Look up better, betterment, or bettor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Better may also refer to:

• "to better" as a verb, meaning to undergo betterment
• better, an alternate spelling of bettor, as a noun, is someone who bets (gambles)

Songs

• "Better" (Brooke Fraser song), from the 2004 album What To Do With Daylight
• "Better" (I am Seven song), released in 2000
• "Better" (Guns N' Roses song), from the 2008 album Chinese Democracy
• "Better" (Plumb song), from the 2005 album Chaotic Resolve
• "Better" (Regina Spektor song), from the 2006 album Begin to Hope
• "Better" (Tom Baxter song)", from the 2008 album Skybound; covered in 2008 by Boyzone
• "Better", by Benga from the 2008 release Pleasure EP
• "Better", by Erasure, the b-side of the 2000 single Freedom
• "Better", by Helmet from the 1992 album Meantime
• "Better", by Hoobastank from the 2001 album Hoobastank
• "Better", by Jonathan Coulton on the 2005 album Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Cybernetic Arms
• "Better", by The Screaming Jets from the 1991 album All for One
• "Better", by Sugababes from the 2005 album Taller in More Ways

Television

• Better (TV series), a syndicated lifestyle program extended from the magazine Better Homes and Gardens

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Regina Spektor
Regina Spektor playing an electronic piano in 2006
Background information
Native name	Реги́нa Ильи́нична Спе́ктор
Born	(1980-02-18) February 18, 1980 (age 32) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Origin	New York, U.S.
Genres	Anti-folk, indie rock, baroque pop, blues, pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Piano, vocals, guitar, bass guitar
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Sire/Warner Bros. Records
Associated acts	Sondre Lerche, Ben Folds, Kill Kenada, the Strokes, Dufus
Website	http://www.reginaspektor.com
Notable instruments
Steinway & Sons piano Epiphone Wildkat guitar Regina Spektor's Autograph

Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (Russian: Реги́нa Ильи́нична Спе́ктор, IPA: [rʲɪˈɡʲinə ˈspʲɛktər], English: /rɨˈdʒiːnə ˈspɛktər/; born February 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City's East Village.

Early life[link]

Spektor was born in Moscow, Soviet Union in 1980 to a musical Russian Jewish family. Her father, Ilya Spektor, is a photographer and amateur violinist. Her mother, Bella Spektor, was a music professor in a Soviet college of music and now teaches at a public elementary school in Mount Vernon, New York.^[1] She has a brother Barry (Bear), who was featured in track 7, "* * *", or "Whisper", of her 2004 album, Soviet Kitsch.

She learned how to play piano by practising on a Petrof upright that was given to her mother by her grandfather.^[2] She was also exposed to the music of rock and roll bands such as The Beatles, Queen, and The Moody Blues by her father, who obtained such recordings in Eastern Europe and traded cassettes with friends in the Soviet Union.^[1] The family left the Soviet Union in 1989, when Regina was nine and a half, during the period of Perestroika, when Soviet citizens were permitted to emigrate. Regina had to leave her piano behind.^[3] The seriousness of her piano studies led her parents to consider not leaving the USSR, but they finally decided to emigrate, due to the ethnic and political discrimination that Jews faced.^[4] Spektor is fluent in Russian and reads Hebrew, and has since paid tribute to her Russian heritage, quoting the poem February by the Russian poet Boris Pasternak in her song Après Moi, and stating “I’m very connected to the language and the culture.”^[5]

Traveling first to Austria and then Italy, the family was admitted to the United States as refugees with the assistance of HIAS (the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) and settled in The Bronx, where Spektor graduated from the SAR Academy, a Jewish day middle school in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. She then attended high school for two years at the Frisch School, a yeshiva in Paramus, New Jersey, but transferred to a public school, Fair Lawn High School, in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, where she finished the last two years of her high school education.^[6]

Career[link]

In New York, Spektor studied classical piano with Sonia Vargas, a professor at the Manhattan School of Music, until she was 17; Spektor's father had met Vargas through her husband, violinist Samuel Marder.^[7] Although the family had been unable to bring their piano from Russia, Spektor found a piano on which to play in the basement of her synagogue, and also practiced on tabletops and other hard surfaces.

Spektor was originally interested only in classical music, but later became interested in hip hop, rock and punk as well.^[1] Although she had always made up songs around the house, Spektor first became interested in more formal songwriting during a visit to Israel with the Nesiya Institute in her teenage years when she attracted attention from the other children on the trip for the songs she made up while hiking and realized she had an aptitude for songwriting.^[4]

Following this trip, she was exposed to the work of Joni Mitchell, Ani DiFranco, and other singer-songwriters, which encouraged her belief that she could create her own songs.^[4] She wrote her first a cappella songs around the age of 16 and her first songs for voice and piano when she was nearly 18.^[1]

Spektor completed the four-year studio composition program of the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College within three years, graduating with honors in 2001. Around this time, she also worked briefly at a butterfly farm in Luck, Wisconsin,^[8] and studied in Tottenham, ( a suburb of London) for one semester ^[9].

She gradually achieved recognition through performances in the anti-folk scene in downtown New York City, often as a duo with drummer Anders Griffen, and most importantly at the East Village's Sidewalk Cafe, but also at the Living Room, Tonic, Fez, the Knitting Factory, and CB's Gallery.^{[citation needed]} She also performed at local colleges (such as Sarah Lawrence College) with other musicians, including the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. She sold self-published CDs at her performances during this period: 11:11 (2001) and Songs (2002). In 2004, she signed a contract with Warner Brothers' record label Sire Records to publish and distribute her third album Soviet Kitsch, originally self-released in 2003.

Spektor is married to Jack Dishel, guitarist with the band The Moldy Peaches.^[9]

Style[link]

Regina Spektor in concert, April 2007.

Spektor has said that she has created a great number of songs,^[10] but that she rarely writes any of them down. She has also stated that she never aspired to write songs herself, but songs seem to just flow to her.^[11] Spektor's songs are not usually autobiographical, but rather are based on scenarios and characters drawn from her imagination.^[4][12] Her songs show influences from folk,^[13][14] punk, rock, Jewish,^[12][15] Russian,^[12] hip hop,^[13][16][17] jazz,^[13][16] and classical music.^[12][16] Spektor has said that she works hard to ensure that each of her songs has its own musical style, rather than trying to develop a distinctive style for her music as a whole.^[11]

It doesn't feel natural for me to write some diary type song. I want to write a classic like Yesterday but weird songs about meatballs in refrigerators come into my head - I can't help it.^[18]

Spektor has a broad vocal range and uses the full extent of it. She also explores a variety of different and somewhat unorthodox vocal techniques, such as verses composed entirely of buzzing noises made with the lips and beatbox-style flourishes in the middle of ballads, and also makes use of such unusual musical techniques as using a drum stick to tap rhythms on the body of the piano or chair.^[4][19] Part of her style also results from the exaggeration of certain aspects of vocalization, most notably the glottal stop, which is prominent in the single "Fidelity". She also uses a strong New York accent on some words, which she has said is due to her love of New York and its culture.^[1]

Her lyrics are equally eclectic, often taking the form of abstract narratives or first-person character studies, similar to short stories or vignettes put to song.^[1][19] Spektor usually sings in English, though she sometimes includes a few words or verses of Latin, Russian, French, and other languages in her songs. She also plays with pronunciations, which she said on a NPR interview to be a remnant of her early years when she listened to pop in English without understanding the lyrics. Some of Spektor's lyrics include literary allusions,^[4] such as to F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway in "Poor Little Rich Boy", The Little Prince in "Baobabs", Virginia Woolf and Margaret Atwood in "Paris", Ezra Pound and William Shakespeare in "Pound of Flesh", Shakespeare's Hamlet in "The Virgin Queen", Boris Pasternak in "Après Moi", Samson and Delilah in "Samson", and Oedipus the King in "Oedipus", Billie Holiday in "Lady" and Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome in "2.99 cent blues". She alludes to The Beatles and Paul McCartney in the song "Edit". She also used a line from Joni Mitchell's California in her song "The Devil Came to Bethlehem". Recurring themes and topics in Spektor's lyrics include love, death, religion (particularly Biblical and Jewish references), city life (particularly New York references), and certain key phrases have been known to recur in different songs by Spektor, such as references to gravediggers, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the name "Mary Ann". Spektor's use of satire is evident in "Wasteside," which refers to The Twelve Chairs, the classic satirical novel by the Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov, and describes the town in which people are born, get their hair cut, and then are sent to the cemetery.

In Spektor's early albums, many of her tracks had a very dry vocal production, with very little reverb or delay added. However, Spektor's more recent albums, particularly Begin to Hope, have put more emphasis into song production and have relied more on traditional pop and rock instruments.^[3] Spektor says the records that most impact her are those of "bands whose music is really involved",^[20] specifically naming The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Radiohead, Tom Waits, and Frédéric Chopin as primary influences.^[20][21]

In her songs, "Eet", "Us" and "Après Moi" the titular sounds are used as the focal point throughout. (In "Dance Anthem of the 80's", the sound "eet" is also used often, on words such as "meat", "street", and "eat").

Performances[link]

Regina Spektor at her first performance in Tel Aviv, Israel on March 3, 2007

Spektor's first nationwide tour was accompanying The Strokes as the opening act on their 2003–2004 Room on Fire tour, during which she and the band performed and recorded "Modern Girls & Old Fashion Men". Kings of Leon were the second opening act on that tour, and they invited Regina to open for them on their own European tour right after The Strokes tour. In June 2005, Spektor was the opening act for the English piano rock band Keane on their North American tour, during which she performed at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2005.^[22] During her 2006 headlining tour in support of the Begin to Hope album, Spektor sold out a performance at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, and two shows at Town Hall Theater in New York City on September 27 and September 28, 2006.^[23]

Spektor has appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (once), Late Night with Conan O'Brien (three times), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (twice), Jimmy Kimmel Live (twice), Last Call with Carson Daly (five times), Late Show with David Letterman (twice), Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (twice), CBS News Sunday Morning, Good Morning America (twice), Australia's Rove Live, and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (twice).^[24] On October 10, 2009 she performed on Saturday Night Live.

Since January 2005, Spektor has performed on a bright red Baldwin baby grand piano.^[25] At the present time she uses exclusively Steinway & Sons pianos. She plays a seafoam Epiphone Wildkat archtop hollow-body electric guitar.^[26]

Although she generally only performs original material, Spektor occasionally performs covers. Most famous of these covers were her performances of songs by Leonard Cohen and Madonna, for the 2nd Annual Jewish Music & Heritage Festival at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.^[4] In 2006 and 2007, Spektor embarked on a headlining tour of the U.S. and Europe, selling out numerous clubs and theaters. She covered John Lennon's "Real Love" at the performance arts center of her alma mater, State University of New York at Purchase, on March 28, 2007, at a benefit concert for the Conservatory of Music.^[27] In 2007, Spektor recorded "Real Love" for the Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur CD, which was released in June of that year. She recorded a version of the song for Triple J's Like a Version radio segment which was shown on jTV.

Regina Spektor performing in Brighton on October 26, 2006.

On March 8, 2007, Spektor appeared on the British ITV network's Loose Women, promoting and performing "Fidelity" live, and on April 20, 2007, she performed on the Late Show with David Letterman. On Saturday, April 28, 2007, she appeared at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. On Friday, May 18, 2007, she appeared on BBC1's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. On June 16, 2007, she performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival and later performed at the 2007 Lollapalooza on August 4, 2007 and Virgin Festival on August 5, 2007 in Baltimore, Maryland. On September 16, 2007, she performed at the Austin City Limits Music Festival and recorded a set for the Austin City Limits TV show the following day. She performed acoustic at the Bridge School Benefit at Shoreline Amphitheatre on October 27 and October 28, 2007.

On November 14, 2007, at her concert at Ryman Auditorium, in Nashville, it was announced that Spektor collapsed during the sound check and was taken to a local emergency room. According to the statement given to the audience, Spektor was fine, but doctors said that she could not perform that night. It was later reported that the cause of the collapse was an inner ear infection which caused intense vertigo. The show was initially rescheduled for December 6, 2007,^[28] but the date was once again rescheduled, and the concert finally occurred on February 29, 2008.^[29] After her initial collapse in Nashville, she was able to perform in concerts at Mountain Stage on November 18, 2007,^{[30][citation needed]} and at Duke University on November 19, 2007.^[31]

In conjunction with the release of her 2009 album Far, Spektor was headlining at Serpentine Sessions, a series of concerts London's Hyde Park on June 29, 2009. Other European performances in 2009 include Glastonbury Festival, Hultsfred Festival, Oxegen 2009, T in the Park, Paradiso (Amsterdam), Latitude Festival, and Rock Werchter. Spektor has invited Brooklyn-based rock band Jupiter One to open concerts on her 2009 North American tour. As a part of that tour, on October 14, 2009 Spektor headlined a concert at the Radio City Music Hall in NYC.

On July 7, 2010, Regina performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland.^[32] Her cellist, Dan Cho, drowned the day before while swimming in Lake Geneva near the Chillon Castle.^[33][34] She was described as distraught, shaken, and in tears and took several breaks to regain her composure.^[35]

Media coverage[link]

Spektor performing at the Hammerstein Ballroom on October 16, 2007

Regina Spektor performing in the West London Synagogue, February 2007.

Since 2005, Spektor's music has been used in various television programs and commercials. In late 2005 "Us" (from Soviet Kitsch) was used in a commercial as part of the What Do You Want To Watch? series for the United Kingdom's British Sky Broadcasting. The advert features a clip from a documentary on skateboarder Danny Way. In the summer of 2006, a clip from "Us" was used for the teaser website for Microsoft's Zune project at ComingZune.com, as well as for a promotional campaign for MtvU. The same track is used by Dutch telecom company KPN in a commercial. "Somedays" was used in a 2005 episode of CSI: NY and "Samson" was used in a 2006 episode of the same series. "On the Radio" was used in an episode of ABC's Grey's Anatomy. "Field Below" was used in a 2006 episode titled "The Last Word" of CBS's Criminal Minds. "Fidelity" has also been used in an episode of Grey's Anatomy titled "Six Days, Part 2", Veronica Mars titled "Wichita Linebacker", Brothers & Sisters titled "Sexual Politics", during the end credits of Love and Other Drugs, and in the Brazilian telenovela A Favorita. "Better" is currently being used in a commercial for XM Satellite Radio, an episode of "How I Met Your Mother", and the popular film My Sister's Keeper. Her song "Music Box" is currently being used in a commercial for JC Penney. Spektor also sang the title song "Little Boxes" of Showtime's television series Weeds in the episode "Mile Deep and a Foot Wide" (2006) and her "Ghost of Corporate Future" was used both at the beginning and end of the episode.^[36] On January 21, 2007, she was featured on CBS News Sunday Morning.^[11]

Spektor received increased attention in 2006 when her video for "Fidelity" was viewed over 200,000 times in two days on YouTube. On Sirius Radio's Left of Center channel, her single "Fidelity" was voted by listeners as the #1 song of 2006. Towards the end of 2006, VH1 showcased her as part of their "You Oughta Know: Artists on the Rise" featurettes: they played clips from the "Fidelity" music video and showed parts of an interview with Spektor during commercial breaks on the channel.^[37] Spektor's video for "Fidelity" reached #3 on VH1's Top 20 Countdown.^{[citation needed]}

Peter Gabriel recorded a version of "Après Moi" on his 2010 release Scratch My Back.

In Australia, Spektor's music has rapidly gained popularity in mainstream culture primarily due to Begin to Hope being played on the nation-wide radio station Triple J, where it eventually became a feature album. Prior to Begin to Hope, Spektor had only a small following in Australia in comparison to the US and Europe.

Spektor reached #33 on Blender magazine's top 100 of 2006 and was also listed as one of the "Hottest Women of...Rock!".^[38] "Fidelity" was also used in a 2007 television commercial in New Zealand advertising Yahoo!Xtra, a new partnership between Yahoo! and Telecom's Xtra ISP. Also in 2007, the mobile phone company Vodafone used her lyric, "Come into my world..." from the track, "Hotel Song" on Begin to Hope, in an extensive TV advertising campaign in the UK and Ireland.

On October 1, 2007, Spektor's new video for "Better" was released on VH1 and YouTube, where it was viewed more than 100,000 times within the first 24 hours. "Fidelity" was used in the trailer for the film 27 Dresses, released on October 3, 2007.^[39]

Her song "The Call" appeared prominently in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,^[40] as part of the film's finale sequence. Spektor's song "Better" was used in the movie My Sister's Keeper, loosely based on the novel of the same name by Jodi Picoult. A section of "That Time" was featured in the film In Bruges. Additionally, "Us" and "Hero" are both featured on the soundtrack for the film (500) Days of Summer. Spin magazine profiled Spektor in their July 2009 issue, where she discussed her just-released album Far. The story was released in their digital edition that month, as well.^[41] In August 2009, the song "Two Birds" was used in the 2009 Fall Campaign of the Polish TV station TVN. Also Regina's song "Eet" debuted on the show 90210 in April 2010.

On September 16, 2009, it was announced that Spektor would write the music for the musical Beauty, a modern adaptation of the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, which is set to open during the 2011–12 Broadway season.^[42]

In May 2010, Spektor performed for President Obama and his wife Michelle along with hundreds of other guests at the White House reception in honor of Jewish Heritage Month. She sang "Us" and "The Sword & the Pen", receiving a standing ovation begun by Michelle Obama.

The song "Human of the Year" featured prominently in the trailer and first episode of the 2011 HBO series Enlightened.

The song "All the Rowboats" was featured on The CW's Ringer in March 2012.

The Song "Hotel Song" was featured in the opening of the movie Friends with Kids.

Philanthropy[link]

In 2007, she covered John Lennon's "Real Love" for Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. The following year, she participated in Songs for Tibet, an initiative to support the human rights situation in Tibet and the 14th Dalai Lama. The album was issued on August 5, 2008, via iTunes and on August 19 in music stores around the world.^[43] On January 22, 2009, Spektor performed at the third annual Roe On The Rocks gig at the Bowery Ballroom to raise money for Planned Parenthood New York City.^[44] Also, continuing with her support for Tibet, Regina Spektor played for Tibet House's annual concert at Carnegie Hall on February 26, 2010. Less than one month later, on March 23, 2010, Spektor gave a concert at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza in New York City to raise funds for the work of Doctors Without Borders in Haiti. Also, on April 27, she released a cover of Radiohead's song "No Surprises" with all proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders to help the earthquake victims in Haiti and Chile.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2001: 11:11
• 2002: Songs
• 2004: Soviet Kitsch
• 2006: Begin to Hope
• 2009: Far
• 2012: What We Saw from the Cheap Seats

Singles[link]

Awards[link]

• Begin to Hope – Shortlist Music Prize (nominated)
• Studio8's Female Voice of August 2009 (won)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Regina Spektor

• Official site
• Regina Spektor at the Internet Movie Database
• Regina Spektor at the Open Directory Project
• "Regina Spektor" interview by Noel Murray (from The A.V. Club, 21 June 2006)
• Interview from Soundcheck, WNYC, 13 September 2005
• Interview from All Things Considered, National Public Radio, 28 June 2006
• Strangers Almanac Column on Regina Spektor from Glide Magazine
• NPR - All Songs Considered 7/22/2009 - Regina Spektor: When Every Sound Sings
• NPR All Things Considered 5/24/2012 - Regina Spektor Still Doesn't Write Anything Down

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (July 2008)

Tom Baxter
Background information
Born	(1973-10-29) 29 October 1973 (age 38) Ipswich, Suffolk, England
Origin	Cornwall, England
Occupations	Singer, songwriter
Labels	Charisma Records
Website	www.tombaxter.com

Tom Baxter (born Thomas Baxter Gleave, 29 October 1973) is an English singer-songwriter based in London. He was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, and grew up in Cornwall with his sister Vashti Anna, two brothers, Jo Spencer and Charlie Winston, and parents Jeff and Julie Gleave (who were regulars on the folk music circuit in the late sixties and early seventies). Tom and his siblings use their middle names as stage surnames.

After moving to London at age 19 to attend music college, he spent many years on the gig circuit before successful residencies at Bush Hall in Shepherds Bush and The Bedford in Balham brought him to the attention of record labels.

A self-titled EP was released by Sony Music through the Columbia Records label in May 2004 and included the tracks "Joanna", "Half a Man" and "My Declaration".

His debut album, Feather and Stone, was released by Columbia in October 2004 to critical acclaim, and was a regular on the BBC Radio 2 playlist. Singles from the album included "This Boy" and "My Declaration". The album release was followed by a headlining UK tour. He also supported Nerina Pallot on her UK tour in January 2007.

His second album Skybound (released 7 January 2008) was recorded independently and released on the revived Charisma Records label through EMI ^[1] after he split with Sony in 2007. The first single, "Better", was released in January 2008 and was subsequently used on the soundtrack for the motion picture Run Fatboy Run.^[2] "Miracle" was used in its entirety by the BBC to cover the final montage of their Olympics and Paralympics coverage.^[3] The second single was "Tell Her Today".

Baxter contributed the track "Make a Stand" to the Survival International charity album Songs for Survival in 2008. Later that year Boyzone covered and released "Better",^[4] reaching number 22^[5] in the UK Top 40 singles chart.

In 2009, "My Declaration" was covered by Eliza Bennett and used in the soundtrack the film Inkheart (Bennett also played the female lead, Meggie Folchart, in the movie). "Almost There" was covered by Dame Shirley Bassey as the opening track of her album The Performance. Baxter and the BBC Concert Orchestra accompanied Dame Shirley Bassey when she performed the song at the BBC Electric Proms on 24 October 2009 at the Roundhouse in London, a concert broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 and on BBC Two television the next day. The song was also used in the ending credits for the 2011 film, Trust.^[6]

Discography[link]

The EP

1. "My Declaration"
2. "Joanna"
3. "Half A Man" [Live]

Feather & Stone

1. "My Declaration"
2. "This Boy"
3. "Under The Thumb"
4. "Girl From The Hills"
5. "The Moon And Me"
6. "Day In Verona"
7. "All Comes True"
8. "Almost There"
9. "Don't Let Go"
10. "Scorpio Boy"
11. "I love you too"

"Skybound"

1. "Night Like This"
2. "Skybound"
3. "Better"
4. "Tell Her Today"
5. "Miracle"
6. "Last Shot"
7. "Tragic"
8. "Half A Man"
9. "Icarus Wings"
10. "Light Me Up"

References[link]

External links[link]

• The official Tom Baxter website
• Profile on MySpace
• Tom Baxter's new promo video shot by a bunch of kids!
• Tom Baxter interview at UKEvents.net

New Boyz
Legacy (left) and Ben J (right)
Background information
Origin	Hesperia, California, United States
Genres	Hip hop, rap, jerkin
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Shotty, Asylum, Warner Bros.
Associated acts	Chris Brown, Tyga, Ray J, Iyaz, Big Sean, The Cataracs, Dev, Yellow Bone Cherry , Young Cam
Website	www.thenewboyz.com
Members
Legacy Ben J

New Boyz is an American hip hop/rap group and a former jerkin crew duo^[1] consisting of rappers Earl "Ben J" Benjamin (born October 13, 1991) and Dominic "Legacy" Thomas (born October 12, 1991)^[2] from Hesperia, California. They debuted in summer 2009 with their viral hit, "You're a Jerk", taken from their debut studio album Skinny Jeanz and a Mic, released in September 2009. The song peaked in the top thirty of the Billboard Hot 100, and it was the first song to bring the jerkin' style to the national forefront. A second single, "Tie Me Down" featuring Ray J, was also successful and peaked in the top thirty. In May 2011, their second studio album, Too Cool to Care, was released. It includes the top 40 hits "Backseat", featuring The Cataracs and Dev, and "Better with the Lights Off" featuring Chris Brown. The New Boyz have also been featured on Hot Chelle Rae's song "I Like It Like That", which peaked at #28 on the Hot 100.

Biography[link]

The two were originally rivals, but became friends over a common interest in music.^[3] Dominic began rapping at the age of eight after watching a music video by Bow Wow, but Benjamin did not have plans to pursue a musical career, instead, he intended to play football at San Diego State University.^[4] However, Benjamin decided to focus more on music after he discovered that Dominic was achieving success in rapping. With their October birthdays only a day apart, they pooled their gift money to buy recording equipment. Dominic then taught himself how to make beats for the group's songs with a computer program called Fruity Loops, saying "I had to teach myself. We didn’t want to pay for beats."^[5] After Thomas transferred to a new school, they decided to form a group. With Benjamin being "Ben J" and Thomas being "Legacy", they began performing together as the Swagger Boyz on July 4, 2008.^[4] and created a MySpace page to promote their self-published single "Colorz".^[3] In 2009, New Boyz performed at a basketball game for Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, CA.

Discography[link]

Mixtapes[link]

• Foolie Tape (2012)^[6]

1.FM$ ( Prod By Legacy ) #FXS 2.Rain Dance ft Cory Gunz ( Prod By C P Dubb ) #FXS 3.Bars ( Prod By Legacy ) #FXS 4.Kim #FXS 5.Starters ( Prod By C P Dubb ) #FXS 6.Closure ft Tinashe ( Prod By J.LBS ) #FXS 7.Same Shit , Different City ft Dizzy Wright ( Prod By The Futuristiks ) #FXS 8.Movin ( Prod By Prophit ) #FXS 9.Soul Out ( Prod By Prophit ) #FXS 10.Smoking Habit ( Prod By DJ Burn One ) #FXS

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Promotional singles[link]

As featured artist[link]

"Fat Pussy" (Ty$ & Joe Moses featuring The Rej3ctz & The New Boyz)

Music videos[link]

• You're a Jerk
• Dot Com
• Tie Me Down featuring Ray J
• So Dope
• Cricketz featuring Tyga
• Break My Bank featuring Iyaz
• Crush On You featuring YG
• Backseat featuring The Cataracs and Dev
• Tough Kids featuring Sabi
• Better With the Lights Off featuring Chris Brown
• Found My Swag featuring The Bangz
• Dancing Around the Truth (the Stunners)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• New Boyz channel at Youtube

Leona Lewis
Lewis at the 2009 American Music Awards
Background information
Birth name	Leona Louise Lewis
Born	(1985-04-03) 3 April 1985 (age 27) Islington, London, England, UK
Genres	Pop, R&B
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, recording artist
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Syco, J, RCA
Website	leonalewismusic.co.uk

Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer and songwriter.^[1] Lewis came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor.

Lewis has released two albums to date, Spirit and Echo, in 2007 and 2009 respectively. A multi-platinum selling artist and three-time Grammy Award nominee, her most successful single, "Bleeding Love", reached number one in over thirty countries around the world, and was the best-selling single worldwide in 2008.^[2] Other notable singles include "Better in Time", "Happy" and "I Got You". She was proclaimed 'Top New Artist' by Billboard magazine in 2008.

Lewis's debut tour, The Labyrinth, took place in 2010, and her third album, Glassheart, is scheduled for release in 2012. It was preceded by "Collide", a single from the album, which became her seventh top-five hit in the United Kingdom. Lewis's net worth was estimated at £12 million in April 2012.^[3]

Early life[link]

Lewis was born in the London Borough of Islington, to Aural Josiah "Joe" Lewis of Afro-Guyanese descent, and Maria Lewis of Welsh, Irish, and Italian descent.^[1][4][5] Her parents enrolled her at the Sylvia Young Theatre School. From there she attended the Italia Conti Academy and the BRIT School, where she learned to play instruments, such as the guitar and piano, in the hope of becoming a singer-songwriter.^[6][7] Lewis wrote her first full-length song at the age of 12.^[8] She initially trained in opera, but went on to singing jazz and blues, eventually leading to popular music, citing Minnie Riperton, Eva Cassidy and Stevie Wonder as her main influences.^[5] After leaving the BRIT School at 17, following a year abroad in Boston, Massachusetts in a transfer program,^[5] she took a number of jobs to fund studio time,^[9] recording a demo album called Twilight.^[10] The album, almost exclusively comprising her own compositions, was recorded under Spiral Music, a production company based in Fulham. "I tried to secure a record deal by doing things my own way. I worked very hard but I never managed to land a contract", said Lewis.^[11] Other demos were recorded under licence from UEG Entertainment, later included on an album called Best Kept Secret.^[12] None of Lewis's demos brought her significant attention, however, and she considered taking a hiatus from her music career to attend university. Then her boyfriend persuaded her to enter The X Factor which subsequently severed her connections with UEG.^[13]

Music career[link]

[edit] 2006: The X Factor

Lewis at the London premiere for Flushed Away, November 2006

Lewis auditioned for the third series of The X Factor in 2006, singing "Over the Rainbow". She was mentored by Simon Cowell and was announced the winner on 16 December 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract.^[14]

Her debut single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", was released on CD on 20 December 2006, and was available as a digital download from midnight on 17 December. It broke a world record after it was downloaded 50,000 times in thirty minutes.^[15] On 24 December, "A Moment Like This" was crowned the 2006 UK Christmas number-one single, having sold 571,253 copies, outselling the rest of the Top 40's sales combined.^[16] The single became the most downloaded song in 2006; it stayed at No. 1 for four weeks and stayed at the top spot in the Irish Singles Chart for six weeks.^[17]

[edit] 2007–09: Spirit and international breakthrough

In February 2007 Lewis signed a £5 million (US$9.7 million) five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records,^[18] and showcased for several American music executives.^[18][19][20] A press release described how Cowell and Davis would work together in a "first-of-its-kind" partnership on both the song and producer selection for Lewis's debut album, entitled Spirit.^[21] Lewis recorded tracks for the album in London, Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, and Atlanta,^[22] where she worked with several songwriters and record producers including Dallas Austin, Walter Afanasieff, Salaam Remi,^[23] Steve Mac,^[24] Stargate^[25] and Ne-Yo.^[26] It was released in November 2007 and entered both the Irish Albums Chart and the UK Albums Chart at number one, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in both countries, and the United Kingdom's fourth fastest selling album of all time.^[27][28][29] It was released in several other nations in January 2008, and went to number one in New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Germany, South Africa and Switzerland.^[30] Two more tracks were recorded in 2008 for the US release of the album: "Forgive Me", produced by Akon, and "Misses Glass", produced by Madd Scientist.^[31] It was released in the United States in April 2008 and entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1, making Lewis the first British artist to reach number one with a debut album.^[32] A special edition of Spirit was re-released in November 2008 in Europe, including the songs "Forgive Me", "Misses Glass" and a cover of the Snow Patrol song "Run". The album again went to number one in the UK Albums Chart. To date the album has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide^[33] and has a 9× platinum certification in the UK.^[34]

Lewis performing at the Clive Davis Pre Grammy Gala in 2009

Lewis's second single, "Bleeding Love", produced by Ryan Tedder and written by Tedder and Jesse McCartney, was released in October 2007 in the UK, where it sold 218,805 copies in its first week, giving it the biggest first-week sales of 2007 to date.^[35][36] It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, where it stayed for seven weeks,^[37] and in the Irish Singles Chart it remained at number one for eight weeks.^[38] It reached number one in the singles charts of New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria, Canada and the United States. "Bleeding Love" won The Record of the Year in December 2007.^[39] In February 2008, "Bleeding Love" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 85 and then went on to peak at number one for four non-consecutive weeks. The song became the first track by a UK female to reach number one since Kim Wilde's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" in 1987.^[40] Lewis's third single, a double A-side featuring "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand", was released in the United Kingdom in March 2008, in aid of Sport Relief, and she visited South Africa for the charity.^[41] The single reached a peak of number two in the UK singles chart selling over 40,000 copies in its first week of physical release. "Better in Time" was released as Lewis's second single in the US, where it peaked at number 11 in the Billboard Hot 100.^[42] "Forgive Me" was released as Lewis's fifth single in November 2008; it reached number five in the UK.^[43] "Run" was released as a download-only single in the UK, reaching number one, and becoming the UK's fastest-selling download-only single with 69,244 copies sold in two days.^[44] Lewis's last single from Spirit, "I Will Be", was released in January 2009,^[45] only in North America; it peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100. In August 2008, she performed "Whole Lotta Love" with guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin at the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing, representing the handover to London as the host of the 2012 Summer Olympics.^[46] In September 2008, she joined several female singers to perform a single for the anti-cancer campaign Stand Up to Cancer. The single, titled "Just Stand Up!", was performed live during the one-hour telethon that aired on all major US television networks.^[47] Lewis received three nominations for the 51st Grammy Awards in December 2008. "Bleeding Love" was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Spirit was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album. She was nominated for four BRIT Awards, in the categories British Female Solo Artist, British Breakthrough Act, British Album for Spirit, and British Single for "Bleeding Love",^[48] but despite being the favourite to win the most awards, she received none.^[49] She won two awards at the 2008 MOBO Awards: Best Album for Spirit and Best Video for "Bleeding Love".^[50] In December 2008 Lewis was named 'Top New Artist' by Billboard magazine.^[51]

[edit] 2009–10: Echo and The Labyrinth

Lewis performing on The Labyrinth tour in 2010

Lewis's second album, Echo, was given a worldwide release in November 2009.^[52] Production took place throughout 2009, including work with Ryan Tedder,^[53] Justin Timberlake,^[54] Max Martin,^[55] Arnthor Birgisson,^[56] Kevin Rudolf,^[57] and John Shanks.^[58] It was recorded in Los Angeles and took nine months to produce.^[59] Lewis described the album as "more guitar-driven" compared to Spirit.^[60] Lewis performed her first full UK show at the Hackney Empire in London on 2 November 2009, performing songs from Spirit and Echo.^[61][62] Echo reached number one in the UK Albums Chart and the top ten of Austria, Ireland and Switzerland.^[63] Despite previous attempts from Lewis's lawyers to ban the release of Best Kept Secret by UEG Music, claiming that the singer had not given her consent, the album was released in January 2009 when the label insisted it owned the rights to the music and Lewis would receive a 50% share of the album's profits. However, a television advert for the album was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority, who said in a statement: "We considered that the claim 'Leona Lewis's new album' misleadingly implied it was the singer's latest recording rather than a new CD of tracks recorded some years ago."^[64] The album was released to iTunes in standard and deluxe editions, and two EPs, "Private Party" and "Dip Down"/"Joy", were released in September 2009. The first single released from Echo was "Happy", which was written by Lewis, Tedder and Evan Bogart and produced by Tedder.^[65] The single was released on 15 September 2009,^[66][67] peaking at number two in the UK,^[68] and reaching the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Japan and Switzerland.^[69] Lewis also recorded the theme song for the 2009 science fiction film Avatar, directed by James Cameron.^[70] The song, "I See You (Theme from Avatar)", was written by James Horner and Simon Franglen. It was nominated for Best Original Song at the 67th Golden Globe Awards.^[71] In January 2010, Lewis provided vocals on a cover of "Everybody Hurts", released to help raise money for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.^[72] The second single from Echo, "I Got You", was released in February 2010. The song "My Hands" was used as the theme song for Final Fantasy XIII^[73] In April 2010, she featured on a duet with Italian singer Biagio Antonacci, called "Inaspettata (Unexpected)", from his album Inaspettata.^[74] They performed the song on the Italian TV show Io Canto on 22 October 2010.^[75] Lewis performed a 13-piece set list at the Rock in Rio festival in Lisbon, Portugal, on 22 May 2010, including songs from Spirit and Echo.^[76] Her first tour, titled The Labyrinth^[77] supporting Spirit and Echo, started in May 2010,^[78] with a theme based on the film Labyrinth.^[79] Lewis was scheduled to tour North America from July to August 2010 supporting Christina Aguilera's Bionic Tour,^[80] however, Aguilera cancelled the tour, leaving Lewis's plans unknown.^[81] A DVD of the tour, along with a ten-track CD, was released with the title The Labyrinth Tour Live from The O2 on 29 November 2010.^[82]

[edit] 2010–present: Hurt and Glassheart

Lewis began work on her third album shortly after she had completed The Labyrinth tour.^[83] She suggested the album would be "a bit different from what people have heard" from her before, adding that she planned to "go in and create and just see what happens".^[84] Lewis later described the album as "more progressive", "more eclectic", "more uptempo" and "a bit darker".^[85] Reports suggested that the album had taken a dubstep direction, with songwriters asked to submit dance songs and no ballads.^[86] It was also reported that Simon Cowell had set a deadline for the album for a summer 2011 release.^[87] On 25 May 2011, Lewis was named as an ambassador for BBC Radio 1's Hackney Weekend 2012, the BBC's biggest ever free-ticketed live music event, and one of the artists confirmed to be performing at the event, which will take place on 23 and 24 June 2012.^[88][89] Following the announcement, she performed a special Live Lounge at the Hackney Empire, with a reggae version of "Better in Time", which incorporated Rihanna's "Man Down", and a cover of Labrinth's "Let the Sun Shine".^[90][91] In June 2011, when asked about the upcoming album, Lewis described it as "energetic, deep, [and] unique". She also commented that it would have a darker tone and that she would be putting her "heart into [her] lyrics". She cited Tracy Chapman, Kate Bush and Tears for Fears as the album's primary influences.^[92]

On 14 July 2011, it was confirmed that "Collide" would be the first track to be taken from Lewis's third studio album, Glassheart. The dance-pop anthem, written by Autumn Rowe and produced by Sandy Vee, had its first UK radio play on The Scott Mills Show on BBC Radio 1 on 15 July 2011. It was released in the UK on 4 September 2011 and Germany on 9 September 2011.^[93][94][95] The single courted controversy after it was plagiarised from Swedish musician Avicii's 2010 song "Penguin".^[96] Berg took the case to the British High Court.^[97][98] Collide debuted on the official UK top 40 singles chart at number 4.

For the album, Lewis has worked with numerous writers and producers including: Ammo, Jonas Quant, Chuck Harmony, Claude Kelly, Ryan Tedder, Fraser T. Smith, Al Shux, Steve Robson,^[95] Dallas Austin,^[87] Rico Love^[99] and Ne-Yo.^[100] In May 2011, it was reported that Lewis had recorded a track called "Trouble" written by Emeli Sandé and Naughty Boy. Lewis also recorded a track called "Mountains" written by Sandé, Naughty Boy and Blazin' Squad members Flava (James Murray) and Mus (Mustafa Omer).^[99][101] It has been confirmed that the album is entitled Glassheart. Though originally announced to be released on 28 November in the UK, it has since been announced that the album will be released on 26 March 2012. However, it was later announced in January 2012 that the album would be delayed again to the 26 November 2012.^[102]

On 7 October, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding J Records along with Arista Records and Jive Records. With the shutdown, Lewis (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release her future material (including Glassheart) on the RCA Records brand.^[103][104]

On 29 October, Lewis performed as the featured performer for the closing of the 2011 Doha Film Festival, where she sang a setlist of ten songs, including 'Collide' and covers of OneRepublic's Apologize, Seal's Kiss from a Rose and Boney M's Rivers Of Babylon.^[105]

Before the release of Glassheart, Lewis released an EP on 9 December 2011, entitled Hurt: The EP, containing three covers as a holiday gift for her fans.^[106] On 22 December, Lewis performed a version of Snow Patrol's "Run" at the season finale of the U.S. X Factor.^[107][108] It was announced on 25 January 2012 that the album would be delayed again until late November 2012.^[109]

Artistry[link]

Voice[link]

A mezzo-soprano,^[110][111] Lewis is often compared with other singers such as Celine Dion, Whitney Houston^[112] and Mariah Carey.^[113] Lewis is also known to sing opera, stating that she practises operatic scales every week.^[112] Music critic Neil McCormick, of The Daily Telegraph, has praised Lewis's technical skills, writing, "Her mezzo-soprano range allows her to take melodies from luxurious low notes to high-flying falsetto, gliding with elegant power and impressive control through all kinds of fluctuations and modulations."^[110] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic adds, "Lewis can hit [high belted] notes but make it seem easy, never straining her voice and building nicely to the climax."^[114] In the same vein, Slant describes Lewis's vocals as "technically unimpeachable".^[115]

Influences[link]

Lewis credits Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston as her major influences. She said, "when I was growing up I used to listen to Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, those kind of big powerful kind of singers so that influences a lot my music and a lot of the songs I like to sing."^[116]

Other activities[link]

In October 2008, The Times reported that Lewis had turned down a seven-figure sum from Mohamed Al Fayed to open a Harrods sale. Lewis commented in the press that she turned down the deal on the grounds that Harrods is the only UK department store which continues to stock clothing made from animal fur.^[117] "It wasn't a million pounds that I was offered, as the papers reported, but even if it had been, I still would have turned it down."^[118] "I got a lot of flak for that. There were people who said I should have done it and given the money to charity, but that would have been such a contradiction."^[119] She announced in October 2008 that she was in the "bargaining period" of launching her own ethical line of accessories through Topshop,^[5][117] and that she was in the late stages of releasing her own perfume for Europe.^[120] Her perfume, Leona Lewis, was launched by LR in July 2009.^[121] In 2010, she set up a fashion company with her then boyfriend, Lou Al-Chamaa, called LOA Clothing Ltd.^[122]

Lewis signed a book deal in January 2009 to release an illustrated autobiography in October 2009. The book, entitled Dreams, contains mostly pictures taken by photographer Dean Freeman.^[123] In May 2012, Lewis returned to The X Factor as a guest judge during auditions in London for the ninth series.^[124]

Personal life[link]

Lewis lives in Hackney. She lived with her boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa, former electrician turned A&R scout for Sony records, until their split in June 2010.^[125] Lewis and Al-Chamaa knew each other since she was approximately ten years old.^[126] A vegetarian since she was 12,^[23] Lewis won PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian along with Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis in 2008,^[127] and Europe's Sexiest Vegetarian in 2009 with actor Scott Maslen.^[128] She also was named PETA's Person Of The Year for 2008.^[129] Lewis is a supporter of the World Society for the Protection of Animals^[130] and is a patron of Brentwood's Hopefield Animal Sanctuary.^[131]

Wikinews has related news: Leona Lewis assaulted at book signing in London, England Man charged with assaulting British singer Leona Lewis

At a book signing for Dreams on 14 October 2009 at the Piccadilly branch of Waterstone's book store in central London, Lewis was assaulted by a 29-year-old man from south London^[132][133] who was arrested at the scene;^[133] Lewis suffered bruising.^[134] The assailant was sectioned under the Mental Health Act^[133] and was charged with common assault,^[134] He admitted to the offence and was hospitalised for an indeterminate period.^[135]

Discography[link]

Albums

• 2007: Spirit
• 2009: Echo
• 2012: Glassheart

Tours[link]

• 2010: The Labyrinth

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]