Events

285 – Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler.

306 – Constantine I is proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops.

315 – The Arch of Constantine is completed near the Colosseum at Rome to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge.

864 – The Edict of Pistres of Charles the Bald orders defensive measures against the Vikings.

1139 – Battle of Ourique: The Almoravids, led by Ali ibn Yusuf, are defeated by Prince Afonso Henriques.

1261 – The city of Constantinople is recaptured by Nicaean forces under the command of Alexios Strategopoulos, re-establishing the Byzantine Empire.

1536 – Sebastián de Belalcázar on his search of El Dorado founds the city of Santiago de Cali.

1538 – The city of Guayaquil is founded by the Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Orellana and given the name Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de Guayaquil.

1547 – Henry II of France is crowned.

1567 – Don Diego de Losada founds the city of Santiago de Leon de Caracas, modern-day Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela.

1593 – Henry IV of France publicly converts from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism.

1603 – James VI of Scotland is crowned as king of England (James I of England), bringing the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into personal union. Political union would occur in 1707.

1609 – The English ship ''Sea Venture'', en route to Virginia, is deliberately driven ashore during a storm at Bermuda to prevent its sinking; the survivors go on to found a new colony there.

1693 – Ignacio de Maya founds the Real Santiago de las Sabinas, now known as Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo León, México.

1722 – Dummer's War begins along the Maine-Massachusetts border.

1755 – British governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council order the deportation of the Acadians. Thousands of Acadians are sent to the British Colonies in America, France and England. Some later move to Louisiana, while others resettle in New Brunswick.

1758 – Seven Years' War: the island battery at Fortress Louisbourg in Nova Scotia is silenced and all French warships are destroyed or taken.

1759 – French and Indian War: in Western New York, British forces capture Fort Niagara from the French, who subsequently abandon Fort Rouillé.

1788 – Wolfgang Mozart completes his Symphony No. 40 in G minor (K550).

1792 – The Brunswick Manifesto is issued to the population of Paris promising vengeance if the French Royal Family is harmed.

1795 – The first stone of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is laid.

1797 – Horatio Nelson loses more than 300 men and his right arm during the failed conquest attempt of Tenerife (Spain).

1799 – At Aboukir in Egypt, Napoleon I of France defeats 10,000 Ottomans under Mustafa Pasha.

1814 – War of 1812: Battle of Lundy's Lane – reinforcements arrive near Niagara Falls for General Riall's British and Canadian forces and a bloody, all-night battle with Jacob Brown's Americans commences at 18.00; the Americans retreat to Fort Erie.

1824 – Costa Rica annexes Guanacaste from Nicaragua.

1837 – The first commercial use of an electric telegraph is successfully demonstrated by William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone on 25 July 1837 between Euston and Camden Town in London.

1853 – Joaquin Murietta, the famous Californio bandit known as "Robin Hood of El Dorado", is killed.

1861 – American Civil War: The United States Congress passes the Crittenden-Johnson Resolution, stating that the war is being fought to preserve the Union and not to end slavery.

1866 – The United States Congress passes legislation authorizing the five-star rank of General of the Army. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant becomes the first to be promoted to this rank.

1868 – Wyoming becomes a United States territory.

1869 – The Japanese daimyō begin returning their land holdings to the emperor as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms. (Traditional Japanese Date: June 17, 1869).

1893 – The Corinth Canal in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece is used for the first time.

1894 – The First Sino-Japanese War begins when the Japanese fire upon a Chinese warship.

1898 – After over two months of sea-based bombardment, the United States invasion of Puerto Rico begins with U.S. troops led by General Nelson Miles landing at harbor of Guánica, Puerto Rico.

1908 – Ajinomoto is founded. Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University discovers that a key ingredient in Konbu soup stock is monosodium glutamate (MSG), and patents a process for manufacturing it.

1909 – Louis Blériot makes the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air machine from (Calais to Dover) in 37 minutes.

1915 – RFC Captain Lanoe Hawker becomes the first British military aviator to earn the Victoria Cross, for defeating three German two-seat observation aircraft in one day, over the Western Front.

1917 – Sir Robert Borden introduces the first income tax in Canada as a "temporary" measure (lowest bracket is 4% and highest is 25%).

1920 – Telecommunications: the first transatlantic two-way radio broadcast takes place.

1920 – France captures Damascus.

1925 – Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS) is established.

1934 – The Nazis assassinate Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss in a failed coup attempt.

1940 – General Guisan orders the Swiss Army to resist German invasion and makes surrender illegal.

1942 – Norwegian Manifesto calls for nonviolent resistance to the Nazis.

1943 – World War II: Benito Mussolini is forced out of office by his own Italian Grand Council and is replaced by Pietro Badoglio.

1944 – World War II: Operation Spring – one of the bloodiest days for the First Canadian Army during the war: 1,500 casualties, including 500 killed.

1946 – Operation Crossroads: an atomic bomb is detonated underwater in the lagoon of Bikini atoll.

1946 – At Club 500 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis stage their first show as a comedy team.

1952 – The U.S. non-incorporated colonial territory of Puerto Rico adopts a constitution of local-limited powers, approved by the United States Congress in contravention of then-current international law.

1956 – 45 miles south of Nantucket Island, the Italian ocean liner SS ''Andrea Doria'' collides with the MS ''Stockholm'' in heavy fog and sinks the next day, killing 51.

1957 – The Republic of Tunisia is proclaimed.

1958 – The African Regroupment Party (PRA) holds its first congress in Cotonou.

1959 – SR-N1 hovercraft crosses the English Channel from Calais to Dover in just over 2 hours.

1961 – In a speech John F. Kennedy emphasizes that any attack on Berlin is an attack on NATO.

1965 – Bob Dylan goes electric as he plugs in at the Newport Folk Festival, signaling a major change in folk and rock music.

1969 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon declares the Nixon Doctrine, stating that the United States now expects its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This is the start of the "Vietnamization" of the war.

1973 – Soviet Mars 5 space probe launched.

1976 – Viking program: Viking 1 takes the famous Face on Mars photo.

1978 – The Cerro Maravilla incident occurs.

1978 – Louise Brown, the world's first "test tube baby" is born.

1979 – Another section of the Sinai Peninsula is peacefully returned by Israel to Egypt.

1983 – Black July: 37 Tamil political prisoners at the Welikada high security prison in Colombo are massacred by the fellow Sinhalese prisoners.

1984 – Salyut 7 cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya becomes the first woman to perform a space walk.

1993 – Israel launches a massive attack against Lebanon in what the Israelis call Operation Accountability, and the Lebanese call Seven-Day War.

1993 – The Saint James Church massacre occurs in Kenilworth, Cape Town, South Africa.

1994 – Israel and Jordan sign the Washington Declaration, which formally ends the state of war that had existed between the nations since 1948.

1995 – A gas bottle explodes in ''Saint Michel'' station of line B of the RER (Paris regional train network). Eight are killed and 80 wounded.

1996 – In a military coup in Burundi, Pierre Buyoya deposes Sylvestre Ntibantunganya.

2000 – Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde supersonic passenger jet, F-BTSC, crashes just after takeoff from Paris killing all 109 aboard and 4 on the ground.

2007 – Pratibha Patil is sworn in as India's first female president.

2010 – Wikileaks publishes classified documents about the War in Afghanistan, one of the largest leaks in U.S. military history.

Births

1016 – Casimir I, Duke of Poland (d. c. 1058)

1109 – Afonso I of Portugal (d. 1185)

1336 – Albert, Count of Holland (d. 1404)

1404 – Philip I, Duke of Brabant (d. 1430)

1421 – Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, English politician (d. 1461)

1562 – Katō Kiyomasa, Japanese warlord (d. 1611)

1653 – Agostino Steffani, Italian diplomat (d. 1728)

1658 – Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll, Scottish privy councillor (d. 1703)

1683 – Pieter Langendijk, Dutch dramatist and poet (d. 1756)

1750 – Henry Knox, American general (d. 1806)

1753 – Santiago de Liniers, viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (d. 1810)

1797 – Princess Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge (d. 1889)

1799 – David Douglas, Scottish botanist (d. 1834)

1839 – Francis Garnier, French explorer (d. 1873)

1844 – Thomas Eakins, American artist (d. 1916)

1848 – Arthur Balfour, 33rd Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1930)

1860 – Princess Louise Margaret, Duchess of Connaught (d. 1917)

1867 – Max Dauthendey, German writer (d. 1918)

1867 – Alexander Rummler, American painter (d. 1959)

1870 – Maxfield Parrish, American illustrator (d. 1966)

1882 – George S. Rentz, Navy Chaplain, Navy Cross (d. 1942)

1883 – Alfredo Casella, Italian composer (d. 1947)

1886 – Bror von Blixen-Finecke, Swedish big-game hunter (d. 1946)

1894 – Walter Brennan, American actor (d. 1974)

1894 – Gavrilo Princip, Serbian assassin (d. 1918)

1895 – Yvonne Printemps, French actress and singer (d. 1977)

1896 – Jack Perrin, American actor (d. 1967)

1901 – Ruth Krauss, American author

1901 – Lila Lee, American actress (d. 1973)

1902 – Eric Hoffer, American philosopher (d. 1983)

1905 – Elias Canetti, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1994)

1905 – Denys Watkins-Pitchford, writer and illustrator (d. 1990)

1907 – Johnny Hodges, American saxophonist (d. 1970)

1908 – Bill Bowes, English cricketer (d. 1987)

1908 – Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Indian musician (d. 2003)

1908 – Jack Gilford, American actor (d. 1990)

1914 – Woody Strode, American actor and decathlete (d. 1994)

1916 – Lucien Saulnier, Quebec politician (d. 1989)

1917 – Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 1990)

1918 – Jane Frank, American artist (d. 1986)

1920 – Jean Carmet, French actor (d. 1994)

1920 – Rosalind Franklin, English scientist (d. 1958)

1921 – Lionel Terray, French mountaineer (d. 1965)

1923 – Estelle Getty, American actress (d. 2008)

1923 – Maria Gripe, Swedish writer (d. 2007)

1924 – Frank Church, American politician (d. 1984)

1924 – Scotch Taylor, Former South African cricketer (d. 2004)

1925 – Jerry Paris, American actor (d. 1986)

1925 – Benny Benjamin, Motown session drummer (d. 1969)

1926 – Whitey Lockman, American baseball player

1927 – Daniel Ceccaldi, French actor (d. 2003)

1927 – Midge Decter, American journalist and author

1927 – Sadiq Hussain Qureshi, Pakistani politician (d. 2000)

1928 – Keter Betts, American jazz bassist (d. 2005)

1928 – Dolphy, Filipino comedian and actor

1928 – Mario Montenegro, Filipino actor (d. 1988)

1928 – Nils Taube, Estonian-born British fund manager (d. 2008)

1929 – Somnath Chatterjee, Indian communist leader

1929 – Eddie Mazur, Canadian hockey player (d. 1995)

1930 – Murray Chapple, Former New Zealand cricketer (d. 1985)

1930 – Maureen Forrester, Canadian contralto

1930 – Alice Parizeau, Polish-born Quebec writer and essayist (d. 1990)

1930 – Annie Ross, British jazz singer

1934 – Don Ellis, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1978)

1934 – Claude Zidi, French film director and screenwriter

1935 – Barbara Harris, American actress

1935 – Adnan Khashoggi, Saudi arms merchant

1935 – John Robinson, American football coach

1935 – Larry Sherry, American baseball player (d. 2006)

1935 – Lars Werner, Swedish communist leader

1936 – Gerry Ashmore, British racing driver

1936 – Glenn Murcutt, Australian architect

1937 – Colin Renfrew, English archeologist

1941 – Peter Suschitzky, Polish-British cinematographer

1941 – Manny Charlton, rock guitarist

1941 – Nate Thurmond, American basketball player

1941 – Emmett Till, American murder victim (d. 1955)

1942 – Bruce Woodley, Australian musician (The Seekers)

1943 – Jim McCarty, English musician (The Yardbirds)

1943 – Erika Steinbach, German politician

1945 – Donna Theodore, Broadway and television singer

1946 – John Gibson, American media host

1946 – José Areas, Nicaraguan percussionist

1946 – Rita Marley, Jamaican-Cuban singer (I Threes)

1948 – Steve Goodman, American folk singer/songwriter (d. 1984)

1950 – Mark Clarke (musician), British musician, bass player and singer

1951 – Jack Thompson, American activist and former lawyer

1951 – Verdine White, American musician (Earth, Wind & Fire)

1952 – Eduardo Souto de Moura, Portuguese architect.

1953 – Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank

1954 – Walter Payton, American football player (d. 1999)

1954 – Ken Greer, pedal steel guitarist (Red Rider)

1954 – Jochem Ziegert, German footballer

1954 – Lynne Frederick, British Actress (d. 1994)

1955 – Iman Abdulmajid, Somali model

1955 – Randall Bewley, American guitarist

1955 – Kike Elomaa, Finnish bodybuilder

1957 – Steve Podborski, Canadian downhill ski racer

1958 – Thurston Moore, American musician (Sonic Youth)

1959 – Anatoly Onoprienko, Ukrainian serial Killer

1960 – Alain Robidoux, Canadian snooker player

1961 – Bobbie Eakes, American actress

1961 – Katherine Kelly Lang, American actress

1961 – Hugo Teufel III, 2nd Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security

1962 – Doug Drabek, American baseball player

1963 – Denis Coderre, French Canadian politician

1963 – Julian Hodgson, English chess player

1964 – Breuk Iversen, American designer and writer

1965 – Illeana Douglas, American actress

1965 – Marty Brown (singer), country singer

1966 – Maureen Herman, American bassist

1966 – Lynda Lemay, French Canadian singer

1966 – Christine C. Quinn, American politician

1967 – Matt LeBlanc, American actor

1967 – Wendy Raquel Robinson, American actress

1967 – Tommy Skjerven, Norwegian football referee

1968 – Rudi Bryson, Former South African cricketer

1969 – Jon Barry, American basketball player

1971 – Chloë Annett, British actress

1971 – Roger Creager, American country music singer-songwriter

1971 – Tracy Murray, American basketball player

1971 – Billy Wagner, American baseball player

1973 – David Denman, American actor

1973 – Dani Filth, British singer (Cradle of Filth)

1973 – Mur Lafferty, American podcaster and writer

1973 – Kevin Phillips, English footballer

1973 – Michael C. Williams, American actor

1974 – Jay R. Ferguson, American actor

1974 – Kenzo Suzuki, Japanese professional wrestler

1975 – Jody Craddock, English footballer

1975 – Jean-Claude Darcheville, French footballer

1976 – Tera Patrick, American pornographic actress

1976 – Jovica Tasevski-Eternijan, Macedonian poet

1976 – Javier Vázquez, Puerto Rican baseball player

1977 – Kenny Thomas, American basketball player

1978 – Louise Brown, World's first test tube baby

1978 – Gerard Warren, American football player

1979 – Amy Adams, American singer

1979 – Allister Carter, English professional snooker player

1980 – Diam's, French rapper

1980 – Shawn Riggans, American baseball player

1980 – Toni Vilander, Finnish racing driver

1980 – Scott Waldrom, New Zealand All Black rugby player

1981 – Conor Casey, American soccer player

1981 – Constantinos Charalambidis, Greek-Cypriot footballer

1981 – Jani Rita, Finnish ice hockey player

1982 – Norbert Lemcke, German footballer

1982 – Brad Renfro, American actor (d. 2008)

1982 – Monde Zondeki, South African cricketer

1983 – Nenad Krstic, Serbian basketball player

1984 – Loukas Mavrokefalidis, Greek basketball player

1985 – James Lafferty, American actor

1985 – Jasmine Lennard, English model

1985 – Gaël Clichy, French footballer

1985 – Nelson Piquet, Jr., Brazilian race car driver

1986 – Barbara Meier, German model

1986 – Ahtyba Rubin, American football player

1986 – Givanildo Vieira de Souza, Brazilian footballer

1987 – Michael Welch, American actor

1988 – Sarah Geronimo, Filipina actress and singer

1988 – Heather Marks, Canadian model

1988 – Anthony Stokes, Irish footballer

1989 – Noel Callahan, Canadian actor

1989 – Francisco Ferreira, Portuguese journalist

1990 – Andi Eigenmann, Filipina actress

2000 – Preston Bailey, American actor

Deaths

306 – Constantius Chlorus, Roman Emperor (b. 250)

1409 – King Martin I of Sicily

1471 – Thomas à Kempis, German priest and mystic (b. 1380)

1472 – Charles of Artois, Count of Eu, French military leader (b. 1394)

1492 – Pope Innocent VIII (b. 1432)

1572 – Isaac Luria, Jewish mystic (b. 1534)

1616 – Andreas Libavius, German physician and chemist (b. 1550)

1643 – Robert Pierrepont, 1st Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull, English statesman (b. 1584)

1676 – François Hédelin, abbé d'Aubignac, French writer (b. 1604)

1681 – Urian Oakes, English-born President of Harvard University (b. 1631)

1790 – Johann Bernhard Basedow, German education reformer (b. 1723)

1790 – William Livingston, Governor of New Jersey (b. 1723)

1791 – Isaac Low, American Continental Congressman (b. 1735)

1794 – André Chénier, French writer (b. 1762)

1826 – Kondraty Fyodorovich Ryleyev, Russian poet and revolutionary (b. 1795)

1834 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet (b. 1772)

1842 – Dominique Jean Larrey, French surgeon (b. 1766)

1843 – Charles Macintosh, Scottish chemist and inventor (b. 1766)

1853 – Joaquin Murieta, California outlaw

1861 – Jonas Furrer, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1805)

1865 – "James Barry", military surgeon, first female Briton to become a qualified medical doctor

1866 – Floride Calhoun, Second Lady of the United States (b. 1792)

1887 – John Taylor, American religious leader (b. 1808)

1934 – François Coty, French perfume manufacturer (b. 1874)

1934 – Engelbert Dollfuss, Chancellor of Austria (assassinated) (b. 1892)

1952 – Herbert Murrill, English composer (b. 1909)

1959 – Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, Polish-born Chief Rabbi of Ireland and of Israel (b. 1888)

1962 – Thibaudeau Rinfret, Canadian jurist and Chief Justice (b. 1879)

1963 – Ugo Cerletti, Italian neurologist (b. 1877)

1967 – Konstantinos Parthenis, Greek painter (b. 1878)

1971 – Leroy Robertson, American composer (b. 1896)

1973 – Louis Stephen St. Laurent, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1882)

1980 – Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian poet, singer, and actor (b. 1938)

1982 – Hal Foster, Canadian-American cartoonist (Prince Valiant) (b. 1892)

1984 – Bryan Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1913)

1984 – Big Mama Thornton, American singer (b. 1926)

1986 – Vincente Minnelli, American film director (b. 1903)

1988 – Judith Barsi, American actress (b. 1978)

1989 – Steve Rubell, American night club owner (b. 1943)

1992 – Alfred Drake, American actor and singer (b. 1914)

1995 – Charlie Rich, American rock/soul/country musician (b. 1932)

1997 – Ben Hogan, American golfer (b. 1912)

1998 – Tal Farlow, American jazz guitarist (b. 1921)

1998 – Evangelos Papastratos, Greek businessman (b. 1910)

2000 – Rudi Faßnacht, German football manager (b. 1934)

2002 – Abdur Rahman Badawi, Egyptian existentialist philosopher (b. 1917)

2003 – Ludwig Bölkow, German aeronautical engineer (b. 1912)

2003 – Erik Brann, American musician (Iron Butterfly) (b. 1950)

2003 – John Schlesinger, British film director (b. 1926)

2004 – John Passmore, Australian philosopher (b. 1914)

2005 – Albert Mangelsdorff, German jazz trombonist (b. 1928)

2006 – Carl Brashear, first African-American U.S Navy Master Diver (b. 1931)

2006 – Ezra Fleischer, Romanian dissident, later Israeli writer (b. 1928)

2007 – Bernd Jakubowski, German goalkeeper (b. 1952)

2007 – Jesse Marunde, American strongman competitor (b. 1979)

2008 – Randy Pausch, American professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, known for his "Last Lecture" (b. 1960)

2008 – Tracy Hall, American inventor (b. 1919)

2008 – Jeff Fehring, Australian rules footballer (b. 1955)

2009 – Harry Patch, British supercentenarian and World War I veteran (b. 1898)

2009 – Vernon Forrest, Professional boxer, 2-division world champion (b. 1971)

2009 – Alexis Cohen, American Idol contestant (unsuccessful), viral phenomenon (b. 1984)

2009 – Yasmin Ahmad, Malaysian film director, writer and scriptwriter (b. 1958)

2010 – Redford White, Filipino comedian (b. 1955)

2011 – Mihalis Kakogiannis, Cypriot filmmaker (b. 1922)

Holidays and observances

Christian Feast Day:

*Anne (Eastern Christianity)

*Christopher (Western Christianity)

*Cucuphas

*James the Great (Western Christianity)

*Julian of Le Mans (translation)

*July 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Commonwealth Constitution Day, formerly Occupation Day. (Puerto Rico)

Ebernoe Horn Fair (Sussex, southern England)

Furrinalia (Roman Empire)

Guanacaste Day (Costa Rica)

Inca festival in honor of the thunder god Ilyap'a

National Day of Galicia (Galicia)

Republic Day (Tunisia)

External links

BBC: On This Day

On This Day in Canada

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Category:Days of the year Category:July

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Coordinates	35°0′41.69″N135°46′5.47″N
name	Kylie Minogue
background	solo_singer
birth name	Kylie Ann Minogue
birth date	May 28, 1968
birth place	Melbourne, Australia
genre	Pop, synthpop, rock, dance, electronic
occupation	Singer, songwriter, actress, record producer, fashion designer, author, entrepreneur, philanthropist
years active	1979–present
label	PWL, Deconstruction, Parlophone
website	}}

Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE (; born 28 May 1968), is an Australian pop singer, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera ''Neighbours'', before commencing her career as a recording artist in 1987. Her first single, "Locomotion", spent seven weeks at number one on the Australian singles chart and became the highest selling single of the decade. This led to a contract with songwriters and producers Stock, Aitken & Waterman. Her debut album, ''Kylie'' (1988), and the single "I Should Be So Lucky", each reached number one in the United Kingdom, and over the next two years, her first 13 singles reached the British top ten. Her debut film, ''The Delinquents'' (1989) was a box-office hit in Australia and the UK despite negative reviews.

Initially presented as a "girl next door", Minogue attempted to convey a more mature style in her music and public image. Her singles were well received, but after four albums her record sales were declining, and she left Stock, Aitken & Waterman in 1992 to establish herself as an independent performer. Her next single, "Confide in Me", reached number one in Australia and was a hit in several European countries in 1994, and a duet with Nick Cave, "Where the Wild Roses Grow", brought Minogue a greater degree of artistic credibility. Drawing inspiration from a range of musical styles and artists, Minogue took creative control over the songwriting for her next album, ''Impossible Princess'' (1997). It failed to attract strong reviews or sales in the UK, but was successful in Australia.

Minogue returned to prominence in 2000 with the single "Spinning Around" and the dance-oriented album ''Light Years'', and she performed during the closing ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Her music videos showed a more sexually provocative and flirtatious personality and several hit singles followed. "Can't Get You Out of My Head" reached number one in more than 40 countries, and the album ''Fever'' (2001) was a hit in many countries, including the United States, a market in which Minogue had previously received little recognition. Minogue embarked on a concert tour but cancelled it when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2005. After surgery and chemotherapy treatment, she resumed her career in 2006 with ''Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour''. Her tenth studio album ''X'' was released in 2007 and was followed by the ''KylieX2008'' tour. In 2009, she embarked upon her ''For You, For Me Tour'', her first concert tour of the United States and Canada, and the following year released her eleventh studio album, ''Aphrodite''.

Minogue has achieved worldwide record sales of more than 68 million, and has received notable music awards, including multiple ARIA and Brit Awards and a Grammy Award. She has mounted several successful concert tours and received a Mo Award for "Australian Entertainer of the Year" for her live performances. She was awarded the Order of the British Empire "for services to music", and an Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2008. In 2011, I Should Be So Lucky was added to the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia's Sounds of Australia registry.

Life and career

1968–86: Early life and career beginnings

Kylie Ann Minogue was born 28 May 1968 in Melbourne, Australia, the eldest child of Ronald Charles Minogue, an accountant of Irish ancestry and Carol Ann (née Jones), a former dancer from Maesteg, Wales. Her sister, Dannii Minogue, is also a pop singer and is a judge on The X Factor, and her brother, Brendan, works as a news cameraman in Australia. The Minogue children were raised in Surrey Hills, Melbourne, and educated at Camberwell High School.

The Minogue sisters began their careers as children on Australian television. From the age of 11, Kylie appeared in small roles in soap operas such as ''The Sullivans'' and ''Skyways'', and in 1985 was cast in one of the lead roles in ''The Henderson Kids''. Interested in following a career in music, she made a demo tape for the producers of the weekly music programme ''Young Talent Time'', which featured Dannii as a regular performer. Kylie gave her first television singing performance on the show in 1985 but was not invited to join the cast. Dannii's success overshadowed Kylie's acting achievements, until Kylie was cast in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' in 1986, as Charlene Mitchell, a schoolgirl turned garage mechanic. ''Neighbours'' achieved popularity in the UK, and a story arc that created a romance between her character and the character played by Jason Donovan, culminated in a wedding episode in 1987 that attracted an audience of 20 million British viewers.

Her popularity in Australia was demonstrated when she became the first person to win four Logie Awards in one event, and the youngest recipient of the "Gold Logie" as the country's "Most Popular Television Performer", with the result determined by public vote.

1987–92: Stock, Aitken and Waterman and ''Kylie''

During a Fitzroy Football Club benefit concert with other ''Neighbours'' cast members, Minogue performed "I Got You Babe" as a duet with the actor John Waters, and "The Loco-Motion" as an encore, and was subsequently signed to a recording contract with Mushroom Records in 1987. Her first single, "The Loco-Motion", spent seven weeks at number one on the Australian music charts. It sold 200,000 copies, became the highest selling single of the 1980s, and Minogue received the ARIA Award for the year's highest selling single. Its success resulted in Minogue travelling to England with Mushroom Records executive Gary Ashley to work with Stock, Aitken & Waterman. They knew little of Minogue and had forgotten that she was arriving; as a result, they wrote "I Should Be So Lucky" while she waited outside the studio. The song reached number one in the UK, Australia, Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Israel and Hong Kong. Minogue won her second consecutive ARIA Award for the year's highest selling single, and received a "Special Achievement Award". Her debut album, ''Kylie'', a collection of dance-oriented pop tunes spent more than a year on the British album charts, including several weeks at number one. The album went gold in the United States, and the single, "The Loco-Motion", reached number three on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and number one on the Canadian Singles Chart. "It's No Secret", released only in the U.S., peaked at number 37 in early 1989, and "Turn It Into Love" was released as a single in Japan, where it reached number one.

In July 1988, "Got To Be Certain" became Minogue's third consecutive number one single on the Australian music charts, and later in the year she left ''Neighbours'' to focus on her music career. Jason Donovan commented "When viewers watched her on screen they no longer saw Charlene the local mechanic, they saw Kylie the pop star." A duet with Donovan, titled "Especially for You", sold almost one million copies in the UK in early 1989, but critic Kevin Killian wrote that the duet was "majestically awful ...[it] makes the Diana Ross, Lionel Richie 'Endless Love' sound like Mahler." She was sometimes referred to as "the Singing Budgie" by her detractors over the coming years, however Chris True's comment about the album ''Kylie'' for Allmusic suggests that Minogue's appeal transcended the limitations of her music, by noting that "her cuteness makes these rather vapid tracks bearable".

Her follow-up album ''Enjoy Yourself'' (1989) was a success in the United Kingdom, Europe, New Zealand, Asia and Australia, and contained several successful singles, including the British number one "Hand on Your Heart", but it failed throughout North America, and Minogue was dropped by her American record label Geffen Records. She embarked on her first concert tour, the Enjoy Yourself Tour, in the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and Australia, where Melbourne's ''Herald Sun'' wrote that it was "time to ditch the snobbery and face facts—the kid's a star." In December 1989, Minogue was one of the featured vocalists on the remake of "Do They Know It's Christmas", and her debut film, ''The Delinquents'', premiered in London. It was poorly received by critics, and the ''Daily Mirror'' reviewed Minogue's performance with the comment that she "has as much acting charisma as cold porridge", but it proved popular with audiences; in the UK it grossed more than £200,000, and in Australia it was the fourth-highest grossing local film of 1989 and the highest grossing local film of 1990.

''Rhythm of Love'' (1990) presented a more sophisticated and adult style of dance music and also marked the first signs of Minogue's rebellion against her production team and the "girl-next-door" image. Determined to be accepted by a more mature audience, Minogue took control of her music videos, starting with "Better the Devil You Know", and presented herself as a sexually aware adult. Her relationship with Michael Hutchence was also seen as part of Minogue's departure from her earlier persona; Hutchence was quoted as saying that his hobby was "corrupting Kylie", and that the INXS song "Suicide Blonde" had been inspired by her. The singles from ''Rhythm of Love'' sold well in Europe and Australia and were popular in British nightclubs. Pete Waterman later reflected that "Better the Devil You Know" was a milestone in her career and said that it made her "the hottest, hippest dance act on the scene and nobody could knock it as it was the best dance record around at the time". "Shocked" became Minogue's thirteenth consecutive British top-10 single.

In May 1990, Minogue performed her band's arrangement of The Beatles's "Help!" before a crowd of 25,000 at the ''John Lennon: The Tribute Concert'' on the banks of the River Mersey in Liverpool. Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon offered Minogue their thanks for her support of The John Lennon Fund, while the media commented positively on her performance. ''The Sun'' wrote "The soap star wows the Scousers — Kylie Minogue deserved her applause". Her fourth album, ''Let's Get to It'' (1991), reached number 15 on the British album charts and was the first of her albums to fail to reach the Top 10; her fourteenth single "Word Is Out" was the first to miss the Top 10 singles chart, though subsequent singles "If You Were with Me Now" and "Give Me Just a Little More Time" reached number four and number two respectively. Minogue had fulfilled the requirements of her contract and elected not to renew it. She later expressed her opinion that she was stifled by Stock, Aitken and Waterman, and said, "I was very much a puppet in the beginning. I was blinkered by my record company. I was unable to look left or right."

A ''Greatest Hits'' album was released in 1992. It reached number one in the UK and number three in Australia, and the singles "What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)" and her cover version of Kool & The Gang's "Celebration" each reached the UK Top 20.

1993–98: Deconstruction, ''Kylie Minogue'' and ''Impossible Princess''

Minogue's subsequent signing with Deconstruction Records was highly touted in the music media as the beginning of a new phase in her career, but the eponymous ''Kylie Minogue'' (1994) received mixed reviews. It sold well in Europe and Australia, where the single "Confide in Me" spent four weeks at number one. She performed a striptease in the video for her next single, "Put Yourself in My Place", inspired by Jane Fonda in the film ''Barbarella''. This single and her next, "Where Is the Feeling?" each reached the British top 20, and the album peaked at number four, eventually selling 250,000 copies. During this period she made a guest appearance as herself, in an episode of the comedy ''The Vicar of Dibley''. The director Steven E. de Souza was intrigued by Minogue's cover photo in Australia's ''Who Magazine'' as one of "The 30 Most Beautiful People in the World", and offered her a role opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in ''Street Fighter'' (1994). The film was a moderate success, earning USD$70 million in the U.S., but received poor reviews with ''The Washington Post'''s Richard Harrington calling Minogue "the worst actress in the English-speaking world". She co-starred with Pauly Shore and Stephen Baldwin in ''Bio-Dome'' (1996), but it was a failure, dismissed by ''Movie Magazine International'' as the "biggest waste of celluloid space". Minogue returned to Australia where she appeared in the short film, ''Hayride to Hell'' (1995), and then to the UK where she filmed a cameo role as herself in the film ''Diana & Me'' (1997).

Australian artist Nick Cave had been interested in working with Minogue since hearing "Better the Devil You Know", saying it contained "one of pop music's most violent and distressing lyrics" and "when Kylie Minogue sings these words, there is an innocence to her that makes the horror of this chilling lyric all the more compelling". They collaborated on "Where the Wild Roses Grow" (1995), a brooding ballad whose lyrics narrated a murder from the points of view of both the murderer (Cave), and his victim (Minogue). The video was inspired by John Everett Millais's painting ''Ophelia'' (1851–1852), and showed Minogue as the murdered woman, floating in a pond as a serpent swam over her body. The single received widespread attention in Europe, where it reached the top 10 in several countries, and acclaim in Australia where it reached number two on the singles chart, and won ARIA Awards for "Song of the Year" and "Best Pop Release". Following concert appearances with Cave, Minogue recited the lyrics to "I Should Be So Lucky" as poetry in London's Royal Albert Hall "Poetry Jam", at the suggestion of Cave, and later described it as a "most cathartic moment". She credited Cave with giving her the confidence to express herself artistically, saying: "He taught me to never veer too far from who I am, but to go further, try different things, and never lose sight of myself at the core. For me, the hard part was unleashing the core of myself and being totally truthful in my music." By 1997, Minogue was in a relationship with the French photographer Stéphane Sednaoui, who encouraged her to develop her creativity. Inspired by a mutual appreciation of Japanese culture, they created a visual combination of "geisha and manga superheroine" for the photographs taken for the album ''Impossible Princess'' and the video for "German Bold Italic", Minogue's collaboration with Towa Tei. Minogue drew inspiration from the music of artists such as Shirley Manson and Garbage, Björk, Tricky and U2, and Japanese pop musicians such as Pizzicato Five and Towa Tei.

''Impossible Princess'' featured collaborations with musicians such as James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore of the Manic Street Preachers. Mostly a dance album, its style was not represented by its first single "Some Kind of Bliss", and Minogue countered suggestions that she was trying to become an indie artist. She told ''Music Week'', "I have to keep telling people that this isn't an indie-guitar album. I'm not about to pick up a guitar and rock." Acknowledging that she had attempted to escape the perceptions of her that had developed during her early career, Minogue commented that she was ready to "forget the painful criticism" and "accept the past, embrace it, use it". Her video for "Did It Again" paid homage to her earlier incarnations, as noted in her biography, ''La La La'', "Dance Kylie, Cute Kylie, Sex Kylie and Indie Kylie all struggled for supremacy as they battled bitchily with each other." ''Billboard'' described the album as "stunning" and concluded that "it's a golden commercial opportunity for a major [record company] with vision and energy [to release it in the United States]. A sharp ear will detect a kinship between ''Impossible Princess'' and Madonna's hugely successful album, ''Ray of Light''". In the UK, ''Music Week'' gave a negative assessment, commenting that "Kylie's vocals take on a stroppy edge ... but not strong enough to do much". Retitled ''Kylie Minogue'' in the UK following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, it became the lowest-selling album of her career. At the end of the year a campaign by ''Virgin Radio'' stated, "We've done something to improve Kylie's records: we've banned them." A poll conducted by ''Smash Hits'' voted her the "worst-dressed person, worst singer and second-most very horrible thing—after spiders".

In Australia, ''Impossible Princess'' spent 35 weeks on the album chart and peaked at number four, to become her most successful album since ''Kylie'' in 1988, and her Intimate and Live tour was extended due to demand. The Victorian Premier, Jeff Kennett, hosted a civic reception for Minogue in Melbourne, and she maintained her high profile in Australia with live performances, including the 1998 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the opening ceremonies of Melbourne's Crown Casino and Sydney's Fox Studios in 1999, where she performed Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend", and a Christmas concert in Dili, East Timor in association with the United Nations Peace-Keeping Forces. During this time she filmed a small role for the Australian-made Molly Ringwald film, ''Cut'' (2000).

1999–2005: ''Light Years'', ''Fever'' and ''Body Language''

Minogue and Deconstruction Records parted company. She performed a duet with the Pet Shop Boys' on their ''Nightlife'' album and spent several months in Barbados performing in Shakespeare's ''The Tempest''. Returning to Australia, she appeared in the film ''Sample People'' and recorded a cover version of Russell Morris's "The Real Thing" for the soundtrack. She signed with Parlophone Records in April 1999. According to Miles Leonard, her new A&R; at Parlophone, it was the label and not Minogue that was responsible for her career downturn, believing that her talent hadn't been tapped into by Deconstruction. Leonard later told HitQuarters: "I believed that she was still very strong vocally, and still definitely a star ... and I knew that with the right project, the right songwriters, the right producers, the right team, she would still have a fanbase out there." Parlophone wanted to reestablish Minogue as the pop artist they felt she essentially was, but that had been lost. Leonard said: "But I didn't want to make a throwaway pop record, I wanted it to have an edge and some depth."

Her album ''Light Years'' (2000) was a collection of dance songs, influenced by disco music. Minogue said that her intention was to present dance-pop music in a "more exaggerated form" and to make it "fun". It generated strong reviews and was successful throughout Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, selling over one million copies in the UK. The single "Spinning Around" became her first British number one in ten years, and its accompanying video featured Minogue in revealing gold hot pants, which came to be regarded as a "trademark". The single was described by a 2009 The Times article as heralding a new era in synthpop that was continuing. Her second single, "On a Night Like This" reached number one in Australia and number two in the UK. "Kids", a duet with Robbie Williams, was also included on Williams's album ''Sing When You're Winning'', and peaked at number two in the UK.

In 2000, Minogue performed ABBA's "Dancing Queen" and her single "On a Night like This" at the 2000 Sydney Olympics closing ceremony. She then embarked upon a concert tour, On A Night like This Tour, which played to sell-out crowds in Australia and the United Kingdom. Minogue was inspired by Madonna's 1993 world tour The Girlie Show which incorporated Burlesque and theatre, William Baker also cited the style of Broadway shows such as ''42nd Street'', films such as ''Anchors Aweigh'', ''South Pacific'', the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals of the 1930s and the live performances of Bette Midler. Minogue was praised for her new material and her reinterpretations of some of her greatest successes, turning "I Should Be So Lucky" into a torch song and "Better the Devil You Know" into a 1940s big band number. She won a "Mo Award" for Australian live entertainment as "Performer of the Year". Following the tour she was asked by a ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' journalist what she thought was her greatest strength, and replied, "[That] I am an all-rounder. If I was to choose any one element of what I do, I don't know if I would excel at any one of them. But put all of them together, and I know what I'm doing."

She appeared as "The Green Fairy" in ''Moulin Rouge!'' (2001), shortly before the release of ''Fever'', an album containing disco elements combined with 1980s electropop and synthpop. ''Fever'' reached number one in Australia, the UK, and throughout Europe, eventually achieving worldwide sales in excess of eight million. Its lead single "Can't Get You Out of My Head" became the biggest success of her career, reaching number one in more than 40 countries. She won four ARIA Awards including a "Most Outstanding Achievement" award, and two Brit Awards, for "Best international female solo artist" and "Best international album". ''Rolling Stone'' states that "Can't Get You out of My Head" "was easily the best and most omnipresent dance track of the new century", and following extensive airplay by American radio, Capitol Records released it and the album ''Fever'' in the U.S. in 2002. ''Fever'' debuted on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart at number three, and "Can't Get You out of My Head" reached number seven on the Hot 100. The subsequent singles "In Your Eyes", "Love at First Sight" and "Come into My World" were successful throughout the world, and Minogue established a presence in the mainstream North American market, particularly in the club scene. Minogue followed the success of the album by touring the United States with the Jingle Ball festival, visiting Miami, Anaheim, New York City, Philadelphia and Houston. In 2003 she received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Dance Recording" for "Love at First Sight", and the following year won the same award for "Come into My World".

Minogue's stylist and creative director William Baker explained that the music videos for the ''Fever'' album were inspired by science fiction films—specifically those by Stanley Kubrick—and accentuated the electropop elements of the music by using dancers in the style of Kraftwerk. Alan MacDonald, the designer of the 2002 KylieFever tour, brought those elements into the stage show which drew inspiration from Minogue's past incarnations. The show opened with Minogue as a space age vamp, which she described as "Queen of Metropolis with her drones", through to scenes inspired by Kubrick's ''A Clockwork Orange'', followed by the various personas of Minogue's career. Minogue said that she was finally able to express herself the way she wanted, and that she had always been "a showgirl at heart". During 2002 she worked on the animated film ''The Magic Roundabout'', released in 2005 in Europe and 2006 in the U.S.; she voiced one of the principal characters, Florence.

Minogue began a relationship with the French actor, Olivier Martinez, after meeting him at the 2002 Grammy Awards ceremony. Her next album, ''Body Language'' (2003), was released following an invitation-only concert, titled ''Money Can't Buy'', at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. The event marked the presentation of a new visual style, designed by Minogue and Baker, inspired in part by Brigitte Bardot, about whom Minogue commented: "I just tended to think of BB [Bardot] as, well, she's a sexpot, isn't she? She's one of the greatest pinups. But she was fairly radical in her own way at that time. And we chose to reference the period, which was ... a perfect blend of coquette and rock and roll." The album downplayed the disco style and Minogue said she was inspired by 1980s artists such as Scritti Politti, The Human League, Adam and the Ants and Prince, blending their styles with elements of hip hop. It received positive reviews with ''Billboard Magazine'' writing of "Minogue's knack for picking great songs and producers". Allmusic described it as "a near perfect pop record... ''Body Language'' is what happens when a dance-pop diva takes the high road and focuses on what's important instead of trying to shock herself into continued relevance". Sales of ''Body Language'' were lower than anticipated after the success of ''Fever'', though the first single, "Slow", was a number-one hit in the UK and Australia. After reaching number one on the US club chart, "Slow" received a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Dance Recording category.

''Body Language'' achieved first week sales of 43,000 in the U.S., and declined significantly in the second week. ''The Wall Street Journal'' described Minogue as "an international superstar who seems perpetually unable to conquer the U.S. market". Minogue commented that she had told her American record company that she was not willing to invest the time needed to establish herself in the U.S. and that she would rather enhance the success she had already achieved in other parts of the world, an attitude endorsed by ''Billboard'' analyst Geoff Mayfield as a "business decision... If I were her accountant, I couldn't blame her for making that call." Minogue later commented that she was not concerned by her limited success in the U.S. and was more frustrated by assumptions that she considered her career incomplete without it.

Minogue played a guest role in the season finale of the comedy series ''Kath & Kim'', in which she referenced her earlier role as Charlene in ''Neighbours'', during a wedding sequence. The episode achieved the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's highest ratings of the year.

She released her second official greatest hits album in November 2004, entitled ''Ultimate Kylie'', along with her music videos on a DVD compilation of the same title. The album introduced her singles "I Believe in You", co-written with Jake Shears and Babydaddy from the Scissor Sisters, and "Giving You Up". "I Believe in You" reached the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play top three, and Minogue was nominated for a Grammy Award for the fourth consecutive year when the song was nominated in the category of "Best Dance Recording".

Early in 2005, Kylie : The Exhibition opened in Melbourne. The free exhibition featured costumes and photographs spanning Minogue's career and went on to tour Australian capital cities receiving over 300,000 visitors, and was exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in February 2007. Minogue commenced her Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour, and after performing in Europe, travelled to Melbourne, where she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

2006–09: Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour, ''X'', KylieX2008 and For You, for Me Tour

In November 2006, Minogue resumed her Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour with a performance in Sydney. She had told journalists before the concert that she would be highly emotional, and she cried before dedicating the song "Especially for You" to her father, a survivor of prostate cancer. Her dance routines had been reworked to accommodate her medical condition, and slower costume changes and longer breaks were introduced between sections of the show to conserve her strength. The media reported that Minogue performed energetically, with the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' describing the show as an "extravaganza" and "nothing less than a triumph". The following night, Minogue was joined by Bono, who was in Australia as part of U2's ''Vertigo'' tour, for the duet "Kids", but Minogue was forced to cancel a subsequent planned appearance at U2's show, because of exhaustion. Minogue's shows throughout Australia continued to draw positive reviews, and after spending Christmas with her family, she resumed the European leg of her tour with six sold-out shows in Wembley Arena, before taking her tour to Manchester for a further six shows.

In February 2007, Minogue and Olivier Martinez announced that they had ended their relationship, but remained on friendly terms. Minogue was reported to have been "saddened by false [media] accusations of [Martinez's] disloyalty". She defended Martinez, and acknowledged the support he had given during her treatment for breast cancer, commenting "He was always there, helping with the practical stuff and being protective. He was incredible. He didn't hesitate in cancelling work and putting projects on hold so he could be with me. He's the most honourable man I have ever met."

Minogue released ''X'', her tenth studio album and much-discussed "comeback" album, in November 2007. The electro-styled album included contributions from Guy Chambers, Cathy Dennis, Bloodshy & Avant and Calvin Harris. For the overarching visual look of ''X'', including the music video for first single "2 Hearts", Minogue and William Baker developed a combination of the style of Kabuki theatre and the aesthetics originating from London danceclubs including BoomBox. The album received some criticism for the triviality of its subject matter in light of Minogue's experiences with breast cancer; she responded by explaining the personal nature of some of the album's songs, and said "My conclusion is that if I'd done an album of personal songs it'd be seen as 'Impossible Princess 2' and be equally critiqued." ''Rolling Stone'''s reviewer described Minogue as "pop divadom's party planner in chief", and said of her breast cancer, "thankfully, the experience hasn't made her music discernibly deeper". Minogue later said, "In retrospect we could definitely have bettered it [the album], I'll say that straight up. Given the time we had, it is what it is. I had a lot of fun doing it." ''X'' and "2 Hearts" entered at number one on the Australian albums and singles charts respectively. In the UK, ''X'' initially attracted lukewarm sales, although its commercial performance eventually improved, and Minogue won a Brit Award for "International solo female". ''X'' was released in the U.S. in April 2008, and debuted outside the top 100 on the albums chart despite some promotion. Minogue called the U.S. market "notoriously difficult ... [Y]ou have so many denominations with radio. To know where I fit within that market is sometimes difficult." ''X'' was nominated for the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album, Minogue's fifth Grammy Award nomination.

In December 2007, Minogue participated in the ''Nobel Peace Prize Concert'' in Oslo, Norway, and later performed in the final of the UK talent show ''The X Factor'' with the eventual winner, Leon Jackson, whose mentor was Dannii Minogue. From May 2008, Minogue promoted ''X'' with a European tour, KylieX2008, which is her most expensive tour to date with production costs of £10 million. Although she described the rehearsals as "grim" and the set list went through several overhauls, the tour was generally acclaimed and sold well.

Minogue was featured in ''White Diamond'', a documentary filmed during 2006 and 2007 as she resumed her Showgirl Homecoming Tour. She appeared in ''The Kylie Show'', which featured highly stylised set-piece song performances from Minogue as well as comedy sketches with Mathew Horne, Dannii Minogue, Jason Donovan and Simon Cowell. She co-starred in the 2007 ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special episode, "Voyage of the Damned", as Astrid Peth, a waitress on a spaceship ''Titanic''. The episode aired on 25 December 2007, with 13.31 million viewers, the show's highest viewing figures since 1979.

It was announced in late December 2007 that Minogue was to be among those honoured in Queen Elizabeth II's 2008 New Years Honours list, with an OBE for services to music. Minogue commented "I am almost as surprised as I am honoured. I feel deeply touched to be acknowledged by the UK, my adopted home, in this way." She received the OBE officially from The Prince of Wales in July 2008. In May, 2008 Minogue was awarded the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France's highest cultural honour. Culture Minister Christine Albanel described Minogue as a "midas of the international music scene who turns everything she touches into gold", and saluted her for publicly discussing her breast cancer. In July, Minogue was named the UK's "Best Loved Celebrity" by a tabloid newspaper, who commented that she "won the hearts of the nation as she bravely battled breast cancer", and won the "Best International Female Solo Artist" award at the 2008 BRIT Awards.

In late September 2008, Minogue made her Middle East debut as the headline act at the opening of Atlantis, The Palm, an exclusive hotel resort in Dubai, and from November, she continued with her ''KylieX2008'' tour, taking the show to cities across South America, Asia and Australia. The tour visited 21 countries, and was considered a success, with ticket sales estimated at $70,000,000. She hosted the ''2009 BRIT Awards'' on 18 February 2009 with James Corden and Mathew Horne.

In September and October 2009, Minogue embarked on the For You, For Me Tour, her first North American concert tour, which included shows in the U.S. and Canada. She was also featured in the Bollywood film, ''Blue'', performing an A.R. Rahman song, and had confirmed that she was working on her eleventh studio album, commenting that it would be an album of dance and pop music. On 13 September 2009, Minogue performed "Super Trouper" and "When All Is Said and Done" with Benny Andersson at the ABBA tribute concert "Thank You for the Music... a Celebration of the Music of ABBA" at London's Hyde Park, her only live performance in the UK in 2009. On 14 December 2009, Minogue released a download-only concert album entitled ''Kylie: Live in New York''. The album was recorded at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom and contains 25 live version songs.

2010–present: ''Aphrodite''

Minogue's eleventh studio album, ''Aphrodite'', was released in Japan on 30 June 2010 and worldwide in July 2010. The lead single, "All the Lovers", premiered on radio in May 2010 and was made available for purchase in June 2010. The album debuted at number one in the UK charts, exactly twenty two years after her first UK number one hit. On 3 June 2010, she hosted the inaugural AmfAR "Inspiration Gala" at the New York Public Library honouring Jean Paul Gaultier for his lifelong contribution to men's fashion and the fight against AIDS. Minogue appeared on BBC1's ''Friday Night With Jonathan Ross'' on 25 June 2010, during which she confirmed she is a UK resident, and announced that she will tour in 2011.

In July 2010, Minogue filmed a cameo performance as a rock star in the American independent film ''Jack and Diane''. The movie stars Juno Temple, Riley Keough and Jena Malone. She also recorded a duet titled "Devotion" with British synthpop duo Hurts for their debut album ''Happiness'', released on 6 September 2010. The second single from ''Aphrodite'', titled "Get Outta My Way" was released on 27 September 2010. In October 2010, Minogue performed in front of the Sphinx and the Pyramids at Giza, Egypt to celebrate the anniversary of "Enigma" magazine, with profits going to the We Owe It To Egypt Foundation. A third single, "Better Than Today", was released on 6 December 2010.

Minogue's singles, "All the Lovers" and "Get Outta My Way", were popular in U.S. clubs, each reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Songs chart. On March 5, 2011 "Better Than Today" was at number one on the chart, and her collaboration with Taio Cruz, "Higher", was at number three, making her the first artist in the chart's history to have two singles simultaneously in the top three. On 1 December 2010, Minogue and Parlophone records released the EP ''A Kylie Christmas'' on iTunes, which included a cover of the 1945 song "Let It Snow" as well as "Santa Baby" which was previously available as a b-side to her 2000 single "Please Stay". In August 2011, "Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)", also reached number one on the Billboard dance chart, where Minogue has now achieved five consecutive number one spots on the chart for her last five releases - including her collaboration with Taio Cruz on the track, "Higher".

In 2011, Minogue embarked on the ''Aphrodite World Tour'', travelling to Europe, North America, Canada, Africa, Asia and Australia.

Image and celebrity status

Minogue's efforts to be taken seriously as a recording artist were initially hindered by the perception that she had not "paid her dues" and was no more than a manufactured pop star exploiting the image she had created during her stint on ''Neighbours''. Minogue acknowledged this viewpoint, saying, "if you're part of a record company, I think to a degree it's fair to say that you're a manufactured product. You're a product and you're selling a product. It doesn't mean that you're not talented and that you don't make creative and business decisions about what you will and won't do and where you want to go." In 1993, Baz Luhrmann introduced Minogue to the photographer Bert Stern, notable for his work with Marilyn Monroe. Stern photographed her in Los Angeles and, comparing her to Monroe, commented that Minogue had a similar mix of vulnerability and eroticism. During her career Minogue has chosen photographers who attempt to create a new "look" for her, and the resulting photographs have appeared in a variety of magazines, from the cutting edge ''The Face'' to the more traditionally sophisticated ''Vogue'' and ''Vanity Fair'', making the Minogue face and name known to a broad group of people. Stylist William Baker has suggested that this is part of the reason she has entered in the mainstream pop culture of Europe more successfully than many other pop singers who concentrate solely on selling records.

By 2000, when Minogue returned to prominence, she was considered to be have achieved a degree of musical credibility for having maintained her career longer than her critics had expected. That same year, ''Birmingham Post'' noted "[o]nce upon a time, long before anybody had even heard of Britney, Christina, Jessica or Mandy, Australian singer Kylie Minogue ruled the charts as princess of pop. Back in 1988 her first single, I Should Be So Lucky, spent five weeks at number one, making her the most successful female artist in the UK charts with 13 successive Top 10 entries." Her progression from the wholesome "girl next door" to a more sophisticated performer with a flirtatious and playful persona attracted new fans to her. Her "Spinning Around" video led to some media outlets referring to her as "SexKylie", and sex became a stronger element in her subsequent videos. William Baker described her status as a sex symbol as a "double edged sword" observing that "we always attempted to use her sex appeal as an enhancement of her music and to sell a record. But now it has become in danger of eclipsing what she actually is: a pop singer." After 20 years as a performer, Minogue was described as a fashion "trend-setter" and a "style icon who constantly reinvents herself". She has been acknowledged for mounting successful tours, and for worldwide record sales of more than 60 million.

Minogue is regarded as a gay icon, which she encourages with comments such as "I am not a traditional gay icon. There's been no tragedy in my life, only tragic outfits..." and "My gay audience has been with me from the beginning ... they kind of adopted me." Minogue has explained that she first became aware of her gay audience in 1988, when several drag queens performed to her music at a Sydney pub and she later saw a similar show in Melbourne. She said that she felt "very touched" to have such an "appreciative crowd" and this had encouraged her to perform at gay venues throughout the world, as well as headlining the 1994 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Minogue has been inspired by and compared to Madonna throughout her career. Her producer, Pete Waterman recalled Minogue during the early years of her success, with the observation, "She was setting her sights on becoming the new Prince or Madonna... What I found amazing was that she was outselling Madonna four to one, but still wanted to be her." Minogue received negative comments that her Rhythm of Love tour in 1991 was too similar visually to Madonna's Blond Ambition World Tour of the previous year for which the critics labelled her a Madonna wannabe. Kathy McCabe for ''The Telegraph'' notes that Minogue and Madonna follow similar styles in music and fashion, and concludes, "Where they truly diverge on the pop-culture scale is in shock value. Minogue's clips might draw a gasp from some but Madonna's ignite religious and political debate unlike any other artist on the planet... Simply, Madonna is the dark force; Kylie is the light force." ''Rolling Stone'' comments that, with the exception of the U.S., Minogue is regarded throughout the world as "an icon to rival Madonna", and says, "Like Madonna, Minogue was not a virtuosic singer but a canny trend spotter." Minogue has said of Madonna, "Her huge influence on the world, in pop and fashion, meant that I wasn't immune to the trends she created. I admire Madonna greatly but in the beginning she made it difficult for artists like me, she had done everything there was to be done...", and "Madonna's the Queen of Pop, I'm the princess. I'm quite happy with that."

In January 2007 Madame Tussauds in London unveiled its fourth waxwork of Minogue; only Queen Elizabeth II has had more models created. During the same week a bronze cast of her hands was added to Wembley Arena's "Square of Fame". On 23 November 2007, a bronze statue of Minogue was unveiled at Melbourne Docklands for permanent display.

In March 2010, Minogue was declared by researchers as the "most powerful celebrity in Britain". The study examined how marketers identify celebrity and brand partnerships. Mark Husak, head of Millward Brown's UK media practice, said: "Kylie is widely accepted as an adopted Brit. People know her, like her and she is surrounded by positive buzz".

Cancer

Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer on 17 May 2005, leading to the postponement of the remainder of her Showgirl – The Greatest Hits Tour and her withdrawal from the Glastonbury Festival. Her hospitalisation and treatment in Melbourne resulted in a brief but intense period of media coverage, particularly in Australia, where Prime Minister John Howard issued a statement supporting Minogue. As media and fans began to congregate outside the Minogue residence in Melbourne, the Victorian Premier Steve Bracks warned the international media that any disruption of the Minogue family's rights under Australian privacy laws would not be tolerated. His comments became part of a wider criticism of the media's overall reaction, with particular criticism directed towards paparazzi. Minogue underwent surgery on 21 May 2005 at Cabrini Hospital in Malvern, and commenced chemotherapy treatment soon after.

On 8 July 2005, she made her first public appearance after her surgery, when she visited a children's cancer ward at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital. She returned to France where she completed her chemotherapy treatment at the Institut Gustave-Roussy in Villejuif, near Paris. In December 2005, Minogue released a digital-only single, "Over the Rainbow", a live recording from her Showgirl tour. Her children's book, ''The Showgirl Princess'', written during her period of convalescence, was published in October 2006, and her perfume, "Darling", was launched in November. This range was later augmented by eau de toilettes such as Pink Sparkle, Couture and Inverse. On her return to Australia for her concert tour, she discussed her illness, and said that her chemotherapy treatment had been like "experiencing a nuclear bomb". While appearing on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' in 2008, Minogue said that her cancer had originally been misdiagnosed. She commented, "Because someone is in a white coat and using big medical instruments doesn't necessarily mean they're right", but she later spoke of her respect for the medical profession.

Minogue was acknowledged for the impact she had made by publicly discussing her cancer diagnosis and treatment; in May 2008, the French Cultural Minister Christine Albanel said, "Doctors now even go as far as saying there is a 'Kylie effect' that encourages young women to have regular checks."

Discography

''Kylie'' (1988)

''Enjoy Yourself'' (1989)

''Rhythm of Love'' (1990)

''Let's Get to It'' (1991)

''Kylie Minogue'' (1994)

''Impossible Princess'' (1997)

''Light Years'' (2000)

''Fever'' (2001)

''Body Language'' (2003)

''X'' (2007)

''Aphrodite'' (2010)

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Kylie Minogue

List of Kylie Minogue concert tours

Kylie Minogue filmography

Honorific nicknames in popular music

List of best-selling music artists

References

;Notes

;Bibliography

External links

 – owned and maintained by EMI and represents Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue Collection at the Performing Arts Collection

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Melbourne Category:ARIA Award winners Category:Australian child actors Category:Australian dance musicians Category:Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Australian female singers Category:Australian film actors Category:Australian pop singers Category:Australian television actors Category:Australian people of Irish descent Category:Australian people of Welsh descent Category:Breast cancer survivors Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Nu-disco musicians Category:Freestyle musicians Category:Gold Logie winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:LGBT rights activists from Australia Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Parlophone artists Category:Recipients of the Centenary Medal Category:Singers from Melbourne Category:The X Factor judges Category:The X Factor (UK) Category:Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

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Coordinates	35°0′41.69″N135°46′5.47″N
alt	A mid-twenties African American man wearing a sequined military jacket and dark sunglasses. He is walking while waving his right hand, which is adorned with a white glove. His left hand is bare.
background	solo_singer
birth name	Michael Joseph Jackson
alias	Michael Joe Jackson, MJ, King of Pop
birth date	August 29, 1958
birth place	Gary, Indiana, U.S.
death date	June 25, 2009
death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
instrument	vocals, guitar, drums, percussion, keyboards
genre	R&B;, pop, rock, soul, dance, funk, disco, new jack swing
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, composer, dancer, choreographer, record producer, actor, businessman, philanthropist
years active	1964–2009
label	Motown, Epic, Legacy
associated acts	The Jackson 5
relatives	Janet Jackson (sister)
website	130pxMichael Jackson's signature }}

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5, then the Jacksons in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.

In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style have influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B;, pop and rock artists.

Jackson's 1982 album ''Thriller'' is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including ''Off the Wall'' (1979), ''Bad'' (1987), ''Dangerous'' (1991), and ''HIStory'' (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll. Some of his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which have made him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of popular music.

Life and career

Early life and The Jackson 5 (1958–1975)

Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children in an African American working-class family who lived in a small 3-room house in Gary, Indiana, an industrial city near Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness, and his father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, was a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B; band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy. A sixth brother, Brandon, died shortly after birth.

Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe. In 1980, Jackson won three awards at the American Music Awards for his solo efforts: Favorite Soul/R&B; Album, Favorite Soul/R&B; Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B; Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". That year, he also won Billboard Year-End for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance, also for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". Jackson again won at the American Music Awards in 1981 for Favorite Soul/R&B; Album and Favorite Soul/R&B; Male Artist. Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt ''Off the Wall'' should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.

''Thriller'' and ''Motown 25'' (1982–83)

In 1982, Jackson contributed the song "Someone In the Dark" to the storybook for the film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''; the record won a Grammy for Best Recording for Children in 1984. In the same year he won another seven Grammys and eight American Music Awards (including the Award of Merit, the youngest artist to win it), making him the most awarded in one night for both award shows. The album topped the ''Billboard'' 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to have seven ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It," and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." ''Thriller'' was certified for 29 million shipments by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond status in the United States. The album won also another Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical in 1984, awarding Bruce Swedien for his work. Thanks to the ''Bad'' album, Bruce Swedien and Humberto Gatica won one Grammy in 1988 for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and Michael Jackson won one Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone" in 1989. ''HIStory'' received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. However, the sales for ''Invincible'' were lower than those of his previous releases, due in part to a lack of promotion, no supporting world tour and the label dispute. The album also came out at a bad time for the music industry in general. Jackson rehearsed in Los Angeles in the weeks leading up to the tour under the direction of choreographer Kenny Ortega. Most of these rehearsals took place at the Staples Center, which was owned by AEG. With ''Thriller'', Christopher Connelly of ''Rolling Stone'' commented that Jackson developed his long association with the subliminal theme of paranoia and darker imagery. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted this is evident on the songs "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". In "Billie Jean", Jackson sings about an obsessive fan who alleges he has fathered a child of hers. In "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" he argues against gossip and the media. "Beat It" decried gang violence in an homage to ''West Side Story'', and was Jackson's first successful rock cross-over piece, according to Huey. He also observed that the title track "Thriller" began Jackson's interest with the theme of the supernatural, a topic he revisited in subsequent years. In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the charity anthem "We Are the World"; humanitarian themes later became a recurring theme in his lyrics and public persona.

In ''Bad'', Jackson's concept of the predatory lover can be seen on the rock song "Dirty Diana". The lead single "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a traditional love ballad, while "Man in the Mirror" is an anthemic ballad of confession and resolution. "Smooth Criminal" was an evocation of bloody assault, rape and likely murder. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that ''Dangerous'' presents Jackson as a very paradoxical individual. He comments the album is more diverse than his previous ''Bad'', as it appeals to an urban audience while also attracting the middle class with anthems like "Heal the World". The first half of the record is dedicated to new jack swing, including songs like "Jam" and "Remember the Time". The album is Jackson's first where social ills become a primary theme; "Why You Wanna Trip on Me", for example, protests against world hunger, AIDS, homelessness and drugs. ''Dangerous'' contains sexually charged efforts such as the multifaceted love song, "In the Closet". The title track continues the theme of the predatory lover and compulsive desire. The second half includes introspective, pop-gospel anthems such as "Will You Be There", "Heal the World" and "Keep the Faith"; these songs show Jackson opening up about various personal struggles and worries. In the ballad "Gone Too Soon", Jackson gives tribute to his friend Ryan White and the plight of those with AIDS.

''HIStory'' creates an atmosphere of paranoia. Its content focuses on the hardships and public struggles Jackson went through just prior to its production. In the new jack swing-funk-rock efforts "Scream" and "Tabloid Junkie", along with the R&B; ballad "You Are Not Alone", Jackson retaliates against the injustice and isolation he feels, and directs much of his anger at the media. In the introspective ballad "Stranger in Moscow", Jackson laments over his "fall from grace", while songs like "Earth Song", "Childhood", "Little Susie" and "Smile" are all operatic pop pieces. In the track "D.S.", Jackson launched a verbal attack against Tom Sneddon. He describes Sneddon as an antisocial, white supremacist who wanted to "get my ass, dead or alive". Of the song, Sneddon said, "I have not—shall we say—done him the honor of listening to it, but I've been told that it ends with the sound of a gunshot". ''Invincible'' found Jackson working heavily with producer Rodney Jerkins. It is a record made up of urban soul like "Cry" and "The Lost Children", ballads such as "Speechless", "Break of Dawn" and "Butterflies" and mixes hip-hop, pop and R&B; in "2000 Watts", "Heartbreaker" and "Invincible".

Vocal style

Jackson sang from childhood, and over time his voice and vocal style changed noticeably. Between 1971 and 1975, Jackson's voice descended from boy soprano to high tenor. Jackson first used a technique called the "vocal hiccup" in 1973, starting with the song "It's Too Late to Change the Time" from The Jackson 5's ''G.I.T.: Get It Together'' album. Jackson did not use the hiccup technique— somewhat like a gulping for air or gasping— fully until the recording of ''Off the Wall'': it can be seen in full force in the "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" promotional video. With the arrival of ''Off the Wall'' in the late 1970s, Jackson's abilities as a vocalist were well regarded. At the time, ''Rolling Stone'' compared his vocals to the "breathless, dreamy stutter" of Stevie Wonder. Their analysis was also that "Jackson's feathery-timbred tenor is extraordinarily beautiful. It slides smoothly into a startling falsetto that's used very daringly". 1982 saw the release of ''Thriller'', and ''Rolling Stone'' was of the opinion that Jackson was then singing in a "fully adult voice" that was "tinged by sadness".

A distinctive deliberate mispronunciation of "come on", used frequently by Jackson, occasionally spelled "cha'mone" or "shamone", is also a staple in impressions and caricatures of him. The turn of the 1990s saw the release of the introspective album ''Dangerous''. ''The New York Times'' noted that on some tracks, "he gulps for breath, his voice quivers with anxiety or drops to a desperate whisper, hissing through clenched teeth" and he had a "wretched tone". When singing of brotherhood or self-esteem the musician would return to "smooth" vocals. When commenting on ''Invincible'', ''Rolling Stone'' were of the opinion that—at the age of 43—Jackson still performed "exquisitely voiced rhythm tracks and vibrating vocal harmonies". Nelson George summed up Jackson's vocals by stating "The grace, the aggression, the growling, the natural boyishness, the falsetto, the smoothness—that combination of elements mark him as a major vocalist".

Music videos and choreography

Referred to as the King of Music Videos, Steve Huey of Allmusic observed how Jackson transformed the music video into an art form and a promotional tool through complex story lines, dance routines, special effects and famous cameo appearances; simultaneously breaking down racial barriers. Before ''Thriller'', Jackson struggled to receive coverage on MTV, allegedly because he was African American. Pressure from CBS Records persuaded MTV to start showing "Billie Jean" and later "Beat It", leading to a lengthy partnership with Jackson, also helping other black music artists gain recognition. MTV employees deny any racism in their coverage, or pressure to change their stance. MTV maintains that they played rock music, regardless of race. The popularity of his videos on MTV helped to put the relatively young channel "on the map"; MTV's focus shifted in favor of pop and R&B.; His performance on ''Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever'' changed the scope of live stage show; "That Jackson lip-synced 'Billie Jean' is, in itself, not extraordinary, but the fact that it did not change the impact of the performance is extraordinary; whether the performance was live or lip-synced made no difference to the audience" thus creating an era in which artists re-create the spectacle of music video imagery on stage. Short films like ''Thriller'' largely remained unique to Jackson, while the group dance sequence in "Beat It" has frequently been imitated. The choreography in ''Thriller'' has become a part of global pop culture, replicated everywhere from Indian films to prisons in the Philippines. The ''Thriller'' short film marked an increase in scale for music videos, and has been named the most successful music video ever by the ''Guinness World Records''.

In the 19-minute music video for "Bad"—directed by Martin Scorsese—Jackson began using sexual imagery and choreography not previously seen in his work. He occasionally grabbed or touched his chest, torso and crotch. When asked by Oprah in the 1993 interview about why he grabbed his crotch, he replied, "I think it happens subliminally" and he described it as something that was not planned, but rather, as something that was compelled by the music. "Bad" garnered a mixed reception from both fans and critics; ''Time'' magazine described it as "infamous". The video also featured Wesley Snipes; in the future Jackson's videos would often feature famous cameo roles.

}} ;Bibliography

George, Nelson (2004). ''Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection'' booklet. Sony BMG.

Further reading

External links

Michael Jackson Live: Best Pics – slideshow by ''Life magazine''

Michael Jackson at MTV

FBI file on Michael Jackson

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Coordinates	35°0′41.69″N135°46′5.47″N
Name	Michael Cole
Names	(Sir) Michael Cole
Height
Weight
Birth date	December 08, 1968
Birth place	Syracuse, New York
Resides	McAllen, Texas
Billed	Amenia, New York
Debut	1996
Retired	}}

Michael Sean Coulthard (born December 8, 1968), better known by his ring name Michael Cole, is an American professional wrestling commentator, currently signed to WWE on both its Raw and SmackDown brands. Coulthard is a former news journalist.

Life and career

Journalism

Coulthard began his career in the media as a journalist, working for CBS Radio. His first high-profile assignment was to cover the failed 1988 US presidential campaign of Democratic Party nominee Michael Dukakis. In 1992, he reported on the presidential campaign of Bill Clinton. Coulthard covered the 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, in 1993. The following year, he spent nine months covering the Yugoslavian civil war. In 1995 he was also selected to cover the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing. He returned to the presidential campaign trail in 1996 to cover the failed campaigns of Steve Forbes and Sen. Bob Dole.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (1997–present)

Backstage interviewer and Raw (1997–1999)

Cole came to the World Wrestling Federation in mid-1997 and started using the stage name "Michael Cole." He became the host of ''LiveWire'' show alongside Jim Cornette. Coulthard debuted at SummerSlam, and replaced Todd Pettengill as a backstage interviewer, who left the WWF after the event. In late 1997, Cole became one of the three announcers for the first hour of ''Monday Night Raw'', alongside Jim Ross and Kevin Kelly. Eventually Cole was permanently replaced by Jerry Lawler later in the year. In 1999, Cole became the regular play-by-play announcer for ''Monday Night Raw'' subbing for Jim Ross when Ross was devastated by Bell's palsy.

SmackDown! (1999–2008)

When the promotion's new ''SmackDown!'' television program debuted later that year, Cole was chosen to be the show's play-by-play announcer. Originally his broadcast partner was Jerry "The King" Lawler, but when Lawler briefly left the WWF, he was replaced by Cole's ''Heat'' broadcast partner Tazz shortly before the WWF vs. WCW/ECW invasion storyline. Cole also had a stint doing commentary on ''SmackDown!'''s former sister show ''WWE Velocity''.

As an announcer, Cole was rarely involved in storylines; however, he has had minor roles in storylines involving Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, Heidenreich, Stephanie McMahon, Vito, and D-Generation X (Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Chyna, and Rick Rude). His 2004 angle with Heidenreich became infamous due to an implied scene where Heidenreich "Heidenraped" him in the arena restroom. In a 2008 interview, Heidenreich explained that the Cole rape angle was McMahon's idea, and that ''Pulp Fiction'' came to mind when Stephanie McMahon approached him with the idea. He also appeared in the ''Taxi Driver'' parody trailer in promotion of WrestleMania 21.

Cole called play-by-play at the 2006 Royal Rumble match because Ross, who had commentated the last three Royal Rumble matches with Tazz, had been "fired" in the storylines and replaced by former ECW play-by-play man Joey Styles, reuniting the original SmackDown! team of Cole and Lawler.

On February 3, 2006, it was announced that he and Tazz were starting a radio show on Howard Stern's "Howard 101" radio station on Sirius, airing Thursday through Sunday at 8 pm, but the show was a trial run that only lasted a couple of weeks.

On April 26, 2006, WWE announced that Cole would become the Managing Editor of WWE.com. Shortly after, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon told shareholders in a meeting held on September 14 that he believes that the website "sucks". In response, Cole replied on WWE.com about updated content for the website: a broadband network with original web-only shows have been scheduled for October, with a new mobile offering, a re-vamped subscription site and more exclusive videos and photos. Cole went on to say, "So in summary, the web site does suck, compared to where we are going to take it, but it won’t suck for long. Wish I could say the same for the boss."

On the June 9 edition of ''SmackDown!'', Cole's broadcast partner Tazz left from SmackDown to ECW, leaving Cole at that moment without a broadcast partner. At ECW One Night Stand 2006, John "Bradshaw" Layfield announced he would replace Tazz as color commentator. This proved true five days later when he appeared on that week's edition of ''SmackDown!'' as Cole's new broadcast partner.

After JBL left the broadcast booth and returned to wrestling action on ''Raw'', Jonathan Coachman became Cole's new partner on January 4, 2008. Coachman was then replaced by Mick Foley beginning at Backlash on April 27, 2008.

Raw announcing exclusively (2008–2010)

As a part of the 2008 WWE Draft, Cole was drafted to the Raw brand as Jim Ross was drafted to the SmackDown brand. This effectively ended Cole's near 10 year run as play-by-play commentator on ''Smackdown'' in which he called every episode except for two. (The two episodes were the pilot and the 9/11 Tribute show, both of which were called by Ross.) On the July 7, 2008 edition of ''Raw'', Cole was attacked by Kane. He repeatedly asked Cole "Is he alive or dead?" before Cole was saved by Jerry Lawler. Cole made his in-ring debut as Lawler's partner against the tag team of Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase; a match for the World Tag Team Championship. Cole and Lawler lost after Cole inadvertently tagged himself in, and was quickly pinned by Rhodes after a lariat. On the December 14, 2009 episode of ''Raw'', which was the 2009 Slammy Awards, Cole won ''The "Oh My" Moment of the Year'' award for vomiting on Chris Jericho at ''SmackDown's 10th Anniversary'' show on October 2.

Heel Turn and NXT (2010)

Cole is the color commentator for ''WWE NXT'' when the show debuted on February 23, 2010. Cole started to show early signs of a heel turn when he began to belittle certain rookies on the show, mainly Daniel Bryan. Cole began showing a liking to The Miz, who was Bryan's pro on that season, and who was becoming a significant heel on Raw. On the May 18 episode of ''WWE NXT'', Bryan attacked Cole as a result of Cole's comments to him over the preceding weeks. The following week, Cole called Bryan out and demanded an apology from him, or else he would sue him for the assault. Bryan insulted Cole instead. Cole retaliated by calling Bryan a "loser" and slapping him, which caused Bryan to be restrained by security as Cole left the ring.

After Cole's feud ended with Bryan in the second season of ''NXT'', Cole began to show more support for The Miz and his rookie for that season, Alex Riley. As with Bryan in the first season of ''NXT'', Cole picked on season two rookie Kaval for being another "internet darling".

On the third season on ''NXT'', Cole criticized the whole competition after a challenge which would require him to ring a gong that was next to him. He walked off commentary, ostensibly "quitting" the show. Cole returned halfway through the next week's edition of ''WWE NXT'', rejoining Josh Mathews and CM Punk, who filled in for Cole. Cole stated that "''NXT'' without Michael Cole is simply bad, and that he was giving the show "journalistic integrity". Just as in the first two seasons of ''NXT'', Cole picked on a rookie, A.J., who he would also call an "internet darling".

On the fourth season of ''WWE NXT'', Cole was replaced by Todd Grisham on commentary. On the December 28 episode of ''WWE NXT'', Cole returned to the show to help Brodus Clay in a talent show competition.

Feud with Jerry Lawler (2010–2011)

On the June 21, 2010, episode of ''Raw'', Cole became the official spokesman for the new (anonymous) General Manager of ''Raw'' (as the GM issues his orders through e-mails addressed to Cole) coming up with a new catchphrase of "and I quote...." to begin each e-mail reading.

On the October 1 edition of ''SmackDown'', Cole returned to the show to join Matt Striker and Todd Grisham on commentary. On that same episode, Cole told Striker and Grisham that the reason he was on the show was that he was the new "Voice of the WWE" and that he should be on all WWE shows.

Over the next few months, Cole showed more signs of a heel turn when he started to pick on certain superstars on ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown''. As Cole's heel character developed, Jerry Lawler showed displeasure in commentating with him. Cole dubbed his "fans" as Cole Miners, a play on the term coal mining. Even CM Punk, who had buddied up with Cole during the announcing of NXT Season 3, said that his initials stood for Cole Miner. On the November 15 episode of ''Raw'', Jim Ross returned to the WWE to call a match alongside Lawler and Cole, to Cole's obvious displeasure. After the match finished, JR beat Cole with his hat before he left.

On the November 29 episode of ''Raw'', Cole interfered in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs match for the WWE Championship between Lawler and The Miz, costing Lawler the match by helping Miz retain his title. A week later, Cole apologized, only to take it back and demand one from Lawler. After Lawler threatened to attack Cole, the anonymous ''Raw'' General Manager issued a "cease and desist" order, which barred any physicality between them and that if either of them violated the order, that individual would have their contract terminated immediately. Cole continued to argue with Lawler on commentary, telling him he was "stealing the spotlight" and to "stop putting his nose in other people's business". After Lawler unsuccessfully challenged for the WWE Championship again at WWE Elimination Chamber, Cole interviewed him about his match on the following ''Raw''. When Cole mentioned Lawler's recently deceased mother, Lawler stole the microphone from Cole and challenged him to a match at WrestleMania XXVII. Cole responded by throwing water into Lawler's face and then running backstage.

A week later, Cole accepted Lawler's challenge to a match at WrestleMania, only if he could have his own personal trainer at ringside with him and if he could choose the special guest referee for the match. Cole then revealed his trainer to be Jack Swagger. On the March 7, 2011 episode of ''Raw'', Cole announced that he had chosen John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) as the referee for the match, but before he could sign the contract, Stone Cold Steve Austin interrupted and delivered a Stone Cold Stunner to JBL, and then signed the contract himself, making him the referee for the match. From the March 14 episode of ''Raw'', Cole began announcing both ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown'' inside a glass booth which he called the Cole Mine. Later that night, Cole invited Brian Christopher, Lawler's son, to the ring to reveal the truth about Lawler. Christopher confronted his father and told him he was ashamed to use the name "Lawler" and accused him of being absent from most of his life. Jim Ross then interrupted and confronted Cole and called him a "rat bastard". Jack Swagger attacked Ross and put him an Ankle Lock. Cole also followed suit.During following weeks he criticized the WWE Divas saying they should not be in the WWE.

At WrestleMania, Lawler won the match by submission, using the ankle lock submission hold that Cole and Swagger had used on him during the last few weeks leading into the event. While celebrating his victory with Stone Cold, the anonymous Raw General Manager reversed the decision, due to Stone Cold physically getting involved in the match by pushing Cole, thus, making Cole the winner by disqualification. A month later at Extreme Rules, Cole teamed with Swagger to defeat Jim Ross and Lawler in a Country Whipping match. Lawler challenged Cole to one last match at Over The Limit. Cole initially declined, but Swagger was provoked into agreeing to the match on Cole's behalf. A week later, Cole announced that the match would be a "Kiss My Foot" match. During the signing, Cole and Swagger's alliance ended when Cole insulted Swagger, causing him to walk out on Cole, who then tried to beg Lawler for forgiveness. At the pay-per-view, Lawler defeated Cole. After the match, Eve Torres and Jim Ross would come out and get their retribution on Cole. Eve Torres delivered her signature moonsault to Michael and Jim Ross covered Michael's face in barbecue to humiliate Michael Cole. Bret "The Hitman" Hart would then return and put Cole in his signature submission move, the Sharpshooter, to help Lawler make Cole kiss his foot.

Return to commentating (2011)

On the May 23 edition of ''Raw'', the night after Over The Limit, Cole said he regretted his behavior over the past few months and offered Lawler a full apology, which Lawler accepted, and soon enough, Cole returned to being a commentator. Despite this, he continues his heel run as he still favors villains like The Miz, Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio and questions some of the actions by fan favorites to regain control in a match. He also started liking the divas matches, saying they are his favourite but continues to show his dislike towards Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres.

On the May 30 episode of ''Raw'', Cole would insult Alex Riley during an in-ring interview, which caused Riley to attack Cole. Miz would save Cole by attacking Riley from behind, but was also blindsided by Riley. A week later, after John Cena and Riley defeated Miz and R-Truth, Cole would announce that the Anonymous ''Raw'' General Manager had reversed the ruling, due to Steve Austin physically assaulting The Miz during the match, thus, making Miz and Truth the winners instead (because Cena and Riley are both disqualified). Austin would bring Cole into the ring hit his signature ''Stone Cold Stunner'' on him, followed by Cena hitting an Attitude Adjustment finishing move on him. Austin would then pour beer all over Cole while celebrating with Cena and Riley.

On the June 20 ''Power to the People'' episode of ''Raw'', Cole was voted as the opponent for Vickie Guerrero in a dance-off, hosted by Matt Striker. Cole would imitate the signature worm of Scotty 2 Hotty and the signature ''Spin-a-Roonie'' of Booker T. Cole would win the dance-off for receiving the most amount of boos (originally to be most amount of cheers, Striker changed it to boos when both Vickie and Cole were just booed). On the July 25 episode of ''Raw'', after Triple H announced the return of Jim Ross on commentary, Cole became angry with the decision, which led to Triple H giving Cole the choice to quit or stay. After Cole agreed to stay, Triple H announced Cole would have a match and would have the rest of the night off commentary. Cole (forced to dress and mimic Triple H) was defeated by Zack Ryder in a squash match. Later that same week on ''SmackDown'', Cole stated that he was not quitting and he was going to continue to commentate on ''Raw'' alongside Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler.

Personal life

Coulthard graduated from Webutuck High School in 1984 and attended the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in Syracuse University. Coulthard says that his favourite country to visit is South Africa. Coulthard loves twitter.

Coulthard is married to a woman named Yolanda and the couple have two sons, named Calvin and Mark. Coulthard's oldest son, Calvin, also works for WWE in the television production department.

Beside doing commentary in the WWE video games, he will be featured as a playable superstar in ''WWE '12'' in his WrestleMania 27 gear. He was previously only available for in-game use via cheat devices such as Xploder.

In wrestling

Nicknames

*"The (self-proclaimed) Legend Killer"

*"The (self-proclaimed) Mr. WrestleMania"

"The (self-proclaimed) Voice of the WWE"

Awards and Accomplishments

World Wrestling Entertainment/ WWE

Slammy Award for the "Oh My" Moment of the Year (2009)

*Slammy Award for the "And I Quote..." Line of the Year (2010)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Worst Television Announcer (2001, 2009, 2010)

References

External links

WWE profile

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:Fictional knights Category:People from Syracuse, New York Category:People from the Catskills Category:People from the McAllen-Edinburg-Pharr, Texas, area Category:Professional wrestling announcers Category:American reporters and correspondents Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:Syracuse University alumni

ar:مايكل كول ca:Michael Cole de:Michael Cole es:Michael Cole fr:Michael Coulthard it:Michael Sean Coulthard nl:Michael Sean Coulthard ja:マイケル・コール pt:Michael Cole ru:Коул, Майкл (комментатор) simple:Michael Cole fi:Michael Cole th:ไมเคิล โคล

Coordinates	35°0′41.69″N135°46′5.47″N
Name	Zack Ryder
Image caption	Ryder Performing his signature entrance
Names	Brett MatthewsBrett MajorZack Ryder
Height
Weight
Birth date	May 14, 1985
Birth place	Merrick, New York
Resides	Long Island, New York
Billed	Long Island, New York
Trainer	Mikey Whipwreck
Debut	2004 }}

Matthew Joseph Cardona Jr. (born May 14, 1985) better known by his ring name Zack Ryder, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE and works on the Raw brand as a wrestler and the SmackDown brand as an Assistant General Manager. Cardona wrestled mostly with his tag team partner Brian Myers on the independent circuit and initially in WWE, under the name Curt Hawkins, where they won the WWE Tag Team Championship before the team split and Cardona became a singles wrestler.

Professional wrestling career

New York Wrestling Connection (2004–2006)

Cardona debuted with New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC) in 2004, using the name Brett Matthews. By 2005 he began regularly teaming with Bryan Myers and the duo of Myers and Matthews went on to defeat the NYWC Tag Team Champions Dickie Rodz and Mason Raige by disqualification, for which titles do not change hands. At the next event on June 4 they won a rematch decisively to become Tag Team Champions. Later that month they were attacked by The Dead Presidents (Lo Lincoln and Boog Washington) to set up a feud where they eventually lost their titles against them in July. on August 27. On September 23 they were entered into a three way match with the champions but Team Tremendous (Dan Barry and Ken Scampi) ended up with the belts. After continuing to win matches they re-earned a match against Team Tremendous and won the titles for the second time on January 25, 2006. They held the titles until they faced The B.S. Xpress (Tony Burma & Mike Spinelli), who defeated them for the gold on March 26.

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE

Tag team; La Familia (2006–2009)

On February 24, 2006, Matthew Cardona signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment. In Deep South Wrestling in Georgia, he was renamed Brett Majors while Myers was renamed Bryan Majors. By October they won the DSW Tag Team Championship from The Untouchables (Dice Domino and Deuce Shade) and held them until the end of November, losing them to Urban Assault (Eric Pérez and Sonny Siaki). After the titles were vacated in the following year, they became two-time champions defeating the new team of Siaki and Afa, Jr (The Samoan Swat Team) and The Blue Bloods (William Regal and Dave Taylor). Later in 2007 they moved to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship once, reigning from June 15 to 29.

The team was moved from the developmental league to the main roster in May 2007, changing their last names from Majors to Major. They worked on WWE's ECW brand, winning only their first match until they were drafted to SmackDown! in June. On November 9 they won a battle royal to receive a WWE Tag Team Championship match, but didn't win.

At Armageddon, the duo dressed up like Edge and interfered in the World Heavyweight Championship match, replacing Edge at several points along the match to help him win the title and thus turning heel for the first time in their WWE career. On December 21, the Major Brothers were revealed as an acquaintance to Edge and his lover, ''SmackDown'' General Manager Vickie Guerrero. The Major Brothers were repackaged and renamed, with Cardona being renamed Zack Ryder. Occasionally referred as The Rated-R Entourage by commentators Michael Cole and John "Bradshaw" Layfield, the group allied with Guerrero's nephew, Chavo Guerrero and his enforcer Bam Neely as the group La Familia, which dominated SmackDown's storyline through 2008.

At The Great American Bash on July 20 Curt Hawkins (the former Bryan Major) and Ryder won the WWE Tag Team Championship from John Morrison and The Miz in a fatal four-way match which also featured Jesse and Festus and Finlay and Hornswoggle after Hawkins pinned Jesse. Their victory meant that they were the youngest team to hold the championships. By SummerSlam, La Familia had begun to fracture and Ryder, with Hawkins, went back to appearing on their own. On the September 26 airing of ''SmackDown'', Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder lost the titles to The Colóns (Carlito and Primo Colón) in their first televised title defense. On April 15, 2009 Ryder was drafted back to the ECW brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft, separating the team.

Long Island Iced Z (2009–present)

Ryder made his return to ECW on May 5, 2009 in a backstage segment with General Manager Tiffany. He now sported short hair, tanned skin, sunglasses, a headband, half-trunks/half-tights, displaying something of an arrogant Long Island guido character and more frequent uses of catchphrases "woo woo woo" and "you know it", that he had used sparingly in the tag team. He lost to Finlay on his first singles match, on May 7's ''Superstars'' and would not gain victory until the May 19 episode of ''ECW on Sci Fi'' over a local competitor. On September 15, Ryder won a 10-man battle royal to earn contendership to the ECW Championship but lost to the champion, Christian, the following week. On the November 3 edition of ''ECW'', Ryder entered a love angle with Rosa Mendes who became his valet. He also feuded with Tommy Dreamer, culminating in a match on December 29 where Ryder won to force Dreamer to leave the company.

When the ECW brand came to an end in February 2010, Ryder and Mendes moved to the Raw brand, making his debut on the February 25 edition of ''Superstars'', defeating Primo. Ryder made his ''Raw'' debut on March 1, losing to Montel Vontavious Porter in a Money in the Bank qualifying match. He participated in an untelevised 26-man battle royal at WrestleMania XXVI, being the last person eliminated by the winning Yoshi Tatsu. Mendes was drafted to SmackDown as part of the 2010 Supplemental Draft without Ryder, so Ryder sought a new valet, trying to impress Alicia Fox and Gail Kim while they watched his matches at ringside. During a match with Evan Bourne on the May 10 edition of ''Raw'', Fox attempted to interfere on Ryder's behalf but was stopped by Kim, leading to Bourne winning the match. The two new pairings faced off in a mixed tag team match on the May 17 edition of ''Raw'', which Ryder and Fox lost. Ryder had a return win over Bourne on May 27's ''Superstars''. The next week on ''Raw'', Fox attacked Ryder with an axe kick after Raw guest host Ashton Kutcher put a bounty on Ryder's head. During the June 7 Viewer's Choice edition of ''Raw'', Ryder was voted to team with The Miz, defeating John Morrison and R-Truth. The next week, Ryder had a title shot in a Fatal Four Way match for the WWE United States Championship but lost. Months later, in August, he was given a WWE Championship match against Sheamus that lasted 11 seconds, which was the second-shortest WWE Championship match in WWE history, in an attempt by Sheamus to circumvent the company's 30 day championship defence policy.

During this time, Ryder became a mentor on the second season of ''WWE NXT'' to Titus O'Neil. They debuted in a losing effort against John Morrison and Eli Cottonwood; O'Neil was the first rookie eliminated from the second season, on June 29. On the July 27 episode of NXT, Ryder lost against Percy Watson, making him the first mentor of season 2 to lose to a rookie in a singles match. For the remainder of the year and well into 2011, Ryder mostly became used on the non-branded ''Superstars'' show, occasionally teaming with Primo. Ryder won a 2010 Slammy Award for Most Annoying Catchphrase in December.

On the June 6 edition of ''Raw'', Ryder had his first match on ''Raw'' in 2011, losing to Kofi Kingston. On the June 16 edition of ''Superstars'' in front of his hometown of Long Island he made a face turn when he defeated his former tag team partner Primo. On the July 29 edition of ''Smackdown'', Ryder was appointed as the assistant to Smackdown General Manager Theodore Long.

Other media

Ryder started a YouTube web series called ''Z! True Long Island Story'' in February 2011. The show is a collection of short comments from Ryder, containing comedic allusions to wrestling and pop culture; it also features cameos from his friends and family, as well as fellow WWE colleagues. On the show Ryder self-proclaimed himself WWE Internet Champion, complete with a kids sized replica belt covered in stickers. He has appeared on ''Monday Night Raw'' wearing this belt. In July 2011, Ryder would defend the title successfully at a house show in Australia against Primo. He later replaced this with a $1,500 custom-made belt.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

Lifting inverted DDT – 2008

''Rough Ryder'' (Jumping leg lariat) – 2010–present

''Zack Attack'' (Inverted overdrive) – 2009–2010

Signature moves

''Broski Boot'' (Facewash)

Corner elbow smash

Dropkick, sometimes from the top rope

Flapjack

Flying forearm smash

Hangman's neckbreaker

Leg drop

Plancha

Swinging neckbreaker

With Curt Hawkins

Double lifting DDT – 2008

''Heat Stroke'' (NYWC) / ''Long Island Express'' (DSW / OVW) (Samoan drop / Diving neckbreaker combination)

*STO / Russian legsweep combination

Managers

*Rosa Mendes

*Alicia Fox

Nicknames

"The Long Island Loudmouth"

"Long Island Iced-Z"

*"The Woo Woo Woo Kid"

Entrance themes

"What I Want" by Daughtry (DSW/OVW)

"In the Middle of it Now" by Disciple (WWE)

"Radio" by Watt White (May 2009–present)

Championships and accomplishments

Deep South Wrestling

DSW Tag Team Championship (2 times) with Bryan Majors

New York Wrestling Connection

NYWC Tag Team Championship (2 times) with Bryan Myers

Ohio Valley Wrestling

OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Bryan Majors

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI ranked Ryder #117 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010

World Wrestling Entertainment

*WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Curt Hawkins

*WWE Internet Championship (1 time) (unsanctioned title)

*Slammy Award for Most Annoying Catchphrase (2010)

References

External links

WWE profile

"Z! True Long Island Story" YouTube series

Category:1985 births Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Living people Category:People from Long Island

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