Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States.

The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul, and funk, it is today dominated by contemporary R&B; and hip hop. It lists the most popular R&B; and hip hop titles as follows:

Date range !! Title
October 1942 – February 1945	The Harlem Hit Parade
February 1945 – June 1949	Race Records
June 1949 – October 1958	Rhythm & Blues Records (two or three separate charts—see below)
October 1958 – November 1963	Hot R&B; Sides
November 1963 – January 1965	''No chart published (see below)''
January 1965 – August 1969	Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles
August 1969 – July 1973	Best Selling Soul Singles
July 1973 – June 1982	Hot Soul Singles
June 1982 – October 1990	Hot Black Singles
October 1990 – 1999	Hot R&B; Singles
1999–2005	Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks
2005–present	Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs
2009–present	R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard.com only)

Between 1948 and 1955, there were separate charts published for Best Sellers and Juke Box plays, and in 1955 a third chart was added, the Jockeys chart based on radio airplay. These three charts were consolidated into a single R&B; chart in October 1958.

From November 30, 1963, to January 23, 1965, there was no Billboard R&B; singles charts. The chart was discontinued in late 1963 when ''Billboard'' determined it unnecessary because that there was so much crossover of titles between the R&B; and pop charts in the light of the rise of Motown. The chart was reinstated in early 1965 when differences in musical tastes of the two audiences, caused in part by the British Invasion in 1964, were deemed sufficient to revive it.

On December 11, 1999, ''Billboard'' modified the chart's title to Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, and changed it again in 2005 to Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs. In 2009, the chart was again modified to its current title, R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs.

Chart statistics and other facts

Artists with the most number-one Hot R&B; hits:

:1. Aretha Franklin – 20 :2. Stevie Wonder – 19 :3. Louis Jordan – 18 :4. James Brown – 17 :5. Janet Jackson – 16 :7. Marvin Gaye – 13 (tie) :8. Michael Jackson – 13 (tie) :9. R. Kelly – 11 (tie) :10. Usher – 11 (tie)

Keyshia Cole, Mariah Carey, Freddie Jackson, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Kool & the Gang, and The O'Jays each have ten No. 1 hits a piece.

Joe Liggins' "The Honeydripper" (1945) and Louis Jordan's "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" (1946) all hold the record for the longest stay at the top of the charts: eighteen weeks.

Among more recent releases, Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You" (2006) has spent the longest time at number one: fifteen weeks. Overall it spent 75 weeks on Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs, surpassing the 71-week run of "You Make Me Wanna" by Usher for most weeks on the chart.

"Step in the Name of Love" by R. Kelly took 43 weeks to reach number one on the chart, the longest trip to number one in the chart's history.

"God In Me" by Mary Mary took 42 weeks to reach the top ten of the chart, the longest trip to the top ten in the history of the chart.

"Be Without You," "God in Me," "You Make Me Wanna," and "Step in the Name of Love" are the only songs to spend 70 weeks or more on the chart.

Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson holds the record of most Top 5 entries from one album with six singles: ("What Have You Done For Me Lately," "Nasty," "Control," "When I Think of You" "Let's Wait Awhile," and "The Pleasure Principle") from her ''Control'' album, ("Miss You Much" "Rhythm Nation" "Escapade" "Alright" "Come Back to Me" and "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" from her ''Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 '' album and ("I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man in the Mirror," "Another Part of Me," and "Smooth Criminal") from his ''Bad'' album

Bubbling Under R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles

The Bubbling Under R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles is a chart composed of 25 positions that represent songs that are making progress to chart on the main R&B;/hip-hop chart. Many times, singles halt their progress at this chart and never debut on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The Bubbling Under R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles chart can also be seen as a 25 position addendum to the chart, but the chart only represents the 25 songs below position #100 that have not yet appeared on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

See also

List of number-one R&B; hits (United States)

Rhythm and blues

Hip-hop music

Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Airplay

List of ''Billboard'' charts

References

External links

"R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs" Current Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks — Top 50 positions, 10 to a page

Category:Billboard charts

az:Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs cs:Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs es:Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs fr:Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs hr:Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs it:Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs sw:Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs mk:Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs pl:Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs pt:Billboard R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs ro:Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs ru:Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs sk:Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs sv:Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs tr:Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs uk:Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs

name	DJ Fresh
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Daniel Stein
alias	DJ Fresh, Fresh, Mosquito, Absolute Zero
birth date	April 11, 1977
origin	England
genre	Drum and bass
occupation	songwriter, musician, audio mixing, record producer, DJ
years active	1996–present
label	Breakbeat Kaos, Data Records, Ram Records, V Records, Valve Recordings
associated acts	Bad Company UK, Pendulum, Tenor Fly, $pyda, Adam F, Andy C, Deekline & Wizard, Ivory, Soundweapon, Stamina MC, Koko, Ce'cile, Sigma, DJ Shadow, DJ Hype, Darrison, Mary Byker, Baron, Swift, Valkyrie, Sian Evans, Dj Shadow. }}

DJ Fresh (real name Daniel Stein) is an English DJ, and one of the principal members of Bad Company.

Career

Early success and Escape from Planet Monday (1993-2008)

Along with the three other members of Bad Company, Fresh founded the record label BC Recordings, as well as the website Dogs On Acid.

Resuming his solo career in 2002, Fresh founded Breakbeat Punk, which merged with Adam F's Kaos Recordings to become Breakbeat Kaos in 2003. In 2004 ''Dogs on Acid'' was given its own imprint.

Fresh has worked with artists ranging from Pet Shop Boys, DJ Shadow, Apollo 440 to Andy C and Grooverider, and has also held a working relationship with the drum and bass trio Pendulum, until 2007 when Pendulum decided to leave his imprint.

Fresh has had his own tracks included on a number of remix CDs, including the 2006 release ''Jungle Sound: The Bassline Strikes Back!'', Andy C's ''Nightlife'' series, DJ Hype's ''Drum and Bass Warfare'', and Goldie's ''Drum and Bass Classics''.

In 2006, Fresh released his first studio album, ''Escape from Planet Monday'', featuring "The Immortal", "X Project", "Nervous" and "All that Jazz" on Breakbeat Kaos.

Kryptonite and Mainstream Success (2009-Present)

In 2009 Fresh released a 12" of "Heavyweight" (with Fantasia on the B side) on the Digital Soundboy label. "Heavyweight" had a different style from Fresh's usual output, and gained positive reviews and a general positive response through the underground scene and within various radio stations. Fresh subsequently released "Hypercaine" (including a remix from Nero) in September 2009, and made BBC Radio 1's daytime playlist.

On the 1 August 2010, he re-released his song Gold Dust Featuring vocals from Ce'cile, Where it peaked 24 in the UK and 39 in Ireland, it marked his first Top 40 hit in both countries. Drum & Bass producer Finka remixed Gold Dust in early 2011. On 16 August, he released his second studio album, "Kryptonite" where it peaked 4 on the UK Dance Chart.

He then released his follow-up single, called "Lassitude" with Sigma and Vocals from Koko. It managed to peak 98 on the UK Singles Chart and 11 on the UK Dance Chart.

Third Album and Commercial Breakthrough (2011 - Present)

The first single from his Third Album, "Louder" was released on July 3, 2011. The song is being used as part of a Lucozade Lite advertising campaign the UK and Ireland. The song features vocals from Welsh singer Sian Evans from the band Kosheen, It peaked number 4 on the Irish Singles Chart and Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. It marked his first top five hit in both countries and first to reach number 1. It is also the first ever song of the dubstep genre to reach number 1 in the UK Singles Chart.

In 2011, Fresh will be appearing at a number of Festivals during the UK Festival Season aswell as appearing at shows and clubs in the U.S, Such as Bar 525 in San Francisco, Republic Live in Austin, Texas.

Discography

Albums

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" |- ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album details ! scope="col" colspan="2"| Positions |- ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%"| UK ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%"| UK Dance |- ! scope="row"| ''Escape from Planet Monday'' |

Released: 22 May 2006

Label: Breakbeat Kaos (BBK003)

Format: 12" LP, CD, download

| — || — |- ! scope="row"| ''Kryptonite'' |

Released: 16 August 2010

Label: Breakbeat Kaos (BBK006)

Format: 12" LP, CD, download

| 167 || 4 |}

Compilation albums

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" |- ! scope="col"| Title ! scope="col"| Album details |- ! scope="row"| ''Breakbeat Kaos'' |

Released: 18 August 2003

Label: Ministry of Sound (MOSCD 74)

Format: 12" LP, CD

|- ! scope="row"| ''Jungle Sound: The Bassline Strikes Back!'' |

Released: 4 October 2004

Label: Breakbeat Kaos (BBK #001CD)

Formats: 12" LP, CD

|- ! scope="row"| ''Bass Invaderz'' |

Released: February 2005

Label: Human Imprint Recordings (HUMA8014-2)

Formats: 12" LP, CD

|- ! scope="row"| ''Jungle Sound: Gold'' |

Released: 13 November 2006

Label: Breakbeat Kaos (BBK #001CD)

Formats: CD, Digital Download

|- |}

Singles

— — — — — 6 11 1

rowspan="2"	Year	Song	Chart positions							Album
!style="width:4em;font-size:85%;"				!style="width:4em;font-size:85%;"			!style="width:4em;font-size:85%;"				!style="width:4em;font-size:85%;"			!style="width:4em;font-size:85%;"			!style="width:4em;font-size:85%;"					!style="width:4em;font-size:85%;"
2003		60	—	|	—	—	—	—	rowspan="1"	''Non-album single''
		73	|	—	—	—	—	—	rowspan="1"	''Escape from Planet Monday''
	68	|	—	—	—	—	—	''Non-album single''
		—	|	—	—	—	—	—	rowspan="1"	''Escape from Planet Monday''
		—	|	—	—	—	—	—	rowspan="3"	''Kryptonite''
	align="left"	24	|	2	—	—	39	32
align="left"	"Lassitude" (with Sigma and Koko)	98	|	8	—	—	—	—
rowspan="1"	2011	align="left"	1	|	1	96	22	4	1

Other Singles/EPs

Singles/EPs

Morning Glory / Thunder and Rain

Innocence (with Fierce) / Rehab (Ed Rush & Optical)

Dead Man Walking / Formula One

Signal / Big Love

The Original Junglesound (with Adam F)

Dalicks / Temple of Doom*

Colossus / Hooded

Submarines

Twister / Capture the Flag

Cactus Funk '02

All That Jazz (ft. Darrison)

Funk Academy

Supernature (Baron vs. Fresh) / Farenheit (Baron)

Supernature (Baron vs. Fresh) / The Shakedown (Baron)

Nervous (ft. Mary Byker from Apollo 440) / Matador

The Immortal

Exhale

Balloons (Thinking In Reverse)

Steam (Rock Out)

Clap / Exhale (Inhale remix)

All That Jazz (Mosquito Remix) / Windrush (Heist Remix)

Blow (with MC Ivory vs Deekline & Wizard)

Heavyweight / Fantasia

Hypercaine (ft. Stamina MC & Koko)

Off World / Direct Order (DJ Fresh / The Funktion)''

Remixes

Year	Song	Original Artist	Album
	Here Comes Trouble		''Here Comes Trouble - A Decade of Drum and Bass''
Twist 'Em Out	''Twist 'Em Out / Kids Stuff''
Mo' Fire	Andy C	''Nightlife''
	Cuban Links	DJ Clipz	''Cuban Links (Fresh Remix) / Tripods''
Thugged Out Bitch	Dillinja	''Spectrum'' (with Lemon D)
	Enuff	DJ Shadow	''Enuff / This Time''
	I Want You	Paul Harris vs Eurythmics	''I Want You'' (White label release)
Cross My Heart (Raw and Club Mixes)	Skepta (ft. Preeya Kalidas)
	Together		''Together''
Broken Record	Katy B	''Broken Record''
Right Beside You	Jakwob (ft. Smiler)	''Right Beside You''

Duets/As a Featured Artist

Year	Song	Album
	Mutated (Version X)
Sandstorm (Sunrise)
U-Boat
Chain of Thought
	Sausage Dog	''3rd Planet'' (EP)
Switch	''21st Century Drum and Bass 3''
Warehouse Lick (with Trace)	''Spy Technologies 2: Battlefield''
Living Daylights
	Floodlight
Play Me (with Swift) (Swift & Blame Remix)
	Living Daylights II	''The Immortal''
Ease Down
Trick of the Light
2008	All That Jazz (VIP mix)	''Bryan G & MC Skibadee Live @ Movement Bar, Rumba''
	X-Project (VIP mix)	''Heist's Mystery FM''
Spaceface
Lazer Squad

Music videos

Year	Song	Albums	Director
	''Nervous''	''Escape from Planet Monday''
	''Hypercaine''	rowspan="3"
	''Gold Dust''
''Lassitude''
	''Louder''	''Non-album single''	Ben Newman

See also

Breakbeat Kaos

Drum and bass

Dogs On Acid

Dubstep

Jungle

Pendulum

References

External links

Category:Living people Category:1977 births Category:English drum and bass musicians Category:English DJs

be-x-old:Fresh de:DJ Fresh it:DJ Fresh ru:DJ Fresh

Name	Rita Ora
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Rita Sahatçiu Ora
Born	November 26, 1990 Pristina, SFR Yugoslavia (present day Kosovo)
Origin	West London, England, UK.
Instrument	Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano
Genre	R&B;, pop, soul , smooth jazz
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, actress
Years active	2004–present
Label	Roc Nation
Website
Notable instruments	}}

Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born 26 November 1990) is a British singer-songwriter and actress. In 2009, she appeared on the BBC's ''Eurovision: Your Country Needs You'' where she auditioned to be the British contestant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. Later in 2009, she signed to Roc Nation. She is of Kosovar Albanian ethnicity.

Biography

Early life and career beginnings

Rita Ora was born in Pristina, SFR Yugoslavia (now Kosovo) and moved to the United Kingdom the same year of her birth. She grew up in West London and attended St Cuthbert with St Matthias CE Primary School in Earls Court, following which she graduated from Sylvia Young Theatre School and then St Charles Catholic Sixth Form College. She began singing from a young age. In 2004, she appeared in the British film ''Spivs''. She auditioned for ''Eurovision: Your Country Needs You'' on BBC One to be the British contestant for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest but later withdrew from the competition after a few episodes as she did not feel ready.

In 2007, Ora had her first music release when she appeared on Craig David's track entitled "Awkward" and then again in 2008 on "Where's Your Love" featuring Tinchy Stryder, for which she also appears in the music video. Ora began singing in bars in and around London, and in 2009 a A&R; told Roc Nation about Ora, a few days after Ora flew out to New York and met Jay Z. In 2009, Ora made a cameo on Jay-Z's video for "Young Forever" and "Over" by Drake. Ora caught the attention of Jay-Z and he signed her to Roc Nation, for which she was featured in a commercial for Roc Nation + Skullcandy Aviator Headphones.

2011–present: debut album

Throughout 2011, Ora released viral videos of herself working on her debut album.

On 14 December 2011, DJ Fresh and Ora released the music video for "Hot Right Now" on YouTube. The single was released on 12 February 2012 and reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.

On 24 February 2012, Ora visited New York's Z100 radio station alongside her Roc Nation label boss Jay-Z, to premiere "How We Do (Party)", her debut single and the lead single from her upcoming studio album. "How We Do (Party)" borrows its familiar refrain from The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Party and Bullshit".

She has been recording her first studio album for two years. Will.I.Am, Ester Dean, Drake, The-Dream, Kanye West and Stargate are all working with Ora on her debut album.

When speaking about the sound of the album and its concept, Ora said it "definitely has pop in it, but (...) you can hear influences of jazz in there, you can hear influences of Monica and Aaliyah, and then you can hear Gwen Stefani.” She confirmed the tracks "Roc the Life", "Love at War", "Facemelt" and "Shine Ya Light" to be featured on her debut album.

"R.I.P." featuring Tinie Tempah was released as her first UK single on 6 May 2012. "R.I.P" was written by Drake and produced by Chase & Status. The video was recorded in Hackney, East London, and released on 4 April 2012.

Artistry

Influences

Ora credits Gwen Stefani as her idol and biggest influence, saying in an interview “Do you know how much I love that woman? I love everything about her." Ora has also named Beyoncé as a major influence and a mentor, in addition to talking about her admiration at being able to have one of her idols, Beyoncé, give her feedback on her debut album. Her other musical influences include Aaliyah, India Arie, Christina Aguilera, Brandy, Monica, Madonna, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Celine Dion, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Vybz Kartel and Sade. Ora has mentioned her admiration for Rita Hayworth as an early inspiration for wanting to pursue an acting career.

For fashion inspirations, Ora also cites Gwen Stefani as her most influential style icon. In addition to Stefani, Ora has drawn great inspiration stylistically from Marilyn Monroe and Daphne Guinness through fashionable trends in both vintage clothing and retro wear.

Discography

Singles

— —

+ List of singles, with selected chart positions

scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;"

Title

Year

Peak chart positions

Album

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"

"How We Do (Party)"

—

—

|

—

39

rowspan="2">''TBA''

scope="row"

"R.I.P." (featuring Tinie Tempah)

—

—

|

—

—

As featured artist

— 11

scope="col" rowspan="2"	Title	Year	Peak chart positions					Album
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"		! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"
"Where's Your Love" (Craig David featuring Tinchy Stryder and Rita Ora)	2008	58	—	|	—	—	''Greatest Hits (Craig David album)	Greatest Hits''
scope="row"	"Hot Right Now"(DJ Fresh featuring Rita Ora)	2012	1	46	|	17	27	''TBA''

Guest appearances

+ List of non-single songs with guest appearances by Rita Ora	Title	Year	Album	Artist
"Awkward"	2007		Craig David

Music videos

Title	! Year	! Director(s)	! Ref.
		2008	Steve Kemsley
		Emil Nava
	Marc Klasfeld

Cameo appearances

+ List of cameo appearances in music videos	scope="col" style="width:16em;"	Title	Year	Director(s)	Ref.
	"Young Forever" (Jay-Z featuring Mr Hudson)		2009
"Over (Drake song)	Over" (Drake)

Filmography

colspan="4" style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Film
! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
2004		Spivs (film)>Spivs''	Rosanna	First acting role
Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	! Notes
2009	''Eurovision: Your Country Needs You''	Contestant	Contestant for the honor of representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009

Notes and references

Notes: {| style="margin-left:13px; line-height:150%; font-size:100%;" |- | style="text-align:right; vertical-align:top;"|a. | |}

References:

External links

Information

Category:1990 births Category:Living people R Category:Mezzo-sopranos Category:British female singers Category:British film actors Category:British people of Kosovar descent Category:Kosovar Albanians Category:Kosovar people of Albanian descent Category:Kosovar singers Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Category:People from Pristina Category:People from London

bg:Рита Ора cs:Rita Ora de:Rita Ora es:Rita Ora it:Rita Ora pt:Rita Ora ru:Rita Ora sq:Rita Ora fi:Rita Ora sv:Rita Ora

Name	Tila Tequila
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Tila Nguyen
Alias	Tila Tequila
Birth date	October 24, 1981
Birth place	Singapore
Origin	Houston, Texas, United States
Instruments	Vocals
Genre	R&B;, pop rap, hip hop, pop rock, electropop
Occupation	glamour model, singer, rapper
Years active	2001–present
Website	misstila.com }}

Tila Nguyen (born October 24, 1981), better known by her stage names Tila Tequila and Miss Tila, is a Singaporean-born American model and television personality. She is known for her appearances in the men's magazines ''Stuff'', ''Maxim'', ''Penthouse'', her role as host of the Fuse TV show featuring performance striptease, ''Pants-Off Dance-Off'' and her position as the most popular artist on MySpace (according to page views) circa April 2006, along with Jeffree Star. She was raised in Houston, Texas, and now lives in Los Angeles, California. Her MTV reality show ''A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila'' aired for two seasons.

Early life and education

Nguyen was born in Singapore, where her family emigrated from Vietnam after the Vietnam War. Her mother is half French descent, while her father is full Vietnamese. Her siblings are Daniel and Terri. When she was one year old, she and her family lived in a neighborhood in Houston until they were admitted to a gated community run by a strict Buddhist temple. The family left the community when Nguyen was eight.

While in middle school, Nguyen became a tomboy and was eventually sent to a boarding school for six months for her combative behavior before transferring to another school. While in high school, she used her sister's identification card to enter nightclubs, where she began taking drugs and joined a gang. In her memoir, she would later explain that she felt "confused" and "lost" from various personal family and environmental issues and lost her virginity at 15. She turned to writing poems in an attempt to release powerful emotions, and friends outside the gang briefly helped turn her life around. However, her past caught up with her, and she fled to Queens, New York, at the age of 16. While still 16, she experienced a drive-by shooting in Houston. She reports having become pregnant and suffering a miscarriage the following year.

Nguyen graduated from Alief Hastings High School in 2000. She has cited the violent adolescence she had in Texas as her reason for becoming a model and moving to California in 2001. In a March 2003 interview, she revealed that she has taken some college classes but does not have a degree, stating, "I didn't want to go to college for an actual degree because there's nothing out there I like besides doing something that involves the entertainment industry."

Career

Modeling and acting

Nguyen's career began at the age of 18 when she was discovered at the Sharpstown Mall by a ''Playboy'' scout and was offered a chance to model nude for the magazine. She did a test shoot, then eventually moved to Southern California and was featured as ''Playboy''’s Cyber Girl of the week on April 22, 2002, and soon thereafter she became the first Asian Cyber Girl of the Month. A few more pictorials for the magazine followed.

Nguyen gained further popularity through the import racing scene. She has been featured on the cover of ''Import Tuner'' magazine, at car shows such as Hot Import Nights, and in the video game ''Street Racing Syndicate''. She was also the most frequent host on the first season of Fuse TV's dance show, ''Pants-Off Dance-Off'', on which a group of contestants strip to music videos.

Nguyen was featured on the cover of the April 2006 issue of ''Stuff'' magazine; in the interview, she claimed that her nickname "Tila Tequila" came about when she experimented with alcohol at the age of thirteen. She appeared on the August 2006 ''Maxim'' UK cover, was named #88 in their Hot 100 List, and also appeared in the December 2007 issue. She was ranked #100 on the Maxim Hot 100 list in 2008.

Nguyen made an appearance as one of the 12 strangers in the first game on the April 6, 2007 episode of NBC's game show ''Identity''. On March 4, 2007 she made a cameo appearance on the show "War At Home." She also appeared as a Hooters Girl in the 2007 film ''I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry''.

Nguyen has been featured on the front page of magazines such as Penthouse, King, Blender, and most recently Steppin' Out

Nguyen has provided her voice to shows such as ''Robot Chicken'' and ''The Cleveland Show''.

Reality television

In May 2007, Nguyen began filming for a reality show which first aired on MTV on October 9, 2007, as ''A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila''. The program is a bisexual-themed dating show where 16 straight men and 16 lesbian women compete for Nguyen's affections, the twist being that the contestants were not aware of her bisexuality until the end of the first episode. The ten-episode series is produced by SallyAnn Salsano and MTV.

The show led to a heated online debate between Nguyen and conservative Christians after an article appeared on ''The Christian Post'' on September 13, 2007. After seeing the article, Nguyen wrote an impassioned response in her blog on September 28, 2007, criticizing churches for "bashing" the gay community while thanking God for saving her life.

The show premiered for a second season in April 2008 and became a popular gossip subject in Asian media, such as ''AsianWeek''. The season finale premiered July 8, 2008, the winner being Kristy Morgan who declined her "shot at love". A new season of the series was announced. However, bisexual twin women were the bachelorettes.

Before ''A Shot at Love'', Nguyen was a contestant on VH1's ''Surviving Nugent'', a reality TV show where participants performed compromising tasks and stunts for rock star Ted Nugent.

Online business ventures

In July 2001, Nguyen started up her website entitled "Tila's Hot Spot". Originally the site featured information, quotes, blog, and pictorials requiring adult verification and a monthly fee. Later, the site was revamped to feature all-ages content and information to promote her career, business ventures, personal information, and a premium membership section including videos, non-nude picture galleries, blogs, and chat sessions. In 2008 the site was transformed into a social network.

During 2005, Nguyen launched Tilafashion.com, a site featuring her custom line of clothing for men and women. In 2006, Nguyen created a website entitled "Tila Zone," which features content to use on Myspace and other social networking websites including layouts, widgets, and clipart.

In December 2009, Nguyen partnered with Joe Francis to launch a dating site called "TilasHotSpotDating.com". The site is for people ages 18 and up. The site includes a free membership with basic access to the site, and paid membership which includes access to other areas of the site. Nguyen has taken part in webcam chats on the site.

In 2010, Nguyen launched a celebrity blog site, MissTilaOMG.com.

Music

At age 20, Nguyen acted on her interest in rock music and started looking for bands willing to let her join. She eventually assembled a band called Beyond Betty Jean, for which she was singer and songwriter. Following the breakup of Beyond Betty Jean, Nguyen started working in recording studios to sharpen her vocal skills and wrote music. Later, she became the lead singer of a band called Jealousy, which released a few songs online before breaking up. Around this time, she began to employ the stage name of "Tila Tequila".

In April 2006 during the taping of an interview with MTV's ''Total Request Live'' VJs, will.i.am announced that Nguyen had been signed to the Will.I.Am music group, a record label under A&M; Records. Despite this major-label signing, Nguyen independently released her first single "I Love U" through iTunes on February 27, 2007, justifying the independent release through her desire to become famous by herself. She also shot a music video for the song.

In March 2007, Washington-based record label The Saturday Team released an EP called ''Sex'', by Tila Tequila. On July 27, 2007, Italian website MusicBlob reported that The Saturday Team and distributor Icon Music Entertainment Services sued Nguyen over breaching her contract related to the album. However, Nguyen claimed in a MySpace bulletin that the EP was not authorized for release by her, and was removed from most retailers. The Saturday Team won a legal case, making ''Sex'' available for digital purchase.

On October 9, 2007, Nguyen released her second official single, "Stripper Friends". A video premiered via Yahoo! Music on February 26, 2008 and was released to iTunes on March 4, 2008. The single failed to chart. In April 2008, the single "Paralyze" and its accompanying music video were released via Yahoo! Music and iTunes.

On April 7, 2009 the "''I Love U Remixes''" EP was released to digital music retailers.

In April 2010, Nguyen officially released "I Fucked The DJ", along with an edited version entitled "I Love My DJ", through iTunes. The songs were released under the name "Miss Tila".

In May 2010, Nguyen released an EP to iTunes entitled "Welcome to the Darkside". The EP includes a cover of Depeche Mode's song "Blue Dress" and Yoko Ono's song "Walking on Thin Ice". Tila began a tour supporting the new EP in 2010, and at one of her tour stops in August 2010, Nguyen appeared at the Gathering of the Juggalos, a music festival founded by hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse. She was repeatedly pelted with rocks and bottles among other objects, and she vowed to take legal action against the organizers and promoters for the event.

Book

On December 2, 2008, Nguyen released a self-help book, ''Hooking Up with Tila Tequila: A Guide to Love, Fame, Happiness, Success, and Being the Life of the Party'' (ISBN 9781439101537).

Record Label and Management Firm

Nguyen has started her own record label called "Tila Tequila Records", and recently signed Raz-B of B2K. Apart from her record label, Nguyen has also started a management firm called "Little Miss Trendsetter Management LLC".

Personal life

On September 6, 2009, Nguyen was allegedly choked and restrained by former boyfriend Shawne Merriman, who was later arrested. San Diego district attorney Bonnie Dumanis decided not to charge Merriman after her office spent three days reviewing reports from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. On November 17, 2009, Nguyen sued Merriman for $1.5 million. Several weeks later, Merriman countersued, alleging intentional interference with contract, unfair competition, and trademark infringement. She declined to respond to his more recent actions, and a default judgment was entered in his favor for $2 million.

In November 2009, Nguyen announced on Twitter that she is a lesbian, rather than bisexual, as she had previously proclaimed herself to be.

On December 9, 2009, Nguyen stated she was engaged to heiress Casey Johnson and was photographed with a diamond ring. On January 4, 2010, Johnson, who had long suffered from Type I Diabetes, was found dead. On February 4, 2010, the Los Angeles Coroner's Office announced that Johnson "died from diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition caused by a lack of insulin and high blood sugar". She was reported to have neglected to take her medication, and died naturally. Nguyen has arranged plans to seek legal custody of Casey Johnson's adopted daughter, Ava.

Discography

EPs

''Sex'' (2007)

''Welcome to the Dark Side'' (2010)

===Singles===

"I Love U" (2007)

"Stripper Friends" (2007)

"Paralyze" (2008)

"I Fucked the DJ (I Love My DJ)" (2010)

"You Can Dance" (2011)

Filmography

Films

''I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry'' as a Hooters Girl (2007)

Television

''A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila'' as herself (2007)

''A Shot at Love II with Tila Tequila'' as herself (2008)

''The War at Home'' as herself (episode: The White Shadow)

''Robot Chicken'' as herself (episode: Help Me!)

''MADtv'' as herself (episode: #1412) (2009)

''The Cleveland Show'' as herself (episode: The Brown Knight)

''$h*! My Dad Says'' as Ting Ting (episode: Ed Goes to Court)

Books

Tila Tequila with Sarah Tomlinson, ''Hooking Up With Tila Tequila: A Guide to Love, Fame, Happiness, Success, and Being the Life of the Party'', Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, December 2008 (ISBN 9781439101537)

Awards and nominations

{|class="wikitable" |- !Year !Award !Result |- |2007 |The Soup Awards for Entertainer of the Year | |- |rowspan=2|2008 |Spike Annual Guy's Awards for So Hot They're Famous | |- |Bravo's A-List Awards for A-List Drama Queen | |}

References

External links

Official website

Category:Living people Category:1981 births Category:21st-century women writers Category:American actors of Asian descent Category:American bloggers Category:American female singers Category:American memoirists Category:American musicians of Vietnamese descent Category:American people of French descent Category:American pop singer-songwriters Category:American television personalities Category:American women writers Category:American writers of Asian descent Category:Lesbian actors Category:Lesbian musicians Category:Lesbian writers Category:LGBT Asian Americans Category:LGBT musicians from the United States Category:LGBT television personalities Category:LGBT writers from the United States Category:Musicians from Houston, Texas Category:Musicians from Los Angeles, California Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Queens Category:Singaporean emigrants to the United States

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