Look up guardian in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Guardian may refer to:

• Legal guardian

Newspapers[link]

In the United Kingdom[link]

• The Guardian, founded in 1821 as the Manchester Guardian and renamed in 1959
• The Guardian (1713), founded in 1713 and running only briefly
• The Guardian (Anglican newspaper), an Anglican newspaper founded in 1846 and running until 1951
• Lancaster Guardian, a broadsheet of Lancaster, Lancashire
• Cornish Guardian, a Cornish local weekly newspaper

In Canada[link]

• The Guardian (Charlottetown)
• The Brampton Guardian
• Etobicoke Guardian
• York Guardian

In the United States[link]

• San Francisco Bay Guardian
• Guardian (US), a New York newspaper founded in 1948 as the National Guardian, renamed in 1967 and running until 1992
• UCSD Guardian, the official newspaper for the University of California, San Diego

In other countries[link]

• The Guardian (Belize)
• The Guardian (Nigeria)
• Trinidad Guardian
• The newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia (current)

Military[link]

• AF Guardian, a warplane of the US Navy
• HMS Guardian, three ships of the Royal Navy
• Northrop Grumman Guardian, an anti-missile system for commercial airliners

Film, television and theatre[link]

• The Guardian (1990 film), a horror film directed by William Friedkin
• The Guardian (2006 film), a drama starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher
• The Guardian (TV series), a CBS series that first aired in 2001 starring Simon Baker
• The Guardians (TV series), an ITV series that aired in 1971
• The Guardian (play), the Caroline era stage play by Philip Massinger
• Guardians (play), an Off-Broadway stage play by Peter Morris
• The Black Guardian and White Guardian, supreme beings in the Whoniverse
• A group of characters in the TV series Challenge of the GoBots
• A supercomputer in both the book Colossus and the film Colossus: The Forbin Project
• The Guardian, a character in the television series The Tribe

Books and comics[link]

• The Guardian (novel), a novel by Micheal Hay
• The Guardians (novel), a novel by John Christopher
• The Guardian's Bane, a novel by Simone Clark
• Guardian (comics), various comics
• The Guardians series, a series of military science fiction novels by Richard Austin
• The Guardian (novel), a novel by Nicholas Sparks
• Guardians of the Universe, a fictional alien race in DC Comics

Card, computer, and video games[link]

• Guardians (card game)
• Guardian (video game), a 3D shoot 'em up for the Amiga CD32 games console
• The Guardian, an alien being in the Ultima series
• The main and player character of The Guardian Legend

Other uses[link]

• Custos (Franciscans), the term used in place of Religious Superior among Franciscans
• Guardian Building Society, a former UK building society, now merged into the Cheltenham & Gloucester
• Guardian Capital Group, a publicly traded asset managemet
• Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, a mutual life insurance company domiciled in New York
• Guardian Industries, a manufacturer of glass, automotive and building products
• Guardian (band)
• Guardian, the name in Malaysia and Singapore for Mannings, a health care retailer
• Shoghi Effendi, the appointed leader (Guardian) of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 to 1957
• Philosopher king, a type of figure in Plato's Republic
• Guardian temperament, one of the four temperaments according to the Keirsey Temperament Sorter
• The Guardian Exchange, an underground telephone exchange
• Galaxy, previously Guardian, is a canceled prototype space habitat

See also [link]

• The Guard (disambiguation)

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.

Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette signing autographs for fans after concert
Background information
Birth name	Alanis Nadine Morissette
Born	(1974-06-01) June 1, 1974 (age 38)
Origin	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Alternative rock, pop rock, electronica, post-grunge
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actress, record producer
Instruments	Piano, guitar, flute, harmonica, bass, vocals
Years active	1987–present
Labels	MCA Canada, Maverick, Warner Bros., Epiphany Music
Associated acts	Tim Thorney
Website	alanis.com

Alanis Nadine Morissette (born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian^[1] singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination. Morissette began her career in Canada, and as a teenager recorded two dance-pop albums, Alanis and Now Is the Time, under MCA Records Canada.

Her first international album was the rock-influenced Jagged Little Pill, released in 1995. Jagged has sold more than 33 million units globally.^[2][3][4] Her following album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, was released in 1998 and was a success as well. Morissette took up producing duties for her subsequent albums, which include Under Rug Swept, So-Called Chaos and Flavors of Entanglement. Morissette has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide.^[5][6][7] Morissette is also known for her powerful and emotive mezzo-soprano voice.^[8]

Morissette acquired United States citizenship in 2005.^[9]

Early life[link]

Morissette was born June 1, 1974 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada,^[10] the daughter of Georgia Mary Ann (née Feuerstein), a teacher of Hungarian descent,^[11][12] and Alan Richard Morissette, a French-Canadian high school principal.^[13] She has a twin brother, Wade Morissette, (also a musician) who was born 12 minutes after her.^[14] Morissette was raised Catholic.^[15] She attended Glebe Collegiate Institute (Ottawa, Canada) for high school.

Music career[link]

1987: First Demo[link]

Alanis recorded her first demo called "Fate Stay With Me" at Marigold Studios in Toronto, engineered by Rich Dodson of Canadian classic rock band, The Stampeders. ^[16]

1990–92: Early career[link]

In 1991 MCA Records Canada released Morissette's debut album, Alanis, in Canada only. Morissette co-wrote every track on the album with its producer, Leslie Howe. By the time it was released, she had dropped her stage name and was credited simply as Alanis. The dance-pop album went platinum,^[17] and its first single, "Too Hot", reached the top twenty on the RPM singles chart. Subsequent singles "Walk Away" and "Feel Your Love" reached the top 40. Morissette's popularity, style of music and appearance, particularly that of her hair, led her to become known as the Debbie Gibson of Canada;^[18] comparisons to Tiffany were also common. During the same period, she was a concert opening act for rapper Vanilla Ice.^[19] Morissette was nominated for three 1992 Juno Awards: Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year (which she won), Single of the Year and Best Dance Recording (both for "Too Hot").^[20]

In 1992, she released her second album, Now Is the Time, a ballad-driven record that featured less glitzy production than Alanis and contained more thoughtful lyrics.^[18] Morissette wrote the songs with the album's producer, Leslie Howe, and Serge Côté. She said of the album, "people could go, 'Boo, hiss, hiss, this girl's like another Tiffany or whatever.' But the way I look at it ... people will like your next album if it's a suck-ass one."^[19] As with Alanis, Now Is the Time was released only in Canada and produced three top 40 singles—"An Emotion Away", the minor adult contemporary hit "No Apologies" and "(Change Is) Never a Waste of Time". It was a commercial failure, however, selling only a little more than half the copies of her first album.^[18][21] With her two-album deal with MCA Records Canada complete, Morissette was left without a major label contract.

[edit] 1993–97: Move to Los Angeles and Jagged Little Pill

In 1993 Morissette's publisher Leeds Levy at MCA Music Publishing introduced her to manager Scott Welch.^[22] Welch told HitQuarters he was impressed by her "spectacular voice", her character and her lyrics. At the time she was still living at home with her parents. Together they decided it would be best for her career to move to Toronto and start writing with other people.^[22] After graduating from high school, Morissette moved from Ottawa to Toronto.^[18] Her publisher funded part of her development and when she met producer and songwriter Glen Ballard, he believed in her talent enough to let her use his studio.^[18][22] The two wrote and recorded Morissette's first internationally released album, Jagged Little Pill, and by the spring of 1995, she had signed a deal with Maverick Records. According to manager Welch every label they had approached had passed on Morissette apart from Maverick.^[22]

	"Ironic" (1996) noicon The two-time Grammy Award-nominated song is considered one of Morissette's signature tunes.
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Maverick Records released Jagged Little Pill internationally in 1995. The album was expected only to sell enough for Morissette to make a follow-up, but the situation changed quickly when KROQ-FM, an influential Los Angeles modern rock radio station, began playing "You Oughta Know", the album's first single.^[23] The song instantly garnered attention for its scathing, explicit lyrics,^[18] and a subsequent music video went into heavy rotation on MTV and MuchMusic.

After the success of "You Oughta Know", the album's other hit singles helped send Jagged Little Pill to the top of the charts. "All I Really Want" and "Hand In My Pocket" followed, but the fourth U.S. single, "Ironic", became Morissette's biggest hit. "You Learn" and "Head over Feet", the fifth and sixth singles, respectively, kept Jagged Little Pill in the top twenty on the Billboard 200 albums chart for more than a year. According to the RIAA, Jagged Little Pill sold more than 16 million copies in the U.S.; it sold 33 million worldwide,^[24] making it the second biggest selling album by a female artist (behind Shania Twain's Come On Over).^[25][26] Morissette's popularity grew significantly in Canada, where the album was certified twelve times platinum^[17] and produced four RPM chart-toppers: "Hand In My Pocket", "Ironic", "You Learn", and "Head over Feet". The album was also a bestseller in Australia and the United Kingdom.^[27][28]

Morissette's success with Jagged Little Pill was credited with leading to the introduction of female singers such as Shakira, Tracy Bonham, Meredith Brooks, Patti Rothberg and, in the early 2000s, Pink and fellow Canadian Avril Lavigne.^[29] She was criticized for collaborating with producer and supposed image-maker Ballard, and her previous albums also proved a hindrance for her respectability.^[18][30] Morissette and the album won six Juno Awards in 1996: Album of the Year, Single of the Year ("You Oughta Know"), Female Vocalist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Best Rock Album.^[31] At the 1996 Grammy Awards, she won Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, Best Rock Song (both for "You Oughta Know"), Best Rock Album and Album of the Year.^[32]

Later in 1996, Morissette embarked on an 18-month world tour in support of Jagged Little Pill, beginning in small clubs and ending in large venues. Taylor Hawkins, who later joined the Foo Fighters, was the tour's drummer. "Ironic" was nominated for two 1997 Grammy Awards—Record of the Year and Best Music Video, Short Form^[33]—and won Single of the Year at the 1997 Juno Awards, where Morissette also won Songwriter of the Year and the International Achievement Award.^[34] The video Jagged Little Pill, Live, which was co-directed by Morissette and chronicled the bulk of her tour, won a 1998 Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Long Form.^[35]

Following the stressful tour, Morissette started practicing Iyengar Yoga for balancing, and after the last December 1996 show, she headed to India for six weeks, accompanied by her mother, two aunts and two female friends.^[36]

[edit] 1998–2000: Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie and Alanis Unplugged

	"Thank U" (1998) noicon The most successful single from 1998's Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie was written after a trip to India. "That I Would Be Good" (1998) noicon A live version of this ballad was released to promote 1999's Alanis Unplugged.
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Morissette was featured as a guest vocalist on Ringo Starr's cover of "Drift Away" on his 1998 album, Vertical Man, and on the songs "Don't Drink the Water" and "Spoon" on the Dave Matthews Band album Before These Crowded Streets. She recorded the song "Uninvited" for the soundtrack to the 1998 film City of Angels. Although the track was never commercially released as a single, it received widespread radio airplay in the U.S. At the 1999 Grammy Awards, it won in the categories of Best Rock Song and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, and was nominated for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.^[37] Later in 1998, Morissette released her fourth album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, which she wrote and produced with Glen Ballard.

Privately, the label hoped to sell a million copies of the album on initial release;^[38] instead, it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 469,000 copies—a record, at the time, for the highest first-week sales of an album by a female artist.^[39] The wordy, personal lyrics on Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie alienated many fans, and after the album sold considerably less than Jagged Little Pill, many labelled it an example of the sophomore jinx.^[18][40] However, it received positive reviews, including a four-star review from Rolling Stone.^[41] In Canada, it won the Juno Award for Best Album and was certified four times platinum.^[17][42] "Thank U", the album's only major international hit single, was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance; the music video, which featured Morissette nude, generated mild controversy.^[38][43] Morissette herself directed the videos for "Unsent" and "So Pure", which won, respectively, the MuchMusic Video Award for Best Director and the Juno Award for Video of the Year.^[42][44] The "So Pure" video features actor Dash Mihok, with whom Morissette was in a relationship at the time.^[38]

Morissette contributed vocals to "Mercy", "Hope", "Innocence", and "Faith", four tracks on Jonathan Elias's project The Prayer Cycle, which was released in 1999. The same year, she released the live acoustic album Alanis Unplugged, which was recorded during her appearance on the television show MTV Unplugged. It featured tracks from her previous two albums alongside four new songs, including "King of Pain" (a cover of The Police song) and "No Pressure over Cappuccino", which Morissette wrote with her main guitar player, Nick Lashley. The recording of the Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie track "That I Would Be Good", released as a single, became a minor hit on hot adult contemporary radio in America. Also in 1999, Morissette released a live version of her song "Are You Still Mad" on the charity album Live in the X Lounge II. For her live rendition of "So Pure" at Woodstock '99, she was nominated for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 2001 Grammy Awards.^[45] During summer 1999, Alanis toured with singer/songwriter Tori Amos on the 5 And A Half Weeks Tour in support of Amos' album To Venus And Back.

[edit] 2001–03: Under Rug Swept and Feast on Scraps

In 2001, Morissette was featured with Stephanie McKay on the Tricky song "Excess", which is on his album Blowback. Morissette released her fifth studio album, Under Rug Swept, in February 2002. For the first time in her career, she took on the role of sole writer and producer of an album. Her band, comprising Joel Shearer, Nick Lashley, Chris Chaney, and Gary Novak, played the majority of the instruments; additional contributions came from Eric Avery, Dean DeLeo, Flea, and Meshell Ndegeocello.

Under Rug Swept debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, eventually going platinum in Canada and selling one million copies in the U.S.^[17][46] It produced the hit single "Hands Clean", which topped the Canadian Singles Chart and received substantial radio play; for her work on "Hands Clean" and "So Unsexy", Morissette won a Juno Award for Producer of the Year.^[47] A second single, "Precious Illusions", was released, but it did not garner significant success outside Canada or U.S. hot AC radio.

Later in 2002, Morissette released the combination package Feast on Scraps, which includes a DVD of live concert and backstage documentary footage directed by her and a CD containing eight previously unreleased songs from the Under Rug Swept recording sessions. Preceded by the single "Simple Together", it sold roughly 70,000 copies in the U.S. and was nominated for a Juno Award for Music DVD of the Year.^[46][48]

[edit] 2004–05: So-Called Chaos, Jagged Little Pill Acoustic and The Collection

Alanis Morissette, 2004

	"Everything" (2004) noicon The first single from So Called Chaos showcased a more relaxed and self-evaluating Morissette and was a moderate success.
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Morissette hosted the Juno Awards of 2004 dressed in a bathrobe, which she took off to reveal a flesh-colored bodysuit, a response to the era of censorship in the U.S. caused by Janet Jackson's breast-reveal incident during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show.^[49] Morissette released her sixth studio album, So-Called Chaos, in May 2004. She wrote the songs on her own again, and co-produced the album with Tim Thorney and pop music producer John Shanks. The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 chart to generally mixed critical reviews, and it became Morissette's lowest seller in the U.S.^[46] The lead single, "Everything", achieved major success on adult top 40 radio in America and was moderately popular elsewhere, particularly in Canada, although it failed to reach the top 40 on the U.S. Hot 100. Because the first line of the song includes the word asshole, American radio stations refused to play it, and the single version was changed to include the word nightmare instead.^[49] Two other singles, "Out Is Through" and "Eight Easy Steps", fared considerably worse commercially than "Everything", although a dance mix of "Eight Easy Steps" was a U.S. club hit.

Morissette embarked on a U.S. summer tour with long-time friends and fellow Canadians Barenaked Ladies, working with the non-profit environmental organization Reverb.^[50]

To commemorate the tenth anniversary of Jagged Little Pill, Morissette released a studio acoustic version, Jagged Little Pill Acoustic, in June 2005. The album was released exclusively through Starbucks' Hear Music retail concept through their coffee shops for a six-week run. The limited availability led to a dispute between Maverick Records and HMV North America, who retaliated by removing Morissette's other albums from sale for the duration of Starbucks's exclusive six-week sale.^[51][52] As of November 2010, Jagged Little Pill Acoustic had sold 372,000 copies in the U.S.,^[53] and a video for "Hand in My Pocket" received rotation on VH1 in America. The accompanying tour ran for two months in mid 2005, with Morissette playing small theatre venues. During the same period, Morissette was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.^[54]

Morissette opened for The Rolling Stones for a few dates of their A Bigger Bang Tour in the autumn of 2005.

Morissette released the greatest hits album Alanis Morissette: The Collection in late 2005. The lead single and only new track, a cover of Seal's "Crazy", was a U.S. adult top 40 and dance hit, but it achieved only minimal chart success elsewhere. A limited edition of The Collection features a DVD including a documentary with videos of two unreleased songs from Morissette's 1996 Can't Not Tour: "King of Intimidation" and "Can't Not". (A reworked version of "Can't Not" had also appeared on Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie.) The DVD also includes a ninety-second clip of the unreleased video for the single "Joining You". As of November 2010, The Collection had sold 373,000 copies in the U.S., according to Soundscan.^[53]

Morissette contributed the song "Wunderkind" to the soundtrack of the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and it was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.^[55]

Alanis performed two songs with Avril Lavigne: Morissette's "Ironic" and Lavigne's "Losing Grip".

[edit] 2006–10: Flavors of Entanglement and leaving Maverick Records

Alanis during a live concert in Barcelona, June 2008

2006 marked the first year in Morissette's musical career without a single concert appearance showcasing her own songs, with the exception of an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in January when she performed "Wunderkind".

On April 1, 2007, Morissette released a tongue-in-cheek cover of The Black Eyed Peas's selection "My Humps", which she recorded in a slow, mournful voice, accompanied only by a piano. The accompanying YouTube-hosted video, in which she dances provocatively with a group of men and hits the ones who attempt to touch her "lady lumps", had received 16,465,653 views on February 15, 2009.^[56] Morissette did not take any interviews for a time to explain the song, and it was theorized that she did it as an April Fools' Day joke.^[57] Black Eyed Peas vocalist Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson responded by sending Morissette a buttocks-shaped cake with an approving note.^[58] On the verge of the release of her latest album, she finally elaborated on how the video came to be, citing that she became very much emotionally loaded while recording her new songs one after the other and one day she wished she could do a simple song like "My Humps" in a conversation with Guy Sigsworth and the joke just took a life of its own when they started working on it.^[56]

Morissette performed at a gig for The Nightwatchman, a.k.a. Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave fame, at the Hotel Café in Los Angeles in April 2007. The following June, she performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "O Canada", the American and Canadian national anthems, in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Ottawa Senators and the Anaheim Ducks in Ottawa, Ontario.^[59] (The NHL requires arenas to perform both the American and Canadian national anthems at games involving teams from both countries.) In early 2008, Morissette participated in a tour with Matchbox Twenty and Mutemath as a special guest.

Morissette's seventh studio album, Flavors of Entanglement, which was produced by Guy Sigsworth, was released in mid 2008. She has stated that in late 2008, she would embark on a North American headlining tour, but in the meantime she would be promoting the album internationally by performing at shows and festivals and making television and radio appearances. The album's first single was "Underneath", a video for which was submitted to the 2007 Elevate Film Festival, the purpose of which festival was to create documentaries, music videos, narratives and shorts regarding subjects to raise the level of human consciousness on the earth.^[60] On October 3, 2008, Morissette released the video for her latest single, "Not as We".^[61]

Recently, Morissette has contributed to 1 Giant Leap, performing "Arrival" with Zap Mama and she has released an acoustic version of her song "Still" as part of a compilation from Music for Relief in support of the 2010 Haiti earthquake crisis. Morissette has also recorded a cover of the 1984 Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias hit, "To All the Girls I've Loved Before", re-written as "To All the Boys I've Loved Before".^[62] Nelson played rhythm guitar on the recording.^[62]

In April 2010, Morissette released the song "I Remain", which she wrote for the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time soundtrack.

On May 26, 2010, the season finale of American Idol, Morissette performed a duet of her song "You Oughta Know" with Runner Up Crystal Bowersox.^[63]

Morissette left Maverick Records after all promotion for Flavors was completed.

[edit] 2011–present: Havoc and Bright Lights and upcoming 2012 tour

On October 11, 2011, Morissette posted a picture of herself in a recording studio to her Facebook page. The picture included the message "back in the studio saddle....the songs have come in droves...!", indicating that Morissette had begun work on her next album. However, it was unknown if she would be still associated with Maverick Records, after the completion of her last album Flavors of Entanglement.^[64]

On November 20, 2011, Morissette appeared at the American Music Awards. When asked about the new album during a short interview, she said she had recorded thirty-one songs, and that the album would "likely be out next year, probably [in] summertime".^[65]

On December 21, 2011, Morissette performed a duet of "Uninvited" with finalist Josh Krajcik during the performance finale of the X-Factor.

Morissette is embarking on a European tour for the Summer of 2012, according to Alanis.com. In early May 2012, a new song called "Magical Child" appeared on a Starbucks compilation called Every Mother Counts.^[66]

Rolling Stone Magazine initially reported that Morissette's new album would be released in June 2012 and revealed the titles of four album tracks: "Spiral," "Guardian," "Celebrity," and "Havoc." "Spiral" and "Guardian" were performed at Guitar Center sessions.^[67] "Havoc" is a ballad, while "Celebrity" is described to be "a scathing takedown of America's obsession with fame."^[68]

On May 2, 2012, Morissette revealed through her Facebook account that her eighth studio album, entitled Havoc and Bright Lights, would be released in August 2012, on new label "Collective Sound", distributed by Sony's RED Distribution.^[69] On the same day, Billboard precised the date as August 28 and revealed the album would contain twelve tracks. The album's lead single, "Guardian", is due for release on iTunes on May 15, 2012, and will hit the radio airwaves four days prior to this.^[70]

Acting career[link]

In 1986, Morissette had her first stint as an actor: five episodes of the children's television show You Can't Do That on Television. She appeared on stage with the Orpheus Musical Theatre Society in 1985 and 1988.^[71]

In 1993, she appeared in the film Just One of the Girls starring Corey Haim, which she described as "horrible".^{[clarification needed][citation needed]}

In 1999, Morissette delved into acting again, for the first time since 1993, appearing as God in the Kevin Smith comedy Dogma and contributing the song "Still" to its soundtrack. Morissette reprised her role as God for a post-credits scene in Smith's next film, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, to literally close the book on the View Askewniverse. She also appeared in the hit HBO comedies Sex and the City and Curb Your Enthusiasm, appeared in the play The Vagina Monologues, and had a brief role in the Brazilian hit soap opera "Celebridade" (Celebrity).

In late 2003, Morissette appeared in the Off-Broadway play The Exonerated as Sunny Jacobs, a death row inmate freed after proof surfaced that she was innocent. In April 2006, MTV News reported that Morissette would reprise her role in The Exonerated in London from May 23 until May 28.^[72]

She expanded her acting credentials with the July 2004 release of the Cole Porter biographical film De-Lovely, in which she performed the song "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)" and had a brief role as an anonymous stage performer. In February 2005, she made a guest appearance on the Canadian television show Degrassi: The Next Generation with Dogma co-star Jason Mewes and director Kevin Smith.

In 2006, she guest starred in an episode of Lifetime's Lovespring International as a homeless woman named Lucinda, three episodes of FX's Nip/Tuck, playing a lesbian named Poppy, and the mockumentary/documentary Pittsburgh as herself.

Morissette has appeared in eight episodes of Weeds, playing Dr. Audra Kitson, a "no-nonsense obstetrician" who treats pregnant main character Nancy Botwin.^[73] Her first episode aired in July 2009.

In early 2010 Morissette returned to the stage, performing a one night engagement in An Oak Tree, an experimental play in Los Angeles. The performance was a sell out. In April 2010 Morissette was confirmed in the cast of Weeds season six, performing again her role as Dr. Audra Kitson.^[74]

Morissette also starred in a film adaptation of Philip K. Dick's novel Radio Free Albemuth. Morissette plays Sylvia, an ordinary woman in unexpected remission from lymphoma. Morissette stated that she is "...a big fan of Philip K. Dick's poetic and expansively imaginative books" and that she "feel[s] blessed to portray Sylvia, and to be part of this story being told in film".^[75]

She appeared as Ava Alexander's Maya Rudolph former Sound LLC bandmate, Amanda in one episode of NBC's "Up All Night" ^[76] on February 16, 2012. Rudolph officiated as minister for Morissette's wedding with both performing the explicit version of their hit hip-hop song, "Back It Up (Beep Beep)".

Personal life[link]

Morissette dated actor and comedian Dave Coulier for a short time in the early 1990s.^[77] In a 2008 interview with the Calgary Herald, Coulier claimed to be the ex-boyfriend who inspired Morissette's song "You Oughta Know".^[78] Morissette, however, has maintained her silence on the subject of the song.^[79]

Morissette met Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds at Drew Barrymore's birthday party in 2002, and the couple began dating soon after.^[80] They announced their engagement in June 2004.^[78] In February 2007, representatives for Morissette and Reynolds announced they had mutually decided to end their engagement.^[81] Morissette has stated that her album Flavors of Entanglement was created out of her grief after the break-up, saying that "it was cathartic".^[82]

Morissette became an American citizen in 2005, while maintaining her Canadian citizenship.^[9]

On May 22, 2010, Morissette married rapper Mario “MC Souleye” Treadway (born May 3, 1980 in Boston, Massachusetts) in a private ceremony at their Los Angeles home.^[83] Their first child, Ever Imre Morissette-Treadway, was born on December 25, 2010.^[84]

Morissette is also a vegan, and an active environmentalist.^[85]

Discography[link]

• Alanis (1991)
• Now Is the Time (1992)
• Jagged Little Pill (1995)
• Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998)
• Under Rug Swept (2002)
• So-Called Chaos (2004)
• Flavors of Entanglement (2008)
• Havoc and Bright Lights (2012)

Filmography[link]

Tours[link]

• 1991: Vanilla Ice tour (opening act)
• 1995: Jagged Little Pill/Intellectual Intercourse Tour
• 1996: Can't Not Tour
• 1998: Club Tour (Alanis Morissette tour)
• 1999: Junkie Tour
• 1999: Junkie Tour Australian Leg (with Garbage)
• 1999: 5 ½ Weeks Tour (with Tori Amos)
• 2000: One Tour
• 2001: Under Rug Swept Tour
• 2002: Toward Our Union Mended Tour
• 2003: All I Really Want/Feast on Scraps Tour
• 2004: So-Called Chaos/Au Naturale Tour (with Barenaked Ladies)
• 2005: Diamond Wink Tour
• 2008: Exile in America (with Matchbox Twenty and Mutemath)
• 2008: Flavors of Entanglement Tour
• 2009: Flavors of Entanglement South American Tour

Awards and nominations[link]

See also[link]

	Book: Alanis Morissette
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Canadian rock
• Music of Canada
• Best selling music artists
• List of diamond-certified albums in Canada
• List of best-selling albums worldwide
• List of best-selling music artists

References[link]

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Alanis Morissette on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Images and media from Commons
	Quotations from Wikiquote

• Official website
• Alanis Morissette discography at Discogs
• Alanis Morissette at the Internet Movie Database
• Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill Review at Spectrum FM

v t e Alanis Morissette Discography Awards and nominations Studio albums Alanis Now Is the Time Jagged Little Pill Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie Under Rug Swept So-Called Chaos Flavors of Entanglement Havoc and Bright Lights Live albums MTV Unplugged Compilation albums Feast on Scraps iTunes Originals Jagged Little Pill Acoustic The Collection Other releases Space Cakes The Singles Box Alanis Morissette: Original Album Series The Prayer Cycle Video albums Jagged Little Pill, Live Live in the Navajo Nation Feast on Scraps Concert tours Jagged Little Pill Tour Club Tour Junkie/Junkie Australian Tour Under Rug Swept Tour Feast on Scraps Tour So-Called Chaos Tour Flavors of Entanglement Tour Flavors of Entanglement South American Tour Films Fuck Dogma Radio Free Albemuth As Cool As I Am Related articles Wade Morissette Maverick Records Ryan Reynolds Glen Ballard Book:Alanis Morissette

Tyler James Williams (born October 9, 1992) is an American actor,rapper and voice actor. He is most recognizable for having played the title character of the Chris Rock-inspired sitcom Everybody Hates Chris.

Life and career[link]

Williams was born in Westchester County, New York, and raised in Yonkers, New York.^[1] His mother, Angela Williams, is a singer/songwriter, and his father, Le'Roy Williams, is a police sergeant.^[1][2] Williams has two younger brothers: Tyrel Jackson Williams (b.1997) and Tylen Jacob Williams (b.2002). His younger brother Tyrel is also an actor, and stars on the Disney XD show Lab Rats.

Williams previously starred in Little Bill as the voice of Bobby, briefly replacing Devon Malik Beckford in 2000, and played himself (or an eponymous character, "Tyler") on the children's show Sesame Street from 2002–2005. He has also guest-starred in Two for the Money, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the show Hi-Jinks along with his Everybody Hates Chris co-star Tichina Arnold. He dated True Jackson, VP star Keke Palmer from early 2007 to late 2008. In late 2009, Williams appeared in the second season of True Jackson, VP as Justin in the episode "Flirting with Fame". He played a rapper named Lil' Shakespeare

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

• In 2007, Williams won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series. Receiving the prize at age 14, he is the youngest person ever to receive this award.

• In 2010, Williams was nominated for NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tyler James Williams at the Internet Movie Database
• Biography page on The CW

Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian in Malmö, Sweden, September 21, 2006. L-R: Olbrich, Ehmke, Kürsch, Siepen, Schüren, Holzwarth
Background information
Origin	Krefeld, Germany
Genres	Power metal, progressive metal, speed metal, thrash metal
Years active	1984–present
Labels	No Remorse, Virgin, Century Media, Nuclear Blast
Associated acts	Demons and Wizards, Gamma Ray, Helloween, Iced Earth, Iron Savior, Savage Circus, Schattentantz, Power Quest
Website	www.blind-guardian.com
Members
Hansi Kürsch André Olbrich Marcus Siepen Frederik Ehmke
Past members
Thomas "Thomen" Stauch Markus Dörk Christof Theißen Hans-Peter Frey Mathias Wiesner

Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in the mid-1980s in Krefeld, West Germany.^[1] They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres.^[2][3] Blind Guardian is a part of the German heavy metal scene that emerged in the mid-1980s.

The band's lyrics, written by vocalist Hansi Kürsch, are inspired by the fiction of fantasy authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Michael Moorcock, Robert Jordan and George R. R. Martin as well as traditional legends and epics.^[4] Over the years, a running theme has developed personifying the band members as travelling bards, leading some fans to refer to the band affectionately as "The Bards".

Biography[link]

Formation as Lucifer's Heritage (1984–1987)[link]

Blind Guardian was formed in 1984 in Krefeld, Germany, by Hansi Kürsch (vocals, bass) and Andre Olbrich (guitar) under the name Lucifer's Heritage. The band first released two demos in 1985 and 1986, despite undergoing chaotic lineup changes: Markus Dörk (guitar) and Thomen Stauch (drums) were replaced by Christof Theißen and Hans-Peter Frey, respectively. Finally, in 1987, Marcus Siepen joined and Thomen came back to form the lineup which would stay consistent for the next 18 years.

Name change and rise to success (1988–1996)[link]

After Lucifer's Heritage signed a contract with No Remorse Records, the band changed their name to Blind Guardian to avoid any speculations about Satanism (in a bio it was stated that they also wanted to distance themselves from the black metal movement, as their demos were placed in with black metal albums at local record shops). They released their debut album Battalions of Fear in 1988, which was essentially a speed metal album heavily influenced by Helloween.^[5] These two German bands had close ties, and Helloween founder Kai Hansen made a guest appearance on Blind Guardian's second LP, Follow the Blind (1989), where the band revealed some thrash metal influence.^[6][7] Their third LP, Tales from the Twilight World (1990), had a much more melodic and "epic" feeling, with usage of choir and classical music influence.

Blind Guardian signed with Virgin Records in 1991, and released their fourth studio album Somewhere Far Beyond in 1992 and the live album Tokyo Tales in 1993. Flemming Rasmussen, former Metallica producer, began working with the band in 1994, producing their fifth studio album Imaginations from the Other Side, released in 1995, and The Forgotten Tales, an album that contained half covers and half original work, released in 1996.

Later years and departure of Thomen Stauch (1997–2009)[link]

In 1998, Blind Guardian released their epic album Nightfall in Middle-Earth. "Complete with anthemic choruses, spoken word story lines, and plenty of bombastic power metal punctuating every dramatic turn", says Allmusic's Vincent Jeffries, "Nightfall in Middle-Earth is perhaps Blind Guardian's most triumphant".^[8] A concept album based on J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion,^[4] Blind Guardian's music demonstrated some folk rock influence, but also featured heavy use of Queen-style layered backing vocals. Since Nightfall, bass guitar has been played by sessional member Oliver Holzwarth, and Hansi has been able to devote all his attention to singing. Nightfall was also the last Blind Guardian album produced by Rasmussen.

Lead vocalist Hansi Kürsch

A Night at the Opera, named after the Queen album, was released four years later. On this album, the band's sound lacked almost all influence of their original speed metal. Power and progressive metal abound, with over the top orchestral backing and a consistent vocal and guitar layering throughout.^[9] Though not a true concept album, many of the lyrics dealt with the common themes of religion and relations between human and divine powers. It was followed by a live album in 2003 and a DVD, Imaginations Through the Looking Glass, in 2004, which was the last recorded Blind Guardian material to feature Thomen Stauch on drums. He left the band due to musical differences and was replaced by Frederik Ehmke. The first album with Ehmke was A Twist in the Myth, which came out in 2006.

Blind Guardian participated in the soundtrack for the In the Name of the King: a Dungeon Siege Tale fantasy movie (Uwe Boll), which came out in 2008.^[10] The band also recorded a theme song for Sacred 2 Fallen Angel role-playing video game, the prequel to Sacred.^[11]

Recent events (2010–present)[link]

André Olbrich performing in 2009

"A Voice in the Dark" was the next single from Blind Guardian that was released 25 June 2010. On July 30, 2010 the album followed, called At the Edge of Time. The band started "The Sacred Worlds and Songs Divine Tour 2010", the European dates will have the opening acts Enforcer and Steelwing. The 22 October in Gothenburg, Sweden only Steelwing was the opening act. The US dates will have Holy Grail and Seven Kingdoms and later they were announced that they would play at Wacken Open Air in 2011.

On July 21, 2011, Hansi Kürsch announced on Blind Guardian's official website that they are working on an orchestral album.^[12][13] On September 1, 2011, Oliver Holzwarth joined Rhapsody of Fire as a full-time member, after 13 years as Blind Guardian's session bass player.^[14] On January 27th, 2012, the band released a compilation album, titled Memories of a Time to Come, containing re-recorded and remixed songs from the band's entire discography.^[15]

Musical style[link]

Blind Guardian with the band's definitive scenery in background

Blind Guardian's first two albums, Battalions of Fear and Follow the Blind, were more in the style of speed metal than their following works. Beginning with their third album Tales from the Twilight World, Blind Guardian gradually began to write more complicated compositions focusing less on speed. As of their sixth album, Nightfall in Middle Earth, Hansi stopped playing bass to focus on singing. At this point the band began to incorporate large amounts of orchestral arrangements, and utilized the technique of overdubbing, heavily influenced by the English rock band Queen.^[16]

Blind Guardian's music features the staccato guitars and double bass drumming characteristic of power metal, as well as the use of overdubs and numerous backing vocals to create a dense sound. This technique, especially notable in the guitar and vocal tracks, creates the impression of a vast army of musicians playing in unison and singing in harmony. This proved significant on all albums after the first two but most particularly on A Night at the Opera.

Another definitive feature of Blind Guardian music is frequent use of folk tunes and instruments, especially in power ballads such as "Lord of the Rings", "The Bard's Song", "A Past and Future Secret", "Skalds and Shadows" and "Curse My Name", among others.

Side projects[link]

Along with Jon Schaffer, the leader and founder of Iced Earth, Kürsch is a member of Demons and Wizards, where he is the lead singer.

Blind Guardian have been working on and off for eight years on an orchestral project writing music about The Lord of the Rings (negotiations failed to be included on the famous The Lord of the Rings film trilogy as the soundtrack, because the band wanted to concentrate on their next album). Although it will not be a power metal album, it will be published under the name of Blind Guardian because it matches the theme of the band's lyrics, according to Hansi.^[17]

Due to the tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, Blind Guardian began working with their former record company, EMI Music, and auctioned off an exclusive studio session for two in the Twilight Hall Studio in Grefrath, Germany for charity in which 100% of proceeds would be donated to the tsunami relief efforts.^[18] The auction ended on April 22, 2011 with a final bid of £1,171.00.^[19]

Line-up[link]

Current members[link]

• Hansi Kürsch – lead vocals (1984–present), bass (1984–1996)
• André Olbrich – lead guitar, backing vocals (1984–present)
• Marcus Siepen – Rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1987–present)
• Frederik Ehmke – drums, percussion, flute and bagpipes (2005–present)

With:

• Thomas Hackmann (sessional member) – backing vocals (1990–present)
• Oliver Holzwarth (sessional and live member) – bass, backing vocals (1997–present)
• Michael Schüren (sessional member) – keyboards, grand piano (1997-present)
• Olaf Senkbeil (sessional member) - backing vocals (1998–present)
• Pat Bender (sessional member) – keyboards, sound effects (2002–present)

Former members[link]

• Thomas "Thomen" Stauch – drums (1984–1985, 1987–2005)
• Markus Dörk – Guitars (1984–1985)
• Christof Theißen – Rhythm guitar (1986)
• Hans-Peter Frey – drums (1986)
• Mathias Wiesner – keyboards, effects (studio) (1989–2002)

Discography[link]

• Battalions of Fear (1988)
• Follow the Blind (1989)
• Tales from the Twilight World (1990)
• Somewhere Far Beyond (1992)
• Imaginations from the Other Side (1995)
• Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998)
• A Night at the Opera (2002)
• A Twist in the Myth (2006)
• At the Edge of Time (2010)

References[link]

Blind Guardian-Battlefield is the theme song for Robot Unicorn Attack heavy metal version

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Blind Guardian

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Blind Guardian

• Official website
• Blind Guardian on Myspace
• Blind Guardian discography at MusicBrainz
• Hansi Kurskch Interview With Metal Rules