Ur (Sumerian: ''Urim''; Sumerian Cuneiform: or ; Akkadian: ''Uru'') was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate. Once a coastal city near the mouth of the Euphrates on the Persian Gulf, Ur is now well inland, south of the Euphrates on its right bank, from Nasiriyah.

The city's patron deity was Nanna, the Sumerian moon god, and the name of the city is in origin derived from the god's name, being the classical Sumerian spelling of LAK-32.UNUG^KI, literally "the abode (UNUG) of Nanna (LAK-32)".

The site is marked by the ruins of the Great Ziggurat of Ur, which contained the shrine of Nanna, excavated in the 1930s. The temple was built in the 21st century BC (short chronology), during the reign of Ur-Nammu and was reconstructed in the 6th century BC by Nabonidus. The ruins cover an area of northwest to southeast by northeast to southwest and rise up to about above the present plain level.

History

Early history

Prehistory

Archaeologists have discovered evidence of an early occupation at Ur during the Ubaid period. These early levels were sealed off with a sterile deposit which was quickly interpreted as evidence for the Great Flood of the Bible by the excavators in the 1920s. However it is now understood that the South Mesopotamian plain was exposed to regular floods from the Euphrates and the Tigris and that it was subjected to heavy erosion from water and wind. The further occupation of Ur only becomes clear again during its florescence in the third millennium BC (although it must already have been a growing urban center during the fourth millennium). The third millennium BC is generally described as the Early Bronze Age of Mesopotamia, which ends approximately after the demise of the Third Dynasty of Ur.

Third millennium BC (Early Bronze Age)

left|thumb|Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BC. (Some cities are shown with French spellings, e.g. ''Ninive'' for Nineveh.)There are two main sources which inform scholars about the importance of Ur during the Early Bronze Age. The first is a large body of cuneiform documents, mostly from the empire of the so-called Third Dynasty of Ur at the very end of the third millennium. This was the most centralized bureaucratic state the world had yet known. Concerning the earlier centuries, the Sumerian King List provides a tentative political history of ancient Sumer.

The second source of information is archaeological work in modern Iraq. Although the early centuries (first half of the third millennium and earlier) are still poorly understood, the archaeological discoveries have shown unequivocally that Ur was a major urban center on the Mesopotamian plain. Especially the discovery of the Royal Tombs have confirmed its splendour. These tombs, which date to the Early Dynastic IIIa period (approximately in the 25th or 24th century BC), contained immense amounts of luxury items made out of precious metals, and semi-precious stones all of which would have had to been imported from long distances (Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, the Persian Gulf).

Archaeological research of the region has also contributed greatly to our understanding of the landscape and long-distance interactions that took place during these ancient times. We know that Ur was the most important port on the Persian Gulf, which extended much further inland than it does today. All the wealth which came to Mesopotamia by sea had to pass through Ur.

So far evidence for the earliest periods of the Early Bronze Age in Mesopotamia is very limited. That Ur was an important urban centre already then seems to be indicated by a type of cylinder seal called the City Seals. These seals contain a set of proto-cuneiform signs which appear to be writings or symbols of the name of city-states in ancient Sumer. Many of these seals were found in Ur, and the name of Ur is prominent on them.

The third dynasty was established when the king Ur-Nammu came to power, ruling between ca. 2047 BC and 2030 BC. During his rule, temples, including the ziggurat, were built, and agriculture was improved through irrigation. His code of laws, the ''Code of Ur-Nammu'' (a fragment was identified in Istanbul in 1952) is one of the oldest such documents known, preceding the code of Hammurabi by 300 years. He and his successor Shulgi were both deified during their reigns, and after his death he continued as a hero-figure: one of the surviving works of Sumerian literature describes the death of Ur-Nammu and his journey to the underworld. About that time, the houses in the city were two-storied villas with 13 or 14 rooms, with plastered interior walls.

Ur-Nammu was succeeded by Shulgi, the greatest king of the Third Dynasty of Ur who solidified the hegemony of Ur and reformed the empire into a highly centralized bureaucratic state. Shulgi ruled for a long time (at least 42 years) and deified himself halfway through his rule.

The Ur empire continued through the reigns of three more kings, Amar-Sin, Shu-Sin, and Ibbi-Sin. It fell around 1940 BC to the Elamites in the 24th regnal year of Ibbi-Sin, an event commemorated by the Lament for Ur.

According to one estimate, Ur was the largest city in the world from c. 2030 to 1980 BC. Its population was approximately 65,000.

Later Bronze Age

The city of Ur lost its political power after the demise of the Third Dynasty of Ur. Nevertheless its important position which kept on providing access to the Persian Gulf ensured the ongoing economical importance of the city during the second millennium BC. The splendour of the city, the might of the empire, the greatness of king Shulgi, and undoubtedly the efficient propaganda of the state endured throughout Mesopotamian history. Shulgi was a well known historical figure for at least another two thousand years, while historical narratives of the Mesopotamian societies kept names, events, and mythologies in remembrance.

Iron Age

In the 6th century BC there was new construction in Ur under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. The last Babylonian king, Nabonidus, improved the ziggurat. However the city started to decline from around 550 BC and was no longer inhabited after about 500 BC, perhaps owing to drought, changing river patterns, and the silting of the outlet to the Persian Gulf.

20th century

As of 1954, there was a railway station here. The Bagdad railroad line connected to Basra, to the south.

Biblical Ur

Ur is considered by many to be the city of Ur Kasdim mentioned in the Book of Genesis (Biblical Hebrew ) as the birthplace of the patriarch Abram (Abraham; Arabic: Ibrahim), traditionally believed to be sometime in the 2nd millennium BC.

Ur is mentioned four times in the Torah or Old Testament, with the distinction "of the Kasdim/Kasdin"—traditionally rendered in English as "Ur of the Chaldees". The Chaldeans were already settled in the vicinity by around 850 BC. The name is found in , , and . In ''Nehemiah'' 9:7, a single passage mentioning Ur is a paraphrase of ''Genesis.'' ()

The ''Book of Jubilees'' states that Ur was founded in 1688 ''Anno Mundi'' (year of the world) by 'Ur son of Kesed, presumably the offspring of Arphaxad, adding that in this same year wars began on Earth.

:"And 'Ur, the son of Kesed, built the city of 'Ara of the Chaldees, and called its name after his own name and the name of his father." (i.e., ''Ur Kesdim'') (Jubilees 11:3).

Ur in Islamic tradition

According to Islamic texts, the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) was thrown into the fire here. In the story, this fire of Nimrod was turned into water, saving the life of Ibrahim. While the Qur'an does not mention the king's name, Muslim commentators have assigned Nimrod as the king based on Jewish sources, namely the Book of Jasher (11:1 and 12:6).

Archaeology

In the 1625, the site was visited by Pietro della Valle, who recorded the presence of ancient bricks stamped with strange symbols, cemented together with bitumen, as well as inscribed pieces of black marble that appeared to be seals.

The site was first excavated in 1853 and 1854 by John George Taylor, British vice consul at Basra from 1851-1859. He worked on behalf of the British Museum. He had been instructed to do so by the Foreign Office. Taylor found clay cylinders in the four corners of the top stage of the ziggurat which bore an inscription of Nabonidus (''Nabuna`id''), the last king of Babylon (539 BC), closing with a prayer for his son Belshar-uzur (Bel-ŝarra-Uzur), the Belshazzar of the Book of Daniel. Evidence was found of prior restorations of the ziggurat by Ishme-Dagan of Isin and Shu-Sin of Ur, and by Kurigalzu, a Kassite king of Babylon in the 14th century BCE. Nebuchadnezzar also claims to have rebuilt the temple. Taylor further excavated an interesting Babylonian building, not far from the temple, part of an ancient Babylonian necropolis. All about the city he found abundant remains of burials of later periods. Apparently, in later times, owing to its sanctity, Ur became a favorite place of sepulchres, so that even after it had ceased to be inhabited, it continued to be used as a necropolis.

Typical of the era, his evacuations destroyed information and exposed the tell. Natives used the now loosened 4000 year old bricks and tile for construction for the next 75 years while the site lay unexplored.

After Taylor's time the site was visited by numerous travelers, almost all of whom have found ancient Babylonian remains, inscribed stones and the like, lying upon the surface. The site was considered rich in remains, and relatively easy to explore. After some soundings were made in 1918 by Reginald Campbell Thompson, H. R. Hill worked the site for one season for the British Museum in 1919, laying the groundwork for more extensive efforts to follow.

Excavations from 1922 to 1934 were funded by the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania and led by the archaeologist Sir Charles Leonard Woolley. A total of about 1,850 burials were uncovered, including 16 that were described as "royal tombs" containing many valuable artifacts, including the Standard of Ur. Most of the royal tombs were dated to about 2600 BC. The finds included the unlooted tomb of a queen thought to be Queen Puabi—the name is known from a cylinder seal found in the tomb, although there were two other different and unnamed seals found in the tomb. Many other people had been buried with her, in a form of human sacrifice. Near the ziggurat were uncovered the temple E-nun-mah and buildings E-dub-lal-mah (built for a king), E-gi-par (residence of the high priestess) and E-hur-sag (a temple building). Outside the temple area, many houses used in everyday life were found. Excavations were also made below the royal tombs layer: a -thick layer of alluvial clay covered the remains of earlier habitation, including pottery from the Ubaid period, the first stage of settlement in southern Mesopotamia. Woolley later wrote many articles and books about the discoveries. One of Woolley's assistants on the site was the archaeologist Max Mallowan. The discoveries at the site reached the headlines in mainstream media in the world with the discoveries of the Royal Tombs. As a result the ruins of the ancient city attracted many visitors. One of these visitors was the already famous Agatha Christie who as a result of this visit became the wife of Max Mallowan.

Most of the treasures excavated at Ur are in the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. At the UPenn Museum the exhibition Iraq's Ancient Past, which includes many of the most famous pieces from the Royal Tombs, is expected to be open to visitors in late Spring 2011.

In 2009, an agreement was reached for a joint University of Pennsylvania and Iraqi team to resume archaeological work at the site of Ur.

Archaeological remains

Though some of the areas that were cleared during modern excavations have sanded over again, the Great Ziggurat is fully cleared and stands as the best-preserved and most visible landmark at the site. The famous Royal tombs, also called the Neo-Sumerian Mausolea, located about south-east of the Great Ziggurat in the corner of the wall that surrounds the city, are nearly totally cleared. Parts of the tomb area appear to be in need of structural consolidation or stabilization.

There are cuneiform (Sumerian writing) on many walls, some entirely covered in script stamped into the mud-bricks. The text is sometimes difficult to read, but it covers most surfaces. Modern graffiti has also found its way to the graves, usually in the form of names made with coloured pens (sometimes they are carved). The Great Ziggurat itself has far more graffiti, mostly lightly carved into the bricks. The graves are completely empty. A small number of the tombs are accessible. Most of them have been cordoned off. The whole site is covered with pottery debris, to the extent that it is virtually impossible to set foot anywhere without stepping on some. Some have colours and paintings on them. Some of the "mountains" of broken pottery are debris that has been removed from excavations. Pottery debris and human remains form many of the walls of the royal tombs area. It can only be speculated whether this is of ancient making or modern restoration, but it is a fact that they are, literally, filled up with pottery debris.

In May 2009, the United States Army returned the Ur site to the Iraqi authorities, who hope to develop it as a tourist destination.

Preservation

Since 2009, non-profit organization Global Heritage Fund (GHF) has been working to protect and preserve Ur against problems of erosion, neglect, inappropriate restoration, and war and conflict. GHF's stated goal for the project is to create an informed and scientifically-grounded Master Plan to guide the site’s long-term conservation and management, which will enable sustainability and can serve as a model for other sites’ stewardship.

See also

Cities of the ancient Near East

History of Iraq

History of Sumer

Lyres of Ur

Ram in a Thicket

Royal Game of Ur

Short chronology timeline

Standard of Ur

Imports to Ur

Notes

References

P. R. S. Morrey, Where Did They Bury the Kings of the IIIrd Dynasty of Ur?, Iraq, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 1–18, 1984

J. Oates, Ur and Eridu: The Prehistory, Iraq, vol. 22, pp. 32–50, 1960

C.J. Gadd, History and monuments of Ur, Chatto & Windus, 1929 (Dutton 1980 reprint: ISBN 0-405-08545-1)

Leonard Woolley, Ur Excavations V: The Ziggurat and Its Surroundings, Oxford University Press, 1927

Leonard Woolley, Ur excavations IV: The Early Periods, Oxford University Press, 1927

Leonard Woolley, Ur Excavations V: The Ziggurat and Its Surroundings, Oxford University Press, 1927

Leonard Woolley and M. E. L. Mallowan, Ur Excavations VII: The Old Babylonian Period, Oxford University Press, 1927

Leonard Woolley, Ur Excavations VIII: The Kassite Period, Oxford University Press, 1927

Leonard Woolley and M. E. L. Mallowan, Ur Excavations IX: The Neo-Babylonian and Persian Periods, Oxford University Press, 1927

External links

Explore some of the Royal Tombs Mesopotamia website from the British Museum

Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur

''Jewish Encyclopedia'': Ur

Woolley’s Ur Revisited, Richard L. Zettler, BAR 10:05, September/October 1984.

Ur Excavations of the University of Pennsylvania Museum

Ur Preservation Project by Global Heritage Fund

Explore Ur with Google Earth on Global Heritage Network

At Ur, Ritual Deaths That Were Anything but Serene on The New York Times

Category:Sumerian cities Category:Archaeological sites in Iraq Category:Ancient cities Category:Dhi Qar Governorate Category:Former populated places in Iraq

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name	Mike Posner
background	solo_singer
birth name	Michael Robert Posner
birth date	February 12, 1988
birth place	Southfield, Michigan
origin	Detroit, Michigan, United States
genre	Dance, pop, hip hop
occupation	Singer, songwriter
years active	2009–present
label	J
associated acts	Big Sean, Lil Wayne
website	}}

Michael Robert "Mike" Posner (born February 12, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer. Posner released his debut album, ''31 Minutes to Takeoff'', on August 10, 2010. The album includes the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Top 10 single "Cooler Than Me", his second single, "Please Don't Go", as well as his third single, "Bow Chicka Wow Wow" featuring Lil Wayne.

Early life and education

Posner was born and raised in Southfield, Michigan. His father, a Wayne County Prosecutor, is Jewish and his mother is Catholic. Posner attended and graduated from Groves High School and went on to attend Duke University. There, Posner was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and graduated in 2010 with a degree in sociology and a certificate in markets and management, with an overall GPA of 3.59.

Career

Working with Don Cannon and DJ Benzi, Posner released his second mixtape, ''A Matter of Time'' (the first mixtape being Reflections of a Lost Teen), from his dorm room at Duke University in March 2009. The mixtape was released under the name, "Mike Posner & the Brain Trust, the Brain Trust referring to Posner's supporters. In July 2009, Posner signed a deal with J Records (RCA/Sony). He chose to return to Duke after signing his record deal, and toured on the weekends while at the same time recording for his debut album. Posner's third mixtape ''One Foot Out the Door'', hosted by Clinton Sparks, was released on October 27, 2009. The mixtape was accompanied by a web series also entitled ''One Foot Out the Door'' which aired bi-weekly from September 30, 2009 until December 2009. During this time, he hired his manager, Daniel Weisman of Elitaste Inc., who also manages Wale.

''31 Minutes to Takeoff'', his debut album was released on August 10, 2010. The first single from the album, "Cooler Than Me", produced by Gigamesh, climbed the Billboard Hot 100 to reach No. 6 before going on to attain global success. He performed at Bonnaroo and the 2010 Warped Tour in the summer. A second single, "Please Don't Go", was issued on July 20, 2010.

Posner performed on national television for the first time on the talk show ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' on Tuesday, 27 October 2009. He also performed his song "Cooler Than Me" on ''America's Got Talent'' on July 28, 2010. He performed on ''Live with Regis and Kelly'' on August 3, and on ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' on August 4. He performed "Cooler Than Me" on ''The Wendy Williams Show'' on August 5, 2010, and on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' on August 9, 2010. Mike Posner has collaborated with artists like Lil Wayne, Bruno Mars, Wale, Big Sean, Bun B, We The Kings, Saigon, One Be Lo, Eric Holljes, and 3OH!3. On February 1, 2011 Posner released a radio mix of "Bow Chicka Wow Wow" which included a new verse from Lil Wayne. He performed his song Bow Chicka Wow Wow live on The Ellen Show on April 19, 2011.

He has also covered many popular songs, including Beyoncé's "Halo", Adele's "Rolling in the Deep", Coldplay's "The Scientist" and Kanye West's Heartless.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chartpositions
		! style="width:40px;"	! style="width:40px;"
2010		* Release date: August 16, 2010	J Records>J	8	32
2012		* Release date: TBD	J Records>J	-	-

Mixtapes

Year	Mixtape details	Peak chartpositions
		! style="width:40px;"	! style="width:40px;"
-		* Release date: -	* Label: -	-	-
2009		* Release date: March, 2009	* Label: -	-	-
2009		* Release date: October, 2009	* Label: -	-	-
2011		* Release date: TBD	* Label: -	-	-

Singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions										! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"	Album
! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	!style="width:30px;"	!style="width:30px;"	!style="width:30px;"	!style="width:30px;"	!style="width:30px;"
		6	3	5	3	4	22	11	21	5	4		Recording Industry Association of America>US: 2× Platinum	Australian Recording Industry Association>AUS: 3× Platinum	Canadian Recording Industry Association>CAN: Gold	Recording Industry Association of New Zealand>NZ: Platinum
style="text-align:left;"	16	9	23	19	51	40	—	—	194	—		Recording Industry Association of America>US: Platinum
		30	21	—	21	40	—	—	—	175	—
	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Music videos

! Year	! Video	! Director
	"Cooler Than Me"	Jason Beattie
"Please Don't Go"	BBGUN
2011	"Bow Chicka Wow Wow"	Shane

References

External links

Recording Institute of Detroit Home Page

Category:1988 births Category:American dance musicians Category:American hip hop musicians Category:American male singers Category:American people of Jewish descent Category:Duke University alumni Category:English-language singers Category:Hip hop singers Category:J Records artists Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Detroit, Michigan Category:People from Southfield, Michigan

da:Mike Posner de:Mike Posner et:Mike Posner fa:مایک پوزنر (نوازنده) fr:Mike Posner it:Mike Posner he:מייק פוזנר nl:Mike Posner pl:Mike Posner pt:Mike Posner ru:Познер, Майк th:ไมก์ พอสเนอร์

name	Jessie J
alt	f
background	solo_singer
birth name	Jessica Ellen Cornish
alias	Jessie J
birth date	March 27, 1988
birth place	Chadwell Heath, London, England
genre	R&B;, pop, hip hop, soul
years active	2006–present
label	Lava, Universal Republic, Island, Gut
website
notable instruments	}}

Jessica Ellen Cornish (born on 27 March 1988), better known by her stage name Jessie J, is an English singer-songwriter, currently signed to Island Records. She began her career as a songwriter for artists including Chris Brown and Miley Cyrus. Her debut single, "Do It Like a Dude", was released in November 2010 and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Charts. Follow-up single "Price Tag" reached number one in the United Kingdom, France, Ireland and New Zealand, and reached the top 10 in nineteen other countries. Her debut album, ''Who You Are'', was released in February 2011 and charted at number two on the UK Albums Chart. In February 2011 Jessie J won a BRIT Award, Critics' Choice. It was revealed in October 2011 that Jessie J will be a coach and a mentor on the television show, ''The Voice UK''.

Early life

Jessie J was born Jessica Ellen Cornish in Chadwell Heath, London and was educated at Mayfield High School in the London Borough of Redbridge. She attended Colin's Performing Arts School and as an eleven year old was cast in Andrew Lloyd Webber's West End production of ''Whistle Down the Wind''. Jessie has two sisters, who are five and seven years older than her, who were both head girls at school.

Unlike her academic sisters, Cornish has stated she was "never really that good at anything". She said, "At school they were like 'oh, you're a Cornish girl' and they kind of expected me to be the same as my sisters. Give me something to draw or an outfit to pick for someone, or hair, make-up, acting, write a song, I'm fine with it, but anything to do with sums – it was never my thing." She also said she never based her intelligence on her exam results. She also said she was always good at singing and it was her "thing".

At the age of 16 she began studying at the BRIT School and at 17 she joined a girl group named "Soul Deep". She graduated in the class of 2006 along with singers Adele and Leona Lewis. At 18 she suffered a stroke.

Music career

2006–2009: Career beginnings

Jessie J was signed to Gut Records, recording an album for the label, but the company went bankrupt before any material was released. She then found success as a songwriter, gaining a Sony ATV publishing contract. She was also the support act for Cyndi Lauper during Lauper's UK dates of her 2008 Bring Ya To The Brink tour (Lauper invited J to join her on stage for the performances of Girls Just Want To Have Fun). Jessie has also written lyrics for artists such as Chris Brown and Miley Cyrus, including "Party in the U.S.A.".

Jessie J was also part of a girl band, called 'Soul Deep', for two years, however she left due to thoughts that "it wasn't going anywhere". Despite people thinking that her first notoriety was through YouTube, Jessie was signed for four years before her first video was posted.

Jessie first came to the attention of Lava Records when her publisher at Sony/ATV, Rich Christina, sent Lava president Jason Flom a link to her MySpace page, which the record executive loved. After seeing an impressive U.S. showcase, Lava was, along with several other labels, keen to sign the artist but progress was hampered by her management's insistence on, what Flom called, a "crazy deal", and their refusal to let Jessie speak to any labels directly. Despite this, Senior Director of A&R; at Lava, Harinder Rana, made surreptitious efforts to meet Jessie on her own in winter of 2008. Later in the year a change in management to Sarah Stennett and Nadia Khan of Crown Music allowed record deal negotiations to take place. Jessie eventually signed with Lava as part of a joint venture with Universal Republic.

2010–present: ''Who You Are''

Jessie J began recording her debut studio album in 2006 and it was completed on 19 January 2011. She revealed that "Big White Room" would be on the album and was written from an experience she had when she was 11 years old, although she wrote the song at age 17, in hospital, where a ward mate, a little boy, died. Jessie J says the album's title track, "Who You Are", is one of her proudest creations, she said the song is a "positive role model for young people" and "I always say that I'm half-artist, half-therapist"

In late 2010 Jessie J released her first single, "Do It Like a Dude" which was co-written with George Astasio, Tj Normandin, Jason Pebworth, Jon Shave, Kyle Abrahams and Peter Ighile. Originally, she wrote the song with Rihanna in mind because "Rude Boy" was released at the time, partly inspiring the song. She then sent the song to her label, Island Records, before sending it to Rihanna's management. Island insisted the song become Jessie J's first single. She wishes to perform the song with Rihanna at one point. The single gained positive reception from critics. The single charted at number two on the UK Singles Charts. Her follow-up single "Price Tag" was released in late January 2011. This was written by Jessie J, Lukasz Gottwald, Claude Kelly, and Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr. and charted at number one in the top of the charts. "Price Tag" was released in the United States on 1 February 2011 and peaked at 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Price Tag" also charted at number-one in New Zealand and Ireland and is the most successful online video J has released. As of October 2011, the video has generated over 148 million views on Youtube and Vevo, making it the 22nd most viewed music video of all time. Her first American television appearance was as the musical guest on the 12 March 2011 episode of NBC's ''Saturday Night Live''.

On 25 February 2011 her debut album, ''Who You Are'', was released. The album first entered the charts on 6 March 2011 where it charted on the UK Album Charts at number two. The album charted into the top ten in a number of countries and number 11 in the United States.After the release she went on to release a third single from the album, "Nobody's Perfect". MTV reported that the single is, so far, only confirmed for release in the United Kingdom. The album's fourth single was "Who's Laughing Now". "Domino" was her second US single. The Dr. Luke-produced track was sent to mainstream radio on 6 September 2011. With the success of ''Who You Are'' in North America, Jessie was chosen to tour as the opening act for American pop artist Katy Perry's ''California Dreams Tour'' in 2011 but after she was unable to fully recover from her injuries during rehearsals she was forced to pull out under the doctor's orders.

Jessie J served as the house artist at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, performing several of her original songs along with covers around commercial breaks.

In early 2011 she suffered a panic attack on stage after she was forced to perform in the dark. "I did a gig recently and had a panic attack on stage," she told ''NOW''. "The night was called 'Black Out' and I had to perform in the dark. I asked them to turn on the lights and they didn't. I was onstage in pitch black and, because I couldn't see anything, I started to panic. It was awful." James Morrison's third studio album, ''The Awakening'' features a collaboration with Jessie J called "Up", the song was released as a single on 4 December 2011. On 4 October Jessie announced that she will be one of four coaches for new BBC program, ''The Voice UK''.Jessie J re-released "Who You Are" on 9 November 2011, featuring the regular tracks plus "Domino" and two new songs. "Domino" became her second top 30 hit in the U.S., following the success of "Price Tag". The song also peaked at number 1 in January 2012 in the UK, before it was even officially released there.

Personal life

On 12 June 2011 at the Capital Radio Summertime Ball, Jessie ruptured several tendons in her foot during rehearsals, and performed her set the following day while sitting on a gilded throne. For her appearance at Glastonbury Festival 2011 on 25 June 2011, she performed on the throne again, claiming her physician had told her not to perform with her broken foot which would take six weeks to heal. Jessie J was scheduled to play at several festivals throughout the summer, however it was reported on 1 July 2011 that she would not be able to attend T in the Park, T4 On The Beach, Wembley:Orange, iTunes Festival, Lovebox and Oxegen due to the injuries to her foot. Jessie J personally tweeted before surgery; "Keep making nervous jokes with the doctor and he keeps looking at me blankly. Which is making me laugh even more. It's getting serious. I just took my nose stud out." Tweeting after the surgery, she wrote: "Can't keep tweeting. Still very dizzy and being sick. But I'm OK, I got through it." Her record label released an official statement on 30 June 2011 that under strict orders from her doctor, she will not be able to perform for a number of weeks so she can heal and recuperate properly. She returned to the concert circuit in late August, including sets at the V Festival and The Big Chill. For the 2011 VMA's she was still in a cast and using the throne to keep off of it.

Jessie J confirmed on 2 August 2011 that she would be shaving her hair off for charity in 2012. Speaking via her official Twitter account she said: “It’s hair, It will grow back. Even if it takes 2 years, if it saves lives it’s worth it. Even if its 1 life that’s something.”

Jessie J is openly bisexual and stated in an interview on the "In Demand" radio show on March 3, 2011, "I've never denied it. Whoopie doo guys, yes, I've dated girls and I've dated boys – get over it."

Music and voice

Although she was first identified as a soul singer, she primarily records songs of contemporary R&B; and pop music with hip-hop influences.

Music critic Matthew Perpetua of Pitchfork Media compared Jessie J to her peers Adele and Amy Winehouse, but admitted she was missing something: "Whereas Adele and Winehouse also have powerhouse voices, they fit into clear aesthetic niches and invest their songs with depth and humanity. Jessie J doesn't have even a fraction of their restraint." Perpetua added: "Her idea of showcasing her gift is to shoot for a blaring melisma on "Mamma Knows Best" that makes Christina Aguilera seem as subtle as Joni Mitchell by comparison." Ailbhe Malone of the music magazine NME also recognized Cornish's "undeniably potent voice". However, she pointed out the possible "identity crisis" that might have been caused by Jessie's songwriter past: "This is an album of singles for other artists. There’s Rihanna Jessie (‘Do It...’), Perry Jessie (‘Abracadabra’), Pixie Jessie (‘Mamma Knows Best’), Ellie Jessie ('Big White Room')."

Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian shared her positive opinion about the singer, saying that "if any singer has the potential to be the British Katy Perry or Pink, with the accompanying millions of sales, it's her". Sullivan also complimented Cornish's attitude: "[Her songs] are delivered with a confidence that money can't buy." Entertainment Weekly's music critic Adam Markovitz said of Jessie: "The 23-year-old Brit has all the tools, from a monster voice to an ear for hooks — she co-wrote Miley Cyrus' Party in the U.S.A. — and a manic persona that's equal parts Katy Perry, Kristin Chenoweth, and Alice Cooper.

Discography

''Who You Are'' (2011)

Filmography

+Television	Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2012	''The Voice UK''	Herself

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:Bisexual musicians Category:Electronica musicians Category:English female singers Category:English mezzo-sopranos Category:English pop singers Category:English rhythm and blues singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English-language singers Category:LGBT musicians from the United Kingdom Category:LGBT people from the United Kingdom Category:People educated at the BRIT School Category:Singers from London Category:Stroke survivors Category:The Voice judges Category:People from Chadwell Heath

af:Jessie J bg:Джеси Джей ca:Jessie J cs:Jessie J da:Jessie J de:Jessie J es:Jessie J fa:جسی جی fr:Jessie J fy:Jessie J ko:제시 제이 hr:Jessie J id:Jessie J it:Jessie J he:ג'סי ג'יי lv:Jessie J lt:Jessie J hu:Jessie J mk:Џеси Џеј nl:Jessie J ja:ジェシー・J no:Jessie J pl:Jessie J pt:Jessie J ro:Jessie J ru:Джесси Джей sk:Jessie J fi:Jessie J sv:Jessie J th:เจสซี เจ tr:Jessie J vi:Jessie J zh:Jessie J

name	Tiësto
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Tijs Michiel Verwest
alias	DJ Tiësto, Allure, Da Joker, Drumfire, Handover Circuit, Paradise In Dubs, Passenger, Roze, Steve Forte Rio, Stray Dog, Tom Ace, Wild Bunch
born	January 17, 1969Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands
genre	Electronic dance, trance, progressive trance, electro house, house
occupation	Musician, disc jockey, record producer
years active	1994–present
label	Noculan (1994)Basic Beat (1994–1997)Lightning (1995–1996)XSV Music (1997)Black Hole (1997–2009)Ultra Records (2007-present)Musical Freedom (2009–present)
associated acts	Current: Jedidja, Clear View, TaxigirlFormer: Gouryella, Kamaya Painters (more)
website
notable instruments	}}

Tijs Michiel Verwest, (; born 17 January 1969), known as Tiësto (), is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto. On his latest productions, however, he has dropped the "DJ" label and is now known simply as "Tiësto", an alias which is a twist of his childhood nickname.

In 1997, he founded the label Black Hole Recordings with Arny Bink, where he released the ''Magik'' and ''In Search of Sunrise'' CD series. Tiësto met producer Dennis Waakop Reijers in 1998, and the two have worked together extensively since then. Reijers is credited as producer, writer, composer, or arranger on many of Tiësto's releases. Then, in 1999 and 2000 he collaborated with Ferry Corsten to create Gouryella. His 2000 remix of Delerium's "Silence" featuring Sarah McLachlan exposed him to more mainstream audiences. In 2001, he released his first solo album ''In My Memory'' which gave him several major hits that launched his career. He was named "World’s No.1 DJ" 3 consecutive times by DJ Magazine from 2002 through 2004.

Just after releasing his second studio album ''Just Be'' in 2004 at the Summer Olympics, he performed live at the opening ceremony in Athens, Greece, becoming the first DJ to play live on stage at an Olympics. Tracks he made especially for the Olympics were mixed together and released as the mix compilation ''Parade of the Athletes'' later that year. In April 2007 Tiësto launched both his radio show ''Tiësto's Club Life'' on Radio 538 in the Netherlands and released his third studio album titled ''Elements of Life''. The album reached number one on the Dutch album chart as well on "Billboard Top Electronic Albums" in the U.S. and received a nomination for a Grammy Award in 2008. Tiësto released his fourth studio album called ''Kaleidoscope'' in October 2009.

Life and musical career

Early life and career

Tijs Michiel Verwest was born in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands on January 17, 1969. He had an interest in music since the age of twelve. When he was fourteen he decided to dedicate more time to it and began DJing professionally at school parties. He then moved on to become a resident DJ between 1985 and 1994 at several clubs in the Netherlands after his manager and friend Wilfred encouraged him. However, it was at ''The Spock'', a small club in Breda, where he was able to fine-tune his own style by playing in a separate room from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m. on weekends. In the beginning of his career, as a DJ he played mostly New Beat and acid house.

In 1994, he began releasing material on Noculan Records' sub-labels Chemo and Coolman. During these years, he produced hardcore/gabber tracks under aliases such as Da Joker and DJ Limited. He was later discovered by the general manager of Rotterdam-based Basic Beat Recordings. In late 1994, he signed to Basic Beat where he met Arny Bink, Tiësto released records on the sub-label Trashcan, founded by Arny, and later created the Guardian Angel sub-label with Arny in which they introduced the popular Forbidden Paradise series. Meanwhile from 1995 to 1996 he released four extended plays on Bonzai Jumps and XTC, sub-labels of Lightning Records. In 1997, Tiësto joined his friend Yves Vandichel on his sub-label, DJ Yves, a division of the now defunct Human Resource label XSV Music. In the fall of 1997, both Arny and Tiësto decided to leave Basic Beat and create their own parent label, now known as Black Hole Recordings, Trashcan was discontinued and Guardian Angel continued releasing music until 2002. Through Black Hole, Tiësto released the ''Magik'' series and also created two major sub-labels in 1998; In Trance We Trust and SongBird.

From 1998 to 1999, Tiësto released music on Planetary Consciousness where he met A&R; Hardy Heller and invited him to release some records on Black Hole. Tiësto later included the ''In Search of Sunrise'' series on SongBird. In 1999, Tiësto joined forces with fellow Dutch deejay Ferry Corsten to create the trance based duo of Gouryella. He also collaborated with Benno de Goeij from 1998 to 2000 under the name Kamaya Painters. Since November 1999, he performed monthly as a resident at Gatecrasher in Sheffield, one of the most popular clubs in England. In 1999 he also played in a 12-hour set, being his longest lasting concert in Amsterdam.

Late in 2000, Tiësto decided to concentrate on his personal work and left Corsten by himself to write and produce Gouryella's next single with John Ewbank, the record company was demanding more tracks and neither Tiësto or Ferry could work together at the time. Tiësto introduced Armin van Buuren, Johan Gielen and Ferry Corsten to the mainstream with his first compilations and the ''In Trance We Trust'' series. ''Summerbreeze'' became Tiësto's debut DJ mix album in the US with the help of a contract signed to Nettwerk. ''Summerbreeze'' featured his remix of Delerium's "Silence", which spent four weeks in the UK's Top Ten chart and reached number three in the ''Billboard'' dance chart. ''In Search of Sunrise 2'' was released in 2000. Tiësto decided to create a sub-label, known as Magik Muzik. The label began releasing Tiësto’s own releases, but it has also released tracks for the Filterheadz, Oliver Lieb, Mark Norman, Mojado, Phynn and Jes Brieden. The label became a trademark that stands for high quality electronic dance music which was due to the release of Tiësto's classic dance anthem "Flight 643" in 2001.

''In My Memory'' era (2001–2004)

Tiësto's fame started to rise in the early 2000s after his set at the first ID&T; Innercity party (''Live at Innercity: Amsterdam RAI''), and the release of ''In My Memory'', his first solo album released in 2001 which contained 10 singles and 5 major hits; The singles from the album were: "Lethal Industry" which was actually produced in 1999 and had only 3 copies released at that time, the track was officially released in 2001 which was remixed by Richard Durand in 2006 along with "Flight 643" which was another leading single that was later adapted with vocals by Suzanne Palmer and released as "643 (Love's on Fire)". Other tracks were "Obsession" in which Tiësto worked alongside Junkie XL, the instrumental tracks "Dallas 4PM" and "Suburban Train" with "Urban Train" as its B-Side which contained some vocals. The last singles to be released were "In My Memory" which is the title track for the album as it only received high ratings in the United States and the opening track "Magik Journey" which opened Tiësto in Concert (2003). On February 2, 2002 Tiësto played nine consecutive hours during the second edition of the Dutch Dimension festival. On February 27 he was awarded a Zilveren ('Silver') Harp music award. The same year he also received a Lucky Strike Dance Award in the category Best DJ Trance/Progressive. In August he became part of Moby's Area2 Tour. For eighteen days he travelled through the United States with artists such as Moby himself, but also David Bowie and Busta Rhymes. In January 2003, Tiësto received the annual Dutch Popprijs ('Pop Award') during the Noorderslag festival. After touring with Moby, Tiësto remixed two songs from him, "We Are All Made of Stars" and "Extreme Ways" in the same year, having "We Are All Made of Stars" reach number 13 in the Hot Dance Club Play. In 2002 he released his first ''In Search of Sunrise'' mix to feature a place on its name, ''In Search of Sunrise 3: Panama''. On March 28, 2003; Tiësto, Dieselboy, Bad Boy Bill, and Noel Sanger joined the PlayStation2 Dual Play tour. Tiësto and Noel's appearance began on April 13 and ended on June 6.

His fame continued to skyrocket in the early 2000s, following his six-hour "Tiësto Solo" sets which he performed without other DJs or opening acts. This idea, of one DJ playing alone to a large crowd, was brought to its pinnacle when Tiësto was the first DJ to hold a solo concert in a stadium; on May 10, 2003, he performed for over 25,000 people in Arnhem's GelreDome. This concert was later called ''Tiësto in Concert'', the event was an enormous success. He repeated the same type of concert the following year during two consecutive nights in late October. In addition to holding these two concerts for 35,000 of his fans, he held another concert for a crowd of 20,000 in Hasselt, Belgium the following week. DVDs of both his May 10, 2003 and October 30, 2004 concerts have been released, having the other DVD titled ''Tiësto in Concert 2''. The DVD's show the journey from the first idea to the main event, it features live performances by Andain, Dinand Woesthoff, and Jan Johnston. The event includes live music and dancers performing at different times throughout the set. The theme of the event is a mystical, musical journey around the world based on the theme of ''Magik''. It consists of 200+ minutes of performances with a second disc with special features, It includes a behind-the-scenes looking at ''The Making Of the event'', the music video for his song "Traffic" and TV Commercials for the event. The second DVD has performances from Aqualung and violin player DJ Mason, Micha Klein and the Bulgarian Children of Orpheus choir. During this period, he was crowned as "No. 1. DJ in the World" by DJ Magazine (UK) in 2002, 2003, and 2004.

''Just Be'' era (2004–2007)

In 2004, he released his second artist album ''Just Be'', which featured his first single "Traffic" which is the first non-vocal track to reach number one spot in the Dutch national charts for 23 years. The track "Sweet Misery" was originally written for Evanescence but it did not meet the deadline for the release of their album. In support to his ''Just Be'' album, he played at Breda, Eindhoven, Utrecht, and Amsterdam; these stops were later named Just Be: Train Tour. On May 20, 2004 he was appointed Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

The Athens Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (ATHOC) asked Tiësto to perform at the Olympic Games, making him the first DJ to play live on stage at an Olympic Games at the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Athens, where he played for 90 minutes. Tiësto flew to Athens in January 2004 to have a meeting with the ATHOC. His ''Tiësto in Concert'' DVD caught their attention, after which he was asked to write more tracks based on his opening tune "Adagio for Strings" which could fit in with the Olympic spirit and combine the classical with the modern age; They also requested that he play his own produced music. The first rehearsal was on Saturday August, 7, for an empty stadium; the second rehearsal was on Sunday August 8 with 35,000 volunteers, a lot of the people recognised some tracks like "Traffic" and "Adagio for Strings". The last rehearsal included almost 60,000 people in the stadium which was on Tuesday August 10, there were some technical problems, the mixer broke down, the monitors dropped out a couple of times and the music in the stadium was not continuously on the right volume.

During the parade on Friday, August 13, 2004, all participating nations introduced their athletes—10,500 in total There were 80,000 spectators, only 75,000 knowing about dance music. During the course of his performance the Dutch athletes started dancing in front of the DJ booth and had to be moved on by officials. The performance included new tracks produced especially for the Opening Ceremony and songs that were created to complement the spirit and theme of the ceremony. A condensed studio-recorded album of the songs played on the Olympic set was later released, including new songs specially composed for the occasion, entitled ''Parade of the Athletes'' in October 2004. In the liner notes, he noted the IOC requested that the music not contain any lyrics as they could be inadvertently misinterpreted.

In late 2004, he began his touring across Latin America, with his release of ''In Search of Sunrise 3: Panama'' in which he gained influence from the sun and sand in summer 2002. The tour continued in 2005, and Tiësto performed live at Brazil, Argentina, Panama, Peru, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Venezuela and Colombia. Following the tours, ''In Search of Sunrise 4: Latin America'' was released in 2005, featuring a second CD for the first time in the ''In Search of Sunrise'' series.

In 2005, his ''Perfect Remixes Vol. 3'' compilation was released through Warlock Records, containing ten tracks which were created during the beginning of his career, between those is Junkie XL, Mauro Picotto and The Roc Project. On August 20, 2005, Verwest took ''Tiësto in Concert'' to the US when he played to 16,000 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena with Cirque du Soleil dancers. For the second year in a row he performed live at a New Year's Eve/New Year's concert in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Orleans Arena to a sell-out crowd. Despite his four-city US tour being postponed due to the hurricane damage in New Orleans and Miami, playing such cities further expanded and cemented his popularity among mainstream audiences. This was surpassed later in summer 2007 when some 250,000 danced on Ipanema Beach, Brazil, becoming the second largest concert in history. BPM magazine has an annual poll in the US which is unveiled in the WMC, in 2005 Tiësto took the No. 1 spot. The influences of Los Angeles remained with him and would later influence his ''In Search of Sunrise'' compilation.

A wax sculpture of Tiësto was placed behind a turntable at Madame Tussauds in Amsterdam where visitors can mix Tiësto's music together. In the fall of 2005 he went on a very successful tour across Central and Eastern Europe where he played once in each country to crowds of 10,000 to 15,000 fans. Stops were made in Ukraine, Slovakia, Serbia, Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Croatia, Poland and South Africa. The United States tour that was part of ''Tiësto in Concert'' was dwarfed by his appearance at Sensation White in 2006 where he performed to over 45,000 people in the world's biggest dance event in Amsterdam, Holland.

''In Search of Sunrise 5: Los Angeles'' was released in 2006 which was certified Gold in Canada for sales over 50,000 copies. It also charted, peaking at number 34 in Canada and number 59 in Austria. The compilation was launched in the Winter Music Conference at Mansion in South Beach Miami to support his release, Tiësto went on his In Search of Sunrise 5 Asia Tour for more than three weeks.

In September 2006, Tiësto was admitted to hospital after experiencing pain in his chest. He was diagnosed with pericarditis and subsequently had to cancel a number of shows. With the diagnosis, he was invited to support Dance4Life to help teens who are not aware of the risks of HIV/AIDS. He was chosen as the official ambassador for the Dance4Life foundation in May 2006, and released the song "Dance4Life" with Maxi Jazz to help spread the awareness of HIV/AIDS.

On April 6, 2007 Tiësto began presenting a new weekly two-hour radio show called ''Tiësto's Club Life'' on Dutch radio station Radio 538. It is syndicated worldwide and later released as a Podcast.

''Elements of Life'' era (2007–2009)

On April 16, 2007, Tiësto released his third studio album ''Elements of Life'', the album moved 73,000 units in its April release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. During the production of the album Tiësto in several cases sent a demo with the music to certain artists, and they replied back with the lyrics and vocals and other duration times. In the case of Christian Burns from BBMak, Tiësto met him through MySpace and got in contact with him and the production of the single "In the Dark". The album consists of rock, trance and experimental music, which shows the style Tiësto has grown throughout the years since his previous albums which contained lyrics, ''In My Memory'' and ''Just Be''. Producer Brian Transeau collaborated with Tiësto in three tracks, he composed "Bright Morningstar" and "Sweet Things", he also performed the vocals in the single "Break My Fall". Together, they produced more tracks which were not released in the album, Tiësto has mentioned they would work again during the coming summer. In December 2007 it was announced that the album was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the category "Best Electronic/Dance Album." The album also received gold certifications in Belgium, Hungary, Netherlands, and Romania. A special release party was held at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam on November 3, 2007 for ''In Search of Sunrise 6: Ibiza''.

His last three full-length releases broke the 70,000 mark, and the 2003 2CD compilation ''Nyana'' recently hit 87,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In support of the album, he embarked on his Elements of Life World Tour which had shows across the world. Tiësto's performance at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 10, 2007 was also sold out. The ''Copenhagen: Elements of Life World Tour'' DVD was released in a party which was held on February 29, 2008 in London at the IndigO2 club.

Tiësto announced his residence at Privilege, officially recognised by the Guinness World Records as being the largest club in the world. He played in Ibiza every Monday, from July 7 until September 22. The gigs consisted of sets in the style of his ''In Search of Sunrise'' series. In 2007, he had released ''In Search of Sunrise 6: Ibiza'' which was inspired by the island. The residencies also featured the performance of guest deejays, all selected by Tiësto, such as Chris Lake, Andy Duguid, Mat Zo, Cosmic Gate, Alex Kunnari and Sander van Doorn as well as exclusive appearances by Fonzerelli and Airbase.

On April 28, Tiësto released ''Elements of Life: Remixed'', a recompilation of the ''Elements of Life'' album with all songs being replaced by remixed versions. In mid-2008, Tiësto announced his In Search of Sunrise: Summer Tour 2008, which will be presented by Armani Exchange on May in support of his upcoming In Search of Sunrise 7: Asia compilation and the previously released ''In Search of Sunrise 6: Ibiza''. On August 8, 2008, Tiësto became the first DJ to perform at the famous O₂ Arena in London as part of his In Search of Sunrise 7 summer tour, the event was sold out with a capacity of 20,000 people. Earlier that day, Tiësto had performed in-store at Armani Exchange on Regent Street in central London.

A sole production was prepared for Tiësto from June 8 to September 21 for his return at club Privilege for the second year in a row on Monday nights, after a successful year as a resident in 2008. During his time at Privilege he previewed tracks from his upcoming artist album. ''InTheBooth'', the official members-only fansite of Tiësto launched July 17, 2009. On July 31, he was the first DJ to perform for 25,000 people at an exclusive outdoor concert in Victoria Park, London.

''Kaleidoscope'' era (2009–present)

On October 6, 2009, Tiësto released his fourth studio album ''Kaleidoscope'', which featured artists such as Priscilla Ahn, Calvin Harris, Tegan & Sara and Nelly Furtado. Unlike his earlier albums, which were all mostly trance, Kaleidoscope explores other electronic genres, and is considered Tiesto's most experimental album. The first single "I Will Be Here" featuring Sneaky Sound System being released in July 2009. In its first week, the album reached the Top 10 chart on iTunes.

To release the album he has set up a new record label called Musical Freedom after parting ways with Black Hole Recordings. Tiësto felt that his music was evolving in a new direction and his focus as an artist was moving away from what Black Hole was set up to support. His new tour, sharing the name of his new album, called Kaleidoscope World Tour commenced in late September.

Tiësto contributed songs to both DJ Hero and DJ Hero 2 video games and is a playable character in the second game. He contributed two exclusive mixes to the second game, and used content from DJ Hero 2 to create the official video for his single 'Speed Rail' - the world's first music video to be created entirely using in-game footage.

Tiësto has produced a trance-flavoured song on Memphis rap duo Three 6 Mafia's upcoming album ''Laws of Power'' called "Feel It," which features Flo Rida and Sean Kingston.

On March 16, 2010, Tiësto released his greatest hits album called ''Magikal Journey: The Hits Collection 1998-2008'', a two disc album focusing on his most famous songs and remixes of his songs.

On April 7, 2010, Tiësto announced that he would start a new compilation series called ''A New Dawn'' with his own label Musical Freedom. In his interview Tiësto furthermore confirmed that he would no longer have any more involvement with Black Hole Recordings.

On August 31, 2010, ''Kaleidoscope: Remixed'' was released, a remix album of his album ''Kaleidoscope''.

On December 11, 2010, Tiësto was one of the headlining acts at ZoukOut 2010, which was held in Singapore at Siloso Beach, Sentosa Island.

On April 4, 2011, his mix compilation ''Club Life: Volume One Las Vegas'' was released.

On June 13, 2011, his studio album ''Kiss from the Past'' was released under his alias Allure.

On August 15, 2011, his single ''Work Hard, Play Hard'' featuring Kay, was released.

Philanthropy

On January 6, 2005, Tiësto performed in an outdoor fundraiser in De Dam, Amsterdam. The event was free, and many famous Dutch artists like Dinand Woesthoff, BLØF, Acda & De Munnik, Di-rect, Berget Lewis, Xander de Buisonjé and Trijntje Oosterhuis were involved in it to provide financial aid to the people who suffered from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in Southern and Southeastern Asia. All profits made of all TV commercials and live broadcast were given to the organisations collecting the relief funds.

In April 2006, Tiësto was named the official worldwide ambassador for the Dance4Life foundation promoting awareness of HIV/AIDS, as the foundation's ambassador he has helped the organisation with fundraising along with recording the track "Dance4life" that he recorded with Maxi Jazz from Faithless. The foundation consists on a better way of living with safe sex in exchange of entertainment to the young crowd. The song was a huge success, peaking for five weeks in number 3 and eleven consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of the Dutch Singles Chart, it also reached number 5 in Belgium, number 6 in Finland and also charting in the UK and Germany. With the successful release of ''Elements of Life'', Tiësto and fashion designer Giorgio Armani collaborated together on a limited edition Tiësto T-shirt available at Armani Exchange stores. His single "Sweet Things" comes with the shirt including an exclusive "A|X Remix" by Tom Cloud which shows the great influence Tiësto has in fashion culture. The charity raised over US$300,000. On November 29, 2008 artists like Tiësto himself, Sied van Riel, Leon Bolier, Joop, and MC Gunner presented a concert at The Sand, Amsterdam promoted by Dance4Life, the sales from the event will go to the foundation to support next year's Schools4Life project.

Personal life

Until early 2006, Tiësto was in a relationship with Dutch model Monique Spronk. On January 10, 2008, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf announced that Tiësto and his girlfriend Stacey Blokzijl were going to get married on October 10, 2008 in Cartagena, Colombia. He proposed to her in December 2007 while they were visiting Mauritius. Tiësto cancelled his wedding for October 10, because he claimed to have a busy schedule and too little time for the preparations. During Christmas 2008, Blokzijl broke off the engagement due to the constant delays to their wedding.

Discography

;Studio albums

''In My Memory'' (2001)

''Just Be'' (2004)

''Parade of the Athletes'' (2004)

''Elements of Life'' (2007)

''Kaleidoscope'' (2009)

''Kiss From The Past'' (as Allure) (2011)

Tours

2002: Area2 Tour

2004: Just Be: Train Tour

2005: Tiësto in Concert: North America Tour 2005

2005: Central Eastern European Tour 2005

2006: In Search of Sunrise 5 Asia Tour

2007–2008: Elements of Life World Tour

2008: In Search of Sunrise: Summer Tour 2008

2009–2010: Kaleidoscope World Tour

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Tiësto

''Tiësto's Club Life''

References

External links

InTheBooth - official members-only fansite

Artist Site at Ultra Records

* Category:1969 births Category:2004 Summer Olympics Category:Club DJs Category:Dutch dance musicians Category:Dutch DJs Category:Dutch electronic musicians Category:Dutch record producers Category:Dutch trance musicians Category:Eurodance musicians Category:Living people Category:People from Breda Category:Remixers Category:World Music Awards winners Category:Ultra Records artists Category:Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau

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name	Aqualung
background	solo_singer
birth name	Matthew Hales
birth date	January 17, 1972
origin	England
genre	Pop
occupation	Singer/songwriter
years active	2002–present
spouse	Kim Oliver (?–present)
label	Sony BMGB-UniqueColumbiaVerve Forecast
website	Official website }}

Matthew "Matt" Hales (born 17 January 1972), better known as Aqualung, is an English singer and songwriter best known in the UK for his song "Strange and beautiful," which was featured on a television advertisement for the new Volkswagen New Beetle during the summer of 2002 and went on to become a Top 10 hit in the UK singles chart later that year. In the United States, Aqualung is also known for the song "Brighter Than Sunshine", which had considerable airplay and was used in the film ''A Lot Like Love'' and various television spots.

Biography

Early life

Hales grew up in Southampton, a city on the south coast of England, where his parents ran an independent record shop. He wanted to be - and indeed was - a musician from an early age, although he said in a BBC interview that there were a couple of years when he was about 12 that he wanted to be a stuntman. At the age of 16, he was awarded a scholarship to study music composition at Winchester College. By the age of 17, he had written his first symphony entitled ''Life Cycle''.

Also while he was a teenager, he formed his first band, which was known by several names during its lifespan: Da Fook Mo a Dib, White Noise, and Mecano Pig. In 1990, they produced an album, ''Mecano Pig'', but broke up soon after that.

In the Autumn of 1990, Hales moved to London to study music at City University. While he was there, he and his brother Ben formed a new band, Gravel Monsters, although they later changed their name to RUTH (and their fan club became ALAN). They released several singles and an album, ''Harrison'', but had very little success. They changed their name again to the 45s, and in 2001 were signed to Mercury Records. However, they only released two further singles, and in March 2002 they were dropped and the band split up.

Hales is married to Bad Girls actress Kim Oliver, who helped him write the lyrics to "Strange and Beautiful".

Career as Aqualung

His debut single, "Strange and Beautiful (I'll Put a Spell on You)", was released in the UK on the B-Unique label on 16 September 2002, after gaining popularity as the soundtrack on an advert for the new Volkswagen Beetle, and reached number 7 in the UK Singles Chart. It was also featured in the film ''Wicker Park''. This was followed shortly after by his eponymous debut album, ''Aqualung''.

He released his second album, ''Still Life'', in 2003 to critical acclaim albeit limited commercial success. As part of the promotion for this album, Aqualung embarked on two contrasting tours of the U.K. in early 2004 - the first as a duo comprising Hales and his brother Ben on guitar playing at unusual venues such as churches, and the second with the pair and a full backing band playing at more conventional rock venues. Two of the gigs in London were recorded and released as a Live DVD through the band's website along with two compilation CDs of B-Sides and Remixes.

Matt Hales appeared on the 2004 Tiësto album ''Just Be'' on the track "Ur".

A compilation of tracks from his first two albums was released in the United States, entitled ''Strange and Beautiful'' following a new contract being signed with Columbia Records for future worldwide releases. The track "Brighter Than Sunshine" became a big hit and enjoyed Top 40 airplay for several months, after being featured in the film ''A Lot Like Love''. The band have also enjoyed increased notoriety through appearances on various talk shows and the use of the band's songs in shows such as ''Gossip Girl'', ''One Tree Hill'', ''The O.C.'', ''Grey's Anatomy'', ''Scrubs'' and recently ''CSI: Miami'', ''Cold Case'', ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', and ''Skins''.

"Easier To Lie" was the single featured in ''Scrubs'', the ''Lie to Me'' pilot episode and ''Brothers and Sisters'' (Episode 3).

In 2006, they were special guests on Tom McRae's Hotel Cafe Tour.

In mid 2007, the Aqualung track "Left Behind" off of the earlier release ''Strange and Beautiful'' was featured in a series of Chrysler car commercials in the U.S. giving Aqualung even more notoriety, despite the financial troubles of the struggling automaker.

In 2007, Aqualung's "Something to Believe in" was featured in the TV series ''Gossip Girl'' and ''One Tree Hill'', as well as in an episode of ''CSI: Miami''. In January 2008 the song was also featured on ABC network's ''Eli Stone'' pilot episode.

After completing their US tour, Aqualung announced the release of his next album, ''Memory Man'', which includes eleven new songs. It was released on 13 March 2007 in the USA, with other parts of the world following later. The first single from the album in the US was "Pressure Suit", with "Cinderella" as the first single in the UK, released on 11 June.

"Good Times Gonna Come" was featured in the season 2 episode 2 of the British television drama ''Skins'' as well as a UK advert for Sky.

On 31 August, Hales released news of his upcoming album on his Myspace page "I’m really very pleased with the new album... It’s a mixture of some old songs and some new songs and a song by Paul Simon. And it’s emotional and candid and funny and friendly. It feels like coming home. I think you’ll like it". Hales completed his first UK tour since the first album in June, ending the tour at the newly re-opened Tabernacle, Notting Hill, London. He states how surprised and pleased he was with the turnout. More recently, Hales has announced his relocation to the United States and the beginning of production of a new album.

In 2009, Hales worked with Leona Lewis on her album ''Echo''.

Aqualung's album, ''Magnetic North'', was released on 20 April 2010.

Hales featured on the track "Who Are We Fooling?" on Brooke Fraser's 2010 album, ''Flags''.

Discography

with RUTH

Harrison (1999)

with The 45s

The 45s (2002)

Solo

''Aqualung'' (2002)

''Still Life'' (2003)

''Memory Man'' (2007)

''Words and Music'' (2008)

''Magnetic North'' (2010)

Other appearances

{|class="wikitable" !Year !Song !Album !Artist !Notes |- |2010 |"Who Are We Fooling" |''Flags'' |Brooke Fraser |Co-wrote and appeared in duet |}

References

External links

Aqualung.net

Aqualung interview at Auralgasms.com

music by ruth and the 45s

Aqualung performing "Breaking My Heart" at SXSW 2007

Aqualung at Rolling Stone

Category:English male singers Category:English songwriters Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:Columbia Records artists

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