name	A.Y. Jackson
birth name	Alexander Young Jackson
birth date	October 03, 1882
birth place	Montreal, Quebec
death date	April 05, 1974
death place	Kleinberg, Ontario
nationality	Canadian
field	Painting
training	Le Monument National, Art Institute of Chicago, Académie Julian
movement	Group of Seven
awards	}}

Alexander Young Jackson, CC, CMG (October 3, 1882 April 5, 1974) was a Canadian painter and founding member of the Group of Seven.

Early life and training

As a young boy, Jackson worked as an office boy for a lithograph company, after his father abandoned his family of six children. It was at this company that Jackson began his art training. In the evenings, he took classes at Montreal's Le Monument National.

In 1905, Jackson worked his way to Europe on a cattle boat, returning by the same means and travelling on to Chicago. In Chicago, he joined a commercial art firm and took courses at the Art Institute of Chicago. He saved his earnings and, by 1907, was able to visit France to study Impressionism. In France, Jackson decided to become a professional painter, studying at Paris' Académie Julian under J.P. Laurens.

Professional career

Jackson returned to Canada, settling in Sweetsburg, Quebec, where he began painting works such as ''The Edge of Maple Wood''. He held his first single artist exhibition at the Montreal Art Gallery with Randolph Hewton in 1913. Unable to make ends meet and discouraged by the Canadian art scene, he considered moving to the United States. However, he received a letter from J. E. H. MacDonald which changed his mind.

MacDonald inquired about ''The Edge of Maple Wood'', which he had seen at a Toronto art show. MacDonald said that Toronto artist Lawren Harris wanted to purchase the painting, if Jackson still owned it. Harris purchased the painting and Jackson struck up correspondence with the two Toronto artists, often debating on topics related to Canadian art. Jackson soon began visiting Toronto.

In his visits, A.Y. Jackson often joined the painters who would one day be known as the Group of Seven on major trips to Algonquin Park, Georgian Bay, Algoma and the North Shore. Like the other Group of Seven painters, Jackson embraced landscape themes and sought to develop a bold style. An avid outdoorsman, Jackson became good friends with Tom Thomson, and the duo often fished and sketched together.

In 1910, Harris convinced Jackson to spend the summer painting in Georgian Bay. A local doctor offered use of his cottage, a studio and paid all expenses.

War service

Jackson enlisted in the Canadian Army's 60th battalion in 1915. Private Jackson was wounded at the Battle of Sanctuary Wood in June 1916, soon after he reached the front. While recovering from his injuries, he came to the attention of Lord Beaverbrook. He was then transferred to the Canadian War Records branch as an artist. Here, Jackson would create important pictures of events connected with the war.

He later worked for the Canadian War Memorials as an official war artist from 1917 to 1919.

After the war, Jackson returned to Toronto, often making painting expeditions to the lower St Lawrence, the Arctic, and British Columbia.

Group of Seven

In 1919 Jackson and six painter colleagues formed the Group of Seven. These artists were considered to be bold, because the Canadian wilderness had previously been considered too rugged and wild to be painted. Although his name is conventionally associated with this group, he would also remain something of a loner throughout his life.

In 1925, he taught at the Ontario College of Art (OCA), in Toronto; this was the only year that he missed his annual spring trip to Quebec.

In 1933, Jackson helped found the Canadian Group of Painters. Several members of the Group of Seven later became members of this group, including Lawren Harris, A. J. Casson, Arthur Lismer and Franklin Carmichael.

Later years

Jackson moved to the Ottawa region in 1955, settling in Manotick.

In his later years, he was often accompanied on his painting trips into the Ottawa Valley region, the Gatineau Hills, the Lievre River Valley and Ripond with friend, painter and former-student, Ralph Wallace Burton, and fellow painters Maurice Haycock and Stuart D. Helmsley. One such venture almost ended in disaster: "...in the 1950s, when Ralph and A.Y. were painting on the banks of the Ottawa River at Deux Rivieres, a bullet ricoheted off a rock where Jackson was sitting."

In 1958 he published ''A Painter's Country'', an autobiography dedicated to the memory of J.E.H. MacDonald, who "visualized a Canadian school of painting and devoted his life to the realization of it".

In 1964, Jackson submitted his own design during the Great Flag Debate. It was similar in design to the Pearson Pennant.

In 1965, Jackson had a serious stroke that put an end to his painting career. He recuperated at the home of friend and painter Ralph Wallace Burton and later moved to the McMichael Conservation Estate in Kleinburg, Ontario. Jackson died in 1974, over the Easter holiday in a nursing home in Toronto. He is buried on the grounds of the McMichael Gallery.

Honours

In 1967 Jackson was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada.

A. Y. Jackson Secondary School in Toronto was named after Jackson. He attended the opening of the school in 1970. A. Y. Jackson Secondary School in Ottawa is also named after him and opened in 1976.

In 1970, the Royal Canadian Academy awarded Jackson its medal for lifetime achievement.

The A. Y. Jackson Lookout on Highway 144 in Sudbury overlooks the waterfall depicted in Jackson's 1953 painting ''Spring on the Onaping River''.

The Ottawa River Institute has established an A.Y. Jackson Trail in his honour.

Paintings

See also

Canadian official war artists

War artist

War art

The Studio Building

Ralph Wallace Burton

Further reading

Notes

References

Brandon, Laura. (2008). ''Art and War.'' New York: I.B. Tauris. 10-ISBN 1-84511-237-7/13-ISBN 978-1-84511-237-0; OCLC 225345535

Gallatin, Albert Eugene. (1919). ''Art and the Great War.'' New York: E.P. Dutton. OCLC 422817

Reid, Dennis R. (1988). ''A Concise History of Canadian Painting.'' Toronto: Oxford University Press. 10-ISBN 0-19-540664-8/13-ISBN 978-0-19-540664-1; 10-ISBN 0-19-540663-X; 13-ISBN 978-0-19-540663-4; OCLC 18378555

External links

Alexander Young (A.Y.) Jackson (1882-1974)

CBC Digital Archives - The Group of Seven: Painters in the Wilderness

''Canadian Landscape'' - an online documentary at NFB.ca

1928 A.Y. Jackson and Frederick Banting NWT Historical Timeline, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre

A. Y. Jackson, Lethbridge College Buchanan Art Collection

A Painter's Country on Amazon.com

Category:1882 births Category:1974 deaths Category:Canadian painters Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Category:Landscape artists Category:Companions of the Order of Canada Category:People from Montreal Category:School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Category:Anglophone Quebec people Category:National Historic Persons of Canada Category:War artists

es:A. Y. Jackson pt:A. Y. Jackson

Name	Mike Ezuruonye
Birthname	Mike Ezuruonye
Occupation	Actor }}

Mike Ezuruonye is a Nigerian actor. He received two nominations for ''Best Actor in a Supporting Role'' and ''Best Actor in a Leading Role'' at the African Movie Academy Awards in 2008 and 2009.

References

External links

Category:Igbo actors Category:Nigerian actors Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

name	Ashlee Simpson
background	solo_singer
birth name	Ashlee Nicole Simpson
alias	Ashlee Simpson-Wentz
born	October 03, 1984Waco, Texas, United States
origin	Richardson, Texas, United States
genre	Pop, pop rock
occupation	Singer, songwriter, actress
years active	2001–present
label	Geffen
website	www.ashleesimpsonmusic.com }}

Ashlee Nicole Simpson (born October 3, 1984) is an American singer and actress. She rose to prominence in mid-2004 due to the success of her number-one debut album ''Autobiography'' and the reality series, ''The Ashlee Simpson Show''.

In October 2005, following a North American concert tour and a film appearance, Simpson released her second number-one album, ''I Am Me''. Her third album, ''Bittersweet World'', was released almost three years later in April 2008. The following month, she married musician Pete Wentz and announced that they were expecting a child. On November 20, 2008, Simpson gave birth to their son, Bronx Mowgli Wentz. Simpson filed for divorce on February 8, 2011, citing "irreconcilable differences."

Life and career

1984–2002: Early life and career beginnings

Simpson was born in Waco, Texas and raised in Richardson, Texas. She is the daughter of Tina Ann (née Drew), a homemaker, and Joe Truett Simpson, a former Baptist youth minister who is now her manager. She attended Prairie Creek Elementary. She has an older sister, Jessica, who is also a singer. Simpson began studying classical ballet when she was three years old, eventually becoming an accomplished dancer. She was admitted to the School of American Ballet in New York City at the age of 11, a year in advance. During that time, Simpson suffered from an eating disorder; the condition lasted for about six months before her parents stepped in and got her the help she needed to overcome the issue. When Jessica landed a record deal, Tina and Joe Simpson made the decision to relocate to Los Angeles, California, where Ashlee began appearing in television commercials.

Following the success of Jessica's first album, Ashlee became one of her backup dancers. She later began appearing in films and television series, including a 2001 episode of the sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'', a minor role in the 2002 film ''The Hot Chick'', and a recurring role on the family drama series ''7th Heaven''. Simpson recorded a song entitled "Christmas Past, Present and Future" in 2002 for the holiday album ''School's Out! Christmas'', which was later re-released on ''Radio Disney Jingle Jams'' in 2004 and 2005. In the summer of 2003, she released a song called "Just Let Me Cry" for the soundtrack to the film ''Freaky Friday''. She occasionally appeared on ''Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica'', a reality show documenting the married life of her sister, Jessica, and her then-husband, Nick Lachey.

2003–04: ''Autobiography'' and ''Saturday Night Live'' incident

After her appearances on the ''School's Out! Christmas'' and ''Freaky Friday'' albums, Simpson signed a record deal with Geffen Records. As an accompaniment to her debut album and in order to create interest in the beginning of her own music career, she filmed and appeared on her own reality television series, ''The Ashlee Simpson Show'', which aired in the time slot following ''Newlyweds''. It ran in the United States for eight weekly episodes over the summer of 2004 (a second season of 10 episodes aired from January to March 2005). The show dealt with the processes of writing, recording and performing Simpson's music, as well as aspects of her personal life.

Her first album, ''Autobiography'', debuted at number one in the United States in July 2004, with first-week sales of around 398,000 copies. The album was certified triple-platinum by the RIAA in September 2004. Simpson co-wrote all of the album's tracks, describing it as "very true to my emotions", however, critical reviews were mixed. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's Peter Relic characterised the album as a "mundane melange of Avril-ish brat pop and Sheryl Crow cod rock." The single which preceded the album, "Pieces of Me", was one of the biggest hits of the summer in the United States and was certified gold by the RIAA. The follow-up singles, "Shadow" and "La La", were less successful, although the latter became an RIAA-certified gold seller. At the ''Teen Choice Awards'' on August 8, 2004, Simpson received the "Song of the Summer" Teen Choice Award for "Pieces of Me", as well as the "Fresh Face" Award. She also won the Billboard Award for New Female Artist of the Year in December, and in the same month, ''Entertainment Weekly'' named her one of its Breakout Stars of 2004.

Simpson appeared as a musical guest on episode 568 of ''Saturday Night Live'', and was scheduled to perform two songs. Her first song, "Pieces of Me", was performed without problems. However, when she began her second song, "Autobiography", the vocals for the song "Pieces of Me" were heard again before Simpson had the microphone to her mouth. She began to do an impromptu jig when she realized the embarrassing error, and then left the stage. During the closing of the show, Simpson appeared with the guest host, Jude Law, and said, "I'm so sorry. My band started playing the wrong song, and I didn't know what to do, so I thought I'd do a hoedown." On October 25, Simpson called in to the music video show ''Total Request Live'' and explained that due to complications arising from severe acid reflux disease, she had completely lost her voice and been advised not to sing by her doctor. She said that because of the acid reflux, her father wanted her to use a vocal guide track for the performance. During the performance her drummer hit the wrong button, which caused the wrong track to be played. Simpson said of the incident, "I made a complete fool of myself."

2005–06: Touring and ''I Am Me''

On January 4, 2005, Simpson performed "La La" at the halftime show for the 2005 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. After her performance, many of the 72,000-plus spectators booed. Some viewers noted that Kelly Clarkson had performed in the show earlier to a much more positive reaction, and asserted that Simpson's performance was poor and very off-key. After the Orange Bowl performance, an internet petition was created at PetitionOnline.com, which requested that Simpson stop producing music. It soon became one of the most active of the site's petitions. In regards to the negativity towards her, Simpson said, "That's cool. You don't always have to be a fan of everybody's music", adding that she receives a great amount of support from her fans. Around the time of the petition, ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine chose Simpson to be on the cover of the February 2005 issue, naming her the "Fun Fearless Female of the Year". Simpson's first North American tour ran from mid-February to late April 2005. The tour was described as "stripped down" without pyrotechnics. As well as material from ''Autobiography'', Simpson performed her own unreleased song "Hollywood", The Pretenders' "Brass in Pocket", Blondie's "Call Me" and Madonna's "Burning Up". She had a supporting role as an aspiring actress named Clea in ''Undiscovered'', an independent film which was released in theaters in August 2005. While her performance was met with indifference, the film itself was panned by critics and failed to reach the top 10 in its opening weekend, earning just $676,048 during its theatrical run. Her performance in the film earned her a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.

Simpson's second album, ''I Am Me'', was released on October 18, 2005. She wanted to incorporate the feel of music from the 1980s on the album, and unlike with her debut, she wanted to focus less on relationships and more on herself. The album debuted at number-one, selling around 220,000 copies in its first week, but sales fell quickly, and by April 2006, it had sold less than 900,000 copies in the United States and 3 million copies worldwide. Its lead single, "Boyfriend", became a top 20 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 while the next two singles, "L.O.V.E." and "Invisible", reached the top 40. Simpson began a concert tour in late September in Portland, Oregon and appeared on the October 8, 2005 episode of ''SNL'' to promote the album. The first song she performed on the show was "Catch Me When I Fall", a ballad written about her previous ''SNL'' experience, and she thanked the crowd after her second performance. In mid-December, Simpson collapsed after performing in Japan, and was briefly hospitalized, consequently cancelling an appearance at the Radio Music Awards. The collapse and her subsequent hospitalization were attributed to exhaustion as a result of her busy work schedule. In March 2006, Simpson won an MTV celebrity surfing invitational competition, which also featured celebrities such as Meagan Good, Jack Osbourne, Ashley Parker Angel and Tony Hawk. On April 12, 2006, she hosted and performed at the MTV Australia Video Music Awards, where she won "Best Female Artist" and "Best Pop Video" for the single "Boyfriend". She began a summer tour on June 5, 2006, with Ashley Parker Angel as the opening act. Simpson said that after the completion of the tour, she would look at film scripts and continue her acting career.

Simpson had a nose job in April 2006. In the May 2007 issue of ''Harper's Bazaar'', she said that she was not insecure about her appearance and had not been beforehand. She said that plastic surgery was a "personal choice" that one should only decide to do for oneself and not for others. In a September 2007 interview, her father, Joe Simpson said of the surgery: "There was a real problem with her breathing and that was cured". In mid-2006, Simpson gave an interview to ''Marie Claire'' magazine, in which she was said to have "had it with Hollywood's twisted view of feminine beauty" and was photographed painting a pro-female mural with a group of underprivileged girls from Los Angeles' Green Dot Public School. By the time the magazine hit newsstands, Simpson had already had her nose job, and some ''Marie Claire'' readers complained that this was hypocritical. The magazine received over 1,000 letters of complaint and the magazine's new editor expanded the letters section of the September issue of the magazine to give readers a chance to vent their frustrations. She played the role of Roxie Hart in the West End production of ''Chicago'' to rave reviews, from September 25 to October 28, 2006. Her performance in the show was described as "dazzling and near flawless."

2007–10: ''Bittersweet World'', marriage, motherhood and ''Melrose Place''

During 2007, Simpson worked on her third studio album, ''Bittersweet World'' with producers Timbaland, Kenna, and Chad Hugo. She described the album as being influenced by 1980s music—bearing similarities with ''I Am Me''—while still incorporating elements of rock and pop and described her intention to go on tour to support the album. Geffen Records chairman Ron Fair said in December 2006 that working on Simpson's next album would be "very tricky" because of press scrutiny and "prejudices", but that Geffen would work with her to overcome that, "because she deserves to be heard and she deserves a shot." ''Bittersweet World'' was released in the United States on April 22, 2008 to mixed reviews. The album's first single, the Timbaland-produced "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)", was released as a digital download in December 2007, but failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single, "Little Miss Obsessive", was released in March 2008 and performed marginally better, reaching number ninety-six on the Hot 100. A collection of tops designed by Simpson was launched by the clothing retailer Wet Seal on April 22, in connection with the album's release, and she also began appearing in commercials for Canadian retailer Zellers to promote their independent clothing line, ''Request'', in mid-2008. ''Bittersweet World'' has sold 126,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Simpson announced her engagement to Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz on April 9, 2008. She had previously been wearing what she described as a "promise ring" from Wentz for several months. She chose not to confirm or deny reports that she was pregnant, saying that it was something to "keep personal." On May 17, 2008, Simpson and Wentz married at Simpson's parents' residence in Encino, California, where her father officiated the ceremony. Her surname changed from Simpson to Wentz and she was briefly known professionally as Ashlee Simpson-Wentz. On May 28, 2008, Simpson and Wentz confirmed that they were expecting their first child. Simpson gave birth to their son, Bronx Mowgli Wentz, on November 20, 2008. Simpson appeared alongside her husband in the crime drama series ''CSI: NY'' in 2009.

Simpson returned full-time to television episodes by playing the role of Violet Foster in ''Melrose Place'', the CW's revamp of the '90s series of the same name. She was originally signed to the show as a regular, but producers and CW executives decided to write out her character, and she left the show after 13 episodes. Various rumors circulated as to the reason for her sudden departure, with theories including feuds with other cast members, lack of acting ability and financial issues. Her departure was generally attributed to the show needing a "face lift" because of the decreasing viewing figures. Simpson stated that she had known all along that her character would leave the show once the murder mystery storyline had concluded. After her departure from ''Melrose Place'', Simpson reprised her role in the Broadway musical production of ''Chicago''. She began her Broadway run on November 30, 2009 and performed in New York for six weeks. She played eight shows a week until February 7, 2010. When her run was completed, she stated that she was going to take a break to spend time with her son before beginning to work on her fourth studio album.

2011–present: Fashion line and fourth album

On February 9, 2011, it was announced that Simpson had filed for divorce from Pete Wentz, citing irreconcilable differences. In the filing, she requested joint legal custody with visitation for Wentz, but sole physical custody and spousal support. She also asked that her name be restored to her birth name of Ashlee Nicole Simpson.

Simpson has created a fashion line in collaboration with her sister's successful brand. She is the co-creative director of the line, aimed at girls aged 7–16, which is set to be in stores by the end of 2011. In an interview with Paper magazine, Simpson stated that her new album would have a "folk feel". However, on June 23, 2011, Ryan Seacrest confirmed on ''On Air with Ryan Seacrest'' that Simpson had been having meetings with record executives along with previous collaborator, John Shanks, to figure out the exact direction of her next album.

Music and influences

When Simpson first broke onto the music scene in 2004, she was set apart from her sister, Jessica's already established image due to a different music style, different fashion choices, and a more assertive personality. Simpson's songs have been characterized by rock elements absent from her sister's music, and, particularly during her early career, Simpson would often wear outfits highlighting a rock or punk-influenced sense of style. She cites her childhood as being the time when she began to sing, and admits that she dreamed of being on Broadway and did not expect to break into the pop music scene. She trains with a vocal coach, and studies Etta James and Aretha Franklin albums for vocal inspiration. She has cited Gwen Stefani, No Doubt, Joan Jett, The Runaways, Madonna, Pat Benatar, Chrissie Hynde, and Debbie Harry from Blondie as her musical influences.

Filmography

''Undiscovered''

style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Year	Film	Role	Notes
2002	''The Hot Chick''	Monique
2005	|	Clea	Secondary Role

''7th Heaven'' ''The Ashlee Simpson Show'' ''CSI: NY'' ''Melrose Place (2009 TV series)

style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	''Malcolm in the Middle''	High School Girl
2002—2004	|	Cecilia Smith
2004—2005	|	Herself	Reality television>Reality show
2009	|	Lila Wickfield	Point of No Return (CSI: NY)>Point of No Return" (episode 18, season 5)
2009—2010	Melrose Place'' ||	Violet Foster

Theater

''Chicago (musical)

style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Chicago (musical)>Chicago''	''Roxie Hart''
2009	Chicago'' ||	''Roxie Hart''	Broadway

Discography

''Autobiography'' (2004)

''I Am Me'' (2005)

''Bittersweet World'' (2008)

Awards and nominations

'' List of awards and nominations received by Ashlee Simpson''

See also

List of Ashlee Simpson concert tours

References

External links

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from Texas Category:American dance musicians Category:American dancers Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American pop singers Category:American pop singer-songwriters Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American television actors Category:Baptists from the United States Category:Musicians from Dallas, Texas Category:Musicians from Texas Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Dallas, Texas

ar:اشلي سيمبسون bg:Ашли Симпсън cs:Ashlee Simpson cy:Ashlee Simpson da:Ashlee Simpson de:Ashlee Simpson el:Άσλι Σίμπσον es:Ashlee Simpson fa:اشلی سیمپسون fr:Ashlee Simpson Wentz ko:애슐리 심슨 hr:Ashlee Simpson id:Ashlee Simpson it:Ashlee Simpson he:אשלי סימפסון ka:ეშლი სიმპსონი lv:Ešlija Simpsone lt:Ashlee Simpson nl:Ashlee Simpson ja:アシュリー・シンプソン no:Ashlee Simpson pl:Ashlee Simpson pt:Ashlee Simpson ru:Симпсон, Эшли simple:Ashlee Simpson sl:Ashlee Simpson fi:Ashlee Simpson sv:Ashlee Simpson-Wentz tl:Ashlee Simpson th:แอชลี ซิมป์สัน tr:Ashlee Simpson vi:Ashlee Simpson zh:艾希莉·辛普森

name	Cody Simpson
background	solo_singer
birth name	Cody Robert Simpson
born	January 11, 1997Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
origin	Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
instrument	Vocals, guitar
genre	Pop, R&B;
occupation	Singer
years active	2009–present
label	Atlantic 2010 – Present
associated acts
website	codysimpson.com }}

Cody Robert Simpson (born 11 January 1997) is an Australian pop singer from Gold Coast, Queensland, who is currently signed to US record label Atlantic Records.

Early life

Simpson was born to Brad and Angie Simpson. He has two younger siblings, Tom and Alli. He is also a talented swimmer, winning two gold medals at the Queensland Swimming Championships. Simpson trained at the Miami Swimming Club under coach Ken Nixon. Simpson's mother Angie works as a volunteer at the club.

Simpson began to record songs in his bedroom during the summer of 2009 on YouTube, performing "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz, "Cry Me a River" and "Señorita" by Justin Timberlake, "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5, and his own songs, "One" and "Perfect." He was subsequently discovered on YouTube by Shawn Campbell, a Grammy-nominated record producer who has produced for Jay-Z and other artists.

Music career

Simpson's rise to recognition was featured on ''The 7.30 Report'' in December 2009. He released his debut single, "iYiYi" (which features American rapper Flo Rida), on 15 May 2010. It was digitally released on 30 May 2010. The music video for "iYiYi" was released on 30 June 2010. The music video for Simpson's second single, "Summertime", was released on 20 September 2010.

Simpson relocated to Los Angeles in June 2010 with his family to record his songs with Atlantic Records and his producer Shawn Campbell. His manager is Michael 'Blue' Williams. That same month, Simpson appeared on ''Sunrise''. On 22 June 2010, it was announced that Simpson would participate in the ''Camplified 2010 Tour'', along with other artists, touring across the United States. The tour began on 5 July 2010 and ended on 14 August 2010. It was also Simpson's first public tour. While on tour, Simpson performed a song called "Love So Strong". In an interview with ''Popstar Magazine'', Simpson stated that his inspiration for the song was "A girl, back home. That's all I can say."

On 4 December 2010, it was announced on Simpson's official website that an EP entitled ''4 U'' would be released through iTunes on 21 December 2010. The EP includes five tracks in total, four of them being previously unreleased.

Simpson recorded a remake of the song "I Want Candy" by The Strangeloves as the main theme song for the Easter-themed live-action/CGI-animated film ''Hop''.

On 23 April 2011, Simpson released the single "On My Mind" through his website. It was released on iTunes on 23 May 2011 and the music video was released on 17 June 2011.

Simpson is currently working on tracks for an upcoming EP on Atlantic Records. It will be released on 20 September 2011. Simpson's best friend, Campbell Carsley announced the release date on twitter on 18 July 2011. It will be called Coast To Coast, the same name as his current mall tour.

Touring

Simpson has been on tour recently promoting his new EP, making stops at various locations in the United States. Most notably, Simpson participated in the "Camplified 2010" tour in June. Other tours include a middle school tour that took place from October–November 2010 and covered 9 U.S States.

In May 2011, Simpson was “egged” during a live show at ''Miranda Fair'', Sydney. Simpson told Australian radio show ''The Kyle & Jackie O Show'' that he wasn’t in fact hit by the eggs and that he was upset on behalf of his fans because the remainder of his show was cancelled because of security concerns.

Filmography

Television

Notes
2011	''So Random!''	Himself

Discography

Extended plays

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" |+ List of albums, with selected chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:8em;"| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;"| Album details ! scope="col" | Peak |- ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| US Heat |- ! scope="row" |''4 U'' |

Released: 21 December 2010

Label: Atlantic

Format: Digital download

| 4 |- ! scope="row" |''Coast to Coast'' |

Released: 20 September 2011

Label: Atlantic

Format: CD, digital download

| — |}

Singles

— 19 — —

rowspan="2"	Year	Single	Peak chart positions				Album
! width="45"	! width="45"		! width="45"	! width="45"
rowspan="2"	2010		19	83	73	''4 U''
align="left"	—	|	—	—	Non-album single
	align="left"	97	|	79	—	''4 U''
align="left"	—	|	—	—	''Hop (film)	Hop''
align="left"	—	|	83	—

Music videos

!Year	Song	Director(s)
	iYiYi (featuring Flo Rida)	Mark Staubach
"Summertime"
	"All Day"	David Ovenshire
"On My Mind"	Travis Kopach

Tours

Waiting 4U Tour

Awards and nominations

! Year	! Type	! Award	! Result
	Nickelodeon Australian Kids Choice Awards 2010	Fresh Aussie Musos
Breakthrough Of The Year Awards 2010	Breakthrough Internet Sensation
	Iconic Fan Favorite
Icon of Tomorrow
Capricho Awards 2010	International Singer
Hollywood Teen TV Awards	"Teen Pick Music: Male Artist"
		Super Fresh Award
Aussie Musos
Awesome Aussie

References

External links

Category:1997 births Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Australian child singers Category:Australian male singers Category:Australian pop singers Category:Australian rhythm and blues singers Category:Australian singer-songwriters Category:Living people Category:People from the Gold Coast, Queensland

ar:كودي سيمبسون de:Cody Simpson es:Cody Simpson fa:کودی سیمپسون fr:Cody Simpson id:Cody Simpson it:Cody Simpson la:Cody Simpson nl:Cody Simpson ja:コーディー・シンプソン no:Cody Simpson pl:Cody Simpson pt:Cody Simpson fi:Cody Simpson sv:Cody Simpson tr:Cody Simpson

name	Taio Cruz
background	solo_singer
born	April 23, 1983)
birth name	Jacob Taio Cruz
birth place	London, England, UK
genre	Electropop, R&B;, hip hop soul
occupation	Singer-songwriter, record producer, rapper, entrepreneur
years active	2002–present
label	Rokstarr Entertainment Division, Island, Republic, Mercury (US)
associated acts	Luciana Caporaso, Ludacris, David Guetta, Cheryl Cole, McFly
website	}}

Taio Cruz (born Jacob Taio Cruz on April 23, 1983) is a English singer-songwriter, record producer, occasional rapper, and entrepreneur. In 2008, he released his debut album ''Departure'', which Cruz wrote, arranged and produced himself. It achieved initial success in the UK and earned him a MOBO Award nomination. In June 2010, Cruz released his follow-up album ''Rokstarr'', which includes the number one singles "Break Your Heart" and "Dynamite". In November 2010, Cruz collaborated with Kylie Minogue and Travie McCoy on his single "Higher". Additionally, Cruz penned and recorded the song "Telling the World" as the lead single from the soundtrack to the 2011 animated film ''Rio''.

Early life

Cruz was born in London, to a Nigerian father and a Brazilian mother. He attended Christ's Hospital, a boarding school in West Sussex.

Music career

Career beginnings

Cruz began writing songs when he was 12. His songwriting career began at age 19 as part of Tricky Stewart's writing collective, RedZone Entertainment. Cruz achieved notability in 2005 when he was awarded a BRIT Award for co-writing Will Young's 2004 single, "Your Game".

Cruz is the founder and chief executive of Rokstarr Music London, which in 2006 released his debut single "I Just Wanna Know". The single attracted significant attention from radio, and also from music industry insiders, who were already well aware of the artist's potential; manager Jamie Binns, who began representing Cruz at this time, later told HitQuarters: "He was a guy that everyone had earmarked to do damage in the future." Although the single received a reasonable amount of radio airplay, it did not perform as well as expected in either territory. However, rather than lose faith in Cruz, the labels were eager to negotiate an album deal, as by this time they had listened to his other songs and were ever more convinced by his capability.

Cruz's admirers included Island Records's Darcus Beese and Universal Republic's Monte Lipman, whom, according to Binns: "Both believed 'I Just Wanna Know' fitted the format on both sides of the Atlantic." In 2006, Cruz signed a split single deal with Universal Music Group companies, Republic Records and the UK branch of Island Records.

''Departure'' (2006–2008)

Taio Cruz released his second single "Moving On" in September 2007 which made the top 30 in the UK. In March 2008 his next single, "Come On Girl," featuring Luciana, peaked at No. 5 on the UK charts. The related album ''Departure'' appeared on 17 March and peaked at No. 17. This was followed by the single "I Can Be," which reached No. 18 in May. On 18 August, "She's Like a Star" was released, which was a remix of the previous single and featured American rapper Busta Rhymes and girl-group Sugababes. The remix later appeared on the Sugababes studio album ''Catfights & Spotlights'', which peaked at No. 20. It was later revealed that Cruz narrowly missed out on the chance to record the song "Umbrella" which was eventually recorded by Rihanna and ended up topping charts around the world.

''Rokstarr'' and International breakthrough'' (2009)

Cruz was featured on Tinchy Stryder's breakout single "Take Me Back" which peaked at No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart. According to Cruz's official Myspace blog, as of 1 January 2009, Rokstarr Music London officially changed its name to Rokstarr Entertainment Division and abbreviated to R.E.D Inc.

During 2009, he worked on his follow-up album which was originally titled ''T.W.O. (This Way Out)'' but later changed to ''Rokstarr''. It was released on 12 October through R.E.D Inc/Island Records and is entirely written and produced by Cruz, with co-writes and co-productions predominantly with UK producer Fraser T Smith. The album's lead single "Break Your Heart" was released on 14 September and reached number one in the UK, where it stayed for three weeks. The success of the song attracted the attention of David Massey and Daniel Werner from Mercury/Island Def Jam who were excited and aggressive about releasing "Break Your Heart" in the US on their label. According to Cruz's manager Jamie Binns, the relationship with Monte Lipman at Universal Republic had "gone a bit quiet" by this point and as Taio wanted to be with the label that was most enthusiastic about his music, a move from Universal Republic to Mercury/Island Def Jam was engineered.

The single reached the top spot in the US for one week on the ''Billboard'' charts. In an interview for ''The Guardian'' it was stated that "Cruz was clever to have hooked up with a US rapper Ludacris on his breakthrough hit". In order to introduce Cruz into the US market, David Massey had suggested that the single feature an American rapper with chart credibility. The album spawned two other UK singles, "No Other One", and the top-ten hit "Dirty Picture" featuring American electropop singer Kesha. The album's fourth single (second in the US) titled "Dynamite" debuted at 26 and despite peaking at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Dynamite" peaked at number 1 on US top 40 earning Cruz his second US number 1 record.

''The Rokstarr Collection''

''Rokstarr'' was followed by the compilation album ''The Rokstarr Collection'' which includes songs both from ''Departure'' and the international version of ''Rokstarr''. Cruz later released three versions of his single "Higher" - one featuring Kylie Minogue, one featuring Travie McCoy and with just himself.

Cruz has also been featured on the soundtrack of American reality TV series ''Jersey Shore''.

Cruz is the main featured artist on David Guetta's 2011 single 'Little Bad Girl' which also features US rapper Ludacris.

Troublemaker

On 13 January 2011, Cruz used social networking website Twitter to tells fans that his upcoming third album would be titled ''Troublemaker''. In June 2011, a music video for the title song was put into production, directed by Martin Weisz. It is expected to be unveiled in July 2011 as the lead single from the album. The album is due for release on October 17.

Other ventures

Writing and producing

Cruz has written songs on albums by Cheryl Cole, JLS, The Saturdays, The Wanted and David Guetta. Cruz wrote and featured on Tinchy Stryder's hit single "Take Me Back". Boyband McFly recorded "Shine a Light" which not only features, but was also was penned and produced by Cruz for their fifth studio album. 2011 will see him writing for Justin Bieber's next album. Jennifer Lopez's 2011 single "I'm Into You", featuring Lil Wayne, is also penned by Cruz. On 13 April 2011, Cruz confirmed that he had written and contributed vocals to a Guetta track called "Little Bad Girl" which is the second single from Guetta's fifth album, ''Nothing But the Beat''. Additionally, a track dubbed "Troublemaker (Believe In Me Now)" with Cruz's vocals and said to be produced by Swedish House Mafia was leaked in early May and is most probably featured on Cruz's coming album.

Rokstarr brand

On 1 September 2009, Cruz launched the brand Rokstarr; the fashion and accessories brand has a focus on sunglasses. Musicians such as Kanye West, Shontelle, Keri Hilson and Kelly Rowland have been seen wearing them. Speaking in October to R&B; writer Pete Lewis, Cruz stated: "There's a load of US celebrities that are all rocking the sunglasses already – Kid Cudi, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West... Then in the UK we have The Saturdays, JLS, Daniel Merriweather – who've all been twittering and writing on their blogs how much they love them. So yeah, it's definitely my new album 'Rokstarr' and the fashion brand that are my two main focuses at the moment."

Meanwhile, speaking again to Lewis in April 2010, Cruz revealed: "We're currently looking to expand the brand and possibly go into things like watches. I've also got a new subsidiary of Rokstarr called 'Rok By Rokstarr'. And we've just started doing things like jeans and T-shirts, and stuff that more of the fans of Taio Cruz can buy. Because with Rokstarr in itself being so expensive, a lot of the kids out there who want to buy Rokstarr things can't. So we're bringing in stuff that's a little bit more High Street and more affordable."

Discography

''Departure'' (2008)

''Rokstarr'' (2009)

''Troublemaker'' (2011)

Awards and nominations

Best British Song MOBO AwardsAmerican Music Awards BRIT Awards iTunes Best Album & Song Ascap Vanguard Award BRIT Awards rowspan=3>Virgin Media Awards Best Collaboration rowspan=6>2011 Billboard Music Awards Top Hot 100 Song rowspan=1>2011 MuchMusic Video Awards

Year
2004	Brit Awards>BRIT Awards	|	Your Game
2008	|	Best UK Male
2010	|	Breakthrough Artist
2010	|	Best British Song	Break Your Heart
2010	|	Best Song	Dynamite (Taio Cruz song)>Dynamite
2010	|	Recognition of Album	Departure (Taio Cruz album)>Departure
2011	|	Best British Song	Dynamite
2011	|	Best Male		<
2011	|	Dirty Picture
2011	Best Video
2011	Billboard Awards ||	Top New Artist		<
2011	|	Dynamite
2011	Top Digital Song
2011	Top Radio Song
2011	Top Streaming Song
2011	Top Pop Song
2011	|	MuchMusic.com Most Watched Video	Dynamite

References

External links

Taio Cruz on justRHYMES.com

Taio Cruz 'Blues & Soul' interview by Pete Lewis February 2008

Taio Cruz at Billboard.com

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Black British musicians Category:Christ's Hospital Old Blues Category:English rhythm and blues singers Category:English pop singers Category:English male singers Category:English people of Nigerian descent Category:British people of Brazilian descent Category:Musicians from London Category:Island Records artists

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