name	Naan
country	Originally from Persia
region	West, Central and South Asia
main ingredient	Wheat flour (e.g. atta, maida), water, yeast, cooking fat (e.g. butter, ghee), yogurt, milk (optional)
other	}}

Naan (, , , , , , ) is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. It is typical of and popular in West, Central and South Asia. Influenced by the large influx of South Asian immigrants, naan has also become popular in other parts of the world, especially in Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Europe and North America.

Originally, ''naan'' was a generic term for various flatbreads from different parts of the world. In Turkic languages, such as Uzbek, Kazakh and Uyghur, the flatbreads are known as nan. The name stems from (New) Persian, being a generic word for bread. In Burmese, flatbreads are known as ''nan bya'' (; ).

Etymology

The earliest appearance of "naan" in English literature dates back to 1780, viz. in a travelogue of William Tooke. The original Persian word ''nān'' 'bread' (= Tajik ''non'' (нон)) is already attested in Middle-Persian / Pahlavi as ''n'n'' 'bread, food'. The form itself is either of Iranian or even Indo-Iranian origin; cognate forms include Parthian ''ngn'', Balochi ''nagan'', Sogdian ''nγn-'', Pashto ''nəγan'' - "bread". The form ''naan'' has a widespread distribution, having been borrowed in a range of languages spoken in central Asia, and in the aftermath of Muslim conquests, also in South Asia, i.e. present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the surrounding regions. In these countries and regions, the generic designation "naan" refers to a kind of (in most cases) flatbread, baked according to locally adapted recipes.

Description

The most familiar and readily available varieties of naan in Western countries are the South Asian varieties. In Iran, from which the word ultimately originated, ''nān'' (نان) does not carry any special significance, as it is merely the everyday word for any kind of bread. On the other hand, naan in South Asia usually refers to a specific kind of thick flatbread (another well-known kind of flatbread is ''chapati''). Generally, it resembles pita and, like pita bread, is usually leavened with yeast; unleavened dough (similar to that used for ''roti'') is also used. Naan is cooked in a ''tandoor'', from which tandoori cooking takes its name. This distinguishes it from ''roti'', which is usually cooked on a flat or slightly concave iron griddle called a ''tava''. Modern recipes sometimes substitute baking powder for the yeast. Milk or yoghurt may also be used to give greater volume and thickness to the naan. Typically, it will be served hot and brushed with ''ghee'' or butter. It can be used to scoop other foods, or served stuffed with a filling: for example, ''keema naan'' is stuffed with a minced meat mixture (usually lamb or mutton or goat meat); another variation is ''peshawari naan''. ''Peshawari naan'' and ''Kashmiri naan'' are filled with a mixture of nuts and raisins; in Pakistan, the most famous naan variety is the ''roghani naan'' which is sprinkled with sesame seeds; ''Kulcha'' is another type. ''Amritsari naan'' also called as ''amritsari kulcha'' is stuffed with mashed potatoes, onion (optional) and lots of spices. Possible seasonings in the naan dough include cumin and nigella seeds. The Pakistani dish of ''balti'', popular in Birmingham, England, is usually eaten with a naan, and this has given rise to the huge ''karack'' or table naan, easy to share amongst large groups.

A typical naan recipe involves mixing white flour with salt, a yeast culture, and enough yogurt to make a smooth, elastic dough. The dough is kneaded for a few minutes, then set aside to rise for a few hours. Once risen, the dough is divided into balls (about 100 grams or 3.5 oz each), which are flattened and cooked. In Pakistani cuisine, naans are typically graced with fragrant essences, such as rose, ''khus'', or (vetiver) with butter or ''ghee'' melted on them. Nigella seeds are commonly added to naan as cooked in Indian restaurants throughout the UK. Raisins and spices can be added to the bread to add to the flavour. Naan can also be covered with various toppings of meat, vegetables, and/or cheeses. This version is sometimes prepared as fast food. It can also be dipped into such soups as ''dal'', and goes well with ''sabzis'' (also known as ''shaakh'').

''Naan bya'' in Burma is a popular breakfast choice, usually served with tea or coffee. It is round, soft, and blistered, often buttered, or with ''pè byouk'' (boiled peas) on top, or dipped in ''hseiksoup'' (mutton soup).

Gallery

See also

Tandoor bread (''tandyr nan'')

''Bazlama''

''Bhatoora''

''Chapati''

''Kulcha''

''Luchi''

Naan burger

''Paratha''

''Puri''

''Roti''

''Roti canai''

References

External links

Category:South Asian breads Category:Central Asian cuisine Category:Iranian cuisine Category:Yeast breads Category:Flatbreads Category:Persian words and phrases

ar:خبز النان bn:নান (রুটি) br:Naan ca:Naan de:Nan (Lebensmittel) es:Naan fa:نان fr:Naan ko:난 (빵) it:Naan he:נאן ms:Roti tempayan nl:Naan ja:ナン no:Nanbrød nn:Nan pl:Naan pt:Naan ru:Наан (блюдо) fi:Naan sv:Naan tg:Нон ug:نان zh:馕

name	Nelly Furtado
background	solo_singer
birth name	Nelly Kim Furtado
birth date	December 02, 1978
background	solo_singer
nationality	Canadian
origin	Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
nationality	Canadian
instrument	Vocals, guitar, keyboards, ukulele, trombone
genre	Pop, rock, folk, R&B;, Latin pop, hip hop, dance pop, world music
occupation	Singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, actress
years active	1996–present
label	DreamWorks, Geffen, MMG, Universal Music Latino
website	}}

Nelly Kim Furtado (born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, ''Whoa, Nelly!'', and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Her second studio album, ''Folklore'', was released. It was less commercially successful in the US but produced three international singles: "Powerless (Say What You Want)", "Try", and "Força" (the theme of the 2004 European Football Championship). Her third studio album, ''Loose'' was her biggest success worldwide. It produced the number-one hits "Promiscuous", "Maneater", "Say It Right" and "All Good Things (Come to an End)". After a three-year break, she released her first full-length Spanish album, ''Mi Plan''. For ''Mi Plan'', Furtado received the Latin Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Album. Furtado's fourth English-language studio album, ''The Spirit Indestructible'', is set for release on June 19, 2012.

Biography

Early life and career beginnings

Furtado was born on December 2, 1978, in Victoria, British Columbia, to Portuguese parents, Maria Manuela and António José Furtado, both immigrants from the Azores. She was named after Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim. Her parents were born on São Miguel Island and emigrated to Canada in the late 1960s. Her siblings are Michael Anthony and Lisa Anne. She was raised in a Roman Catholic home. At age four, she began performing and singing in Portuguese. Furtado's first public performance was when she sang a duet with her mother at a church on Portugal Day. She began playing musical instruments at the age of nine, learning the trombone, ukulele and – in later years – the guitar and keyboards. At the age of 12, she began writing songs, and as a teenager, she performed in a Portuguese marching band. Furtado has acknowledged her family as the source of her strong work ethic; she spent eight summers working as a chambermaid with her mother, along with her brother and sister, who was a housekeeper in Victoria. She has stated that coming from a working class background has shaped her identity in a positive way.

During a visit with her sister Lisa Anne in Toronto, the summer after eleventh grade, Furtado met Tallis Newkirk, member of the hip hop group Plains of Fascination. She contributed vocals to their 1996 album, ''Join the Ranks'', on the track "Waitin' 4 The Streets". After graduating from Mount Douglas Secondary School in 1996, she moved to Toronto to reside with her sister Lisa Anne. The following year, she formed Nelstar, a trip hop duo with Newkirk. Ultimately, Furtado felt the trip-hop style of the duo was "too segregated", and believed it did not represent her personality or allow her to showcase her vocal ability. She left the group and planned to move back home. In 1997, she performed at the Honey Jam talent show. Her performance attracted the attention of The Philosopher Kings singer Gerald Eaton, who then approached her to write with him. He and fellow Kings member Brian West helped Furtado produce a demo. She left Toronto, but returned again to record more material with Eaton and West. The material recorded during these sessions led to her 1999 record deal with DreamWorks Records, where she was signed by A&R; executive Beth Halper, partner of Garbage drummer and record producer Butch Vig. Furtado's first single, "Party's Just Begun (Again)", was released that year on the ''Brokedown Palace: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack''.

2000–05: ''Whoa, Nelly!'', motherhood and ''Folklore''

Furtado continued the collaboration with Eaton and West, who co-produced her debut album, ''Whoa, Nelly!'', which was released in October 2000. The album was an international success, supported by three international singles: "I'm like a Bird", "Turn off the Light", and "...On the Radio (Remember the Days)". It received four Grammy nominations in 2002, and her debut single won for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Furtado's work was also critically acclaimed for her innovative mixture of various genres and sounds. ''Slant Magazine'' called the album "a delightful and refreshing antidote to the army of 'pop princesses' and rap-metal bands that had taken over popular music at the turn of the millennium". The sound of the album was strongly influenced by musicians who had traversed cultures and "the challenge of making heartfelt, emotional music that's upbeat and hopeful". According to ''Maclean's'' magazine, ''Whoa, Nelly!'' had sold six million copies worldwide as of August 2006. Portions of the song "Scared of You" are in Portuguese, while "Onde Estás" is entirely in Portuguese, reflecting Furtado's Portuguese heritage. Following the release of the album, Furtado headlined the "Burn in the Spotlight Tour" and also appeared on Moby's ''Area:One'' tour.

In 2002, Furtado appeared on the song "Thin Line", on underground hip hop group Jurassic 5's album ''Power in Numbers''. The same year, Furtado provided her vocals to the Paul Oakenfold's song "The Harder They Come" from the album ''Bunkka'' and also made the song "These words are my own". She also had a collaboration with Colombian artist Juanes, in the song "Fotografia" where she showed her diversity of yet another language. Furtado was also featured in "Breathe" from Swollen Members "Monsters in the Closet" release; the video for "Breathe," directed by Spawn creator Todd MacFarlane, won the 2003 Western Canadian Music Awards Outstanding Video and MuchVIBE Best Rap Video. In 2003, in Toronto, Furtado gave birth to a daughter, Nevis Chetan Furtado, whose father is Jasper Gahunia. Furtado and Gahunia, who had been good friends for several years, remained together for four years until their breakup in 2005. Furtado told ''Blender'' magazine that they continue to be good friends and jointly share responsibility of raising Nevis.

Furtado's second album, ''Folklore'', was released in November 2003. The final track on the album, "Childhood Dreams", was dedicated to her daughter, Nevis. The album includes the single "Força" (meaning "strength"/ "power" or "you can do it!" in Portuguese), the official anthem of the 2004 European Football Championship. Furtado performed this song in Lisbon at the championship's final, in which the Portugal national team played. The lead single is "Powerless (Say What You Want)" and the second single is the ballad "Try". The album was not as successful as her debut, partly due to the album's less "poppy" sound, as well as underpromotion from her label DreamWorks Records. DreamWorks had just been sold to Universal Music Group. In 2005, DreamWorks Records, along with many of its artists including Furtado, was absorbed into Geffen Records. "Powerless (Say What You Want)" was later remixed, featuring Colombian rocker Juanes, who had previously worked with Furtado on his track "Fotografía" ("Photograph"). The two would collaborate again on "Te Busqué" ("I searched for you"), a single from Furtado's 2006 album ''Loose''.

2006–09: ''Loose'' and marriage

Furtado's third album, named ''Loose'', after the spontaneous, creative decisions she made while creating the album, was released in June 2006. In this album, primarily produced by Timbaland, Furtado experiments with sounds from R&B;, hip hop, and 1980s music. Furtado herself describes the album's sound as ''punk-hop'', described as "modern, poppy, spooky" and as having "a mysterious, after-midnight vibe... extremely visceral". She attributed the youthful sound of the album to the presence of her two-year-old daughter. The album received generally positive reviews from critics, with some citing the "revitalising" effect of Timbaland on Furtado's music, and others calling it "slick, smart and surprising". Some have labeled her a ''"sellout"'' for seemingly abandoning her folk and rock roots in favour of hip hop and R&B;, while others have accused her of attempting to "sex up" her music and appearance to sell more records. ''Loose'' has become the most successful album of Furtado's career so far, as it reached number one, not only in Canada and the United States, but also several countries worldwide. The album produced her first number-one hit in the United States, "Promiscuous", as well as her first number-one hit in the United Kingdom, "Maneater". The single "Say It Right" eventually became Furtado's most successful song worldwide, due to its huge success in Europe and in the United States, where it became her second number-one hit. "All Good Things (Come to an End)" became her most successful song in Europe, topping single charts in numerous countries there.

In June 2006 in an interview with ''Genre'' magazine, when asked if she had "ever felt an attraction to women", Furtado replied "Absolutely. Women are beautiful and sexy". Some considered this an announcement of bisexuality, but in August 2006, she stated that she was "straight, but very open-minded". In November 2006, Furtado revealed that she once turned down $500,000 to pose fully clothed in ''Playboy''. On February 16, 2007, Furtado embarked on the "Get Loose Tour". She returned in March 2007 to her hometown of Victoria to perform a concert at the Save-On Foods Memorial Centre. In honour of her visit, local leaders officially proclaimed March 21, 2007, the first day of spring, as Nelly Furtado Day. After the tour, she released her first live DVD/CD named ''Loose the Concert''. On April 1, 2007, Furtado was a performer and host of the 2007 Juno Awards in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She won all five awards for which she was nominated, including Album of the Year and Single of the Year. She also appeared on stage at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium in London on July 1, 2007, where she performed "Say It Right", "Maneater", and "I'm like a Bird". In 2007, Furtado and Justin Timberlake were featured on Timbaland's single "Give It to Me", which became her third number-one single in the U.S. and second in the UK. In late 2008, Furtado collaborated with James Morrison on a song called "Broken Strings" for his album ''Songs for You, Truths for Me''. The single was released on December 8 and peaked at No.2 on the UK Singles Chart in early January. In 2008, she sang with the Italian group "Zero Assoluto" the ballad Win or Lose – Appena prima di partire, released in Italy, France and Germany and whose video was shot in Barcelona. Furtado made a guest appearance on Flo Rida's new album, ''R.O.O.T.S.''. Furtado also made a guest appearance on Divine Brown's ''Love Chronicles'', co-writing and singing on the background of the song "Sunglasses". Furtado married Cuban sound engineer Demacio "Demo" Castellón, with whom she had worked on the ''Loose'' album, on July 19, 2008.

2009–2012: ''Mi Plan'' and greatest hits

Furtado's debut Spanish album, ''Mi Plan'' was released with the first single, "Manos Al Aire" ("Hands in the Air"). She had formed her own record label, Nelstar, in conjunction with Canadian independent label group Last Gang Labels. The first act signed to Nelstar is Fritz Helder & the Phantoms. "Manos al Aire" was released on the new label. The second, third and fourth singles were "Más", "Mi Plan" and "Bajo Otra Luz" respectively. Furtado won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album for ''Mi Plan''. She is the first Canadian to win a Latin Grammy award. Furtado also recorded "Manos al Aire" in Simlish for the new Sims 3 expansion, World Adventures. ''Lifestyle'', her planned fourth English studio album, was not released during the summer of 2010 in favor a second leg of her ''Mi Plan Tour''. To promote the tour in Brazil, on March 24, 2010, Furtado made a ''"VIP Pocket Show"'' in reality show program Big Brother Brasil 10 from Rede Globo, the country's leading channel. Furtado participated in the live DVD recording of the Brazilian singer Ivete Sangalo in Madison Square Garden on September 4, 2010. Furtado released ''Mi Plan Remixes'' featuring 12 tracks of remixed hits from "Mi Plan." This album included the Original Spanglish Version of "Fuerte", her final release from ''Mi Plan''.

Furtado made a guest appearance on Canadian singer k-os's new album ''Yes!'', collaborating alongside Saukrates on the song "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman," released in early July 2009. Nelly Furtado also made a guest appearance on Tiësto's single "Who Wants to Be Alone" on his new album ''Kaleidoscope''. Furtado sang in a duet with Bryan Adams at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. The song was called "Bang The Drum" released on EMI album ''Sounds Of Vancouver 2010'' (a commemorative album). Furtado is featured in a new song by N.E.R.D. called "Hot N Fun". She also participated in the Young Artists for Haiti song, in which many Canadian artists came together and sang K'naan's inspirational song "Wavin' Flag" to raise money for the victims of the Haiti Earthquake. Furtado was honoured with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in October 2010.

Furtado released her first greatest hits album titled ''The Best of Nelly Furtado'' on November 16, 2010. Three new songs were included on the greatest hits album, including "Night Is Young", "Girlfriend in the City", and the Lester Mendez produced track, left over from the ''Loose'' sessions, "Stars". The album's first single, "Night Is Young", was released on October 12, 2010. Furtado had previously sang two of the new songs: "Girlfriend in the City" and "Night Is Young" at her concert in Warsaw, Poland. Furtado was one of several celebrities who have come under fire after 2011 reports from the ''New York Times'' and a WikiLeaks document revealed several entertainers had received extravagant sums to perform for the family of Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi. She promised to donate to charity the $1 million she received for a 2007 concert, which ended up going to Free the Children.

Furtado publicly endorsed Green Party leader Elizabeth May in Saanich-Gulf Islands during the federal election in 2011. Furtado was featured on one of the Game's The R.E.D. Album tracks, titled "Mamma Knows" (produced by The Neptunes). For the Canadian film The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom, Furtado lent her vocals for the Dolly Parton gospel cover "The Seeker" featured during the credits of the film. Furtado collaborated with recording artist Alex Cuba and K'naan once again. The duet with K'naan "Is Anybody Out There", was released as the first single from his extended play ''More Beautiful than Silence''.

2012–present: ''The Spirit Indestructible''

''The Spirit Indestructible'' will be released in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2012 and a day later in the US. Furtado proclaims that ''The Spirit Indestructible'' would be most like her 2000 debut ''Whoa, Nelly!'', but containing elements from urban, alternative, and reggae. The influences for the album range from Janelle Monae, The xx, to Florence + the Machine. The album has attracted producers such as The Neptunes, Tiësto, Timbaland, Rick Nowels, Ryan Tedder and Rodney Jerkins. The first single from ''The Spirit Indestructable'', "Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)", was released digitally on April 17 2012 and will be sent to North American radio stations on May 1 2012. Furtado continued to collaborate with hip-hop producer Salaam Remi, who previously worked on the 2010 single "Night Is Young", on "The Edge". The lyrics for the Salaam Remi produced track are reported to be influenced by the Tiger Woods cheating scandal, in which was originally referred to as "Elin's Song". On July 2, 2011 Furtado performed a new track, an acoustic ballad titled "Mystery", from her upcoming studio album. Furtado intends on promoting the album for at least two years while embarking on a tour.

Furtado has simultaneously begun work on a full-length Portuguese album, as a followup to her Spanish effort, ''Mi Plan''.

Philanthropy

For World AIDS Day in 2006, Furtado took part in an AIDS awareness concert in South Africa hosted by MTV, BET, and Nike; fellow performers included Enrique Iglesias, Kanye West, Kelly Rowland, Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson. Furtado also hosted a program about AIDS on MTV, which also featured guests Alicia Keys and Justin Timberlake.

Influences

During her pre-teenage to teenage years, Furtado embraced many musical genres, listening heavily to mainstream R&B;, hip hop, alternative hip hop, drum and bass, trip hop, world music (including Portuguese fado, Brazilian bossa nova and Indian music), and a variety of others. Her biggest influence when growing up was Ani DiFranco, she explained that "[w]hen I was a teenager, I wanted to be (the feminist punk-folk singer) Ani DiFranco. I never wanted to be part of corporate music." She cites diverse influences, which include soul-trip/hip hop artists such as De La Soul, TLC, world music artists Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Amalia Rodrigues, as well as Caetano Veloso, Juanes, Jeff Buckley, Esthero, Björk, Cornershop, Oasis, Radiohead, The Smashing Pumpkins and Beck. Furtado's music has also been influenced by her current residence, Toronto, which she calls "the most multicultural city in the entire world" and a place where she "can be any culture". Regarding Toronto's cultural diversity, she has said that she did not have to wait for the Internet revolution to learn about world music; she began listening to it at the age of five and continues to discover new genres.

Discography

''Whoa, Nelly!'' (2000)

''Folklore'' (2003)

''Loose'' (2006)

''Mi Plan'' (2009)

''The Spirit Indestructible'' (2012)

Tours

''Burn in the Spotlight Tour'' (2001)

''Come as You Are Tour'' (2004)

''Get_Loose_Tour'' (2007-2008)

''Mi Plan Tour'' (2010)

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	! Genre	Notes
2001		Herself	American Science fiction Television series	Performed "I'm like a Bird"
2006	''Floribella''	Herself	Portuguese Soap Opera
2007	''One Life to Live''	Herself	American Soap Opera
2007	''CSI: NY''	Ava Brandt	American police procedural television series	Played Ava, a professional criminal accused of murder.
2007	''Punk'd''	Herself	American hidden camera practical joke television series	A victim of a bomb scare
2008		Christa Balder	Video game adaptation	The wife of Max Payne's slain ex-partner
2010	''Big Brother Brasil''	Herself	Brazilian reality show	Live performance
2010	Score : A Hockey Musical	An Ardent Hockey Fan	Canadian Film

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Nelly Furtado

References

External links

Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:Brit Award winners Category:Canadian dance musicians Category:Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Category:Canadian female guitarists Category:Canadian female singers Category:Canadian folk guitarists Category:Canadian folk singers Category:Canadian multi-instrumentalists Category:Canadian people of Portuguese descent Category:Canadian pop guitarists Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian rhythm and blues singers Category:Canadian Roman Catholics Category:Canadian singer-songwriters Category:Fellows of the Royal Conservatory of Music Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:Juno Award winners Category:Musicians from British Columbia Category:People from Victoria, British Columbia Category:Portuguese-language singers Category:Spanish-language singers Category:Trip hop musicians

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name	Adam Levine
birth name	Adam Noah Levine
background	solo_singer
birth date	March 18, 1979
birth place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
instrument	Vocals, guitar, bass, piano
genre	Alternative rock, funk rock, pop rock, soul, rhythm and blues
occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter
years active	1994–present
label	A&M; Octone
associated acts	Maroon 5, Kara's Flowers, Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa, Natasha Bedingfield, Ying Yang Twins, Alicia Keys, K'naan, Rihanna, Slash, Gym Class Heroes, Christina Aguilera
website	}}

Adam Noah Levine (born March 18, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the front man and guitarist for the pop rock band Maroon 5. He is also a coach on the American talent show ''The Voice''.

Early life

Levine was born in Los Angeles to Fred and Patsy (née Noah) Levine. His uncle is journalist and author Timothy Noah. He has a brother, Michael, and a sister, Julia. When he was six years old, he made the winning shot of his local YMCA championship basketball game (on a team his father coached) with no time left on the clock. He has said that the incident changed his life and gave him the confidence to be successful.

Levine attended French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts Camp (Hancock, NY) with best friend Jesse Carmichael, guitar player of the band known at that time as Kara's Flowers. He graduated from Brentwood School in 1997.

Levine has Jewish ancestry on both sides of his family (his father and maternal grandfather were Jewish), and considers himself Jewish, though according to ''The Jewish Chronicle'', who interviewed Levine, he "has rejected formal religious practice for a more generalized, spiritual way of life". He chose not to have a Bar Mitzvah as a child.

Original band Kara's Flowers

Having met at Brentwood School in Los Angeles, the band released their first album titled ''The Fourth World'' in 1997 as high school seniors. That same year the band appeared on an episode of ''Beverly Hills, 90210''. The album had little success, and its only single, "Soap Disco", failed commercially. Disappointed with the results of their album, the band members went their separate ways.

Levine and Carmichael left Los Angeles for New York. This was the first time the two Los Angeles natives were exposed to a completely different music scene, a cultural awakening for the young men. On ''MTV News'', in 2002, Levine said, "That's when I started waking up to the whole hip hop, R&B; thing. We had friends named Chaos and shit. It was ''not'' Brentwood High."

Maroon 5 and mainstream success

During this time, Levine worked a two-week stint as a waiter at Johnny Rockets. After dropping out of Five Towns College, Levine and Jesse reunited with Mickey and Ryan, but added former Square guitarist, James Valentine in 2001. Renaming the band Maroon 5, Levine and his friends began to compile all of their newfound musical influences into their music. While Levine was working as a writer's assistant on the television show "Judging Amy," he spent time writing the lyrics about his ex-girlfriend, Jane. Those lyrics became the album "Songs About Jane."

Other work

Levine has collaborated with various musical acts. In 2005, Levine was featured on the Ying Yang Twins song "Live Again". He appeared on Kanye West's ''Late Registration'' album, on the third single, "Heard 'Em Say". He is also featured in the song "Wild Horses" on Alicia Keys' third album ''Alicia Keys: MTV Unplugged''. Over the next year, he co-wrote the track "Say It Again" on Natasha Bedingfield's album ''N.B.''. He also performed the background vocals on this song. Most recently, Levine offered his vocals on Gym Class Heroes' newest album in the song "Stereo Hearts".

Levine has made four notable comic appearances on television. During 2007, he appeared on the 33rd season premiere of Saturday Night Live in an SNL Digital Short called ''Iran So Far'' with Andy Samberg, Fred Armisen and Jake Gyllenhaal. Levine played himself while singing a humorous bridge to a "love song" for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In 2008, he appeared on Comedy Central's "Night Of Too Many Stars". Levine also had a cameo on Jimmy Kimmel Live for the night of stars and endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential Election.

In October 2008, Levine collaborated with First Act to create the First Act 222 Guitar, fashioned to Levine's specifications. The guitar was made available for purchase at Target retail stores.

Levine has stated in various interviews that he does not plan on continuing in Maroon 5 forever, and may stop after the tour for Maroon 5's third album. In 2009, he recorded "Gotten", a song for Slash's first solo album ''Slash'' released in April 2010. "Gotten" was premiered at amazon.com on March 29, 2010. Levine is also featured as a singer for his band's song "She Will be Loved" in the music rhythm game ''Band Hero''. In February 2010, he was among approximately 80 musicians who sang on the charity-single remake of "We Are the World" called "We Are the World 25 for Haiti".

Levine is one of the contestant judges and coach mentors on the singing TV show, ''The Voice''. The winner, Javier Colon, was on Levine's team. Levine will appear in the second season of American Horror Story.

Personal life

Levine's ex-girlfriend Jane is the inspiration behind the name of the band's debut album ''Songs About Jane''. In a 2004 interview, he claimed that she had not contacted him despite the success of the album.

In September 2010, Levine said on the ''Howard Stern Show'' he had been dating Russian ''Sports Illustrated'' swimsuit and Victoria's Secret model Anne Vyalitsyna seriously for about eight months. The couple met when Maroon 5 performed at the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue release party in Las Vegas. In April 2012, Levine and Vyalitsyna announced that they had split.

Levine stripped naked for testicular cancer awareness for a centerfold in ''Cosmopolitan'' UK's February 2011 issue.

During Levine's teenage years, he was medically diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. In 2011, he launched an educational campaign to raise awareness of ADHD, titled "Own It".

Levine, whose brother is openly gay, is an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights. In 2011, he made a video on Maroon 5's official YouTube account in support of the It Gets Better Project. In January 2012, he announced that Maroon 5 had changed the location of their post-Grammy Awards show because of the "unnamed Los Angeles restaurant's backing of Proposition 8".

Discography

As a featured artist

26 – – 1

+ List of singles by title, year, peak chart positions, and album

scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"

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%;"

! 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%;"

"Heard 'Em Say" (Kanye West featuring Adam Levine)

2005

26

|

27

19

95

23

67

15

–

22

''Late Registration''

scope="row"

"Say It Again" (Natasha Bedingfield featuring Adam Levine)

2007

–

|

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

''N.B.'' / ''Pocketful of Sunshine''

scope="row"

"Bang Bang" (K'naan featuring Adam Levine)

2008

–

|

–

71

–

–

–

–

–

105

''Troubadour''

scope="row"

"Stereo Hearts" (Gym Class Heroes featuring Adam Levine)

2011

4

|

4

7

–

4

8

3

9

3

''The Papercut Chronicles II''

Other charted songs

+ List of singles by title, year, peak chart positions, and album	scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"	Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Album
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"
"Man in the Mirror (Michael Jackson Cover)" (Javier Colon with Adam Levine)	2011	45	66		''non-album song''

Guest appearances

+ List of non-single songs with guest appearances by Adam Levine	scope="col" style="width:16em;"	Title	Year	Album	Artist(s)
"Live Again"			''U.nited S.tate of A.tlanta''		Ying Yang Twins
scope="row">"Wild Horses (The Rolling Stones song)	Wild Horses"		Unplugged (Alicia Keys album)>Unplugged''		Alicia Keys
scope="row"	"Bang Bang"		2009		Troubadour (K'naan album)>Troubadour''		K'naan
scope="row"	"Gotten"		2010		Slash (album)>Slash''

Further reading

Kimpel, Dan (2006), ''How They Made It: True Stories of How Music's Biggest Stars Went from Start to Stardom!''. Location unknown:Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0-634-07642-6

References

External links

Category:1979 births Category:American male singers Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American rock guitarists Category:American rock singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American tenors Category:Blue-eyed soul singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Jewish American musicians Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Living people Category:Maroon 5 members Category:Musicians from California Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:Songwriters from California Category:The Voice judges

az:Adam Levin be:Адам Левін bg:Адам Лавин da:Adam Levine de:Adam Levine et:Adam Levine es:Adam Levine fa:آدام لوین fr:Adam Levine ko:애덤 리바인 hy:Ադամ Լևին id:Adam Levine it:Adam Levine he:אדם לוין lv:Ādams Levins nl:Adam Levine ja:アダム・レヴィーン no:Adam Levine pl:Adam Levine pt:Adam Levine ro:Adam Levine ru:Левин, Адам simple:Adam Levine su:Adam Levine fi:Adam Levine sv:Adam Levine th:อดัม เลวีน tr:Adam Levine vi:Adam Levine zh:亞當·列維

name	Chubb Rock
background	solo_singer
birth date	May 28, 1968
origin	Brooklyn, New York
genre	East Coast hip hop
years active	1988–present
label	Hyztory RecordsSelect RecordsChampion Records
height	6 ft 4 in (1.9 m)
notable instruments	}}

Chubb Rock (born Richard Simpson on May 28, 1968 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a New York-based rapper who released several commercially successful hip hop albums in the early 1990s. A former National Merit Scholar, Chubb Rock was a pre-med student who dropped out of Brown University to pursue his musical career.

1990s and earlier

Discovered and produced by his first cousin DJ / Producer Howie Tee, Chubb Rock first appeared on the national scene with his 1988 self-titled debut "Chubb Rock" and 1989's "And the winner is..." The latter produced the minor hit "Ya Bad Chubbs" which garnered air play on Yo! MTV Raps during that time.

His 1991 release entitled The One, reached #13 on Billboard's "Top Hip-Hop/R&B;" chart for that year. Three singles from that release, "Treat'em Right", "Just The Two Of Us" and "The Chubbster", made it to #1 on Billboard's "Top Rap Single" chart list for the same year.

The following year saw the release of ''I Gotta Get Mine Yo'', a release which features guest performances from Grand Puba Maxwell and Poke. This release also helped fledgling music producers Trackmasters, on their rise to prominence, as they handled production duties on the recording. Chubb Rock also makes an appearance on MC Serch's 1992 song, "Back to The Grill."

Chubb Rock was a member of the 1995 incarnation of the Crooklyn Dodgers, a rap act that also featured O.C. and Jeru The Damaja. His backup dancers started their own group, A.T.E.E.M, and released their debut ''A Hero Ain't Nothin' But A Sandwich'' in 1992 on Select Records.

In 1996, he appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, ''America is Dying Slowly'', alongside Wu-Tang Clan, Coolio, and Fat Joe, among others. The album, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African-American men, was heralded as a masterpiece by The Source magazine.

2000s and on

Chubb Rock's work in the 2000s has been limited to only a few songs. He appears on a song for Raptivism Records' "No More Prisons" project with Lil' Dap of Group Home and Ed O.G., and also worked with Mr. Len on the song "Dummy Smacks", where he says, ''"Some people thought I was gone... never that!"'' He made an appearance alongside Vast Aire on the 2007 Zimbabwe Legit album ''House of Stone'' with the song "Wake Up".

In 2008, his single "Treat em right" was ranked number 82 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. Chubb Rock also released Obama We Believe in support of President Barack Obama. His most recent appearance was on the K'naan single "ABC's". He also collaborated with Polish rapper eMCeeM on a track for his album ''To dopiero poczatek''.

February 2009 Chubb Rock can be heard on his new single "Back In" featuring Wordsmith and Kimia Collins.

His latest album "Bridging The Gap", a collaboration with Wordsmith, was released on July 14, 2009.

Chubb Rock is featured in the new single "Summertime Anthem" by Eric Roberson in which they filmed the video on the streets of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, New York where he credited his wife and manager, KeKe Simpson, for putting the duo together.

Chubb Rock also released a new EP in September 2011.

In 2011 Chubb Rock appeared with his wife and childhood sweetheart of 24 years, KeKe "Diamond" Simpson on the NBC game show ''The Marriage Ref''.

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Chart positions
! Billboard 200	! Top R&B;/Hip Hop Albums
1988	''Chubb Rock''
1989	''And the Winner Is...''
1991
1992	''I Gotta Get Mine Yo''
1997	''The Mind''
2009	''Bridging The Gap (feat. Wordsmith)''

Singles

Year	Song	Chart positions
! Billboard Hot 100	! Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	! Hot Rap Singles	! Hot Dance Music/Club Play
1989	''Ya Bad Chubbs''
	''Stop That Train''
''Robocop''
	''The Chubbster''
''Treat Em Right''
''Just Ask Me To'' (Tevin Campbell featuring Chubb Rock)
	''Just the Two of Us''
''Lost in the Storm''
''The Big Man''
1993	''Yabadabadoo''

References

External links

Discogs: Chubb Rock

Category:1968 births Category:African American rappers Category:American people of Jamaican descent Category:Jamaican hip hop musicians Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Living people Category:Brown University alumni Category:Select Records artists

es:Chubb Rock it:Chubb Rock

name	Nancy Ajram
birth name	Nancy Nabil Ajram
background	solo_singer
birth date	May 16, 1983
origin	Beirut, Lebanon
genre	Arabic Pop, World, pop
occupation	singer
years active	1998–present
label	EMI Arabia (1998) Megastar (2001–2005) In2Musica (2008–present)
website	Official website }}

Nancy Nabil Ajram (), (born May 16, 1983) is a multi-platinum recording artist and Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. With the support of her father, Nancy began performing as a child and released her first studio album by the age of 15. Her breakthrough occurred with the start of her collaboration with well-known producer Jiji Lamara, when she released her smash-hit "Akhasmak Ah" and 3rd studio album, Ya Salam. In 2004, she released her second international best-seller "Ah w Noss", which spawned several smash-hits, "Ah w Noss", "Lawn Ouyounak", and "Inta Eih" at which point Nancy had established pop icon status in the Middle East.

Her 2008 album "Bitfakkar Fi Eih" spawned seven singles and won Nancy's first World Music Award as Best-selling Middle Eastern Artist, the youngest Arab WMA winner to date. She has released seven studio albums to date and numerous other chart-topping singles such as "Sehr Ouyouno", "Atabtab", "Moegaba", "Ehsas Jdeed", "El Donya Helwa", "Mashi Haddi", and "Fi Hagat".

Nancy Ajram is the first and only female sponsor and spokesperson of Coca-Cola in the Middle East and Arab world. Considered by many as an Arabic music icon of the decade, Nancy was described on the Oprah Winfrey Show as one of the most influential personalities of the Middle East. Nancy has made the list of Most Powerful Arabs on Arabian Business several times, and was similarly listed by Newsweek as one of the most influential Arabs. Nancy's official Facebook page is the most subscribed Arabic artist page on the social-networking site and the first to reach 3 million subscribers, and her music video for "Fi Hagat" was an Internet phenomenon and is currently the most viewed Arabic music video on the Internet, on Youtube with over 25 million views to date.

Early life and beginnings

Nancy Ajram was born on May 16, 1983 in Achrafieh, a district in Beirut, Lebanon.

In 1995, at the age of twelve, Nancy Ajram took part in a variety show, ''Noujoum Al-Moustakbal'', ("Stars of the Future"), a Lebanese reality television competition, which finds new solo musical talent. Ajram won a gold medal in the Tarab category after singing a song by Umm Kulthum.

Ajram studied music with renowned Lebanese musicians and despite being less than 18 years old at the time, the syndicate of professional artists in Lebanon accepted her as a member. Her first singles were titled "Hobbak Allam Albi elGheere" by Abdo Mounzer, and "Oulha Kelma Ala Shani". At the age of 15, she released her first album, ''Mihtagalak'' ("I Need You') in 1998. It was followed by ''Sheel Oyoonak Anni'' ("Stop Staring") in 2000, which achieved more success.

Music career

2002-2004: ''Akhasmak Ah''

Ajram's breakthrough was when she began working with Jiji Lamara, an experienced producer and manager. In early 2003, Ajram rose to instant fame with the success of the lead single "Akhasmak Ah" and the release of her third studio album, ''Ya Salam'' ("Oh Wow") which was a best-seller. The music video of "Akhasmak Ah" caused a controversy; reminiscent of older Arabic films, Nancy appeared as a cafe manager who dances and flirts with its customers. The release of the next music videos, "Ya Salam" and "Sehr Ouyouno" quietened down criticism as they better introduced Nancy's vocal abilities and style to the public.

2004-2006:''Ah w Noss'', Coca-Cola

Her fourth album, ''Ah w Noss'' ("Yes, and a half"), was released on April 12, 2004, and it was also an important marking point in Nancy's career. The tremendous success that "Ah w Noss" achieved, stabilized Nancy's position as an A-List star in the Arab music industry. Nancy then filmed "Lawn Ouyounak" (Color of Your Eyes), which portrayed Nancy as a bride in a traditional Lebanese wedding. After the release of the album, Nancy Ajram signed-up with Coca-Cola to be their official celebrity spokesperson for the Levant, Arabia and North Africa regions. Her first Coke commercial featured her hit, "Oul Tany Kida?" (Say That Again?), which was filmed with the international Italian director Luca Tomassini. The commercial's success lead to it being filmed as a music video behind the scenes of the commercial. The 4th hit single from the album, "Inta Eih?" (What Are You?), was a slow directed by Samir Sfeir. Nadine Labaki directed another clip that featured Nancy as a wife who sees her husband cheating on her yet she hides it in torment to save their relationship. The music video received tremendous positive reviews and Nancy was greatly praised. Leading Egyptian actors and directors, like Faten Hamama praised Nancy's acting abilities and movie offers doubled for Nancy. Nancy also opened for Enrique Iglesias's first concert in Egypt in 2004.

2006-2008:''Ya Tabtab Wa Dalla'', ''Shakhbat'', ''El Donya Helwa''

Her fifth album, ''Ya Tabtab Wa Dallaa'' was released on February 15, 2006. ''Atabtab'' was considered Nancy's best album to date, with six music videos released, eight radio hits, and five songs used for commercials.

The title song's video was Nancy's last video directed by Nadine Labaki, as she then started working on her movie Caramel. Nancy then released the video of her Coca-Cola hit "Moegaba" (Admirer), as well as a video and commercial for her newly signed ''Damas Jewelry'' contract advertising their "Farfasha" set. The song used was ''Ana Yalli'' which was promoted before the album's release. Nancy then cooperated for the first time with prominent Lebanese director Said el Marouk, filming ''"Ehsas Jdeed"'' (A New Feeling) which is widely considered to be the most successful song of the album. The video, which was a salute from Said to his deaf and mute parents, depicted the story of a rich woman who falls in love with a deaf and mute man. Later in 2007, Nancy released all together the video of "Elli Kan" (All That Was) for Damas's second campaign, her Coca-Cola Side of Life commercial featuring a new single "''El Donya Helwa''" (Life is Beautiful), and a video and album directed towards children, titled ''Shakhbat Shakhabit'' (Scribbled Scribbles). "El Donya Helwa", Nancy's 7th commercial, is considered one of her most successful commercials representing her style and Coca-Cola's with colors, happiness, and music, and it led her to release a Live album featuring the single.

Ajram's sixth album was fully dedicated to children with a variety of songs aimed towards teaching children good values and morals, something she has wanted to do for a long time. The music video was her second cooperation with Said El Marouk and featured four songs from her album, the most successful of which were "Shakhbat Shakhabit" & "Shater Shater". Nancy performed these songs at several fund-raising events for children and other children's events, such as the children's TV channel MBC3, and the children's entertainment TV Show "Star Zghar". She then filmed with Fadi Haddad, the director of photography of her previous works with ElMarouk, a video for the song "''Resala Ilal Aalam''" (A Message to the World) which talks about world peace. The video was released on May 25, 2008, the day the Lebanese president General Michel Suleiman was elected ending a deadlock that lasted since November. It was the first video for Nancy that had an entirely graphical world that implied the suffering of children worldwide and the need to bring out a more colorful and happy world for them. Old rumors claimed that the video was presented to the UNICEF. In 2007, Nancy performed alongside Lionel Richie in Egypt at a launching event.

2008–2010: ''Betfakkar Fi Eih'', WMA, Oprah, UNICEF & motherhood

In February and March 2008, Nancy released three Coca-Cola commercials that featured a brand new hit from her long awaited album. The song, "''Meen Gheyri Ana'' (Noss elKawn)" (Who Else?) was made by the successful ''Yey'' and ''Ana Yalli'' trio (Nizar Francis, Samir Sfeir, and Tarek Madkour). The single was an instant hit and served as a highly successful promotion 5 months before the release of the album. Nancy released her seventh studio album after several delays on July 30, 2008, which has been highly anticipated by fans for almost three years. This long awaited comeback album held lots of surprises for her fans with a huge change in her style that presented her matured vocal abilities like never before. Nancy's 7th album, Betfakkar Fi Eih?!, is considered to be one of her most successful albums so far as it won her first World Music Award in her career. The album included her first "Tarab" song called "Biteegy Sirtak" since 1998's Mihtagalak album, and in general had a wide mix of several different styles ranging from dance, beat, pop, to drama, romance, Tarab and oldies. Even though the hit video had mixed opinions, the second video of "Min Dally Nseek" was much more accepted, peaking at #1 for seven consecutive weeks in Melody Hits. The same musical trio who created "Ehsas Jdeed" did one of the instant radio-hits of the album, "''Lamset Eed''" (Touch of a Hand), which was filmed with Leila Kenaan with a high budget, and the song and music video peaked charts for months. With this album Nancy signed a celebrity endorsement deal with Sony Ericsson, as a special w595 phone was released holding Nancy's signature, and ''Wana Ben Idek'' was chosen as the commercial song.

On November 9, 2008, about a month after her marriage, Nancy Ajram won her first World Music Award for her best-selling album Betfakkar Fi Eih. In her short speech, Nancy thanked her parents, Jiji Lamara, her fans and album makers, and husband, saying "2008 has been a fantastic year - a successful album, my wedding, and now a World Music Award, what can I ask for more?"

On September 28, 2009, the Oprah Winfrey Show aired an episode titled "Fame Around the World" that talked about the most famous celebrities around the globe in brief reports. Representing the Middle East region and Arab world, Nancy Ajram appeared in a report featured on the show and was described by Oprah as "the Britney Spears of the Middle East". Nancy Ajram is the first and only Middle-Eastern artist ever mentioned on the show.

2010–2011: World Cup, ''N°7''

In the summer of 2010, Nancy was nominated by Coca-Cola Middle East to sing, along with K'naan, his international hit and song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, "Wavin' Flag". The Arabic version, titled "Shaggaa Be Alamak" and directed to the Middle East region, had its Arabic parts written by Ayman Bahgat Amar (who previously wrote Ah w Noss, Atabtab, Eftah Albak for Nancy) and the music remastered by Tarek Madkour. The original music video was used for K'naan's parts while Nancy's parts were filmed separately in Lebanon on the same protocol under Leila Kenaan's co-direction. Both the video and song were aired heavily during the FIFA season and part of the song was particularly played during commercial breaks on Al-Jazeera channel, which exclusively aired the games to the Arab world.

On August 30, 2010, Nancy's official Facebook page posted a 16-second preview of the music video for Nancy's next single, "Fi Hagat". The preview shows Nancy wearing her makeup and getting in the car on a rainy day. Later, it was announced that Nadine Labaki directed the video, thus making her comeback to music video direction after her 4-year break. The video is also the first collaboration between Ajram and Labaki since 2006's "Atabtab." The full music video premiered on September 6, 2010 at 8:00PM on Arabica TV and MTV Lebanon. As of January 2011, Nancy became the first and most viewed Arabic music video on the Internet.

In November, 2010, Nancy's Facebook page hit one million fans, becoming the most subscribed Arabic Facebook page on the site. Nancy expressed how thankful she was and promised her followers to add news and updates to the page. Later, the page announced "Sheikh El Shabab" and "Ya Kether" as the second and third singles from ''7'', respectively. The video for the second single premiered on December 23, and received favorable reviews from Arabic media, however, it did not achieve the same explosive rate of Internet views as did the first single "Fi Hagat", with only 750,000 views in a month. The album marks a shift in Ajram's career and launches her to a more international image, and is, to date, her second fastest selling album. It earned Nancy her second World Music Award as the middle east's best selling album.

2010–2012: Second kids' album

In 2012, Ajram joined social networking website Twitter, and received ten thousand followers in two days. She immediately followed fellow singer Elissa and was followed back by her. The singer took her personal account to announce the video shoot of a fourth video from her seventh album, titled "Min Ma Ando." She also announced in late February that was nearly done working on a second album dedicated for kids. Ajram is set to embark a US tour in the summer of 2012.

Personal life

In September 2008, Nancy wed Dr. Fadi El Hachem in Cyprus after a three-year relationship; the wedding ceremony, in Lebanon, was attended mainly by close friends and family and was only made based on their request. Nancy continued her work during pregnancy, during which she filmed "Min Dally Nseek", "Lamset Eed" and her first Sony Ericsson commercial. She also participated in several concerts, such as Layali Febrayer and received her World Music Award.

On May 16, 2009, Nancy gave birth to her first child, a daughter she named "Mila." Short for ''Milagrosa'' (''miraculous'' in Spanish), Mila is also a traditional, Levantine name popular in rural Lebanon and meaning a "blooming tree". However, Nancy revealed that the name was Fadi's choice inspired by the Ukraine-born US actress, Milla Jovovich. Nancy released a song for her daughter, "Ya Rab Tekbar Mila" (I Pray that Mila Grows Up) on the same day. In a survey done by ''Rotana Magazine'', Nancy was voted as the "Most Beautiful Mom" of 2009. Nancy chose not to reveal photos of her daughter Mila until they both appeared on the cover of "Prestige" magazine in an exclusive photoshoot. Mila later appeared in the set of Nancy's music video "Ya Kether" in the presence of the media who publicized her pictures.

In October 2010, a month after the release of her seventh studio album, Nancy announced that she was four months pregnant with her second child, a girl. During that period she had filmed "Sheikh El Shabab" and "Ya Kether" consecutively to be released during her pregnancy period. Nancy Ajram revealed on Mothers day special on MTV that she decided to name her daughter Ella. Ella was born on 23 April 2011.

Nancy Ajram is an Orthodox Christian.

Awards and titles

1995 Nojoom Al Mustaqbal Golden Award - (Ajram's most significant pre-stardom award)

2003, 2005, 2007 Murex D'or Award - Best Female Lebanese Singer of the year, Beirut

2003, 2006 Murex D'or Award - Best Video of the Year, Beirut.

2003: Ya Salam - Nadine Labaki, 2006: Ehsas Jdeed - Said elMarouk)

2003 The Golden Lion Award, Egypt

2003, 2007 LG Music Award

2003, 2005 Zahrat elKhaleej Magazine - Best Female Arab Singer, Dubai

2004, 2010 Zahrat elKhaleej - Best Music Video of the Year, Dubai (Lawn Ouyounak, Fi hagat - respectively)

2004 Arabian Music Awards - Best Female Arab Singer of the year, Dubai

2005 Newsweek - Most Influential Arab Personalities, Kuwait

2005 - Honor from the Opera House of Egypt

2007 - Certificate from the Pope of Rome

2007 Middle East Music Awards (''Mobinil'') - Best Female Arab Singer of the year, Cairo 2007, 2009 Arabian Business - World's Most Influential Arabs, Most Influential Contemporary Female Singer in 2007, Most Powerful Arab Singers 2007 Kol elArab Survey - Best Arabic Star of the year 2007

2008 9th Annual Doha Festival - Honor Award, Doha

2008 World Music Award - World's Best-Selling Middle-Eastern Artist, 20th Annual WMA, Monaco 2008 Student Choice Award - [College Student Survey]: Best Album of the Year 2008, Beirut 2008 ''AlJumhuriya'' newspaper, ''Freedom Magazine'' - Best Female Arab Star of 2008, Egypt.. only?

2009 Regional Ambassador for the UNICEF in the Middle East & North Africa

2009 Al-Jazirah Newspaper survey : Best Female Arab singer of the Year. ''Saudi Arabia''

2010 Stars Cafe Magazine - Best selling female artist of the decade.

2010 World Travel Award - Best Female world singer of the Year .

2010 Sama Al Noujoum-Best Female Singer 2010/Fi hagat Best Music Video 2010 Panet Survey-Best Female singer 2010 Arab Sound Awards -Best Arabic Female Singer

2010 Music My Life- Fi Hagat Best Song Of 2010

2010 Best Of Lbc 2010- N 7 Best Album/Fi Hagat- Best Music Video 2010 Panorama Fm (MBC)-N 7 Best Arabic Album. 2010-2011 Jaras Scoop Awards-Best Female Singer

2010-2011 Melody Fm Awards-Best Female Singer

Stars Cafe Awards 2010:

* Best Female Artist

* Best Album : 7

* Best Song: Fi Hagat

* Best Lyrics: Fi Hagat

* Best Arrangement: Fi Hagat

* Best Music Video: Sheikh El Shabab

2011 Won two awards from "Murex D'or 2010" ceremony in Lebanon. First award as the Star of Lebanese song, and the second award for the category of best music video for the song "Sheikh El Shabab."

2011 Best Female Singer- "Woujouh Men Lebnan" awards.

2011 Arabian Business- Most Famous Celebrity in the Middle East

2011 World Music Awards World's Best-Selling Middle-Eastern Artist (Nancy 7)

Philanthropy and humanitarian work

Ajram has participated in numerous charity events and concerts that she considers a priority in her music career. In the year 2006, Ajram opened an organization under the name "Jam'iyet Nancy Ajram Al-Khayria" (Nancy Ajram's Charity Organization) in Beirut, Lebanon, that works on collecting and distributing money for the poor. Nancy also released a song about peace, "Resala Ilal Aalam" (A Message to the World), in her children's album as a music video, which was rumored to be presented to the Unicef. Ajram also participated amongst over 100 other prominent Arab artists in a huge production called "ElDhameer elArabi", a 10-year sequel to "AlHelm Al Arabi" that outlines the major political events in the Arab world in the past ten years.

In June 2008, Nancy participated in The Big Ball, a charity event in Dubai which raised over Dhs 940,000 for helping underprivileged children by auctioning one of her favourite dresses and encouraging children's fund-raising events; she announced, "The Big Ball is doing a wonderful thing and I'm happy to support it. I'm coming for my love of children and because I want to help underprivileged children find a happy place in this world. Children inspired my latest album ''Shakhbat Shakhabit'' and especially the song "Resala lel3alam" (A Message to the World)." Ajram, however, continues to refuse announcing her other charitable projects to the public.

On October 22, 2009, the UNICEF chose Ajram to be the first female regional ambassador for the Middle East and North Africa, as was announced in a press conference held in Beirut. Nancy announced that she will be starting her charity projects in 2010. In late 2009 she appeared in the UNICEF's commercial marking the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, joining other influential Middle Eastern celebrities such as Kazem el-Saher, Saber el-Rebai and Karess Bashar.

Criticism and controversy

Many rumors of boycotts against Ajram's concerts filled the internet, although none appeared to be true.

In October 2003, a riot broke out outside a concert by Ajram in Bahrain. Islamists from the country's main opposition parties, including Al Wefaq, attacked concert goers. Al Wefaq's leaders defended the action, as it was the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. In May 2006, Ajram returned to perform in Bahrain without any incidents.

On her official website, Nancy Ajram has apologized for anti-Iranian remarks falsely attributed to her on a website posing as her homepage.

Nancy Ajram has expressed extreme anger towards recent circulating rumors in Egypt regarding the spread of nude photos of her on mobile phones. A large number of youths around Egypt and around the Arab world have been spreading nude photos of the singer supposedly taken at a women's spa for a full body wax. Nancy, however, denies the spa visit and claims such photos are fake.

Discography

Studio albums

Nancy Ajram Discography

1998: ''Mihtagalak''

2001: ''Sheel Oyounak Anni''

2003: ''Ya Salam''

2004: ''Ah W Noss''

2006: ''Ya Tabtab...Wa Dallaa''

2008: ''Betfakkar Fi Eih?!''

2010: ''7''

Children's albums

2007: ''Shakhbat Shakhabit''

2012: TBA

DVDs and live albums

2004: ''Live at the Jarash Festival'' [DVD] - MegaStar

2005: ''Ma La Ta'arifunahu 3an Nancy Ajram'' [DVD] - MBC

2006: ''Ah w Noss: Collector's Edition'' [CD and DVD] - MegaStar

2006: ''Ya Salam: Collector's Edition'' [CD and DVD] - MegaStar

2007: ''Shakhbat Shakhabit'' [DVD]

2007: ''ElDonya Helwa - Live'' [Live CD]

2008: ''The Best of Nancy Clips'' [DVD]

2008: ''Greatest Hits'' [Compilation CD] - EMI

2009: ''Awwel Marra'' [Old Live Songs CD] - Artline Music

Non-album singles

Nancy released several songs dedicated to special countries in the Arab world, starting with "Kuwait alShahama" in 2005. In early 2006, she released a single, "Ana Masry" ("I am Egyptian"), timed to coincide with Egypt's hosting and winning of the African Cup of Nations football tournament, taking it by storm. Its video showed Egyptians representing the diversity of the country lip-sync the patriotic lyrics of the song. Nancy also released a song for the rival Egyptian soccer teams "Ahly and Zamalek", being the first to do so after Sabah. Nancy released a sensual song for Lebanon called "Habib elOmr" composed by Ziad Boutrous, which preceded the 2006 Lebanese war. After the 2007 "Nahr el Bared" war, Nancy dedicated a song composed by Samir Sfeir to the Lebanese Army, called "Khalleek Bwejj elGhadab".

2005 "Kuwait Al Shahama"

2005 "Ana Masry"

2005 "Agbal" - (released in "Afdal Ma Endana" UAE compilation album)

2006 "Ahli w Zamalek"

2006 "Habib el Omr"

2007 "Bwejj el Ghadab"

2007 "El Dunya Helwa" [Coke Single] - (featured in Live performances album)

2009 "Ya Rab Tikbar Mila"

2009 "Efta7 Albak Tefra7" [Coke Single] - (released on Coke official website)

2010 "Masr el Ma7rousa"

2010 "Salemoli 3alaih"

2011 "Wahshani Ya Masr Moot"

2011 "7adri La3bek"

2011 "papa Porto"

Group works

2003 ''Il7a2ni'' (Follow Me) for the Lebanese Marathon, featuring Haifa Wehbe, Dina Hayek, Joe Ashkar, and Yuri Mrakadi.

2005 ''La Ma Khelset El Hekaya'' (It's Not Over) after the assassination of late president Rafiq elHariri, featuring Nawal elZoghbi, Haifa Wehbe, Wael Kfoury, Sabah, Maya Nasri, and many others.

2008 ''ElDhameer el 3arabi'' (The Arab Conscience) the sequel to the well-known "elHelm al3arabi" along with more than 100 artists including Wadih elSafi, Assala, Latifa, and Cheb Khaled.

Soundtracks

Ramadan 2009: ''Ibn elArandaly''

''Intro:'' "Ya Ibn el Arandaly"

''Outro:'' "Kol elHekaya"

Ramadan 2011: "Samara"

intro: "Samara"

outro: "Samara"

Global Coke slogans

Coca-Cola Middle East have always incorporated International Coke slogans into pan-Arab campaigns with Nancy. In 2007, Coca-Cola released their international trademark campaign of their popular slogan "The Coke Side of Life", which focused on themes such as fun, happiness, colors, and life. A collaboration with Nancy Ajram lead to the making of the song "El Donya Helwa" (The World is Beautiful) for which a commercial was filmed with an American director on international standards and hi-tech effects. Nancy insisted on filming in Lebanon which had been hit by war a while back. "El Donya Helwa" is considered Coca-Cola Middle East's and Nancy Ajram's most successful commercial to date; the single became one of Ajram's most successful songs, leading to its release as a single track in a "Live" album with live performances from her last studio album Atabtab.

In 2009, as the campaign was sequeled internationally with "Open Happiness", Coke Middle East and Nancy released "Eftah Albak Tefrah". However, due to Nancy's pregnancy and giving birth, she was unable to participate in the print or TV campaigns that year and the song was used on the International commercial instead. A website was launched for that campaign entitled "Eftah Tefrah".

In 2010, Coca Cola released an Arabic version of Wavin' Flag originally by K'naan. The Arabic version "Wavin' Flag / Shagga' Bi Alamak Da" (In Arabic شجّع بعلمك ده) has Nancy Ajram featuring K'naan and meant for pan-Arab promotion of 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa.

Videography

"Sheel Ouyounak Anni" "Akhasmak Ah" "Ah w Noss" "Ya Tabtab Wa Dalla" rowspan="5" rowspan="4"

+ Official Music Videos
Year	Title	Album	Director
1998	"Mihtagalak"	''Mihtagalak''
2001	|	Sheel Oyoonak Anni>Sheel Ouyounak Anni''	Guy Zahlan
2002	|rowspan="3"	Ya Salam...'' ||rowspan="5"> Nadine Labaki
rowspan="2"	2003	"Ya Salam"
"Sehr Oyouno" (Yey)
	|rowspan="4"| "Ah w Noss"
"Lawn Ouyounak"
	"Oul Tany Kida"
"Inta Eih"	Nadine Labaki
rowspan="4"		2006		''Ya Tabtab..Wa Dallaa''
"Moegaba"	Harry Rankin, Mike Lipscombe
"Ana Yalli"	Pascale D'Ash
"Ehsas Jdeed"	Said elMarouk
rowspan="3"	2007	"Elli Kan"
"Mishtaga Leik"
"Shakhbat Shakhabit" (ft. Katkouta, Shater, Eid Milad)				[Children's Album]	Said elMarouk
	"Risala Ilal Aalam"
"Betfakkar Fi Eih"	''Betfakkar Fi Eih?!'' || rowspan="2"|Said elMarouk
"Min Dally Nseek"
	"Lamset Eed"
"Ibn elGiran"	Mike Harris
"Mashi Haddi"	Leila Kanaan
rowspan="3"	2010	"Shaggaa' Be Alamak" (Wavin' Flag)(with K'Naan) ||	Single	Codirector: Leila Kanaan
"Fi Hagat"	7||Nadine Labaki
"Sheikh El Shabab"	Leila Kanaan
2011	"Ya Kether"
		Commercials and Official music videos	Coca-Cola and Sony Ericsson and Damas Jewelry. Nancy remained the only Arab star promoting Coke until late 2007 when Egyptian sensations Mohammed Hamaki and Tamer Hosni joined in as well, as she still remains the only female. Coca-Cola and Nancy formed a great team since five years making commercials and music videos that stood out in the Arab world, synchronising local campaigns with Nancy Ajram#Global Coke slogans>worldwide slogans.

Concert Tickle, Munroe, WinkMoegaba Coke BottleElDonya Helwa Have a CokeMeen Ghayri Ana? ''Noss elKawn''Eftah Albak TefrahShaggaa' Be Alamak (Wavin' Flag)

+ Middle East Coke Campaigns
width =	Year	Coke Hit	Theme	# of Ads	Campaign
	Oul Tany Kida	|	3	TV,MV,print
Instrumental:'' Lawn Ouyounak''	|	3	TV,print
rowspan=2	2006	|	Circus	1	TV,MV,print
Ashtiki Minno	|	1	TV
rowspan=2	2007	|	The Coke Side of Life	1	TV,print
-
2008	|	Live on the Coke Side of Life	3	TV,MV,print
2009	|Open Happiness|
2010	|2010 FIFA World Cup|

DAMAS's youth-inspired set called "Farfasha", which are gold collections from the World Gold Council said to be chosen by Nancy herself, was promoted by her in three different campaigns. Each campaign had a new collection for the set and a song, commercial, and music video, starting with "Ana Yalli", then "Elli Kan" from Atabtab, and last with "Ibn elGiran" from Betfakkar fi eih?!.

A survey by Sony Ericsson where Nancy was named the most popular Arab star led them into signing a deal with her as their celebrity spokesperson. The company co-sponsored the release of her best-selling album Bitfakkar Fi Eih. In Febrauary 2009 the W595i phone was officially released with a Nancy special edition kit that held her signature on the back of the phone, a free copy of her album and ringtones of her songs. This was accompanied by print advertising, a press conference in Dubai, as well as a commercial set in March 2009 that featured Nancy and the song "Wana Ben Idek" from her best-selling album Bitfakkar Fi Eih.

References

External links

Nancy Ajram Official Website

Fiascos affect Arab music awards, 17 May 2004 BBC (Ajram voted best newcomer)

Arab youth revel in pop revolution by Sebastian Usher, 21 May 2007, BBC

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Lebanese Christians Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from Lebanon Category:Lebanese female singers Category:UNICEF people Category:World Music Awards winners Category:Lebanese artists

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