Faith is confidence or trust in a person or entity. Depending on the religion, faith is belief in a single god or multiple gods or in the doctrines or teachings of the religion. Informal usage of faith can be quite broad, including trust or belief without proof, and "faith" is often used as a substitute for "hope", "trust" or "belief".

Some critics of faith have argued that faith is opposed to reason. In contrast, some advocates of faith argue that the proper domain of faith concerns questions which cannot be settled by evidence. This is exemplified by attitudes about the future, which (by definition) has not yet occurred. Logical reasoning may proceed from any set of assumptions, positive or negative. In this view, faith is simply a positive assumption.

Etymology

The English word is thought to date from 1200–50, from the Middle English ''feith'', via Anglo-French ''fed'', Old French ''feid'', ''feit'' from Latin ''fidem'', accusative of ''fidēs'' (trust), akin to ''fīdere'' (to trust).

Epistemological validity of faith

There is a wide spectrum of opinion with respect to the epistemological validity of faith. On one extreme is logical positivism, which denies the validity of any beliefs held by faith; on the other extreme is fideism, which holds that true belief can only arise from faith, because reason and physical evidence cannot lead to truth. Some foundationalists, such as St. Augustine of Hippo and Alvin Plantinga, hold that all of our beliefs rest ultimately on beliefs accepted by faith. Others, such as C.S. Lewis, hold that faith is merely the virtue by which we hold to our reasoned ideas, despite moods to the contrary.

William James believed that the varieties of religious experiences should be sought by psychologists, because they represent the closest thing to a microscope of the mind—that is, they show us in drastically enlarged form the normal processes of things. For a useful interpretation of human reality, to share faith experience he said that we must each make certain "over-beliefs" in things which, while they cannot be proven on the basis of experience, help us to live fuller and better lives.

Fideism

Fideism is not a synonym for religious belief, but describes a particular philosophical proposition in regard to the relationship between faith's appropriate jurisdiction at arriving at truths, contrasted against reason. It states that faith is needed to determine some philosophical and religious truths, and it questions the ability of reason to arrive at all truth. The word and concept had its origin in the mid- to late-19th century by way of Catholic thought, in a movement called Traditionalism. The Roman Catholic Magisterium has, however, repeatedly condemned fideism.

Faith in world religions

Bahá'í Faith

In the Bahá'í Faith, faith is ultimately the acceptance of the divine authority of the Manifestations of God. In the religion's view, faith and knowledge are both required for spiritual growth. Faith involves more than outward obedience to this authority, but also must be based on a deep personal understanding of religious teachings.

By faith is meant, first, conscious knowledge, and second, the practice of good deeds.

Buddhism

Faith (Pali: ''Saddhā'', Sanskrit: ''Śraddhā'') is an important constituent element of the teachings of Gautama Buddha— in both the Theravada and the Mahayana traditions. The teachings of Buddha were originally recorded in the language Pali and the word ''saddhā'' is generally translated as "faith". In the teachings, saddhā is often described as:

a conviction that something is

a determination to accomplish one's goals

a sense of joy deriving from the other two

While faith in Buddhism does not imply "blind faith", Buddhist faith nevertheless requires a degree of faith and belief, primarily in the spiritual attainment of Gautama Buddha. Faith in Buddhism centers on the understanding that the Buddha is an Awakened being, on his superior role as teacher, in the truth of his Dharma (spiritual teachings), and in his Sangha (community of spiritually developed followers). Faith in Buddhism can be summarised as faith in the Three Jewels: the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. It is intended to lead to the goal of enlightenment, or bodhi, and Nirvana. Volitionally, faith implies a resolute and courageous act of will. It combines the steadfast resolution that one will do a thing with the self-confidence that one can do it.

As a counter to any form of "blind faith", the Buddha's teachings included those included in the Kalama Sutra, exhorting his disciples to investigate any teaching and to live by what is learnt and accepted, rather than believing in something simply because it is taught.

Christianity

Faith in Christianity is based in and on the work and teachings of Jesus Christ. In this way Christianity declares not to be distinguished by its faith, but by the object of its faith. Faith is an act of trust or reliance. Rather than being passive, faith leads to an active life aligned with the ideals and the example of the one being trusted. It sees the mystery of God and his grace and seeks to know and become obedient to God. To a Christian; faith is not static but causes one to learn more of God and grow; it has its origin in God.

In Christianity faith causes change as it seeks a greater understanding of God. Faith is not fideism or simple obedience to a set of rules or statements. Before the Christian has faith, they must understand in whom and in what they have faith. Without understanding, there cannot be true faith and that understanding is built on the foundation of the community of believers, the scriptures and traditions and on the personal experiences of the believer. In English translations of the New Testament, the word faith generally corresponds to the Greek noun πίστις (''pistis'') or the Greek verb πιστεύω (''pisteuo''), meaning "to trust, to have confidence, faithfulness, to be reliable, to assure".

The Bible (Hebrews 11) says that faith is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Ethical Culture

Ethical Culture is a humanist religion that centers on living an ethical life. With its emphasis on human worth and dignity, it asks that all actions elicit the best in others in order to bring out the best in the self. The faith is in the interrelatedness of all people and in an improvable future in this world.

Hinduism

''Śrāddha'' (ITRANS: shraddhA) is translated as faith in Sanskrit. All schools of Hindu philosophy posit that consciousness (''ātman'') is distinct and independent from mind and matter (''prakṛti''). Therefore, Hindu faith is based on the premise that logic and reason are not conclusive methods of epistemic knowing. Spiritual practice (''sadhana'') is performed with the faith that knowledge beyond the mind and sense perception will be revealed to the practitioner.

The schools of Hindu philosophy differ in their recommended methods to cultivate faith, including selfless action (''karma-yoga''), renunciation (''jnana-yoga'') and devotion (''bhakti-yoga'').

In chapter 17 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna describes how faith, influenced by the three modes (''guṇa''s) lead to different approaches in worship, diet, sacrifice, austerity and charity.

Swami Tripurari states:

Faith for good reason arises out of the mystery that underlies the very structure and nature of reality, a mystery that in its entirety will never be entirely demystified despite what those who have placed reason on their altar might like us to believe. The mystery of life that gives rise to faith as a supra-rational means of unlocking life's mystery—one that reason does not hold the key to—suggests that faith is fundamentally rational in that it is a logical response to the mysterious.

Islam

In Islam, faith (''iman'') is complete submission to the will of God, which includes belief, profession and the body's performance of deeds, consistent with the commission as vicegerent on Earth, all according to God's will.

Iman has two aspects:

Recognizing and affirming that there is one Creator of the universe and only to this Creator is worship due. According to Islamic thought, this comes naturally because faith is an instinct of the human soul. This instinct is then trained via parents or guardians into specific religious or spiritual paths. Likewise, the instinct may not be guided at all.

Willingness and commitment to submitting that God exists, and to His prescriptions for living in accordance with vicegerency. The Qur'an is the dictation of God's prescriptions through Prophet Muhammad and is believed to have updated and completed the previous revelations that God sent through earlier prophets.

In the Qur'an, it is stated that (2:62): "Surely, those who believe, those who are Muslims, Jewish, the Christians, and the Sabians; anyone who (1) believes in GOD, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve."

Judaism

Faith itself is not a religious concept in Judaism. Although Judaism does recognize the positive value of ''Emunah'' (generally translated as faith, trust in God) and the negative status of the ''Apikorus'' (heretic), faith is not as stressed or as central as it is in other religions, especially as it is in the faith-possessed Christendom. It could be a necessary means for being a practicing religious Jew, but the emphasis is placed on practice rather than on faith itself. Very rarely does it relate to any teaching that must be believed. Classical Judaism does not require one to explicitly identify God (a key tenet of faith in Christianity), but rather to honour the idea of God.

In the Jewish scriptures trust in God - Emunah - refers to how God acts toward his people and how they are to respond to him; it is rooted in the everlasting covenant established in the Torah, notably Deuteronomy 7:9 (The Torah - A Modern Commentary; Union of American Hebrew Congregations, NY 1981 by W. G. Plaut)

"Know, therefore, that only the LORD your God is God, the steadfast God who keeps His gracious covenant to the thousandth generation of those who love Him and keep His commandments"

The specific tenets that compose required belief and their application to the times have been disputed throughout Jewish history. Today many, but not all, Orthodox Jews have accepted Maimonides' Thirteen Principles of Belief. For a wide history of this dispute see: Shapiro, Marc: ''The Limits of Orthodox Theology: Maimonides' Thirteen Principles Reappraised'' (Littman Library of Jewish Civilization (Series).)

A traditional example of Emunah as seen in the Jewish annals is found in the person of Abraham. On a number of occasions, Abraham both accepts statements from God that seem impossible and offers obedient actions in response to direction from God to do things that seem implausible (see Genesis 12-15).

"The Talmud describes how a thief also believes in G‑d: On the brink of his forced entry, as he is about to risk his life—and the life of his victim—he cries out with all sincerity, 'G‑d help me!' The thief has faith that there is a G‑d who hears his cries, yet it escapes him that this G‑d may be able to provide for him without requiring that he abrogate G‑d’s will by stealing from others. For emunah to affect him in this way he needs study and contemplation."

Sikh

Sikhism, the fifth-largest organized religion in the world, was founded in 15th-century Punjab on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev and ten successive Sikh gurus, the last one being the sacred text Guru Granth Sahib. The core philosophy of the Sikh religion is described in the beginning hymn of the Guru Granth Sahib, }}

Guru Nanak, the founder of the faith, summed up the basis of Sikh lifestyle in three requirements: ''Nām Japō'' (meditate on the holy name (Waheguru), ''Kirat karō'' (work diligently and honestly) and ''Vaṇḍ chakkō'' (share one's fruits).

Faith in other spiritual traditions

Meher Baba

Meher Baba described three types of faith, emphasizing the importance of faith in a spiritual master:

"One of the most important qualifications for the aspirant is faith. There are three kinds of faith: (i) faith in oneself, (ii) faith in the Master and (iii) faith in life. Faith is so indispensable to life that unless it is present in some degree, life itself would be impossible. It is because of faith that cooperative and social life becomes possible. It is faith in each other that facilitates a free give and take of love, a free sharing of work and its results. When life is burdened with unjustified fear of one another it becomes cramped and restricted....Faith in the Master becomes all-important because it nourishes and sustains faith in oneself and faith in life in the very teeth of set-backs and failures, handicaps and difficulties, limitations and failings. Life, as man knows it in himself, or in most of his fellow-men, may be narrow, twisted and perverse, but life as he sees it in the Master is unlimited, pure and untainted. In the Master, man sees his own ideal realised; the Master is what his own deeper self would rather be. He sees in the Master the reflection of the best in himself which is yet to be, but which he will surely one day attain. Faith in the Master therefore becomes the chief motive-power for realising the divinity which is latent in man."

Nisargadatta Maharaj

Nisargadatta Maharaj makes a number of comments on faith in the book I Am That, for instance:- " There are teachers who deny faith and trust reason only. Actually it is not faith they deny, but blind beliefs. Faith is not blind. It is the willingness to try"

Support of faith

Religious epistemologists have formulated and defended reasons for the rationality of accepting belief in God without the support of an argument. Some religious epistemologists hold that belief in God is more analogous to belief in a person than belief in a scientific hypothesis. Human relations demand trust and commitment. If belief in God is more like belief in other persons, then the trust that is appropriate to persons will be appropriate to God. American psychologist and philosopher William James offers a similar argument in his lecture ''The Will to Believe.'' Foundationalism is a view about the structure of justification or knowledge. Foundationalism holds that all knowledge and justified belief are ultimately based upon what are called properly basic beliefs. This position is intended to resolve the infinite regress problem in epistemology. According to foundationalism, a belief is epistemically justified only if it is justified by properly basic beliefs. One of the significant developments in foundationalism is the rise of reformed epistemology.

Reformed epistemology is a view about the epistemology of religious belief, which holds that belief in God can be properly basic. Analytic philosophers Alvin Plantinga and Nicholas Wolterstorff develop this view. Plantinga holds that an individual may rationally believe in God even though the individual does not possess sufficient evidence to convince an agnostic. One difference between reformed epistemology and fideism is that the former requires defence against known objections, whereas the latter might dismiss such objections as irrelevant. Plantinga has developed reformed epistemology in ''Warranted Christian Belief'' as a form of externalism that holds that the justification conferring factors for a belief may include external factors. Some theistic philosophers have defended theism by granting evidentialism but supporting theism through deductive arguments whose premises are considered justifiable. Some of these arguments are probabilistic, either in the sense of having weight but being inconclusive, or in the sense of having a mathematical probability assigned to them. Notable in this regard are the cumulative arguments presented by British philosopher Basil Mitchell and analytic philosopher Richard Swinburne, whose arguments are based on Bayesian probability. In a notable exposition of his arguments, Swinburne appeals to an inference for the best explanation.

Criticism

Some critics argue that religious faith is irrational and see faith as ignorance of reality: a strong belief in something with no evidence and sometimes a strong belief in something even with evidence against it. Bertrand Russell noted, "Where there is evidence, no one speaks of 'faith'. We do not speak of faith that two and two are four or that the earth is round. We only speak of faith when we wish to substitute emotion for evidence." In the rationalist view, belief should be restricted to direct observation in the past and present.

Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins criticizes all faith by generalizing from specific faith in propositions that conflict directly with scientific evidence. He describes faith as mere belief without evidence; a process of active non-thinking. He states that it is a practice that only degrades our understanding of the natural world by allowing anyone to make a claim about nature that is based solely on their personal thoughts, and possibly distorted perceptions, that does not require testing against nature, has no ability to make reliable and consistent predictions, and is not subject to peer review.

See also

Apostasy

Crisis of faith

Delusion

Dogma

Faith and rationality

Faith, Hope, and Charity

Fowler's stages of faith development

Incorrigibility

Lectures on Faith

Life stance

Major world religions

Numinous

Pascal's Wager

Rationalism

Religion

Religious belief

Religious conversion

Simple church

Spectrum of Theistic Probability

St. Faith

There are no atheists in foxholes

Truthiness

World view

Notes

Further reading

Sam Harris, ''The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason'', W. W. Norton (2004), hardcover, 336 pages, ISBN 0-393-03515-8

Stephen Palmquist, "Faith as Kant's Key to the Justification of Transcendental Reflection", The Heythrop Journal 25:4 (October 1984), pp. 442–455. Reprinted as Chapter V in Stephen Palmquist, Kant's System of Perspectives (Lanham: University Press of America, 1993).

D. Mark Parks, "Faith/Faithfulness" ''Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary''. Eds. Chad Brand, Charles Draper, Archie England. Nashville: Holman Publishers, 2003.

Marbaniang, Domenic, ''Explorations of Faith''. 2009.

Poetry & Spirituality

''On Faith and Reason'' by Swami Tripurari

Baba, Meher: ''Discourses'', San Francisco: Sufism Reoriented, 1967.

Classic reflections on the nature of faith

Martin Buber, ''I and Thou''

Paul Tillich, ''The Dynamics of Faith''

The Reformation view of faith

John Calvin, ''The Institutes of the Christian Religion''

R.C. Sproul, ''Faith Alone''

External links

Epistemics of Divine Reality, Studies in Rationalism, Empiricism, and Fideism

Faith in Judaism chabad.org

Pew Research Center Reports on Religion

Faith News & Religion | Times Online Articles and comment about faith issues and religion from The Times

Category:Belief Category:Spirituality Category:Religious belief and doctrine

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name	George Michael
background	solo_singer
birth name	Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou
birth date	June 25, 1963
birth place	East Finchley, North London, England
instrument	Vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, piano, keyboards, drums, percussion
genre	Pop rock, New Wave, synthpop, blue-eyed soul
occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer
years active	1980–present
label	Columbia, Sony, Aegean Records
associated acts	Wham!, Band Aid, Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, Mutya Buena, Whitney Houston, Jody Watley
influences	Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Aretha Franklin, Paul Young, The Temptations, Queen, Marvin Gaye
website
notable instruments	Piano''John Lennon'' model "Z" Steinway }}

George Michael [born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (); 25 June 1963) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Michael rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley. His first solo single, "Careless Whisper", was released when he was still in the duo and sold about six million copies worldwide.

As one of the world's best-selling music artists, Michael has sold more than 100 million records worldwide as of 2010. His 1987 debut solo album, ''Faith'', has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and made several records and achievements in the United States. Michael has garnered seven number one singles in the UK and eight number one hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US. In 2008, ''Billboard'' magazine ranked Michael the 40th most successful artist on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists list.

Michael has won numerous music awards throughout his 30-year career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male twice, four MTV Video Music Awards, four Ivor Novello Awards, three American Music Awards, and two Grammy Awards from eight nominations.

In 2004, the Radio Academy named Michael as the most played artist on British radio between the period of 1984–2004. The documentary ''A Different Story'' was released in 2005; it covered his personal life and professional career. In 2006, George Michael announced his first tour in 15 years. The 25 Live tour was a massive, worldwide undertaking by Michael, spanning three individual tours over the course of three years (2006, 2007 and 2008).

Early life

Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in East Finchley, North London. His father, Kyriacos Panayiotou, a Greek Cypriot restaurateur, moved to England in the 1950s and changed his name to Jack Panos. Michael's mother, Lesley Angold (née Harrison, 1937–1997), was an English dancer who died from cancer in Fulham. His maternal grandmother was Jewish, but hid that fact from her children during World War II for fear of persecution. Michael spent the majority of his childhood in North London, in the home his parents bought soon after his birth. While in his early teens, the family moved to Radlett. There Michael attended the Bushey Meads School, where he met Andrew Ridgeley. The two had the same career ambition of being musicians. George Michael lived in Kingsbury NW9 and use to play in Roe Green Park, he attended Kingsbury High School. His father still owns a restaurant in Edgware called Mr Jack's. When Wham! reached No. 1 in the UK, the duo had a party at the restaurant.

George Michael used to be seen in Kingsbury as a child playing with his sisters outside Boots.

His involvement in the music business began with his working as a DJ, playing at clubs and local schools around Bushey, Stanmore and Watford. This was followed by the formation of a short-lived ska band called The Executive with Ridgeley, Ridgeley's brother Paul, Andrew Leaver, and David Mortimer (aka David Austin).

Musical career

1981–1986: Wham!

Michael first found success after forming the duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley in 1981. The band's first album ''Fantastic'' reached no. 1 in the UK and produced a series of top 10 singles including "Young Guns (Go For It!)", "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" and "Club Tropicana". Their second album, ''Make It Big'', was the breakthrough that made the duo international superstars, reaching No. 1 on the charts in the US Singles from that album included "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Freedom", "Everything She Wants", and "Careless Whisper", the latter of which was Michael's first solo effort as a single.

Michael sang on the original Band Aid recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and donated the profits from "Last Christmas/Everything She Wants" to charity. In addition, he contributed background vocals to David Cassidy's 1985 hit "The Last Kiss", as well as Elton John's 1985 successes "Nikita" and "Wrap Her Up". Michael cited Cassidy as a major career influence and interviewed Cassidy for David Litchfield's prestigious Ritz Newspaper.

Wham!'s tour of China in April 1985, the first visit to China by a Western popular music act, generated enormous worldwide media coverage, much of it centred on Michael. The tour was documented by celebrated film director Lindsay Anderson and producer Martin Lewis in their film ''Foreign Skies: Wham! In China'' and contributed to Michael's ever-increasing fame.

With the success of Michael's solo singles, "Careless Whisper" (1984) and "A Different Corner" (1986), rumours of an impending break up of Wham! intensified. The duo officially separated during the summer of 1986, after releasing a farewell single, "The Edge of Heaven" and a singles compilation, ''The Final'', plus a sell-out concert at Wembley Stadium that included the world premiere of the China film. The Wham! partnership ended officially with the commercially successful single "The Edge of Heaven", which reached no.1 on the UK chart in June 1986.

Solo career

The beginning of his solo career, during early 1987, was a duet with soul music icon Aretha Franklin. "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" was a one-off project that helped Michael achieve an ambition by singing with one of his favourite artists, and it scored number one on both the UK Singles Chart and the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 upon its release.

For Michael, it became his third consecutive solo number one in the UK from three releases, after 1984's "Careless Whisper" (though the single was actually from the Wham! album ''Make It Big'') and 1986's "A Different Corner". The single was also the first Michael had recorded as a solo artist which he had not written himself. The co-writer, Simon Climie, was unknown at the time, although he would have success as a performer with the band Climie Fisher in 1988. Michael and Aretha Franklin won a Grammy Award in 1988 for Best R&B; Performance – Duo or Group with Vocal for the song.

1987–1989: ''Faith''

During the autumn of 1987, Michael released his first solo album, ''Faith''. In addition to playing a large number of instruments on the album, he wrote and produced every track on the recording, except for one, which he co-wrote.

The first single released from the album was "I Want Your Sex", during the summer of 1987. The song was banned by many radio stations in the UK and US, due to its sexually suggestive lyrics. MTV would broadcast the video, featuring celebrity make-up artist Kathy Jeung in a basque and suspenders, only during the late night hours. Michael argued that the act was beautiful if the sex was monogamous. Michael even recorded a brief prologue for the video in which he said: "This song is not about casual sex." One of the racier scenes involved Michael writing the words "explore monogamy" on his partner's back in lipstick. Some radio stations played a toned-down version of the song, "I Want Your Love," which was mainly the word "love" replacing "sex." When the tune reached the US charts, ''American Top 40'' host Casey Kasem refused to say the song's title, referring to it only as "the new single by George Michael."

Despite censorship and radio play problems, "I Want Your Sex" reached No.2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart and at No.3 in Britain.

The second single, "Faith", was released during October 1987, just a few weeks before the album. "Faith" would become one of his most popular songs. The song hit No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and maintained that position for four consecutive weeks. It also reached no.2 in the UK Singles Chart. The famous video provided some definitive images of the 1980s music industry in the process—Michael in shades, leather jacket, cowboy boots, and Levi's jeans, playing a guitar near a classic-design jukebox. On 30 October, Faith was released in the UK and in several markets worldwide. In the United States, the album had 51 non-consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of ''Billboard'' 200, including 12 weeks at no.1. "Faith" had many successes, four of which ("Faith", "Father Figure", "One More Try", and "Monkey") reached no. 1. Eventually, "Faith" received Diamond certification by the RIAA for sales of 10 million copies in the US. To date, global sales of ''Faith'' are more than 25 million units.

In 1988, Michael embarked on a world tour. The nightly set list included from the Wham! era "Everything She Wants" and "I'm Your Man", as well as covers of "Lady Marmalade" or "Play That Funky Music". In Los Angeles, California, Michael was joined on stage by Aretha Franklin for "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)". It was the second highest grossing event of 1988, earning $17.7 million. According to Michael in his film, ''A Different Story'', success did not make him happy and he started to think there was something wrong in being an idol for millions of teenage girls. The whole ''Faith'' process (promotion, videos, tour, awards) left him exhausted, lonely and frustrated, and far from his friends and family. At the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, Michael received the Video Vanguard Award. In 1990, he told his record company Sony that, for his second album, he did not want to do promotions like the one for Faith.

1990–1992: ''Listen Without Prejudice''

''Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1'' was released in September 1990. For this album, Michael tried to create a new reputation as a serious-minded artist; the title is an indication of his desire to be taken more seriously as a songwriter. Michael refused to make any kind of promotion for this album, including no music videos for the singles released. The first single, "Praying for Time", was released in August 1990. It concerned social ills and injustice; the song was an instant success, reaching No. 6 in the UK and No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, despite the absence of a video. A video was released shortly thereafter, consisting of the lyrics on a dark background. Michael did not appear in this video or any subsequent videos for the album.

The second single "Waiting for That Day" was an acoustic-heavy single, released as an immediate follow-up to "Praying For Time". It reached No. 27 in the US and No. 23 in the UK in October 1990. The album was released in Europe on 3 September 1990 (and one week later in the United States). It reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart and peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200. It spent a total of 88 weeks on the UK Albums Chart and was certified 4 times Platinum by the BPI. The album produced 5 UK singles, which were released quickly, within an at eight-month period: "Praying for Time", "Waiting for That Day", "Freedom! '90", "Heal the Pain", and "Cowboys and Angels" (the latter being his only single not to chart in the UK top 40).

"Freedom '90" was the second of only two of its singles to be supported by a music video (the other being the Michael-less "Praying for Time"). The song alludes to his struggles with his artistic identity, and prophesied his efforts shortly thereafter to end his recording contract with Sony Music. As if to prove the song's sentiment, Michael refused to appear in the video (directed by David Fincher), and instead recruited supermodels Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz, and Cindy Crawford to appear in and lip sync in his stead. It also featured the reduction of his sex symbol status. It had contrasting fortunes on each side of the Atlantic—a No.8 success on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US, but only No.28 on the UK Singles Chart. "Mother's Pride" gained significant radio play in the United States during the first Persian Gulf War during 1991, often with radio stations mixing in callers' tributes to soldiers with the music. It reached No.46 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with only airplay. In the end, ''Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1'' sold approximately 8 million copies.

In 1991, George Michael embarked on the "Cover to Cover Tour" in Japan, England, the US, and Brazil, where he performed at the "Rock in Rio" event. In the audience in Rio, he saw and later met Anselmo Feleppa, the man who would become his partner. The tour was not a proper promotion for ''Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1''. Rather, it was more about Michael singing his favourite cover songs. Among his favourites was "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", a 1974 song by Elton John; Michael and John had performed the song together at the Live Aid concert in 1985, and again for Michael's concert at London's Wembley Arena on 25 March 1991, where the duet was recorded. The single was released at the end of 1991 and became a success on both sides of the Atlantic.

In the meantime, the expected follow-up album, ''Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 2'', was scrapped due to Michael's lawsuit with Sony. Among Michael's complaints was that Sony had not completely supported the release of his second album, resulting in its poor performance in the US as compared to ''Faith''. Sony responded that Michael's refusal to appear in promotional videos had caused the bad response. Michael ended the idea for ''Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 2'' and donated three songs to the charity project ''Red Hot + Dance'', for the Red Hot Organization which raised money for AIDS awareness, while a fourth track "Crazyman Dance" was the B-side of 1992's "Too Funky". Michael donated the royalties from "Too Funky" to the same cause. The song did not appear on any George Michael studio album, although later it was included on his solo collections ''Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael'' in 1998 and ''Twenty Five'' in 2006. The video featured Michael (sporadically) as a director filming supermodels Linda Evangelista, Beverly Peele, Estelle Lefébure and Nadja Auermann at a fashion show. "Too Funky" was a success, reaching number 4 in the UK singles chart and number 10 in the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

1993: ''Five Live''

George Michael performed at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert on 20 April 1992 at London's Wembley Stadium. The concert was a tribute to the life of the late Queen frontman, Freddie Mercury, with some proceeds going to AIDS research. Michael performed "'39" and "Somebody to Love". The performance of the latter was released on the "Five Live" EP.

''Five Live'', released in 1993 for Parlophone in the UK and Hollywood Records in the US, features five—and in some countries, six—tracks performed by George Michael, Queen, and Lisa Stansfield."Somebody to Love" and "These Are the Days of Our Lives" were recorded at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. "Killer", "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", and "Calling You" were all live performances recorded during his "Cover to Cover Tour" from 1991. Michael's performances of "Somebody to Love" was hailed as "one of best performances of the tribute concert". The idea of having George Michael take over as full-time lead singer of Queen was even given serious consideration.

All proceeds from the sale of the EP benefited the Mercury Phoenix Trust. Sales of the EP were very strong through Europe, where it debuted at number 1 in the UK and several European countries. Chart success in the United States was less spectacular, where it peaked at number 40 on the ''Billboard'' 200 ("Somebody to Love" reached No.30 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100).

1994–1997: ''Older''

During November 1994, after a long period of seclusion, George Michael appeared at the first MTV Europe Music Awards show, where he gave a touching performance of a brand-new song, "Jesus to a Child". The song was a melancholy tribute to his lover, Anselmo Feleppa, who had died in March 1993.

The song was Michael's first self-penned success in his homeland in almost four years; it entered the UK singles chart at No. 1 and No. 7 on ''Billboard'' in the same month of release. It was also Michael's longest UK Top 40 single, at almost seven minutes long. The exact identity of the song's subject—and the nature of Michael's relationship with Feleppa—was shrouded in innuendo and speculation, as Michael had not confirmed he was homosexual and did not do so until 1998. The video for "Jesus to a Child" was a picture of images recalling loss, pain and suffering. Michael consistently dedicates the song to Feleppa before performing it live.

The second single, released in April 1996, was "Fastlove", an energetic tune about wanting gratification and fulfilment without commitment. The song was somewhat unusual for a popular song, in that it did not have a defined chorus and that the single version was nearly five minutes long. "Fastlove" was supported by a futuristic virtual reality-related video. It scored No. 1 in the UK singles chart, spending three weeks at the top spot. In the US, "Fastlove" peaked at No. 8, his most recent single to reach the top 10 on the US charts. Following "Fastlove", Michael finally released ''Older'', his first studio album in six years and only the third in his ten year solo career. The album's US and Canada release was particularly notable as it was the first album released by David Geffen's (now-defunct) DreamWorks Records. Older was particularly notable for the release of its six singles. Each of them reached the UK Top 3, a record for the most singles in the British Top 3 released from a single album. At the time of release of the album's fifth single, "Star People '97", chart specialist James Masterton noted George Michael's success on the singles charts, writing: "George Michael nonetheless makes an impressive Top 3 entry with this single. The Older album has now proved itself to be far and away his most commercially successful recording ever. Five singles now lifted and every single one has been a Top 3 hit. Compare this with the two Top 3 hits produced by ''Faith'' and ''Listen Without Prejudice's'' scant total of one Top Tenner and one single which missed the Top 40 altogether. This sustained single success has, of course, been achieved with a little help from marketing tricks such as remixes – or in this case a new recording of the album track which gives it a much-needed transformation into a deserved commercial smash."

In 1996, Michael was voted 'Best British Male', at the MTV Europe Music Awards and the Brit Awards; and at The Ivor Novello Awards, he was awarded the prestigious title of 'Songwriter of The Year' for the third time. Michael performed a concert at Three Mills Studios, London, for ''MTV Unplugged''. It was his first long performance in years, and in the audience was Michael's mother. The next year, she died of cancer.

1998: ''Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael''

''Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael'' was Michael's first solo greatest hits collection released in 1998. The collection of 28 songs (29 songs are included on the European and Australian release) are separated into two halves, with each containing a particular theme and mood. The first CD, titled "For the Heart", predominantly contains Michael's successful ballads, while the second CD, "For the Feet", consists mainly of his popular dance tunes. It was released through Sony Music Entertainment as a condition of severing contractual ties with the label.

The album is notable for containing a large number of compilation tracks and duets that had not previously appeared on his albums, including his duet with Aretha Franklin, "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)"; "Desafinado", a duet in Portuguese with Brazilian legendary singer Astrud Gilberto; and the Elton John duet "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me".

''Ladies & Gentlemen'' was an instant success, peaking at number one on the UK Albums Chart for 8 weeks. It has spent over 200 weeks in the UK Charts, and it is the 38 best-selling album of all time in the UK. It is certified 7 times platinum in the United Kingdom and Multi-Platinum in the United States, and it's George Michael's most commercially successful album in his homeland having sold more than 2.8 million copies. To date, the album has reached worldwide sales of approximately 15 million copies.

The first single of the album, "Outside" was a humorous song about his arrest for soliciting a policeman in a public restroom. "As", his duet with Mary J. Blige, was released as the second single in many territories around the world. Both singles reached the top 5 in the UK Singles Chart.

1999: ''Songs from the Last Century''

''Songs from the Last Century'' is a studio album of cover tracks. It was released in 1999 and was the final George Michael album to be released through Virgin Records. To date, the album has peaked the lowest of his solo effort. The album debuted at number 157 on the American ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart, which was also the album's peak position. It was also his lowest-charting album in the UK, becoming his only solo effort not to reach number 1. It peaked at number 2 in the UK Albums Chart. It consists of old standards, plus new interpretations of more recent popular songs such as "Roxanne", "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"; and the Frank Sinatra classic "Where or When". Each of the 11 tracks was co-produced by Phil Ramone and George Michael.

2000–2005: ''Patience''

Michael began working on what would be his fifth studio album, spending two years in the recording studio. His first single "Freeek!", taken from the new album, was successful in Europe going to number one in Italy, Portugal, Spain and Denmark in 2002 and reaching the top 10 in the UK and the top 5 in Australia. It made 22 charts around the world. However, his next single "Shoot the Dog" proved to be highly controversial when released in July 2002. It was highly critical of George W. Bush and Tony Blair in the leadup to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It reached number one in Denmark and made the top 5 in most European charts. However, in Britain it peaked at only number 12 in the UK Singles Chart.

On 17 November 2003, George Michael re-signed with Sony Music after a legal battle with the company led to his contract being sold to rival record companies Virgin Records and DreamWorks Records. When Michael's fifth studio album, ''Patience'', was released in 2004, it went straight to number 1 on the UK Albums Chart, and became one of the fastest selling albums in the UK, selling over 200,000 copies in the first week alone. In Australia it reached number 2 on 22 March. It reached the Top 5 on most European charts, and peaked at number 12 in the United States, selling over 500,000 copies to earn a Gold certification from the RIAA. Critically acclaimed, it is considered the album of George Michael's comeback to the spotlight in the new millennium, selling around 7 million copies worldwide and spawning four (of six) new hit singles.

"Amazing", the first single off the album, became a number one hit in Europe. When Michael appeared on the ''Oprah Winfrey Show'' on 26 May 2004, to promote the album, he performed "Amazing", along with his classic songs "Father Figure" and "Faith". On the show Michael spoke of his arrest, revealing his homosexuality, and his resumption of public performances. He allowed Oprah's crew inside his home outside of London. The second single taken off the album was "Flawless (Go to the City)", It was a dance hit in Europe as well as North America, reaching no.1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play and became Michael's last number one single on the United States Dance chart. In November, Sony released another single – "Round Here". It was the least successful single taken from ''Patience'' when it stalled the UK charts at no. 32. In 2005, "John and Elvis Are Dead" was released as the final single from the album; it was released as a download single and was therefore unable to chart in the United Kingdom.

George Michael announced that ''Patience'' will be the last record on sale to the public. He told BBC Radio 1 on 10 March 2004 that future music that he puts out will be available for download, with fans encouraged to make a donation to charity.

2005–2008: ''Twenty Five'' and concert tours

''Twenty Five'' was George Michael's second greatest hits album, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his music career. Released in November 2006 by Sony BMG, it debuted at no.1 in the UK.

The album contains songs chiefly from George Michael's solo career but also from his earlier days in Wham! It comes in two formats: two CDs or a limited edition three-CD set. The 2-CD set contained 26 tracks, including four recorded with Wham! and three new songs: "An Easier Affair"; "This Is Not Real Love" (a duet with Mutya Buena, formerly of Sugababes, which peaked at No.15 in the UK Charts); and a new version of "Heal the Pain" recorded with Paul McCartney. The limited edition three-CD version contains an additional 14 lesser known tracks, including one from Wham! and another completely new song, "Understand".

''Twenty Five'' was released in North America on 1 April 2008 as a 29-song, two-CD set featuring several new songs (including duets with Paul McCartney and Mary J. Blige and a song from the short-lived TV series Eli Stone) in addition to many of Michael's successful songs from both his solo and Wham! career. To commemorate the ''Twenty Five'' album, George Michael toured North America for the first time in 17 years, playing large venues in major cities including New York, Los Angeles, St. Paul/Minneapolis, Chicago and Dallas.

The DVD version of ''Twenty Five'' contains 40 videos on two discs, including seven with Wham!.

During the 2005 Live 8 concert, Michael joined Paul McCartney on stage, harmonising on The Beatles classic "Drive My Car". Michael was one of several remixers commissioned in 1990 to work on dance mixes for Bananarama's "Tripping on Your Love". Bananarama covered "Careless Whisper" for their ''Exotica'' album in 2001, and the track was also released as a single in France.

In 2006, Michael started his first tour in 15 years, 25 Live. The tour began in Barcelona, Spain, on 23 September and finished in December at Wembley Arena in England. According to his website, the 80-show tour was seen by 1.3 million fans. On 12 May 2007 in Coimbra, Portugal, he began the European "25 Live Stadium Tour 2007", including London and Athens, and ending on 4 August 2007 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. There were 29 tour dates (as of 21 April 2007) across Europe. On 9 June 2007 Michael became the first artist to perform live at the newly renovated Wembley Stadium in London, where he was later fined £130,000 for overrunning the programme for 13 minutes.

On 25 March 2008 a third part of the 25 Live Tour was announced for North America. This part included 21 dates in the United States and Canada. This was Michael's first tour of North America in 17 years. Following news of Michael's North American tour, ''Twenty Five'' was released in North America on 1 April 2008 as a 29-song, 2-CD set featuring several new songs (including duets with Paul McCartney and Mary J. Blige and a song from the short-lived TV series, ''Eli Stone'') in addition to many of Michael's successful songs from both his solo and Wham! career. In addition, a companion 2-disc DVD of 40 videos was also made available.

Michael made his American acting debut by playing a guardian angel to Jonny Lee Miller's character on ''Eli Stone'', a TV series that was broadcast in the United States. In addition to performing on the show as himself and as "visions", each episode of the show's first season was named after a song of his. Michael appeared on the 2008 finale show of ''American Idol'' on 21 May singing "Praying for Time". When asked what he thought Simon will say of his performance, he replied "I think he'll probably tell me I shouldn't have done a George Michael song. He's told plenty of people that in the past, so I think that'd be quite funny."

On 1 December, Michael played a last concert in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, as part of the 37th National Day Celebrations.

2008–present: Latest projects

On 25 December 2008, Michael released a new track "December Song" on his website for free. It was hoped that fans who download the song would donate money to charity. Though the song is not available any more on his website, it remains available on file sharing networks and on 29 October 2009 the BBC said that George Michael was to join the race for the UK Christmas number one as a remastered version of "December Song" would go on sale on 13 December. The popularity of the single was boosted by a promotional appearance that Michael made on ''The X Factor'', where he performed the song with David Austin playing piano.

At the end of 2009, Michael announced, after months of speculation, that he would be performing shows in the Australian cities of Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, his first concerts in Australia since 1988. On 20 February 2010, Michael performed his first show in Perth at the Burswood dome to an audience of 15,000.

On 5 March 2010, Michael confirmed that he would be a guest performer at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras After Party, where he performed at 1 am, followed by Kelly Rowland at 3 am.

On 2 March 2011 Michael announced the release of his cover version of New Order's 1987 hit "True Faith" in aid of the charity Comic Relief. ''The Guardian'' called his version a "dreary run through a song that now sounds like it's being performed by a depressed Dalek" and questioned whether it was "the worst 'non-comedy' charity single of all time". Michael released a cover of Stevie Wonder's 1972 song, "You and I" on 15 April 2011, as an MP3 gift to Prince William and Catherine Middleton on the occasion of their wedding on 29 April 2011.

Although the MP3 was released for free download, Michael appealed that those who do download the special track that make a contribution to "The Prince William & Miss Catherine Middleton Charitable Gift Fund".

On 11 May 2011, the Symphonica Tour was announced. Only European dates were released. The first show on the tour was performed at the Prague State Opera House on 22 August. In November, he had to cancel the remainder of the tour though, as he became severely ill in Vienna, Austria.

In October 2011, Michael was announced as one of the final nominees for the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.

Michael told fans over Twitter in January 2012 that he did not think his vocal cords would be ready for performance "till the summer", and that the tour will probably take place in September of that year, and may include previously unheard songs. Michael also announced in an interview with OK! magazine in October 2011 that he is working on a dance influenced album.

Personal life

Sexuality

In a 2007 interview, Michael admitted that he had hidden the fact he was gay because of worries over what effect it might have on his mother.

Relationships

Michael established a relationship with Anselmo Feleppa, whom he had met at the 1991 concert Rock in Rio. Feleppa died of a brain haemorrhage in 1993. Michael's single "Jesus to a Child" is a tribute to Feleppa (he consistently dedicates it to him before performing it live), as is his 1996 album ''Older''.

In 1996, Michael entered into a long-term relationship with Kenny Goss, a former cheerleader coach and sportswear executive from Dallas. They had homes in London and Dallas. In late November 2005, it was reported that Michael and Goss would register their relationship as a civil partnership in the UK, but because of negative publicity and his upcoming tour, they postponed it to a later date. On 22 August 2011, the opening night of his Symphonica world tour, Michael announced that he and Goss had split two years earlier. Goss was present at Michael's British sentencing for driving under the influence of marijuana on 14 September 2010.

Anonymous sex

Questions of Michael's sexual orientation persisted in public until 7 April 1998, when he was arrested for "engaging in a lewd act" in a public toilet in a park in Beverly Hills, California. He was arrested by an undercover policeman named Marcelo Rodríguez, in a sting operation using so-called "pretty police."

In an MTV interview, Michael stated: "I got followed into the restroom and then this cop—I didn't know it was a cop, obviously—he started playing this game, which I think is called, 'I'll show you mine, you show me yours, and then when you show me yours, I'm going to nick you!"

After pleading "no contest" to the charge, Michael was fined US$810 and sentenced to 80 hours of community service. Soon afterwards, Michael made a video for his single "Outside" which was obviously based on the public toilet incident and which featured men dressed as policemen kissing. Rodríguez claimed that this video "mocked" him, and that Michael had slandered him in interviews. In 1999, he brought a US$10 million court case in California against the singer. The court dismissed the case, but an Appellate court reinstated the case on 3 December 2002. The court then ruled Rodríguez, as a public official, could not legally recover damages for emotional distress.

After the incident, Michael became explicit about his sexuality and his relationship with Kenny Goss which began in June 1996.

On 23 July 2006. Michael was again accused of engaging in anonymous public sex, this time at London's Hampstead Heath. The anonymous partner was later discovered to be 58-year-old Norman Kirtland, an unemployed van driver. Despite stating that he intended to sue both the ''News of the World'' tabloid who photographed the incident and Norman Kirtland for slander, Michael stated that he cruises for anonymous sex and that this was not an issue in his relationship with partner Kenny Goss.

Drugs

On 26 February 2006, Michael was arrested for possession of Class C drugs, an incident that he described as "my own stupid fault, as usual." He was cautioned by the police and released.

Michael was arrested in Cricklewood, North-West London, after motorists reported a car obstructing the road at traffic lights. He pleaded guilty on 8 May 2007 to driving while unfit through drugs. He was banned from driving for two years, and sentenced to community service.

During September 2007, on ''Desert Island Discs'', he said that his cannabis use was a problem; he wished he could smoke less of it and was constantly trying to do so.

On 19 September 2008, Michael was arrested in a public toilet in the Hampstead Heath area of London for possession of Class A and C drugs. He was taken to the police station and cautioned for controlled substance possession.

On 5 December 2009, in an interview with ''The Guardian'', Michael explained he had cut back on cannabis and now smokes only 'seven or eight' spliffs per day instead of the 25 he used to smoke.

In the early hours of Sunday 4 July 2010 Michael was returning from the Gay Pride parade. The singer was spotted on CCTV driving into the front of a Snappy Snaps store in Hampstead, North London and was arrested on suspicion of being unfit to drive. On 12 August, London's Metropolitan Police said he was "charged with possession of cannabis and with driving while unfit through drink or drugs". Michael had also been taking the prescription medication Amitriptyline.

On 24 August 2010 the singer pleaded guilty at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court in London after admitting driving under the influence of drugs and on 14 September 2010 at the same court, was sentenced to eight weeks in prison, a fine, and a five year ban from driving. Michael was released from Highpoint Prison in Suffolk on 11 October 2010, after serving four weeks. It was reported that Michael had also been taking the prescription medication, Amitriptyline, a sleeping pill.

Politics

Michael wrote "Shoot the Dog", a song critical about the friendly relationship between the American and British governments and their involvement in the Iraq War.

During 2000, Michael joined Melissa Etheridge, Garth Brooks, Queen Latifah, the Pet Shop Boys, and k.d. lang, to perform in Washington, D.C. as part of 'Equality Rocks' – a concert to benefit the Human Rights Campaign.

During 2007, he sent the £1.45 million piano that John Lennon used to write "Imagine" around the United States on a "peace tour," having it on display at places where violence had taken place, such as Dallas' Dealey Plaza, where US President John. F. Kennedy was shot.

He devoted his concert in Sofia, Bulgaria from his "Twenty Five Tour" to the Bulgarian nurses prosecuted in the HIV trial in Libya.

On 17 June 2008, Michael said he was thrilled by California's legalisation of same-sex marriage, calling the move "way overdue."

Charity

During 1984, he sang as part of Band Aid on the charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for famine relief in Ethiopia. This single scored No.1 on the UK music charts over Christmas 1984, holding Michael's own song, "Last Christmas" by Wham!, at #2. Michael donated the royalties from "Last Christmas" to Band Aid and subsequently sang with Elton John at Live Aid (the Band Aid charity concert) in 1985.

In 2003 he paired up with Ronan Keating on the ''Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'' and won £32,000, after having their original £64,000 winnings halved after missing the £125,000 question.

The proceeds from the single "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" were divided among 10 different charities for children, AIDS and education.

Michael is supporting a campaign to help raise US$32 million (GBP15 million) for terminally ill children.

Assets

According to reports, between the years 2006 and 2008, Michael earned £48.5 million ($97 million) from the 25 Live tour alone, as well as earning millions more for private concerts that he periodically does, such as for Billionaire Vladimir Potanin and super rich fashion shop owner Sir Philip Green. According to the Sunday Times Rich List 2011, George Michael is worth £90 million in currency alone.

Memoirs

In 1991 Michael released an autobiography titled "Bare" through Penguin Books, which he co-wrote with writer Tony Parsons. The over 200 page book covers various aspects of his life, including details of his relationship with a former girlfriend. On 16 January 2008, Michael signed a contract with HarperCollins for an autobiography which he is to write "entirely himself".

Health troubles

On 26 October 2011, Michael had to cancel a performance at London's Royal Albert Hall due to viral infection. On 21 November 2011, Michael was admitted to hospital in Vienna after complaining of chest pains at a hotel two hours prior to him performing at a venue there for his Symphonica Tour. Michael was later confirmed to have suffered from pneumonia and until 1 December was in an intensive-care unit. While Michael appeared to be "in good spirits" and was responding well to treatment following his admittance, hospital officials said on 25 November, that Michael's condition had "worsened overnight". This development led to Michael's remaining 2011 dates, most of them in the United Kingdom, being cancelled and postponed. Michael's partner, celebrity hairstylist Fadi Fawaz, told press that Michael's health was improving "by the hour". On 1 December, doctors in the hospital Michael stayed in, announced that the singer was "steadily improving" and had moved out of the intensive care unit. On 21 December 2011, Michael was discharged from the hospital. On 23 December 2011, Michael made a public speech in London about how the staff at the Vienna General Hospital had saved his life and how he was so grateful that he was going to perform a concert for the staff. Whilst making the speech, he became emotional and became breathless. During the speech, he also mentioned he had undergone a tracheotomy.

Discography

Studio albums

1987: ''Faith''

1990: ''Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1''

1996: ''Older''

1999: ''Songs from the Last Century''

2004: ''Patience''

Awards

Tours

Faith World Tour (1988–1989)

Cover to Cover (1991)

25 Live (2006–2008)

George Michael Live in Australia (2010)

Symphonica Tour (2011–2012)

See also

List of artists by total number of UK number-one singles

List of best-selling music artists

References

External links

Category:Living people Category:1963 births Category:Blue-eyed soul singers Category:Brit Award winners Category:British people of Greek descent Category:British people of Jewish descent Category:English Jews Category:English dance musicians Category:English-language singers Category:English multi-instrumentalists Category:English people of Cypriot descent Category:English pop singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English tenors Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Gay musicians from the United Kingdom Category:Gay people from England Category:Musicians from London Category:People convicted of drug offenses Category:People from Bushey Category:People from Finchley Category:Pop singer-songwriters Category:Singers from London Category:Wham! members Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United Kingdom

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name	Paloma Faith
background	solo_singer
birth name	Paloma Faith Blomfield
birth date	July 21, 1985
Birth place	Hackney, London, UK
instrument	Vocals
genre	Soul, pop, jazz
occupation	Singer-songwriter, actress
years active	2006–present
label	Epic Records, RCA Records
website	}}

Paloma Faith (born Paloma Faith Blomfield; 21 July 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. In 2009, she released her debut single "Stone Cold Sober" and her debut album, ''Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?'', which was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. Her album stayed within the top 40 album charts for over forty weeks. The album spawned five singles: "Stone Cold Sober", "New York", title track "Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?", "Upside Down" and "Smoke & Mirrors". Faith also recorded the theme song to the 2010 British film ''4.3.2.1'' and appeared on the charity record "I Put a Spell on You". Faith made her feature film debut in the 2007 remake of ''St Trinian's''. She has since appeared in two more feature films, ''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'' and ''Dread''. In March 2010, Faith revealed that she was working on a second album. Almost two years later, Faith announced that her second album would be called ''Fall to Grace'' and will be released on 28 May 2012. It will be preceded by the single "Picking Up the Pieces".

Early life

Faith was born in Hackney, London to a Spanish father and an English mother who split up when Faith was two years old. Faith was raised by her mother in Stoke Newington. As a child, Faith was encouraged to dance by her mother and she took weekly ballet classes in Dalston. After completing her A-Levels, Faith went on to study for a degree in contemporary dance at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, which Faith describes as "the worst experience of [her] life". Faith then went on to study for an MA in theatre directing at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, funding her studies by working various part-time jobs, which included; a sales assistant at Agent Provocateur, a singer in a burlesque cabaret, a life model and a magician's assistant.

Music career

2007–08: Career beginnings

Faith's first foray into music began when she mimicked famous soul and jazz singers including Etta James and Billie Holiday, whom she admired and cites as influences for her own work. Faith met her managers Jamie Binns and Christian Wåhlberg of Lateral Management in 2007. Binns had been tipped off by the producer Peanut, a client who had recently worked with Faith in his studio and been suitably impressed. He met up with Faith shortly afterwards and was "completely blown away", later saying: "I wasn't sure what this girl was going to do - she was an actress and a singer - but there was just something about her in that artistic realness that when I came out of the meeting I called Christian and said, 'We have to do something with this girl!'" Although Faith had been looking for a manager, she was still wary about entering into a formal agreement with Binns and Wåhlberg. She instead wanted to build their relationship before any contracts were signed. The managers spent six months to a year helping Faith with the A&R; process, setting up sessions, and guiding and advising her before Faith was officially signed to Lateral Management.

During her time at college, Faith worked in a pub where the manager asked her to front his band, which they later called 'Paloma and the Penetrators'. During a performance with the band at a cabaret show, Faith was scouted by an A&R; man from Epic Records, who invited Faith to sing for the manager of the label. Twenty minutes into the audition, Faith asked the manager to turn his phone off and when he refused, she walked out. Epic A&R; Joanna Charrington told HitQuarters "When she played a showcase for us it was clear that she was a star but the material was a bit generic. She didn't have the hit songs." Not being one hundred percent convinced the label executives decided to wait. During this time Charrington regularly checked Faith's MySpace page "to see if she had something that had a special direction or sound." After several months her attention was eventually piqued by "Broken Doll", which she thought was a well-crafted song with a "fantastic chorus and brilliant lyrics." Charrington told Epic managing director Nick Raphael "I think we should get this girl back in. She sounds like she is getting it now. We can help her get the songs." Faith revealed in an interview that the manager called her and offered her a contract saying he had seen many acts since and none had been as memorable as her. Faith turned down an opportunity to join Amy Winehouse's band and she began to write and perform her own songs.

Faith's first recognised work was the song "It's Christmas (And I Hate You)", which she recorded as a duet with singer-songwriter, Josh Weller in 2008. Faith's music is influenced by soul and jazz and her singing style has been compared favourably to those of Amy Winehouse and Duffy.

2009–10: ''Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?''

Faith released her debut single, "Stone Cold Sober", in mid-2009 and it reached Number 17 on the UK Singles Chart. Faith's second single, "New York" was released in September 2009. The song made its peak position in early October, peaking at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. Faith then released her debut album, ''Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?'', on 28 September 2009. Faith wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album in the UK, Sweden and America and recorded it entirely in London. It debuted at number 14 on the UK Albums Chart and later peaked at number 9, it remained in the chart for sixteen weeks. The album became BBC Radio 2's 'Album of the Week' from the 19 September 2009. In the same year, Faith appeared as a guest vocalist on Basement Jaxx's ''Scars'' album and on American hip-hop artist MF Doom's album, ''Born Like This''. Faith released her third single, the album's title track, "Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?" on 21 December 2009. The song did not perform as well as Faith's previous singles and failed to reach the top twenty. It peaked at number 64 in January 2010. In March 2010, Faith released her fourth single, "Upside Down", which peaked at Number 55 in the UK. To promote the album, Faith went on her first tour, featuring dates in the UK, Germany and France. On 4 November 2009, Faith announced her first headlining tour of the UK and Ireland starting on 17 March 2010. ''The Times'' described the tour as being "full of theatrical artifice, but based on the rock-solid foundation of [Faith]'s sensational singing voice and a personality that sparkled like a rough diamond". Faith performed a live set for the BBC's ''Radio 2 Introduces...'' and gave an interview to the station's host, Dermot O'Leary. Faith also appeared on current events programme ''This Week'' discussing her views on the British education system with Michael Portillo. During this month she also appeared as a guest on ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'', performed the song "Upside Down" on ''The Hollyoaks Music Show,'' and performed her single "New York" on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross''. She also appeared on the BBC's ''Later with Jools Holland'', recorded on 13 October 2009, and his live Hootenanny on 31 December 2009. Faith performed at numerous festivals throughout that summer, including T4 on the Beach. "Stone Cold Sober" was used as the backing track for a Rimmel commercial starring Lily Cole and the B-side, "I Just Wait", was used in a UK television alcohol awareness advert. Samsung's Corby mobile phone TV commercial featured Faith's "Technicolour" song. Faith became involved in an album artwork competition with BBC Blast in November 2009, in which teenagers won the chance to work alongside leading artists, photographers and music industry professionals to create new publicity artwork for the singer.

During an interview with Mayer Nissim of Digital Spy in March 2010, Faith revealed that she is working on a second album. She also revealed that if she continues to make losses for her record label they will drop her. Faith's manager subsequently refuted any suggestion that her contract with the label was under threat, saying that, on the contrary, debut album UK sales of 500,000 without a hit single is an impressive foundation for a long-term career, and Sony are "smart enough" to recognise that and are 110% behind her. Faith, along with Adam Deacon and Bashy, recorded the theme song to the 2010 British film ''4.3.2.1''. The track, titled "Keep Moving", was released on 28 May 2010. In the same month, Faith performed at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival with the The Guy Barker Orchestra. The performance was broadcast on BBC Radio 2. In June 2010, it was announced that Faith would re-release an updated version of "New York" featuring rapper Ghostface Killah. The single was released on 1 August 2010. Faith released a live EP album following an appearance at the 2010 iTunes Festival. The album charted at number 11 on the iTunes top 200 albums. Faith revealed in a September interview that she would be releasing her new single "Smoke & Mirrors" in October 2010. The track was her final single from her debut album and its video was uploaded to YouTube.

2011–present: ''Fall to Grace''

In January 2011, Faith was nominated for "British Female Solo Artist" at the 2011 BRIT Awards. At the ceremony, Faith performed "Forget You" alongside Cee Lo Green. Faith appears on the charity single "Hard Times" alongside Plan B and Elton John. She also recorded the song "Desire" with Graham Coxon and Bill Ryder-Jones for a Converse campaign. During an interview with Popjustice, Faith revealed her second album would contain more "agony and suffering." The singer also hoped the album would be done with one producer as she wanted a "solid piece of work." She explained "I love the beautiful side of things like that Tom Waitsy, Rufus Wainwrighty, Ed Harcourt sort of stuff, and in contrast I like all the OutKast production, Gnarls Barkley and 'Beggin' and all that sort of sound. Contemporary but with a nod to the past. But you never know. You might just meet someone and something else would make sense." In July 2011, Faith revealed her frustrations about releasing the follow up to ''Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?''. She did not know when the album was going to be completed and said the process was slow. She told Kristy Kelly of Digital Spy, "The album's not finished yet and I'm not sure when it will be. If I had my way it would be out tomorrow, but there are so many other people involved that nothing happens quickly." Faith also admitted being signed to a major record label made her feel under pressure to be instantly successful. On 7 February 2012, a writer for the ''Gloucestershire Echo'' reported Faith had been named as Artist in Residence for the upcoming Cheltenham Jazz Festival.

On 29 February 2012, Faith revealed her second album would be called ''Fall to Grace'' and that it would be released by RCA Records on 28 May 2012. Faith enlisted record producer Nellee Hooper and co-producer Jake Gosling to work with her on the project. Hooper told a writer for ''NME'' that he had not really heard of Faith as he was living in Los Angeles when her first album was released. He said Sony and RCA Records contacted him and suggested he meet her. Of ''Fall to Grace'', Faith said "The new album has taken on a very cinematic mood. I am very excited to introduce my new sound into the world. Working with Nellee Hooper (Björk, Madonna) has been really inspirational." Faith told Dom Gourlay of Contactmusic.com that ''Fall to Grace'' is a personal record about a period of her life. Faith wrote and recorded the album in London. ''Fall to Grace'' will be preceded by the single "Picking Up the Pieces" on 20 May. On 4 April 2012, Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy reported Faith had joined ''The Voice UK'' as one of four guest mentors. Faith will work with coach Danny O'Donoghue during the battle rounds phase of the competition.

Acting career

In 2006, Faith made her primetime television acting debut in the series ''Mayo''. In 2007, Faith appeared in an episode of the BBC police drama ''HolbyBlue'', and in the same year Faith made her feature film acting debut as Andrea in ''St Trinian's''. In 2009, Faith appeared in Terry Gilliam's ''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'' as Sally, the girlfriend of the Devil (played by Tom Waits). She also appeared in horror film ''Dread'' as Clara Thornhill. Faith revealed that she was able to attend film auditions during promotion for her debut album, in the hope that she would land a role once all of her album commitments were over. In August 2010, Faith appeared in Channel 4's series ''Coming Up''. She also appears in the short film, ''A Nice Touch'' with Dougray Scott. Faith became attached to appear in Wayne Holloway's untitled punk movie in 2012. She will make an appearance as a cabaret performer in the BBC drama, ''Blandings''.

Discography

;Studio albums ''Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?'' (2009)

''Fall to Grace'' (2012)

;Singles

"Stone Cold Sober" (2009)

"New York" (2009)

"Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?" (2009)

"Upside Down" (2010)

"New York" (feat. Ghostface Killah) (2010)

"Smoke & Mirrors" (2010)

"Picking Up the Pieces" (2012)

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006		Guest	Episode: 1.6
2007	''HolbyBlue''	Donna Reynolds	Episode: 1.7
2007		Various	Episode: 1.4
2007		Andrea	Film debut
2009	''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus''	Sally
2009		Clara Thornhill
2010	''Coming Up''	Rainy	Episode: "I Don't Care"
2011	''A Nice Touch''	Alma	Short
2012	''Blandings''	Cabaret performer

References

External links

Paloma Faith at Curtis Brown

Paloma Faith portrait competition at BBC Blast

Category:1985 births Category:Blue-eyed soul singers Category:English female singers Category:English film actors Category:English people of Spanish descent Category:Living people Category:People from Hackney Category:Alumni of the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design Category:People from Stoke Newington

da:Paloma Faith de:Paloma Faith es:Paloma Faith fr:Paloma Faith it:Paloma Faith pl:Paloma Faith pt:Paloma Faith ro:Paloma Faith ru:Фейт, Палома fi:Paloma Faith sv:Paloma Faith

name	John Hiatt
landscape	Yes
background	solo_singer
birth date	August 20, 1952
Birth place	Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
instrument	Vocals, guitar, keyboard, harmonica
genre	Americana, folk rock, country, blues, heartland rock
years active	1972–present
label	MCA, A & M, Geffen, Vanguard,
website	www.johnhiatt.com
Notable instruments	}}

John Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American rock guitarist, pianist, singer, and songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including New Wave, blues and country. Hiatt has been nominated for several Grammy Awards – but never won – and has been awarded a variety of other distinctions in the music industry. He remains one of the most respected and influential American singer-songwriters.

Hiatt was working as a songwriter for Tree International, a record label in Nashville, when his song "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" was covered by Three Dog Night. The song became a Top 40 hit, earning Hiatt a recording contract with Epic Records. Since then he has released eighteen studio albums and two live albums. His songs have been covered by a variety of artists in multiple genres, including Bob Dylan, Willy DeVille, Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Joe Bonamassa, Willie Nelson, Three Dog Night, Joan Baez, Paula Abdul, Buddy Guy, the Desert Rose Band, Jimmy Buffett, Mandy Moore, Iggy Pop, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Rosanne Cash, Suzy Bogguss, Jewel, Aaron Neville, Jeff Healey, Keith Urban, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan and many others. The Dutch singer/songwriter Ilse DeLange recorded the album ''Dear John'' with nine of his songs.

Musical career

Early life and career

John Hiatt was born in 1952 to Ruth and Robert Hiatt. When Hiatt was nine years old, his 21-year-old brother Michael committed suicide. Only two years later, his father died after a long sickness. To escape from the stress of his early life, Hiatt watched IndyCar racing and listened to Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and the blues. In his youth, Hiatt reports that he and several others stole a Ford Thunderbird, a crime for which he was caught by the owners but got away with, posing as a hitchhiker. He learned to play the guitar when he was eleven, and began his musical career in Indianapolis, Indiana as a teenager. He played in a variety of local clubs, most notably the Hummingbird. Hiatt played with a variety of bands, including The Four-Fifths and John Lynch & the Hangmen.

Hiatt moved to Nashville, Tennessee when he was eighteen years old and got a job as a songwriter for the Tree-Music Publishing Company for twenty-five dollars a week. Hiatt, who was unable to read or write scores, had to record all 250 songs he wrote for the company. He also began playing with the band White Duck, as one of three singer-songwriters within the group. White Duck had already recorded one album before Hiatt joined. He wrote and performed two songs on their second album, ''In Season'' (1972). Hiatt performed live in many clubs around Nashville with White Duck, and as a solo act.

Early solo career (1974–78)

Hiatt met Don Ellis of Epic Records in 1973, and received a record deal, releasing his first single, "We Make Spirit," later that year with Ellis on drums and Michael Bell, a young but powerhouse guitar player from Hampton, Virginia on second lead guitar. That same year Hiatt wrote the song "Sure As I'm Sitting Here," which was recorded by Three Dog Night, and went to number 16 on the ''Billboard'' chart in 1974. Bell, a student of Ferguson High School in Newport News, Virginia went on to play lead guitar after graduation until 1980 where he went lead for Carl Ellis and Juke Box Heros while drummer Ellis remained.

In 1974 he released ''Hangin' Around the Observatory'', which was a critical success and a commercial failure. A year later, ''Overcoats'' was released, and when it also failed to sell, Epic released Hiatt from his contract. For the next four years he was without a recording contract. During this time his style evolved from country-rock to New Wave influenced rock in the style of Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe and Graham Parker.

The MCA/Geffen Years (1979–1986)

Hiatt was picked up by the MCA label in 1979. He released two albums for the label in 1979 and 1980, neither of which met with commercial success. He received a few good reviews for these albums by critics in the Netherlands. He performed at the Paradiso in Amsterdam for the first time in 1979 (opening for Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes) and came back often and built a solid fan base. In 1982, "Across the Borderline", written by Hiatt with Ry Cooder and Jim Dickinson, appeared on the soundtrack to the motion picture "The Border" sung by country star Freddy Fender. The song would later be covered on albums by Willie Nelson, Paul Young, Rubén Blades and Willy DeVille, among others, as well as by Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan in concert. Hiatt was signed to Geffen (which would later absorb MCA) in 1982, where he recorded three diverse albums from 1982-85. The first, ''All of a Sudden'' was produced by Tony Visconti, and featured use of keyboards and synthesisers; his future albums combined country and soul influences. ''Riding With the King'' appeared in 1983, produced by Scott Mathews, Ron Nagle and Nick Lowe. Hiatt began making 'critics choice' lists and building a large European following. The title track (taken from an odd dream Scott Mathews had) was re-recorded two decades later by Eric Clapton and B.B. King and went double platinum.

During this period, Rosanne Cash covered several Hiatt compositions, taking "It Hasn't Happened Yet" to the Top 20 on the country charts. In 1983, Cash would duet with Hiatt on his "The Way We Make a Broken Heart" produced by Mathews and Nagle. When Geffen failed to release the single, Cash re-recorded it in 1987 and it went to #1 on the US country charts. Rick Nelson also covered "It Hasn't Happened Yet" on his 1981 album ''Playing to Win''.

Hiatt recorded a duet with Elvis Costello, a cover version of the Spinners' song, "Living A Little, Laughing A Little," which appeared on ''Warming Up to the Ice Age''. Shortly after its release, Bob Dylan covered Hiatt's song "The Usual," which had appeared on the soundtrack to the film, ''Hearts of Fire''. However, Geffen dropped Hiatt from the label after ''Ice Age'' failed to chart.

Success (1987–1989)

Hiatt finally came into success in 1987, when he released his first big hit, ''Bring the Family''. For the album, Hiatt had a backing band consisting of Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, and Jim Keltner. Most of the songs on the album have since been extensively covered, especially "Have a Little Faith in Me," which has been covered by a number of artists, including Joe Cocker, Delbert McClinton, Jewel, Bill Frisell, Mandy Moore and Bon Jovi, and "Memphis in the Meantime", which has been covered by Carl Perkins. "Thank You Girl" was a moderate radio hit, but nothing that would garner Hiatt national attention, although the B-side of the single featured a non-album duet with Loudon Wainwright III on a cover of the Temptation's hit "My Girl" (Hiatt returned the favor on the B-side of Wainwright's single "Your Mother and I"). Most notably, Bonnie Raitt would bring "Thing Called Love" to #11 on the U.S. charts with her 1989 release, ''Nick of Time''.

Following ''Bring the Family'', Hiatt had a string of nine straight studio albums hit the Billboard 200.

In 1988, he returned to the studio to record ''Slow Turning'', which would be his first album to hit the upper half of the Billboard 200. It also featured his only top ten chart single, the title track, which hit #8 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. As well, "Tennessee Plates", would later appear in the Ridley Scott directed and Academy Award winning film, ''Thelma and Louise'' in 1991. In 1989, The Jeff Healey Band covered the Hiatt-penned song "Angel Eyes", and took it to the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100.

The 1990s and beyond

In 1992, Cooder, Keltner, and Lowe again backed up Hiatt, but this time they gave themselves a band name, Little Village, a reference to a Sonny Boy Williamson II project. Expectations for the ''Little Village'' album were high, but the album failed to even chart as high as Hiatt's last solo album, and the group disbanded after an only moderately successful tour.

In 1993, Hiatt recorded ''Perfectly Good Guitar'' with members of alternative rock groups School of Fish and Wire Train. Hiatt recorded the album with producer Matt Wallace who had worked most prominently with Faith No More, a band that Hiatt's 15-year-old son Rob had recommended for him. It was Hiatt's highest peaking album at #47, but again was still not the true commercial breakthrough A&M; expected.

In 1993, ''Love Gets Strange: The Songs of John Hiatt,'' a compilation album of covers of Hiatt's songs was released. This was followed by an album of original covers "Rollin' into Memphis: Songs of John Hiatt" in 2000, and a second compilation album with a few originals, "It'll Come To You...The Songs of John Hiatt,'' in 2003.

In 1994, Hiatt released ''Hiatt Comes Alive at Budokan?'', his first official live album and his last album with A&M; Records. A CD and DVD of his performance on ''Austin City Limits'' was released in 2005. Hiatt had previously released two promotional live "official bootlegs", "Riot with Hiatt" in 1985, and "Live at the Hiatt" in 1993, as well as the EP "Live at the Palace" in 1991.

Hiatt received his first Grammy nomination in 1995 for his album ''Walk On''. Hiatt's next few albums never gained any momentum on the charts, and he saw little change in his fanbase in the late 1990s, indicating a dedicated following. In 2000, Hiatt released his first independent album on Vanguard Records, ''Crossing Muddy Waters'', which saw a heavy influence of bluegrass in his music. Later that year, he was named songwriter/artist of the year at the Nashville Music Awards. In 2001, ''Crossing Muddy Waters'' was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album, with Davey Faragher and David Immerglück as his only accompanists.

In 2002, Hiatt performed several songs for the soundtrack to Disney's ''Country Bears'' movie, representing the voice of the lead singer. The movie also featured covers of Hiatt songs by Bonnie Raitt and Don Henley.

Hiatt's album, ''Master of Disaster'', was released on June 21, 2005. The album was produced by Jim Dickinson, and Hiatt was backed up by the bassist David Hood and several members of the North Mississippi Allstars. The album achieved modest sales, becoming a top ten independent album, but eluded significant commercial success in the same manner that his previous albums did.

On February 12, 2008, during a concert with Lyle Lovett at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Canada, Hiatt said that his new album would be titled ''Same Old Man''. It was released on May 27, 2008.

On July 18, 2008 Hiatt performed at Ravinia Park in Highland Park, Illinois with his daughter, Lilly.

On August 2009 he appears in Levon Helm Ramble At The Ryman singing The Weight in the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

In March 2010, Hiatt released ''The Open Road.''

Hiatt is scheduled to play in the Byron Bay Blues & Roots Festival in Byron Bay, NSW in April 2012.

TV and movie appearances

Performed on "Saturday Night Live" as the week's featured musical guest in 1989.

Host of "Sessions at West 54th" during the series' third and final season.

Performed on "Austin City Limits", originally taped December 14, 1993.

Wrote and performed "Alone in the Dark" in "True Lies", 1994 .

Performed on "Hard Rock Live", 1997.

Performed on "Where Music Meets Film: Live from Sundance", 1999.

Contributed the singing voice to Ted Bedderhead in the animated Disney film ''The Country Bears'', 2002.

Appeared as himself on an episode of "Yes Dear", originally aired May 3, 2004.

Performed as himself on an episode of "Treme" originally aired May 29, 2011

Discography

;Studio albums

''Hangin' Around the Observatory'', Epic Records (1974)

''Overcoats'', Epic Records (1975)

''Slug Line'', MCA Records (1979)

''Two Bit Monsters'', MCA Records (1980)

''All of a Sudden'', Geffen Records (1982)

''Riding with the King'', Geffen Records (1983)

''Warming Up to the Ice Age'', Geffen Records (1985)

''Bring the Family'', A&M; Records (1987)

''Slow Turning'', A&M; Records (1988)

''Stolen Moments'', A&M; Records (1990)

''Perfectly Good Guitar'', A&M; Records (1993)

''Walk On'', Capitol Records (1995)

''Little Head'', Capitol Records (1997)

''Crossing Muddy Waters'', Vanguard Records (2000)

''The Tiki Bar is Open'', Vanguard Records (2001)

''Beneath This Gruff Exterior'', New West Records (2003)

''Master of Disaster'', New West Records (2005)

''Same Old Man'', New West Records (2008)

''The Open Road'', New West Records (2010)

''Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns'', New West Records (2011)

Awards

2000 Nashville Music Awards: Songwriter/Artist of the Year

2008 Americana Music Association: Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting

References

External links

John Hiatt's official website

The open road

John Hiatt archives

John Hiatt fan site

Category:1952 births Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American male singers Category:American blues guitarists Category:American country guitarists Category:American rock guitarists Category:Musicians from Indianapolis, Indiana Category:Vanguard Records artists Category:Living people Category:New West Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists

da:John Hiatt de:John Hiatt fr:John Hiatt fy:John Hiatt it:John Hiatt nl:John Hiatt ru:Хайатт, Джон fi:John Hiatt sv:John Hiatt

Name	Kendrick Lamar
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Kendrick Lamar Duckworth
Alias	K. Dot
Birth date	June 17, 1987
Origin	Compton, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Rapper, songwriter
Genre	Hip hop
Years active	2009–present
Label	Top Dawg, Aftermath, Interscope
Associated acts	Dr. Dre, Black Hippy, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, J. Cole, Danny Brown, Schoolboy Q, Childish Gambino
Website	}}

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987),is an American rapper and songwriter from Compton, California currently signed to Aftermath Entertainment. He first gained major attention after the release of his 2010 mixtape ''Overly Dedicated''. In 2011, his album ''Section.80'', released exclusively through iTunes, instantly ranked as one of the top digital hip hop releases of the year. Lamar has amassed a large internet following, is a member of hip hop collective Black Hippy, along with Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul, and has worked with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Wiz Khalifa, Game, Drake, Busta Rhymes and Tech N9ne among other popular artists.

Biography

1987-2009: Early life and career beginnings

Kendrick Lamar was born in Compton, California, a community southeast of Los Angeles city limits, to parents from Chicago, Illinois. At the age of eight, in 1995 Lamar witnessed his idols, Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre film the music video for their hit single "California Love," a very significant moment in Lamar's life. In 2003 at the young age of sixteen Lamar released his first mixtape, ''Youngest Head Nigga In Charge'' under the name K. Dot. The mixtape was able to garner enough attention for Lamar to get a record deal with Top Dawg Entertainment, a Los Angelos-based independent record label. He then released a twenty-six track mixtape two years later titled ''Training Day''. More recognition came Lamar's way after a video of a Charles Hamilton show surfaced, where Hamilton goes in the crowd and battles rappers at attendance. Lamar didn't hesitate and began rapping a verse over East Flatbush Project's "Tried By 12", that would later appear on a track titled "West Coast Wu-Tang". In 2008 Lamar made a cameo appearance on Jay Rock's "All My Life (In the Ghetto)" music video. After receiving a co-sign from Lil Wayne, he released his third mixtape in 2009 titled ''C4'', heavily themed around ''Tha Carter III'' LP. Soon after, he decided to drop his stage name K. Dot and go by his real name. This resulted in him releasing a self-titled EP; the ''Kendrick Lamar EP'' in late 2009.

2010–2011: ''Overly Dedicated'' and ''Section.80''

In 2010 he toured with Tech N9ne and Jay Rock on ''The Independent Grind'' tour. On September 23, 2010 he released ''O(verly) D(edicated)'' a highly acclaimed mixtape that included a song titled "Ignorance is Bliss" in which he glorifies gangsta rap and street crime but ends each verse with "ignorance is bliss" giving the message "we know not what we do". It was that song specifically that made hip hop producer Dr. Dre want to work with Lamar. This led to him working with Dre and Snoop Dogg on Dre's ''Detox'' album and him considering signing to Aftermath Entertainment. In January 2011 Lamar said his debut album was 90% finished.

In early 2011 Lamar was featured on XXL Magazine's 2011 Freshman cover along with Cyhi Da Prynce, Yelawolf, Lil B, Big K.R.I.T. and Diggy Simmons among others. On July 2, 2011 Lamar released his third solo project ''Section.80'' to critical acclaim. It included features from GLC, Colin Munroe, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and production from longtime collaborator Sounwave, Wyldfyer, Terrace Martin, J. Cole and more. On the topic of whether ''Section.80'' would be an album or a mixtape Lamar said "I treat every project like it’s an album anyway. It’s not gonna be nothing leftover. I never do nothing like that. These are my leftover songs y’all can have ‘em, nah. I’m gonna put my best out. My best effort. I’m tryna look for an album in 2012". The first single for ''Section.80'' was 'the J. Cole produced track "HiiiPower", the concept was to further explain the HiiiPower movement. ''Section.80'' went on to sell over 10,000 copies in its first week without any television or radio coverage and received many very positive reviews. In the second half of 2011, Kendrick Lamar appeared on Game's ''The R.E.D. Album'', Tech N9ne's ''All 6's and 7's'', 9th Wonder's ''The Wonder Years'' and Drake's ''Take Care.

In August 2011, while onstage with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Game, at the West Los Angeles concert, the three of them crowned him the "New King of the West Coast"

2012–present: ''Good Kid in a Mad City''

On February 15, 2012 a song titled "Cartoons & Cereal" featuring Gunplay was leaked. Lamar revealed later that the track was for his upcoming album and he was planning to shoot a video for it.

In March 2012, MTV announced that Top Dawg Entertainment, the independent record label Lamar is signed to, have closed a joint venture deal with Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment, marking the end of his career as an independent artist. Under the new deal, Kendrick Lamar’s projects, including his upcoming debut studio album ''Good Kid in a Mad City'' will be jointly released via Top Dawg, Aftermath and Interscope, while releases from the rest of Black Hippy will be distributed via Top Dawg and Interscope.

Lamar premiered "The Recipe", his debut single and the lead single from ''Good Kid in a Mad City'', at Power 106 on April 2, 2012. The track was released for digital download the following day. The song was produced by Scoop DeVille and features Dr. Dre.

Personal life

In high school, Centennial in Compton, Lamar was a good student. Lamar said that he has seen relatives who have died in his dreams for years. Tupac Shakur is also his favorite rapper, and influences not only his music, but his day-to-day lifestyle as well. In terms of subject matter, Kendrick Lamar has often been compared to Tupac Shakur.

Discography

''Section.80'' (2011)

''Good Kid in a Mad City'' (2012)

References

External links

Category:Living people Category:1987 births Category:American rappers Category:African American rappers Category:People from Compton, California Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California Category:West Coast hip hop musicians Category:Interscope Records artists Category:Aftermath Entertainment artists

hr:Kendrick Lamar