In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'', or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company.

Types of takeover

Friendly takeovers

Before a bidder makes an offer for another company, it usually first informs the company's board of directors. If the board feels that accepting the offer serves shareholders better than rejecting it, it recommends the offer be accepted by the shareholders.

In a private company, because the shareholders and the board are usually the same people or closely connected with one another, private acquisitions are usually friendly. If the shareholders agree to sell the company, then the board is usually of the same mind or sufficiently under the orders of the equity shareholders to cooperate with the bidder. This point is not relevant to the UK concept of takeovers, which always involve the acquisition of a public company.

Hostile takeovers

A hostile takeover allows a suitor to take over a target company whose management is unwilling to agree to a merger or takeover. A takeover is considered "hostile" if the target company's board rejects the offer, but the bidder continues to pursue it, or the bidder makes the offer directly after having announced its firm intention to make an offer.

A hostile takeover can be conducted in several ways. A tender offer can be made where the acquiring company makes a public offer at a fixed price above the current market price. Tender offers in the United States are regulated by the Williams Act. An acquiring company can also engage in a proxy fight, whereby it tries to persuade enough shareholders, usually a simple majority, to replace the management with a new one which will approve the takeover. Another method involves quietly purchasing enough stock on the open market, known as a creeping tender offer, to effect a change in management. In all of these ways, management resists the acquisition but it is carried out anyway.

The main consequence of a bid being considered hostile is practical rather than legal. If the board of the target cooperates, the bidder can conduct extensive due diligence into the affairs of the target company, providing the bidder with a comprehensive analysis of the target company's finances. In contrast, a hostile bidder will only have more limited, publicly-available information about the target company available, rendering the bidder vulnerable to hidden risks regarding the target company's finances. An additional problem is that takeovers often require loans provided by banks in order to service the offer, but banks are often less willing to back a hostile bidder because of the relative lack of information about the target available to them.

Reverse takeovers

A reverse takeover is a type of takeover where a private company acquires a public company. This is usually done at the instigation of the larger, private company, the purpose being for the private company to effectively float itself while avoiding some of the expense and time involved in a conventional IPO. However, under AIM rules, a reverse take-over is an acquisition or acquisitions in a twelve month period which for an AIM company would:

exceed 100% in any of the class tests; or

result in a fundamental change in its business, board or voting control; or

in the case of an investing company, depart substantially from the investing strategy stated in its admission document or, where no admission document was produced on admission, depart substantially from the investing strategy stated in its pre-admission announcement or, depart substantially from the investing strategy.

An individual or organization-sometimes known as corporate raider-can purchase a large fraction of the company's stock and in doing so get enough votes to replace the board of directors and the CEO. With a new superior management team, the stock is a much more attractive investment, which would likely result in a price rise and a profit for the corporate raider and the other shareholders.

Backflip takeovers

A backflip takeover is any sort of takeover in which the acquiring company turns itself into a subsidiary of the purchased company. This type of takeover rarely occurs.

Financing a takeover

Funding

Often a company acquiring another pays a specified amount for it. This money can be raised in a number of ways. Although the company may have sufficient funds available in its account, remitting payment entirely from the acquiring company's cash on hand is unusual. More often, it will be borrowed from a bank, or raised by an issue of bonds. Acquisitions financed through debt are known as leveraged buyouts, and the debt will often be moved down onto the balance sheet of the acquired company. The acquired company then has to pay back the debt. This is a technique often used by private equity companies. The debt ratio of financing can go as high as 80% in some cases. In such a case, the acquiring company would only need to raise 20% of the purchase price.

Loan note alternatives

Cash offers for public companies often include a "loan note alternative" that allows shareholders to take a part or all of their consideration in loan notes rather than cash. This is done primarily to make the offer more attractive in terms of taxation. A conversion of shares into cash is counted as a disposal that triggers a payment of capital gains tax, whereas if the shares are converted into other securities, such as loan notes, the tax is rolled over.

All share deals

A takeover, particularly a reverse takeover, may be financed by an all share deal. The bidder does not pay money, but instead issues new shares in itself to the shareholders of the company being acquired. In a reverse takeover the shareholders of the company being acquired end up with a majority of the shares in, and so control of, the company making the bid. The company has managerial rights.

Mechanics

In the United Kingdom

Takeovers in the UK (meaning acquisitions of public companies only) are governed by the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, also known as the "City Code" or "Takeover Code". The rules for a takeover, can be found what is primarily known as 'The Blue Book'. The Code used to be a non-statutory set of rules that was controlled by City institutions on a theoretically voluntary basis. However, as a breach of the Code brought such reputational damage and the possibility of exclusion from City services run by those institutions, it was regarded as binding. In 2006 the Code was put onto a statutory footing as part of the UK's compliance with the European Takeover Directive (2004/25/EC) .

The Code requires that all shareholders in a company should be treated equally. It regulates when and what information companies must and cannot release publicly in relation to the bid, sets timetables for certain aspects of the bid, and sets minimum bid levels following a previous purchase of shares.

In particular:

a shareholder must make an offer when its shareholding, including that of parties acting in concert (a "concert party"), reaches 30% of the target;

information relating to the bid must not be released except by announcements regulated by the Code;

the bidder must make an announcement if rumour or speculation have affected a company's share price;

the level of the offer must not be less than any price paid by the bidder in the three months before the announcement of a firm intention to make an offer;

if shares are bought during the offer period at a price higher than the offer price, the offer must be increased to that price;

The Rules Governing the Substantial Acquisition of Shares, which used to accompany the Code and which regulated the announcement of certain levels of shareholdings, have now been abolished, though similar provisions still exist in the Companies Act 1985.

Strategies

There are a variety of reasons why an acquiring company may wish to purchase another company. Some takeovers are ''opportunistic'' - the target company may simply be very reasonably priced for one reason or another and the acquiring company may decide that in the long run, it will end up making money by purchasing the target company. The large holding company Berkshire Hathaway has profited well over time by purchasing many companies opportunistically in this manner.

Other takeovers are ''strategic'' in that they are thought to have secondary effects beyond the simple effect of the profitability of the target company being added to the acquiring company's profitability. For example, an acquiring company may decide to purchase a company that is profitable and has good distribution capabilities in new areas which the acquiring company can use for its own products as well. A target company might be attractive because it allows the acquiring company to enter a new market without having to take on the risk, time and expense of starting a new division. An acquiring company could decide to take over a competitor not only because the competitor is profitable, but in order to eliminate competition in its field and make it easier, in the long term, to raise prices. Also a takeover could fulfill the belief that the combined company can be more profitable than the two companies would be separately due to a reduction of redundant functions.

Takeovers may also benefit from principal-agent problems associated with top executive compensation. For example, it is fairly easy for a top executive to reduce the price of his/her company's stock - due to information asymmetry. The executive can accelerate accounting of expected expenses, delay accounting of expected revenue, engage in off balance sheet transactions to make the company's profitability appear temporarily poorer, or simply promote and report severely conservative (e.g. pessimistic) estimates of future earnings. Such seemingly adverse earnings news will be likely to (at least temporarily) reduce share price. (This is again due to information asymmetries since it is more common for top executives to do everything they can to window dress their company's earnings forecasts). There are typically very few legal risks to being 'too conservative' in one's accounting and earnings estimates.

A reduced share price makes a company an easier takeover target. When the company gets bought out (or taken private) - at a dramatically lower price - the takeover artist gains a windfall from the former top executive's actions to surreptitiously reduce share price. This can represent tens of billions of dollars (questionably) transferred from previous shareholders to the takeover artist. The former top executive is then rewarded with a golden handshake for presiding over the fire sale that can sometimes be in the hundreds of millions of dollars for one or two years of work. (This is nevertheless an excellent bargain for the takeover artist, who will tend to benefit from developing a reputation of being very generous to parting top executives). This is just one example of some of the principal-agent / perverse incentive issues involved with takeovers.

Similar issues occur when a publicly held asset or non-profit organization undergoes privatization. Top executives often reap tremendous monetary benefits when a government owned or non-profit entity is sold to private hands. Just as in the example above, they can facilitate this process by making the entity appear to be in financial crisis - this reduces the sale price (to the profit of the purchaser), and makes non-profits and governments more likely to sell. It can also contribute to a public perception that private entities are more efficiently run, reinforcing the political will to sell off public assets.

Perceived pros and cons of takeover

While perceived pros and cons of a takeover differ from case to case, there are a few worth mentioning.

Pros: # Increase in sales/revenues (e.g. Procter & Gamble takeover of Gillette) # Venture into new businesses and markets # Profitability of target company # Increase market share # Decrease competition (from the perspective of the acquiring company) # Reduction of overcapacity in the industry # Enlarge brand portfolio (e.g. L'Oréal's takeover of Bodyshop) # Increase in economies of scale # Increased efficiency as a result of corporate synergies/redundancies (jobs with overlapping responsibilities can be eliminated, decreasing operating costs)

Cons: # Goodwill, often paid in excess for the acquisition. # Reduced competition and choice for consumers in oligopoly markets. (Bad for consumers, although this is good for the companies involved in the takeover) # Likelihood of job cuts. # Cultural integration/conflict with new management # Hidden liabilities of target entity. # The monetary cost to the company. # Lack of motivation for employees in the company being bought up.

Takeovers also tend to substitute debt for equity. In a sense, government tax policy of allowing for deduction of interest expenses but not of dividends, has essentially provided a substantial subsidy to takeovers. It can punish more conservative or prudent management that don't allow their companies to leverage themselves into a high risk position. High leverage will lead to high profits if circumstances go well, but can lead to catastrophic failure if circumstances do not go favorably. This can create substantial negative externalities for governments, employees, suppliers and other stakeholders.

Occurrence

Corporate takeovers occur frequently in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France and Spain. They happen only occasionally in Italy because larger shareholders (typically controlling families) often have special board voting privileges designed to keep them in control. They do not happen often in Germany because of the dual board structure, nor in Japan because companies have interlocking sets of ownerships known as keiretsu, nor in the People's Republic of China because the state majority owns most publicly-listed companies.

Tactics against hostile takeover

Back-end

Bankmail

Crown Jewel Defense

Flip-in

Flip-over

Golden Parachute

Gray Knight

Greenmail

Jonestown Defense

Killer bees

Leveraged recapitalization

Lobster trap

Lock-up provision

Nancy Reagan Defense

Non-voting stock

Pac-Man Defense

Pension parachute

People Pill

Poison pill

Safe Harbor

Scorched-earth defense

Shark Repellent

Staggered board of directors

Standstill agreement

Targeted repurchase

Top-ups

Treasury stock

Trigger

Voting plans

White knight

White squire

Whitemail

See also

Breakup fee

Control premium

Revlon Moment

Squeeze out

Scrip bid

External links

Acquisition Financing

Category:Mergers and acquisitions Category:Corporate finance

ca:Oferta pública d'adquisició de:Unternehmensübernahme es:Oferta pública de adquisición eu:Erosteko eskaintza publiko fr:Offre publique ko:공개매수 it:Offerta pubblica di acquisto nl:Overname ja:株式公開買い付け pl:Przejęcie przedsiębiorstwa pt:Oferta pública de aquisição zh:收購

Landscape	yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Tramar Dillard
Born	September 17, 1979 Carol City, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	Rapper, Songwriter, Actor
Genre	Southern hip hop, Pop rap, R&B;, Dance
Years active	2006–present
Label	Atlantic, Poe Boy
Associated acts	Brisco, Timbaland, David Guetta, Ke$ha, T-Pain, Akon
Website	}}

Tramar Dillard (born September 17, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida ("flow rider"), is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He released his debut album, ''Mail on Sunday'', in March 2008. His debut single "Low", featuring T-Pain, was a #1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from ''Mail on Sunday'': "Elevator" and "In the Ayer". In 2009, his second album ''R.O.O.T.S.'' was released; its most successful single "Right Round" was at the top of the Hot 100 for six weeks. Since then, he has released his third studio album titled ''Only One Flo (Part 1)'', which will see a sequel titled ''Only One Rida (Part 2)''.

Early life

Tramar Dillard was born in the 187th Street projects of Carol City, Florida. His single mother raised him and his seven sisters, some of whom sang in a local gospel group. Dillard's brother-in-law was a hypeman for local rap group 2 Live Crew, and, while in Ninth Grade, Dillard formed his own amateur group with some friends called the Groundhoggz. His work with 2 Live Crew member Fresh Kid Ice attracted attention of DeVante Swing, a member of the band Jodeci. However, he was rejected by several of the major labels, so he sought many other jobs outside of music. After graduating from high school in 1998, he studied international business management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for two years and attended Barry University for two months. He returned to Florida to continue pursuing his music career after receiving a phone call from a representative of the independent label Poe Boy Entertainment. Dillard signed with Poe Boy in 2006, and as Flo Rida he began affiliating with other artists, such as Rick Ross, Trina, T-Pain, and Trick Daddy. A promotional street single entitled "Birthday", featuring Rick Ross, was his first significant release. He made his debut guest appearance with the song "Bitch I'm from Dade County" on DJ Khaled's album ''We the Best'', which featured Trick Daddy, Trina, Rick Ross, Brisco, C-Ride, and Dre.

Music career

''Mail on Sunday'' (2007–08)

Flo Rida's first single was "Low", featuring T-Pain. It was his first official single from his debut album ''Mail On Sunday'' and the soundtrack to the movie ''Step Up 2: The Streets''. "Low" reached #1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. "Elevator", featuring Timbaland, "In the Ayer" featuring will.i.am, and "Roll" featuring Sean Kingston followed and all charted on the Hot 100 and other charts.

After the success of ''Mail on Sunday'', Flo Rida made guest performances on other R&B;, rap, and pop singles, including "Move Shake Drop" by DJ Laz, "We Break the Dawn" by Michelle Williams, the remix of "4 Minutes" by Madonna, "Running Back" by Australian R&B; singer Jessica Mauboy, "Feel It" by DJ Felli Fel, and the remix of "Speedin'" by Rick Ross. During the summer of 2008, he did live performances on the Fox dance competition program ''So You Think You Can Dance'' in the US and 2008 MuchMusic Video Awards in Canada. He appeared on the albums ''We Global'' by DJ Khaled, ''Gutta'' by Ace Hood, and ''The Fame'' by Lady Gaga, among others.

''R.O.O.T.S.'' (2009)

According to ''Billboard'' magazine, Flo Rida began recording his sophomore nine months after ''Mail On Sunday''. The album is titled ''R.O.O.T.S.'' and was released on March 31, 2009. The first single "Right Round" featured Ke$ha and was released for airplay in January 2009. "Right Round" jumped from number 58 to the top spot in one week in late February. The song broke a record for the most digital one week sales in the U.S., with 636,000, beating the previous record he had set himself with "Low". "Right Round" sampled "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", a 1985 hit by Dead or Alive. The second official single was "Sugar", which featured R&B; singer Wynter Gordon. The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other singles were "Jump" featuring Nelly Furtado, which reached #54 on the Hot 100 and was the promotional single for the animated film ''G-Force'', and "Be On You" featuring Ne-Yo, which reached #19 on the Hot 100. In addition to singles from his own album, Flo Rida made guest performances on "Feel It" by DJ Felli Fel, "Starstruck" by Lady Gaga, and "Feel It" by Three 6 Mafia. "Bad Boys", the first single by winner of British reality show ''The X Factor'' Alexandra Burke that featured Flo Rida, debuted at #1 on the UK Singles Chart in October.

''Only One Flo (Part 1)'' (2010)

Flo Rida's third album ''Only One Flo (Part 1)'' was released on November 24, 2010. In March 2010, Flo Rida announced on Twitter that the album would be titled ''The Only One''. ''Billboard'' reported that ''The Only One'' was to be a double album. "Club Can't Handle Me", produced by David Guetta, was the first official single and reached #9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States. Flo Rida also made guest appearances on "iYiYi", a song by Australian teen singer Cody Simpson, and on the song "Out My Video" by Bulgarian singer LiLana. Flo Rida collaborated with UK girl group The Saturdays, recording a new version of the girl's single, "Higher".

In December 2010, the Associated Press reported that Flo Rida had created his own label, International Music Group, inspired by Nicki Minaj's signing with Lil Wayne's. He has signed an 18 year-old rapper, Brianna and Git Fresh to International. Currently Flo Rida teamed up with Malaysian singer, Mizz Nina in Take Over. They shoot Take Over in Miami, Florida.

''Only One Rida (Part 2)'' (2011)

On August 29th, 2011 Flo Rida released his new single off the album Only One Rida (Part 2), called Good Feeling, which is now out now on the US iTunes store. The Album is due out later in 2011. A track called Hangover is rumored to be the second Track, Taio Cruz is featured on it. Inna, Starboy Nathan will be featured on the record, too.

Legal issues

On June 9, 2011, Flo Rida was arrested in Miami Beach, Florida for DUI and driving with a suspended license. Flo Rida was released from jail after he posted $2,000 bail and obtained a signed court order allowing him to travel to Asia for a series of previously scheduled concerts in Bangkok over the weekend.

Discography

''Mail on Sunday'' (2008)

''R.O.O.T.S.'' (2009)

''Only One Flo (Part 1)'' (2010)

''Only One Rida (Part 2)'' (2011)

Awards and nominations

! Year	! Type	! Award	! Result
		Breakthrough Performer
Favourite Male Hip-Hop Artist
	Best New Artist
Rookie of the Year
	Breathrough Artist
	Choice Breakout Artist
Choice Rap Artist
APRA Awards
MOBO Awards
MTV Video Music Awards	Best Hip-Hop Video ("Right Round" with Kesha)
NT Indigenous Music Awards
People's Choice Awards
Teen Choice Awards	Best Hip-Hop Rap Track ("Right Round" with Kesha)
	APRA Awards
Grammy Awards	Best Rap Album (''R.O.O.T.S.'')
People's Choice Awards	Hip-Hop Artist of the Year

See also

List of Miami rappers

References

External links

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:African American rappers Category:American dance musicians Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Barry University alumni Category:Electro-hop musicians Category:Hip hop singers Category:Rappers from Miami, Florida Category:University of Nevada, Las Vegas alumni

ar:فلو ريدا bg:Flo Rida ca:Flo Rida cs:Flo Rida cy:Flo Rida da:Flo Rida de:Flo Rida es:Flo Rida fa:فلو رایدا fr:Flo Rida ko:플로 라이더 id:Flo Rida it:Flo Rida he:פלו ריידה lv:Flo Rida hu:Flo Rida nl:Flo Rida ja:フロー・ライダー no:Flo Rida pl:Flo Rida pt:Flo Rida ro:Flo Rida ru:Флоу Райда fi:Flo Rida sv:Flo Rida th:โฟล ไรเดอ tr:Flo Rida vi:Flo Rida zh:佛罗·里达

Name	Charlie Daniels
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Charles Edward Daniels
Alias	Charlie Daniels
Birth date	October 28, 1936
Origin	Leland, North Carolina, US
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, fiddle
Genre	Country, rock, southern rock, outlaw country, country rock
Occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter
Years active	1950s–present
Label	Buddah, Epic, Liberty
Associated acts	Marshall Tucker BandThe Charlie Daniels Band
Website	}}

Charles Edward "Charlie" Daniels (born on October 28, 1936) is an American musician known for his contributions to country and southern rock music. He is known primarily for his number one country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and multiple other songs he has performed and written. Daniels has been active as a singer since the early 1950s. He was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on January 24, 2008.

Career

Daniels is a singer, guitarist, and fiddler, who began writing and performing in the 1950s. In 1964, Daniels co-wrote "It Hurts Me" (a song which Elvis Presley recorded) with Joy Byers. He worked as a Nashville session musician, often for producer Bob Johnston, including playing electric bass on three Bob Dylan albums during 1969 and 1970, and on recordings by Leonard Cohen. Daniels recorded his first solo album, ''Charlie Daniels'', in 1971 (see 1971 in country music). He produced the 1969 album by The Youngbloods, ''Elephant Mountain'' and played the violin on "Darkness, Darkness".

His first hit, the novelty song "Uneasy Rider", was from his 1973 second album, ''Honey in the Rock'', and reached No.9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

During this period, Daniels played fiddle on many of The Marshall Tucker Band's early albums: "A New Life", "Where We All Belong", "Searchin' For a Rainbow", "Long Hard Ride" and "Carolina Dreams". Daniels can be heard on the live portion of the "Where We All Belong" album, recorded in Milwaukee, WI on July 11, 1974.

In 1974, Daniels organized the first in a series of Volunteer Jam concerts based in or around Nashville, Tennessee, often playing with members of Barefoot Jerry. Except for a three-year gap in the late 1980s, these jams have continued ever since. In 1975, he had a top 30 hit as leader of the Charlie Daniels Band with the Southern rock self-identification anthem "The South's Gonna Do It Again". "Long Haired Country Boy" was a minor hit in that year. Daniels played fiddle on Hank Williams, Jr.'s 1975 album Hank Williams, Jr. and Friends.

Daniels won the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance in 1979 for "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", which reached No.3 on the charts. The following year, "Devil" became a major crossover success on rock radio stations, after its inclusion on the soundtrack for the hit movie ''Urban Cowboy''. He appeared in the movie. The song is by far Daniels' greatest success, still receiving regular airplay on U.S. classic rock and country stations, and is well-known even among audiences who eschew country music in general. A hard rock/heavy metal cover version of the song was included in the video game ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' as the final guitar battle against the last boss (Lou, the devil). Daniels has openly stated his opposition to the metal cover and the devil winning occasionally in the game.

Subsequent Daniels pop hits included "In America" (#11 in 1980), "The Legend of Wooley Swamp" (#31 in 1980), and "Still in Saigon" (#22 in 1982). In 1980, Daniels participated in the country music concept album, ''The Legend of Jesse James''.

In the late 1980s and 1990s, several of Daniels' albums and singles were hits on the Country charts and the music continues to receive airplay on country stations today. Daniels released several Gospel and Christian records. In 1999, he made a guest vocal appearance on his song "All Night Long" with Montgomery Gentry (Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry) for their debut album, "Tattoos and Scars," which was a commercial success.

In 2000, he composed and performed the score for the feature film ''Across the Line'' starring Brad Johnson. In 2005, he made a cameo appearance along with Larry the Cable Guy, Kid Rock, and Hank Williams, Jr. in Gretchen Wilson's music video for the song "All Jacked Up". In 2006, he appeared with Little Richard, Bootsy Collins, and other musicians as the backup band for Williams' opening sequence to ''Monday Night Football''.

On October 18, 2005, Charlie Daniels was honored as a BMI Icon at the 53rd annual BMI Country Awards. Throughout his career, Daniels' songwriting has garnered 6 BMI Country Awards; the first award was won in 1976 for "The South's Gonna Do It Again".

In November 2007, Daniels was invited by Martina McBride to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He was inducted by Marty Stuart and Connie Smith during the January 19, 2008, edition of the Opry at the Ryman Auditorium.

Daniels now resides in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, where the city has named a park after him. Daniels continues to tour regularly. Daniels appeared in commercials for UPS in 2001 with other celebrities convincing NASCAR driver Dale Jarrett to race the UPS Truck.

Daniels is currently featured playing fiddle in a television commercial for GEICO auto insurance.

Political statements

"The South's Gonna Do It" had a mild message of Southern cultural identity within the Southern rock movement. Daniels was an early supporter of Jimmy Carter's presidential bid and performed at his January 1977 inauguration.

"In America" was a reaction to the 1979–1981 Iran Hostage Crisis; it described a patriotic, united America where "we'll all stick together and you can take that to the bank / That's the cowboys and the hippies and the rebels and the yanks." The song experienced a revival following the September 11 attacks, when it was floated around the internet as "F*** Bin Laden." In contrast, "Still in Saigon" (written by Dan Daley) was an effective portrayal of the plight of the American Vietnam veteran ten years after the war; it was part of an early 1980s wave of attention to the subject, presaging treatments such as Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." and "Shut Out the Light", Billy Joel's "Goodnight Saigon", Huey Lewis and the News' "Walking on a Thin Line", Paul Hardcastle's "19" and somewhat later Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road".

In 1989, Daniels' country hit "Simple Man" was interpreted by some as advocating vigilantism. Lyrics such as "Just take them rascals [rapists, killers, child abusers] out in the swamp / Put 'em on their knees and tie 'em to a stump / Let the rattlers and the bugs and the alligators do the rest," got Daniels considerable media attention and talk show visits.

In 2003, Daniels published an ''Open Letter to the Hollywood Bunch'' in defense of President George W. Bush's Iraq policy. His 2003 book ''Ain't No Rag: Freedom, Family, and the Flag'' contains this letter as well as many other personal statements. During the 2004 presidential campaign, Daniels said that having never served in the military himself, he did not have the right to criticize John Kerry's service record. His band's official website contains a "soapbox" page, where Daniels has made statements such as the following: "In the future Darwinism will be looked upon as we now look upon the flat earth theory," and "I am more afraid of you and your ilk than I am of the terrorists," regarding U.S. Senator Harry Reid. On March 27, 2009, Daniels criticized the Obama Administration for "changing the name of the War on Terror to the "Overseas Contingency Operation" and referring to terrorism as "man-caused disasters"".

Personal life

Charlie Daniels was born October 28, 1936, in Wilmington, N.C., and raised on a musical diet that included Pentecostal gospel, local bluegrass bands and the rhythm & blues and country music from Nashville's 50,000-watt radio stations WLAC and WSM. He graduated from high school in 1955. Already skilled on guitar, fiddle and mandolin, Daniels formed a rock 'n' roll band and hit the road.

Charlie Daniels enjoys hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities. He is a member and supporter of the National Rifle Association (NRA). Daniels married his wife, Hazel, in 1963. Together, they have one son, as well as three grandchildren. On January 15, 2010, Daniels was rushed to the hospital after suffering a stroke while snowmobiling in Colorado. He recovered and was released 2 days later.

Discography

References

External links

Official Website

Charlie Daniels interview www.AwaitngTheFlood.com

Charlie Daniels interview www.CountryMusicPride.com

Charlie Daniels at bmi.com

Category:American country singers Category:American male singers Category:American session musicians Category:American country fiddlers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:Musicians from North Carolina Category:People from Wilmington, North Carolina Category:People from North Carolina Category:Southern rock fiddlers Category:1936 births Category:Living people Category:Epic Records artists Category:American Christians Category:National Rifle Association members

cs:Charlie Daniels de:Charlie Daniels es:Charlie Daniels fr:Charlie Daniels it:Charlie Daniels nl:Charlie Daniels ja:チャーリー・ダニエルズ pt:Charlie Daniels fi:Charlie Daniels

name	Jin Akanishi
background	solo_singer
birth name	(Akanishi Jin)
birth date	July 04, 1984
origin	Chiba Prefecture, Japan
genre	Pop
occupation	Singer-songwriter, arranger, international artist actor, television personality
instrument	Vocals, Guitar
years active	1998-present
label	J-One Records, Warner Music Group
associated acts	KAT-TUN, Koichi Domoto, Crystal Kay, Lands
website	jinakanishi.us }}

is a Japanese idol, singer-songwriter, actor, seiyū, and former radio host. Akanishi is a former member of the J-pop group, KAT-TUN, and was one of the two lead vocalists. Since the group's debut in 2006, it has achieved 14 consecutive number ones (including studio albums) on the Oricon charts.

Akanishi is also a budding actor with roles in the second season of popular NTV school drama, ''Gokusen 2'', ''Anego'' and ''Yukan Club''. He was also a co-host of KAT-TUN's own variety show, ''Cartoon KAT-TUN'', and used to host a radio program called "KAT-TUN Style" with bandmate Junnosuke Taguchi from October 2007 to March 2008.

Early life

Born in the Chiba Prefecture on July 4, 1984, Akanishi is the oldest child. His family consists of his parents and a younger brother, Reio, who also works in the entertainment industry as an actor under the stage name, Fuuta. His given name, Jin ("benevolence"), comes from one of the five Confucian virtues. He moved to Tokyo in the first grade. He is the best friend of Tomohisa Yamashita and the two remain close today. In 1997, when he was still in grade school, a classmate sent in a photo of him to idol magazine, Myojo, and he was featured in the "Cool Classmates" corner of the issue. Akanishi expressed interest in the entertainment industry and his mother thus sent in an application to Johnny's Entertainment on his behalf in 1998. Though he technically failed his audition on November 8, 1998, he was told to stay when he tried to return his number plate to a man who happened to be Johnny Kitagawa himself. He entered Johnny & Associates at the same time as future bandmates Kazuya Kamenashi and Yuichi Nakamaru.

Recording career

2001–2006: Early career

After he was made a Johnny's Jr. member in 2000, Akanishi was part of a number of groups like Musical Academy Dancing, J2000 and B.A.D. before being drafted into a six-member unit in 2001 with other juniors Kazuya Kamenashi, Junnosuke Taguchi, Koki Tanaka, Tatsuya Ueda and Yuichi Nakamaru. Though the group was originally meant to only be backup dancers for Koichi Domoto of KinKi Kids, the sextet's unexpected popularity led their agency to allow them to expand into a separate group called KAT-TUN, an acronym formed by the first letter of the members' surnames. Despite the group's popularity (they even released DVDs of their live concerts in 2003 and 2005—a first for JE groups that hadn't debuted), they were not allowed to make their bow until five years later.

2006–2009: Debut as a member of KAT-TUN

KAT-TUN's debut on March 22, 2006 was marked by a tripartite release of their debut single, debut album and a DVD chronicling the making of their first music video. All three releases were immensely successful on the Oricon charts with "Real Face" and "Real Face Film" certified as the best-selling single and domestic music DVD of 2006 respectively. The group's next single, "Signal", was also a massive hit debuting at number 1 and selling more than 500,000 copies.

Much to the Japanese public's surprise, Akanishi announced in a press conference on October 13, 2006 that he was leaving the country to study English abroad for an indefinite amount of time. Despite his absence, KAT-TUN were obliged to continue its activities and released their third single and second studio album, "Bokura no Machi de" and ''Cartoon KAT-TUN II You'', which both topped the charts. Akanishi finally returned from Los Angeles, the United States after six months on April 19, 2007. He quickly resumed work by joining his bandmates on their nationwide tour on April 21. All of KAT-TUN's subsequent singles and albums have since debuted at number 1 and the band has sold more than 6 million records in just over three years.

Akanishi is also a songwriter having written songs for KAT-TUN and for himself, including "Hesitate", "Love or Like" (from ''Cartoon KAT-TUN II You''), "Lovejuice" (B-side of the limited edition 2 of "Don't U Ever Stop"), "Care" (from ''Break the Records: By You & For You'') and "Wonder." The song "Wonder" is a collaboration with R&B; artist, Crystal Kay. Akanishi is also featured in the song "Helpless Night" from Crystal Kay's greatest hits album ''Best of Crystal Kay'', released on September 2, 2009. He can play the guitar and has composed both music and lyrics for "", "ha-ha" and "Pinky". He also collaborated with bandmate Ueda to create the song, "Butterfly" (from ''Best of KAT-TUN'').

2009–2010: Lands

At the event of Tokyo Girls Collection on September 5, 2009, Jin appeared as a special guest to promote his new movie, ''Bandage'', he performed the movie's theme song which marked this as the solo debut under the temporary unit Lands with Takeshi Kobayashi, the producer of Mr. Children. Kobayashi wrote the lyrics and music of their debut single "Bandage." The song features drummer Nobuaki Kaneko of Rize. It was released on November 25, 2009; each copy contains a postcard to enter the drawing for tickets to Lands' special concert, held on January 16, 2010 in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area.

On November 30, 2009, it was announced that Lands would release an album, ''Olympos'', on January 13, 2010. It includes "Bandage" and 7 other songs.

2010–present: Solo concerts and United States tour

Akanishi had a series of solo concerts, "Akanishi Jin Star Live You & Jin", comprising a total of 32 shows from February 7, 2010 to February 28, 2010. The song "A Page" featured at his concerts, was released as part of KAT-TUN's 11th single, "Love Yourself (Kimi ga Kirai na Kimi ga Suki)," on the 2nd limited edition on February 10, 2010. He composed and arranged the song "A Page." He also co-wrote its lyrics. Announced on March 24, 2010, Akanishi's solo tour "You & Jin" had a 3 show tour in Los Angeles, California on June 19 and June 20. The solo tour tickets were sold out in the first hour when it began to sell on April 15.

In the last show of his You&Jin; concert Akanishi announced a tour in the United States. In July 2010, Akanishi announced that he would leave the band KAT-TUN, becoming a solo artist of Johnny & Associates. On 16 September 2010 dates for Akanishi's fall tour were released and the cities included were: Chicago, New York, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The tour has been named 'Yellow Gold Tour 3010' after the tour's title song "Yellow Gold" written by Jin Akanishi, Jovette Rivera, and Joey Carbone.

The tour featured was held entirely in English, including 14 English-language songs that are mostly written and produced by the singer himself. On December 9, 2010, it was announced that Jin will be joining the Warner Music family. Warner Music Group and Warner Music Japan will sign Jin on a global basis and we will become responsible for his recording career in both English and Japanese language.

After the Yellow Gold tour 3010 ended with success, Jin returned to Japan. To thank his fans for their support and love, Jin held in total 12 concerts in Osaka-jō Hall, World Memorial Hall, Nippon Budokan and Saitama Super Arena.

Jin's first solo single titled "Eternal", was released on March 2, 2011 under Warner Music Group Japan. His debut single in the U.S. has been revealed to be a collaboration on a pop song with singer-songwriter Jason Derulo and produced by J.R Rotem. A DVD of his "Yellow Gold Tour 3011" concert tour will be released on May 4, 2011. His first U.S. album will be released sometime in fall of 2011.

Acting career

Akanishi made his debut as an actor in 1999 in a cameo appearance in the second episode of NTV's romance comedy, ''P.P.O.I.'', and also had small roles in TV Asahi's ''Best Friend'', ''Omae no yukichi ga naiteiru'' and in NHK series, ''Haregi, Koko Ichiban''. He also started appearing in musicals from 2000 taking on supporting roles in ''Millennium Shock'' (2000), ''Show Geki Shock'' (2001–2002), ''Dream Boy'' (2004) and ''Dream Boys'' (2006). Akanishi returned to the small screen in 2005 in the second season of the award-winning and popular NTV school drama, ''Gokusen'', starring opposite Yukie Nakama and bandmate Kazuya Kamenashi. The show won "Best Drama" at the 44th Television Drama Academy Awards and ended its run with an average viewership rating of 27.8%. He also had a supporting role in NTV's romance series, ''Anego'', the same year.

In 2007, Akanishi starred in his first lead role in ''Yukan Club'', a school comedy series, alongside bandmate Junnosuke Taguchi and was voted "Best Actor" at the 11th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix. He made his debut as a voice actor in 2008 for the Japanese dub of ''Speed Racer'', providing the voice for protagonist Speed played by Emile Hirsch.

In 2009, Akanishi was cast as the lead actor in the movie, ''Bandage'', directed by Takeshi Kobayashi and which was scheduled for release on January 16, 2010. This was his big screen debut.

It has recently been announced that Akanishi will star in the Hollywood film "47 Ronin" which also stars Keanu Reeves in the lead role. Akanishi will play the role of Oishi Chikara, a friend to Kai who is played by Reeves. The film's director, Carl Erik Rinsch, was apparently impressed by Akanishi's English abilities and motivation.

Discography

KAT-TUN

Solo Recordings

Singles

"Bandage" (25 November 2009)

"Eternal" (2 March 2011)

Album

''Olympos'' (13 January 2010)

''TBA'' (TBA)

DVD

''Yellow Gold Tour 3011'' (4 May 2011)

Songs featured on CD releases by other artists

Crystal Kay - ''Best of Crystal Kay'' - 2009 - "Helpless Night"

Filmography

Movies

47 Ronin as Chikara (2012)

Bandage as Natsu (2010)

Dramas

Yukan Club (有閑倶楽部) as Shochikubai Miroku (NTV, 2007)

Anego (アネゴ) as Kurosawa Akihiko (NTV, 2005)

Gokusen 2 (ごくせん 2005) as Yabuki Hayato (NTV, 2005)

Xmas Nante Daikirai as Kitagawa Sho (NTV, 2004)

Omae no Yukichi ga Naiteiru (TV Asahi, 2001)

Haregi, Koko Ichiban (NHK, 2000)

Taiyō wa Shizumanai (Fuji TV, 2000)

Best Friend (TV Asahi, 1999)

Kowai Nichiyōbi (NTV, 1999)

P.P.O.I. (NTV, 1999)

Voice acting

Speed Racer as Speed Racer(2008)

Musicals

Dream Boys (2006)

Summary (2004)

Dream Boy (2004)

Shock Digest (2002)

Awards

Years	Awards
????		* Gained a total of 16 Jr. Awards
2007		* 11th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix : Best Actor - "Yukan Club"	* 17th TV LIFE Drama award: Best Actor - "Yukan Club"
2008		* Anan Magazine 2008 Ranking: Most Favourite - #2	* Anan Magazine 2008 Ranking: Most Wanted To Be Hugged By - #1	* Anan Magazine 2008 Ranking: Most Wanted To Hug - #2	* Anan Magazine 2008 Ranking: Most Wanted Lover - #1	* Anan Magazine 2008 Ranking: Most Sexy - #1
2009		* TBS TV Station Program Countdown 2009: Most Trendy Male Artist - #1

References

Category:Johnny's Entertainment Category:KAT-TUN members Category:Japanese pop singers Category:Japanese male singers Category:Japanese singer-songwriters Category:1984 births Category:Living people

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Tim Deegan (born in Oshawa, Ontario) was a VJ on MuchMusic, a music television station in Canada.

Early life

Tim grew up in Oshawa east of Toronto and he attended O'Neill Collegiate and Vocational Institute, and had a part time job at a grocery store. Tim joined a band during high school, which played handfuls of shows over southern Ontario during their high school years. After high school Tim went to Durham College to study fire fighting. After Graduating from the fire fighting program Tim worked as a Fire Protection Officer at an automotive factory before deciding to go back to school for Wood Working. He moved to Kitchener and attended Conestoga College.

MuchMusic

Tim auditioned for the VJ Search at the Fairview Mall in Kitchener, Ontario and eventually won the competition months later, by public vote.

In his time as a MuchMusic VJ, Tim hosted numerous shows including Much On Demand, Much Adrenaline, Much Take Over, On Set, The Shift and My Date With, as well as hosting specials like Buck Naked in Barbados, Spring Break, Hot N Wet, and the Much Music Video Awards. Tim has interviewed such bands/stars as the Jonas Brothers, Justin Bieber, Hedley, Mel C (Spice Girls), The All American Rejects, Ke$ha, Katy Perry, Timbaland, Jerry Seinfeld, Sean "Diddy" Combs, 3OH!3, Boys Like Girls, and Amanda Crew. Deegan filmed his last shift at MuchMusic on September 2, 2010.

References

External links

Tim Deegan Official Website

Tim Deegan page on MuchMusic Official website

Category:MuchMusic personalities Category:Reality show winners Category:People from Kitchener, Ontario Category:1982 births Category:Living people