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Mall of America
Mall logo at entrance
Location within USA Minnesota
Alternative names	MOA
General information
Type	Shopping mall
Location	Bloomington, Minnesota, United States
Coordinates	44°51′15″N 93°14′32″W / 44.85417°N 93.24222°W / 44.85417; -93.24222Coordinates: 44°51′15″N 93°14′32″W / 44.85417°N 93.24222°W / 44.85417; -93.24222
Inaugurated	August 11, 1992
Cost	$650 million
Technical details
Floor count	4
Floor area	2,500,000 sq ft (230,000 m2) + 5,400,000 sq ft (500,000 m2)
Design and construction
Owner	Triple Five Group
Main contractor	Melvin Simon & Associates & Triple Five Group
Architecture firm	HGA, KKE Architects, Inc., Jerde Partnership[1]
Other information
Number of stores	520+
Number of anchors	5
Parking	20,000 spaces, including two 7-story ramps and overflow surface lots.
Website
Official website

The Mall of America, also called MOA and the Megamall, is a shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities, in the United States. It is located southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north of the Minnesota River and is across the interstate from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Opened in 1992, the mall receives 40 million visitors annually.^[2] The Triple Five Group, owned by Canada's Ghermezian family, owns and manages the Mall of America, as well as the West Edmonton Mall.

Design[link]

The Mall of America has a gross area of 4,200,000 sq ft (390,000 m²) or 96.4 acres, enough to fit seven Yankee Stadiums inside,^[3] with 2,500,000 sq ft (230,000 m²) available as retail space.^[4] The mall is nearly symmetric, with a roughly rectangular floor plan. Over 520 stores are arranged along three levels of pedestrian walkways on the sides of the rectangle, with a fourth level on the east side. Four anchor department stores are located at the corners. The mall is organized into four different zones, each with its own decorative style.

Despite Minnesota's cold winters, only the mall's entrances and some below ground areas are heated. Heat is allowed in through skylights above Nickelodeon Universe. The majority of the heat is produced by lighting fixtures, other electric devices, and people in the mall.^[5] In fact, even during the winter, air conditioning systems are still in use during peak hours to ensure a comfortable shopping environment.^{[citation needed]} Although the common areas are unheated, the individual stores do have heating systems.^[6]

Two nearly identical seven story parking ramps on the east and west sides of the mall provide 12,287 parking spaces. Overflow parking north of the building provides an additional 1,200-1,500 spaces in addition to parking provided by IKEA (1,407 spaces) that is part of the currently under construction Phase II expansion of the mall.

History[link]

One escalator well

The mall's concept was designed by Triple Five Group, owned by the Ghermezian brothers of Canada, who also own the biggest shopping mall in North America, the West Edmonton Mall. The Mall of America is located on the former site of Metropolitan Stadium, where the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins played until the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome opened. The teams left Met Stadium in 1982. A plaque in the amusement park commemorates the former location of home plate. One seat from Met Stadium was placed in the Mall of America at the exact location (including elevation) it occupied in the stadium, to commemorate a 520-foot (160 m) home run hit by hall-of-famer Harmon Killebrew on June 3, 1967.

In 1986, The Bloomington Port Authority signed an agreement with the Ghermezian organization. Groundbreaking for the mall took place on June 14, 1989. Organizations involved include Melvin Simon and Associates, Teachers Insurance and Annuity (a.k.a. TIAA), the Triple Five Group, and the office of architect Jon Jerde.

The mall opened its doors to the public August 11, 1992. Even before opening, the Mall of America had earned several nicknames, including "The Megamall" (or "The Megamess" during construction), "Sprawl of America", "Hugedale" (in reference to the four major "Dale" shopping malls within the Twin Cities, Rosedale, Southdale, Ridgedale and now-defunct (as of 2010) Brookdale) and, simply, "The Mall".

It became the second largest shopping mall in total area and largest in total store vendors in the United States when it opened, however, the mall has never been the largest in the world (at the time it opened, it was #2 globally to the West Edmonton Mall).^{[citation needed]} The Mall of America is the most visited shopping mall in the world with more than 40 million visitors annually (or roughly eight times the population of the state of Minnesota). The mall employs over 12,000 workers.

During its run as an all-encompassing entertainment and retail venue, certain aspects - most notably bars - have come under scrutiny. A Mardi Gras themed bar, Fat Tuesdays, shut its doors in early 2000 due to indecent exposure and alcohol related offenses, for ignoring warnings from the mall and Bloomington police to not repeat incidents caught on tape the year before.^[7] Following that verdict there were other problems, such as foot traffic within the Mall after the bars (all located on the fourth floor) had closed for the evening.

In 2003, after a protracted six year legal battle between Simon Property Group, the managing general partner of the property, and the Ghermezian brothers/Triple Five Group, over majority ownership of the site, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the Ghermezians, effectively transferring control and planning authority of the mall back to its original conceptualizer.^[8] The dispute stemmed from a 1999 purchase of Teacher's Insurance's 27.5% equity stake by Simon Properties, giving them majority ownership. The Ghermezians claimed they were never told of the deal and sued Simon, citing fiduciary responsibility.

On November 3, 2006, the Ghermezians gained full control of Mall of America, spending US$1 billion to do so.^[9]

Level One[link]

Level One is Nickelodeon Universe, Underwater Adventures, The Theme Park Food Court, the LEGO Store, American Girl Doll store, shopping, and other stores.

Level Two[link]

Level Two is all restaurants, shopping, , and other stores.

Level Three[link]

Level Three has two food courts with more than 20 eateries, Marshall's, mini-golf, and other stores.

Level Four[link]

Level Four is the entertainment level with The Hooters restaurant, Cantina #1 restaurant, Rick Bronson's House of Comedy, Dick's Last Resort, Skydeck Sports Grille and Lanes, and the Theatres at Mall of America movie theater now occupy the fourth floor as of January 2012. For many years the 4th floor was considered a Ghost Town but has recently surged in popularity and remains 70% occupied. Planet Hollywood, at the height of its success, was once a very popular restaurant on the fourth floor, but vacated the mall some years ago. This space is now occupied by Dick's Last Resort.^[10]

Skydeck Sports Grille and Lanes, formerly Jillian's, was initially closed due to low foot traffic and issue running a family friendly restaurant in a space occupied by several bars. The mall was in negotiations with Dave and Buster's for several years, which failed to re-open the location. In 2011, new owners were brought back in and relaunched the restaurant and lanes under the new name.^[11]

In order to keep the fourth floor from failing as it did in the early 2000's, the mall has strategically leased to several different corporations, rather than leasing several spaced to one corporation. The bankrupcy of Jillian's in 2004 lead to the lowest vacancy rate of the 4th floor, at 41%.^[12]

The original Level Four had a comedy club, Hooters, bowling alley, arcade, and Planet Hollywood.

Phase II expansion[link]

Phase II is the planned expansion for MOA, developing a large, empty parcel of land north of the mall which was the former home of the Met Center indoor arena and integrating an IKEA store built on a portion of the property in 2004. Phase II, includes a dinner theatre, ice rink, three hotels, and a waterpark; similar in design to the West Edmonton Mall.

The cost of expansion is $2.1 billion, doubling the mall's size with a 5,200,000-square-foot (480,000 m²) extension.^[13]

MOA has signed contracts to bring in Great Wolf Resorts as the waterpark operator, as well as Bass Pro Shops and a Kimpton Hotel.^[13] The expansion section will connect to the mall on all four levels, and an adjacent IKEA store via a second level bridge. There will be an NHL-sized ice rink for public & private skating. There will also be an additional parking ramp, adding 8,000 parking spaces. There will also be fine art exhibits planned in the expansion,^[14] and two upscale department stores.^[15] Another plan that was in the works would have seen fashions, architecture, and restaurants based after Europe.^[16]

The mall of America had to close one of its largest department stores, in the early months of 2012 Bloomingdales, after they went out of business. They will now be doing reconstruction on the area and adding new stores. On May 18, 2008, the Minnesota State Legislature passed a bill granting the city of Bloomington the right to raise property and sales taxes to pay for the MOA expansion. Construction of an expansion has begun, in early 2011, on the south side of the mall near Killebrew Drive, where a 500 room hotel, the Radisson Blu, will open in late 2012.

On March 24, 2012, The Triple Five Group officially announced the start of a $200,000,000 expansion that would build into the north parking lot of the mall. Rather than the long planned Phase II expansion, this would be a step in building this expansion. The initial plans call for an additional hotel, medical building featuring a Mayo Clinic Wellness Center, and an additional 200,000 square feet of retail space.^[17]

Radisson Blu Hotel[link]

Started construction in early 2011, there will be a 500 room hotel off of Killebrew Drive named the Radisson Blu Hotel at Mall of America. It is planned to open in Fall 2012.

Nickelodeon Universe[link]

Nickelodeon Universe indoor theme park

Nickelodeon Universe is an indoor theme park in the center of the mall, formerly known as Knott's Camp Snoopy, Camp Snoopy, and The Park at MOA. The park features roller coasters, among numerous other rides and attractions, and is the largest indoor theme park in the United States. Unlike many indoor amusement parks, Nickelodeon Universe has a great deal of natural foliage in and about the park, and its floor has a wide variance in height - the highest ground level in the park is 15 feet (4.6 m) above the lowest.

The park features two new roller coasters, SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge and Avatar Airbender, and a new thrill ride called BrainSurge. The latter roller coaster bills itself as a "rather peculiar" ride. It also has a miniature golfing section called Moose Mountain. This miniature golf course features eighteen holes and a relatively fast astroturf surface.

SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium[link]

Guests travel through a 300-foot-long (91 m) curved tunnel through 14 feet (4.3 m) of water to view over 4,500 sea creatures including sharks, turtles, stingrays, and many more.^[18] SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium offers special events such as sleepovers, scuba diving, snorkeling, and birthday parties.^{[19][20][21][22]}

Other notable attractions[link]

• 14-screen movie theater (formerly operated by General Cinema until 2002, then AMC Theatres, now operated by MOA itself as the "Theatres at Mall of America"^[23])
• LEGO Store-remodeled in 2010
• American Girl Store-opened in 2009

Nostalgic artifacts or memorials[link]

• The exact seat to which Minnesota Twins player Harmon Killebrew hit his longest home run at Metropolitan Stadium on June 3, 1967. The seat is painted red and bolted to a wall at its original height and position within the stadium.^[24]
• The home plate plaque in Nickelodeon Universe denoting the exact spot of home plate at Metropolitan Stadium
  File:Metplate.jpg

  The home plate plaque in Nickelodeon Universe
  ^[24]
• United Airlines Flight 93 memorial, for those who died aboard during the September 11, 2001 attacks -- the bust of Tom Burnett (who was born and raised in Bloomington) is on the west side of the first floor, next to the fountain in front of Nordstrom.^[25]

Twin Cities public events:

• Race for the Cure, held at Mall of America on Mother's Day.

Anchors[link]

• Macy's
• Nordstrom
• Sears

Junior anchors[link]

• Barnes & Noble Booksellers
• Best Buy
• DSW Shoe Warehouse
• Old Navy
• American Girl store
• LEGO Store
• dELiA*s
• Pandora Jewelry

Measurements[link]

• Bloomingdale's 210,000 sq ft (20,000 m²)
• Nickelodeon Universe 292,000 sq ft (27,100 m²)
• Macy's 280,000 sq ft (26,000 m²)
• Nordstrom 220,000 sq ft (20,000 m²)
• Sears 177,904 sq ft (16,527.8 m²)
• Best Buy 45,000 sq ft (4,200 m²)
• SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium 43,886 sq ft (4,077.1 m²)
• Abercrombie & Fitch Flagship (25,909 m)

Transit[link]

Mall of America Transit Station
Satellite view
Station statistics
Lines	Hiawatha Line 55   Cedar Avenue Bus Rapid Transitway
Connections	Metro Transit routes 5, 54, 415, 515, 540, and 542 MVTA routes 440, 441, 442, 444, 445, and 477
Platforms	Island platform
Other information
Opened	December 4, 2004 (Hiawatha Line) September 2010 (Red Line)
Accessible
Owned by	Metro Transit
Services
Preceding station   Metro Transit   Following station 28th Avenue toward Target Field Hiawatha Line Route 55 Terminus Preceding station   Minnesota Valley Transit Authority   Following station Terminus Cedar Avenue Bus Rapid Transitway Cedar Grove toward Lakeville Cedar

The mall is used as a major transportation hub in the region, with bus and light rail service linking the mall to other destinations. Regular public transit service is provided by Metro Transit and other area bus lines, and nearby Mystic Lake Casino offers free shuttles to their establishment. The primary bus/rail station for scheduled local service is in the lower level of the eastern parking ramp. There, the Hiawatha Line light rail line connects the mall to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport and from there to downtown Minneapolis (another major shopping destination in the region, particularly during weekdays) and terminates at Target Field home of the Minnesota Twins (MLB baseball team). The mall is being discouraged as a park and ride facility, and overnight parking is banned to prevent passengers taking the train to the airport. Commuters are encouraged to use the nearby 28th Avenue Station's parking lot. The mall will be the first stop on the Cedar Avenue Bus Rapid Transitway and is the nineteenth, final stop on the Hiawatha Line.

Security abuses[link]

On September 7, 2011, NPR's All Things Considered aired a program and posted hyperlinks documenting security abuses by private security personnel at the Mall of America.^[26] PBS's Newshour aired its version of the story the same day.^[27] Morning Edition has since followed up with its own reportage.^[28]

At the mall people have been questioned or detained for operating video cameras, using notebooks, or other perceived suspicious behavior. Mike Rozin, the leader of the mall's special security-unit instructs its members that "suspicious behavior" constitutes "photographing such things as air-conditioning ducts or signs that a shopper might have something to hide".^[29]

Commander Jim Ryan of the Bloomington Police Department commented that the mall's security methods may "infringe on some freedoms, unfortunately."^[29][30]

Slogans[link]

• Where Something Special Happens Every Day (1992)
• The Ultimate One-Stop Shop (1993)
• Your Life. Your Style. Your Place. (1994)
• America's Shining Bright on You! (1995)
• America, You're the One! (1996)
• The Spirit of America (1997)
• Be There or Be Square! (1998)
• America's Lovin' It! (1999)
• Mall of America 2000: Celebrate the New Millenium! (2000)
• The Mall That Remembers America (2001; used after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001)
• Where You're Looking Good! (2002)
• Red, White and You (2003)
• More Ways to Be You (2007) (still embedded on mall's gift cards)
• The New Home of Nickelodeon Universe (2008; used to celebrate the opening of Nickelodeon Universe)
• The Place for Fun (2009)
• More Stores. More Value. (2010)
• America Loves MOA (2010–present)
• 20 years of fun (2012)

Amusement park and other Mall features[link]

• MOA1.jpg

  The amusement park, during its "Camp Snoopy" days.

• 

  The Metropolitan Stadium home plate marker.

• 

  The Harmon Killebrew chair.

• 

  A closer look at the Harmon Killebrew chair.

• MOA2.jpg

  Another shot of the amusement park during the Camp Snoopy era.

• 

  The carousel at the amusement park.

• 

  The band organ, formerly at the carousel entrance.

• 

  The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant.

• MOA3.jpg

  Another shot of Camp Snoopy from a different angle. The Kite-Eating Tree ride is shown in this picture.

• 

  When Camp Snoopy became Nickelodeon Universe in 2008, the Kite-Eating Tree was restyled and renamed Swing-Along.

• 

  The three-story American flag, which was used on July 4th, 2008.

• 

  The mall's information sign, which shows the use of "MOA".

• 

  The MPR store, emphasizing A Prairie Home Companion.

• 

  Al's Farm Toys, a farm-themed toy store which closed in 2010.

• 

  A few of the unique sports-themed stores throughout the mall.

• 

  The legendary mural imitating Seurat; formerly near the food court.

• 

  The Lego "Imagination Center", the longest-standing Mall attraction.

• 

  The Lego Store after 2010 remodeling.

See also[link]

Minnesota portal

• List of the world's largest shopping malls
• List of largest shopping malls in the United States
• Mall Cops: Mall of America

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mall of America

• Mall of America Official Site
• Underwater Adventures Aquarium
• Labelscar summary
• Metro Transit: Mall of America Station
• City Pages staff writer Matt Snyders spends one week in the Mall of America

Look up America in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

America usually refers to either:

• The Americas, a landmass comprising North America and South America
• The United States of America, a country in North America

America may also refer to:

Other locations[link]

• América, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
• America, Limburg, Netherlands
• América, Tamaulipas, Mexico
• America, Illinois, U.S.
• America, Oklahoma, U.S.

Astronomy[link]

• 916 America, a minor planet

Film and television[link]

• America (1924 film), a film by D. W. Griffith
• America (2009 film), an American made-for-television film
• America (2011 film), a 2011 Puerto Rican film
• America: Freedom to Fascism, a 2006 documentary
• América (TV series), a Brazilian telenovela
• America (US TV series), a syndicated afternoon talk show
• Amreeka, a 2009 film (Amreeka the Arabic pronunciation for America)
• America America, an American film by Elia Kazan
• America: A Personal History of the United States, a 13-part BBC television documentary series
• America: The Story of Us, a six-part, 12-hour television documentary depicting the history of the United States

Literature[link]

• America (novel), a young adult novel by E. R. Frank
• "America" (Judge Dredd story), a story by John Wagner
• "America" (poem), a poem by Allen Ginsberg
• America (The Book), a book written by the staff of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• "America" (short story), by Orson Scott Card
• America, a Jake Grafton novel by Stephen Coonts
• "America", a poem by Walt Whitman from Leaves of Grass

Music[link]

• America (band), an English-American rock band
• America Records (France), a French jazz record label

Albums[link]

• America (America album)
• America (Havalina album)
• America (John Fahey album)
• America (Kurtis Blow album)
• America (Modern Talking album)
• America – The EP, an EP by Rebecca St. James
• America, an album by George Adams
• America: An Album for All Ages, an album by Bobby Susser
• América & En Vivo, an EP by Luis Miguel

Songs[link]

• "America" (Bree Sharp song)
• "America" (Killing Joke song)
• "America" (Neil Diamond song)
• "America" (Prince song)
• "America" (Razorlight song)
• "America" (Simon & Garfunkel song)
• "America" (West Side Story song)
• "America, Fuck Yeah", the satirical theme song of the 2004 film Team America: World Police
• "America", a song by Tracy Chapman from Where You Live
• "America", a song by Waylon Jennings from Turn the Page
• "America", a song by Nas from his untitled ninth studio album
• "America", a song by Santana featuring P.O.D. from Shaman
• "América", a song by José Luis Perales
• "America", a song by Bobby Susser from America: An Album for All Ages
• "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" or "America", a patriotic song of the United States

Other media[link]

• America (magazine), a weekly Roman Catholic magazine
• America (XM), an XM satellite radio channel
• América 2, an Argentine television station
• America One, an American over-the-air television network
• América Televisión, a Peruvian television network

People[link]

• America Ferrera, American actress
• America Hoffman, son of activist Abbie Hoffman
• America Olivo, American actress

Sports[link]

• América Football Club (disambiguation)
• América de Cali, a football club from Cali, Colombia
• América Managua, a football club from Managua, Nicaragua
• Club América, a football club from Mexico City
• Copa América (Spanish and Portuguese for "America Cup") football competition in South America

Vehicles[link]

• America (aircraft), a multi-engine airplane used by Richard E. Byrd and his crew on a 1927 transatlantic flight
• America (airship), an airship flown in 1907 and 1909 attempts to reach the North Pole, and a 1910 attempt to cross the Atlantic
• America (Spanish automobile), an automobile produced in Barcelona, Spain
• America (American automobile)
• America, the callsign of the Apollo 17 Command/Service Module

Ships[link]

• America (yacht), a racing yacht that won the America's Cup in 1851
• French ship America (1788), a Téméraire-class ship of the French Navy
  • America class ship of the line, derived from the French ship America
• SS America, several ships of the name
• HMS America, several ships of the Royal Navy
• USS America, several ships of the United States Navy
• America class steamship, Cunard sidewheel transatlantic steamships
  • RMS America, first of the America-class
• America class amphibious assault ship

Video games[link]

• America (video game), a 2001 Wild West-themed real-time strategy game

See also[link]

• Air America (disambiguation)
• American (disambiguation)
• Americana (disambiguation)
• Americas (terminology)
• Amerika (disambiguation)
• Amerigo Vespucci, for whom the Americas were named
• Amerrique Mountains
• All pages beginning with "America"

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

Greyson Chance
Greyson Chance in concert at the Hard Rock Cafe in Boston, Massachusetts on September 20, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Greyson Michael Chance
Born	(1997-08-16) August 16, 1997 (age 14)[1] Wichita Falls, Texas, U.S.[2]
Origin	Edmond, Oklahoma, U.S.[2]
Genres	Pop rock
Instruments	Piano, vocals
Years active	2010–present
Labels	eleveneleven, Maverick, Streamline, Geffen
Website	greyson-official.com

Greyson Michael Chance (born August 16, 1997)^[1] is an American pop rock singer and pianist whose April 2010 performance of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" at a sixth-grade music festival became a hit on YouTube,^[3] gaining over 45 million views as of December 3, 2011. Two of his original compositions, "Stars" and "Broken Hearts", gained over 5 and 7 million views respectively on his YouTube channel.^[4] His début single, "Waiting Outside the Lines", was released in October 2010. Chance's début album, Hold On 'Til the Night, was released on August 2, 2011.

Personal life[link]

Chance was born on August 16, 1997 in Wichita Falls, Texas, and currently resides in Edmond, Oklahoma. He is the youngest child of Scott and Lisa Chance. Chance has an eighteen-year-old sister, Alexa, and a twenty-year-old brother, Tanner, both of whom also do music. Chance began playing the piano at the age of 8 and has had three years of piano lessons. He, however, had no formal vocal training.

Of his inspiration, Chance said, "I love artists who are able to communicate their emotions through music and sing from the heart. That’s what I’m hoping to do with my songs." He was emboldened by Lady Gaga after seeing her performance of Paparazzi at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. He stated, "I was awestruck by her performance. I love her sense of drama and theatricality. Plus, she’s an amazing singer and piano player." Chance was also inspired by the artists Christina Aguilera, Augustana, John Legend, Elton John, and John Lennon.

Appearances[link]

Chance's "Paparazzi" cover video was posted to YouTube, on April 28, 2010, and for almost two weeks the video generated low views. At least two social websites, GossipBoy.ca and reddit.com, posted video embeds on May 10, 2010. Ellen DeGeneres first saw the video after Chance's brother, Tanner Chance, wrote to her show suggesting she watch it.^[5] The video had about 10,000 views when DeGeneres first saw it.^[6] While explaining her reasons for naming her new record label eleveneleven, she listed as one reason the fact that she first saw Chance's Paparazzi cover on May 11, 2010. Also, she states that 11 is Greyson's soccer jersey number.^[7] On the afternoon of May 11, Yahoo! Music reported: "As of this writing, the video has got more than 36,000 views so far, and he's even been invited to perform on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.^[3]

On May 12, 2010 Greyson Chance taped an interview and performance of "Paparazzi" for Ellen in Los Angeles.^[8] It was broadcast on May 13.^[9][10] During the interview, Chance received a phone call from Lady Gaga,^[11] who the boy says is his "true inspiration."^[12] This first appearance on Ellen was followed by a second appearance on the show, airing May 26, 2010, on which Chance performed his original song "Broken Hearts," received a $10,000 award for winning Ellen's Wonderful Web of Wonderment contest, a brand new Yamaha piano, and was announced as DeGeneres's first signed artist to her new recording label eleveneleven.^[13] Chance now has many fans on online social sites such as Facebook and Twitter.^[14] He is the 28th most subscribed musician of all time on YouTube, with a 286,000 subscriber base, as of January 3, 2011.^[15] Greyson Chance also appeared at We Day (also known as Me to We Day 2010) in downtown Toronto at the Air Canada Centre, where he performed "Fire" by Augustana.^[16]

In the media[link]

Greyson at the film premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in July 2011.

On the morning of May 11, 2010, Chance's cover video of "Paparazzi" was embedded at RyanSeacrest.com, which reported finding the video via BuzzFeed, a website that attempts to track and predict emerging viral internet memes.^[17] Later in the day, TVGuide,^[18] The Huffington Post,^[19] and Yahoo! Music's video blog, Video Ga Ga,^[3] also posted articles embedding the video; TVGuide mentioned in its article that a Facebook fan page had already been started for Chance. That afternoon, Ryan Seacrest and DeGeneres linked the video on their Twitter accounts,^[20][21] as did celebrity Ashton Kutcher^[22] later that evening.

On May 12, 2010, DeGeneres' announcement of Chance's booking, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, was broadcast at different times across the U.S. and posted to her website.^[23] Wall Street Journal^[24] and Los Angeles Times,^[25] among other mainstream media, posted articles embedding the video and announcing the forthcoming appearance. That evening, ABC World News broadcast a report on Chance which was introduced by Diane Sawyer, who said the story struck ABC News as "part Billy Elliot and part Glee."^[26] Also that evening, Guy Oseary, an L.A.-based entertainment manager whose clients include Madonna, Demi Moore, and Ashton Kutcher, recommended Greyson's "Paparazzi" video on Twitter.^[27]

On May 13, 2010, Chance's appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show was broadcast, and mainstream media, including CBS^[28] and People,^[29] reported on the appearance. That morning, Ryan Seacrest posted another link on Twitter, this time to the video of Chance appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.^[30] Not only has he received attention from DeGeneres and Seacrest but also, on May 14, singer, songwriter, and author David Archuleta linked the video on Twitter claiming that Greyson "is talented."^[31]

On May 15, 2010, Greyson Chance created an official MySpace page^[32] and an official Twitter^[33] account. The same day, Crazed Hits, a music industry "tip-sheet" run by Alex Wilhelm, while citing no sources, reported that Interscope Records had signed 12-year-old Chance to a record deal.^[34] The same day, NewsOK posted a video, "Three Things to Know about Greyson Michael Chance", and an article in which Chance's father, was quoted as saying the family would spend the weekend deciding how they wanted to proceed before signing any contracts.^[35]

On May 18, 2010, the New York Post reported on the deal with Interscope Records, citing Chance's sister and father as confirming the deal; The Post also reported that calls made to Chance's school were being referred to Guy Oseary.^[36] On May 25, Ellen DeGeneres announced that she had formed a record label called eleveneleven and Chance was her first artist.^[37] Guy Oseary who manages Madonna's career and Troy Carter, who manages Lady Gaga's career, would be co-managers of Greyson Chance's career, but no partnership with a major recording label had been finalized.^[38]

The chronology of events has resulted in media analysis of the marketing phenomenon separately from musical or biographical elements. On May 15, 2010, The Christian Science Monitor published an article by staff writer Gloria Goodale; citing Chance's quick rise to media attention and the establishment of various official and fan websites for Chance, as well as concerns raised by music industry analyst Jeff Snyder about the quality of the video itself, Goodale asked "whether there's a Big Media hand behind sixth grader Greyson Michael Chance."^[14] On May 18, 2010, Goodale followed this up with a second article focusing on the modern "age of media manipulation", which she introduced by saying, "Reports so far suggest that the Greyson Chance YouTube video is legit."^[39] On May 18, 2010, ITN News posted a video report to its YouTube channel, in which many of the same questions were raised; highlighting aspects of Chance's "Paparazzi" video, media industry analyst Alan Stevens pointed out the growing inability within our modern media culture to distinguish between videos which are produced by amateurs and videos which are produced by professionals but made to appear amateur in origin.^[40]

His debut single title "Waiting Outside the Lines" was released to iTunes on October 26, 2010. It was released digitally in the UK on December 9. The single also contained a studio version of his cover of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi". In early December 2010 he visited both Paris and London, appearing on local radio stations and giving private concerts in both cities.^[41][42]

On February 5,^[43] Greyson Chance entered the National spotlight again with an appearance/performance of "Waiting Outside The Lines" on the CBS Early Show, while stopping through New York on his tour with Miranda Cosgrove.

On May 17, 2011 his new single "Unfriend You" was released to iTunes.^[44]

On April 9, he started the Waiting 4U tour with Australian pop/R&B singer Cody Simpson in Ivins, Utah. The tour ended on May 18, 2011 in Portland, Oregon.

On May 23, Greyson visited The Ellen DeGeneres Show to premiere his new single, "Unfriend You". After the performance, Greyson revealed a solid release date for his upcoming debut album, Hold On 'Til the Night, which was released on August 2, 2011. The music video features cameo from Victorious star, Ariana Grande.^[45]

On September 15, he again appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about his album, and also revealed that he had taken his first steps into acting, portraying a younger version of Jimmy Chance, the protagonist of Raising Hope, in the series' second season premiere.^[46]

In November 2011 Greyson undertook a tour of Southeast Asia to promote his album, which had just been released in the region. Starting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where in addition to a showcase performance he was invited to perform at the Anugerah Industri Muzik (Malaysian Music Industry Awards) show (the first foreign artist so invited since 1999), Greyson also gave performances in Singapore; Kota Kinabalu (Borneo, Malaysia); Manila, Philippines; and Jakarta, Indonesia.^[47][48][49]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Music videos[link]

Tours[link]

• Waiting 4U Tour
• Dancing Crazy Tour
• Asia Tour 2011

Awards and recognition[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Greyson Chance at the Internet Movie Database

Ashley Tisdale
Tisdale during the signing event for Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure in Madrid, Spain on May 23, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Ashley Michelle Tisdale
Born	(1985-07-02) July 2, 1985 (age 26) Deal, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres	Pop, dance pop, teen pop, pop rock[1]
Occupations	Actress, singer, songwriter, spokesperson, voice actress, executive producer
Instruments	Vocals[1]
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Warner Bros.
Website	ashleytisdale.com File:Signature of Ashley Tisdale.svg

Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress and singer who rose to prominence portraying the candy-counter girl Maddie Fitzpatrick in Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and the female antagonist Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical film series. The High School Musical series became a successful franchise which included two television films, a feature movie, a spin-off and numerous soundtrack albums. The popularity earned by Tisdale in High School Musical led her to sign a solo record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 2006. Her debut album Headstrong, was released in February 2007, and debuted at number five in the U.S. chart and sold 64,000 copies in the first week. It was later certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. A second studio album, Guilty Pleasure, was released in 2009.

Tisdale owns a production company and has worked as an executive producer in movies which included the ABC Family television film Picture This. Tisdale has a prominent voice role as Candace Flynn in Disney Channel's Phineas & Ferb, a cartoon which became television's most-watched animated series among kids and tweens and had been met with acclaim by critics.^[2][3][4] In 2009, she was cast in her first major broadcast role in The CW's television series Hellcats as Savannah Monroe, an intense and very religious cheerleader.

Early life[link]

Tisdale was born in West Deal, New Jersey on July 2, 1985,^[5] to Lisa (née Morris) and Mike Tisdale, the manager of a construction company. Her elder sister, Jennifer Tisdale, is an actress. Through her grandfather, Tisdale is related to businessman Ron Popeil.^[6] She grew up in Ocean Township. She is Jewish on her mother's side and was raised with "a little bit of both" of her parents' religions.^[7]

At the age of three, Tisdale met her current manager, Bill Perlman, at a New Jersey mall. He sent her to numerous auditions for commercials, resulting in her placement in more than 100 national network TV ads as a kid.^[9] She began her theatrical career by appearing in Gypsy: A Musical Fable and The Sound of Music at Monmouth County's Jewish Community Center.^[5][10]

At the age of eight, she was cast to play the part of Cosette in a national touring production of the musical Les Misérables. "When I was little, I saw the play Les Misérables on Broadway, I thought it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen so I went to my manager and told him I wanted to be in it", said Tisdale in an interview to Newsday in 2007.^[8] She also claims to have had only a single singing lesson before landing the role.^[8] Tisdale toured for two years on Les Misérables^[11] before landing a role in an international touring production of Annie^[9] in Korea.^[12] At the age of twelve, Tisdale sang at the White House for President Bill Clinton.^[5]

Career[link]

1997–2006[link]

Tisdale performing at the High School Musical: The Concert tour in 2006.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Tisdale had minor roles in several television shows such as The Hughleys, Smart Guy, 7th Heaven, Boston Public and Bette and in the feature films A Bug's Life and Donnie Darko.^[9] During this time, she simultaneously worked as a Ford Model.^[6] For her role in Boston Public, she received a 2000 Young Artist Award nomination for "Best Guest Performance In a TV drama".^[13]

In 2004, she was cast as the teenage candy-counter girl Maddie Fitzpatrick in the Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, which premiered in March 2005 and ended in 2008.^[6] She later won her first award at the UK Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for "Best TV Actress", due to her performance as Fitzpatrick.^[14][6]

Although the producers of the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical did not initially consider her because of her "good-girl image" on The Suite Life, Tisdale was eventually cast as the popular, narcissistic high school student Sharpay Evans in the 2006 film.^[8] High School Musical became Disney Channel's most watched movie that year, with 7.7 million viewers in its US premiere broadcast.^[15] The soundtrack, in which Tisdale lent her vocals for several songs, became the top-selling album in the United States that year.^[16] Tisdale became the first female artist to debut with two songs simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with "What I've Been Looking For" and "Bop to the Top", both tracks from the film's soundtrack.^[9] Due to the popularity earned by Tisdale through her performance in High School Musical, Warner Bros. Records signed her for a recording contract in July 2006 and she started working on her debut album.^[17]

2007–09[link]

Tisdale performing at the opening of the first Microsoft Store in Scottsdale, Arizona, in October 2009.

Headstrong is Tisdale's US Gold-certified^[18] debut album, released in February 2007 via Warner Bros,^[19] which debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, with 64,000 copies sold in that week.^[19] "Be Good to Me" was released as the album's first single in the December 2006 and "He Said She Said" was released as the second, in September 2007. In 2008, "Not Like That" and "Suddenly" were released as singles in a selective number of countries that did not include North America.^[20][21] A music DVD entitled There's Something About Ashley followed the release of her debut album, with a three-song trilogy comprising music videos and a documentary about the creation of Headstrong.^[22]

Tisdale performing "Headstrong" during High School Musical: The Concert

The success of the first High School Musical film led Tisdale to reprise the role in the 2007 sequel High School Musical 2. She lent vocals for several tracks in the film's soundtrack^[8] and her performance in High School Musical 2 was critically acclaimed by many media outlets such as The Hollywood Reporter.^[23][24][25] Even more successful than the first film, High School Musical 2 became the most-watched cable-television movie, receiving 17 million viewers on its premiere night.^[26] Also in 2007, Tisdale was given the voice role of Candace Flynn, the series' secondary antagonist, in Phineas and Ferb, which became television's most-watched animated series among kids and tweens^[2] and had very positive reviews.^[3][4]

As a producer,^[27] Tisdale formed her own production company in 2008 and named it Blondie Girl Productions.^[28] The 2008 ABC Family Original Movie Picture This marked Tisdale's debut as an executive producer and also in a leading role, in which she played Mandy Gilbert, an unpopular and bullied teenager.^[29] The film captured 4.3 million total viewers in its debut night.^[30]

Tisdale reprised her role as Sharpay Evans in the 2008 Walt Disney Pictures feature film High School Musical 3: Senior Year.^[6] Her performance in the film earned her an MTV Movie Award for "Breakthrough Performance Female" in 2009.^[31] and acclaim by critics including Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, who labeled her one of film's breakout stars and said her portrayal of Evans makes "narcissism a goofy, bedazzled pleasure",^[32] and Mark Kermode, who said Tisdale is 2008's "best supporting actress".^[33] High School Musical 3 earned $42 million in its domestic opening weekend, which became the biggest opening for a musical film.^[34]

Her second studio album, Guilty Pleasure, was released in 2009.^[35] Described by Tisdale as a "rocker and edgier" album,^[36] it generated mixed reviews, with a 54% rating on Metacritic,^[37] and Billboard claimed the album "doesn't give the singer room to comfortably let loose".^[38] Guilty Pleasure debuted at number twelve on the Billboard 200, selling 25,000 copies in its first week, archiving a low commercial performance in comparison with her debut album.^[39] The song "It's Alright, It's OK" was released as the album's lead single in April in airplay and digital formats^[36] and a second single, "Crank It Up", was later released in October.^[40]

Tisdale starred in the 2009 20th Century Fox family feature film Aliens in the Attic as Bethany Pearson,^[41] the elder sister of the family and although she is credited as one of the main characters, The New York Times said Tisdale "spends much of the film off screen".^[42] The film was a minor success in box office, grossing $60 million worldwide.^[43]

2010–present[link]

Tisdale during the filming of the TV series Hellcats in 2010

Tisdale's return into broadcast television occurred in 2010 when her involvement in The CW Television Network drama series Hellcats was announced in March by The Hollywood Reporter, that reported Tisdale had signed on to co-star on her first major broadcast series role as Savannah Monroe, the peppy and fiercely intense captain of the Hellcats.^[44] The series had its script based on the book Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders by journalist Kate Torgovnick and was described as "Election meets Bring It On" by critics.^[45][46] Hellcats, however, had only one full season as it was cancelled by The CW in 2011.^[47] She had vocal roles in several TV cartoons, during 2010, including The Cleveland Show,^[48] Family Guy^[49] and Glenn Martin, DDS.^[50] A guest appearance in an episode of Raising Hope and a starring role in a CBS pilot produced by Louis C.K., which has not been picked up by the channel, followed in 2012.^[51][52]

A High School Musical spin-off entitled Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure, released directly in DVD, featured Tisdale reprising her role as Sharpay Evans and also serving as the executive producer.^[53][54] The Disney Channel Original Movie captured 5 million viewers on its premiere night on Disney Channel.^[55] Tisdale voiced Candance Flynn in the 2011's Phineas and Ferb movie that premiered on Disney Channel with 7.6 million viewers on its debut night.^[56]

During 2011, Tisdale started focusing on her career as a television and film producer. Her production company Blondie Girl Productions signed a multiyear production deal with Relativity Media in 2010, to create, develop and executive produce a series.^[28] Tisdale has been working in a film for Disney Channel titled Adventure Quest,^[57] a project for Nickelodeon,^[58] a Bravo TV reality show titled Miss Advised,^[59] an upcoming television series based on Laurie Faria Stolarz's book Blue Is for Nightmares,^[60] three digital series,^[61] and a drama project for ABC Family.^[62]

Musical style[link]

Her music is predominantly pop^[1] and has included ballads and pop rock.^[63] Love and heartbreak are major themes in Tisdale's songs and her output makes use of electronic instruments such as drum machines and electric guitars. She co-wrote several songs on her studio albums.^[64][65][66] Her musical influences include Britney Spears,^[1] Christina Aguilera,^[1] Lindsay Lohan,^[1] Avril Lavigne,^[1] Kelly Clarkson,^[67] The Used,^[67] Boys Like Girls,^[67] Michael Jackson,^[68] My Chemical Romance,^[69] Lady Gaga,^[70] and Fergie^[71] and in an AOL interview, Tisdale said, "I’ve been a big fan of Pink ever since she started. I love Katy Perry’s sense of humor and her pop/rock feel. I love Pat Benatar's music. I’m inspired by all these women when I’m going into the studio, but almost anything inspires me."^[72]

Public image and personal life[link]

Tisdale posing for a fan picture at the 2008 "Jingle Ball" sponsored by Philadelphia's WIOQ.

Tisdale is represented by Creative Artists Agency.^[73] In 2007, Tisdale appeared in a promotional campaign for Staples Inc.'s "Geared 4 School" sweepstakes and appeared in promotional campaigns for Eckō Red clothing brand, that included a mall tour in the US which performances in fashion shows hosted at each.^[22] She appeared in commercials for T-Mobile and Toys "R" Us. She was ranked #10 in Maxim's 2008 Hot 100 list and was ranked #94 on Forbes' 2008 Celebrity 100 list.^[74][75] In 2008, Tisdale was ranked #17 in "Forbes' High Earners Under 30" list and earned $2.8 million from High School Musical 3.^[76] She also teamed up with Huckleberry Toys to produce a limited quantity of dolls modeled after her.^[77] She was the face of Degree Girl in the U.S. and recorded several commercials and songs to promote the product.^[78] In 2009, Tisdale signed a five-year endorsement contract with Italian clothes line, Puerco Espin^[79] and became a volunteer for the 2009 "Get on the Bus" charity campaign.^[80] In 2011, she joined Got Milk? campaign.^[81]

Tisdale was romantically involved with Jared Murillo and ended their relationship in March 2009.^[82] In March 2007, Tisdale told Blender she was drug and alcohol-free, and does not smoke and went on to add, "my mom really instilled confidence in me, so I'm not somebody who'd be under peer pressure".^[83]

Tisdale underwent a septoplasty procedure in November 2007 to correct her partially deviated septum. According to Tisdale, this was done for "health-related reasons and not out of a belief in plastic surgery". The procedure corrected two small fractures in her nose which were interfering with her breathing. She spoke to People magazine about the surgery, saying that it was important to her to be honest with her fans.^[84]

From 2009^[85] to 2011,^[86] Tisdale was in a relationship with the music video director Scott Speer.^[85] Tisdale posed nude for the May 2011 issue of Allure magazine. She was quoted as saying that "being in this shoot was me saying, ‘I’m not just the young girl everybody thinks I am. I’m actually a woman.’”^[87][88]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

Television[link]

Discography[link]

• Headstrong (2007)
• Guilty Pleasure (2009)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Ashley Tisdale

Media related to Ashley Tisdale at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Ashley Tisdale at the Internet Movie Database
• Ashley Tisdale at TV.com
• Ashley Tisdale at YouTube