history. During the prime-time special, Houston spoke on topics including rumored drug use and marriage. She was asked about the ongoing drug rumors and replied, "First of all, let's get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. Okay? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is wack." The line was from Keith Haring's mural which was painted in 1986 on the handball court at 128th Street and 2nd Avenue. Houston did, however, admit to using other substances at times, including cocaine.
In December 2002, Houston released her fifth studio album, ''Just Whitney...''. The album included productions from then-husband Bobby Brown, as well as Missy Elliott and Babyface, and marked the first time that Houston did not produce with Clive Davis as Davis had been released by top management at BMG. Upon its release, ''Just Whitney...'' received mixed reviews. The album debuted at number 9 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and it had the highest first week sales of any album Houston had ever released. The four singles released from the album, didn't fare well on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but became Hot Dance Club Play hits. ''Just Whitney...'' was certified platinum in the United States, and sold approximately three million worldwide.
On a June 2003 trip to Israel, Houston said of her visit, "I've never felt like this in any other country. I feel at home, I feel wonderful."
In late 2003, Houston released her first Christmas album ''One Wish: The Holiday Album'', with a collection of traditional holiday songs. Houston produced the album with Mervyn Warren and Gordon Chambers. A single titled "One Wish (for Christmas)" reached the Top 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and the album was certified gold in the US. Having always been a touring artist, Houston spent most of 2004 touring and performing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Russia. In September 2004, she gave a surprise performance at the World Music Awards in a tribute to long time friend Clive Davis. After the show, Davis and Houston announced plans to go into studio to work on her new album.
In early 2004, husband Bobby Brown starred in his own reality TV program, ''Being Bobby Brown'' (on the Bravo network), which provided a view into the domestic goings-on in the Brown household. Though it was Brown's vehicle, Houston was a prominent figure throughout the show, receiving as much screen time as Brown. The series aired in 2005 and featured Houston in, what some would say, not her most flattering moments. The ''Hollywood Reporter'' said it was "undoubtedly the most disgusting and execrable series ever to ooze its way onto television." Despite the perceived train-wreck nature of the show, the series gave Bravo its highest ratings in its time slot and continued Houston's successful forays into film and television. The show was not renewed for a second season after Houston stated that she would no longer appear in it, and Brown and Bravo could not come to an agreement for another season.
2006–2012: Return to music, ''I Look to You'', tour and film comeback
Houston released her new album, ''I Look to You'', in August 2009. The album's first two singles are "I Look to You" and "Million Dollar Bill". The album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1, with Houston's best opening-week sales of 305,000 copies, marking Houston's first number one album since '' The Bodyguard'', and Houston's first studio album to reach number one since 1987's ''Whitney''. Houston also appeared on European television programs to promote the album. She performed the song "I Look to You" on the German television show ''Wetten, dass..?''. Three days later, she performed the worldwide first single from I Look To You, Million Dollar Bill, on the French television show Le Grand Journal. Houston appeared as guest mentor on ''The X Factor'' in the United Kingdom. She performed "Million Dollar Bill" on the following day's results show, completing the song even as a strap in the back of her dress popped open two minutes into the performance. She later commented that she "sang [herself] out of [her] clothes".The performance was poorly received by the British media, and was variously described as "weird" and "ungracious", "shambolic" and a "flop". Despite this reception, "Million Dollar Bill" jumped to its peak from 14 to number 5 (her first UK top 5 for over a decade), and three weeks after release "I Look to You" went gold. Houston appeared on the Italian version of ''The X Factor'', performing the same song "Million Dollar Bill" to excellent reviews. She was awarded the Gold Certificate for achieving over 50,000 CD sales of "I Look To You" in Italy. In November, Houston performed "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" at the 2009 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California. Two days later, Houston performed both songs on the Dancing With The Stars season 9 finale. As of December 2009, "I Look to You" has been certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than one million copies in the United States. On January 26, 2010, her debut album was re-released in a special edition entitled ''Whitney Houston – The Deluxe Anniversary Edition''.
Houston later embarked on a world tour, entitled the Nothing but Love World Tour. It was her first world tour in over ten years and was announced as a triumphant comeback. However, some poor reviews and rescheduled concerts brought some negative media attention. Houston canceled some concerts due to illness and received widespread negative reviews from fans who were disappointed in the quality of her voice and performance. Some fans reportedly walked out of her concerts.
In January 2010, Houston was nominated for two NAACP Image Awards, one for Best Female Artist and one for Best Music Video. She won the award for Best Music Video for her single "I Look to You". On January 16, she received The BET Honors Award for Entertainer citing her lifetime achievements spanning over 25 years in the industry. The 2010 BET Honors award was held at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. and aired on February 1, 2010. Jennifer Hudson and Kim Burrell performed in honor of her, garnering positive reviews. Houston also received a nomination from the Echo Awards, Germany's version of the Grammys, for Best International Artist. In April 2010, the UK newspaper ''The Mirror'' reported that Houston was thinking about recording her eighth studio album and wanted to collaborate with will.i.am (of The Black Eyed Peas), her first choice for a collaboration.
Houston also performed the song "I Look to You" on the 2011 BET ''Celebration of Gospel'', with gospel–jazz singer Kim Burrell, held at the Staples Center, Los Angeles. The performance aired on January 30, 2011. Early in 2011, she gave an uneven performance in tribute to cousin Dionne Warwick at music mogul Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy gala. In May 2011, Houston enrolled in a rehabilitation center again, as an out-patient, citing drug and alcohol problems. A representative for Houston said that it was a part of Houston's "longstanding recovery process".
In September 2011, ''The Hollywood Reporter'' announced that Houston would produce and star alongside Jordin Sparks and Mike Epps in the remake of the 1976 film ''Sparkle''. In the film, Houston portrays Sparks' "not-so encouraging mother". Houston would have executive producer credits on top of acting credits according to Debra Martin Chase, producer of ''Sparkle''. She stated that Houston deserved the title considering she had been there from the beginning in 2001, when Houston obtained ''Sparkle'' production rights. R&B; singer Aaliyah – originally tapped to star as Sparkle – died in a 2001 plane crash. Her death derailed production, which would have begun in 2002. Houston's remake of ''Sparkle'' was filmed in the fall of 2011, and is set for release by TriStar Pictures in August 2012.
Personal life
Throughout the 1980s, Houston was romantically linked to American football star Randall Cunningham and actor Eddie Murphy, whom she dated. She then met R&B; singer Bobby Brown at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards. After a three-year courtship, the two were married on July 18, 1992. On March 4, 1993, Houston gave birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown, her only child, and his fourth. Brown would go on to have several run-ins with the law, including some jail time.Though Houston was seen as a "good girl" with a perfect image in the 1980s and early 1990s, by the late 1990s, her behavior changed. She was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals, and canceling concerts and talk-show appearances. With the missed performances and weight loss, rumors about Houston using drugs with her husband circulated. On January 11, 2000, airport security guards discovered marijuana in both Houston's and husband Bobby Brown's luggage at a Hawaii airport, but the two boarded the plane and departed before authorities could arrive. Charges were later dropped against them, but rumors of drug usage between the couple would continue to surface. Two months later, Clive Davis was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Houston had been scheduled to perform at the event, but failed to show up.
Shortly thereafter, Houston was scheduled to perform at the Academy Awards but was fired from the event by musical director and longtime friend Burt Bacharach. Her publicist cited throat problems as the reason for the cancellation. In his book ''The Big Show: High Times and Dirty Dealings Backstage at the Academy Awards'', author Steve Pond revealed that "Houston's voice was shaky, she seemed distracted and jittery, and her attitude was casual, almost defiant", and that while Houston was to sing "Over the Rainbow", she would start singing a different song. Houston later admitted to having been fired. Later that year, Houston's long-time executive assistant and friend, Robyn Crawford, resigned from Houston's management company.
In 2002, Houston became involved in a legal dispute with John Houston Enterprise. Although the company was started by her father to manage her career, it was actually run by company president Kevin Skinner. Skinner filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit and sued for $100 million (but lost), stating that Houston owed the company previously unpaid compensation for helping to negotiate her $100 million contract with Arista Records and for sorting out legal matters. Houston stated that her 81-year-old father had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Although Skinner tried to claim otherwise, John Houston never appeared in court. Houston's father later died in February 2003. The lawsuit was dismissed on April 5, 2004, and Skinner was awarded nothing.
After years of controversy and turmoil, Houston separated from Bobby Brown in September 2006, filing for divorce the following month. On February 1, 2007, Houston asked the court to fast track their divorce. The divorce was finalized on April 24, 2007, with Houston granted custody of the couple's daughter. On May 4, Houston sold the suburban Atlanta home featured in ''Being Bobby Brown'' for $1.19 million. A few days later, Brown sued Houston in Orange County, California court in an attempt to change the terms of their custody agreement. Brown also sought child and spousal support from Houston. In the lawsuit, Brown claimed that financial and emotional problems prevented him from properly responding to Houston's divorce petition. Brown lost at his court hearing as the judge dismissed his appeal to overrule the custody terms, leaving Houston with full custody and Brown with no spousal support. In March 2007, Clive Davis of Arista Records announced that Houston would begin recording a new album. In October 2007, Arista released another compilation ''The Ultimate Collection'' outside the United States.
Houston gave her first interview in seven years in September 2009, appearing on Oprah Winfrey's season premiere. The interview was billed as "the most anticipated music interview of the decade". Whitney admitted on the show to using drugs with former husband Bobby Brown, who "laced marijuana with rock cocaine". By 1996, she told Oprah, "[doing drugs] was an everyday thing... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself."
Relations
Death
On February 9, 2012, Houston visited singers Brandy and Monica, together with Clive Davis, at their rehearsals for Davis' pre-Grammy Awards party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverley Hills. That same day, she made her last public performance, when she joined Kelly Price on stage in Hollywood, California, and sang "Jesus Loves Me".On February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead in suite 434 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, submerged in the bathtub. The cause of death was not immediately known. It was later ruled by the coroner to have been "accidental drowning". Beverly Hills paramedics arrived at approximately 3:30 p.m. and found the singer unresponsive and performed CPR. Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. PST. Local police said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent." On March 22, 2012, the Los Angeles County coroner's office reported the cause of Houston's death was drowning and the "effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use". The office stated the amount of cocaine found in Houston's body indicates she used the substance shortly before her death. Toxicology results revealed additional drugs in her system: Benadryl, Xanax, marijuana and Flexiril. The manner of death was listed as an "accident".
Houston had an invitation-only memorial on Saturday, February 18, 2012, at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. The service was scheduled for two hours, but lasted for four hours. Among those who performed at the funeral were Stevie Wonder (rewritten version of "Ribbon in the Sky," and "Love's in Need of Love Today"), CeCe Winans ("Don't Cry" and "Jesus Loves Me"), Alicia Keys ("Send Me an Angel"), Kim Burrell (rewritten version of "A Change Is Gonna Come") and R. Kelly ("I Look to You"), interspersed with hymns by the church choir and remarks by Clive Davis, Houston’s record producer; Kevin Costner; Ricky Minor her music director; her cousin Dionne Warwick and Ray Watson, her security guard for the past 11 years. Aretha Franklin was listed on the program and was expected to sing, but was unable to attend the service. Bobby Brown, Houston's ex-husband, was also invited to the funeral but he left before the service began. Houston was buried on Sunday, February 19, 2012, in Fairview Cemetery, in Westfield, New Jersey next to her father, John Russell Houston, who died in 2003.
Reaction
The Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party that Houston was expected to attend, and that featured many of the biggest names in music and movies, went on as scheduled although it was quickly turned into a tribute to Houston. Davis spoke about Houston's death at the evening's start: "By now you have all learned of the unspeakably tragic news of our beloved Whitney's passing. I don't have to mask my emotion in front of a room full of so many dear friends. I am personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years. Whitney was so full of life. She was so looking forward to tonight even though she wasn't scheduled to perform. Whitney was a beautiful person and a talent beyond compare. She graced this stage with her regal presence and gave so many memorable performances here over the years. Simply put, Whitney would have wanted the music to go on and her family asked that we carry on."Tony Bennett spoke of Houston's death before performing at Davis' party. He said, "First, it was Michael Jackson, then Amy Winehouse, now, the magnificent Whitney Houston". Bennett sang "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" and said of Houston, "When I first heard her, I called Clive Davis and said, 'You finally found the greatest singer I've ever heard in my life.'"
Some celebrities opposed Davis' decision to continue on the party while a police investigation was being conducted in Houston's hotel room and her body was still in the building. Chaka Khan, in an interview with CNN's Piers Morgan on February 13, 2012, shared that she felt the party should have been canceled, saying "I thought that was complete insanity. And knowing Whitney I don't believe that she would have said 'the show must go on.' She's the kind of woman that would've said 'Stop everything! Un-unh. I'm not going to be there.' [...] I don't know what could motivate a person to have a party in a building where the person whose life he had influenced so enormously and whose life had been affected by hers. They were like... I don't understand how that party went on." Sharon Osbourne condemned the Davis party, declaring "I think it was disgraceful that the party went on. I don't want to be in a hotel room when there's someone you admire who's tragically lost their life four floors up. I'm not interested in being in that environment and I think when you grieve someone, you do it privately, you do it with people who understand you. I thought it was so wrong."
Several other celebrities released statements responding to Houston's death. Dolly Parton, whose song "I Will Always Love You" was covered by Houston, said, "I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed'." Aretha Franklin said, "It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen." Mariah Carey said, "Heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend ... She will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth." Oprah Winfrey, who did an in-depth interview with Houston in 2009, wrote on Twitter "To me Whitney was THE VOICE. We got to hear a part of God every time she sang. Heart is heavy, spirit grateful for the GIFT of her." Quincy Jones said, "I am absolutely heartbroken at the news of Whitney’s passing. Ashford & Simpson first made me aware of Whitney when she was just sixteen, and I always regretted not having had the opportunity to work with her. She was a true original and a talent beyond compare. I will miss her terribly."
Moments after news of her death emerged, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News all broke from their regularly scheduled programming to dedicate time to non-stop coverage of Houston's death. All three featured live interviews with people who knew Houston including those that have worked with her, interviewed her along with some of her peers in the music industry. ''Saturday Night Live'' displayed a photo of a smiling Houston, alongside Molly Shannon, from her 1996 appearance. MTV and VH-1 interrupted their regularly scheduled programming on Sunday February 12 to air many of Houston's classic videos with MTV often airing news segments in between and featuring various reactions from fans and celebrities.
Houston's former husband, Bobby Brown, was reported to be "in and out of crying fits" since receiving the news. He did not cancel a scheduled performance and within hours of his ex-wife's sudden death, an audience in Mississippi observed as Brown blew kisses skyward, tearfully saying: "I love you, Whitney".
Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the 54th Grammy Awards, announced that Jennifer Hudson would perform a tribute to Houston at the February 12, 2012, awards. He said "event organizers believed Hudson – an Academy Award-winning actress and Grammy Award-winning artist – could perform a respectful musical tribute to Houston". Ehrlich went on to say: "It's too fresh in everyone's memory to do more at this time, but we would be remiss if we didn't recognize Whitney's remarkable contribution to music fans in general, and in particular her close ties with the Grammy telecast and her Grammy wins and nominations over the years". At the start of the awards ceremony, a footage of Houston performing "I Will Always Love You" from 1994 Grammys was shown following a prayer read by host, LL Cool J. Later in the program following a montage of photos of musicians who died in 2011 with Houston singing "Saving All My Love for You" at the 1986 Grammys, Hudson paid tribute to Houston and the other artists by performing "I Will Always Love You".
Houston was honored in the form of various tributes at the 43rd NAACP Image Awards, held on February 17. A image montage of Houston and important black figures who died in 2011 was followed by video footage from the 1994 ceremony, which depicted her accepting two Image Awards for outstanding female artist and entertainer of the year. Following the video tribute, Yolanda Adams delivered a rendition of "I Love the Lord" from ''The Preacher's Wife Soundtrack''. In the finale of the ceremony, Kirk Franklin and The Family started their performance with "Greatest Love of All." The 2012 BRIT Awards, which took place at London's O2 Arena on February 21, also paid tribute to Houston by playing a 30-second-video montage of her music videos with a snippet of "One Moment in Time" as the background music in the ceremony's first segment. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said that all New Jersey state flags would be flown at half-staff on Tuesday, February 21 to honor Houston. Accompanied by Esperanza Spalding belting out "What a Wonderful World" along with the Southern California Children's Choir, Houston was featured in the ''In Memoriam'' montage alongside other cinema greats at the 84th Academy Awards, held at the Hollywood and Highland Center on February 26, 2012.
Artistry and legacy
Voice
Houston was a mezzo-soprano, and was commonly referred to as "The Voice" in reference to her exceptional vocal talent. Her vocal range extended from G below middle C (G3) to high B-flat (B5); she could belt out to treble F (F5). She was third in MTV's list of 22 Greatest Voices, and sixth on ''Online Magazine COVE''s list of the 100 Best Pop Vocalists with a score of 48.5/50. In 2008, ''Rolling Stone'' listed Houston as the thirty-fourth of the 100 greatest singers of all time, stating, "Her voice is a mammoth, coruscating cry: Few vocalists could get away with opening a song with 45 unaccompanied seconds of singing, but Houston's powerhouse version of Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You' is a tour de force." Matthew Perpetua from ''Rolling Stone'' also eulogized Houston's vocal, enumerating ten performances, including "How Will I Know" from the 1986 MTV VMAs and "The Star Spangled Banner" at the 1991 Super Bowl. "Whitney Houston was blessed with an astonishing vocal range and extraordinary technical skill, but what truly made her a great singer was her ability to connect with a song and drive home its drama and emotion with incredible precision," he stated. "She was a brilliant performer, and her live shows often eclipsed her studio recordings."Jon Caramanica of ''The New York Times'' commented, "Her voice was clean and strong, with barely any grit, well suited to the songs of love and aspiration. [...] Hers was a voice of triumph and achievement, and it made for any number of stunning, time-stopping vocal performances." Mariah Carey stated, "Whitney has a really rich, strong mid-belt that very few people have. She sounds really good, really strong." While in her review of ''I Look to You'', music critic Ann Powers of the ''Los Angeles Times'' writes, "[Houston's voice] stands like monuments upon the landscape of 20th century pop, defining the architecture of their times, sheltering the dreams of millions and inspiring the climbing careers of countless imitators", adding "When she was at her best, nothing could match her huge, clean, cool mezzo-soprano".
Lauren Everitt from BBC News Magazine commented on melisma used in Houston's recording and its influence. "An early 'I' in Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' takes nearly six seconds to sing. In those seconds the former gospel singer-turned-pop star packs a series of different notes into the single syllable," stated Everitt. "The technique is repeated throughout the song, most pronouncedly on every 'I' and 'you'. The vocal technique is called melisma, and it has inspired a host of imitators. Other artists may have used it before Houston, but it was her rendition of Dolly Parton's love song that pushed the technique into the mainstream in the 90s. [...] But perhaps what Houston nailed best was moderation." Everitt said that "[i]n a climate of reality shows ripe with 'oversinging', it's easy to appreciate Houston's ability to save melisma for just the right moment".
Houston's vocal stylings have had a significant impact on the music industry. She has been called the "Queen of Pop" for her influence during the 1990s, commercially rivaling Mariah Carey and Celine Dion. Stephen Holden from ''The New York Times'', in his review of Houston's Radio City Music Hall concert on July 20, 1993, praised her attitude as a singer, writing, "Whitney Houston is one of the few contemporary pop stars of whom it might be said: the voice suffices. While almost every performer whose albums sell in the millions calls upon an entertainer's bag of tricks, from telling jokes to dancing to circus pyrotechnics, Ms. Houston would rather just stand there and sing." With regard to her singing style, he added: "Her [Houston's] stylistic trademarks – shivery melismas that ripple up in the middle of a song, twirling embellishments at the ends of phrases that suggest an almost breathless exhilaration – infuse her interpretations with flashes of musical and emotional lightning."
Elysa Gardner of the ''Los Angeles Times'' in her review for ''The Preacher's Wife Soundtrack'' praised Houston's vocal ability highly, commenting, "She is first and foremost a pop diva – at that, the best one we have. No other female pop star – not Mariah Carey, not Celine Dion, not Barbra Streisand – quite rivals Houston in her exquisite vocal fluidity and purity of tone, and her ability to infuse a lyric with mesmerizing melodrama."
Influence
During the 1980s, MTV was coming into its own and received criticism for not playing enough videos by black artists. With Michael Jackson breaking down the color barrier for black male artists, Houston did the same for black female artists. She became the first black female artist to receive heavy rotation on the network following the success of the "How Will I Know" video. Following Houston's breakthrough, other African-American female artists, such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker, were successful in popular music. Baker commented that "Because of what Whitney and Sade did, there was an opening for me... For radio stations, black women singers aren't taboo anymore."Allmusic noted her contribution to the success of black artists on the pop scene, commenting, "Houston was able to handle big adult contemporary ballads, effervescent, stylish dance-pop, and slick urban contemporary soul with equal dexterity" and that "the result was an across-the-board appeal that was matched by scant few artists of her era, and helped her become one of the first black artists to find success on MTV in Michael Jackson's wake". ''The New York Times'' stated that "Houston was a major catalyst for a movement within black music that recognized the continuity of soul, pop, jazz and gospel vocal traditions". Richard Corliss of ''Time'' magazine commented on her initial success breaking various barriers:
Of her first album's ten cuts, six were ballads. This chanteuse [Houston] had to fight for air play with hard rockers. The young lady had to stand uncowed in the locker room of macho rock. The soul strutter had to seduce a music audience that anointed few black artists with superstardom. [...] She was a phenomenon waiting to happen, a canny tapping of the listener's yen for a return to the musical middle. And because every new star creates her own genre, her success has helped other blacks, other women, other smooth singers find an avid reception in the pop marketplace.
Stephen Holden of ''The New York Times'' said that Houston "revitalized the tradition of strong gospel-oriented pop-soul singing". Ann Powers of the ''Los Angeles Times'' referred to the singer as a "national treasure". Jon Caramanica, other music critic of ''The New York Times'', called Houston "R&B;'s great modernizer," adding "slowly but surely reconciling the ambition and praise of the church with the movements and needs of the body and the glow of the mainstream". He also drew comparisons between Houston's influence and other big names' on 1980s pop:
She was, alongside Michael Jackson and Madonna, one of the crucial figures to hybridize pop in the 1980s, though her strategy was far less radical than that of her peers. Jackson and Madonna were by turns lascivious and brutish and, crucially, willing to let their production speak more loudly than their voices, an option Ms. Houston never went for. Also, she was less prolific than either of them, achieving most of her renown on the strength of her first three solo albums and one soundtrack, released from 1985 to 1992. If she was less influential than they were in the years since, it was only because her gift was so rare, so impossible to mimic. Jackson and Madonna built worldviews around their voices; Ms. Houston’s voice was the worldview. She was someone more to be admired, like a museum piece, than to be emulated.
''The Independent''s music critic Andy Gill also wrote about Houston's influence on modern R&B; and singing competitions, comparing it to Michael Jackson's. "Because Whitney, more than any other single artist ― Michael Jackson included ― effectively mapped out the course of modern R&B;, setting the bar for standards of soul vocalese, and creating the original template for what we now routinely refer to as the 'soul diva'," stated Gill. "Jackson was a hugely talented icon, certainly, but he will be as well remembered (probably more so) for his presentational skills, his dazzling dance moves, as for his musical innovations. Whitney, on the other hand, just sang, and the ripples from her voice continue to dominate the pop landscape." Gill said that there "are few, if any, Jackson imitators on today's TV talent shows, but every other contestant is a Whitney wannabe, desperately attempting to emulate that wondrous combination of vocal effects – the flowing melisma, the soaring mezzo-soprano confidence, the tremulous fluttering that carried the ends of lines into realms of higher yearning".
Houston was considered by many to be a "singer's singer", who had an influence on countless other vocalists, both female and male. Similarly, Steve Huey from Allmusic wrote that the shadow of Houston's prodigious technique still looms large over nearly every pop diva and smooth urban soul singer – male or female – in her wake, and spawned a legion of imitators. ''Rolling Stone'', on her biography, stated that Houston "redefined the image of a female soul icon and inspired singers ranging from Mariah Carey to Rihanna". ''Essence'' ranked Houston the fifth on their list of 50 Most Influential R&B; Stars of all time, calling her "the diva to end all divas".
A number of artists have acknowledged Houston as an influence, including Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Christina Aguilera, LeAnn Rimes, Jessica Simpson, Nelly Furtado, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Ciara, P!nk, Ashanti, Robin Thicke, Jennifer Hudson, Stacie Orrico, Amerie, and Destiny's Child. Mariah Carey, who was often compared to Houston, said, "Houston has been a big influence on me." She later told ''USA Today'' that "none of us would sound the same if Aretha Franklin hadn't ever put out a record, or Whitney Houston hadn't." Celine Dion who was the third member of the troika that dominated female pop singing in the 1990s, did a telephone interview with ''Good Morning America'' on February 13, 2012, telling "Whitney's been an amazing inspiration for me. I've been singing with her my whole career, actually. I wanted to have a career like hers, sing like her, look beautiful like her." Beyoncé told the ''Globe and Mail'' that Houston "inspired [her] to get up there and do what [she] did". She also wrote on her website on the day after Houston's death, "I, like every singer, always wanted to be just like [Houston]. Her voice was perfect. Strong but soothing. Soulful and classic. Her vibrato, her cadence, her control. So many of my life's memories are attached to a Whitney Houston song. She is our queen and she opened doors and provided a blueprint for all of us."
Mary J. Blige said that Houston inviting her onstage during VH1's ''Divas Live'' show in 1999 "opened doors for [her] all over the world". Brandy stated, "The first Whitney Houston CD was genius. That CD introduced the world to her angelic yet powerful voice. Without Whitney, half of this generation of singers wouldn't be singing." Kelly Rowland, in an ''Ebony'' feature article celebrating black music in June 2006, recalled that "[I] wanted to be a singer after I saw Whitney Houston on TV singing 'Greatest Love of All'. I wanted to sing like Whitney Houston in that red dress." She added that "And I have never, ever forgotten that song [Greatest Love of All]. I learned it backward, forward, sideways. The video still brings chills to me. When you wish and pray for something as a kid, you never know what blessings God will give you."
Alicia Keys said "Whitney is an artist who inspired me from [the time I was] a little girl". Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson cites Houston as her biggest musical influence. She told ''Newsday'' that she learned from Houston the "difference between being able to sing and knowing how to sing". Leona Lewis, who has been called "the new Whitney Houston", also cites her as an influence. Lewis stated that she idolized her as a little girl.
Awards and achievements
Houston was the most awarded female artist of all time, according to Guinness World Records, with two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. She held the all-time record for the most American Music Awards of any female solo artist and shared the record with Michael Jackson for the most AMAs ever won in a single year with eight wins in 1994. Houston won a record 11 Billboard Music Awards at its fourth ceremony in 1993. She also had the record for the most WMAs won in a single year, winning five awards at the 6th World Music Awards in 1994.In May 2003, Houston placed at number three on VH1's list of "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era", behind Madonna and Janet Jackson. She was also ranked at number 116 on their list of the "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons of All Time". In 2008, ''Billboard'' magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary, ranking Houston at number nine. Similarly, she was ranked as one of the "Top 100 Greatest Artists of All Time" by VH1 in September 2010. In November 2010, ''Billboard'' released its "Top 50 R&B;/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years" list and ranked Houston at number three whom not only went on to earn eight number one singles on the R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but also landed five number ones on R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums.
Houston's debut album is listed as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine and is on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Definitive 200 list. In 2004, ''Billboard'' picked the success of her first release on the charts as one of 110 Musical Milestones in its history. Houston's entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to ''USA Today'' in 2007. It stated that she paved the way for Mariah Carey's chart-topping vocal gymnastics. In 1997, the Franklin School in East Orange, New Jersey was renamed to The Whitney E. Houston Academy School of Creative and Performing Arts. In 2001, Houston was the first artist to be given a BET Lifetime Achievement Award.
Houston was one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 200 million albums and singles worldwide. She was ranked as the fourth best-selling female artist in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 55 million certified albums sold in the US.
She held an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Grambling State University, Louisiana.
Discography
;Studio Albums;Holiday Albums
Filmography
| + Film roles | |||||||
| ! Year | ! Title | ! Role | Notes and awards | ||||
| Rachel Marron | Feature film | 1993 MTV Movie Awards#Best Female Performance>Best Female Performance | 1993 MTV Movie Awards#Breakthrough Performance>Best Breakthrough Performance | 1993 MTV Movie Awards#Best On-Screen Duo>Best On-Screen Duo with co-star Kevin Costner | Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress#1990s>Worst Actress | ||
| ''Waiting to Exhale'' | Savannah Jackson | Feature film | * Nominated – 1996 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture | ||||
| ''The Preacher's Wife'' | Julia Biggs | Feature film | * Won – 1997 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture | * Nominated – 1997 Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Female Actress(Comedy/Romance) | 1997 Kids' Choice Awards#Favorite Movie Actress>Favorite Movie Actress | ||
| Fairy Godmother | 50th Primetime Emmy Awards>1998 Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Special | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special>Outstanding Television Movie/Mini-Series | |||||
| Emma | Posthumous release |
| + Television roles | ||||
| ! Year | Title | Network | Role | Notes |
| ''Gimme a Break!'' | NBC | Rita | "Katie's College" (Season 3, Episode 20, air date: March 15, 1984) | |
| ''As the World Turns'' | CBS | Herself | Houston appeared on the soap on August 1–2, 1984, with Jermaine Jackson singing two duets off a new album he was releasing at the time: "Take Good Care of My Heart" and "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do." They taped their appearance on July 25 at CBS Studios in New York City. | |
| ''Silver Spoons'' | NBC | Herself | "Head Over Heels" (Season 4, Episode 1, air date: September 15, 1985)She performed the edited version of "Saving All My Love for You", changing some of the words. | |
| ''Boston Public'' | Fox | Herself | She performed "Try It On My Own" from the 2002 studio album ''Just Whitney''. |
| + Commercials | |||||||
| ! Year | Company | Promoting | Country | Notes | |||
| Dr Pepper/Seven Up | Canada Dry(soft drink beverage) | United States | * Houston appeared in this commercial before debut as a professional singer and sang the praises of sugar-free Canada Dry Ginger Ale. | ||||
| Coca-Cola | Diet Coke(soft drink beverage) | United States | * Houston sang the Diet Coke theme song, "Just for the taste of it". | ||||
| Coca-Cola | Diet Coke(soft drink beverage) | United States | * Houston sang the other version of the Diet Coke advertising slogan at the time, "Just for the taste of it". | * Outside the United States, the second version of advertising was released, in which "Greatest Love of All" was used as background music. | 1989 MTV Video Music Awards#Video of the Year>Video of the Year winning "This Note's for You" by Neil Young, parodied parts of this advertising to criticize pop/rock stars who make commercial endorsements, most notably Michael Jackson for Pepsi and Houston for Diet Coke, using look-alikes for them. | ||
| Sanyo | Electronics(the stereo, TV) | Japan | Keith Thomas (producer)>Keith Thomas. It was released as a CD single in Japan and included in Japanese edition of ''I'm Your Baby Tonight''. | * Sanyo also sponsored Houston's 1990 Japan only Feels So Right Tour. | |||
| AT&T; | Telephone services | United States | * Houston sang its theme song, "True Voice". | ||||
| Nissin | Consumer credit business | Japan | * Houston appeared on both print advetisement and TV commercial for Nissin, a nonbank finance company that lends to consumers and small businesses in Japan, with then the company's slogan "Make it happen with Nissin" |
| + Film/TV Productions | |||||||
| ! Year | ! Title | ! Director | Notes and awards | ||||
| Robert Iscove | Executive producer | 50th Primetime Emmy Awards>1998 Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Special | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special>Outstanding Television Movie/Mini-Series | ||||
| Garry Marshall | Producer | Young Artist Awards>Young Artist Award for Best Family Feature Film – Comedy | Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2001#Best Family Film (Live Action)>Best Family Film (Live Action) | Phoenix Film Critics Society>Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Family Film | Teen Choice Awards>Teen Choice Award for Film – Choice Movie, Comedy | ||
| Oz Scott | Producer | ||||||
| ''The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement'' | Garry Marshall | Producer | |||||
| Kenny Ortega | Co-executive producer |
Tours
;World tours
;Regional tours
;Televised concerts
See also
References
Further reading
External links
Category:1963 births Category:2012 deaths Category:20th-century actors Category:Accidental deaths in California Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:African American female models Category:African American female singers Category:African American film actors Category:African American record producers Category:African-American film producers Category:American dance musicians Category:American female models Category:American gospel singers Category:American mezzo-sopranos Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American people of Native American descent Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:Arista Records artists Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats Category:Baptists from the United States Category:Burials in New Jersey Category:Cocaine-related deaths in California Category:Deaths by drowning Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from East Orange, New Jersey Category:People from Newark, New Jersey Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers
af:Whitney Houston ar:ويتني هيوستن an:Whitney Houston as:হুইটনী হাষ্টন az:Uitni Hyuston bjn:Whitney Houston zh-min-nan:Whitney Houston map-bms:Whitney Houston be:Уітні Х'юстан be-x-old:Ўітні Г’юстан bcl:Whitney Houston bg:Уитни Хюстън bs:Whitney Houston ca:Whitney Houston cs:Whitney Houston cbk-zam:Whitney Houston cy:Whitney Houston da:Whitney Houston de:Whitney Houston et:Whitney Houston el:Γουίτνεϊ Χιούστον eml:Whitney Houston es:Whitney Houston eo:Whitney Houston eu:Whitney Houston fa:ویتنی هیوستون fo:Whitney Houston fr:Whitney Houston fy:Whitney Houston ga:Whitney Houston gl:Whitney Houston ko:휘트니 휴스턴 hy:Ուիթնի Հյուսթոն hi:व्हिटनी ह्यूस्टन hr:Whitney Houston io:Whitney Houston ilo:Whitney Houston id:Whitney Houston is:Whitney Houston it:Whitney Houston he:ויטני יוסטון jv:Whitney Houston ka:უიტნი ჰიუსტონი kk:Уитни Хьюстон sw:Whitney Houston kv:Хьюстон, Уитни la:Whitney Houston lv:Vitnija Hjūstone lb:Whitney Houston lt:Whitney Houston lmo:Whitney Houston hu:Whitney Houston ml:വിറ്റ്നി ഹ്യൂസ്റ്റൺ mr:व्हिटनी ह्युस्टन xmf:უითნი ჰიუსთონი ms:Whitney Houston my:ဝှစ်တနီ ဟယူစတန် nl:Whitney Houston ne:विटनी हृयूस्टन ja:ホイットニー・ヒューストン no:Whitney Houston nn:Whitney Houston uz:Whitney Houston ps:ويټني هيوسټن pms:Whitney Elizabeth Houston nds:Whitney Houston pl:Whitney Houston pt:Whitney Houston ro:Whitney Houston ru:Хьюстон, Уитни sah:Уитни Хьюстон sq:Whitney Houston scn:Whitney Houston simple:Whitney Houston sk:Whitney Houstonová sl:Whitney Houston sr:Витни Хјустон sh:Whitney Houston su:Whitney Houston fi:Whitney Houston sv:Whitney Houston tl:Whitney Houston ta:விட்னி ஊசுட்டன் th:วิตนีย์ ฮิวสตัน tr:Whitney Houston uk:Вітні Х'юстон vec:Whitney Houston vi:Whitney Houston war:Whitney Houston yo:Whitney Houston zh:惠特妮·休斯顿This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Coordinates | 12°58′0″N77°34′0″N |
|---|---|
| years active | 1992–present |
| background | solo_singer |
| birth name | Britney Jean Spears |
| birth date | December 02, 1981 |
| birth place | |
| genre | Pop, dance |
| occupation | Singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, record producer, author, fashion designer, video director |
| instrument | Vocals, piano |
| label | Jive, RCA |
| associated acts | The New Mickey Mouse Club |
| website | }} |
In 2001, she released her third studio album ''Britney'' and expanded her brand, playing the starring role in the film ''Crossroads''. She assumed creative control of her fourth studio album, ''In the Zone'' (2003), which yielded chart-topping singles "Me Against the Music", "Toxic" and "Everytime". After the release of two compilation albums, Spears experienced personal struggles and her career went into hiatus. Her fifth studio album, ''Blackout'', was released in 2007 and despite receiving little promotion, it spawned hits "Gimme More" and "Piece of Me". In 2008, her erratic behavior and hospitalizations caused her to be placed in a conservatorship. The same year, her sixth studio album ''Circus'' was released, with the global chart-topping lead single "Womanizer", it also included hits such as "Circus", and "If U Seek Amy". She embarked on her highest-grossing global concert tour, The Circus Starring Britney Spears, in 2009. That same year she released a chart-topping single, "3" in October 2009, this gave Spears her third single that reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her seventh studio album ''Femme Fatale'', released in 2011, has become the first of her albums to yield three top ten singles in the United States, including her fourth US number one single, "Hold It Against Me". She also achieved a second number one single in 2011 when she featured on the remix of S&M; alongside Rihanna.
Spears has sold over 100 million albums worldwide. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the eighth top-selling female artist in the United States, with 33 million certified albums. Spears is also recognized as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall. She was ranked the 8th Artist of the 2000s by ''Billboard''.
Biography
1981–97: Early life and career beginnings
Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, the second child of Lynne Irene (née Bridges) and James Parnell Spears. She is of English heritage through her maternal grandmother, Lillian Portelli who was born in London, and of distant Maltese and Sicilian (Sicani) descent. Her siblings are Bryan James and Jamie Lynn. At age three, she started to attend dance lessons in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana, and was selected to perform as a solo artist at the annual recital. During her childhood, she also attended gymnastics and voice lessons, and won many state-level competitions and children's talent shows. Spears made her local stage debut at age five, singing "What Child Is This?" at her kindergarten graduation. She said about her ambition as a child, "I was in my own world, [...] I found out what I'm supposed to do at an early age". At age eight, Spears and her mother Lynne traveled to Atlanta for an audition in the 1990s revival of ''The Mickey Mouse Club''. Casting director Matt Casella rejected her for being too young to join the series at the time, but introduced her to Nancy Carson, a New York City talent agent. Carson was impressed with Spears's vocals and suggested enrolling her at the Professional Performing Arts School; shortly after, Lynne and her daughters moved to a sublet apartment in New York. Spears was hired for her first professional role as the understudy for the lead role of Tina Denmark in the Off-Broadway musical ''Ruthless!''. She also appeared as a contestant on the popular television show ''Star Search'', as well as being cast in a number of commercials. In December 1992, she was finally cast in ''The Mickey Mouse Club'', but returned to Kentwood after the show was canceled. She enrolled at Parklane Academy in nearby McComb, Mississippi. Although she made friends with most of her classmates, she compared the school to "the opening scene in ''Clueless'' with all the cliques. [...] I was so bored. I was the point guard on the basketball team. I had my boyfriend, and I went to homecoming and Christmas formal. But I wanted more."In June 1997, Spears was in talks with manager Lou Pearlman to join the female pop group Innosense. Lynne asked family friend and entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over a Whitney Houston karaoke song along with some pictures. Rudolph decided he wanted to pitch her to record labels, therefore she needed a professional demo. He sent Spears an unused song of Toni Braxton; she rehearsed for a week and recorded her vocals in a studio with a sound engineer. Spears traveled to New York with the demo and met with executives from four labels, returning to Kentwood the same day. Three of the labels rejected her, arguing that audiences wanted pop bands such as the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls, and "there wasn't going to be another Madonna, another Debbie Gibson, or another Tiffany." Two weeks later, executives from Jive Records returned calls to Rudolph. Senior vice president of A&R; Jeff Fenster stated about Spears's audition that "It's very rare to hear someone that age who can deliver emotional content and commercial appeal. [...] For any artist, the motivation—the 'eye of the tiger'—is extremely important. And Britney had that." She then sang Houston's "I Have Nothing" (1992) for the executives, and got signed to the label. They appointed her to work with producer Eric Foster White for a month, who reportedly shaped her voice from "lower and less poppy" delivery to "distinctively, unmistakably Britney." After hearing the recorded material, president Clive Calder ordered a full album. Spears had originally envisioned "Sheryl Crow music, but younger more adult contemporary" but felt all right with her label's appointment of producers, since "It made more sense to go pop, because I can dance to it—it's more me." She flew to Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, where half of the album was recorded from March to April 1998, with producers Max Martin, Denniz Pop and Rami Yacoub, among others.
1998–2000: ''...Baby One More Time'' and ''Oops!... I Did It Again''
After Spears returned to the United States, she embarked on a shopping mall promotional tour to promote her forthcoming album. Her show was a four song set and she was accompanied by two back up dancers. Her first concert tour followed, as an opening act for 'N Sync. Her debut album, ''...Baby One More Time'', was released on January 1999. It debuted at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America after a month. Worldwide, the album topped the charts in fifteen countries and sold over ten million copies in a year. It became the biggest selling album ever by a teenage artist. The title track was released as the lead single from the album. Originally, Jive Records wanted its music video to be animated; however, Spears rejected it, and suggested the final idea of a Catholic schoolgirl. The single sold 500,000 copies on its first day, and peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, topping the chart for two consecutive weeks. "...Baby One More Time" later received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The title track also topped the singles chart for two weeks in the United Kingdom, and became the fastest-selling single ever by a female artist, shipping over 460,000 copies. It would later become the 25th most successful song of all time in British chart history. Spears is also the youngest female artist to have a million seller in the country. "(You Drive Me) Crazy" was released as the third single from the album. It became a top-ten hit worldwide and propelled ''...Baby One More Time'' to sell 26 million copies.The April 1999 cover of ''Rolling Stone'' featured Spears lying on her bed, clad with a bra, shorts and an open top. The American Family Association (AFA) referred to the shoot as "a disturbing mix of childhood innocence and adult sexuality" and called to "God-loving Americans to boycott stores selling Britney's albums." Spears responded to the outcry commenting, "What's the big deal? I have strong morals. [...] I'd do it again. I thought the pictures were fine. And I was tired of being compared to Debbie Gibson and all of this bubblegum pop all the time." Shortly before, Spears had announced publicly she would remain a virgin until marriage. On June 28, 1999, Spears began her first headlining ...Baby One More Time Tour in North America, which was positively received by critics, but generated some controversy due to her racy outfits. An extension of the tour, titled Crazy 2k, followed in March 2000. Spears premiered songs from her upcoming second album during the show.
''Oops!... I Did It Again'', her second studio album, was released in May 2000. It debuted at number one in the US, selling 1,3 million copies, breaking the SoundScan record for the highest debut sales by any solo artist. The album sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Rob Sheffield of ''Rolling Stone'' said that "the great thing about ''Oops!'' – under the cheese surface, Britney's demand for satisfaction is complex, fierce and downright scary, making her a true child of rock & roll tradition." The album's lead single, "Oops!... I Did It Again", peaked at the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and many other European nations. The album as well as the title track received Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, respectively.
The same year, Spears embarked on the Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour, which grossed $40.5 million; she also released her first book, ''Britney Spears' Heart-to-Heart'', co-written with her mother. On September 7, 2000, Spears performed at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Halfway through the performance, she ripped off her black suit to reveal a sequined flesh-colored bodysuit, followed by heavy dance routine. It is noted by critics as the moment that Spears showed signs of becoming a more provocative performer. Amidst media speculation, Spears confirmed she was dating 'N Sync member Justin Timberlake.
2001–03: ''Britney'', ''Crossroads'' and ''In the Zone''
In February 2001, Spears signed a $7–8 million promotional deal with Pepsi, and released another book co-written with her mother, entitled ''A Mother’s Gift''. Her third studio album, ''Britney'', was released in November 2001. While on tour, she felt inspired by hip hop artists such as Jay-Z and The Neptunes and wanted to create a record with a funkier sound. The album debuted at number one in the ''Billboard'' 200 and reached top five positions in Australia, the United Kingdom and mainland Europe and sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called ''Britney'' "the record where she strives to deepen her persona, making it more adult while still recognizably Britney. [...] It does sound like the work of a star who has now found and refined her voice, resulting in her best record yet." The album was honored with two Grammy nominations—Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Overprotected"— and was listed in 2008 as one of ''Entertainment Weekly'''s "100 Best Albums from the Past 25 Years". The album's first single, "I'm a Slave 4 U", became a top-ten hit worldwide.Spears's performance of the single at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards featured a caged tiger and a large albino python draped over her shoulders. It was harshly received by animal rights organization PETA, who claimed the animals were mistreated and scrapped plans for an anti-fur billboard that was to feature Spears. To support the album, Spears embarked on the Dream Within a Dream Tour. The show was critically praised for its technical innovations, the ''pièce de résistance'' being a water screen that pumped two tons of water into the stage. The tour grossed $43.7 million, becoming the second highest grossing tour of 2002 by a female artist, behind Cher's Farewell Tour. Her career success was highlighted by ''Forbes'' in 2002, as Spears was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity. Spears also landed her first starring role in ''Crossroads'', released in February 2002. Although the film was largely panned, most critics actually praised Spears's acting. ''Crossroads'', which had a $11 million budget, went on to gross over $57 million worldwide.
In June 2002, Spears opened her first restaurant, Nyla, in New York City, but terminated her relationship in November, citing mismanagement and "management's failure to keep her fully apprised". In July 2002, Spears announced she would take a six month break from her career; however, she went back into the studio in November to record her new album. Spears' relationship with Justin Timberlake ended after three years. In December 2002, Timberlake released the song "Cry Me a River" as the second single from his solo debut album. The music video featured a Spears look-alike and fueled the rumors that she had been unfaithful to him. As a response, Spears wrote the ballad "Everytime" with her backing vocalist and friend Annet Artani. The same year, Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst said that he was in a relationship with Spears. However, Spears denied Durst's claims. In a 2009 interview, he explained that "I just guess at the time it was taboo for a guy like me to be associated with a gal like her." Spears opened the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards with Christina Aguilera, performing "Like a Virgin". Halfway through they were joined by Madonna, with whom they both kissed. The incident was highly publicized.
Spears released her fourth studio album, ''In the Zone'', in November 2003. She assumed more creative control by writing and co-producing most of the material. ''Vibe'' called it "A supremely confident dance record that also illustrates Spears's development as a songwriter." NPR listed the album as one of "The 50 Most Important Recording of the Decade", adding that "the decade's history of impeccably crafted pop is written on her body of work." ''In the Zone'' sold over 609,000 copies in the United States and debuted at the top of the charts, making Spears the first female artist in the SoundScan era to have her first four studio albums to debut at number one. It also debuted at the top of the charts in France and the top ten in Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. ''In the Zone'' sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The album produced the hit singles: "Me Against the Music", a collaboration with Madonna; "Toxic"—which won Spears her first and only Grammy for Best Dance Recording; "Everytime" and "Outrageous".
2004–07: Compilation albums, motherhood, personal struggles and ''Blackout''
On January 3, 2004, Spears married childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander at The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The marriage was annulled 55 hours later, stating that Spears "lacked understanding of her actions". She began The Onyx Hotel Tour in support of ''In the Zone'' in March 2004. On June 8, 2004, Spears fell and injured her left knee during the music video shoot for "Outrageous". She was taken immediately to a local hospital, where doctors performed an MRI scan and found floating cartilage. The following day, Spears underwent arthroscopic surgery. She was forced to remain six weeks with a thigh brace, followed by eight to twelve weeks of rehabilitation, which caused The Onyx Hotel Tour to be canceled. During 2004, Spears became involved in the Kabbalah Centre through her friendship with Madonna.In July 2004, she announced her engagement to American dancer Kevin Federline, whom she had met three months before. The romance received intense attention from the media, since Federline had recently broken up with actress Shar Jackson, who was still pregnant with their second child at the time. The initial stages of their relationship were chronicled in Spears's first reality show ''Britney & Kevin: Chaotic''. They held a wedding ceremony on September 18, 2004, but were not legally married until three weeks later on October 6 due to a delay finalizing the couple's prenuptial agreement. Shortly after, she released her first fragrance with Elizabeth Arden, ''Curious'', which broke the company's first-week gross for a perfume. In October 2004, Spears announced she would be taking another career break to start a family. ''Greatest Hits: My Prerogative'', her first greatest hits compilation album, was released in November 2004. Spears's cover version of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" was released as the lead single from the album, reaching the top of the charts in Finland, Ireland, Italy and Norway. The second single, "Do Somethin'", was a top ten hit in Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries of mainland Europe. Worldwide, ''Greatest Hits: My Prerogative'' sold over 5 million copies. In late 2004, Spears went on KIIS-FM radio in Los Angeles, CA to play a new demo titled "Mona Lisa." The demo was to be the first single from an upcoming album called the "Original Doll." However, Spears' label later cancelled the album for unknown reasons. Spears gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston Federline, on September 14, 2005.
In November 2005, she released her first remix compilation, ''B in the Mix: The Remixes'', which consists of eleven remixes. In February 2006, pictures surfaced of Spears driving with her son Sean, on her lap instead of in a car seat. Child advocates were horrified by the photos of her holding the wheel with one hand and Sean with the other. Spears claimed that the situation happened because of a frightening encounter with paparazzi, and that it was a mistake on her part. The following month, she guest-starred on the ''Will & Grace'' episode "Buy, Buy Baby" as closeted lesbian Amber Louise. She publicly announced she no longer studied Kabbalah in June 2006, explaining, "my baby is my religion." Two months later, Spears posed nude for the cover of ''Harper's Bazaar''. The picture was heavily compared to Demi Moore's August 1991 ''Vanity Fair'' cover. She gave birth to her second child, Jayden James Federline, on September 12, 2006. On November 7, 2006, Spears filed for divorce from Federline, citing irreconcilable differences. Their divorce was finalized in July 2007, when the couple reached a global settlement and agreed to share joint custody of their children. Spears's aunt Sandra Bridges Covington, with whom she had been very close, died of ovarian cancer in January. On February 16, 2007, Spears stayed in a drug rehabilitation facility in Antigua for less than a day. The following night, she shaved her head with electric clippers at a hair salon in Tarzana, Los Angeles. She admitted herself to other treatment facilities during the following weeks. After completing a month-long program at Promises, she wrote on her website, "I truly hit rock bottom. Till this day I don't think that it was alcohol or depression. [...] was like a bad kid running around with ADD." In May 2007, she produced a series of promotional concerts at House of Blues venues, titled The M+M's Tour. Spears lost physical custody of her children to Federline on October 1, 2007. The reasons of the court ruling were not revealed to the public.
Her fifth studio album, ''Blackout'', was released in October 2007. It debuted at the top of charts in Canada and Ireland, number two in the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200,—held off from the top spot by Eagles's ''Long Road out of Eden''— France, Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom and the top ten in Australia, Korea, New Zealand and many European nations. In the United States, Spears became the only female artist to have her first five studio albums debut at the two top slots of the chart. ''Blackout'' sold over 3.1 million copies worldwide. Peter Robinson of ''The Observer'' said that "Britney has delivered the best album of her career, raising the bar for modern pop music with an incendiary mix of Timbaland's ''Shock Value'' and her own back catalogue." Dennis Lim of ''Blender'' commented, "Spears’s fifth studio album is her most consistent, a seamlessly entertaining collection of bright, brash electropop." ''Blackout'' won Album of the Year at MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 and was listed as the fifth Best Pop Album of the Decade by ''The Times''. Spears performed the lead single "Gimme More" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance was panned by many critics. David Willis of BBC stated her performance would "go down in the history books as being one of the worst to grace the MTV Awards". Despite the backlash, the single rocketed to worldwide success, peaking at number one in Canada and the top ten in almost every country it charted. The second single "Piece of Me" reached the top of the charts in Ireland and reached the top five in Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The third single "Break the Ice" was released the following year and had moderate success due to Spears not being able to promote it properly. In December 2007, Spears began a relationship with paparazzo Adnan Ghalib.
2008–10: Conservatorship and ''Circus''
On January 3, 2008, Spears refused to relinquish custody of her sons to Federline's representatives. She was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, after police that arrived at her house noted she appeared to be under the influence of an illicit substance. The following day, Spears's visitation rights were suspended at an emergency court hearing, and Federline was given sole physical and legal custody of the children. On January 31, 2008, Spears was committed to the psychiatric ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and put on 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold. The court placed her under temporary conservatorship of her father James Spears and attorney Andrew Wallet, giving them complete control of her assets. Spears was released on February 6, 2008. Her parents expressed disappointment and concern at the decision to release her. The following month, she guest-starred on the ''How I Met Your Mother'' episode "Ten Sessions" as receptionist Abby. She received positive reviews for her performance, as well as bringing the series its highest ratings ever. In July 2008, Spears regained some visitation rights after coming to an agreement with Federline and his counsel. On September 7, 2008, Spears opened the MTV Video Music Awards with a pre-taped comedy sketch with Jonah Hill and an introduction speech. She won Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video of the Year for "Piece of Me". A 60-minute introspective documentary, ''Britney: For the Record'', was produced to chronicle Spears' return to the recording industry. Directed by Phil Griffin, ''For the Record'' was entirely shot in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and New York City during the third quarter of 2008. Main shooting began on September 5, 2008, two days before Spears' appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards. ''For the Record'' was broadcast on MTV on November 30, 2008 to 5.6 million viewers for the two airings on the premiere night. MTV reported that Spears' documentary garnered on average, the highest rating in its Sunday night timeslot, in the network's history.Her sixth studio album ''Circus'', was released in December 2008. It received positive reviews from critics; according to the music review aggregation of Metacritic, it garnered an average score of 64/100. ''Circus'' debuted at number one in Canada, Czech Republic and the United States, and inside the top in many European nations. In the United States, Spears became the youngest female artist to have five albums debut at number one, earning a place in the ''Guinness Book of World Records''. She also became the only act in the Soundscan era to have four albums debut with 500,000 or more copies sold. ''Circus'' became one of the fastest-selling albums of the year, and has sold 4 million copies worldwide. Its lead single, "Womanizer", became her first number one in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 since "...Baby One More Time" and topped the charts in countries such as Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway and Sweden. It was also nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording. In January 2009, Spears and her father James obtained a restraining order against her former manager Sam Lufti, ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib and attorney Jon Eardley—all of whom, court documents claim, had been conspiring to gain control of Spears's affairs. The restraining order forbids Lutfi and Ghalib from contacting Spears or coming within 250 yards of her, her property or family members. Spears embarked on The Circus Starring Britney Spears in March 2009. With a gross of U.S. $131.8 million, it became the fifth highest grossing tour of the year.
She released her second greatest hits album, ''The Singles Collection'' in November 2009. "3" became her third number one single in the US, and was the first song to debut at the top of the charts in three years. Later that month, she released an application for iPhone and iPod Touch titled "It's Britney!". In May 2010, Spears's representatives confirmed she was dating her agent Jason Trawick, and that they had decided to end their professional relationship to focus on their personal relationship. Spears designed a limited edition clothing line for Candie's, which was released in stores in July 2010. On September 28, 2010, she made a cameo appearance on a Spears-themed tribute episode of American TV show ''Glee'', titled "Britney/Brittany". Spears approved of the episode, although her appearances received mixed reviews from critics. The episode drew ''Glee'''s second largest audience, as well as the show's highest ratings ever.
2011–present: ''Femme Fatale''
In March 2011, Spears released her seventh studio album ''Femme Fatale''. Max Martin and Dr. Luke executive produced the album and the album's first single "Hold It Against Me". The single debuted at number-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. This gave Spears her fourth number-one single on the chart, and made her only the second artist in history to have two consecutive singles debut at number-one, after Mariah Carey. The album peaked at number one in the United States (selling 276,000 copies), Canada, and Australia, and peaked inside the top ten on nearly every other chart. The album's peak in the United States ties Britney with Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson for the third-most number ones among women. ''Femme Fatale'' has sold over 590,000 copies in the United States and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The album received positive critical reviews after its release, receiving a score of 67 on Metacritic, her highest critical score since ''Oops!... I Did It Again,'' with many critics naming the album one of Spears's best. In April 2011, Spears appeared in a remix to the song "S&M;" by Rihanna after Rihanna asked her fans via Twitter who they wanted her to collaborate with. The song reached number one in the US in mid-April 2011, giving Britney her fifth number one on the chart. In early May, Spears' second single from ''Femme Fatale'', "Till The World Ends", reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and had ninety-eight million audience impressions on the ''Billboard'' chart, granting Spears the highest weekly audience of her 13-year chart career.''Femme Fatale's'' third single "I Wanna Go" reached the top forty on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in June 2011. Among females in the last thirteen years, Spears now has the third-most top forty hits, with twenty-one. In August, the single managed to reach the top-ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, which is the first time for Spears to have three songs from one album in the top-ten. On the week ending September 24, 2011, "I Wanna Go" moved 2–1 on the mainstream top 40, becoming her sixth number-one on that chart (making her tied for third all-time) and her first number-one and third top-ten pop song for ''Femme Fatale.'' Spears now has the longest span of number ones on the mainstream top 40, with a length of twelve years, seven months, and four days. In October 2011, the music video for ''Femme Fatale'' fourth single "Criminal" caused controversy when British politicians criticized Spears for using replica guns while filming the video in an area of London that had been badly affected by the 2011 England riots. Members of the Hackney London Borough Council felt Spears "promoted gun violence" and suggested that Spears apologize and make a donation to a Hackney charity. Spears's management briefly responded, stating, "The video is a fantasy story featuring Britney's boyfriend, Jason Trawick, which literally plays out the lyrics of a song written three years before the riots ever happened." Later that month, due to her continued popularity, Spears became the seventh artist to gain one billion cumulative views on her Vevo account. On ''Billboard''s 2011 Year-End list, Spears was fourteen on the Artists of the Year, due to being 32 on Billboard'' 200 artists and 10 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 artists. Additionally, many critics, including those at ''Rolling Stone,'' named "Till the World Ends" one of the best songs of 2011.
On March 2011, Spears announced that she would tour throughout the United States during summer 2011. The Femme Fatale Tour opened June 16 at the Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento, California to positive reviews. Many critics noted that Spears sang more of the concert live in response to lip-synching accusations during The Circus Starring Britney Spears, and that the dancing is some of her best in years. The first ten US dates of the tour grossed $6.2 million, landing the fifty-fifth spot on Pollstar's Top 100 North American Tours list for the half-way point of the year. The tour ended on December 10, 2011 in Puerto Rico after 79 performances. A concert special of the tour was filmed in 2D and 3D in Canada on August 13 and 14. It premiered on November 12 on Epix, receiving mixed reviews. It was released to DVD on November 21 and sold 19,000 copies, debuting at no. 2 on the US ''Billboard'' DVD Chart behind Lady Gaga's ''The Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden.'' Since its release, the DVD has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).
On June 15, 2011, it was announced by ''Billboard'' that the RCA/Jive Label Group would be splitting, with Jive Records being fully moved under RCA Records staying intact. In August it was announced that Spears had officially joined the RCA's roster. During the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2011, MTV played tribute to Spears with a group of young female dancers that memorialised Britney's music videos, performances, and style. Following which, Spears accepted the MTV Video Vanguard Award from Lady Gaga, who said that "industry wouldn't be the same without [her]". On September 9, 2011, Spears announced her second remix album, ''B in the Mix: The Remixes Vol. 2'', which was released on October 7, along with the tracklist. On October 7, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding Jive Records along with Arista Records and J Records. With the shutdown, Spears (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release her future material on the RCA Records brand.
On December 16, Spears confirmed her engagement to her long-time boyfriend Jason Trawick, her former manager. Spears revealed her three-carat diamond ring at a party in Las Vegas on December 17. According to RCA's Joe Riccitelli the executive vice president of promotion for RCA Records, told U.S. radio station Hot 99.5 that Britney is taking time off in 2012. However, on January 30, 2012, will.i.am confirmed that he recorded a track with Spears, set to be included on his upcoming fourth studio album, ''#willpower'' (2012). It was also reported that Simon Cowell is in talks with Spears for her to join the new season of the ''The X-Factor''. According to ''Billboard'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter'', Trawick is already negotiating Spears' contract with the show.
Artistry
Musical style and performance
Following her debut, Spears was credited with leading the revival of teen pop in the late 1990s. ''The Daily Yomiuri'' reported that "[m]usic critics have hailed her as the most gifted teenage pop idol for many years, but Spears has set her sights a little higher-she is aiming for the level of superstardom that has been achieved by Madonna and Janet Jackson." ''Rolling Stone'' wrote: "Britney Spears carries on the classic archetype of the rock & roll teen queen, the dungaree doll, the angel baby who just has to make a scene." Rami Yacoub who co-produced Spears's debut album with lyricist Max Martin, commented, "I know from Denniz Pop and Max's previous productions, when we do songs, there's kind of a nasal thing. With N' Sync and the Backstreet Boys, we had to push for that mid-nasal voice. When Britney did that, she got this kind of raspy, sexy voice." Following the release of her debut album, Chuck Taylor of ''Billboard'' observed, "Spears has become a consummate performer, with snappy dance moves, a clearly real-albeit young-and funkdified voice ... "(You Drive Me) Crazy", her third single ... demonstrates Spears's own development, proving that the 17-year-old is finding her own vocal personality after so many months of steadfast practice." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic referred to her music as a "blend of infectious, rap-inflected dance-pop and smooth balladry." Spears later commented, "With ''...Baby One More Time'', I didn't get to show my voice off. The songs were great, but they weren't very challenging".''Oops!...I Did It Again'' and subsequent albums saw Spears working with several contemporary R&B; producers, leading to "a combination of bubblegum, urban soul, and raga." Her third studio album, ''Britney'' derived from the teen pop niche, "[r]hythmically and melodically ... sharper, tougher than what came before. What used to be unabashedly frothy has some disco grit, underpinned by Spears' spunky self-determination that helps sell hooks that are already catchier, by and large, than those that populated her previous two albums." Guy Blackman of ''The Age'' wrote that while few would care to listen to an entire Spears album, "[t]he thing about Spears, though, is that her biggest songs, no matter how committee-created or impossibly polished, have always been convincing because of her delivery, her commitment and her presence. For her mostly teenage fans, Spears expresses perfectly the conflicting urges of adolescence, the tension between chastity and sexual experience, between hedonism and responsibility, between confidence and vulnerability."
The prominent use of melisma and vibratos as she continuously raises key into a high range was viewed as an Mariah Carey influence.|format1=Ogg|filename2=Britney Spears - Freakshow.ogg|title2="Freakshow"|description2=The track is built around the 'wobbler' effect of dubstep, and her vocals are pitched down low, making her sound masculine. She was credited as one of the artists who prompted the genre within a pop mainstream audience.}}
Spears possesses a soprano vocal range; her vocal ability however has been criticized, often drawing unfavorable comparison to her pop rival, Christina Aguilera. Critic Allan Raible derides her overdependence in Circus on digital effects and the robotic effect it creates. "She’s never been a strong vocalist..." writes Raible, "Could she handle these songs with stripped down arrangements and no vocal effects? More importantly, would anyone want to hear her attempt such a performance? Does it matter? No. The focus is still image over substance." Her image and persona are also often contrasted to Christina Aguilera. David Browne of ''Entertainment Weekly'' observed "Christina Aguilera may flash skin and belly button, but in her music and manner, she's too eager not to offend — she's a good girl pretending to be bad. Spears, however, comes across as a bad girl acting good ... Spears' artificial-sweetener voice is much less interesting than the settings, yet that blandness is actually a relief compared with Aguilera's numbing vocal gymnastics. In contrast, Allmusic comments: "Like her peer Christina Aguilera, Britney equates maturity with transparent sexuality and the pounding sounds of nightclubs ... Where Christina comes across like a natural-born skank, Britney is the girl next door cutting loose at college, drinking and smoking and dancing and sexing just a little too recklessly, since this is the first time she ''can'' indulge herself. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine notes, "The disparity between Aguilera and Spears can't be measured solely by the timbre and octave range of their voices ... [Aguilera's] popularity has never reached the fever pitch of Britney's."
It has been widely reported that Spears lip-syncs in concert. Author Gary Giddins wrote in his book ''Natural selection: Gary Giddins on comedy, film, music, and books'' (2006) that "among many other performers accused of moving their lips while a machine does the labor are Britney Spears, Luciano Pavarotti, Shania Twain, Beyoncé, and Madonna." Rashod D. Ollison of ''The Baltimore Sun'' observes: "Many pop stars ... feel they have no choice but to seek vocal enhancement. Since the advent of MTV and other video music channels, pop audiences have been fed elaborate videos thick with jaw-dropping effects, awesome choreography, fabulous clothes, marvelous bodies. And the same level of perfection is expected to extend beyond the video set to the concert stage. So if Britney Spears, Janet Jackson or Madonna sounds shrill and flat without a backing track, fans won't pay up to $300 for a concert ticket." Giddins adds, "it was reported Britney Spears fans prefer her to lip-sync—despite her denials of doing so (contradicted by her own director)—because they expect flawless digitalization when they pay serious money for a concert."
In Australia, NSW Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge has advised disclaimers be printed on any ticket for concerts which contain any prerecorded vocals. She commented: "There could have been some instances where people actually go and purchase a ticket thinking that they're going to have a live performance ... for some people that means that everything is live, it's fresh, it happens instantaneously, it's not something that's been pre-recorded. You want to make sure that they're actually paying for what they think they're getting." Noting on the prevalence of lip-syncing, ''Los Angeles Daily News'' reported "in the context of a Britney Spears concert, does it really matter? Like a Vegas revue show, you don't go to hear the music, you go for the somewhat-ridiculous spectacle of it all". Similarly, Aline Mendelsohn of the ''Orlando Sentinel'' remarked: "Let's get one thing straight: A Britney Spears concert is not about the music ... you have to remember that it's about the sight, not the sound." Critic Glenn Gamboa comments her concert tours are "like her life—a massive money-making venture designed to play up her talents and distract from her shortcomings with a mix of techno-tinged sex appeal and disco-flavored flash. And, like her life, it is, more or less, a success.
Influences
Throughout her career, Spears has drawn frequent comparisons to Madonna and Janet Jackson, in terms of vocals, choreography and stage presence, citing both as influences in her work. She has also named Michael Jackson as a source of inspiration. According to Spears: "I know when I was younger, I looked up to people... like, you know, Janet Jackson and Madonna. And they were major inspirations for me. But I also had my own identity and I knew who I was, you know." In the 2002 book ''Madonnastyle'' by Carol Clerk, she is quoted saying: "I have been a huge fan of Madonna since I was a little girl. She's the person that I've really looked up to. I would really, really like to be a legend like Madonna."Many critics have argued that Spears should not be considered in the same league of talent as Jackson or Madonna. Journalists Erika Montalvo and Jackie Sheppard of the ''Rocky Mountain Collegian'' observed "[s]ome may argue that Spears is not only a good recording artist but also an important cultural icon." However, in examining her level of skill as an artist, it is questioned that "[a]lthough she has been classified among female elites such as Janet Jackson and Madonna, what does Ms. Spears really have in common with these divas of rock?" Joan Anderman of ''The Boston Globe'' remarked that "[t]hirteen costume changes in 90 minutes won't bless her with Madonna's intelligence or cultural barometer. An army of cutting-edge R&B; producers won't supply her with Janet Jackson's sense of humor or sincere smile ... Britney's heroes aren't great singers. But they're real singers. Spears sounds robotic, nearly inhuman, on her records, so processed is her voice by digital pitch-shifters and synthesizers."
Reporter Ed Bumgardner commented her transition from teen pop start to adult sex symbol with her third studio album ''Britney'' "takes its cues from two other successful performers—Madonna and Janet Jackson—both of whom she brazenly rips off and both of whom, like Spears, are passable singers, at best." Critic Shane Harrison wrote: "From the minimalist thump and "Nasty" feel of "I'm a Slave 4 U" to the scattered quotes in "Boys", [''Britney''] feels like [Spears's] attempt at 'Control'."
Citing Jackson's resolve to incorporate personal and social issues into her work and Madonna's ability to constantly redefine the boundaries of socially acceptable material in the industry, Spears's catalog ultimately pales in comparison, because "[w]hile Jackson and Madonna wrote their own music about subjects of importance, [Spears's] music sounds like an upbeat version of either, 'I want to grow up but the media won't let me,' or 'Here kitty, kitty, I'm wearing my underwear outside of my leather pants'-type ballads." In contrast, Guy Blackman argues that although "no one would argue that Spears is some kind of pioneering pop auteur, there’s still a lot to like about her back catalogue. During her world-conquering peak, she was just about as cutting edge as you could get in the world of global pop superstardom. Spears didn’t just work with big names, she gave big names their names, and maintained her high currency in the world’s most fickle industry for years, when most aspiring starlets are lucky to manage months."
After meeting Spears face to face, Janet Jackson stated: "she said to me, 'I'm such a big fan; I really admire you.' That's so flattering. Everyone gets inspiration from some place. And it's awesome to see someone else coming up who's dancing and singing, and seeing how all these kids relate to her. A lot of people put it down, but what she does is a positive thing." Madonna's respect for Spears has also been a subject of observation. Santiago Fouz-Hernández and Freya Jarman-Ivens, authors of ''Madonna's drowned worlds: new approaches to her cultural transformations, 1983-2003'' (2004) note that the most well known cross-generational relationship exists between Spears and Madonna in which "the entertainment newsmedia almost became obsessed with their relationship of mutual admiration." The biographers also report "[s]ome observers of popular culture, however, feel that the comparisons between the two artist are meaningless and fail to recognize Madonna's unique contribution: Madonna was never 'just another pop star' whereas Britney can more easily be seen as a standard manufactured pop act."
Legacy
Spears became an international pop culture icon immediately after launching her recording career. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine wrote: "One of the most controversial and successful female vocalists of the 21st century," she "spearheaded the rise of post-millennial teen pop ... Spears early on cultivated a mixture of innocence and experience that broke the bank". She is listed by the ''Guinness World Records'' as having the "Best-selling album by a teenage solo artist" for her debut album ''...Baby One More Time'' which sold over thirteen million copies in the United States. Melissa Ruggieri of the ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' reported, "She's also marked for being the best-selling teenage artist. Before she turned 20 in 2001, Spears sold more than 37 million albums worldwide". As of 2011, she has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She was also ranked as the fourth VH1's "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era" show list, ahead of most of her contemporaries and only behind veterans like Madonna, Janet Jackson, and Whitney Houston. Spears is also recognized as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall. In December 2009, ''Billboard'' magazine ranked Spears the 8th Artist of the 2000s decade in the United States.Spears is also known for her iconic performances and music videos. The music video for her debut single, "...Baby One More Time", was ranked number one on ''TRL's'' Final Countdown of the most iconic music videos. On the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, before performing "Oops!... I Did It Again", the singer appeared behind a backlit screen, and descended down a spiral staircase and started performing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", while wearing a tuxedo. After performing a shortened version of the track, she tore the tuxedo off, revealing a skin-tight flesh-coloured outfit. The following year, Spears performed her single "I'm a Slave 4 U". Jocelyn Vena of MTV summarized the performance, saying, "draping herself in a white python and slithering around a steamy garden setting – surrounded by dancers in zebra and tiger outfits – Spears created one of the most striking visuals in the 27-year history of the show." She also duetted "The Way You Make Me Feel" with pop singer Michael Jackson on his 30th anniversary concert a few days earlier. During the opening of the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards on August 27, 2003, Spears joined Madonna, Christina Aguilera, and Missy Elliott. Halfway through the performance, Madonna kissed Spears and Aguilera on the lips. The kiss generated strong reaction from the media. This performance was listed by ''Blender'' magazine as one of the twenty-five sexiest music moments on television history. MTV listed the performance as the number-one opening moments in the history of MTV Video Music Awards. In 2011, Spears was honored with the MTV Video Vanguard Award, for having made a profound effect on the MTV culture.
Barbara Ellen of ''The Observer'' has reported: "Spears is famously one of the 'oldest' teenagers pop has ever produced, almost middle aged in terms of focus and determination. Many 19-year-olds haven't even started working by that age, whereas Britney, a former Mouseketeer, was that most unusual and volatile of American phenomena — a child with a full-time career. While other little girls were putting posters on their walls, Britney was wanting to be the poster on the wall. Whereas other children develop at their own pace, Britney was developing at a pace set by the ferociously competitive American entertainment industry". In 2011, Adam Markovitz of ''Entertainment Weekly'' commented on the cultural significance of Spears' voice and music. "We don't ask a whole lot from Britney Spears as an entertainer...we'll still send her straight up the charts simply because she's Britney. She's an American institution, as deeply sacred and messed up as pro wrestling or the filibuster. Musically, though, Spears will always have to measure up to her own gold standards of pop euphony: the operatic slither of 2004's 'Toxic' and the candied funk of 2000's 'Oops!...I Did It Again.' Spears is no technical singer, that's for sure. But backed by Martin and Dr. Luke's wall of pound, her vocals melt into a mix of babytalk coo and coital panting that is, in its own overprocessed way, just as iconic and propulsive as Michael Jackson's yips or Eminem's snarls." 'Britney Spears' was Yahoo!'s most popular search term between 2005 and 2008, and has been in a total of seven different years. Spears was named as Most Searched Person in the ''Guinness World Records'' book edition 2007 and 2009.
Spears has been cited as a musical inspiration by contemporary artists. Gwyneth Paltrow's character on 2010 drama film ''Country Strong'' was inspired on the singer's public meltdown. According to film director Shana Fest, "that's where this movie came from. I mean, I was seeing what was happening in the media to Britney Spears. I think it's tragic how we treat people who give us so much, and we love to see them knocked down to build them back up again, to knock them down again." Nicki Minaj has cited Spears as a major influence on her career, and commented, "the fact that she came back out with just so much fire inspires me, and it inspires young women and people all over the world. It just inspires you. A lot of my fans feel like they are the underdog and feel like they are the people who aren’t ever accepted for themselves, or who are laughed at or poked fun at forever. It just goes to show that once you keep at whatever it is you’re doing, people may not like you, people may not love you, but they will have to respect you at the end of the day. And that respect is all that matters." Lana Del Rey revealed that she is compelled by Spears in an interview with MTV, saying, "I'm not really interested in a ton of female musicians but there is something about Britney that compelled me – the way she sings and just the way she looks." Del Rey also said that the "Toxic" music video is a main inspiration of her work. During the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga said that Spears "taught us all how to be fearless, and the industry wouldn't be the same without her." Miley Cyrus credits Spears as her biggest inspiration, and has referenced the singer in her hit song "Party in the U.S.A." (2009). Spears' personal breakdown was also cited as an inspiration for Barry Manilow's album "''15 Minutes''".
Spears has also become a major influence among many new artists, including Demi Lovato, Katy Perry, Kristinia DeBarge, Little Boots, Marina and the Diamonds, Pixie Lott, and Selena Gomez & the Scene. In 2007, Beyoncé Knowles also expressed her love for Spears in an interview with ''TRL Italy'', saying, "I love Britney, I'm a fan of hers. I like her new album ['Blackout']." Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas revealed to ''The Hollywood Reporter'' that she was happy with Spears' return to the music industry, and continued, "It's amazing. For this many years being in the business, and everything she's been through, it's wonderful to see her make this huge of a comeback. Really, it's a beautiful thing." Simon Cowell explained that he is "fascinated by [Britney]. The fact that she’s one of the most talked about – not just pop stars – but people in the world today, means that you’ve got this star power. [...] She’s still hot, she’s still having hit records and she’s still controversial, there’s a reason for that." Bebo Norman wrote a song about Spears, called "Britney", which was released as a single. Boy band Busted also wrote a song about Spears called "Britney", which was on their debut album. Richard Cheese called Britney Spears "a remarkable recording artist" and also went on to say that she was "versatile" and what the industry calls an "artist". ''People'' magazine and MTV reported that October 1, 2008, the Bronx's John Philip Sousa Middle School, named their music studio in honor of Britney Spears. Spears herself was present during the ceremony and donated $10,000 to the school's music program.
Discography
Filmography
| +Films | ! Year | ! Title | ! Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Flight attendant | Cameo appearance | ||
| 2002 | ''Austin Powers in Goldmember'' | Herself | Cameo appearance | |
| 2002 | Lucy Wagner | Teen Choice Awards | ||
| 2004 | ''[[Fahrenheit 9/11'' | Herself | Cameo appearance Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress |
| +Television | Year | Title | Character |
| 1993–1994 | ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' | Various Roles (Series regular) | |
| 1999 | ''The Famous Jett Jackson'' | Herself | |
| 1999 | ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' | Herself | |
| 1999 | ''The Famous Jett Jackson'' | Herself | |
| 1999 | ''Kenan & Kel'' | Herself | |
| 1999 | ''Médico de familia'' | Herself | |
| 1999 | ''Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree'' | Herself | |
| 2000 | ''The Simpsons'' | Herself | |
| 2000 | ''Saturday Night Live'' | Herself | |
| 2002 | ''Stages: Three Days in Mexico'' | Herself | |
| 2002 | Donner (voice) | ||
| 2002 | ''Saturday Night Live'' | Herself (host) | |
| 2003 | ''Punk'd'' | Herself | |
| 2004 | ''Britney & Kevin: Chaotic'' | Herself | |
| 2006 | ''Will & Grace'' | Amber-Louise (1 episode) | |
| 2008 | ''How I Met Your Mother'' | Abby (2 episodes) | |
| 2008 | ''Britney: For the Record'' | Herself | |
| 2010 | Herself |
Tours
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Category:1981 births Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Louisiana Category:American child singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American dancers Category:American female pop singers Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American music video directors Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of Maltese descent Category:American people of Sicilian descent Category:American pop singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:Baptists from the United States Category:Child pop musicians Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Innosense members Category:Jive Records artists Category:RCA Records artists Category:Living people Category:Mouseketeers Category:Musicians from Louisiana Category:Parklane Academy alumni Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Kentwood, Louisiana Category:Sony BMG artists Category:World Music Awards winners
af:Britney Spears als:Britney Spears ar:بريتني سبيرز az:Britni Spirs be:Брытні Спірс be-x-old:Брытні Сьпірс bcl:Britney Spears bg:Бритни Спиърс bar:Britney Spears bs:Britney Spears ca:Britney Spears cs:Britney Spears cbk-zam:Britney Spears cy:Britney Spears da:Britney Spears de:Britney Spears et:Britney Spears el:Μπρίτνεϊ Σπίαρς eml:Britney Spears es:Britney Spears eo:Britney Spears eu:Britney Spears fa:بریتنی اسپیرز fo:Britney Spears fr:Britney Spears fy:Britney Spears ga:Britney Spears gl:Britney Spears ko:브리트니 스피어스 hy:Բրիթնի Սփիրս hi:ब्रिट्नी स्पीयर्स hr:Britney Spears io:Britney Spears ilo:Britney Spears id:Britney Spears is:Britney Spears it:Britney Spears he:בריטני ספירס jv:Britney Spears kn:ಬ್ರಿಟ್ನಿ ಸ್ಪಿಯರ್ಸ್ ka:ბრიტნი სპირსი csb:Britney Spears sw:Britney Spears la:Britney Spears lv:Britnija Spīrsa lt:Britney Spears li:Britney Spears hu:Britney Spears mk:Бритни Спирс ml:ബ്രിട്ട്നി സ്പിയേർസ് ms:Britney Jean Spears mn:Бритни Спирс na:Britney Spears nl:Britney Spears ne:ब्रिट्नी स्पेयर्स ja:ブリトニー・スピアーズ no:Britney Spears nn:Britney Spears oc:Britney Spears pnb:برٹنی سپیئرز pap:Britney Spears pl:Britney Spears pt:Britney Spears kaa:Britney Spears ro:Britney Spears ru:Спирс, Бритни sc:Britney Spears sq:Britney Spears scn:Britney Spears simple:Britney Spears sk:Britney Spearsová sl:Britney Spears so:Britney Spears sr:Бритни Спирс sh:Britney Spears su:Britney Spears fi:Britney Spears sv:Britney Spears tl:Britney Spears ta:பிரிட்னி ஸ்பியர்ஸ் te:బ్రిట్నీ స్పియర్స్ th:บริตนีย์ สเปียส์ tr:Britney Spears uk:Брітні Спірс ur:برٹنی سپیئرز vec:Britney Spears vi:Britney Spears yi:בריטני ספירס zh:布蘭妮·斯皮爾斯
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
2:26
EMINEM, JUSTIN BIEBER, RIHANNA, BRITNEY SHINE AT BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS
ArtisanNewsService
EMINEM, JUSTIN BIEBER, RIHANNA, BRITNEY SHINE AT BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS
The Billboard Music Awards took place from Las Vegas on ABC-TV, and big winners included Eminem, Justin Bieber and Rihanna, and performances included Far East Movement, Neil Diamond, and Britney Spears paired with Nicki Minaj and earlier Rihanna (complete winners list).
show more
add to playlist
clear
Video Suggestions
