Name	MTV (Music Television)
Logofile	MTV Logo 2010.svg
Logosize	160px
Logocaption	The current MTV logo, in use since 2010.
Launch	August 1, 1981
Owner	MTV Networks (Viacom)
Headquarters	New York City
Picture format	480i (SDTV)1080i (HDTV)
Country	United States
Language	English
Former names	Music Television (August 1, 1981 – November 16, 2008)
Sister names	MTV2, Tr3́s, mtvU, VH1, VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Nicktoons, TeenNick
Channel	The N, TeenNick
Web	mtv.com
Terr avail	Not Available
Sat serv 1	DirecTV
Sat chan 1	Channel 331 (SD/HD)Channel 1331 (VOD)
Sat serv 2	Dish Network
Sat chan 2	Channel 160 (SD/HD)
Cable serv 1	Available on most cable systems
Cable chan 1	Check local listings for channels
Dummy parameter	}}

MTV, an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs.

MTV has had a profound impact on the music industry and popular culture. Slogans such as "I want my MTV" and "MTV is here" were embedded in public thought, the concept of the VJ was popularized, the idea of a dedicated video-based outlet for music was introduced, and both artists and fans found a central location for concert music events, news, and promotion. MTV has also been referenced countless times in popular culture by musicians, other TV channels and television program, films, and books.

MTV has spawned numerous sister channels in the U.S. and affiliated channels internationally, some of which, like the former MTV Tempo now known as TEMPO Networks, have gone independent. MTV's moral influence on young people, including issues related to censorship and social activism, has been a subject of intense debate for years. MTV's choice to focus on non-music programming has also been contested relentlessly since the 1990s, demonstrating the channel's previous impact on popular culture. MTV has since largely departed from music programming and is now known for producing mostly teen-oriented programs.

The launch of MTV

Previous concepts

The original programming format of MTV was created by media executive Robert W. Pittman, who later became president and chief executive officer (CEO) of MTV Networks. Pittman had test-driven the music format by producing and hosting a 15-minute show, ''Album Tracks'', on WNBC in the late 1970s.

Pittman's boss, WASEC Executive Vice President John Lack, had shepherded ''PopClips'', a TV series created by former Monkee-turned solo artist Michael Nesmith, whose attention had turned to the music video format by the late 1970s. The inspiration for ''PopClips'' came from a similar program on New Zealand's TVNZ network, ''Radio with Pictures'', which premiered in 1976. The concept itself had been in the works since 1966, when major record companies began supplying the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation with promotional music clips to play on the air at no charge. (Few artists made the long trip to New Zealand to appear live.)

Additionally, in the book ''The Mason Williams FCC Rapport'', author Mason Williams states that he pitched an idea to CBS for a television program that featured "video-radio," where disc jockeys would play avant-garde art pieces set to music on the air. CBS cancelled the idea, but Williams premiered his own musical composition, "Classical Gas", on the ''Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'', where he was head writer. The book in which this claim is made was first published in 1971, ten years before MTV first came on the air.

The Beatles had utilized music videos since the mid 1960s and their debut movie "A Hard Day's Night" from 1964 is often claimed to be the true inspiration for the network.

Music Television debuts

On August 1, 1981, at 12:01 a.m., MTV launched with the words ''"Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll,"'' spoken by John Lack, and played over footage of the first Space Shuttle launch countdown of ''Columbia'' (which took place earlier that year) and of the launch of Apollo 11. Those words were immediately followed by the original MTV theme song, a crunching classical tune composed by Jonathan Elias and John Petersen, playing over photos of the Apollo 11 moon landing, with the flag featuring MTV's logo changing various colors, textures, and designs. MTV producers Alan Goodman and Fred Seibert used this public domain footage as a conceit, associating MTV with the most famous moment in world television history. Seibert said they had originally planned to use Neil Armstrong's "One small step" quote, but lawyers said Armstrong owns his name and likeness, and Armstrong had refused, so the quote was replaced with a beeping sound. At the moment of its launch, only a few thousand people on a single cable system in northern New Jersey could see it. Kenneth M. Miller is credited as being the first Technical Director to officially launch MTV from its New York-based Network Operations facility.

The first music video shown on MTV was The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star". The second video shown was Pat Benatar's "You Better Run". Sporadically, the screen would go black when an employee at MTV inserted a tape into a VCR. Video of the launch of MTV was uploaded onto YouTube in 2009, with the original commercials, and the "black screens" between videos. The "MTV lettering" differed on its first day, and included record label information like year and label name. The first 24 hours of programming was uploaded to YouTube in July 2010 ahead of the network's 30th anniversary.

"Carouselambra" by Led Zeppelin was played as the closing credits rolled when MTV was first broadcast.

As programming chief, Robert W. Pittman recruited and managed a team for the launch that included Tom Freston (who succeeded Pittman as CEO of MTV networks), Fred Seibert, John Sykes, Carolyn Baker (original head of talent and acquisition), Marshall Cohen (original head of research), Gail Sparrow (of talent and acquisition), Sue Steinberg (executive producer), Julian Goldberg, Studio producers/MTV News Writers Liz Nealon, Brian Diamond and Robin Zorn, Steve Casey (creator of the name MTV and its first program director), Marcy Brahman, Ronald E. "Buzz" Brindle, and Robert Morton.

MTV's effect was immediate in areas where the new music video channel could be picked up. Within a matter of just a couple of months, record shops in areas where MTV was available found themselves selling music that the local radio stations were not playing, such as Men at Work, Bow Wow Wow, and Human League.

Following concepts

HBO also had a 30 minute program of music videos, called ''Video Jukebox'', that first aired around the time of MTV's launch and would last until late 1986. Also around this time, HBO would occasionally play one or a few music videos between movies.

SuperStation WTBS launched ''Night Tracks'' on June 3, 1983, with up to 14 hours of music video airplay each late night weekend by 1985. Its most noticeable difference was that black artists received airplay that MTV initially ignored. The program ran until the end of May 1992. A few markets also launched music-only channels; most notably Las Vegas' KVMY Channel 21, which debuted in the summer of 1984 as KRLR-TV ''Vusic 21''. The first video played on that channel was Video Killed the Radio Star, following in the footsteps of MTV.

Shortly after TBS began ''Night Tracks'', NBC launched its music video program called ''Friday Night Videos'' which was considered network television's answer to MTV. Later renamed simply ''Friday Night'', the program ran from 1983 to sometime in the late 80s. ABC's contribution to the music video program genre in 1984, ''ABC Rocks'', was far less successful, lasting only a year.

TBS founder Ted Turner started the Cable Music Channel in 1984, designed to play a broader mix of music videos than MTV's rock format allowed. But after one month as a money-losing venture, Turner sold it to MTV, who redeveloped the channel into VH1.

Music videos on MTV

The original purpose of MTV was to be "Music Television," playing music videos 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, guided by on-air personalities known as VJs, or video jockeys. The original taglines of the channel were "You'll never look at music the same way again," and "On cable. In stereo." Although the original MTV channel no longer plays music videos 24/7, several spinoff channels do so, including MTV Hits and MTV Jams. In addition, videos can be played on-demand at their website.

Internationally, the station continues to support a broad selection of music including 4 channels in the UK that broadcast 23 hours of music video per day.

Original VJs and format

MTV's early format was modeled after AOR (album oriented rock) radio. It would become a full top 40 station in 1984. Fresh-faced young men and women were hired to host the network's programming and to introduce videos that were being played. The term VJ (video jockey) was coined, a play on the initialism DJ (disc jockey). Many VJs eventually became celebrities in their own right. The original five MTV VJs in 1981 were Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, J.J. Jackson and Martha Quinn.

The early music videos that made up the bulk of MTV's programming in the 1980s were promotional videos [called "promos" in the U.K.] that record companies had commissioned for international use or concert clips from whatever sources could be found.

A large number of rock bands and performers of the 1980s were made popular by MTV. Such acts ranged from new wave to hard rock or heavy metal bands such as Adam Ant, Eurythmics, Culture Club, Motley Crue, Split Enz, Prince, Ultravox, Duran Duran, Van Halen, Bon Jovi, RATT, Def Leppard, The Police, and The Cars. The network also rotated the videos of "Weird Al" Yankovic, who made a career out of parodying other artists' videos.

MTV also played some classic rock acts from the 1980s and earlier decades, including David Bowie, Dire Straits (whose 1985 song and video "Money for Nothing" both referenced MTV and also included the slogan "I want my MTV" in its lyrics), Journey, Rush, Aerosmith, John Mellencamp, Billy Joel, Genesis, Billy Squier, Robert Palmer, Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, The Who and ZZ Top; newly solo acts such as Robert Plant, Phil Collins, Paul McCartney, David Lee Roth, and Pete Townshend; supergroup acts such as Asia, Power Station, The Firm, and Traveling Wilburys as well as forgotten acts such as Michael Stanley Band, Shoes, Blotto and Taxxi. The hard rock band Kiss publicly appeared without their trademark makeup for the first time on MTV in 1983.

Also during the early days of the channel, the VJs would let other stars take over the channel within an hour as "Guest VJs" from musicians (Adam Ant, Billy Idol, Phil Collins, Simon LeBon and Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran, Tina Turner) to comedians (Eddie Murphy, Martin Short, Dan Aykroyd, Steven Wright) as they pick their favorite videos.

Breaking the "color barrier"

During MTV's first few years on the air, very few black artists were included in rotation on the channel. Those who were in MTV's rotation included Eddy Grant, Tina Turner, Donna Summer, Musical Youth, Herbie Hancock, Grace Jones, and Prince. The very first non-white act played on MTV in the US was UK band The Specials, which featured an integrated line-up of white and black musicians and vocalists. The Specials' video "Rat Race" was played as the 58th video on the station's first day of broadcasting.

MTV rejected other black artists' videos, such as Rick James' "Super Freak", because they didn't fit the channel's carefully selected AOR format at the time. The exclusion enraged James; he publicly advocated the addition of more black artists' videos on the channel. Rock legend David Bowie also questioned MTV's lack of black artists during an on-air interview with VJ Mark Goodman in 1983. MTV's original head of talent and acquisition, Carolyn B. Baker, who was black, had questioned why the definition of music had to be so narrow, as had a few others outside the network.

Before 1983, Michael Jackson also struggled to receive airtime on MTV. To resolve the struggle and finally "break the color barrier," the president of CBS Records at the time, Walter Yetnikoff, denounced MTV in a strong, profane statement, threatening to take away MTV's ability to play any of the record label's music videos. However, Les Garland, then acquisitions head, said he decided to air Jackson's "Billie Jean" video without pressure from CBS. This was contradicted by CBS head of Business Affairs David Benjamin in Vanity Fair. In any case, MTV began showing the "Billie Jean" video in regular rotation in 1983, forming a lengthy partnership with Jackson and helping other black music artists.

According to ''The Austin Chronicle'', Jackson's video for the song "Billie Jean" was "the video that broke the color barrier, even though the channel itself was responsible for erecting that barrier in the first place." After airing Jackson's music videos, Jackson became even more popular. This move helped other black artists such as Prince, Whitney Houston, and Jackson's younger sister, Janet Jackson break into heavy rotation on the channel. Jonathan Cohen of ''Billboard'' magazine commented Janet Jackson's "accessible sound and spectacularly choreographed videos were irresistible to MTV, and helped the channel evolve from rock programming to a broader, beat-driven musical mix."

About the same time Michael Jackson was noted for making inroads - this also paved the way for rap/hip-hop music videos which was an evolving music genre. A majority of the rap artists e.g. Run DMC, The Fat Boys, Whodini, L.L. Cool J which had their music videos played on MTV were from the East Coast.

Other early criticism

As early as 1983, because of MTV's visibility as a promotional tool for the recording industry, the channel was accused of devaluing the importance of music, replacing quality with a purely visual aesthetic and shunning equally popular but less image-centric or single-based acts. That year, ''Rolling Stone'''s Steven Levy wrote, "MTV's greatest achievement has been to coax rock & roll into the video arena where you can't distinguish between entertainment and the sales pitch." One musician that also criticized MTV for these reasons was Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys; the band released a song in 1985 titled "MTV, Get Off The Air". Various groups and individuals since then have criticized MTV for similar reasons, insisting that the channel has a responsibility as "Music Television" to play more music videos and uphold better critical standards for the music videos that they choose to feature in rotation.

Music video series

MTV introduced ''120 Minutes'' in 1986, a show that would feature low-rotation, alternative rock and other "underground" videos for the next 14 years on MTV and three additional years on sister channel MTV2. The program then became known as ''Subterranean'' on MTV2. Then on July 31, 2011, ''120 Minutes'' was resurrected with Matt Pinfield taking over hosting duties once again and airing monthly on MTV2.

Another after hours show was added in 1987, ''Headbangers Ball''. This popular show featured heavy metal music and news. Before its abrupt cancellation in 1995, it featured several hosts, notably Riki Rachtman and Adam Curry. ''Headbangers Ball'' remains an iconic identifier of heavy metal music. A weekly block of music videos with the name ''Headbangers Ball'' has aired since 2003 on sister channel MTV2.

In 1988, MTV debuted ''Yo! MTV Raps'', a hip-hop/rap formatted program. The program continued until August 1995. It was renamed to simply ''Yo!'' and played for one hour from 1995 until 1999. The concept was reintroduced as ''Direct Effect'' in 2000, which became ''Sucker Free'' in 2006 and was cancelled in 2008, after briefly celebrating the 20th anniversary of ''Yo! MTV Raps'' throughout the months of April and May 2008. Despite its cancellation on MTV, a weekly countdown of hip-hop videos known as ''Sucker Free'' still airs on MTV2.

By the beginning of the 1990s, the channel debuted ''Dial MTV'', a daily top ten music video countdown show for which viewers could call the toll-free telephone number ''1-800-DIAL-MTV'' to request a music video. Although ''Dial MTV'' was short-lived, the phone number remained in use for video requests until 2006.

Live concerts

Throughout its history, MTV has covered global benefit concert series live. For most of July 13, 1985, MTV showed the Live Aid concerts, held in London and Philadelphia and organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. While the ABC network showed only selected highlights during primetime, MTV broadcast 16 hours of coverage.

In 1989, MTV began to premiere music-based specials such as ''MTV Unplugged'', an acoustic performance show, which has featured dozens of acts as its guests and has remained active in numerous iterations on various platforms for over 20 years.

Along with VH1, MTV broadcast the Live 8 concerts, a series of concerts set in the G8 states and South Africa, on July 2, 2005. Live 8 preceded the 31st G8 summit and 20th anniversary of Live Aid. MTV drew heavy criticism for its coverage of Live 8. The network cut to commercials, VJ commentary, or other performances during performances. Complaints surfaced on the Internet over MTV interrupting the reunion of Pink Floyd. In response, MTV president Van Toeffler stated that he wanted to broadcast highlights from every venue of Live 8 on MTV and VH1 and clarified that network hosts talked over performances only in transition to commercials, informative segments, or other musical performances. Toeffler acknowledged that "MTV should not have placed such a high priority on showing so many acts, at the expense of airing complete sets by key artists." He also blamed the Pink Floyd interruption on a mandatory cable affiliate break. MTV averaged 1.4 million viewers for its original July 2 broadcast of Live 8. Consequently, MTV and VH1 aired five hours of uninterrupted Live 8 coverage on July 9, with each channel airing different blocks of artists.

Rise of the directors

By the early 1990s, MTV was playing a combination of pop-friendly hard rock acts, chart-topping metal and hard rock acts such as Metallica, Nirvana and Guns N' Roses, pop singers such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, 2 Unlimited and New Kids on the Block, and R&B; quartets such as New Edition, Bell Biv Devoe, Tony Toni Tone, and Boyz II Men, while introducing hit rappers Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer. MTV progressively increased its airing of hip hop acts, such as LL Cool J, Naughty By Nature, Onyx and Sir-Mix-A-Lot, and by 1993, the channel added West Coast rappers previously associated with gangsta rap, with a less pop-friendly sound, such as Tupac Shakur, Ice Cube, Warren G, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.

To accompany the new sounds, a new form of music videos came about: more creative, funny, artistic, experimental, and technically accomplished than those in the 1980s. Several noted film directors got their start creating music videos. After pressure from the MVPA (Music Video Producers Association – later changed to Music Video Production Association) MTV began listing the names of the videos' directors at the bottom of the credits by December 1992. As a result, MTV's viewers became familiar with the names of Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, David Fincher, Samuel Bayer, Matt Mahurin, Mark Romanek, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Anton Corbijn, Mark Pellington, Tarsem, Hype Williams, Jake Scott, Jonathan Glazer, Marcus Nispel, F. Gary Gray, Jim Yukich, Russell Mulcahy, Steve Barron and Marty Callner, among others.

As the PBS series ''Frontline'' explored, MTV was a driving force that catapulted music videos to a mainstream audience, turning music videos into an art form as well as a marketing machine that became beneficial to artists. Danny Goldberg, chairman and CEO of Artemis Records, said the following about the art of music videos: "I know when I worked with Nirvana, Kurt Cobain cared as much about the videos as he did about the records. He wrote the scripts for them, he was in the editing room, and they were part of his art. And I think they stand up as part of his art, and I think that's true of the great artists today. Not every artist is a great artist and not every video is a good video, but in general having it available as a tool, to me, adds to the business. And I wish there had been music videos in the heyday of the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. I think they would've added to their creative contribution, not subtracted from it." The Beatles did produce music videos specifically for television broadcast once their massive popularity made it less practical for them to appear in person.

Alternative is mainstream

Nirvana led a sweeping transition into the rise of alternative rock music on MTV in 1991 with their popular video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit". By late 1991 going into 1992, MTV began frequently airing videos from their heavily promoted "Buzz Bin", such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails, Tori Amos, PM Dawn, Arrested Development, Björk, and Gin Blossoms. MTV increased rotation of its weekly alternative music program ''120 Minutes'' and added the daily ''Alternative Nation'' to play videos of these and other underground music acts. Subsequently, grunge and alternative rock had a rise in mainstream tastes, while 1980s style hair bands and traditional rockers were phased out, with some exceptions such as Aerosmith and Tom Petty. Older acts such as R.E.M. and U2 remained relevant by making their music more experimental or unexpected.

In 1993, more hit alternative rock acts were on heavy rotation, such as Stone Temple Pilots, Soul Asylum, Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Beck, Therapy?, Radiohead, and The Smashing Pumpkins. Other hit acts such as Weezer, Collective Soul, Blind Melon, The Cranberries, Bush, and Silverchair would follow in the next couple of years. Alternative bands that appeared on ''Beavis and Butthead'' also rose to fame, most notably White Zombie.

By the next few years, 1994 through 1997, MTV began promoting new power pop acts, most successfully Green Day and The Offspring, and ska-rock acts such as No Doubt, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Sublime. Pop singers were added to the rotation with success as long as they were considered "alternative," such as Alanis Morissette, Jewel, Fiona Apple, and Sarah McLachlan.

Electronica and pop

By 1997, MTV focused heavily on introducing electronica acts into the mainstream, adding them to its musical rotation. Some of the more popular musicians of this group were The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Moby, Aphex Twin, Daft Punk, The Crystal Method, and Fatboy Slim. Some other established musicians proceeded to experiment with electronica and be played on MTV, most notably Madonna, U2, David Bowie, Radiohead and Smashing Pumpkins. That year MTV also attempted to introduce neo-swing bands, but they did not meet with much success.

However, in late 1997, MTV began shifting more progressively towards pop music, inspired by the success of the Spice Girls and the rise of boy bands in Europe. Between 1998 and 1999, MTV's musical content consisted heavily of videos of boy bands such as Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync as well as teen pop "princesses" such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore, and Jessica Simpson. Airplay of rock, electronica, and alternative acts was reduced. Hip-hop music continued in heavy rotation, through the likes of Puff Daddy, Master P, DMX, Busta Rhymes, Jay Z, Missy Elliott, Eminem, Ja Rule and their associates. R&B; was also heavily represented with acts such as Destiny's Child and Brandy.

''Total Request Live''

Also by 1997, MTV was criticized heavily for not playing as many music videos as it had in the past. In response, MTV created four shows that centered around music videos: ''MTV Live'', ''Total Request'', ''Say What?'', and ''12 Angry Viewers''. Also at this time, MTV introduced its new studios in Times Square. A year later, in 1998, MTV merged ''Total Request'' and ''MTV Live'' into a live daily top ten countdown show, ''Total Request Live'', which would become known as ''TRL'' and secure its place as the channel's unofficial flagship program.

The original host of ''TRL'', Carson Daly, brought popularity to the show. ''TRL'' spent its first year developing a cult-type following, and every weekday, hundreds of fans would stand in Times Square outside the ''TRL'' studios. In the fall of 1999, a live studio audience was added to the show. By spring 2000, the countdown reached its peak, becoming a recognizable icon of popular culture in its first two years of existence. The program enjoyed success playing the top ten pop, rock, R&B;, and hip-hop music videos.

During the September 11 attacks, on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon, MTV suspended all of its programming along with its sister cable channel VH1, and it began simulcasting the CBS News coverage from its sister network until about 11:00 p.m. that night. The channels then played a looped set of music videos without commercial interruption until an MTV News special edition of ''TRL'' aired on September 14, 2001.

In 2002, Carson Daly left MTV and ''TRL'' to pursue a late-night talk show on NBC; after his departure, the relevance and impact of ''Total Request Live'' slowly diminished. ''TRL'' ultimately remained a part of MTV's regular program schedule for ten years. The series came to an end with a special finale episode, ''Total Finale Live'', which aired November 16, 2008, and featured many special guests from the history of the show and playing its last music video, "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears.

''Return of the Rock''

Beginning in late 1997, MTV progressively reduced its airing of rock music videos, leading to the slogan among skeptics, "Rock is dead." The fact that at the time rock music fans were less materialistic and bought less music based on television suggestion were cited as reasons that MTV abandoned its once staple music. MTV instead devoted its musical airtime mostly to pop and hip-hop/R&B; music. All rock-centric shows were eliminated and the rock-related categories of the ''Video Music Awards'' were pared down to one.

From this time until 2004, MTV made some periodic efforts to reintroduce pop rock music videos to the channel. By 1998 through 1999, the punk-rock band Blink-182 received regular airtime on MTV due in large part to their "All the Small Things" video that made fun of the boy bands that MTV was airing at the time. Meanwhile, some rock bands that were not receiving MTV support, such as Korn and Creed, continued to sell albums. Then, upon the release of Korn's rock/rap hybrid album ''Follow the Leader'', MTV began playing Korn's videos "Got the Life" and "Freak on a Leash", which became popular.

A band sponsored by Korn, Limp Bizkit, received airtime for its cover of George Michael's "Faith", which became a hit. Subsequently, MTV began airing more rap/rock hybrid acts, such as Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock. Some rock acts with more comical videos, such as Rob Zombie, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Foo Fighters, also received airtime.

In the fall of 1999, MTV announced a special ''Return of the Rock'' weekend, in which new rock acts received airtime, after which a compilation album was released. System of a Down, Staind, Godsmack, Green Day, Incubus, Papa Roach, P.O.D., Sevendust, Powerman 5000, Slipknot, Kittie, and Static X were among the featured bands. These bands received some airtime on MTV and more so on MTV2, though both channels gave emphasis to the rock/rap acts.

By 2000, Sum 41, Linkin Park, Jimmy Eat World, Mudvayne, Cold, At the Drive-In, Alien Ant Farm, and other acts were added to the musical rotation. MTV also launched digital cable channel MTVX to play rock music videos exclusively, an experiment that lasted until 2002. A daily music video program on MTV that carried the name ''Return of the Rock'' ran through early 2001, replaced by a successor, ''All Things Rock'', from 2002 until 2004.

Milestones and specials

Around 1999 through 2001, as MTV aired fewer music videos throughout the day, it regularly aired compilation specials from its then 20-year history to look back on its roots. An all-encompassing special, ''MTV Uncensored'', premiered in 1999 and was later released as a book.

MTV celebrated its 20th anniversary on August 1, 2001, beginning with a 12-hour retrospective called ''MTV20: Buggles to Bizkit'', which featured over 100 classic videos played chronologically, hosted by various VJs in reproductions of MTV's old studios. The day of programming culminated in a 3-hour celebratory live event called ''MTV20: Live and Almost Legal'', which was hosted by Carson Daly and featured numerous guests from MTV's history, including the original VJs from 1981. Various other related ''MTV20'' specials aired in the months surrounding the event.

Janet Jackson became the inaugural honoree of the "mtvICON" award, "an annual recognition of artists who have made significant contributions to music, music video and pop culture while tremendously impacting the MTV generation." Subsequent recipients included Aerosmith, Metallica, and The Cure.

Five years later, on August 1, 2006, MTV celebrated its 25th anniversary. On their website, MTV.com, visitors could watch the very first hour of MTV, including airing the original promos and commercials from Mountain Dew, Atari, Chewels gum, and Jovan. Videos were also shown from The Buggles, Pat Benatar, Rod Stewart, and others. The introduction of the first five VJs was also shown. Additionally, MTV.com put together a "yearbook" consisting of the greatest videos of each year from 1981 to 2006. MTV itself only mentioned the anniversary once on ''TRL''.

Fewer music videos

Despite targeted efforts to play certain types of music videos in limited rotation, MTV greatly reduced its overall rotation of music videos throughout the early-mid 2000s. While music videos were featured on MTV up to eight hours per day in 2000, 2008 saw an average of just three hours of music videos per day on MTV. The rise of the Internet as a convenient outlet for the promotion and viewing of music videos signaled this reduction.

As the decade progressed, MTV continued to play some music videos instead of relegating them exclusively to its sister channels, but around this time, the channel began to air music videos only in the early morning hours or in a condensed form on ''Total Request Live''. As a result of these programming changes, Justin Timberlake challenged MTV to "play more damn videos!" while giving an acceptance speech at the ''2007 Video Music Awards''.

Despite the challenge from Timberlake, MTV continued to decrease its total rotation time for music videos in 2007, and the channel eliminated its long-running special tags for music videos such as "Buzzworthy" (for under-represented artists), "Breakthrough" (for visually stunning videos), and "Spankin' New" (for brand new videos). Additionally, the historic Kabel typeface, which MTV displayed at the beginning and end of all music videos since 1981, was phased out in favor of larger text and less information about the video's record label and director. The classic font can still be seen in "prechyroned" versions of old videos on sister network VH1 Classic, which had their title information recorded onto the same tape as the video itself.

For most of 2008, MTV's main source of music video programming was still ''Total Request Live'', airing four times per week, featuring short clips of music videos along with VJs and guests. ''TRL'' aired its last episode in November 2008. A hip-hop music video show, ''Sucker Free'', also ended earlier in 2008.

''FNMTV Premieres''

In the summer of 2008, MTV premiered new music video programming blocks called ''FNMTV'' and a weekly special event called ''FNMTV Premieres'', hosted from Los Angeles by Pete Wentz of the band Fall Out Boy, which was designed to premiere new music videos and have viewers provide instantaneous feedback.

The ''FNMTV Premieres'' event ended before the ''2008 Video Music Awards'' in September. With the exception of a holiday themed episode in December 2008 and an unrelated Spring Break special in March 2009 with the same title, ''FNMTV Premieres'' never returned, leaving MTV without any VJ-hosted music video programs for the first time in its history.

On most weekdays during the rest of 2008, a music video block called ''FNMTV'' aired in the early morning hours. It consisted of abbreviated clips of music videos, approximately 60 seconds each. MTV cancelled the early morning ''FNMTV'' block in January 2009, replacing it with encore airings of other programs.

''AMTV'' and late 2000s - early 2010s trends

Music video programming returned to MTV in March 2009 as ''AMTV'', an early morning block of music videos that originally aired from 3 a.m. to 9 a.m. on most weekdays; see ''AMTV'' for current schedule). Unlike the ''FNMTV'' block that preceded it, ''AMTV'' features many full-length music videos, including some older videos that have been out of regular rotation for many years on MTV. It also features music news updates, interviews, and performances.

During the rest of the day, MTV also plays excerpts from music videos, usually the hook, in split screen format during the closing credits of most programs, along with the address of a website to encourage the viewer to watch the full video online. MTV has positioned its website, MTV.com, as one of its primary destinations for music videos (see ''Beyond MTV'', below, for more information about MTV.com and the channel's related Internet ventures).

MTV launched a live talk show, ''It's On with Alexa Chung'', on June 15, 2009. The host of the program, Alexa Chung, has been described as a "younger, more Web 2.0" version of Jimmy Fallon. Although it is filmed in the same Times Square studio where ''TRL'' used to be located, the network stated that "the only thing the two shows have in common is the studio location." ''It's On'' was cancelled in December of the same year, which again eliminated the only live in-studio programming from MTV's schedule, just one year after ''TRL'' was also cancelled.

Shortly after music and pop culture icon Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, MTV briefly returned to its original music video format to celebrate his work. The channel aired many hours of Jackson's music videos, accompanied by live news specials featuring reactions from MTV personalities and other celebrities. The temporary shift in MTV's programming culminated the following week with the channel's live coverage of Jackson's memorial service.

MTV again resurrected the long-running series ''MTV Unplugged'' in 2009 with performances from acts such as Adele, Katy Perry, and Paramore. However, unlike past ''Unplugged'' specials, these new recordings usually only air in their entirety on MTV's website, MTV.com. Nevertheless, short clips of the specials are shown on MTV during the ''AMTV'' block of music videos in the early morning hours.

In May 2010, MTV launched ''10 on Top'', a weekly program that counts down the top 10 most trending and talked about topics of the week. MTV's web site describes the program as, "a half-hour countdown of the top 10 most texted and talked about young celebs at the moment. Their ranking will be influenced by the audience - based on the chatter they elicit, and the headlines they create each week, as well as the amount of buzz about their upcoming projects and events." The show went on hiatus in mid-June 2011. According to host Lenay Dunn's Twitter feed, the show will return August 20, 2011 with new shows.

In September 2010, MTV tried its hand again at a live half hour program called ''The Seven''. ''The Seven'' counted down the top seven things you should know about, having aired weekdays at 5 p.m. with a weekend wrap-up at 10 a.m. The show was slightly retooled as it dropped host Julia Alexander and kept host Kevin Manno. The Saturday show was eliminated as well. Like its predecessor, "The Seven" saw its cancellation on June 13, 2011. Manno, per ''The Seven''s Twitter feed, said he is still with MTV. Manno's only MTV assignment post-Seven was conducting an interview with a band which only aired on MTV.com. Today, Manno is no longer employed with MTV, has since married and is pursuing other work.

On June 12, 2011, MTV did a traditional TV premiere of a new installment of ''MTV Unplugged'' instead of a web debut. The featured artist was rapper Lil Wayne and the show debuted both on MTV and MTV2.

Although MTV was in their 30th year of broadcasting in 2011, the network apparently ignored this milestone in favor of its current programming schedule. They've outsourced all of their 30th Anniversary Celebrations to its sister networks MTV2 and VH1 Classic. Nathaniel Brown, senior vice president of communications for MTV, confirmed that there were no plans for an on-air MTV celebration like what they did 10 years ago when MTV celebrated its 20th Anniversary. Brown explained, "MTV as a brand doesn't age with our viewers. We are really focused on our current viewers, and our feeling was that our anniversary wasn't something that would be meaningful to them, many of whom weren't even alive in 1981."

In October 2011, ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' returned to MTV with new episodes.

Throughout 2011 and still to today, MTV has an unofficial show called MTV First. The MTV News-produced piece typically airs every few weeks on any given weekday and typically starts at 7:56PM ET on-air to start the interview with the featured artist or actor premiering a video or movie trailer. After 8PM, MTV starts its next scheduled program, while the interview and fan chat continues on MTV.com only. MTV has made no official statement about MTV First, nor does First have a dedicated Show page online, but where once TRL, Chung and Seven facilitated such segments, it is clear MTV uses First as its new approach to bait viewers to its web site to finish the show after starting it on TV.

On April 12, 2012 at 12:02AM ET, MTV launched a new hip hop-based show called Hip Hop POV, hosted by Amanda Seales, Bu Thiam, Charlamagne, Devi Dev and Sowmya Krishnamurthy. The show features said hosts who give commentary on the news making headlines in hip-hop culture, provide their opinions on new music, grant insider access to the biggest events and engage in artist interviews.

In Summer 2012, MTV will launch a music discovery web site called Artists.MTV. MTV says, "While technology has made it way easier for artists to produce and distribute their own music on their own terms, it hasn't made it any simpler to find a way to cut through all the Internet noise and speak directly to all of their potential fans. The summer launch of Artists.MTV is an attempt to help music junkies and musicians close the gap by providing a one-stop place where fans can listen to and buy music and purchase concert tickets and merchandise."

Censorship

MTV has edited a number of music videos to remove references to drugs, sex, violence, weapons, racism, homophobia, or advertising. Many music videos aired on the channel were censored, moved to late-night rotation, or banned entirely from the channel.

In the 1980s, parent-media watchdog groups such as the Parents Music Resource Center criticized MTV over certain music videos that were claimed to have explicit imagery of satanism. MTV has developed a strict policy on refusal to air videos that may depict devil worship or anti-religious themes. This policy led MTV to ban music videos such as "Jesus Christ Pose" by Soundgarden in 1991 and "Megalomaniac" by Incubus in 2004.

Other programs on MTV

As MTV expanded, music videos were no longer the centerpiece of its programming. Conventional TV shows came to replace the VJ-guided music video programming. Today, MTV presents a wide variety of non-music-related television shows aimed primarily at the 12 to 18 year old demographic.

Award shows

In 1984, the network produced its first ''MTV Video Music Awards'' show, or VMAs. Perceived by some as a fit of self-indulgence by a fledgling network at the time, the VMAs developed into a music-industry showcase marketed as a more relevant youth-targeted antidote to the Grammy awards. The first award show, in 1984, was punctuated by a live performance by Madonna of "Like A Virgin". The statuettes that were handed out were of the MTV moonman, their logo at the time. The award was called "The Elvis".

In 2011, MTV Video Music Awards feature some of the biggest and most memorable, unforgettable performances in VMA history, and left it to the viewers to decide their all-time favorite MTV Video Music Awards moments from the show's past 28 years. Some 15 million people voted in the poll and, MTV gave "Good Morning America" an exclusive sneak peek at the results:

Most Iconic VMA Performance ever For MTV voters, it was all about the King of Pop. Voters singled out Michael Jackson as their "Most Iconic" for the medley of songs he sang in 1995. Jackson singing and dancing to "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Scream", "Beat It" and "Smooth Criminal" picked up 57 percent of the vote, beating the likes of Madonna with "Like a Virgin" in 1984 and Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" from 2009.

Wildest VMA Outfit The flashy purple pantsuit worn by rapper Lil Kim in 1999 beat out even Lady Gaga's meat dress and a cleavage-defying dress worn by JLo to take the wildest outfit title. Lil Kim's ensemble, which left one breast exposed except for a pasty over her nipple, was picked by 39 percent of voters as the wildest outfit ever worn to the VMAs, also beating Britney Spear's black leather biker ensemble from 2002.

Most Outrageous VMA Moment It was the kiss heard around the world in 2003 when Madonna leaned in for a quick smooch with Christina Aguilera and then an even-steamier kiss with Britney Spears during a show opening, wedding-themed performance of Madonna's "Like a Virgin." Spears herself told MTV News that her favorite VMA memory was that infamous lip-lock with Madonna. "My greatest experience — probably being with Madonna," she told the network. "The kiss was amazing. ... Being onstage with someone of that caliber is just iconic."

Best VMA Hip-Hop Performance Eminem, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg onstage together was all it took for them to walk away with the Hip-Hop trophy. The trio's performance of "My Name Is," "Guilty Conscience" and "Nuthin' But a G Thang" in 1999 beat out everything from a 1980s performance by Run DMC and Aerosmith to Outkast, the Beastie Boys and Jay-Z with Alicia Keys.

Best VMA Pop Performance Fittingly, viewers gave the Best Pop Performance crown to the artist known as the "King of Pop." Michael Jackson, got the nod for best pop performance with the same medley of hits that won him the "Most Iconic Performance" crown from viewers. Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, TLC and even his own sister, Janet Jackson, who performed a tribute to Michael the year he died, all came in far behind the "King of Pop" in this category too.

MTV added the ''MTV Movie Awards'' in 1992 with similar success. MTV also created an award show for Europe after the success of the VMAs. The ''MTV Europe Music Awards'', or the EMAs, were created in 1994, ten years after the debut of the VMAs.

First format evolution

In 1985, Viacom bought Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, which owned MTV and Nickelodeon, renaming the company MTV Networks and beginning this expansion. Before 1987, MTV featured almost exclusively music videos, but as time passed, they introduced a variety of other shows, including some that were originally intended for other channels.

Non-music video programming began in the late 1980s with the introduction of a music news show ''The Week in Rock'', which was also the beginning of MTV's news division, MTV News. Around this time, MTV also introduced a dance show, ''Club MTV'', and a game show, ''Remote Control''.

These new shows would be just the beginning of new genres of shows to impact MTV. As the format of the network continued to evolve, more genres of shows began to appear. In the early 1990s, MTV debuted its first reality shows, ''The Real World'' and ''Road Rules''.

Animated shows

In a continuing bid to become a more diverse network, focusing on youth and culture, as well as music, MTV introduced animated shows to its line-up in the early 1990s. The animation showcase ''Liquid Television'' (a BBC/MTV co-production produced in San Francisco by Colossal Pictures) was one of the networks first programs to focus on the medium. In addition to airing original shows created specifically for MTV, the network also occasionally aired episodes of original cartoon series created by sister-station Nickelodeon (''Nicktoons'') in the early 1990s.

MTV has a history of cartoons with mature themes, notably ''Beavis and Butthead'', ''Æon Flux'', ''Grimmy'', ''Celebrity Deathmatch'', ''Undergrads'', ''Clone High'' and ''Daria''. Although the channel has gone on to debut many other animated shows, few of MTV's other cartoon series have been renewed for additional seasons, regardless of their reception.

In the wake of controversy that followed a child burning down his house after allegedly watching ''Beavis and Butthead'', "producers moved the show from its original 7 p.m. time slot to a late-night, 11 p.m. slot. Also, Beavis' tendency to flick a lighter and scream the word "fire" was removed from new episodes, and controversial scenes were removed from existing episodes before rebroadcast. Some of the edits were so extensive that when series creator Mike Judge compiled his Collection DVDs he found out that "some of those episodes may not even exist actually in their original form."

In September 2009, the channel aired ''Popzilla'', which showcased and imitated celebrities in an animated form.

Reality shows

In the mid- to late 1990s and early 2000s, MTV placed a stronger focus on reality shows and related series, building on the success of ''The Real World'' and ''Road Rules'' in the 1990s. The first round of these shows came in the mid-1990s, with game shows such as ''Singled Out'', and talk shows such as ''Loveline'' and ''The Jon Stewart Show''.

The next round of these shows came in approximately the late 1990s, as MTV shifted its focus to prank/comedic shows such as ''The Tom Green Show'' and ''Jackass'', soap operas such as ''Undressed'', and game shows such as ''Real World/Road Rules Challenge'', ''The Blame Game'', ''webRIOT'', and ''Say What? Karaoke''. A year later, in 2000, ''MTV's Fear'' became one of the first scare-based reality shows and the first reality show in which contestants filmed themselves.

Some of the reality shows on the network also followed the lives of musicians. ''The Osbournes'', a reality show based on the everyday life of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, his wife Sharon, and two of their children, Jack and Kelly, premiered on MTV in 2002. The show went on to become one of the network's biggest-ever success stories and was also recognized for the Osbourne family members' heavy use of profanity, which MTV bleeped for broadcast. It also kick-started a musical career for Kelly Osbourne, while Sharon Osbourne went on to host her own self-titled talk show on U.S. television. Ozzy Osbourne announced that production for his show would cease in November 2004. In the fall of 2004, Ozzy Osbourne's reality show ''Battle for Ozzfest'' aired; the show hosted competitions between bands vying to play as part of Ozzfest, a yearly heavy metal music tour across the United States hosted by Osbourne.

In 2003, MTV added ''Punk'd'', a project by Ashton Kutcher to play pranks on various celebrities, and ''Pimp My Ride'', a show about adding aesthetic and functional modifications to cars and other vehicles. Another popular show was ''Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica'', a reality TV show that followed the lives of pop singers Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, a music celebrity couple. It began in 2003, ran for four seasons. and ended in early 2005. The couple later divorced. The success of ''Newlyweds'' was followed in June 2004 by ''The Ashlee Simpson Show'', which documented the beginnings of the music career of Ashlee Simpson, Jessica Simpson's younger sister.

In 2005 and 2006, MTV continued its focus on reality shows, with the debuts of popular shows such as ''8th & Ocean'', ''Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County'', ''NEXT'', ''Two-A-Days'', ''My Super Sweet 16'', and ''Parental Control''. Another popular show was ''Viva La Bam'', featuring Bam Margera.

MTV shifted its focus back to ''Real World''-style reality programming in late 2009 with the premiere of ''Jersey Shore'', which brought unprecedented ratings success to the channel and also caused controversy due to some of its content (see ''Jersey Shore'' controversy, below). MTV also aired a new show around this time called 16 and Pregnant, which documented the lives of teenagers expecting to have babies. This had a follow up show after the first season called Teen Mom.

''MTV Hired'' follows the interviewing process, candidates meet with career coach Ryan Kahn from University of Dreams and at the end of each episode one candidate lands the job of their dreams.

Rebroadcast programs and movies

In recent years, MTV has re-aired other programs from Viacom-owned TV networks, such as BET's ''College Hill'' and VH1 programs ''I Love New York'' and ''Flavor of Love''. Other programs from non-Viacom networks include reruns of the shows ''Fastlane'' (from Fox), ''Life As We Know It'' (from ABC), ''Scrubs'' (from ABC and NBC), and CW programs ''America's Next Top Model'', ''Beauty and the Geek'', and ''Hidden Palms''. MTV also began showing movies targeted toward the young adult demographic, including ''8 Mile'', ''My Boss's Daughter'', ''Shaun of the Dead'', and ''Napoleon Dynamite'' (the latter of which the network had a hand in producing). The channel has also broadcast several of its own productions of its film-producing division MTV Films, such as ''Crossroads'' and ''Jackass: The Movie'', and airs original made-for-television movies from MTV Studios such as ''Super Sweet 16: The Movie''.

In 2007, MTV aired the reality show ''A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila'', chronicling MySpace sensation Tila Tequila's journey to find a companion. Her bisexuality played into the series—both male and female contestants were vying for love—and was the subject of criticism. It was the second-most popular show at that time, behind ''The Hills''. A spin-off series from ''Shot of Love'', ''That's Amoré!'', followed a similar pursuit from previous ''Shot at Love'' contestant Domenico Nesci. MTV also welcomed Paris Hilton to their lineup in October 2008 with the launch of her new reality series, ''Paris Hilton's My New BFF''. In 2009, MTV aired Snoop Dogg's second reality show with the channel, ''Dogg After Dark'', and the show ''College Life'', based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Scripted programming

MTV expanded its programming focus in 2009 to include scripted comedy programs. The channel was reported to be developing a number of scripted half-hour projects, including an animated series and five additional pilots. With backlash towards what some consider too much superficial content on the network, a recent ''New York Times'' article also stated the intention of MTV to shift its focus towards more socially conscious media, which the article labels "MTV for the Obama era." Shows in that vein included ''T.I.'s Road to Redemption'' and Fonzworth Bentley's finishing school show ''From G's to Gents''. Western Europa programs such as Deutschland Liebt Günther and (separately based tagging them) series Das ist so Togo became a big hit in Europe in 2004 and 2006. There was more success for MTV when another (reality) show entitled ''The Buried Life'' was a great success for the station. It's about four friends traveling across the country to check off a list of "100 things to do before I die" and help others along the way, was another example of MTV's revised programming focus.

Image and branding

MTV is widely considered the first television network to develop itself as a "brand," with a unified vocabulary, voice, and visual identity. Senior management, including John Lack, Bob Pittman, and Fred Seibert, all started their careers in radio, which had developed station brands as a critical audience development tool for decades, and Seibert led the teams that became directly responsible for the brand's creation.

MTV's logo, the large block letter "M" with graffiti-style letters "TV" superimposed and the words "Music Television" underneath, quickly became ubiquitous and instantly recognizable in popular culture. The last three decades have brought some change and evolution to MTV's iconic image and branding.

Original logos and IDs

The MTV logo was designed in 1981 by Manhattan Design, a collective formed by Frank Olinsky, Pat Gorman, and Patty Rogoff, under the guidance of MTV's original creative director, Fred Seibert. The 'M' was sketched by Rogoff, with the 'TV' spray painted by Olinksky.

Throughout MTV's early days, the channel's main logo was a large yellow "M" with red letters "TV," but unlike most networks' logos, the MTV logo constantly morphed and adapted with different colors, patterns, and images filling in the large block letter. The very first moments of MTV featured an adaptation of the first landing on the moon, directly from NASA still images (a concept of Seibert's, executed by Buzz Potamkin and Perpetual Motion Pictures). After the "moon landing," as well as the top of every hour until at least the mid-1980s (which ran "more than 15,000" times each year, according to Seibert), featured a rapidly changing station ID logo that changed its appearance several times per second. The only constant aspects of MTV's logo at the time were its general shape and proportions; everything else was dynamic.

The channel's most popular image and branding campaign, "''I want my MTV!''," was launched in 1982. The media strategy and creative executions were developed by George Lois, based on a cereal commercial from the 1950s, "I want my Maypo!" that George created. Over the years the campaign featured known artists and celebrities including Pete Townshend, Pat Benatar, Adam Ant, David Bowie, The Police, Kiss, Culture Club, Billy Idol, Hall & Oates, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Lionel Richie, Ric Ocasek, John Mellencamp, Peter Wolf, Joe Elliot, Stevie Nicks, Rick Springfield and Mick Jagger interacting with the MTV logo on-air, encouraging viewers to call their cable or satellite providers and request that MTV be added to their local channel lineups. Eventually, the slogan became so ubiquitous it became incorporated as a sung (by Sting) lyric in the Mark Knofler penned Dire Straits' record "Money for Nothing."

1990s and 2000s updates

Once MTV's original morphing logo had run its course, the channel began to use a solid color white logo that was otherwise the same as the original. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, MTV updated its on-air appearance at the beginning of every year and again each summer, creating a consistent brand across all of its music-related shows. This style of channel-wide branding came to an end as MTV drastically reduced its number of music-related shows in the early to mid-2000s. At this time, MTV introduced a static, single-color digital on-screen graphic during all of its other programming.

2010 rebranding

Since the premiere of the short-lived ''FNMTV'' in 2008, MTV has used a revised, chopped version of its traditional logo during most of its on-air programming. The revised logo is largely the same as MTV's original logo, but it excludes the "Music Television" caption, the bottom section of the "M" block letter, and the trailing letter "V" that branched off to the side of the original logo. However, much like the ever-changing patterns that filled MTV's original 1981 logo, the new 2010 logo is designed to be filled in with an unlimited variety of pictures and images. This new logo formally became MTV's official brand mark on February 8, 2010, when it debuted on MTV's website. The channel's long-running official tagline "Music Television" was officially dropped at this time. It is used worldwide, except for several countries, as of July 1, 2011. It was first adopted for MTV Films with the 2010 release ''Jackass 3D''.

MTV's rebranding was overseen by Popkern.

Moral influence and controversies

MTV's near-ubiquitous presence in popular culture for 30 years has led the channel to be in the center of the ongoing debate over the cultural and moral influence of music and television on young people and society. The channel has thus found itself a target of criticism by various groups about programming choices, social issues, political correctness, sensitivity, censorship, and a perceived negative moral influence on young people.

In 2005, the Parents Television Council released a study titled ''MTV Smut Peddlers'', which sought to expose what PTC believed was excessive sexual, profane, and violent content on the channel, based on MTV's Spring Break programming from 2004. Jeanette Kedas, an MTV network executive, called the PTC report "unfair and inaccurate" and "underestimating young people's intellect and level of sophistication," while L. Brent Bozell III, then-president of the PTC, stated that "the incessant sleaze on MTV presents the most compelling case yet for consumer cable choice," referring to the practice of cable and satellite companies to allow consumers to pay for channels ''à la carte''.

The Christian right organization American Family Association has also criticized MTV from perceptions of negative moral influence, even going as far as to describe MTV as promoting a "pro-sex, anti-family, pro-choice, drug culture."

In April 2008, PTC released ''The Rap on Rap'', a study covering hip-hop and R&B; music videos rotated on programs ''106 & Park'' and ''Rap City'', both shown on BET, and ''Sucker Free'' on MTV. PTC urged advertisers to withdraw sponsorship of those programs, whose videos PTC stated targeted children and teenagers "with adult content...once every 38 seconds."

Super Bowl controversy

On the heels of parent company Viacom's purchase of CBS, MTV was selected to produce the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXV, airing on CBS and featuring Britney Spears, 'N Sync and Aerosmith. Due to its success, MTV was invited back to produce another Super Bowl halftime show, which would spark a moral influence debate and lead to sweeping changes in Super Bowl halftime shows, MTV's own programming, and even music played on the radio.

When CBS aired Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, its sister network was again chosen to produce the halftime show, with performances by such artists as Nelly, Diddy, Janet Jackson, and Justin Timberlake. The show became controversial after Timberlake tore off part of Jackson's outfit while performing his hit song "Rock Your Body" with her, revealing her right breast. All involved parties apologized for the incident, and Timberlake referred to the incident as a "wardrobe malfunction".

Michael Powell, then-chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, ordered an investigation of the show the day after its broadcast. In the weeks following the controversial halftime show, MTV censored much of its programming. Several music videos, including "This Love" by Maroon 5 and "I Miss You" by Blink-182, were edited for sexual content. In September 2004, the FCC ruled that the halftime show was indecent and fined CBS $550,000. The FCC upheld its decision in 2006, but federal judges reversed the fine in 2008.

The Super Bowl itself would not feature another modern act for its halftime show until The Black Eyed Peas performed at Super Bowl XLV in 2011.

''Jersey Shore'' controversy

MTV received a significant amount of criticism from Italian American organizations for the show ''Jersey Shore'', which premiered in December 2009. The controversy was due in large part to the manner in which MTV marketed the show, as it liberally used the word Guido to describe the cast members. The word Guido is generally regarded as an ethnic slur when referring to Italians and Italian Americans. One promotion stated that the show was to follow, "eight of the hottest, tannest, craziest Guidos," while yet another advertisement stated, "[the show] exposes one of the tri-state area's most misunderstood species... the GUIDO. Yes, they really do exist! Our Guidos and Guidettes will move into the ultimate beach house rental and indulge in everything the Seaside Heights, New Jersey scene has to offer.Includes Nicole/Snooki. "

Prior to the series debut, UNICO National (which is the largest Italian American organization) formally requested that MTV cancel the show. In a letter to the network, UNICO called the show a "...direct, deliberate and disgraceful attack on Italian Americans..." UNICO National President Andre DiMino said in a statement "MTV has festooned the 'bordello-like' house set with Italian flags and red, white and green maps of New Jersey while every other cutaway shot is of Italian signs and symbols. They are blatantly as well as subliminally bashing Italian-Americans with every technique possible..." Around this time, other Italian organizations joined the fight, including the NIAF, the Order Sons of Italy in America and the internet watch-dog.

MTV responded to the controversy by issuing a press release which stated in part, "the Italian-American cast takes pride in their ethnicity. We understand that this show is not intended for every audience and depicts just one aspect of youth culture." Since the calls for the show's removal, several sponsors have requested that their ads not be aired during the show. These sponsors include Dell, Domino's and American Family Insurance. Despite the loss of certain advertisers, MTV has not canceled the show. Moreover, the show has seen its audience gradually increase from its premiere in December 2009.

''Dude, This Sucks'' stunt

A pilot for a show called ''Dude, This Sucks'' was canceled after teens attending a taping at the Snow Summit Ski Resort in January 2001 were sprayed with liquid fecal matter by the group ''The Shower Rangers''. The teens later sued. MTV later apologized and said that the segment would not air.

Andrew Dice Clay

During the September 6, 1989 MTV Video Music Awards ceremony, comedian Andrew Dice Clay did his usual 'adult nursery rhymes' routine (which he had done in his stand-up acts) where the network executives imposed a lifetime ban. Billy Idol's music video for the song Cradle of Love originally had scenes from Clay's film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane when it was originally aired - scenes from the film were later excised. During the September 1, 2011 MTV Music Awards, Clay was in attendance where it has been confirmed that the network lifted the ban.

''Beavis and Butt-head'' "Fire" controversy

Social activism

In addition to its regular programming, MTV has a long history of promoting social, political, and environmental activism in young people. The channel's vehicles for this activism have been ''Choose or Lose'', encompassing political causes and encouraging viewers to vote in elections; ''Fight For Your Rights'', encompassing anti-violence and anti-discrimination causes; and ''think MTV'', the newest umbrella for all of MTV's social activism.

''Choose or Lose''

In 1992, MTV started a pro-democracy campaign called ''Choose or Lose'', to encourage up to 20 million people to register to vote, and the channel hosted a town hall forum for then-candidate Bill Clinton.

In recent years, other politically diverse programs on MTV have included ''True Life'', which documents people's lives and problems, and MTV News specials, which center on very current events in both the music industry and the world. One special show covered the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, airing programs focused on the issues and opinions of young people, including a program where viewers could ask questions of Senator John Kerry. MTV worked with P. Diddy's "Vote or Die" campaign, designed to encourage young people to vote.

Additionally, MTV aired a documentary covering a trip by the musical group Sum 41 to the Democratic Republic of Congo, documenting the conflict there. The group ended up being caught in the midst of an attack outside of the hotel and were subsequently flown out of the country.

The channel also began showing presidential campaign commercials for the first time during the 2008 US presidential election. This has led to criticism from the right, with Jonah Goldberg opining that "MTV serves as the Democrats' main youth outreach program."

''Fight For Your Rights''

In the 1990s and early 2000s, MTV promoted annual campaigns known as ''Fight For Your Rights'', with the slogan "Speak Out/Stand Up Against Violence," to bring forth awareness on America's crime, drugs and violence issues.

On April 6, 2001, MTV voluntarily ceased regular programming for 24 hours as part of the year's hate crimes awareness campaign. On that night, MTV aired a made-for-TV movie ''Anatomy of a Hate Crime'', based on a true story of the 1998 murder of 21-year old Matthew Shepard, a gay college student. After the film and a discussion, MTV went dark and showed names of hate crime victims.

''think MTV''

MTV's most recent activism campaign is ''think MTV'', which discusses current political issues such as same-sex marriage, U.S. elections, and war in other countries. The slogan of the program is "Reflect. Decide. Do." As part of ''think MTV'', the channel also airs a series of pro-conservation ads called ''Break The Addiction'', as a way of encouraging their viewers to find ways to use less fossil fuels and energy.

''think MTV'' addresses twelve major issue areas: discrimination, environment, politics, health & self, crime & violence, poverty & disease, human rights, war & peace, relationships & sex, faith, substance abuse, and education. Young people are encouraged to choose the issues that resonate most and take action to make a positive change. The motto is, "Your cause. Your effect." ''think MTV'' is also integrated in MTV's current programming.

Beyond MTV

Since its launch in 1981, the brand "MTV" has expanded to include many additional properties beyond the original MTV channel, including a variety of sister channels in the U.S., dozens of affiliated channels around the world, and an Internet presence through MTV.com and related websites.

Sister channels in the U.S.

MTV operates a group of channels under the name MTV Networks, a division of its corporate parent, Viacom. In 1985, MTV saw the introduction of its first true sister channel, VH1, which was originally an acronym for "Video Hits One" and was designed to play adult contemporary music videos. Today, VH1 is aimed at celebrity and popular culture programming. Another sister channel, CMT, targets the country music and southern culture market.

The advent of satellite television and digital cable brought MTV greater channel diversity, including its current sister channels MTV2 and MTV Tr3s (now Tr3s), which initially played music videos exclusively but now focus on other programming. Music videos still occupy most of the schedule on two additional channels, MTV Hits and MTV Jams. MTV also broadcasts mtvU, a college-oriented channel on campus at various universities.

Recently, MTV began broadcasting with MTV HD, a 1080i high definition simulcast of MTV. However only the network's original series after 2010 (with some pre-2010 content) are aired in high definition, while music videos, despite being filmed for high definition presentation, are still presented in 4:3 standard definition, forcing them into a windowboxing type of presentation. ''Jersey Shore'', despite being shot with widescreen HD cameras, is also presented with SD windowboxing, DirecTV, Dish Network, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, U-verse, & Verizon FiOS carry the HD channel.

MTV Networks also operates Palladia, a high-definition channel that features original HD programming and HD versions of programs from MTV, VH1, and CMT. The station was launched in January 2006 as ''MHD (Music: High Definition)''. The channel was officially rebranded as ''Palladia'' on September 1, 2008 to coincide with the shift to more exclusive HD programming.

In 2005 and 2006, MTV launched a series of channels for Asian Americans. The first channel was MTV Desi, launched in July 2005, dedicated toward South-Asian Americans. Next was MTV Chi, in December 2005, which catered to Chinese Americans. The third was MTV K, launched in June 2006 and targeted toward Korean Americans. Each of these channels featured music videos and shows from MTV's international affiliates as well as original U.S. programming, promos, and packaging. All three of these channels ceased broadcasting on April 30, 2007.

The Internet

In the late 1980s, before the World Wide Web, in the days of the Gopher protocol, MTV VJ Adam Curry began experimenting on the Internet. He registered the then-unclaimed domain name "MTV.com" in 1993 with the idea of being MTV's unofficial new voice on the Internet. Although this move was sanctioned by his supervisors at MTV Networks at the time, when Curry left to start his own web-portal design and hosting company, MTV subsequently sued him for the domain name, which led to an out-of-court settlement.

The service hosted at the domain name was originally branded "MTV Online" during MTV's first few years of control over it in the mid-1990s. It served as a counterpart to the America Online portal for MTV content, which existed at AOL keyword MTV until approximately the end of the 1990s. After this time, the website became known as simply "MTV.com" and served as the Internet home base for all MTV and MTV News content.

MTV.com experimented with entirely video-based layouts between 2005 and 2007. The experiment began in April 2005 as ''MTV Overdrive'', a streaming video service that supplemented the regular MTV.com website. Shortly after the ''2006 Video Music Awards'', which were streamed on MTV.com and heavily utilized the ''MTV Overdrive'' features, MTV introduced a massive change for MTV.com, transforming the entire site into a Flash video-based entity. Much of users' feedback about the Flash-based site was negative, demonstrating a dissatisfaction with videos that played automatically, commercials that could not be skipped or stopped, and the slower speed of the entire website. The experiment ended in February 2006 as MTV.com reverted to a traditional HTML-based website design with embedded video clips, in the style of YouTube and other popular video-based websites.

Today, MTV.com is still the official website of MTV, and it expands on the channel's broadcasts by bringing additional content to its viewers. The site's notable features include an online version of MTV News, podcasts, and a video streaming service supported by commercials. There are also movie features, profiles and interviews with recording artists and from MTV's television programs.

The channel responded to the rise of the Internet as the new central place to watch music videos in October 2008 by launching MTV Music, a website that features thousands of music videos from MTV and VH1's video libraries, dating back to the earliest videos from 1981.

A newly created division of the company, MTV New Media, announced in 2008 that it would produce its own original web series, in an attempt to create a bridge between old and new media. The programming is available to viewers via personal computers, cell phones, iPods, and other digital devices.

MTV around the world

MTV Networks has also launched numerous native-language regional variants of MTV-branded channels to countries around the world.

Regional variants include, but are not limited to:

Europe

MTV UK & Ireland - operates 16 channels solely in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

MTV Europe

MTV Belgium

MTV Turkey

MTV Netherlands

MTV Greece

MTV Russia

MTV Poland

MTV Hungary

MTV Spain

MTV France (serving Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Monaco, Morocco and Switzerland)

MTV Germany

MTV Portugal

MTV Austria

MTV Denmark

MTV Finland

MTV Italy

MTV Norway

MTV Poland

MTV Czech

MTV Romania

MTV Lithuania

MTV Latvia

MTV Estonia

MTV Sweden

MTV Norway

MTV Poland

MTV Czech Republic

MTV Romania

MTV Lithuania

MTV Latvia

MTV Estonia

MTV Sweden

MTV Ukraine

MTV Adria (serving Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia)

Asia & the Middle East

MTV Israel

MTV Asia

MTV Taiwan

MTV Korea

MTV Japan

MTV Thailand

MTV Indonesia

MTV India

MTV Vietnam

MTV Pakistan

MTV Middle East

Americas, Africa & Australasia

MTV Brazil

MTV Canada

MTV Latin America

MTV Australia

MTV New Zealand

MTV Base - South Africa

Closed MTV regional variants

MTV Networks Baltic (served Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) - Closed on 18 November, 2009.

MTV Philippines - Closed 16 February, 2010.

MTV International - Was available online from 2006 to 2007.

Recognition

In 2010, a study by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation found that of the 207.5 hours of prime time programming, 42% included content reflecting the lives of gay, bisexual and transgendered people. This was the highest in the industry and the highest percentage ever.

See also

Censorship on MTV

First music videos aired on MTV

''Flashdance'' (1983), film that established MTV as an important marketing tool

List of MTV award shows

List of MTV channels

List of MTV VJs

List of programs broadcast by MTV

MTV generation

MTV Networks

MTV News

References

External links

Directory of MTV sites

Category:Companies based in New York City Category:MTV Networks Category:Music video networks Category:Television channels and stations established in 1981 Category:Orphan initialisms Category:1981 establishments in the United States Category:Article Feedback 5 Additional Articles Category:English-language television stations in the United States

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alt	A mid-twenties African American man wearing a sequined military jacket and dark sunglasses. He is walking while waving his right hand, which is adorned with a white glove. His left hand is bare.
background	solo_singer
birth name	Michael Joseph Jackson
alias	Michael Joe Jackson, MJ, King of Pop
birth date	August 29, 1958
birth place	Gary, Indiana, U.S.
death date	June 25, 2009
death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
instrument	Vocals
genre	R&B;, pop, rock, soul, dance, funk, disco, new jack swing
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, composer, dancer, choreographer, record producer, actor, businessman, philanthropist
years active	1964–2009
label	Motown, Epic, Legacy, MJJ Productions
associated acts	The Jackson 5
relatives	Janet Jackson (sister)
website	}}

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, 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 seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.

In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B;, pop and rock artists.

Jackson's 1982 album ''Thriller'' is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including ''Off the Wall'' (1979), ''Bad'' (1987), ''Dangerous'' (1991), and ''HIStory'' (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll. Some of his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which made him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of popular music.

Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the case was settled out of court and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury found him not guilty on all counts. While preparing for his concert series titled ''This Is It'', Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and his personal physician was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as one billion people around the world reportedly watched his public memorial service on live television. In March 2010, Sony Music Entertainment signed a $250 million deal with Jackson's estate to retain distribution rights to his recordings until 2017, and to release seven posthumous albums over the decade following his death.

Life and career

Early life and The Jackson 5 (1958–1975)

Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children in an African American working-class family who lived in a small 3-room house in Gary, Indiana, an industrial city near Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness, and his father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, was a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B; band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy. A sixth brother, Brandon, died shortly after birth.

Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe.

The group's sales began declining in 1973, and the band members chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or input. Although they scored several top 40 hits, including the top 5 disco single "Dancing Machine" and the top 20 hit "I Am Love", the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975.

Move to Epic and ''Off the Wall'' (1975–81)

In June 1975, the Jackson 5 signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Younger brother Randy formally joined the band around this time, while Jermaine left to pursue a solo career. In 1980, Jackson won three awards at the American Music Awards for his solo efforts: Favorite Soul/R&B; Album, Favorite Soul/R&B; Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B; Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". That year, he also won Billboard Year-End for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance, also for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". Jackson again won at the American Music Awards in 1981 for Favorite Soul/R&B; Album and Favorite Soul/R&B; Male Artist. Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt ''Off the Wall'' should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.

''Thriller'' and ''Motown 25'' (1982–83)

In 1982, Jackson contributed the song "Someone In the Dark" to the storybook for the film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''; the record won a Grammy for Best Recording for Children in 1984. In the same year he won another seven Grammys and eight American Music Awards (including the Award of Merit, the youngest artist to win it), making him the most awarded in one night for both award shows. The album topped the ''Billboard'' 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to have seven ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". ''Thriller'' was certified for 29 million shipments by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond status in the United States. The album won also another Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical in 1984, awarding Bruce Swedien for his work. Thanks to the ''Bad'' album, Bruce Swedien and Humberto Gatica won one Grammy in 1988 for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and Michael Jackson won one Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone" in 1989. ''HIStory'' received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. However, the sales for ''Invincible'' were lower than those of his previous releases, due in part to a lack of promotion, no supporting world tour and the label dispute. The album also came out at a bad time for the music industry in general. Jackson rehearsed in Los Angeles in the weeks leading up to the tour under the direction of choreographer Kenny Ortega. Most of these rehearsals took place at the Staples Center, which was owned by AEG. With ''Thriller'', Christopher Connelly of ''Rolling Stone'' commented that Jackson developed his long association with the subliminal theme of paranoia and darker imagery. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted this is evident on the songs "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". In "Billie Jean", Jackson sings about an obsessive fan who alleges he has fathered a child of hers. In "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" he argues against gossip and the media. "Beat It" decried gang violence in an homage to ''West Side Story'', and was Jackson's first successful rock cross-over piece, according to Huey. He also observed that the title track "Thriller" began Jackson's interest with the theme of the supernatural, a topic he revisited in subsequent years. In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the charity anthem "We Are the World"; humanitarian themes later became a recurring theme in his lyrics and public persona. ;Bibliography

George, Nelson (2004). ''Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection'' booklet. Sony BMG.

Further reading

External links

Michael Jackson at MTV

FBI file on Michael Jackson

Category:1958 births Category:2009 deaths Category:African American dancers Category:African American male singers Category:African American record producers Category:African American singer-songwriters

Category:American beatboxers Category:American businesspeople Category:American child singers Category:American choreographers Category:American dance musicians Category:American dancers Category:American disco musicians Category:American boogie musicians Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American rock singers Category:American soul singers Category:American tenors Category:American vegetarians

Category:Boy sopranos Category:Brit Award winners Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Category:Child pop musicians Category:Drug-related deaths in California Category:Epic Records artists

Category:Former Jehovah's Witnesses Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Legend Award Michael Jackson Category:Manslaughter victims Category:Motown artists Category:Musicians from Indiana Category:People acquitted of sex crimes Category:People from Gary, Indiana Category:People from Santa Barbara County, California Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Songwriters from Indiana Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Michael Jackson Category:World Music Awards winners Category:Young Artist Award winners

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Name	Katy Perry
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson
Alias	Katy Hudson
Birth date	October 25, 1984
Birth place	Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Genre	Pop, rock, dance, gospel
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, actress
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	2001–present
Label	Red Hill, Island, Columbia, Capitol
Associated acts	The Matrix
Website	}}

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Perry grew up with gospel music, and during her first year of high school she pursued a music career as Katy Hudson, releasing her first studio album called ''Katy Hudson'' which failed to chart. She recorded a solo album later, which was never released. After signing with Capitol Music Group in 2007, her fourth record label in seven years, she adopted the stage name Katy Perry.

She first gained recognition with the release of her first mainstream album, ''One of the Boys'' in 2008, which spawned three ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top-ten songs—"I Kissed A Girl", "Hot n Cold" and "Waking Up In Vegas". Perry supported the album with her Hello Katy Tour. In 2010, her third studio album, ''Teenage Dream'' (2010), which topped the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, and spawned five number one singles—"California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Firework", "E.T." and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"—''Teenage Dream'' was the only album (after Michael Jackson's ''Bad'')—to do so, and the first female in history to achieve this milestone. She embarked on the California Dreams Tour, which grossed nearly $60 million worldwide. Perry re-released the album under the name of ''Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection'' on March 26, 2012, and the re-release has already spawned the number-one single "Part of Me".

Perry is the only artist to spend over 52 consecutive weeks in the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and has since heightened this to 69 weeks. As of 2012, Perry has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards. She was named 2011's "Artist of the Year" by MTV. She has sold 37.6 million digital tracks in the United States and 11 million albums worldwide. Perry was a guest judge on the seventh series of ''The X Factor UK'' and the ninth season of ''American Idol''. She has released fragrances "Purr" and "Meow". She ventured into film, voicing Smurfette in the 2011 film ''The Smurfs''. Perry was married to British comedian Russell Brand from 2010 to 2012.

Early life

Perry was born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson in Santa Barbara, California to Keith, a West Coast scenester in the 1960s, and Mary Hudson (née Perry), an evangelist who grew up in Southern California and had a "tempestuous" first marriage in Zimbabwe. Perry has Portuguese, German, Irish, and English ancestry. She is the second child of two pastors. She has an older sister named Angela Hudson and younger brother named David Hudson. Perry's mother's aunt and uncle were screenwriter Eleanor Perry and director Frank Perry. Perry was incorporated into her parents' ministry and sang in their church between the ages of 9 and 17. She grew up listening to gospel music, was not allowed to listen to what her mother called "secular music", and attended Christian schools and camps. As a child, Perry learned how to dance in a recreation building in Santa Barbara. She was taught by seasoned dancers and began with swing, Lindy Hop, and jitterbug. She took her GED after her first year at Dos Pueblos High School and decided to leave school in the pursuit of a career in music. Perry initially started singing "because [she] was at that point in [her] childhood where [she] was copycatting [her] sister and everything she [would do]." Her sister practiced with cassette tapes, while Perry took the tapes herself when her sister was not around. She rehearsed the songs and performed them in front of her parents, who suggested she take vocal coaching. She grabbed the opportunity and began taking lessons at the age of nine and continued until she was sixteen. She later enrolled in at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and studied Italian opera for a short period of time.

Career

1999–2006: Career beginnings

When Perry was 15, her singing in church attracted the attention of rock veterans from Nashville, Tennessee, who brought her there to polish her writing skills. In Nashville, Perry started recording demos and was taught by country music veterans how to craft songs and play guitar. Perry signed to the Christian music label Red Hill, under which she recorded her first album at the age of 15. Performing as Katy Hudson, she released a self-titled gospel rock album in 2001. She supported this album with ''The Strangely Normal Tour'', accompanied by Phil Joel, LaRue, Luna Halo, Earthsuit and V*Enna. The album was unsuccessful as the label ceased operations at the end of 2001. She later changed her surname to Perry, her mother's maiden name, because "Katy Hudson" was too close to film actress Kate Hudson.

At the age of 17, Perry left her home for Los Angeles, where she worked with Glen Ballard on an album for Island Records. Growing up listening to mostly gospel music, Perry had few references when she began recording songs. Asked by the producer with whom she would like to collaborate, Perry had no idea. That night, she went with her mother to a hotel. Inside, she turned on VH1 and saw producer Glen Ballard talking about Alanis Morissette; Ballard produced Morissette's ''Jagged Little Pill'', which had a "huge influence" on Perry. She expressed interest in working with Ballard to her initial collaborator, who arranged a meeting for her with Ballard in Los Angeles. Perry presented one of her songs to Ballard. Ballard then helped Perry develop her songwriting over the next few years. The album was due for release in 2005, but ''Billboard'' reported it also went nowhere. Perry was dropped by The Island Def Jam Music Group. Some of Perry and Ballard's collaborations included "Box", "Diamonds" and "Long Shot", were posted on her official MySpace page. "Simple", one of the songs she recorded with Ballard, was released on the soundtrack to the 2005 film ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants''. "Long Shot" and "I Do Not Hook Up" was later recorded by Kelly Clarkson for her 2009 album ''All I Ever Wanted''.

Perry signed to Columbia Records in 2004. However, the label was not amenable with her vision, not putting her in the "driver's seat". Instead, one of Columbia's ideas was to pair Perry with the record production team The Matrix, who was working on an album, to serve as its female vocalist. Although the album was later shelved, she caught the attention of the music press: Her burgeoning music career led to her being named "The Next Big Thing" in October 2004 by ''Blender'' magazine. With no album project ongoing, Perry began recording her own. Eighty percent completed, however, Columbia decided not to finish it and dropped her from the label. While waiting to find another label, she worked in an independent A&R; company called Taxi Music. In 2006, Perry was featured in the tail-end of the video to P.O.D.'s single "Goodbye for Now". She made a cameo appearance in Carbon Leaf's video, "Learn to Fly".

2007–09: Commercial success with ''One of the Boys'' and ''MTV Unplugged''

While in the process of being dropped by Columbia in 2006, the company's publicity executive Angelica Cob-Baehler enthusiastically recommended Perry to Virgin Records chairman Jason Flom. At the time Flom was leading a complete revival in fortunes at the label and looking to crown recent achievements by breaking a global pop act. Despite mixed reactions from fellow Virgin executives, Flom became convinced that Perry could be that breakthrough star, and at the start of 2007 extended discussions with Columbia resulted in Perry signing to the newly created Capitol Music Group, a merger between Virgin and Capitol. As part of the deal, the label secured the masters to the unfinished album, recorded while at Columbia, that would go on to form a significant part of her official mainstream debut album, ''One of the Boys''.

The Columbia recordings were seen by Flom as being "very strong but lacking an undeniable smash or two that would work both at U.S. pop radio and internationally" and so one of the executive's first actions after completing the signing was to set up a collaboration between Perry and the writer-producer Dr. Luke. The results were the songs "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot n Cold". Establishing her image was one of the immediate concerns of her management. A campaign was started in November 2007 with the release of the video to "Ur So Gay", aimed at introducing her to the music market. A digital EP led by "Ur So Gay" was later released to create online buzz and press story. This was a successful move that resulted in bringing Perry to the attention of Madonna, who mentioned her on KISS FM and KRQ's ''JohnJay & Rich'' morning show in Arizona. On March 10, 2008, she appeared as herself on the ABC Family television series, ''Wildfire'', on the episode "Life's Too Short".

In the next step of promoting the album, Perry undertook a two-month tour of radio stations. The album's official lead single, "I Kissed a Girl", was released on May 6, 2008. Perry's A&R;, Chris Anokute, told HitQuarters the song and its controversial theme had met with strong resistance at the label: "People said, 'This is never going to get played on the radio. How do we sell this? How’s this going to be played in the bible belt?'" Anokute said that they needed the support of one of the label's radio promoters to convince people to believe in the record; otherwise, Perry would have likely been dropped again. Capitol's SVP of Promotions, Dennis Reese, saw the vision and helped push the single on national radio. The first station to pick it up and take a chance was The River in Nashville. After playing it for three days they were innundated with enthusiastic calls. With the song climbing atop the charts, Perry embarked on the annual Warped Tour music festival, which her management used to "establish her as a credible performer and make sure she wasn't seen as just a one-hit wonder." The single was a commercial success, peaking at number one for seven weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It has since become a major worldwide hit, topping charts in 30 countries, including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. On June 12, 2008, Perry appeared as herself on the daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', posing for the cover to the June 2008 issue of the fictional magazine ''Restless Style''. Perry also performed backing vocals on the song, "Another Night in the Hills" from Gavin Rossdale's 2008 solo album ''Wanderlust''.

''One of the Boys'' was released on June 17, 2008, to mixed critical reviews. The album has reached number nine on the ''Billboard'' 200, and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Perry released her second single, "Hot n Cold", which became her second top three single in dozens of countries around the world, including the United States where it reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as topping the charts in Germany, Canada, and Denmark. After Perry wrapped up her appearance at the Warped Tour, she went on tours in Europe. She later launched her first headlining tour, the Hello Katy Tour, in January 2009. "I Kissed a Girl" earned Perry a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards. Perry was nominated in five categories at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, including Best New Artist and Best Female Video, but lost to Britney Spears. She won Best New Act at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards, which she co-hosted, and Best International Female Artist at the 2009 BRIT Awards. On February 9, 2009, both "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot n Cold" were certified three-time platinum by Recording Industry Association of America for individual digital sales of over three million. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Perry in its 2010 version as the "Best Start on the US Digital Chart by a Female Artist," for having her first two singles sell over two million digital copies.

The Matrix's self-titled debut album, which features Perry, was later released via the team's label, Let's Hear It, during Perry's solo tour. When the release date was scheduled, "I Kissed a Girl" had been charting well. Matrix member Lauren Christy spoke to Perry about the decision, but she wanted to hold the release until the fourth single of ''One of the Boys'' had been dispatched. Despite their communication, ''The Matrix'' was released on January 27, 2009, via iTunes Store.

In December 2008, Perry apologized to British singer Lily Allen for remarks in which she called herself a "skinnier version" of her, saying she meant it as a joke. Allen retaliated and told a British radio station that she "happen[ed] to know for a fact that she [Perry] was an American version" of her because their record company needed "to find something controversial and 'kooky'" like her. In January 2009, Perry embarked on her first headlining world tour, the Hello Katy Tour, visiting North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Beginning on January 23, 2009, and ending on November 28, 2009, the tour consisted of 89 concerts. During that time, Perry also opened select concerts for the band No Doubt, on their ''Summer Tour 2009''.

On May 16, 2009, Perry performed at the opening ceremony of the annual Life Ball in Vienna, Austria. In June 2009, lawyers acting for Perry opposed the then-recent trademark of Australian fashion designer Katie Perry, who uses her own name to market loungewear. Some media outlets reported this as a lawsuit, which Perry denied on her blog. Katie Perry reported on her blog that at a hearing with IP Australia on July 10, 2009, the singer's lawyers withdrew their opposition to the trademark. During the summer of 2009 Perry filmed a cameo appearance for ''Get Him to the Greek''; her scene, in which she kisses her future fiancé Russell Brand was cut, and does not appear in the final film. Discussing the issue with MTV, Perry hypothesized there may have been some fear that seeing the two make out would have taken viewers out of the experience. In 2009, Perry was featured on two singles: in August, a remix of Colorado-based band 3OH!3's song "Starstrukk" (the idea for the collaboration having come after Perry's tour that featured 3OH!3 as the supporting act, the song being released by iTunes on September 8, 2009); and, thereafter, in December, on "If We Ever Meet Again", the fourth single from Timbaland's album ''Shock Value II''. In October 2009, ''MTV Unplugged'' revealed that Perry was one of the artists to perform for them, and that she would be releasing a live album of the performance, including two new tracks, "Brick by Brick" and Fountains of Wayne cover "Hackensack". The album, released on November 17, included both a CD and a DVD, and debuted at No. 168 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart.

2010–present: ''Teenage Dream'', film debut and ''The Complete Confection''

Perry appeared as a guest judge alongside Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Louis Walsh during the Dublin audition stage of the seventh series of the British television show ''The X Factor'' on June 28, 2010. She was one of the many celebrities chosen to fulfil the role of judge whilst Dannii Minogue was on maternity leave. In May 2010, Perry released the first single from her second studio album, '' Teenage Dream '' entitled, "California Gurls". The single peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks. "Teenage Dream" was released as the second single from her album, and it also topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming her third number one and second from the album. ''Teenage Dream'' was released August 24, 2010 and debuted atop the ''Billboard'' 200 chart with sales of 192,000 copies in its first week. The album as since sold over 2 million copies in the US, being certified Platinum by the RIAA. Following the album's release, the third single "Firework" was released and became the third consecutive single from ''Teenage Dream'' to top the Hot 100. With this, Perry became the first female in eleven years to have three consecutive number-ones from one album. thumb|left|upright|Perry at the TV Week Logie Awards in 2011 In February 2011, Perry released the fourth single, "E.T.", a remixed version featuring Kanye West, that peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for five non-consecutive weeks. The music video for "E.T." was directed by Floria Sigismondi and features Shaun Ross as the main love interest. With "E.T." at number one on the chart of May 12, 2011, Perry became the first artist to spend 52 consecutive weeks in the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In June 2011, Perry released the fifth single, "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)". A remixed version featuring American rapper Missy Elliot was released in early August. The song topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on August 17, 2011, making Perry the first female and second artist (tied with Michael Jackson) ever to have five No. 1 singles from one album. Also, when the song reached number 1 in the Pop Songs airplay chart, "Teenage Dream" became the first album to have 5 number 1's from the same album on that chart. Additionally, when the song reached number one in the Adult Pop Songs airplay chart, the album become the first to have 4 number 1's from the same album on the chart. In October 2011, Perry released the sixth single, "The One That Got Away". It reached No. 3 on ''Hot 100'', becoming the third album in history to produce six top five hit singles, and the seventh song from ''Teenage Dream'' to reach the top of the ''Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs'', the most by any album and setting a new record in the chart. Perry released a "The One That Got Away" remix featuring American rapper B.o.B. in December 2011. An acoustic version of the song was released in January 2012.

From February 2011 to January 2012, Perry embarked on an extensive world tour in support of ''Teenage Dream'', the ''California Dreams Tour'', playing 124 shows in Europe, Australasia, Asia, North America and South America and earning over $59 million. Perry made her perfume debut, releasing a fragrance named "Purr" in November. It is packaged in a cat-shaped bottle, and is available through Nordstrom stores. She followed it up with the fragrance's first flanker, "Meow". In July 2011, Perry made her film debut in the 3D family film ''The Smurfs'' as Smurfette. ''The Smurfs'' earned $557,771,535 worldwide during its theatrical run. Perry appeared at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2011. She was nominated for ten awards, received the most nominations of the ceremony and was the first singer to have four different music videos shown in various categories, eventually winning three of those, Video of the Year for "Firework", Best Collaboration and Best Special Effects for "E.T.". On September 17, 2011, marked Perry' 69th consecutive week in the Top 10 with single "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)". On September 23, 2011, she performed, along with Elton John, Brazilian Claudia Leitte and friend Rihanna, on the opening day of the 2011 Rock in Rio festival, which was extended to October 2. Perry performed for 100 thousand people, a show that received high praise from critics and audience alike.

On December 14, 2011, the annual list ''Forbes'' was elected the third singer who earned more than US$44 million, behind Lady Gaga (US$90 million) and Taylor Swift (US$45 million). On December 15, 2011, Perry was elected the ''Artist of the Year'' by MTV, for their performance on the charts worldwide and won the record during the year. On December 20, 2011, She released a Barbie doll that represents her style in 2012. On January 8, 2012, Perry was named the sixth best-selling digital artist of all time in the United States, having sold 37,620,00 million singles and albums as of 2011, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

In the week ending January 15, 2012, Perry became the first artist ever to have five songs sell over 5 million digital copies in the USA. Perry was once again recruited by EA Games to promote their new expansion pack "''The Sims 3: Showtime''" for their ''The Sims'' game franchise. The game content was based on Perry. Perry became the first person to have six songs top the ''Billboard'' Adult Pop Songs chart. In March 27, 2012, she re-released ''Teenage Dream'' under the title ''Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection'' on March 27, 2012. The lead single from the re-release (and seventh single from the ''Teenage Dream'' era overall) was "Part of Me", which released in February, debuted atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Perry has announced that she will release a part-biopic, part-concert film to be shown in 3D titled ''Katy Perry: Part of Me'' to be released on the 4th of July weekend of 2012 by Paramount Pictures. In April 2012, Perry performed in India for the first time at the opening ceremony of 5th edition of Indian Premier League, cricket match, in Chennai along with Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Prabhu Deva. She performed her songs "Teenage Dream" and a remix version of "California Gurls". In April 2012, Perry stated that she was working on new music and changing her musical style, "My music is about to get real f---ing dark. You'd never see my face because my hair would be in it."

Artistry

Musical style and themes

Perry has a contralto vocal range. Perry's first album is of the Gospel music genre. She related that her perspective in music was "a bit enclosed and very strict", and everything she did was church-related. Her second album, ''One of the Boys'', is described as "secular" and "rock," and reflects a departure from her religious musical roots. Her next album ''Teenage Dream'' featured more pop songs in the vein of ''Boys''. In her childhood, Perry was introduced to the music of Alanis Morissette and Freddie Mercury, the late frontman of the British band Queen. In her tribute to Mercury on what would have been his 65th birthday, Perry stated; "Without you I wouldn't be making music or doing what I do because your lyrics inspired me as a 15 year old girl." Queen's song "Killer Queen" has inspired her to pursue a career in pop music after her first album. She also described that Morissette's album ''Jagged Little Pill'' as having influenced her music profoundly; even going on to work with Morissette's collaborator on the album, Glen Ballard because of that. Influence also came from a number of female pop rock singers, including Cyndi Lauper, Shirley Manson, Pat Benatar and Joan Jett, as "they came out with a vengeance." Perry also cited Madonna as another big influence, saying "I want to evolve like Madonna."

Perry is artistically involved in her projects, especially in the writing process. Since she could play guitar, she would start writing songs at home and present it to her producers. Perry is mostly inspired by specific moments of her life. She said it is easy for her to write songs about heartbreak. Most of the themes in ''One of the Boys'' deal with heartbreak, teen adventure, and "puking into toilets". Perry's mother reportedly told British tabloid ''Daily Mail'' that she dislikes her daughter's music, calling it "shameful and disgusting". Perry said her mother was misquoted and told MTV that it was false information. Her songs "Ur So Gay" and "I Kissed a Girl" have received negative reactions from both religious and gay sectors. The songs have been respectively labeled as being homophobic and promoting homosexuality, as well as "lez ploitational". Musicians Pink, Kathleen Hanna and Beth Ditto criticised "I Kissed A Girl" as offensive to the LGBT community. MTV mentioned criticism suggesting that Perry is using "bi-curiosity" as a way to sell records. Perry responded to the controversy surrounding "Ur So Gay": "It's not a negative connotation. It's not, 'you're so gay,' like, 'you're so lame,' but the fact of the matter is that this boy should've been gay. I totally understand how it could be misconstrued or whatever ... It wasn't stereotyping anyone in particular, I was talking about ex-boyfriends." Perry has written several songs for other singers, including Ashley Tisdale ("Time's Up"), Selena Gomez & the Scene ("Rock God" and "That's More Like It"), Kelly Clarkson ("Long Shot" and "I Do Not Hook Up"), Jessica James ("Bullet" and "Girl Next Door"), Lesley Roy ("Slow Goodbye"), Kady Malloy ("Wish You the Worst"), and Adam Lambert ("Cookoo").

Public image

Perry is known for her unconventional style of dress. It is often humorous, bright in color, and reminiscent of different decades, and she frequently uses fruit-shaped accessories, mainly watermelon, as part of her outfits. Perry's transformation into an artist began with fashion, inspired by American film actress Dominique Swain's portrayal in the 1997 film ''Lolita''. She defines her fashion style as "a bit of a concoction of different things". Her fashion has caught the attention of designers. In June 2008, a publicity photo that showed Perry posing with a switchblade was criticized. The picture was defended as only an effort to give Perry a "sexy, harder edge". The criticism leveled at her was mocked by Perry who subsequently posed with a spoon instead. She was ranked 7th in ''Rolling Stone'''s global Queen of Pop poll in July 2011. Perry is also a gay activist. According to Dosomething.org, Perry had stated "I am a gay activist and I say that proudly. I voted no on Prop 8 (California’s Nov. 4, 2008, amendment declaring that marriage is defined as a union solely between a man and a woman), of course."

Personal life

Perry has had relationships with Gym Class Heroes frontman Travie McCoy, whom she met in a recording studio in New York, breaking up in December 2008; Relient K frontman Matt Thiessen, with whom she worked on her album ''Teenage Dream'' and British comedian Russell Brand.

Perry first met Brand in the summer of 2009 when she filmed a cameo appearance for Brand's film ''Get Him to the Greek''. Although the cameo ultimately did not make it into the final cut of the movie, Perry later noted that the "scene called for me to make out with him...And on the way down the stairs after the scene, I was hopping like a bunny. I hop like a bunny when I'm happy". Perry and Brand began dating after meeting again several months later in September 2009 at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, where Brand, as host, remarked, "Katy Perry didn't win an award and she's staying at the same hotel as me, so she's gonna need a shoulder to cry on. So in a way, I'm the real winner tonight." The couple became engaged in December 2009 while vacationing in India. At the time, Perry stated that she had plans to take dual British citizenship. "One of the first things I'll do is apply for dual citizenship. I'm not too sure if I have to take a test as I've not had time to look into it. But England is like my second home". In an August 2010 interview with ''Rolling Stone'', Perry also noted that, "I am sensitive to Russell taking the Lord's name in vain and to Lady Gaga putting a rosary in her mouth. I think when you put sex and spirituality in the same bottle and shake it up, bad things happen." Perry and Brand married on October 23, 2010, in a traditional Hindu ceremony near the Ranthambhore tiger sanctuary in Rajasthan, India, the same location where Brand proposed.

After 14 months of marriage, Brand filed for divorce from Perry on December 30, 2011, in Los Angeles, citing irreconcilable differences. The announcement of the divorce followed media speculation that the couple was having marital problems, including an ''Us Weekly'' report that they had got into a "massive fight" and spent Christmas 2011 on opposite sides of the globe, with Perry in Hawaii and Brand in London, both without their wedding rings. After Perry and Brand reached an agreement on financial issues, a judge granted the divorce request in February 2012; however the divorce will not become effective until July 2012, as California law requires a six-month interval from the initial filing.

Discography

''Katy Hudson'' (2001)

''One of the Boys'' (2008)

''Teenage Dream'' (2010)

Tours

Headlining

Hello Katy Tour (2009)

California Dreams Tour (2011–2012)

Co-headlining The Strangely Normal Tour (2001)

Warped Tour 2008 (2008)

Opening act

No Doubt – Summer Tour 2009 (North American select dates) (2009)

Promotional

Teenage Dream Tour (2010)

Filmography

+ List of television and films credits
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2008	''''	Herself	Episode 8914
2008		Herself
2010	''American Idol''	Guest judge
2010		Guest judge
2010	''Sesame Street''	Herself	Online special (deleted from televised episode due to viewer controversy)
2010	''The Simpsons''	Herself	"The Fight Before Christmas" (Season 22, episode 8)
2010	''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition''	Herself	"Boys Hope/Girls Hope" (Season 8, Episode 1)
2010	''Get Him to the Greek''	Herself	Deleted scene, Uncredited
2010—2011	''Saturday Night Live''	Herself/Host/Musical Guest	"SNL episode 681
2011	''[[How I Met Your Mother''	Honey
2011	''America's Got Talent''	Guest judge	July 27 (Season 6, Qtr Finals 3 results)
2011		Smurfette (voice)
2011		Herself	Deleted scene, Cameo appearance
2012	''Raising Hope''	Rikki	"Single White Female Role Model" (Season 2, Episode 16)
2012	''Katy Perry: Part of Me''	Herself	3D film
2013	''The Smurfs 2''	Smurfette (voice)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website

Category:1984 births Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from California Category:American bloggers Category:American Christians Category:American contraltos Category:American dance musicians Category:American female guitarists Category:American female pop singers Category:American film actors Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Portuguese descent Category:American pop rock singers Category:American pop singer-songwriters Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Brit Award winners Category:Capitol Records artists Category:English-language singers Category:Female rock singers Category:Living people Category:Musicians from California Category:People from Santa Barbara, California Category:Singers from California Category:The X Factor judges

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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	}}

Britney Jean Spears (born 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 ''...Baby One More Time'' in 1999. During her first decade in 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.

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. In October of the same year, she released a chart-topping single, "3", which became her third single to reach 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. It has sold over 1 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best selling remix albums of all time. 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 in its first week), 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. As of March 9, 2012, ''Femme Fatale'' has sold 883,000 copies in the United States and 2.2 million worldwide 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 Spears 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 was in talks with Spears for her to join the new season of the ''The X-Factor''. According to ''Billboard'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter'', Trawick negotiated Spears' contract with the show, which was later approved by conservatorship judge Reva Goetz. Melanie Bromley of E! Online reported that Cowell and the producers agreed to pay the singer $15 million payday, and also added that Trawick would serve as a new producer of the show. The contract is still unsigned. Spears also teamed up with Hasbro to release an exclusive version of Twister Dance, which will include a remix of "Till the World Ends". The singer also participated on a commercial, which was directed by Ray Kay, to promote the game.

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." Rob Sheffield of ''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."

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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 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 between Spears and Madonna 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

''...Baby One More Time'' (1999)

''Oops!... I Did It Again'' (2000)

''Britney'' (2001)

''In the Zone'' (2003)

''Blackout'' (2007)

''Circus'' (2008)

''Femme Fatale'' (2011)

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

...Baby One More Time Tour (1999–2000)

Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour (2000–01)

Dream Within a Dream Tour (2001–02)

The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004)

The M+M's Tour (2007)

The Circus Starring Britney Spears (2009)

Femme Fatale Tour (2011)

See also

Britney Spears products

Honorific nicknames in popular music

List of best-selling music artists

List of best-selling music artists in the United States

Notes

References

Further reading

Dennis, Steve (2009). ''Britney: Inside the Dream''. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0007317516.

Peters, Beth (1999). ''True Brit: The Story of Singing Sensation Britney Spears''. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0345436870.

Scott, Kieran (2001). ''I was a Mouseketeer!.'' Disney Press. ISBN 978-0786844708.

Smith, Sean (2006). ''Britney The Unauthorized Biography of Britney Spears.'' Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-0330440776.

Spears, Britney (2000). ''Britney Spears's Heart to Heart''. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0609807019.

Stevens, Amanda (2001). ''Britney Spears: the illustrated story.'' Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0823078677.

External links

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Name	Lady Gaga
Alt	Portrait of a young, pale-skinned Caucasian female with blond hair
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
Birth date	March 28, 1986
Birth place	New York, New York, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, piano, keyboards
Genre	Pop, dance, electronic
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, performance artist, record producer, dancer, businesswoman, activist
Years active	2005–present
Label	Def Jam, Cherrytree, Streamline, Kon Live, Interscope
Website	100pxLady Gaga's signature }}

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She began performing in the rock music scene of Manhattan's Lower East Side, and was signed with Streamline Records by the end of 2007. During her employment as a songwriter for the record company, her vocal abilities captured the attention of recording artist Akon, who signed her to his label Kon Live Distribution.

Lady Gaga came to prominence as a recording artist following the release of her debut album ''The Fame'' (2008), which was a critical and commercial success that topped charts around the world and included the international number-one singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". After embarking on the The Fame Ball Tour, she followed the album with ''The Fame Monster'' (2009), which spawned the worldwide hit singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro". The album's success allowed her to embark on the eighteen-month long Monster Ball Tour, which later became one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. Her most recent album ''Born This Way'' (2011) topped the charts of most major markets and generated more international chart-topping singles, including "Born This Way", "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory". Besides her musical career, she involves herself with humanitarian causes and LGBT activism.

Influenced by David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Queen, Lady Gaga is recognized for her flamboyant, diverse and outré contributions to the music industry through her fashion, performances and music videos. She has sold an estimated 23 million albums and 64 million singles worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time and her singles are some of the best selling worldwide. Her achievements include five Grammy Awards and 13 MTV Video Music Awards. Lady Gaga has consecutively appeared on ''Billboard'' magazine's Artists of the Year (scoring the definitive title in 2010), ranked fourth in VH1's list of 100 Greatest Women in Music, is regularly placed on lists composed by ''Forbes'' magazine and was named one of the most influential people in the world by ''Time'' magazine. In 2012, Gaga was ranked at number four on ''Billboard'''s list of top moneymakers of 2011, grossing more than $25 million.

Biography

1986–2004: Early life

Lady Gaga was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on March 28, 1986 in New York City to parents Cynthia (née Bissett) and Joseph Germanotta, an Internet entrepreneur. Descending from Italian and more distant French-Canadian roots, Gaga is the elder of two children. Her sister, Natali, a fashion student, was born in 1992. Despite her seemingly affluent upbringing in the family home in Manhattan's Upper West Side, Gaga has stressed that she did not come from a wealthy background, stating that her parents "both came from lower-class families, so we've worked for everything—my mother worked eight to eight out of the house, in telecommunications, and so did my father."

From the age of 11, Gaga – who was raised Roman Catholic – attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart, a private all-girls Roman Catholic school on Manhattan's Upper East Side. She described her academic life in high school as "very dedicated, very studious, very disciplined" but also "a bit insecure": "I used to get made fun of for being either too provocative or too eccentric, so I started to tone it down. I didn't fit in, and I felt like a freak." Acquaintances dispute that she did not fit in at school. "She had a core group of friends; she was a good student. She liked boys a lot, but singing was No. 1," recalled a former high school classmate. Gaga began playing the piano at the age of 4, went on to write her first piano ballad at 13, and started to perform at open mike nights by the age of 14. Her passion for musical theatre brought her lead roles in high school productions, including Adelaide in ''Guys and Dolls'' and Philia in ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''. She also appeared in a very small role as a mischievous classmate in the television drama series ''The Sopranos'' in a 2001 episode titled "The Telltale Moozadell" in addition to unsuccessfully auditioning for parts in New York shows.

When her time at the Convent of the Sacred Heart came to an end, her mother encouraged her to apply for the Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21), a musical theatre training conservatory at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. After becoming one of twenty students to gain early admission, she eventually lived in an NYU dorm on 11th Street by the age of 17. CAP21 prepared her for her future career focus in "music, art, sex and celebrity" where, in addition to sharpening her songwriting skills, she composed essays and analytical papers on art, religion, social issues and politics, including a thesis on pop artists Spencer Tunick and Damien Hirst. With CAP21, she also tried out for and won auditions, including the part of an unsuspecting diner customer for MTV's ''Boiling Points'', a prank reality television show. But Gaga felt more creative than some of her classmates. "Once you learn how to think about art, you can teach yourself," she said.

2005–07: Career beginnings

Gaga withdrew from CAP21 at 19, in the second semester of her sophomore year, deciding to focus on her musical career. Her father agreed to pay her rent for a year, on the condition that she re-enroll at Tisch if unsuccessful. "I left my entire family, got the cheapest apartment I could find, and ate shit until somebody would listen," she remembers. Settled in a small apartment on Rivington Street towards the summer of 2005, Gaga recorded a couple of songs with hip-hop singer Grandmaster Melle Mel, for an audio book accompanying the children's book ''The Portal in the Park'', by Cricket Casey. She also began a band called the Stefani Germanotta Band (SGBand) with some friends from NYU – guitarist Calvin Pia, bassist Eli Silverman, drummer Alex Beckham and booking manager Frank Fredericks – in September of that year. The band played a mixture of songs: some self-penned alongside classic rock numbers like Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er". Playing in bars like the Greenwich Village's The Bitter End and the Lower East Side's the Mercury Lounge, the band developed a small fan base and caught the eye of music producer Joe Vulpis. Soon after arranging time in Vulpis' studio in the months that followed, SGBand were selling their extended plays ''Words'' and ''Red and Blue'' (both 2005) at gigs around New York while becoming a local fixture of the downtown Lower East Side club scene.

SGBand reached their career peak at the 2006 Songwriters Hall of Fame New Songwriters Showcase at The Cutting Room in June where Wendy Starland, a musician, appeared as a talent scout for music producer Rob Fusari. Starland informed Fusari – who was searching for a female singer to front a new band – of Gaga's ability and contacted her. With SGBand disbanded, Gaga traveled daily to New Jersey to work on songs she had written and compose new material with the music producer. While in collaboration, Fusari compared some of her vocal harmonies to those of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen. It was Fusari who helped create the moniker Gaga after the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga". Gaga was in the process of trying to come up with a stage name when she received a text message from Fusari that read "Lady Gaga." He explained, "Every day, when Stef came to the studio, instead of saying hello, I would start singing 'Radio Ga Ga'. That was her entrance song" and that the text message was the result of a predictive text glitch that changed "radio" to "lady". She texted back, "That's it," and declared, "Don't ever call me Stefani again." ''The New York Post'', however, has reported that this story is incorrect, and that the name resulted from a marketing meeting.

Although the musical relationship between Fusari and Gaga was unsuccessful at first, the pair soon set up a company titled Team Lovechild in which they recorded and produced electropop tracks and sent them to music industry bosses. Joshua Sarubin, the head of A&R; at Def Jam Recordings, responded positively and vied for the record company to take a chance on her "unusual and provocative" performance. After having his boss Antonio "L.A." Reid in agreement, Gaga was signed to Def Jam in September 2006 with the intention of having an album ready in nine months. However, she was dropped by the label after only three months – an unfortunate period of her life that would later inspire her treatment for the music video for her 2011 single "Marry the Night". Devastated, Gaga returned to the solace of the family home for Christmas and the nightlife culture of the Lower East Side.

She became increasingly experimental: fascinating herself with emerging neo-burlesque shows, go-go dancing at bars dressed in little more than a bikini in addition to experimenting with drugs. Her father, however, did not understand the reason behind her drug intake and could not look at her for several months. "I was onstage in a thong, with a fringe hanging over my ass thinking that had covered it, lighting hairsprays on fire, go-go dancing to Black Sabbath and singing songs about oral sex. The kids would scream and cheer and then we'd all go grab a beer. It represented freedom to me. I went to a Catholic school but it was on the New York underground that I found myself." It was then when she became romantically involved with a heavy metal drummer in a relationship and break-up she likened to the musical film ''Grease'': "I was his Sandy, and he was my Danny, and I just broke." He later became an inspiration behind some of her later songs.

During this time, she met performance artist Lady Starlight, who helped mold her on-stage persona. Starlight explained that, upon their first meeting, Gaga wanted to perform with her to songs she had recorded with Fusari. Like SGBand, the pair soon began performing at many of the downtown club venues like the Mercury Lounge, The Bitter End, and the Rockwood Music Hall. Their live performance art piece was known as "Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue" and, billed as "The Ultimate Pop Burlesque Rockshow", was a low-fi tribute to 1970s variety acts. Soon after, the two were invited to play at the 2007 Lollapalooza music festival in August that year. The show was critically acclaimed, and their performance received positive reviews. Having initially focused on avant-garde electronic dance music, Gaga had found her musical niche when she began to incorporate pop melodies and the glam rock of David Bowie and Queen into her music.

While Gaga and Starlight were busy performing, producer Rob Fusari continued to work on the songs he had created with Gaga. Fusari sent these songs to his friend, producer and record executive Vincent Herbert. Herbert was quick to sign her to his label Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records, upon its establishment in 2007. Gaga later credited Herbert as the man who discovered her, adding "I really feel like we made pop history, and we're gonna keep going." Having served as an apprentice songwriter under an internship at Famous Music Publishing, which was later acquired by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Gaga subsequently struck a music publishing deal with Sony/ATV. As a result, she was hired to write songs for Britney Spears and labelmates New Kids on the Block, Fergie, and the Pussycat Dolls. At Interscope, singer-songwriter Akon recognized her vocal abilities when she sang a reference vocal for one of his tracks in studio. Akon then convinced Interscope-Geffen-A&M; Chairman and CEO Jimmy Iovine to form a joint deal by having her also sign with his own label Kon Live, making her his "franchise player."

As 2007 came to a close, her former management company introduced her to songwriter and producer RedOne, whom they also managed. The first song she produced with RedOne was "Boys Boys Boys", a mash-up inspired by Mötley Crüe's "Girls, Girls, Girls" and AC/DC's "T.N.T.". Gaga continued her collaboration with RedOne in the recording studio for a week on her debut album and also joined the roster of Cherrytree Records, an Interscope imprint established by producer and songwriter Martin Kierszenbaum, after co-writing four songs with Kierszenbaum including the singles "Christmas Tree" and "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)". Despite her secure record deal, she admitted that there was fear about her being too "racy", "dance-orientated" and "underground" for the mainstream market. Her response: "My name is Lady Gaga, I've been on the music scene for years, and I'm telling you, this is what's next."

2008–10: ''The Fame'' and ''The Fame Monster''

By 2008, Gaga had relocated to Los Angeles in order to work extensively with her record label to complete her debut album and set up her own creative team Haus of Gaga, modeled on Andy Warhol's Factory. ''The Fame'' was first released on August 19, 2008 to slow radio play. Gaga supported it by performing around Europe and in small gay clubs around the US in addition to being billed as a supporting artist on the North American leg of New Kids on the Block's reunion concert tour. A sleeper hit, lead single "Just Dance" had preceded the album's release by four months but only hit the summit of the international charts in January 2009, provoking the instant success of the album, earning her first Grammy Award nomination (for Best Dance Recording) and becoming one of the best-selling singles worldwide. Gaga achieved a greater unexpected success when "Poker Face", another sleeper hit, reached number one in most major music markets worldwide in early 2009, selling 9.8 million singles worldwide. The follow-up single won the award for Best Dance Recording at the 52nd Grammy Awards over nominations for Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

''The Fame'' itself was nominated for Album of the Year while winning Best Dance/Electronica Album at the same ceremony. Contemporary critics lauded the album, describing it as an exploration of her obsession with fame and the intricacies of a rich and famous lifestyle, noting its combination of genres "from Def Leppard drums and hand claps to metal drums on urban tracks", the inspiration drawn from 1980s synthpop and incorporation of dance music with clear hooks. ''The Fame'' went to number one in Austria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and the UK and appeared in the top five in Australia, the US and 15 other countries. It also stayed atop the Dance/Electronic Albums chart for 106 non-consecutive weeks and, since its release, has sold over 12 million copies worldwide. The album's success spawned many 2009 honors including ''Billboard'' magazine's Rising Star award and the accumulation of 3 of 9 MTV Video Music Awards nominations, winning Best New Artist with the video for her single "Paparazzi" gaining Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects. In addition to being an opening act on the Pussycat Dolls' Doll Domination Tour during the first half of 2009 in Europe and Oceania, she also embarked on her own six-month critically appreciated worldwide concert tour The Fame Ball Tour which ran from March to September 2009.

While she traveled the globe, she wrote ''The Fame Monster'', an EP of eight songs released in November 2009. Each song, dealing with the darker side of fame from personal experience, is expressed through a monster metaphor. Making Gaga the first artist in digital history to have three singles (alongside "Just Dance" and "Poker Face") to pass the four million mark in digital sales, its lead single "Bad Romance" topped the charts in eighteen countries and reached the top two in the US, Australia and New Zealand while accruing the Grammy Awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Short Form Music Video. The second single "Telephone", which features singer Beyoncé, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and became Gaga's fourth UK number one single; its accompanying music video, although controversial, received positive reception from contemporary critics who praised her for "the musicality and showmanship of Michael Jackson and the powerful sexuality and provocative instincts of Madonna." Her following single "Alejandro" paired Gaga with fashion photographer Steven Klein for a music video similarly as controversial – critics complimented its ideas and dark nature but the Catholic League attacked Gaga for her alleged use of blasphemy. Despite the controversy surrounding her music videos, they made Gaga the first artist to gain over one billion viral views on video-sharing website YouTube. At the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, Gaga won 8 of her 13 nominations, including Video of the Year for "Bad Romance" (with "Telephone" also nominated), which made her the first female artist to be nominated twice for the award. In addition, ''The Fame Monster'' garnered a total of six nominations at the 53rd Grammy Awards – equating to the amount of Grammy nominations her debut received – winning Best Pop Vocal Album and earning her a second-consecutive nomination for Album of the Year.

The success of the album allowed Gaga to start her second worldwide concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just weeks after the release of ''The Fame Monster'' and months after having finished The Fame Ball Tour. Upon finishing in May 2011, the critically acclaimed and commercially accomplished tour ran for over one and a half years and grossed $227.4 million, making it one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time and the highest-grossing for a debut headlining artist. Concerts performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City were filmed for a HBO television special titled ''Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden''. The special accrued one of its five Emmy Award nominations and has since been released on DVD and Blu-ray. Gaga also performed songs from the album at international events such as the 2009 Royal Variety Performance where she sang "Speechless", a power ballad, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II; the 52nd Grammy Awards where her opening performance consisted of the song "Poker Face" and a piano duet of "Speechless" in a medley of "Your Song" with Elton John; and the 2010 BRIT Awards where a performance of an acoustic rendition of "Telephone" followed by "Dance in the Dark" dedicated to the late fashion designer and close friend, Alexander McQueen, supplemented her hat-trick win at the awards ceremony. Other performances may have included her participation in Michael Jackson's This Is It concert series at London's O2 Arena. "I was actually asked to open for Michael on his tour," she stated. "We were going to open for him at the O2 and we were working on making it happen. I believe there was some talk about us, lots of the openers, doing duets with Michael on stage."

In 2009 she collaborated with consumer electronic company Monster Cable Products to create a pair of in-ear jewel-encrusted headphones titled Heartbeats. "They are designed to be the first ever fashion accessories that double as the absolute best sonically sounding headphones in the world," she commented. Gaga also partnered with Polaroid in January 2010 as their Creative Director. Excited about "blending the iconic history of Polaroid and instant film with the digital era," Gaga unveiled the first trio of new products called Grey Label: a pair of picture-taking sunglasses, a paperback-sized mobile printing unit and an updated version of the traditional Polaroid camera at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show. But her collaboration with past producer Rob Fusari led to her production team, Mermaid Music LLC, being sued in March 2010 when he claimed that he was entitled to a 20% share of the company's earnings. Gaga's lawyer, Charles Ortner, described the agreement with Fusari as "unlawful" and declined to comment, but five months later, the New York Supreme Court dismissed both the lawsuit and a countersuit by Gaga. In addition to such strife, Gaga was tested borderline positive for lupus, but claimed not to be affected by the symptoms. The revelations caused considerable dismay among fans, leading to Gaga addressing the matter in an interview with Larry King, saying she hopes to avoid symptoms by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

2011–present: ''Born This Way''

Gaga released her second studio album and third major release, ''Born This Way'', on May 23, 2011. Described as a marriage of electronic music with metal, rock 'n' roll, pop and anthemic style melodies with sledge-hammering dance beats and referred to as an album "about what what keeps us up at night and what makes us afraid," Gaga characterized it as "something so much deeper than a wig or lipstick or a fucking meat dress" and, upon hearing it, Akon remarked that she is taking music to the "next level." Upon release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its range of different styles and her vocals. ''Born This Way'' sold 1.108 million copies in its first week in the US, debuted atop the ''Billboard'' 200, and topped the charts in more than 20 other countries. In addition to exceeding 8 million copies in worldwide sales, ''Born This Way'' received 3 Grammy Award nominations, including her third consecutive for Album of the Year.

In the months prior to its unveiling, Gaga released the singles "Born This Way", "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory" alongside promotional single "Hair". The eponymous lead single, first sung live at the 53rd Grammy Awards in a performance that saw Gaga emerge from an egg-like vessel, deals with self-acceptance regardless of race or sexual orientation. The single debuted atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the 19th number-one debut and the 1,000th number-one single in the history of the charts. It sold more than 3 million digital copies in the US by October 2011, becoming her eighth consecutive single to exceed sales of 2 million and, with worldwide sales of 8.2 million copies by November 2011, one of her five best-selling singles worldwide. Critics noted artistic and cultural references and praised the concept of the song's accompanying music video, in which Gaga gives birth to a new race amidst surrealistic images. The video for "Judas", in which Gaga portrays Mary Magdalene, and Biblical figures such as Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot are also featured, was criticized for its religious references but received acclaim for its overall delivery and praise from others who claimed that there was nothing offensive about it. "Judas" also peaked within the top ten in several major musical markets, while "The Edge of Glory", first a commercial success in digital outlets, was later released as a single to critical appreciation, accompanied by a video which was notably stripped down from her usually "extravagant" efforts. She released "You and I" and "Marry the Night" as the following singles from ''Born This Way''. Although their "crazy and ambitious" videos were praised for their audacity, both songs failed to match the similar international success that their predecessors achieved.

Gaga continued her musical endeavors by pairing with veteran artists like Tony Bennett to record a jazz version of "The Lady Is a Tramp". She also recorded a duet with Cher on a "massive" and "beautiful" track, which Gaga "wrote a long time ago, and I've never put it on one of my own albums for, really, no particular reason." Gaga also lent her vocals to an original duet with Elton John for the animated feature film ''Gnomeo & Juliet''. The song, "Hello, Hello", was released without Gaga's vocals but the duet version features in the film. She also continued her live appearances throughout 2011, performing a one-of-a-kind concert at the Sydney Town Hall on July 13 in promotion of ''Born This Way'' and at the celebration of former US president Bill Clinton's 65th birthday, wearing a blond wig as a nod to the famous performance of Marilyn Monroe for John F. Kennedy and changing the lyrics to "You and I" specifically for the performance. Televised appearances comprised her own Thanksgiving Day television special entitled ''A Very Gaga Thanksgiving'' which was critically lauded, attained 5.749 million American viewers, and spawned the release of her fourth extended play ''A Very Gaga Holiday''. Her second performance on ''Saturday Night Live'' saw her singing a selection of ''Born This Way'' songs alongside appearing in number of sketches with Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg. In March 2012, Gaga was ranked at number four on ''Billboard'''s list of top moneymakers of 2011, grossing $25,353,039 dollars, which includes sales from ''Born This Way'' and her ''Monster Ball Tour''.

In early 2012, Gaga stated that songs for a new album were "beginning to flourish" as she worked with producer Fernando Garibay, while the accompanying tour for ''Born This Way'' was materializing. The Born This Way Ball Tour began on April 27, 2012, at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea. The tour was met with protests from several religious groups who denounced the tour as satanic and against religious values, resulting in protests mainly from the Islamic Defenders Front, causing a cancellation in the Indonesian city of Jakarta, where Gaga was denied a license to perform. The concert however was still in question as concert promoters were optimistic that the performance will in fact go on. However, due to threats of violence from Muslim hardliners, Gaga decided to cancel the concert although 52,000 tickets have sold out in just a few days. On May 20, 2012, Gaga guest-starred on the 23rd season finale of ''The Simpsons'' entitled "Lisa Goes Gaga".

Artistry

Influences

Gaga's parents, who exposed her to artists like The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Queen, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin and Elton John had significant influence on her childhood and, presently, still do. "I am a real family girl. When it comes to love and loyalty, I am very old-fashioned. And I am quite down-to-earth for such an eccentric person," she insists. "I'm quite traditional in the family sense. I've always been that way." According to Gaga, Joanne Germanotta – her aunt who died of lupus aged 19 – lives on through her and inspires all of her music and art. Joanne's date of death is tattooed on Gaga's body and, despite dying 12 years before her birth, Gaga commented, "I really believe I have two hearts. I think I actually carry two souls in my body, and that I'm living out the rest of her life and her goodness – she died a virgin, she died never having experienced all these things that we all get to love and experience in our lives." Another spiritual influence on Gaga has been the Indian physician, public speaker and writer Deepak Chopra. Labeling him a "true inspiration", she stated that "he's always reminded me to work in a life of service to my fans and to fulfill my vision and my destiny" in addition to thinking about Chopra when it comes to her work as a musician: "I want so much for it to go beyond the music for my fans."

Musically, Gaga takes influence from numerous musicians from dance-pop singers like Madonna and Michael Jackson to glam rock artists like David Bowie and Queen whilst employing the theatrics of artists like Andy Warhol and of her musical theatre roots in performance. The Queen song "Radio Ga Ga" inspired her stage name: "I adored Freddie Mercury and Queen had a hit called 'Radio Gaga'. That's why I love the name [...] Freddie was unique—one of the biggest personalities in the whole of pop music," she commented. Gaga receives regular comparisons to recording artist Madonna who admits that she sees herself reflected in Gaga. In response to the comparisons, Gaga stated, "I don't want to sound presumptuous, but I've made it my goal to revolutionize pop music. The last revolution was launched by Madonna 25 years ago" in addition to commenting that "there is really no one that is a more adoring and loving Madonna fan than me. I am the hugest fan personally and professionally." Like Madonna, Gaga has continued to reinvent herself and, over the years of her career, has drawn musical inspiration from a diverse mix of artists including Whitney Houston, Grace Jones, Cyndi Lauper, Blondie singer Debbie Harry, Scissor Sisters, Prince, Marilyn Manson, Yoko Ono, and Britney Spears. Gaga has mentioned Spears in several interviews, and revealed, "Britney certainly doesn’t need any freakin’ tips from me! Britney Spears is the queen of pop. I was learning from her." Gaga also paid tribute to Spears during the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards with the MTV Video Vanguard Award, adding that the pop singer "taught us all how to be fearless, and the industry wouldn't be the same without her."

Gaga has identified fashion as a major influence and has been stylistically compared to English eccentrics Leigh Bowery and Isabella Blow and to American recording artist Cher. She commented that "as a child, she somehow absorbed Cher's out-there fashion sense and made it her own." She has considered Donatella Versace her muse and the late British fashion designer and close friend Alexander McQueen as an inspiration, admitting that "I miss Lee every time I get dressed" while channeling him in some of her work. Modeled on Andy Warhol's Factory, Gaga has her own creative production team, which she handles personally, called the Haus of Gaga, who create many of her clothes, stage props, and hairdos. Her adoration of fashion came from her mother, who she stated was "always very well kept and beautiful." "When I'm writing music, I'm thinking about the clothes I want to wear on stage. It's all about everything altogether—performance art, pop performance art, fashion. For me, it's everything coming together and being a real story that will bring back the super-fan. I want to bring that back. I want the imagery to be so strong that fans will want to eat and taste and lick every part of us." The Global Language Monitor named "Lady Gaga" as the Top Fashion Buzzword with her trademark "no pants" a close third. ''Entertainment Weekly'' put her outfits on its end of the decade "best-of" list, saying, "Whether it's a dress made of Muppets or strategically placed bubbles, Gaga's outré ensembles brought performance art into the mainstream." Gaga made her runway debut at Thierry Mugler's Paris fashion show in March 2011 where she wore items from Nicola Formichetti's debut women's wear collection. In June of the same year, she won the Council of Fashion Designers of America Award for Fashion Icon. ''Time Magazine'' placed Gaga on their "All-Time 100 Fashion Icons List" amongst some of Gaga's inspirations such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, and the The Beatles, stating: "Lady Gaga is just as notorious for her outrageous style as she is for her pop hits. After all, Gaga, born Stefani Germanotta, has sported outfits made from plastic bubbles, Kermit the Frog dolls, and raw meat." She has since devoted her time as a fashion columnist for ''V'' magazine, where she has written about her creative process, her studying of the world of pop culture, and her ability to tune into the evolution of pop-culture meme.

In August 2011 she sent to her 15 millions followers that she had at that time on Twitter, a quote about creativity from the book "Creativity" by Osho, which led journalists, on October 28, of the same year, on her arrival to India for the inauguration of a big Formula One motorsport event, to ask her about her connection to him, to which Gaga said she was influenced by his work and that for her, "the creativity is the greatest way of rebellion": "Equality", she concluded, "is one of the most important things in my life".

Musical style

Continually experimenting with new musical ideas and images, Gaga's musical and performance style is the subject of much analysis and scrutiny from critics. She professes that she is "liberating" herself by constantly reinventing her sound and image, insisting that she has been drawn to such a practice since her childhood. Vocally, Gaga possesses the range of a contralto and exhibits "overwhelming expression, instinctive vocal phrasing, '80s rock reminiscent chest belts and animalistic vocal ticks" while being able to move through 2.4 octaves. Refusing to lip sync, Gaga – whose range is frequently compared to those of Madonna and Gwen Stefani – has manipulated her vocal style over the course of her career yet considers ''Born This Way'' (2011) "much more vocally up to par with what I've always been capable of." In summation of her voice, ''Entertainment Weekly'' wrote, "There's an immense emotional intelligence behind the way she uses her voice. Almost never does she overwhelm a song with her vocal ability, recognizing instead that artistry is to be found in nuance rather than lung power." Although her early lyrics have been criticized for lacking intellectual stimulation, "[Gaga] does manage to get you moving and grooving at an almost effortless pace." She admits that her songwriting has been misinterpreted; her friend and blogger Perez Hilton articulated her message in a clearer way: "you write really deep intelligent lyrics with shallow concepts." Gaga opined, "Perez is very intelligent and clearly listened to my record from beginning to end, and he is correct." "I love songwriting. It's so funny – I will just jam around in my underwear or I could be washing my dishes. I wrote several songs just at the piano," she confesses. Gaga believes that "all good music can be played at a piano and still sound like a hit." She has covered a wide variety of topics in her songs: while ''The Fame'' (2008) meditates on the lust for stardom, ''The Fame Monster'' (2009) expresses fame's dark side through monster metaphors. ''Born This Way'' (2011) is sung in English, French, German and Spanish and includes common themes in Gaga's controversial songwriting like love, sex, religion, money, drugs, identity, liberation, sexuality, freedom and individualism.

The structure of her music is said to echo classic 1980s pop and 1990s Europop. Her debut album ''The Fame'' (2008) provoked ''The Sunday Times'' to assert "in combining music, fashion, art and technology, [Gaga] evokes Madonna, Gwen Stefani circa 'Hollaback Girl', Kylie Minogue 2001 or Grace Jones right now" and a critic from ''The Boston Globe'' to comment that she draws "obvious inspirations from Madonna to Gwen Stefani... in [her] girlish but sturdy pipes and bubbly beats." Music critic Simon Reynolds wrote that "Everything about Gaga came from electroclash, except the music, which wasn't particularly 1980s, just ruthlessly catchy naughties pop glazed with Auto-Tune and undergirded with R&B;-ish beats." The follow-up ''The Fame Monster'' (2009), saw Gaga's taste for pastiche, drawing on "Seventies arena glam, perky ABBA disco and sugary throwbacks like Stacey Q" while ''Born This Way'' (2011) also draws on the records of her childhood and still has the "electro-sleaze beats and Eurodisco chorus chants" of its predecessor but includes genres as diverse as opera, heavy metal, disco, and rock and roll. "There isn't a subtle moment on the album, but even at its nuttiest, the music is full of wide-awake emotional details," wrote ''Rolling Stone'', who concluded: "The more excessive Gaga gets, the more honest she sounds."

Music videos and performances

With constant costume changes, backup dancers, and provocative visuals, Gaga's music videos are often described as short films. "Being provocative is not just about getting people's attention. It's about saying something that really affects people in a real way, in a positive way," she professes. Exploring bondage and sadomasochism in addition to highlighting prevalent feminist themes, "the three central themes that shape Lady Gaga's music videos are sex, violence, and power." "Vaudevillian and carnal, Lady Gaga has got the knack of sending rape-like fantasies—in songs and videos that double as catch club hits—to the top of the charts," wrote one critic. "Whether it is physical violence or sexual exploitation, these videos offer vivid depictions of male power over women's bodies," wrote another. While she labels herself "a little bit of a feminist" (she rejects man-hating feminism) and asserts that she is "sexually empowering women," Gaga strives to empower young women to stand up for what they believe in. She also attempts to liberate her fans so they can feel "less alone." "She not only reiterates her assertion of total originality," professed pop critic Ann Powers, "but also finesses it until it's both a philosophical stance about how constructing a persona from pop-cultural sources can be an expression of a person's truth—a la those drag queens Gaga sincerely admires—and a bit of a feminist act." In summation of her videos, ''Rolling Stone'' used the rhetoric: "does anyone look to a Lady Gaga video for restraint?"

Her performances are described as "highly entertaining and innovative"; the blood-spurting performance of "Paparazzi" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was described as "eye-popping" by MTV. She continued the "blood soaked" theme during The Monster Ball Tour, in which she wore a revealing leather corset and was "attacked" by a performer dressed in black who gnaws on her throat, causing "blood" to spurt down her chest, after which she lies "dying" in a pool of blood. Her performances of that scene in England triggered protests from family groups and fans in the aftermath of a local tragedy, in which a taxi driver had murdered 12 people. "What happened in Bradford is very fresh in people's minds and given all the violence which happened in Cumbria just hours earlier, it was insensitive," said Lynn Costello of Mothers Against Violence. Her unconventionality continued at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards: performing in drag as her male alter ego, Jo Calderone, and delivering a lovesick monologue before a performance of her song "You and I". Some have defended her flamboyant and provocative behavior. "Well, she's Lady Gaga," Chris Rock said. "She's not 'Lady Behave Yourself.' Do you want great behavior from a person named Gaga? Is this what you were expecting?" As Gaga's choreographer and creative director, Laurieann Gibson provided material for her shows and videos for four years. However, the pair parted in November 2011; Gaga replacing her with Gibson's assistant Richard Jackson. Gaga admits to being a perfectionist when it comes to her elaborate shows. "I'm very bossy. I can scream my head off if I see one light fixture out. I'm very detailed – every minute of the show has got to be perfect."

Public image

While ''Rolling Stone'' named Gaga the "Queen of Pop" in 2011, public reception of Gaga's music, fashion sense and persona are mixed. Her status as a role model, self-esteem booster for her fans, trailblazer and fashion icon who breathes new life into the industry is by turns affirmed and denied. Gaga's albums have received mostly positive reviews and critics have pointed out her unique place in pop music, the need for new movements in popular culture, the attention Gaga brings to modern social issues, and the inherently subjective nature of her art. In view of her influence on modern culture and her rise to global fame, sociologist Mathieu Deflem of the University of South Carolina has organized a course titled "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame" since spring 2011 with the objective of unravelling "some of the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga." When Gaga briefly met with US president Barack Obama at a Human Rights Campaign fundraiser, he described the interaction as "intimidating" as she was dressed in 16-inch heels making her undoubtedly the tallest woman in the room.

Contrary to her outré style, the ''New York Post'' described her early look as like "a refugee from ''Jersey Shore''" with "big black hair, heavy eye makeup and tight, revealing clothes." Gaga is a natural brunette; she bleached her hair blonde because she was often mistaken for Amy Winehouse. She has nine tattoos on the left side of her body (her father has banned etchings on her right): a unicorn head with a ribbon wrapped around its horn that says "Born This Way"; a small heart with "dad" written inside it; several white roses; a treble clef; three daises; "Tokyo Love" with a little heart; "Little Monsters" written in cursive; a peace symbol, which was inspired by John Lennon, whom she stated was her hero; and a curling German script on her left arm quoting the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, her favorite writer, commenting that his "philosophy of solitude" spoke to her. In a question posed about the necessary procedure to attach the prosthetics to give the unconventional appearance of recent horn-like ridges on her cheekbones, temples, and shoulders, Gaga responded, "They're not prosthetics, they're my bones." She also clarified that they were not the result of plastic surgery, believing such surgery to only be the modern byproduct of fame-induced insecurity to which she does not subscribe. The interviewer's further probing brought Gaga to the conclusion that they are an artistic representation of her inner inspirational light and part of the "performance piece" that is her musical persona: an inevitability of her becoming who she now is.

Towards the end of 2008, comparisons were made between the fashions of Gaga and recording artist Christina Aguilera that noted similarities in their styling, hair, and make-up. Aguilera stated that she was "completely unaware of [Gaga]" and "didn't know if it [was] a man or a woman." Gaga released a statement in which she welcomed the comparisons due to the attention providing useful publicity, saying, "She's such a huge star and if anything I should send her flowers, because a lot of people in America didn't know who I was until that whole thing happened. It really put me on the map in a way." When interviewed by Barbara Walters for her annual ABC News special ''10 Most Fascinating People'' in 2009, Gaga dismissed the claim that she is intersex as an urban legend. Responding to a question on this issue, she stated, "At first it was very strange and everyone sorta said, 'That's really quite a story!' But in a sense, I portray myself in a very androgynous way, and I love androgyny." In addition to Aguilera's statement, comparisons continued into 2010, when Aguilera released the music video of her single "Not Myself Tonight". Critics noted similarities between the song and its accompanying music video with Gaga's video for "Bad Romance". There have also been similar comparisons made between Gaga's style and that of fashion icon Dale Bozzio from the band Missing Persons. Some have considered their respective images to be strikingly parallel although fans of Missing Persons note that Bozzio had pioneered the look more than thirty years earlier.

While devout followers call Gaga "Mother Monster", Gaga often refers to her fans as "Little Monsters" which has been tattooed on "the arm that holds my mic" in dedication. Her treatment of her "Little Monsters" has inspired criticism, due to the highly commercial nature of her music and image. To some, this dichotomy contravenes the concept of outsider culture. Camille Paglia in her 2010 cover story "Lady Gaga and the death of sex" in ''The Sunday Times'' asserts that Gaga "is more an identity thief than an erotic taboo breaker, a mainstream manufactured product who claims to be singing for the freaks, the rebellious and the dispossessed when she is none of those." Writing for ''The Guardian'', Kitty Empire opined that the dichotomy "...allows the viewer to have a 'transgressive' experience without being required to think. At [her performance's] core, though, is the idea that Gaga is at one with the freaks and outcasts. The Monster Ball is where we can all be free. This is arrant nonsense, as the scads of people buying Gaga's cunningly commercial music are not limited to the niche worlds of drag queens and hip night creatures from which she draws her inspiration. But Gaga seems sincere."

Philanthropy

Besides her career in music, Gaga has also contributed to various charities. For natural disasters, Gaga has helped various relief efforts. Although declining an invitation to appear on the single "We Are the World 25" to benefit victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, she donated the proceeds of her January 24, 2010 concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall to the country's reconstruction relief fund. All profits from her official online store on that day were also donated. Gaga announced that an estimated total of US$500,000 was collected for the fund. Hours after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11, 2011, Gaga tweeted a message and a link to Japan Prayer Bracelets. All revenue from a bracelet she designed in conjunction with the company was donated to relief efforts. As of March 29, 2011, the bracelets raised $1.5 million. However, attorney Alyson Oliver filed a lawsuit against Gaga in Detroit in June 2011, noting that the bracelet was subject to a sales tax and an extra $3.99 shipping charge was added to the price. She also believed that not all proceeds from the bracelets would go to the relief efforts, demanding a public accounting of the campaign and refunds for people who had bought the bracelet. Gaga's spokesperson called the lawsuit "meritless" and "misleading". On June 25, 2011, Gaga performed at MTV Japan's charity show in Makuhari Messe, which benefited the Japanese Red Cross.

HIV and AIDS

Gaga also contributes in the fight against HIV and AIDS, focusing on educating young women about the risks of the disease. In collaboration with Cyndi Lauper, Gaga joined forces with MAC Cosmetics to launch a line of lipstick under their supplementary cosmetic line, Viva Glam. Titled Viva Glam Gaga and Viva Glam Cyndi for each contributor respectively, all net proceeds of the lipstick line were donated to the cosmetic company's campaign to prevent HIV and AIDS worldwide. In a press release, Gaga declared, "I don't want Viva Glam to be just a lipstick you buy to help a cause. I want it to be a reminder when you go out at night to put a condom in your purse right next to your lipstick." The sales of Gaga-endorsed Viva Glam lipstick and lipgloss have raised more than $202 million to fight HIV and AIDS.

Born This Way Foundation

As a humanitarian, she has launched her own non-profit organization, the Born This Way Foundation, which focuses on youth empowerment and issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring, and career development. "My mother and I have initiated a passion project. We call it the Born This Way Foundation," Gaga said in a statement about the foundation, which takes its name from the 2011 single and album. "Together we hope to establish a standard of Bravery and Kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment." The foundation will work with a number of partners, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The California Endowment and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. She also jumped into the debate surrounding SB 1070, Arizona's recently-enacted anti-immigration law, after premiering her ''Born This Way'' song "Americano" on the Guadalajara stop of The Monster Ball Tour in Mexico, telling the local press that she could not "stand by many of the unjust immigration laws" in the US. A devoted advocate for the LGBT community, Gaga is also an outspoken activist for LGBT rights worldwide. On February 29, 2012, Gaga and Oprah Winfrey visited Harvard University to launch her Born This Way Foundation.

LGBT advocacy

Gaga attributes much of her early success as a mainstream artist to her gay fans and is considered to be a gay icon. Early in her career she had difficulty getting radio airplay, and stated, "The turning point for me was the gay community. I've got so many gay fans and they're so loyal to me and they really lifted me up. They'll always stand by me and I'll always stand by them. It's not an easy thing to create a fanbase." She thanked FlyLife, a Manhattan-based LGBT marketing company with whom her label Interscope works, in the liner notes of ''The Fame'', saying, "I love you so much. You were the first heartbeat in this project, and your support and brilliance means the world to me. I will always fight for the gay community hand in hand with this incredible team." One of her first televised performances was in May 2008 at the NewNowNext Awards, an awards show aired by the LGBT television network Logo, where she sang her song "Just Dance". In June of the same year, she performed the song again at the San Francisco Pride event.

After ''The Fame'' was released, she revealed that the song "Poker Face" was about her bisexuality. In an interview with ''Rolling Stone'', she spoke about how her boyfriends tended to react to her bisexuality, saying "The fact that I'm into women, they're all intimidated by it. It makes them uncomfortable. They're like, 'I don't need to have a threesome. I'm happy with just you'." When she appeared as a guest on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' in May 2009, she praised DeGeneres for being "an inspiration for women and for the gay community". She proclaimed that the October 11, 2009 National Equality March rally on the National Mall was "the single most important event of her career." As she exited, she left with an exultant "Bless God and bless the gays," similar to her 2009 MTV Video Music Awards acceptance speech for Best New Artist a month earlier. At the Human Rights Campaign Dinner, held the same weekend as the rally, she performed a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" declaring that "I'm not going to [play] one of my songs tonight because tonight is not about me, it's about you." She changed the original lyrics of the song to reflect the death of Matthew Shepard, a college student murdered because of his sexuality.

Gaga attended the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards accompanied by four service members of the United States Armed Forces (Mike Almy, David Hall, Katie Miller and Stacy Vasquez), all of whom, under the United States military's "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy, had been prohibited from serving openly because of their sexuality. In addition, Gaga wore a meat dress to the ceremony which was supplemented by boots, a purse and a hat that were all fabricated from the flesh of a dead animal. Partly awarded in recognition of the dress, Vogue.com UK named her one of the Best Dressed people of 2010 while ''Time'' magazine's named the dress the Fashion Statement of 2010, it received divided opinions – evoking the attention of worldwide media but invoking the fury of animal rights organization PETA. She denied any intention of causing disrespect to any person or organization and wished for the dress to be interpreted as a statement of human rights with focus upon those in the LGBT community, adding that "If we don't stand up for what we believe in and if we don't fight for our rights, pretty soon we're going to have as much rights as the meat on our own bones."

She later released three videos on YouTube urging her fans to contact their Senators in an effort to overturn the policy. In late September 2010 she spoke at the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network's "4the14K" Rally in Deering Oaks Park in Portland, Maine. The name of the rally signified the number – an estimated 14,000 – of service members discharged under the DADT policy at the time. During her remarks, she urged members of the U.S. Senate (and in particular, moderate Republican Senators from Maine, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins) to vote in favor of legislation that would repeal the DADT policy. Following this event, editors of ''The Advocate'' commented that she had become "the real fierce advocate" for gays and lesbians, one that Barack Obama had promised to be.

Gaga appeared at Europride, a pan-European international event dedicated to LGBT pride, held in Rome in June 2011. In a nearly twenty-minute speech, she criticized the intolerant state of gay rights in many European countries and described homosexuals as "revolutionaries of love" before performing acoustic renderings of "Born This Way" and "The Edge of Glory" in front of thousands at the Circus Maximus. She stated that "Today and every day we fight for freedom. We fight for justice. We beckon for compassion, understanding and above all we want full equality now". Gaga revealed that she is often questioned why she dedicates herself to "gayspeak" and "how gay" she is, to which, she told the audience: "Why is this question, why is this issue so important? My answer is: I am a child of diversity, I am one with my generation, I feel a moral obligation as a woman, or a man, to exercise my revolutionary potential and make the world a better place." She then joked: "On a gay scale from 1 to 10, I'm a Judy Garland fucking 42."

Discography

''The Fame'' (2008)

''The Fame Monster'' (2009)

''Born This Way'' (2011)

Filmography

''Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden'' (2011)

''A Very Gaga Thanksgiving'' (2011)

"Lisa Goes Gaga" (''The Simpsons'' episode) (2012)

''Men in Black 3'' (Plays the role of an alien.) (2012)

Concert tours

The Fame Ball Tour (2009)

Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga (2009–10) (cancelled)

The Monster Ball Tour (2009–11)

The Born This Way Ball Tour (2012–13)

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Lady Gaga

Honorific nicknames in popular music

List of best-selling music artists

References

Further reading

Monster Anthems (2011) by Robert Christgau

External links

Slide show ''Vanity Fair''

Category:1986 births Category:American contraltos Category:American dance musicians Category:American electronic musicians Category:American female pop singers Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American performance artists Category:American people of French-Canadian descent Category:American pop singer-songwriters Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Androgyny Category:Bisexual musicians Category:Brit Award winners Category:Echo winners Category:Feminist musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Interscope Records artists Category:Keytarists Category:LGBT Christians Category:LGBT musicians from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists Category:Living people Category:NME Awards winners Category:American dancers Category:People from Manhattan Category:Pseudonymous musicians Category:Singers from New York City Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:Synthpop musicians Category:Tisch School of the Arts alumni Category:Wonky Pop acts

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