Events

362 – Athanasius returns to Alexandria.

1245 – Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery.

1440 – The Prussian Confederation is formed.

1543 – Battle of Wayna Daga – A combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeats a Muslim army led by Ahmed Gragn.

1613 – Mikhail I is elected unanimously as Tsar by a national assembly, beginning the Romanov dynasty of Imperial Russia.

1804 – The first self-propelling steam locomotive makes its outing at the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Wales.

1842 – John Greenough is granted the first U.S. patent for the sewing machine.

1848 – Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish ''The Communist Manifesto''.

1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Valverde is fought near Fort Craig in New Mexico Territory.

1874 – The ''Oakland Daily Tribune'' publishes its first edition.

1878 – The first telephone book is issued in New Haven, Connecticut.

1885 – The newly completed Washington Monument is dedicated.

1913 – Ioannina is incorporated into the Greek state after the Balkan Wars.

1916 – World War I: In France, the Battle of Verdun begins.

1918 – The last Carolina Parakeet dies in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo.

1919 – Kurt Eisner, German socialist, is assassinated. His death results in the establishment of the Bavarian Soviet Republic and parliament and government fleeing Munich, Germany.

1921 – Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia adopts the country's first constitution.

1925 – ''The New Yorker'' publishes its first issue.

1937 – Initial flight of the first successful flying car, Waldo Waterman's Arrowbile.

1937 – The League of Nations bans foreign national "volunteers" in the Spanish Civil War.

1945 – World War II: Japanese Kamikaze planes sink the escort carrier ''Bismarck Sea'' and damage the ''Saratoga''.

1947 – In New York City, Edwin Land demonstrates the first "instant camera", the Polaroid Land Camera, to a meeting of the Optical Society of America.

1948 – NASCAR is incorporated.

1952 – The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes identity cards in the UK to "set the people free".

1958 – The Peace symbol, commissioned by Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in protest against the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom.

1965 – Malcolm X is assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City by members of the Nation of Islam.

1970 – Swissair Flight 330: A mid-air bomb explosion and subsequent crash kills 38 passengers and nine crew members near Zürich, Switzerland.

1971 – The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna.

1972 – President Richard Nixon visits the People's Republic of China to normalize Sino-American relations.

1972 – The Soviet unmanned spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon.

1973 – Over the Sinai Desert, Israeli fighter aircraft shoot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 jet killing 108.

1974 – The last Israeli soldiers leave the west bank of the Suez Canal pursuant to a truce with Egypt.

1975 – Watergate scandal: Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to prison.

1995 – Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.

2004 – The first European political party organization, the European Greens, is established in Rome.

Births

1484 – Elector Joachim I of Brandenburg (d. 1535)

1556 – Sethus Calvisius, German calendar reformer (d. 1615)

1621 – Rebecca Nurse, English colonist executed during Salem witch trials (d. 1692)

1675 – Franz Xaver Josef von Unertl, Bavarian politician (d. 1750)

1703 – Shah Waliullah, Islamic Scholar and Reformer (d. 1762)

1705 – Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, British naval officer (d. 1781)

1721 – John McKinly, American physician (d. 1796)

1723 – Louis-Pierre Anquetil, French historian (d. 1808)

1728 – Tsar Peter III of Russia, husband of Catherine the Great (d. 1762)

1783 – Princess Catharina of Württemberg, Queen consort of Westphalia (d. 1835)

1791 – Carl Czerny, Austrian composer (d. 1857)

1794 – Antonio López de Santa Anna, Mexican president (d. 1876)

1801 – John Henry Newman, English Catholic cardinal (d. 1890)

1817 – Jose Zorrilla y Moral, Spanish dramatist (d. 1893)

1821 – Charles Scribner I, American publisher (d. 1871)

1836 – Léo Delibes, French composer (d. 1891)

1844 – Charles-Marie Widor, French composer (d. 1937)

1860 – Karel Matěj Čapek-Chod, Czech journalist (d. 1927)

1860 – Goscombe John, Welsh sculptor (d. 1952)

1865 – John Haden Badley, English school founder (d. 1967)

1867 – Otto Hermann Kahn, German millionaire (d. 1934)

1875 – Jeanne Calment, French supercentenarian and longest-lived human on record (d. 1997)

1876 – Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (d. 1956)

1878 – Mirra Alfassa, Indian spiritual leader (d. 1973)

1880 – Waldemar Bonsels, German writer (d. 1952)

1885 – Sacha Guitry, Russian dramatist (d. 1957)

1888 – Clemence Dane, British novelist and playwright (d. 1965)

1893 – Celia Lovsky, Russian-born actress (d. 1979)

1893 – Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist (d. 1987)

1895 – Henrik Dam Danish biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1976)

1900 – Madeleine Renaud, French theater actress (d. 1994)

1903 – Fairfax M. Cone, American advertising executive (d. 1977)

1903 – Anaïs Nin, French diarist (d. 1977)

1903 – Raymond Queneau, French poet and novelist (d. 1976)

1907 – W. H. Auden, English poet (d. 1973)

1909 – Hans Erni, Swiss painter

1910 – Douglas Bader, British pilot (d. 1982)

1910 – Carmine Galante, American gangster (d. 1979)

1910 – Eddie Waring, British sports commentator (d. 1986)

1913 – Roger Laurent, Belgian racing driver (d. 1997)

1914 – Ilmari Juutilainen, Finnish fighter pilot (d. 1999)

1915 – Ann Sheridan, American actress (d. 1967)

1917 – Lucille Bremer, American actress (d. 1996)

1921 – John Rawls, American philosopher (d. 2002)

1924 – Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe 1980-1987; President of Zimbabwe 1987-present

1925 – Sam Peckinpah, American director (d. 1984)

1927 – Erma Bombeck, American humorist (d. 1996)

1927 – Hubert de Givenchy, French fashion designer

1927 – Pierre Mercure, French-Canadian musician and composer (d. 1966)

1929 – Roberto "Chespirito" Gómez Bolaños, Mexican actor

1929 – James Beck, English actor (d. 1973)

1933 – Nina Simone, American singer (d. 2003)

1934 – Rue McClanahan, American actress (d. 2010)

1935 – Mark McManus, Scottish actor (d. 1994)

1935 – Jean Pelletier, French Canadian political operative

1936 – Barbara Jordan, American politician (d. 1996)

1937 – King Harald V of Norway

1937 – Gary Lockwood, American actor

1940 – Peter Gethin, British racing driver

1940 – John Lewis, American politician and civil rights activist

1940 – Wong Jim, Hong Kong composer (d. 2004)

1942 – Margarethe von Trotta, German actress and film director

1943 – David Geffen, American record producer

1945 – Paul Newton, British musician

1945 – D'Anna Fortunato, American mezzo-soprano

1945 – Walter Momper, German politician

1946 – Tyne Daly, American actress

1946 – Anthony Daniels, British actor

1946 – Alan Rickman, English actor

1946 – Bob Ryan, Boston sports columnist

1946 – Vito Rizzuto, Sicilian-born alleged Mafia boss

1947 – Johnny Echols, American musician

1947 – Olympia Snowe, American politician

1947 – Victor Sokolov, Russian journalist (d. 2006)

1949 – Jerry Harrison, American musician

1949 – Ronnie Hellström, Swedish footballer

1951 – Wolfgang Frank, German footballer

1951 – Vince Welnick, American musician (The Grateful Dead) (d. 2006)

1952 – Jean Jacques Burnel, British musician

1952 – Jeffrey Shaara, American novelist

1953 – Christine Ebersole, American actress

1953 – William Petersen, American actor

1954 – Mike Pickering, English disc jockey and musician

1954 – Ivo Van Damme, Belgian athlete (d. 1976)

1955 – Kelsey Grammer, American actor

1958 – Jake Burns, Irish singer

1958 – Mary Chapin Carpenter, American singer

1958 – Jack Coleman, American actor

1958 – Alan Trammell, baseball player and manager

1959 – José María Cano, Spanish musician

1959 – Emmett McAuliffe, American radio show host and lawyer

1960 – Laurent Petitguillaume, French radio and television host

1960 – Steve Wynn, American singer

1961 – Christopher Atkins, American actor

1961 – Martha Hackett, American actress

1961 – Bertha Faye, American wrestler (d. 2001)

1962 – Vanessa Feltz, British television presenter

1962 – Chuck Palahniuk, American writer

1962 – David Foster Wallace, American writer (d. 2008)

1963 – William Baldwin, American actor

1964 – Mark and Scott Kelly, American astronauts and identical twin brothers

1964 – Jane Tomlinson, British cancer campaigner (d. 2007)

1964 – Huw Higginson, British actor

1967 – Leroy Burrell, American runner

1969 – James Dean Bradfield, Welsh musician

1969 – Corey Harris, American musician

1969 – Aunjanue Ellis, American actress

1969 – Tony Meola, American footballer

1969 – Eric Wilson, American musician

1970 – Michael Slater, Australian cricketer

1970 – Fat Pat, American rapper (Screwed Up Click) (d. 1998)

1971 – Randy Blythe, American musician

1972 – Seo Taiji, Korean musician

1973 – Heri Joensen, Faroese musician

1973 – Justin Sane, American punk musician

1973 – Bowie Tsang, Taiwanese singer and TV host

1973 – Jacob M. Appel, American bioethicist

1974 – Iván Campo, Spanish footballer

1974 – Roberto Heras, Spanish cyclist

1975 – Wish Bone, American rapper (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony)

1976 – Ryan Smyth, Canadian hockey player

1976 – Michael McIntyre English Comedian

1977 – Steve Francis, American basketball player

1977 – Chad Hutchinson, baseball and football player

1977 – Owen King, American writer and journalist

1977 – Kevin Rose, American television host and Internet entrepreneur

1978 – Park Eun-hye, South Korean actress

1978 – Kim Ha Neul, South Korean actress

1978 – Nicole Parker, American actress

1979 – Pascal Chimbonda, French footballer

1979 – Carly "Carlito" Colón, Puerto Rican professional wrestler

1979 – Lonnie Ford, American football player

1979 – Jennifer Love Hewitt, American actress

1980 – Brad Fast, Canadian ice hockey player

1980 – Jim Vandermeer, Canadian ice hockey player

1980 – Parthiva Sureshwaren, Indian racing driver

1980 – Tiziano Ferro, Italian singer

1980 – Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, 5th king of Bhutan

1981 – Jun Kaname, Japanese actor

1982 – Bernhard Auinger, Austrian racing driver

1982 – Andre Barrett, American basketball player

1982 – Chantal Claret, American musician

1983 – Braylon Edwards, American football player

1983 – Franklin Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player

1983 – Mélanie Laurent, French actress and director

1984 – Andrew Ellis, New Zealand All Black rugby union player

1984 – David Odonkor, German footballer

1984 – Marco Paoloni, Italian footballer

1984 – Karina, Japanese model and actress

1985 – Jarrod Atkinson, Australian rules footballer

1985 – Bob Burton, American speedcuber

1985 – Georgios Samaras, Greek footballer

1985 – Jamaal Westerman, Canadian football player

1985 – Simon Cusden, English cricketer

1986 – Charlotte Church, Welsh singer

1986 – Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este

1987 – Ellen Page, Canadian actress

1987 – Enrique David Mateo, Brazilian footballer

1987 – Ashley Greene, American model and actress

1988 – Matthias de Zordo, German javelin thrower

1989 – Corbin Bleu, American actor and singer

1989 – Kristin Herrera, American actress

1989 – Scout Taylor-Compton, American actress

1989 – Josh Walker, English footballer

2001 – Isabella Acres, American actress

Deaths

1437 – King James I of Scotland (b. 1394)

1471 – John of Rokycan, Czech Catholic archbishop

1513 – Pope Julius II (b. 1443)

1543 – Ahmed Gragn, Sultan of Adal

1554 – Hieronymus Bock, German botanist (b. 1498)

1595 – Robert Southwell, English Jesuit priest and poet

1668 – John Thurloe, English Puritan spy (b. 1616)

1677 – Baruch Spinoza, Dutch philosopher (b. 1632)

1715 – Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, Governor of the Province of Maryland (b. 1637)

1730 – Pope Benedict XIII (b. 1649)

1788 – Johann Georg Palitzsch, German astronomer (b. 1723)

1821 – Georg Friedrich von Martens, German diplomat (b. 1756)

1824 – Eugène de Beauharnais, son of Napoleon's wife, Josephine (b. 1781)

1846 – Emperor Ninko of Japan (b. 1800)

1862 – Justinus Kerner, German poet (b. 1786)

1900 – Marthinus Nikolaas Ras, South African Gunmaker (b. 1853)

1901 – George Francis Fitzgerald, Irish mathematician (b. 1851)

1919 – Kurt Eisner, German socialist (assassinated), leader of socialist revolution of 1918 in Bavaria (b. 1867)

1920 – Jacinta Marto, witness of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima (b. 1910)

1926 – Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)

1934 – Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino, Nicaraguan revolutionary (b. 1895)

1938 – George Ellery Hale, American astronomer (b. 1868)

1941 – Frederick Banting, Canadian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1891)

1944 – Ferenc Szisz, Hungarian-born race car driver (b. 1873)

1945 – Eric Liddell, Scottish runner (b. 1902)

1946 – José Streel, Belgian World War II collaborator (b. 1911)

1949 – Tan Malaka, Indonesian nationalist activist and communist leader (b. 1894)

1958 – Duncan Edwards, English footballer (b. 1936)

1960 – Jacques Becker, French film director and screenwriter (b. 1906)

1965 – Malcolm X, Black American civil rights leader (b. 1925)

1966 – Paul Comtois, French Canadian politician (b. 1895)

1967 – Charles Beaumont, American writer (b. 1929)

1968 – Howard Walter Florey, Australian-born pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1898)

1972 – Bronislava Nijinska, Polish-Russian ballet dancer (b. 1891)

1972 – Eugène Tisserant, French Catholic Cardinal (b. 1884)

1972 – Zhang Guohua, Chinese general and politician (b. 1914)

1974 – Tim Horton, Canadian hockey player (b. 1930)

1977 – Nolan Strong, a Detroit doo-wop singer with The Diablos (b. 1934)

1978 – Mieczysław Żywczyński, Polish historian and priest (b. 1901)

1980 – Alfred Andersch, German writer (b. 1914)

1981 – Erika Köth, German coloratura soprano (b. 1927)

1982 – Murray the K, American impresario and disc jockey (b. 1922)

1982 – Gershom Scholem, German-born Israeli Jewish philosopher and historian (b. 1897)

1984 – Michail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov, Russian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)

1985 – Louis Hayward, British actor (b. 1909)

1986 – Helen Hooven Santmyer, American writer (b. 1895)

1987 – Noel Odell, English mountaineer, last person to see Mallory and Irvine alive (b. 1890)

1989 – Alex Thépot, French footballer (b. 1906)

1991 – Dorothy Auchterlonie, Australian academic, literary critic and poet (b. 1915)

1991 – Nutan Behl, Indian actress (b. 1936)

1991 – Dame Margot Fonteyn, English ballet dancer (b. 1919)

1994 – Johannes Steinhoff, German fighter pilot & NATO commander (b. 1913)

1995 – Jorge José Emiliano dos Santos, Brazilian Football Referee (b. 1954)

1996 – Morton Gould, American composer (b. 1913)

1999 – Gertrude B. Elion, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1918)

1999 – Wilmer David Mizell, baseball player (b. 1930)

1999 – Ilmari Juutilainen, Finnish fighter pilot (b. 1914)

2000 – Antonio Díaz-Miguel, Spanish basketball coach (b. 1933)

2002 – Harold Furth, Austrian-born physicist (b. 1939)

2002 – John Thaw, English actor (b. 1942)

2003 – Eddie Thomson, Scottish football player and coach (b. 1947)

2004 – John Charles, Welsh footballer (b. 1931)

2004 – Guido Molinari, Canadian artist (b. 1933)

2005 – Ara Berberian, American opera singer (b. 1930)

2005 – Gérard Bessette, French-Canadian novelist and poet (b. 1920)

2005 – Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Cuban novelist (b. 1929)

2005 – Eugene Scott, American religious broadcaster (b. 1929)

2008 – Sunny Lowry, first British woman to swim the English Channel (b. 1911)

2008 – Ben Chapman, American actor (b. 1928)

2011 – Bernard Nathanson, American abortionist turned pro-life activist (b. 1926)

Holidays and observances

Christian Feast Day:

*Pepin of Landen

*Peter Damian

*Randoald

*February 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

International Mother Language Day (UNESCO)

Language Movement Day, celebrated by Bengali speaking people for gaining right of mother tongue. (Bangladesh)

The first day of Musikahan Festival, celebrated until February 27. (Tagum City)

External links

BBC: On This Day

On This Day in Canada

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Category:Days of the year Category:February

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Name	Janelle Monáe
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Janelle Monáe Robinson
Birth date	December 01, 1985
Origin	Kansas City, Kansas US
Genre	R&B;, soul, funk, alternative rock, dance-punk
Occupation	musician
Years active	2003-present
Label	Bad Boy Records, Atlantic Records
Website	http://www.jmonae.com/ }}

Janelle Monáe (born Janelle Monáe Robinson; December 1, 1985) is an American R&B;/soul musician signed to Bad Boy Records and Atlantic Records.

Monáe debuted with a conceptual EP, ''Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase)''. The EP failed to make much of a commercial impact, peaking at #115 on the Billboard charts in the United States.

In 2010, Janelle Monáe released her debut studio album, ''The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)'', a concept album sequel to her first EP; it was released widely to the general public under Bad Boy Records. This album received acclaim from critics and gained a Grammy Nomination for Best Contemporary R&B; Album. The song "Tightrope" was also nominated for "Best Urban/Alternative Performance"; this album was also more successful commercially officially reaching the 17th Spot on the Billboard Charts.

Biography

Early life and career

Monáe was born Janelle Monáe Robinson in Kansas City, Kansas, where she spent her early life; Monáe has stated that the fictional character of ''Dorothy'' from the Wizard of Oz has been one of her musical influences. She has told reporters that she has dreamed of being a singer and a performer since she was very young. Monáe moved from Kansas City, Kansas to New York to study drama at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She attended a Performing Arts School called Freedom Theatre, which is the oldest African-American theatre in Philadelphia. After moving to Atlanta, Georgia, where she met OutKast's Big Boi, Monáe founded the Wondaland Arts Society with like-minded young artists and made appearances on ''Idlewild'', where she is featured on the songs "Call the Law" and "In Your Dreams". Big Boi told his friend Sean Combs about Monáe, whom he had not heard of before. Combs promptly visited her MySpace page, and according to Bad Boy Records' A&R; Daniel 'Skid' Mitchell in an interview with HitQuarters, the label boss loved it straight away, "[He] loved her look, loved that you couldn’t see her body, loved the way she was dancing, and just loved the vibe. He felt like she has something that was different - something new and fresh." Monáe signed to Bad Boy in 2006. The label's chief role was in facilitating her exposure on a much broader scale rather than developing the artist and her music, because in the words of Mitchell, "She was already moving, she already had her records - she had a self-contained movement." Combs and Big Boi wanted to take their time and build her profile organically and allow the music to grow rather than put out "A hot single which everyone jumps on, and then they fade because it's just something of the moment."

2007 to 2010: ''Metropolis - The Chase Suite'' and ''The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)''

In 2007, Monáe released her first solo work, titled ''Metropolis''. It was originally conceived as a concept album in four parts, or "suites", which were to be released through her website and mp3 download sites. After the release of the first part of the series, ''Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase)'' in mid-2007, these plans were altered following her signing with Sean "Diddy" Combs's label, Bad Boy Records, later in the year. The label gave an official and physical release to the first "suite" in August 2008, which was retitled ''Metropolis: The Chase Suite (Special Edition)'' and included two new tracks. The EP was generally well-received by critics, garnering Monáe a 2009 Grammy nomination in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance for her single "Many Moons", festival appearances and opening slots for the indie pop band Of Montreal. Monáe also toured as the opening act for band No Doubt on their summer 2009 tour. Her single "Open Happiness" was featured in the 2009 season finale of ''American Idol''. Monáe told MTV about her concept for her new album and also discussed her alter-ego named ''Cindi Mayweather'', she said:

"Cindi is an android and I love speaking about the android because they are the new “other”. People are afraid of the other and I believe we’re going to live in a world with androids because of technology and the way it advances. The first album she was running because she had fallen in love with a human and she was being disassembled for that."

In a November 2009 interview, Monáe revealed the title and concept behind her album, ''The ArchAndroid''. The album was released on 18 May 2010. The second and third suites of ''Metropolis'' are combined into this full-length release, in which Monáe's alter-ego, Cindi Mayweather—also the protagonist of ''Metropolis: The Chase Suite''— becomes a messianic figure to the android community of Metropolis. Monáe noted that she plans to shoot a video for each song on ''The ArchAndroid'' and create both a movie and graphic novel based on the album. The ''Metropolis'' concept series draws inspiration from a wide range of musical, cinematic and other sources, ranging from Alfred Hitchcock to Debussy to Philip K. Dick. However, the series puts Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film ''Metropolis'', which Monáe referred to as "the godfather of science-fiction movies," in special regard. Aside from sharing a name, they also share visual styles (the cover for ''The ArchAndroid'' is inspired by the iconic poster for ''Metropolis''), conceptual themes and political goals, using expressionistic future scenarios to examine and explode contemporary ideas of prejudice and class. Both also include a performing female android, though to very different effect. Where ''Metropolis'' android Maria is the evil, havoc-sowing double of the messianic figure to the city's strictly segregated working class, Monáe's messianic android muse Cindi Mayweather represents an interpretation of androids as that segregated minority, which Monáe describes as "... the Other. And I feel like all of us, whether in the majority or the minority, felt like the Other at some point."

Monáe received the Vanguard Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers at the Rhythm & Soul Music Awards in 2010. Monáe covered Charlie Chaplin's ''Smile'' on Billboard.com in June 2010. In an NPR interview in September 2010, Monae stated that she is a believer in, and a proponent of time travel. Monáe performed "Tightrope" during the second elimination episode of the 11th Season of Dancing with the Stars on September 28, 2010. Monáe performed at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2011 alongside artists Bruno Mars and B.o.B; Monáe performed the synth section of B.o.B's song "Nothin' On You" and she then performed her track "Cold War" with B.o.B on the Guitar and Mars on the drums. Her performance received a standing ovation.

Her single, "Tightrope" was featured on the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011, performed by Pia Toscano, Haley Reinhart, Naima Adedapo, and Thia Megia.

2011 to present: instrumental re-release of ''ArchAndroid'', new album and other projects

Janelle tweeted that she is planning on releasing an instrumental version of her album The ArchAndroid.

In an interview, Monáe stated that she plans to release two albums in 2012. In another interview with Forbes, Monáe also said that she plans to release an ArchAndroid inspired film. She will join the Red Hot Chili Peppers as a support act on part of their "I'm With You" tour.

Artistry

Musical styles and influences

''The Telegraph'' released their interview with Monáe talking about her first studio album where they said "I begin to worry for a moment that Monáe may not just be a humourless science-fiction nerd, but actually an android herself, created in a laboratory as a super-musical cross between James Brown, Judy Garland, Andre 3000 and Steve Jobs, invented to test the desperate incredulity of music journalists". They also compared Monáe to artists such as Annie Lennox and Lauryn Hill. Her musical styles have been described as "a soaring orchestral trip enlivened with blockbuster vocals, mysterious imagery and notes of Sixties pop and jazz". ''The Guardian'' have noted some of her influences as: Michael Jackson, Prince, OutKast, Erykah Badu, Beyonce, James Brown, Grace Jones, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Bernard Herrmann, Funkadelic and the Incredible String Band. Monáe has stated that she has an alter-ego named ''Cindi Mayweather'' who according to Monáe is from the year 2719. In her first EP she gave her alter-ego a back-story stating that she is on the run after breaking the law in her home town of ''Metropolis'' after falling in love with a human named ''Anthony Greendown''. Monáe explained about Cindi, saying "The Archandroid, Cindi, is the mediator, between the mind and the hand. She's the mediator between the haves and the have-nots, the oppressed and the oppressor. She's like the Archangel in the Bible, and what Neo represents to the Matrix."

Public image

Monáe has gained a signature clothing style of wearing a Tuxedo wardrobe and she said on the matter to ''Honey Magazine'' "I bathe in it, I swim in it, and I could be buried in it. A tux is such a standard uniform, it’s so classy and it’s a lifestyle I enjoy. The tux keeps me balanced. I look at myself as a canvas. I don’t want to cloud myself with too many colors or I’ll go crazy. It’s an experiment I’m doing. I think I want to be in the Guinness Book of World Records." In Monáe's concerts she has been noted to hand out her ''Ten Droid Commandments'' which encourages her fans to be individuals. ''The Telegraph'' also commented on her image as an artist saying "Sitting in a grey, airless record company office, this slight, stiff young woman delivers her speech in slow, deliberate tones, utterly expressionless. Dressed in her trademark starched shirt and tuxedo, hair immaculately coiffed, Monáe’s face is an opaque mask of perfection: all silken smooth skin, button nose and glassy brown eyes. I begin to worry for a moment that Monáe may not just be a humourless science-fiction nerd, but actually an android herself." She has described her Tuxedos as being a uniform for her career and she has stated that she wears them when she is working. She also featured in the "Style 100" of ''InStyle Magazine''.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
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2010		* First studio album	* Release date: May 18, 2010	* Label: Bad Boy Records	17	4	12	24	36	51	96

Extended plays

Year	Album details	Peak chartpositions
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2007		* First extended play	* Release date: August 24, 2007	* Label: Bad Boy Records	115	20	2

Singles

! Year	! Single	! Album
2006
2006
2007
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2009
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Featured Singles

36

+ List of singles, with selected chart positions

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Album

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"We Are Young"( Fun featuring Janelle Monáe)

2011

1

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1

* US: 2x Platinum

''Some Nights''

"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Guest appearances

2005: ''In "House" Sessions'' (My First Love)

2005: ''Broadcasting the Definition'' (Peachtree Blues)

2005: Purple Ribbon All-Stars - ''Got Purp? Vol 2'' ("Time Will Reveal," "Lettin' Go")

2006: Outkast - ''Idlewild'' ("Call the Law," "In Your Dreams")

2008: "Big" Collaboration with Big Boi and the Atlanta Ballet

2009: Chester French- ''Jacques Jams, Vol. 1: Endurance (Mixtape)'' ("Nerd Girl")

2009: ''Open Happiness''

2009: ''Stargate Universe'' - "Earth" Episode 7, Season 1

2010: B.o.B. - ''B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray'' ("The Kids")

2010: Big Boi - ''Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty'' ("Be Still")

2010: of Montreal - ''False Priest'' ("Our Riotous Defects," "Enemy Gene")

2010: Without a Fight - For Colored Girls: Music From and Inspired by the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

2011: fun. - ''Some Nights'' ("We Are Young")

2011: ("Tightrope") (featuring Big Boi) - performance on ''Later With Jools Holland'' - BBC Television

Awards and nominations

!Year	!Award	!Category	!Result
	2009		Grammy Awards	Best Urban/Alternative Performance ("Many Moons")
		ASCAP Awards	Vanguard Award
	MTV Video Music Awards
	Aposta Internacional (International Bet)
Soul Train Awards	Centric Award
	Best of the Booth Award	Best R&B;/Pop Album of 2010
	Best Contemporary R&B; Album (''The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)'')
Best Urban/Alternative Performance ("Tightrope")

References

External links

Official website

Janelle Monáe discography at Discogs

Janelle Monae interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' June 2010

Janelle Monáe Interview

Janelle Monáe interview at URB

Janelle Monáe interview with SPIN

Review of Tightrope (feat. Big Boi)

Q & A with Janelle Monae

"Janelle Monáe on BackPocketMag.com

Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:People from Kansas City, Kansas Category:African American singers Category:American female singers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Bad Boy Records artists Category:Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Musicians from Kansas Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia

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