Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, R&B;, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass (often with hip hop vocalists or rappers) and Caribbean music such as reggae, reggaeton, zouk, and sometimes Soca (In Toronto, London, New York City, Boston and Miami). Urban contemporary was developed through the characteristics of genres such as R&B; and soul. Virtually all Urban contemporary formatted radio stations are located in cities that have sizeable African-American populations, such as New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Memphis, New Orleans, Charlotte.

The term "urban contemporary" is heavily associated with African-American music, particularly for Contemporary R&B; in African-American contexts. For the Latinos, the music is more Latin urban, such as Reggaeton, Latin hip hop, or bachata.

These stations focus primarily on marketing to African-Americans between the ages of 18 and 34. Their playlists are dominated by singles by top-selling hip hop and R&B; performers. On occasion, an urban contemporary station will play classic soul music songs from the '70s and early '80s to satisfy the earlier end of the genre.

Most Urban formatted stations such as; KJLH, KPRS, KMEL, KDAY, WRBP, UTN, and WVEE will play gospel music or urban contemporary gospel music on Sundays.

Mainstream urban is a branch of urban contemporary, and rhythmic contemporary is also a branch.

History[link]

The 1970s[link]

When Frankie Crocker was appointed as program director of the newly created WBLS in 1974, he created an eclectic music mix of R&B;, disco and gospel music, redefining the R&B; format as ''urban contemporary''. The station was an instant success, the most listened-to radio station in the country. In 1975, WDMT in Cleveland began programming a mix of R&B;, disco and rap. The station featured live "street jocks" mixing vinyl records each night. The station 's popularity grew and in 1980, it was Arbitron rated No. 2 12+, just behind the No. 1 rated WMMS with the original "Morning Zoo". Carol Ford hosted the morning drive show. Other famous people who worked at WDMT include: Tony Harris (CNN), Len Canon (NBC, Fox-NYC), Brenda Love, Kim Skillern (Lady Skill), Matt Morgan, Dean Rufus, Freddie James, Mike Chapman, Rod See, Eric Fasion and Vanilla Fudge.

The 1980s[link]

WBLS in New York City was the first station to air a rap radio show, ''Rap Attack'' with Mr. Magic and Marley Marl, in 1983.

During the early 1980s as newly-formed WRKS-FM (98.7 Kiss FM) became the first rap station in the United States, WBLS quickly began adding more rap records to its playlists. The urban format by this time was redefined by an eclectic mix of R&B;, rap, reggae, gospel, dance, house, and freestyle. WBLS continued as the flagship station of the Urban format; however, Kiss FM surpassed them in the ratings.

Many radio stations imitated the urban sound since it was proven to be more profitable than other formats. Another subformat of urban contemporary is rhythmic contemporary hits which plays a great deal of dance music. WQHT-FM and KPWR were the first stations to utilize this format.

1990s–present[link]

Since the 1990s, as urban contemporary hits have dominated the US pop charts, many adult contemporary stations have turned to playing some tracks popular on urban contemporary radio stations.

Today, urban contemporary refers to music that can be described as a crossover of rap and contemporary R&B; which in some instances may be accompanied with dance beats. Notable examples include:

"I'm Real" by Jennifer Lopez and Ja Rule

"Dilemma" by Nelly and Kelly Rowland

"Crazy in Love" by BeyoncΓ© Knowles and Jay-Z

"Baby Boy" by BeyoncΓ© Knowles and Sean Paul

"Yeah!" by Usher, Lil Jon and Ludacris

"Goodies" by Ciara and Petey Pablo

"1 Thing" by Ameriie

"Single Ladies" by BeyoncΓ© Knowles

It should be noted that contemporary R&B; artists usually produce alternative versions of such duets that have rapping excluded. Such versions are produced for more conservative radio stations that would consider rapping unacceptable for their listeners.

Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration is awarded since 2002.

Other formats[link]

Urban adult contemporary [link]

Urban AC is a subformat that is geared towards adult African-American audiences, and therefore, the artists that are played on these stations are most often African-American. The Urban AC stations are more similar to Soft AC than they are to Hot AC, and the music they play is predominantly R&B; and soul music. This is reflected in many of the Urban AC radio stations' taglines, such as "Today's R&B; and Classic Soul", "The Best Variety of R&B; Hits and Oldies" and "(City/Region)'s R&B; Leader." Some popular nicknames for Urban AC stations include "Magic" (borrowed from Soft AC), "Mix" (borrowed from Hot AC), and "Kiss" (borrowed from Top-40)

A more elaborate form of Urban AC is the Rhythmic Oldies format, which focuses primarily on "Old School" R&B;/Soul hits from the 1960s to the 1990s, including Motown and disco hits. Often referred to in the past as "Jammin'" or "Groovin'" Oldies, the Rhythmic Oldies format was quite popular for a time in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 1997, KCMG-FM "Mega 100" in Los Angeles pioneered the concept of "Jammin' Oldies," which involved creating a mass-appeal music mix. The "Jammin'"/"Groovin'" Oldies format subsequently spread nationwide, to stations like WTJM-FM in New York City, WMOJ in Cincinnati, and WGRV-FM in Detroit (all of which have since changed format). Many of these stations played soul or disco by artists such as ABBA and The Bee Gees in addition to African-American artists. Many believe that what contributed the most to the death of the "Jammin' Oldies" stations was the fact that their playlists soon became very small and narrow, increasing listener "burnout" and dropping ratings within a few months after a promising ratings start. Rhythmic Oldies stations still exist today, but chiefly in markets with large African-American populations; the peak of the "Jammin' Oldies" approach has come and gone.

Usually embedded within the Urban Adult Contemporary is another format called Quiet Storm. This format is most played during the evening beginning at 7:00 pm or 8:00 pm hours into late night. The Quiet Storm format plays on Urban Adult Contemporary format. The music that is played are strictly ballads and slow jams. Popular artists played on the Quiet Storm format are Babyface, Teena Marie, Angela Bofill, Miki Howard, Regina Belle, Howard Hewett, Freddie Jackson, Johnny Gill, Anita Baker, Sade, Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston, Vanessa Williams, Mariah Carey, Dru Hill, and En Vogue among others.

Mainstream urban[link]

Mainstream urban is a term used to describe a radio format similar to an urban contemporary format. The format differentiates itself due to two factors: playlist composition and target demographic. The majority of the stations cater to younger listeners; they tend to have a more hip-hop-heavy playlist compared to the R&B;-heavy playlist that is very common among urban contemporary-formatted radio stations. Also, mainstream urban stations tend to target both genders with its playlist compared to urban contemporary station that tend to target mainly females. The term 'mainstream urban' was coined in the mid-1990s when radio stations started featuring primarily different styles of current hip-hop and R&B; when it became very popular. The target demographic of the format is usually the 16- to 34-years-old males and females.

The format features various styles of hip-hop and R&B; from different regions of the country that are popular at the moment. However, the format does feature numerous classic hip-hop and R&B; songs from the late '80s and 1990s.

Rhythmic contemporary [link]

Rhythmic Contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio and "Rhythmic Crossover" is a music radio format that includes of a mix of dance, and upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop, and R&B; hits. While most rhythmic stations' playlists are composed of that mentioned above, some tend to lean very urban with current hip-hop, urban pop, and R&B; hits that gain mainstream appeal.

Most of its core listeners makeup a multicultural mix of African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans, that include a core group of teens, young adults (mostly 18–34) and young females

The origins of Rhythmic Top 40 can be traced back 1978 when WKTU on 92.3 FM New York City (now WXRK) became a disco based station. That station was classified as urban but played a blend of disco, dance music, and pop crossovers. Back then stations playing strictly R&B; materials were known as Black stations. Stations like WKTU were known as Urban. In the 1980s many Urban contemporary stations began to spring up. Most of these leaned towards R&B; and away from plenty of dance music. These urban stations began sounding identical to so called "Black stations" and by 1985 stations that played strictly R&B; product were all known as Urban stations. Still some urban outlets continued to add artists from outside the format onto their playlist. In most cases it was dance and rhythmic pop but occasionally they added a few rock songs. Also Urban Contemporary radio stations were the first to play New Wave artists such as B-52's, Duran Duran, ABC and Culture Club. However it wasn't until January 11, 1986 that KPWR Los Angeles, a former struggling adult contemporary outlet and WQHT New York began to make its mark with this genre by adopting this approach.

It would be known as Crossover because of the musical mix. As these stations pilfered listeners away from numerous mainstream stations, many urban stations reintroduced Dance music onto their playlists again. ''Billboard'' magazine took notice of this new format and on February 15, 1987, it launched the first Crossover chart. But by December 1990 Billboard eliminated the chart because more Top 40 and R&B; stations were becoming identical with the rhythmic-heavy playlist that were also being played at the crossover stations at the time. Billboard would later revive the chart again in October 1992 as the Top 40 Rhythm/Crossover chart. On June 25, 1997, it was renamed the Rhythmic Top 40 chart as a way to distinguish stations that continue to play a broad based rhythmic mix from those whose mix leaned heavily toward R&B; and Hip-Hop.

For years since its inception, the Rhythmic name has been a source of confusion among music trades, especially in both Billboard (which used the Rhythmic Top 40 title) and Radio & Records (which use the CHR/Rhythmic title for their official charts). In August 2006 Billboard dropped both the "Top 40" and "CHR" name from the Rhythmic title after its sister publication Billboard Radio Monitor merged with Radio & Records to become the "New" R&R; as part of their realignment of format categories. The move also ended confusion among the radio stations who report to their panels, which was modified by the end of 2006 with the inclusion of non-monitored reporters that were holdovers from the "(Old) R&R;" days.

Still, over the years since its inception, the genre has grown and evolved but not without criticism. Traditional R&B; outlets claim that the Rhythmic format does not target or serve the African-American community properly, while traditional Top 40 stations claim that the format is too urban to be Top 40. However, those claims have been all but slienced, with both R&B; and mainstream Top 40 stations taking cues from the format they criticized.

Still there continues to be confusion of the distinction between Rhythmic CHR stations and Urban Top 40 stations. In New York City WQHT Hot 97 strictly plays R&B; and Hip Hop. Also in that city WWPR Power 105 plays a similar format. WQHT is classified as Top 40/Rhythm while WWPR is classified as Urban. Los Angeles is similar where KPWR and KDAY have similar formats but KPWR is considered Top 40/Rhythm while KDAY is considered Urban. Also very similar situations have occurred in Washington, D.C. with WPGC-FM and San Francisco with KMEL. One possible reason for this is precedent. When these stations began they played a great deal of dance music and were classified as CHR outlets. However, many critics say the ability to attract more mainstream advertisers as Rhythmic, rather than Urban, is the real reason, thus fueling the criticism from the African-American community in general.

However by 2005 KPWR began to re-add more Rhythmic Pop product after a seven-year gap (it had phased most of the Rhythmic and Dance product by 1997 when it had competition from KIBB and KACD/KBCD, both defunct), mostly in response to rival KIIS leaning towards a rhythmic direction. The move has resulted in KPWR and KIIS reigniting their Los Angeles Top 40 war. KPWR has also gone on the offensive to protect their Hispanic demos in the wake of new Hurban rival KXOL making a dent in the ratings.

WQHT on the other hand, had moved more towards R&B;/Hip-Hop as they step up their competition in the Big Apple with WWPR-FM, which had gotten nasty with both stations blasting each other on the air and at high-profile concerts/events, as well as who claims ownership of who plays the most Hip-Hop in New York.

WPGC-FM began operating in 1987 as a Rhythmic that played R&B;, hip-hop, dance, and pop music. Its playlist began to migrate to mostly Hip-Hop/R&B; songs with R&B; and soul slow songs on Sunday through Thursday nights since 1993, a format very similar to WKYS. This began a head-to-head battle with WKYS, but also Urban ACs, WHUR and WMMJ, due to WPGC playing old school R&B; and soul songs during the overnight hours and on weekends. In 2008, WPGC began to air gospel music on Sunday mornings.

KMEL also began in 1984 as a Mainstream Top 40, but migrated to a Rhythmic that played began hip-hop, dance, freestyle, house, and reggae music by 1987. However, in 1992, its playlist began to lean more urban to battle with competitor KYLD, which ended in 1997 when both stations became sister stations. KMEL currently has a playlist that is Hip Hop/R&B; music, and plays mostly R&B; slow jams at night from Sundays through to Thursdays and gospel music on Sunday Mornings, while KYLD plays a balanced mix of Rhythmic Pop, Hip-Hop/R&B; and some Dance products.

On August 11, 2006, R&R; had moved WQHT, WPGC-FM, KMEL, to the Urban Contemporary Airplay Panel since they seldom play any type of Rhythmic pop product and is therefore not considered part of the 'Pure' Rhythmic community. However, despite the changes, there are a few "Churbans" who remain on the Rhythmic panel that are exceptions, mostly due to the lack of minorities in several major metropolitan markets that do not have a mainstream Urban, like KTWN-FM/Minneapolis-St. Paul and WJMN/Boston. However, on May 25, 2007, WQHT, KXHT/Memphis, WZMX/Hartford and WMBX/West Palm Beach, along with KZZA/Dallas-Ft.Worth (from the Latin Rhythm Airplay panel), were re-added to the panel, as their playlists now favors a broader Rhythmic direction, thus making them outright Rhythmics.

Urban adult hits[link]

In 2010, WUKS St. Pauls, North Carolina switched to a format described as "Everything that jamz" that included a variety of musical styles that can be described as urban contemporary or urban oldies. WUKS owner Beasley Broadcast Group said the new sound "targets men and women, ages 25 to 54, with a blend of rhythm-and-blues, funk and early hip-hop from the 1970s to today's hits." Beasley market manager Mac Edwards said listeners indicated they wanted more energy and more of the songs they danced to when younger. It is interesting to note that from 1975 to 1988, Beasley Broadcast Group owned WDMT in Cleveland, one of the first Urban Contemporary stations in the country.

Another station in this format is WUHT in Birmingham, Alabama owned by originally by Citadel Broadcasting, now Cumulus Media, that has had a similar format to this since 2005.

References[link]

Category:Radio formats

es:Urban fr:Urban nl:Urban it:Urban (genere musicale) pt:Urban contemporary ru:Urban contemporary simple:Urban contemporary

Name	Keith Urban
Landscape	Yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Keith Lionel Urban
Birth date	October 26, 1967
Birth place	Whangarei, New Zealand
Origin	Caboolture, Queensland, Australia
Instrument	Vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, Banjo, piano, bass, mandolin, bouzouki, Ebow, drums, sitar
Genre	Country, country rock, southern rock
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1990–present
Spouse	Nicole Kidman (2006 - present)
Label	Capitol Records Nashville
Spouse	Nicole Kidman (2006 – present) Children Sunday Rose (7 July 2008) Faith Margret (28 December 2010)
Associated acts	The Ranch, Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley, Dann Huff, Radney Foster, John Butler Trio, John Mayer, Trisha Yearwood, Nelly Furtado, John Fogerty, Bon Jovi, Carrie Underwood, Richard Marx
Website	KeithUrban.net }}

Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is a Australian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age. In 1991, he released a self-titled debut album, and charted four singles in Australia before moving to the United States in 1992. Eventually, Urban found work as a session guitarist before starting a band known as The Ranch, which recorded one studio album on Capitol Records and charted two singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts.

Still signed to Capitol, he made his solo American debut in 1999 with the album ''Keith Urban''. Certified platinum in the U.S., it also produced his first American Number One in "But for the Grace of God". His breakthrough hit was the Number One "Somebody Like You", from his second Capitol album ''Golden Road'' (2002). This album also earned Urban his first Grammy Award win for "You'll Think of Me", its fourth single and the fourth ''Billboard'' Number One of his career. 2004's ''Be Here'', his third American album, produced three more Number Ones, and became his highest-selling album, earning 4Γ— Multi-Platinum certification. ''Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing'' was released in 2006, producing the record-setting No.17 country chart debut of "Once in a Lifetime", as well as Urban's second Grammy for the song "Stupid Boy", while a Greatest Hits package entitled ''Greatest Hits: 18 Kids'' followed in late 2007. This album was re-released a year later as ''Greatest Hits: 19 Kids'' with one track added: the number one "You Look Good in My Shirt", which he had previously recorded on ''Golden Road''. Additional albums ''Defying Gravity'' and ''Get Closer'' were released on 31 March 2009 and 16 November 2010, respectively.

Urban has released a total of nine studio albums (one of which was released only in the United Kingdom), as well as one album in The Ranch. He has charted more than fifteen singles on the U.S. country charts, including fourteen Number Ones. Urban plays acoustic and electric guitar, as well as banjo, bass guitar, mandolin, piano, sitar, bouzouki and drums.

Life and career [link]

Background [link]

Keith Lionel Urban was born in Whangarei, New Zealand but later moved and lived with his parents in Caboolture, Queensland, Australia. By age six, Urban was already thinking about getting into the music business. He began learning the techniques at age seven and began winning young singing contests by age eight.

A few years later he began to make inroads into the Australian country music scene with regular appearances on the Reg Lindsay Country Homestead TV Program, Mike McClellan's Music Program and various other TV Programs performing in duet with Jenny Wilson, local Brisbane girl with whom he won a golden guitar award at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. He also performed regularly on stage at the Northern Suburbs Country Music Club near Caboolture.

In 1990, Urban signed with EMI in Australia and recorded his first solo album, which charted four No. 1 country hits in Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. Urban toured as a back-up to Slim Dusty in 1993-4. In the mid 1990s, Dusty and Urban recorded a re-worked duet of Dusty's classic "Lights on the Hill" and Urban appeared for the first time at the Grand Ole Opry backing Dusty.

In 1992, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he found work as a guitarist for Brooks & Dunn and can be seen backing Alan Jackson in his music video for "Mercury Blues". Later, Urban formed The Ranch, a three-piece group that released one album in 1997. Originally the front man for The Ranch, Urban disbanded the group to pursue a solo career in 1998. In 1999, Urban found "Vocal Coach to the Stars" Brett Manning, and worked with him up until 2001.

In August 2000, Urban was the first male New Zealand performer to reach the top 10 on the U.S. country chart with "Your Everything". At the time he was spelling his name "keith urban".

In Nashville, Urban became a frequent user of cocaine. After reaching a personal nadir in 1998, he became determined to give up the habit and checked into Cumberland Heights, a treatment center in Nashville. After cleaning up, Urban released his self-titled American debut in 1999, which produced three top 5 hits and secured for him the Top New Male Vocalist Award at the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards and the 2001 Country Music Association's Horizon Award. Widely regarded for his guitar skills, has performed as a session musician on albums such as Garth Brooks' ''Double Live'', Dixie Chicks' ''Fly'', and Paul Brandt's ''This Time Around''.

Urban performed "Lights on the Hill" for Tamworth's 2004 tribute concert following the death of Australia's Slim Dusty, an artist whom Urban had both written for and covered.

Urban was also a judge for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards.

''Golden Road'' & ''Be Here'' [link]

Urban released ''Golden Road'' in 2002, and the success of the single "Somebody Like You" sent his career into high gear. Touring as a supporting act for renowned country acts Brooks & Dunn, Martina McBride and Kenny Chesney honed Urban's skills and stage-craft. Country video channel CMT signed on as the title sponsor of Urban's first headlining arena tour titled ''Keith Urban Be Here '04'' with opening act Katrina Elam. Urban continued his meteoric rise to fame in 2005 with a very successful tour with Elam called ''Alive in '05''. He performed in the Live 8 Philadelphia concert on 2 July 2005 and had been selected by The Gap to appear alongside seven other musical artists in their "Favorites" campaign. He was named the 2005 CMA's Male Vocalist of the Year. He released a DVD in late September 2005 entitled ''Livin' Right Now'', recorded in at the Wiltern Theater in California in December 2004.

In 2005 Urban performed in front of European audiences for the first time. In May Urban supported Bryan Adams on his UK and Ireland tour, which included dates in Earls Court, London, SECC, Glasgow and The Point, Dublin. On 6 June a UK only album, ''Days Go By'' was released, this album contained songs from both ''Be Here'' and ''Golden Road'' .

In October, Urban returned for a headlining tour with Nerina Pallot and Richard Winsland as support acts.

Urban has recently performed "Better Life" on the CMA Awards and "You'll Think of Me" on the American Music Awards. He also performed at the Grammys playing "You'll Think of Me" and "The Lucky One" with Faith Hill. At the 2006 ACM Awards Urban performed "Tonight I Wanna Cry" and played guitar for Brooks & Dunn's song "Believe."

''Love, Pain, & The Whole Crazy Thing'' [link]

On Monday 21 August 2006, Urban made history when his new single "Once in a Lifetime" debuted at #17, setting a new record for the highest-debuting country single in the 62-year history of Billboard's country charts. The record was formerly held by Garth Brooks' "Good Ride Cowboy" and Eddie Rabbitt's "Every Which Way But Loose", both of which debuted at #18. "Good Ride Cowboy" was the highest in the BDS era (1990–present). The song however would soon be beaten by Kenny Chesney's ''Don't Blink'', which debuted at #16, and later Garth Brooks' "More Than A Memory", which debuted at #1.

Urban is also a winner of numerous "Golden Guitars", which are presented annually during the Tamworth Country Music Festival at "The Country Music Association of Australia's Annual Awards" in Tamworth, New South Wales Australia. He is also a former winner of the Toyota Starmaker Contest, which is held each year in conjunction with the CMAA Awards and the Tamworth Country Music Festival.

Keith was named artist of the month for July 2007 on the television network GAC (Great American Country). He answered a question of the day every day that month, and did multiple interviews about love, life, his new album and his stay in rehab.

On 7 July 2007, Keith performed with Alicia Keys at one of Al Gore's Live Earth concerts held around the world. The concerts were held to raise awareness of global warming. Keith performed at the concert held in New York City and said in an interview that global warming is not a political issue, and what he is doing to help the environment is running all bio-diesel buses in his Love, Pain and The Whole Crazy World Tour.

Urban released his first greatest hits collection, ''Greatest Hits: 18 Kids'', on 20 November 2007. The CD contains all of his top 10 hits, along with two new songs, "Romeo's Tune" and "Got It Right This Time (The Celebration)."

In January 2008, Urban embarked on the Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride Tour with fellow country singer Carrie Underwood. In early May 2008, Urban debuted a new song at the Grand Ole Opry titled "A New Sunshine". And in late May 2008, Urban re-recorded a song from his sophomore CD, "You Look Good in My Shirt". The song was released on the radio at the end of May. "Over the years it ("You Look Good In My Shirt") has always played like a hit song," said Keith. "That, combined with numerous requests from both fans and radio about why it was never a single, inspired us to get back into the studio and re-record the song."(keithurban.net) The single was a pre-cursor to the "Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy World Tour" concert DVD release in the Fall of '08. Urban's newest release "Defying Gravity" was released 31 March 2009.

"You Look Good in My Shirt" was the first single from Keith Urban's re-recorded 2007 album, ''Greatest Hits: 18 Kids''. The album was released under a different title, ''Greatest Hits: 19 Kids'' on 19 August 2008. Keith Urban was also featured on Brad Paisley's instrumental album titled ''Play'', on a song called "Start a Band."

''Defying Gravity'' [link]

Urban recently announced that the lead single for his forthcoming 5th studio album will be titled "Sweet Thing". This song became the first No.1 single off the album. The song was co-written with Monty Powell, who wrote some of Urban's past hits, and co-produced with his longtime producer Dann Huff. The album, ''Defying Gravity'', was released on 31 March 2009, through Capitol Records. Its second single, "Kiss a Girl", debuted in March 2009. Urban performed this song on American Idol, during the season 8 finale, as a duet with eventual winner Kris Allen. Its third single, "Only You Can Love Me This Way", is another chart-topping song, co-written by Steve McEwan and John Reid. Defying Gravity debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200. This was Urban's first No.1 CD. His past two albums debuted at #3.

Keith Urban has received four nominations on the 2009 CMA Awards, including Entertainer Of The Year and Male Vocalist Of The Year for a fourth consecutive year in a row. He also earned a nomination for Album Of The Year for ''Defying Gravity'' and shares a nomination with Brad Paisley for Music Video Of The Year for "Start A Band".

A video for "Hit The Ground Runnin'" premiered on 2 October on CMT and CMT.com.

Urban's 2009 Escape Together tour, supporting the album, ''Defying Gravity'', featured many big name opening acts, including Taylor Swift, Sugarland, and Jason Aldean. On 27 June 2009 Keith filmed a video for the song, "Only You Can Love Me This Way", at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.

On 5 May 2010, whilst being interviwed by CNN about the flooding in Nashville, Urban stated that he was about to begin recording a new album, but all his guitars were now underwater.

Urban's 2010 Summer Lovin' tour consisted of mostly festival shows.

''Get Closer'' [link]

In May 2010, Urban entered the studio to begin work on a new album. The recording process was documented in a blog on his official website. At the beginning of September, it was announced that the album would be titled ''Get Closer'' and would see release on 16 November. At the same time, "Put You in a Song" was revealed to be the first single and was released digitally and to radio on 13 September.

Keith Urban appeared at the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on 10 November 2010.

To promote the new album, Keith played surprise concerts at New York City's Penn Station as well as a train station in Philadelphia. The impromptu concerts included a 4-song set list mixing in new and old hits.

On 30 November, Keith played a free concert at The Ice Palace of the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Fans lined up days in advance to hear him play the first single (Put You in a Song) from "Get Closer" and a short collection of past hits. He also played a tribute to Johnny Cash with "Folsom Prison Blues" and Steve Miller's "The Joker"

On 15 December, After appearing on Oprah's Australian special, Keith decided to play an acoustic set in Pitt St Mall in Sydney. There he played in front of 2500+ people. He also called up a young fan to play his single Put You In a Song.

Urban announced the "Get Closer – World Tour 2011", an Australian, American and Canadian tour in support of the album. His American tour features country artist Jake Owen supporting. The Canadian leg features The Band Perry as the opening act.

Urban also recorded a song titled "For You," which was featured as the theme song of the 2012 action film ''Act of Valor''. It also appears on the film's soundtrack.

On 10 April 2012, Urban was asked to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry by Vince Gill at the third annual "All for the Hall" benefit concert which Urban organized. He will be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on 21 April 2012.

''The Voice''[link]

On 23 November 2011, Urban was confirmed as one of the four vocal coaches in the upcoming Australian version of the reality singing competition The Voice.

Personal life[link]

Starting in 1992, Urban dated veterinary technician Laura Sigler for eight years. Urban proposed to Sigler in 2001, but the pair eventually split in 2002.

Urban met Australian actress Nicole Kidman at ''G'Day LA'', a Hollywood event honoring Australians, in January 2005, but they reportedly didn't begin dating until 6 months later. Kidman and Urban were married on Sunday, 25 June 2006, at the Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel on the grounds of St Patrick's Estate, Manly in Sydney.

On 19 October 2006, Urban checked himself into the Betty Ford Center in California. On 20 October, Urban issued a statement saying: ''"I deeply regret the hurt this has caused Nicole and the ones who love and support me. One can never let one's guard down on recovery, and I'm afraid that I have."'' On 18 January 2007, Urban announced his completion of rehab and his plans to go on tour to promote his new album, ''Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing''.

On 2 February 2007, Urban filed a lawsuit against a New Jersey painter by the same name, who has a web site KeithUrban.com. The singer wanted to acquire the rights to the URL. Keith Urban the singer's URL is KeithUrban.NET. The painter counter sued. The lawsuit was settled in the painter's favor.

On 1 October 2007, while riding, Urban skidded off his motorbike when a paparazzo followed him near his home in Sydney; Urban was not hurt. In a statement released by his publicists, Urban says the incident was "the result of one person's desire to do his job and my desire to maintain my privacy." Urban says he tried to avoid an oncoming car and dropped his bike. He says the photographer came to his assistance without taking photos.

On 7 January 2008, Nicole Kidman confirmed she and Urban were expecting their first child together. Kidman's publicist said "the couple are thrilled and cannot wait." Kidman gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, on 7 July 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee. She weighed 2.93 kg (6 lbs, 7.5 oz). On his website, Urban stated,

"Earlier this morning Nic gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban. We want to thank everybody that has kept us in their thoughts and prayers. We feel very blessed and grateful that we can share this joy with all of you today."

On 28 December 2010, Urban and Kidman welcomed a second daughter, Faith Margaret Kidman Urban, via surrogate at Nashville's Centennial Women's Hospital. The baby is biologically Urban and Kidman's. On 17 January 2011, Keith posted this statement on his website: "Our family is truly blessed, and just so thankful, to have been given the gift of baby Faith Margaret. No words can adequately convey the incredible gratitude that we feel for everyone who was so supportive throughout this process, in particular our gestational carrier." Faith's middle name is after Kidman's late grandmother.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

''Keith Urban'' (1991)^A

''Keith Urban in The Ranch'' (1997)

''Keith Urban'' (1999)

''Golden Road'' (2002)

''Be Here'' (2004)

''Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing'' (2006)

''Defying Gravity'' (2009)

''Get Closer'' (2010)

Compilation albums[link]

''Days Go By'' (2005)

''Greatest Hits: 18 Kids'' (2007)^B

Number one singles[link]

"But for the Grace of God" (2001)

"Somebody Like You" (2002)

"Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me" (2003)

"You'll Think of Me" (2004)

"Days Go By" (2004)

"Making Memories of Us" (2005)

"Better Life" (2005)

"You Look Good in My Shirt" (2008)

"Start a Band" (with Brad Paisley) (2009)

"Sweet Thing" (2009)

"Only You Can Love Me This Way" (2009)

"Without You" (2011)

"Long Hot Summer"(2011)

"You Gonna Fly" (2012)

^A Released only in Australia, but later re-released independently in 2005. ^B Re-released in 2008 as ''Greatest Hits: 19 Kids'', with one track added.

Tours [link]

Official Tours [link]

Get Closer 2011 World Tour (2011) – supporting his seventh studio album, ''Get Closer,'' released on 16 November 2010

Summer Lovin' 2010 (2010) – supporting his sixth studio album, ''Defying Gravity,'' released on 31 March 2009

Escape Together World Tour 2009 (2009) – supporting his sixth studio album, ''Defying Gravity,'' released on 31 March 2009

Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride (2008) – supporting his fifth studio album, ''Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing'' touring with Carrie Underwood supporting her album ''Carnival Ride''

Love, Pain & the Whole crazy World Tour (2007) – supporting his fifth studio album, ''Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing''

Still Alive in 06 (2006) – supporting his fourth studio album, ''Be Here''

Alive In 05 (2005) – supporting his fourth studio album, ''Be Here''

Livin' Right Now Tour (2004) – supporting his fourth studio album, ''Be Here''

Supporting Tours [link]

Eagles Summer 2010 Tour (2010) – touring with The Eagles and The Dixie Chicks. It was announced on 16 March 2010 that Keith will be hitting the road with The Eagles and The Dixie Chicks for a North American stadium concert tour. 5 concert dates have been announced so far, which include Boston, and Chicago.

Brooks & Dunn's Neon Circus & Wild West Show 2001

Band[link]

Touring Band[link]

2010–2011[link]

Danny Rader (guitar, ganjo, mandolin, bazouki, piano, organ) has recently been added to Urban's touring band.

2010[link]

After four years with the band, Chris Rodriguez and Brad Rice departed. Coming off the Escape Together World Tour, the two were told Urban would not be mounting big tours for awhile, and that a smaller band was all that was needed. The following band was from 2010 onwards for the CMT Crossroads and the Summerlovin Tour, as well as the tour with The Eagles:

Keith Urban – lead vocals, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, bass guitar, bouzouki, e-bow, drums

Chris McHugh – drums, percussion

Brian Nutter – acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards, ganjo, mandolin, bass guitar, background vocals, drums

Jerry Flowers – bass guitar, piano, acoustic guitar, background vocals

2007–2009[link]

The following band was used for Keith's Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride Tour (2008), Love, Pain & the whole crazy World Tour (2007) and the Escape Together World Tour (2009):

Keith Urban – lead vocals, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, bass guitar, bouzouki, e-bow, drums

Chris McHugh – drums, percussion

Chris Rodriguez – acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, ganjo, mandolin, bass guitar, background vocals

Brian Nutter – acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards, ganjo, mandolin, bass guitar, background vocals, drums

Jerry Flowers – bass guitar, piano, acoustic guitar, background vocals

Brad Rice – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, ganjo, mandolin, background vocals

2005–2006[link]

Jerry Flowers replaced Mark Hill as the bass player. Jerry was a member of The Ranch in 1997 and 1998.

2004[link]

The following band was used for Keith's Be Here 2004 Tour:

Mark Hill – bass guitar

Steven King – piano, keyboards

Chad Jeffers – acoustic guitar, ganjo, mandolin, dobro

Chris Rodriguez – acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, ganjo, mandolin, bass guitar, background vocals

Chris McHugh – drums, percussion

Pre-2004[link]

The following band was used before 2004

Peter Clarke – drums

Jason Mowery – fiddle, mandolin

Scotty Huff – acoustic guitar, banjo, rhythm guitar

Tim Horsely – drums

Robbie Harrington – bass guitar

Randall Waller

Jimmy Mattingly

Millard Powers

Awards & honors[link]

! Year	! Awards	! Category
1977		''Best Solo Act'' (junior)
1978	''Special Encouragement Award'' (10 years & under)
1980	''Best Junior Guitarist''
1981	''Best Gospel Singer''
	''Best Duet''
''Best Junior Guitarist''
1983	''Junior Male Vocalist''
1990	''Star Maker Award''
	''Golden Guitar Award''
''Best New Talent''
	''Golden Guitar Award''
''Male Vocalist of the Year''
1997
1998
	Academy of Country Music Awards	Top New Male Vocalist
Country Music Association Awards	Horizon Award
ARIA Music Awards	Outstanding Achievement award
VMA Awards	Male Vocalist award
	ARIA Music Awards
	Song of the Year; "Somebody Like You"
TCMA Awards	Video Clip of the Year; "Somebody Like You"
	Country Music Association Awards	Male Vocalist of the Year
FCMA Awards	Best Foreign Music
		Album of the Year; ''Be Here''
Top Male Vocalist
French Association of Country Music	Artist of the Year
ARIA Music Awards	Country Album of the Year; ''Be Here''
	Male Vocalist of the Year
Entertainer of the Year
International Artist of the Year
	Top-selling Pop Catalog Album of the Year; ''Golden Road''
	Grammy Awards	''Best Male Country Vocal Performance''; "You'll Think of Me"
Academy of Country Music Awards	Top Male Vocalist
French Association of Country Music	Best Live Performance
Country Music Association Awards	Male Vocalist of the Year
2007	ARIA Music Awards	Best Country Album; ''Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing''
2008	Grammy Awards	Best Male Country Vocal Performance; "Stupid Boy"
	Academy of Country Music Awards	Vocal Event of the Year; "Start A Band" (w/ Brad Paisley)
Country Music Association Awards	Musical Event of the Year; "Start A Band" (w/ Brad Paisley)
CMT Music Awards	Collaborative Video of the Year; "Start A Band" (w/ Brad Paisley)
American Music Awards	Country – Favorite Male Artist
	Grammy Awards
People's Choice Awards	Favorite Male Artist
CMT Music Awards	Best Male Video
	Grammy Awards	Best Male Country Vocal Performance; "'Til Summer Comes Around"
Teen Choice Awards	Choice Music: Male Country Artist

References[link]

External links[link]

Category:1967 births Category:ARIA Award winners Category:Australian pianists Category:Australian guitarists Category:Australian country guitarists Category:Australian country singers Category:Australian country singer-songwriters Category:Australian expatriates in the United States Category:Australian multi-instrumentalists Category:Lead guitarists Category:Australian people of New Zealand descent Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:People from Whangarei Category:People from Queensland Category:Grand Ole Opry members

da:Keith Urban de:Keith Urban es:Keith Urban fa:کیث Ψ§Ψ±Ψ¨Ω† fr:Keith Urban it:Keith Urban la:Keith Urban hu:Keith Urban nl:Keith Urban ja:γ‚­γ?Όγ‚Ήγ?»γ‚’γ?Όγ??γ?³ no:Keith Urban pl:Keith Urban pt:Keith Urban ru:Π£Ρ€Π±Π°Π½, ΠšΠΈΡ‚ simple:Keith Urban su:Keith Urban fi:Keith Urban sv:Keith Urban tr:Keith Urban zh:ε‡―ζ–―Β·θ‰Ύε°”ζœ¬

birth name	Karl-Heinz Urban
birth date	June 07, 1972
birth place	Wellington, New Zealand
occupation	Actor
years active	1990–present
website	}}

Karl-Heinz Urban (born 7 June, 1972) is a New Zealand actor.

He is known for playing Γ‰omer in the second and third installments of Peter Jackson's ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the 2009 film ''Star Trek'' and Caesar on ''Xena: Warrior Princess''. He played Vaako in ''The Chronicles of Riddick'', the Russian assassin Kirill in ''The Bourne Supremacy'', and Ghost in ''Pathfinder'' and won acclaim for his performances in New Zealand films ''The Price of Milk'' and ''Out of the Blue''.

Early life[link]

Urban was born in Wellington, New Zealand. His father, a German immigrant, owned a leather goods store, and his mother once worked for Film Facilities in Wellington, through which the young Urban was exposed to classic New Zealand cinema and developed an interest in the film industry. Urban attended St Mark's Church School, where he showed an early love for public performance. His first acting role came at age eight, when he had a single line in one episode of the New Zealand television series 'Pioneer Woman'. Though continuing to take part in school stage productions, he did not act professionally again until after high school.

He attended Wellington College from 1986–1990, then Victoria University of Wellington in the Bachelor of Arts programme for one year, but left to pursue his acting career. Over the next few years, he landed several theatre roles in the Wellington area, and eventually he moved to Auckland, where he was offered many guest roles in local shows (one of which was playing a heroin addict in the police drama ''Shark in the Park''). The role which launched him to local fame was that of gay paramedic Jamie Forrest in the hit New Zealand TV series ''Shortland Street''. He appeared on the show for the 1993–1994 season.

Urban then moved to Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia in 1995, returning to New Zealand the following year.

Career[link]

New Zealand roles[link]

As well as appearing in films and television shows, Urban had various roles in theatre productions and TV advertisements. In February/March 1998, he was in a play called ''The Herbal Bed'' at the Maidment Theatre in Auckland. In August 1998, he played Mark Antony in Auckland Theatre Company's production of ''Shakespeare's Julius Caesar''. The following year he starred in the Auckland Theatre Company's production of the New Zealand classic ''Foreskin's Lament''.

Urban was seen on the internationally syndicated American TV series ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and on its spin-off ''Xena: Warrior Princess'', in which he played the recurring roles of both Cupid and Julius Caesar from 1996 to 2001. Both shows were filmed in New Zealand. In 2001 he appeared in the offbeat rural romance ''The Price of Milk'', for which he received his first nomination at the New Zealand Qantas Film and Television Awards. Urban later won acclaim for his portrayal of policeman Nick Harvey in ''Out of the Blue'', a dramatisation of New Zealand's Aramoana massacre, for which he won the Qantas Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2008.

International roles[link]

Urban's first Hollywood role was in the 2002 horror film ''Ghost Ship''. Since then, he has worked on many high-profile movies, including the second and third installments of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (''The Two Towers'' and ''The Return of the King''), ''The Bourne Supremacy'', ''The Chronicles of Riddick'' and ''Star Trek''.

''The Hollywood Reporter'' speculated that Urban was one of several actors being considered for the part of British secret service agent 007 in ''Casino Royale'', directed by fellow New Zealander Martin Campbell. The role eventually went to Daniel Craig.

Urban played John "Reaper" Grimm in Universal Pictures' ''Doom'' (based on the classic first-person shooter video game Doom), which was released on 21 October 2005. In 2007 he starred in the Viking adventure ''Pathfinder''. A longtime fan of Westerns, Urban appeared as Woodrow Call in ''Comanche Moon'', the CBS miniseries prequel to ''Lonesome Dove'', in January 2008.

In 2009, he played Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, a role famously originated by DeForest Kelley, in the eleventh ''Star Trek'' film. A fan of the Star Trek franchise since childhood, Urban actively pursued a role in the film. His performance was widely embraced by the Star Trek fan community for its faithfulness to the spirit of Kelley's McCoy.

In 2009, Urban appeared as himself in the documentary film ''Reclaiming the Blade'', discussing his sword-wielding experience in films such as ''The Lord of the Rings''.

Urban next appeared as CIA agent William Cooper in ''RED'', adapted from the DC Comics graphic novel of the same name and co-starring Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren. He portrayed Black Hat, a villainous priest-turned-vampire, in the film adaption of the Korean manhwa ''Priest'', released in 3-D in 2011.

In July 2010, Urban was cast as law-enforcing comic book hero Judge Dredd for the upcoming film entitled ''Dredd''. In an interview with Shave Magazine, Urban described it as a "high-octane, action-fueled film... about the day in the life of Dredd." The film is directed by Pete Travis, with a script by Alex Garland.

Urban is currently filming the ensemble thriller ''Loft'', a remake of the Belgian film of the same name. Filmed in New Orleans and Belgium, it is helmed by the director of the 2008 original, Erik Van Looy.

Personal life[link]

Urban married Natalie Wihongi (who was his makeup artist on ''The Privateers'') in September 2004. Together they have two sons: Hunter, born November 2000, and Indiana ('Indy'), born January 2005 and named for the eponymous hero of the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise, which Urban has cited as among his favorite films. They live in the Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Herne Bay.

Urban serves as a celebrity ambassador for KidsCan, a charity which currently supports over 16,000 disadvantaged children all over New Zealand by providing them with essentials such as food, coats and shoes.

He is an avid fan of rugby union; in particular, the New Zealand All Blacks national team.

Filmography[link]

+ Film	! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1992		Wellington Soldier
1998	''Heaven''	Sweeper
1998	''Via Satellite''	Paul
2000	''The Irrefutable Truth about Demons''	Harry Ballard	''Nominated – New Zealand Film and Television Award for Best Performance by an Actor in Film''
2000	''The Price of Milk''	Rob	''Nominated – New Zealand Film and Television Award for Best Performance by an Actor in Film''
2002		Munder
2002	''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers''	Γ‰omer
2003	''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''	Γ‰omer	''Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast National Board of Review Award for Best Cast Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast''
2004	''The Chronicles of Riddick''	Vaako
2004
2005
2006		Nick Harvey	''Qantas Film and Television Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Film''
2007		Ghost
2009
2009	''Black Water Transit''	Earl Pike	''not yet released''
2010		Michael
2010		William Cooper
2011		Black Hat
2012			''filming''
2012	''Dredd''	Judge Dredd	''post-production''
2012		Vincent Stevens
2013	''Untitled Star Trek sequel''		''filming''
January 2013		Vaako	''post-production''

+ Television	! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1990	''Shark in the Park''	Rohann Murdoch	Episode: "Suffer Little Children"Episode: "Thicker Than Water"Episode: "Et Tu, Brute"Episode: "Give A Dog A Bad Name"Episode: "A Sensitive Family Matter"Episode: "Nothing But The Truth"
1992	''Homeward Bound''	Tim Johnstone
1993		David	Episode: "Tough Kid"
1993–1994	''Shortland Street''	Paramedic Jamie Forrest
1995	''Riding High''	James Westwood
1996, 1998	''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys''		The Green-Eyed Monster (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
1996–2001	''[[Xena: Warrior Princess''
1997	''Amazon High''		Unsold TV-Pilot
2000	''The Privateers''	Capt. Aran Dravyk
2008		Woodrow F. Call	CBS miniseries

References[link]

External links[link]

Karl Urban Interview at www.sci-fi-online.com

Category:1972 births Category:People educated at Wellington College (New Zealand) Category:Living people Category:New Zealand film actors Category:New Zealand stage actors Category:New Zealand television actors Category:New Zealand people of German descent Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Wellington City

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name	Ziggy Marley
background	solo_singer
birth name	David Nesta Marley
alias	Ziggy Marley
birth date	October 17, 1968
Birth place	Kingston, Jamaica
instrument	Guitar, vocals, Piano, percussion
genre	Reggae
occupation	Musician, Singer-songwriter, Guitarist, voice actor
years active	1979–present
label	Tuff Gong Worldwide
associated acts	Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers
website	www.ziggymarley.com }}

David "Ziggy" Marley (born 17 October 1968, Trenchtown, Jamaica) is a Jamaican musician and leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. He is the oldest son of famed reggae musician Bob Marley. His father gave him the nickname "Ziggy"; he has stated that it means "a small joint".

Musical career[link]

In 1979, Ziggy and his siblings, Cedella, Stephen and Sharon made their recording debut with their father, "Children Playing in the Streets". The Melody Makers, as the group came to be known, played occasionally for several years, including at their father's funeral in 1981. Their debut LP was ''Play the Game Right'', which was a very pop-oriented album, earning Ziggy some derision from critics. The band's label, EMI, wanted to market Ziggy as a solo act, and so the Melody Makers moved to Virgin Records, where they recorded ''Conscious Party'' (1988, produced by Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth). The album was critically and popularly successful, as was ''One Bright Day'' (1989) and ''Jahmekya'' (1991).

As the 1990s continued, the Melody Makers' sales slowly declined, beginning with ''Joy and Blues'' (1993) and continuing with ''Free Like We Want 2 B'' (1995).

Ziggy became politically active, working with the United Nations and creating a record label called Ghetto Youths Crew. A solo album, Dragonfly was released on 15 April 2003. On 2 July 2006, his second solo album, ''Love Is My Religion'', was released on his independent record company Tuff Gong Worldwide. This album won a Grammy for best Reggae album and this was Ziggy's 4th Grammy win. On 5 May 2009, his third solo children's album ''Family Time'', was released on his independent record company Tuff Gong Worldwide. ''Family Time'' features Family and Friends, Rita Marley, Cedella Marley, Judah Marley, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Jack Johnson, Toots Hibbert, Laurie Berkner, Elizabeth Mitchell and more. This album won a Grammy for "Best Musical Album for Children".

Some of his most popular singles include "True To Myself", "Drive", "People Get Ready", and his hit single "Tomorrow People", which reached #39 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In April 2011, Marley announced his fourth album, entitled Wild and Free would be released on 14 June. The title track, featuring Woody Harrelson, is available for free with the pre-order of Ziggy's first comic book, "Marijuanaman."

Personal life[link]

Ziggy Marley is the oldest son of Bob Marley. He is married to Orly Marley, who is a former vice-president of William Morris Agency. He also has 6 children, Daniel Marley, Justice Marley, Zuri Marley, Judah Victoria, Gideon Robert Nesta, and Abraham Selassie Robert Nesta. Most of the family resides in Miami.

Philanthropy[link]

Ziggy Marley founded Unlimited Resources Giving Enlightenment (URGE), which works to help children (especially in Jamaica and Ethiopia).

In 2007, Marley signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and free lessons to children in public schools throughout the United States. He has visited with children in the program and sits on the organization's board of directors as an honorary member.

Other work[link]

In 1991, Marley and the Melody Makers contributed the song "Give A Little Love" to the Disney album, ''For Our Children''. The album is a collection of kid-friendly songs by popular artists (e.g. Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, and Elton John), with proceeds given to the Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

Marley made guest appearances as himself on an episode of the sitcom ''Family Matters'' in 1995, and on the television series ''Charmed'' in season 6 (episode 14, "The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell"), performing "Rainbow in the Sky".

He and his Melody Makers made a guest appearance on the popular kids television show ''Sesame Street'' in the 1991-92 season, and sang a Sesame Street version of "Small People" from their 1991 album ''Jahmekya''

In 1996, Marley and the Melody Makers recorded the reggae-style theme song for the children's television series ''Arthur'' called "Believe in Yourself".

He voiced Ernie, one of Sykes' (Martin Scorsese) Rasta jellyfish henchmen in the 2004 film ''Shark Tale''. In the film when Oscar (Will Smith) tries to sing the Bob Marley song "Three Little Birds", Marley's character zaps Oscar on the head and says "That's not the way you sing that song, mon." The title song for the film was a cover version of "Three Little Birds" performed by Marley and Sean Paul.

Further voice acting includes "Crockadle" on an episode of ''My Gym Partner's a Monkey'', the Cheshire Cat in a 2010 episode of ''Wonder Pets'', and Reflux the Knaaren, in the Ubisoft video game Rayman 3.

Marley covered "Drive" by The Cars for the Adam Sandler movie ''50 First Dates'', and his father's song "Three Little Birds" for the ''Dora The Explorer'' soundtrack.

Ziggy is listed as the featured artist on Donna Summer's song, "Crayons," the title track from her 2008 album. He has also performed duets with Angelique Kidjo, Sting, Dora The Explorer, Taj Mahal, The Chieftains, Sean Paul and others.

Marley and his daughter Judah made an appearance in the 2009 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Ziggy Marley released a pro-marijuana song in support of California's Proposition 19 ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana. Voters rejected the ballot but backers said they would mount another legalization campaign in 2012.

In popular culture[link]

On an episode of ''Celebrity Deathmatch'', Ziggy was mentioned while his father, Bob Marley (who was brought back to life via time machine), had his hands full with Shaggy. Shaggy first implies that Ziggy was merely a Bob impersonator (''"Me? What about Ziggy? He sings all your songs - he even looks like you!"''), while Bob answers that Ziggy is his son. Shaggy taunts Bob on how Ziggy might have got his name, on which Bob fight backs with comments on ''Scooby-Doo'', where Shaggy got his nickname.

His song "Love Power" was played during the end credits of ''Muppet Treasure Island'' (1996), and "True To Myself" was featured on the TV show ''Scrubs'' (Season 8 Episode 14 - "My Soul On Fire", Pt. 1).

In the episode of South Park entitled ''Medicinal Fried Chicken'', Randy Marsh wants to get a prescription for medicinal marijuana before the Ziggy Marley concert in Denver.

He is mentioned in holding a concert in Nevada in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Discography[link]

Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers albums

Solo albums[link]

2003: ''Dragonfly''

2006: ''Love Is My Religion''

2008: ''Love Is My Religion Live''

2009: ''Ziggy Live From Soho''

2009: ''Family Time''

2011: ''Wild and Free''

References[link]

External links[link]

Official Site of the Marley Brothers

Official Melody Makers website

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:Hollywood United players Category:Jamaican reggae singers Category:Jamaican guitarists Category:Jamaican songwriters Category:Jamaican male singers Category:Jamaican Rastafarians Category:Jamaican people of Cuban descent Z Category:People from Kingston, Jamaica Category:Jamaican people of English descent Category:Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers members

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name	Karina Pasian
background	solo_singer
birth name	Karina Pasian
birth date	July 18, 1991
origin	New York City, New York
instrument	Piano
genre	R&B;, Pop
occupation	Singer
years active	2003–present
label	VY Records, Def Jam
associated acts	Lil Mama, Trey Songz, Sammie
website	}}

Karina Pasian (born July 18, 1991) is a Grammy Award nominated recording artist and pianist.

Life and career[link]

Karina Pasian was born in New York City, of Dominican and Armenian descent. Her first language was Russian, and she can sing in six other languages, including English, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Turkish, and French. She first began taking piano lessons at the age of three from her babysitter, and began classical piano training while in kindergarten. She began working with a vocal coach at the age of eight, and attended the Professional Performing Arts School in New York City alongside Taylor Momsen and Mark Indelicato.

In 2003, Pasian met Quincy Jones, who invited her and her family to his home in Bel Air, California. Soon after this, Pasian performed and won on ''Star Search''. She also performed at Quincy Jones' ''We Are The Future'' concert in Rome. On June 22, 2007, Pasian performed at the White House for President George W. Bush, in celebration of ''Black Music Month'', making her the first person of Dominican descent to perform there.

Pasian became the subject of a bidding war, when she was thirteen, between three major record labels: Def Jam, Interscope, and Bad Boy Records. She chose Def Jam in 2006.

2008: First Love[link]

Pasian's first album ''First Love'' was released August 19, 2008. The first single was "16 @ War", released in June 2008. The album was nominated for an American Grammy Award in the category of Best Contemporary R&B; album.

2011-2012[link]

A new 6 track EP, ''Trips To Venus'', was released digitally worldwide on December 12, 2011. Her piano version of "The Christmas Song" is also currently available Digitally Worldwide.

References[link]

External links[link]

Karina Paisan on Youtube

Category:1991 births Category:American female singers Category:American pianists Category:Def Jam Recordings artists Category:American people of Dominican Republic descent Category:American people of Armenian descent Category:English-language singers Category:Living people Category:Rhythm and blues pianists Category:Rhythm and blues singers Category:American child singers Category:Musicians from New York Category:People from Manhattan

es:Karina Pasian fr:Karina Pasian it:Karina Pasian fi:Karina Pasian