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A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.

Motivation to use a stage name[link]

A performer will often take a stage name because his/her real name is considered unattractive, dull, unintentionally amusing or difficult to pronounce or spell, or because it has been used by another notable individual or because it projects an undesired image. Sometimes a performer adopts a name that is unusual or outlandish to attract attention. Other performers use a stage name in order to retain anonymity. The equivalent concept among writers is called a nom de plume or pen name, while the term ring name is used in professional wrestling. In radio, the term "radio name" or "air name" is used. (e.g. well-known talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, who now uses his real name, was known under the radio name Jeff Christie in his days as a top-40 disk jockey.)

Family connection[link]

Some individuals who are related to a celebrity take a different last name so that they are not perceived to have received undue advantage from their family connection. Examples of these include Joan Fontaine (real name Joan de Havilland), sister to Olivia de Havilland, Luka Bloom (real name Kevin Barry Moore), brother of Christy Moore; and Mike McGear (brother of Paul McCartney). Sisters Loretta, Peggy, and Brenda Webb adopted the names Loretta Lynn, Peggy Sue, and Crystal Gayle, respectively. Actor Nicolas Cage, born Nicolas Coppola, chose a new last name to avoid comparisons to his uncle, director Francis Ford Coppola, who gave him his big break in the movie Peggy Sue Got Married. Conversely, individuals who wish to receive benefit from their family connections may take that person's first or last name. For example, Lon Chaney Sr.’s son Creighton spent a number of years appearing in minor roles before renaming himself Lon Chaney Jr. Actress Rebecca Isabelle Laemmle rechristened herself Carla Laemmle in reference to her uncle, Universal Studios head Carl Laemmle. Emilio Estévez and his sister Renee chose not to take their father Martin Sheen’s professional name and use their birth names; however, their brother Carlos chose to use their father's professional name, and took the name Charlie Sheen.

Guild and association rules[link]

Guilds and associations that represent actors, such as the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in the United States and British Actors' Equity Association in the United Kingdom, stipulate that no two members may have identical working names. An actor whose name has already been taken must choose a new name. Notable examples include David Tennant, born David McDonald, who said in an interview that he adopted the surname Tennant after reading Smash Hits magazine. Nathan Lane, whose birth name Joseph Lane was already in use, Stewart Granger, whose birth name was James Stewart, and Michael Keaton, born Michael Douglas. The latter chose the last name Keaton simply because he came across a picture of actress Diane Keaton and "liked the sound of [her] name," so he adopted it as his own.^[1][2] Interestingly enough, Diane Keaton, whose birth name is Diane Hall, took her mother's maiden name as a stage name after learning that there was already a registered actress named Diane Hall in the Actors' Equity Association. Michael Andrew Fox became Michael J. Fox because a Michael Fox was already a member of the Screen Actors' Guild. Ugly Betty actress Vanessa Williams officially uses "Vanessa L. Williams" due to SAG guidelines, although the other actress with same first and last names (Vanessa A. Williams) is arguably less notable. Similarly, David Walliams changed one letter in his surname due to there being another "David Williams". Terry O'Quinn of Lost fame changed his surname from Quinn to O'Quinn as another registered actor already had the name Terrance Quinn. Long time writer for The Simpsons, David X. Cohen changed his middle initial from S to X because there was already a David S Cohen registered with the Writer's Guild of America.

A person hoping to become successful as an entertainer who has a name identical to a name already familiar to the public (in any field of endeavor) may change his/her name in order to not have his/her name evoke the other person with that name. By way of example, the actor/writer/director Albert Brooks was named "Albert Einstein" by his parents and chose a different second name so that his name would not be a distraction that would evoke the renowned physicist of the same name. Singer Katy Perry, born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, released her self-titled album under the name Katy Hudson, but later used her mother's maiden name Perry to avoid confusion with actress Kate Hudson.

Involuntary name changes[link]

A performer may also have had their stage name chosen for them by their agent (such was the case with Barbara Eden, born Barbara Jean Huffman).^[3] Joan Rivers (born Joan Alexandra Molinsky) went one step further and named herself after a former agent, Tony Rivers, when he told her to change her name.

Former child star Patty Duke (whose real name is Anna Marie Duke) had her stage name chosen for her by her first managers. Their choice of the name "Patty" was inspired by another child actress named Patty McCormack (Patty Duke later entitled her autobiography Call Me Anna (ISBN 0-553-27205-5) ).

Cary Grant (born Archibald Leach) had his name selected for him by Paramount Pictures. He had been using the name "Cary Lockwood", but the studio decided against it, deeming it too similar to another actor working at the time. Cary and the studio eventually settled on "Cary Grant" (Grant thought the letters "C" and "G" to be lucky: they had brought previous success for both Clark Gable and Gary Cooper).

Ethnicity[link]

In the past, a stage name was often used when a performer's real name was considered to denote a specific ethnicity that faced potential discrimination. An example of this type of name change involved Freddie Mercury of the British rock band Queen, who was born Farrokh Bulsara to Parsi parents; his name change was partly intended to conceal his heritage. Italian-American actress Bernadette Peters, who was born Bernadette Lazzara, changed her last name to avoid being typecast as women who were Italian or of Italian heritage; her father's name was Peter. Similarly, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith changed his name from the original Stephen Victor Tallarico "for more promotional appeal".^[4] The actor Kal Penn changed his name from Kalpen Modi for professional purposes; after changing his name, calls back increased by 50%.^{[citation needed]} Historically, Jews in Hollywood were encouraged to anglicize their names to avoid possible discrimination. This still happens to a degree (Jason Alexander, Jon Stewart, Brad Garrett, Jonah Hill, Winona Ryder and Natalie Portman for instance), but the growing acceptance of ethnic performers in the performing arts has made this occurrence less frequent.^{[citation needed]} Ramón Estévez changed his name to Martin Sheen because he expected a better reception for an Irish name than a Spanish name^{[citation needed]}; his sons made divergent choices: Carlos Irwin Estévez is now Charlie Sheen, while Emilio Estévez left his name unchanged. German-born actor Hans Gudegast adopted the non-German stage name of Eric Braeden. Cherilyn Sarkisian is now known to the world by the single name Cher.

Also, legendary actors Anthony Quinn and Anne Bancroft were also advised to anglicize their names, as their respective names, 'Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca' and 'Anna Maria Louisa Italiano' were considered too 'ethnic' for Hollywood and Broadway at the time.

Ease of use[link]

Another consideration in choosing a stage name is ease of use. The Actors' Equity Association (AEA) advises performers to select a name that is easy for others to pronounce, spell, and remember. Some performers while paying great attention to their skills and abilities give little thought to the difference that a well-thought-out name can make to their career. Often it is only after the realization that a poorly chosen name results in an undesired impression that a person or group decides on a different name.

Actor Michael Caine was born Maurice Micklewhite and chose the name Michael because he preferred the sound of it to the less glamorous-sounding "Maurice".^{[citation needed]} He chose the name Caine reputedly because at the precise instant he needed to decide upon his new stage name, he saw a cinema marquee for the then-current movie The Caine Mutiny and thought that it would make a good last name in conjunction with Michael. ("Had I looked the other direction," he would later quip, "I'd be known as Michael The One Hundred and One Dalmatians.")

Relevance to image[link]

Commonly in the music world, and especially those of heavy metal, punk rock, industrial and hip hop, musicians will rename themselves with names more menacing or striking than their birth names. Rock music examples include Davey Havok, Slash, Sting, Darby Crash, Marilyn Manson, Sid Vicious, Johnny Rotten, Zakk Wylde, Nikki Sixx, Spider One, Count Grishnackh, Necrobutcher, Blasphemer, Nivek Ogre, Rob Zombie, Dimebag Darrell, Trey Azagthoth and Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein as well as every member of Avenged Sevenfold (M. Shadows, Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance, Johnny Christ, and the late The Rev). Every member of the punk band The Ramones took the pseudonymous "Ramone" surname as part of their collective stage persona. Being that those genres pride themselves on a larger-than-life quality, larger-than-life names are desirable.

Pop music examples of artists seeking to utilize catchy, marketable names include Madonna, Lady Gaga, Prince, Keith Sweat, Pink, and Alicia Keys, though both Madonna and Prince were given those names at birth. Lady Gaga named herself after the song "Radio Ga Ga" by Queen.

Actor John Wayne's real name was Marion Morrison. He adopted the stage name because the name Marion had since his birth became a female name and he felt at odds with the masculine cowboy characters he portrayed. Similarly, Norma Jeane Baker changed her name to the far more glamorous-sounding Marilyn Monroe.

Hip Hop artists are known to use stage names but at times do advertise or bring out their real names such as rapper Jay-Z (born Shawn Carter), 50 Cent (born Curtis Jackson), Diddy (born Sean Combs), Ludacris (born Chris Bridges), and Lil' Wayne (born Dwayne Carter Jr.). Eminem has used his real name, Marshall Mathers, in various public events and as an alter ego; his real name gained recognition as the title of his multi-platinum album, The Marshall Mathers LP. (Rapper-Singer-Actress Queen Latifah did something similar when she released The Dana Owens Album under her own given name, Dana Owens.)

Euphony and ease of remembrance[link]

Some performers and artists may choose to simplify their name to make it easier to spell and pronounce, and easier for others to remember. For instance, Fall Out Boy vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump removed the "h" from his original name, Stumph. It was still pronounced "stump," but the change ensured his audience wouldn't think to pronounce it "stumf." Andy Warhol dropped an "a" from his original name, Warhola, while couturier Yves Mathieu-Saint-Laurent dropped the first of his two surnames. Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Piero Filiberto Guglielmi adopted the stage name Rudolph Valentino in part because American casting directors found his original surname difficult to pronounce. Singer George Michael (the son of a Greek Cypriot restaurateur in North London) was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou.

Some surnames may carry unfortunate connotations in English. Hal Linden, born Harold Lipshitz, adopted his stage name for fear that the embedded obscenity in his original surname could cost him work. Ralph Lauren's brother (who was his guardian) changed their family name from Lifshitz for a similar reason: fear of mockery.

Musical use[link]

Some types of music are more associated with stage names than others. For example hip hop artists almost always use stage names, whereas "classical" composers and performers virtually never do (violinist Hahn-Bin, born in South Korea as Yoo Hanbin, being a rare exception). Some Algerian raï musicians use the prefix Cheb (for men) or Chaba (Chebba) for women. Both Arabic words mean "young" (e.g. as in Cheb Khaled, or "Young Khaled").

Some performers take a series of different stage names. The British pop singer successful in the 1970s as Alvin Stardust previously went by the stage name of Shane Fenton in the 1960s. He had been born Bernard William Jewry. Some performers will use different names in different settings. Charles Thompson, singer/songwriter for the alternative band the Pixies, was known in that band as Black Francis. He was called Frank Black as a solo performer, and again called Black Francis in a reunited Pixies.

Many performers refer to their stage name as their "professional name". In some cases performers subsequently adopt their stage name as their legal name. For instance, the former Robert Allen Zimmerman's legal name has been Robert Dylan (Bob Dylan) since he changed it in New York City Supreme Court in August 1962.^{[citation needed]} Elton John was born Reginald Dwight but changed his name by deed poll, making Elton John his real name. When he was knighted, he became Sir Elton John rather than Sir Reginald Dwight. Elvis Costello (born Declan MacManus), who had adopted his professional name as a legal name, changed it back to his birth name in 1986. In a similar way, actress and singer Miley Cyrus was born Destiny Hope Cyrus, but found "Miley" more comfortable, making it her legal name.^{[citation needed]}

Due to recording contracts which do not permit them to openly record for competing companies, musicians may appear on other performers' recordings using other names. For example, Michael Jackson appeared on a Simpsons episode as John Jay Smith.^[5]

See also[link]

• Alter ego
• List of stage names
• Moniker
• Ring name
• Pen name
• Pseudonym
• Nom de guerre

References[link]

Donald Glover (Childish Gambino)
Glover at PaleyFest 2010
Born	Donald McKinley Glover (1983-09-25) September 25, 1983 (age 28) Edwards Air Force Base, California, U.S.
Residence	Silver Lake, California, U.S.
Other names	Childish Gambino
Occupation	Actor, writer, comedian, musician
Years active	2002–present
Home town	Stone Mountain, Georgia, U.S.
Website
http://www.iamdonald.com/

Donald McKinley Glover^[1] (born September 25, 1983) is an American actor, writer, comedian, and musician. Glover first came to attention for his work with Derrick Comedy. He is best known for being a writer for 30 Rock, and for his role as college student Troy Barnes on the NBC comedy series Community. In 2011, Glover signed to Glassnote Records under the stage name Childish Gambino; his first studio album, Camp, was released on November 15, 2011.

Early life and education[link]

Glover was born on September 25, 1983 on Edwards Air Force Base, California^[2] to parents Beverly and Donald Sr. and raised as a Jehovah's Witness in Stone Mountain, Georgia.^[3] Contrary to a persistent rumor, he is not related to actor Danny Glover.^[4] In addition to a biological brother and sister, Glover grew up alongside foster children taken in by his parents.^[3] Glover attended Rockbridge Elementary School and DeKalb School of the Arts before studying at New York University, graduating with a degree in Dramatic Writing in 2006.^[5]

Career[link]

TV and Film[link]

Glover is known for his work on the NBC show Community with Joel McHale and Chevy Chase. Glover was a writer for the NBC series 30 Rock from 2006 to 2009, where he also had an occasional cameo appearance. He was presented the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Candace Comedy Series at the February 2009 ceremony for his work on the third season of 30 Rock.^[6]

In 2008, rumors surfaced that Glover was to become a cast member of Saturday Night Live and that he would portray Presidential candidate Barack Obama. Glover denied the SNL rumors on his Facebook profile, stating, "Just to let people know. I was NOT asked to SNL. I just auditioned and there's been a rumor spreading around the web. Just trying to clear the air."^[7]

Glover's stand-up special aired on Comedy Central on March 19, 2010.

In May 2010, Glover started a campaign on Twitter to be allowed to audition for the role of Peter Parker in the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man film, encouraging his supporters to retweet the hashtag "#donald4spiderman".^[8] The campaign, originally started to see how far social networking could carry a message, quickly gained a large following.^[9] The call for Glover to be allowed to audition for the role was supported by Spider-Man creator Stan Lee.^[10] Comics writer Brian Michael Bendis, who announced an African-American version of Spider-Man a year later, said he had conceived of the character before Glover's campaign went viral.^[11] Bendis gave credit to Glover for influencing the new hero's looks; on seeing him dressed as Spider-Man on Community (a nod to the campaign) Bendis said, "I saw him in the costume and thought, 'I would like to read that book.'".^[12]

In June 2010, it was announced that Glover would receive the Rising Comedy Star award at the Just for Laughs festival in July.^[13]

Glover was featured in Gap's 2010 Holiday ad campaign.

On March 16, 2011, Glover hosted the mtvU Woodie Awards held live at South By Southwest.

On March 24, 2011, Glover taped his one hour comedy special Weirdo for Comedy Central; it aired on November 19.^[14][15]

Donald appeared at the 2011 Bonnaroo Music Festival on June 9 in the 'This Tent' as Childish Gambino and June 11 at 'The Comedy Theater' with Bill Bailey performing stand up. Comedy Central streamed the comedy live on their website.^[16]

Derrick Comedy and other projects[link]

Glover is a member of the sketch comedy group Derrick Comedy, along with Dominic Dierkes, Meggie McFadden, DC Pierson, and Dan Eckman. Derrick's YouTube videos gained the group nationwide attention^{[citation needed]} and have contributed to Donald Glover's recognition, as well as his newfound success in the television business. The group wrote and starred in a feature-length film, Mystery Team, released in theaters in 2009.

In January 2012, Donald made a cameo as himself in the YouTube webseries (Episode 12) "The Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl". He was on the show to meet the main character who is a big fan of Donald Glover and was taken backstage at one of his concerts.^[17]

Music[link]

Childish Gambino in concert at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City (October 17, 2010)

Donald Glover DJs and produces his own music under the moniker "mcDJ". His music is of the electronic/remix variety and is often made available for free download via his official site. His current album releases include Love Letter in an Unbreakable Bottle and Utterances of the Heart.

Glover raps and performs under the stage name Childish Gambino,^[18] a name he found from a Wu-Tang Clan name generator.^[19] He released an album entitled Sick Boi on June 5, 2008. On September 17, 2009, Childish Gambino released the album Poindexter. A pair of mixtapes entitled I Am Just A Rapper, and I Am Just A Rapper 2 were released in close succession in early 2010. Robert Scahill added his producing expertise helping with the majority of the tracks. The track listings for those albums consist of the name of the song "he" raps, followed by the song he raps over. His third album, Culdesac, was set to be released on July 2, 2010, but a couple of last minute additions caused the album to be delayed for a day. The album was made available on July 3.^[20] Glover has stated in interviews that on Sick Boi and Poindexter he felt he had to hide behind gimmicks, such as pink hoodies, but with his subsequent projects, he has touched on more personal subject matter, including family, schoolyard bullying, troubled romantic relationships, suicidal thoughts and alcoholism. He has disowned his 2005^[21] album, The Younger I Get, as the too-raw ramblings of what he calls a "decrepit Drake."

On December 1, 2010, Glover released the first track off of his EP titled "Be Alone". He released the next track, "Freaks and Geeks", as well as a five-song track list, on February 11, 2011. On February 25, Donald released the dates for the IAMDONALD tour and also his very first music video for "Freaks and Geeks".^[22] The music video was shot by Dan Eckman, the director of the DerrickComedy troupe. This song would later be used in an Adidas commercial featuring Dwight Howard which brought the song, and Donald, more recognition. On March 8, 2011 Donald released his newest EP via his official website.^[23]

On May 4, 2011, in an interview with TheHipHopUpdate, Glover revealed that he was working on an LP, to be released in September.^[24]

During the weekend of the 2011 San Diego Comic Con, Donald performed with his band and his DJ, SoSuperSam, at the House of Blues in San Diego.^[25] Donald performed a new song from his LP and explained why he had not used Twitter or Tumblr in a while.^[26]

On July 25, 2011, Donald Glover announced that his new album would be entitled Camp. On October 8, 2011, during his Orlando concert, he announced Camp would be released on November 15, 2011.

On August 20, 2011, at the Los Angeles Rock The Bells concert, he gave an interview to allhiphop.com, and announced to the crowd that he had signed with Glassnote Records.^[27] This means that his music will be published onto physical media for the first time including cds and vinyl.

In September 2011, Childish Gambino played at the BruinBash festival at UCLA. On September 20, he released his first official single, "Bonfire". It received much praise on blogs and music message boards.^{[citation needed]}

On November 15, 2011, he performed "Heartbeat" from his album Camp on Conan.

On January 11, 2012, Childish Gambino announced on his website that a new mixtape would be coming out soon. Pictures of Stone Mountain appear to be the cover for his mixtape. On April 2, he released a new song, "Eat Your Vegetables", through his website IAmDonald.com. He said that he has recorded 25 songs for the mixtape and that it will be released "extremely soon." Because of his frequent use of the word on his site and Twitter account, many believe the new mixtape will be titled "Royalty". This was later cleared up by Donald on the BET show, 106 & Park, on May 1, where he stated that "Royalty" was just the name he gave to the group of his friends/musicians that he travels and performs with. On May 14, Funkmaster Flex premiered "Unnecessary", featuring Schoolboy Q. On May 16, Gambino released an untitled track (dubbed "We Ain't Them" by fans) through his website, produced by himself and frequent collaborator Ludwig. On May 22, Donald appeared on Das Racist's radio show "Chillin' Island" where he premiered a new song, "Tell Me", which featured Himanshu Suri, aka Heems from Das Racist. On May 26, Donald released another untitled track (dubbed "Black Faces" by fans) through his website, featuring Nipsey Hussle and produced by Boi-1da. On May 30, he released a third track through his website which he named "Silk Pillow" (via his Twitter account), featuring Beck and produced by both Glover and Beck.

Tours[link]

IAMDONALD Tour[link]

The IAMDONALD tour made 23 stops in 33 days, beginning with Ames, IA on April 16, and finishing with Minneapolis, MN on May 19. In between, this included performances in music venues in cities such as Las Vegas, Houston, Washington, and Atlanta. The tour's shows in New York at the Bowery Ballroom on May 10, and in Brooklyn at Williamsburg Music Hall on May 14, both sold out in three hours after tickets were released on March 4.^[3]

Sign-Up Tour[link]

The Sign-Up Tour was Donald's next pre-tour. He visited 11 cities over the course of 38 days in October and November 2011.^[28]

CAMP Tour[link]

Donald's next tour will be nationwide. He made a website for the tour called "Camp Gambino" on November 19, four days after his album released.^[29] The tour will also feature special guest Danny Brown. The tour will make 20 stops during the course of 32 days along a dates in California in December.^[30] As reported on his website on March 14, 2012, several dates on the CAMP tour have been postponed due to a fractured foot Donald Glover suffered on March 10, while performing in Tampa, Florida. The tour will now begin in Austin, Texas on April 5 and end August 3 in Detroit, Michigan.

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

As Childish Gambino[link]

Studio albums[link]

Independent Albums[link]

• Sick Boi (2008)
• Poindexter (2009)
• Culdesac (2010)

Extended Plays[link]

• EP (2011)

Mixtapes[link]

• I Am Just a Rapper (2010)
• I Am Just a Rapper 2 (2010)
• Unknown Title (2012)^[38]

Singles[link]

• Break (AOTL) (2011)
• Untouchable
• It's On
• The Longest Text Message
• Eat Your Vegetables (2012)
• Unnecessary (ft. ScHoolboy Q) (2012)
• Tell Me (ft. Heems) (2012)
• Black Faces (ft. Nipsey Hussle) (2012)
• Silk Pillow (ft. Beck) (2012)

Collaboration Songs (as featured artist)[link]

• Who Dat Pt. 2 with J. Cole & Spencer Datt (2011)
• Womyn 2 with Heems (2012)
• Level Up (International Remix) with Sway (2012)
• Tricks with Ludovin (2012)
• Giants with Josh Osho (2012)

mc DJ[link]

• Love Letter in an Unbreakable Bottle
• Utterances of the Heart
• Fuck Yaselves
• The Works
• New Year's Eve Mix
• Illin-Noise
• Apple Sauce: Fiona Apple Remix Album
• A Charlie Brown X-mas EP

As An Actor[link]

• "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah" from 30 Rock: Official Soundtrack (2010)
• "101 Rap", "Somewhere Out There" from Community: Music from the Original Television Series (2010)
• "Troy and Abed's Christmas Infiltration Rap" Community (2011)

References[link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (May 2012)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Donald Glover

• Donald Glover at the Internet Movie Database
• Donald Glover on Twitter
• Official website
• Derrick Comedy's Official Site
• Review of Childish Gambino at Starland Ballroom

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)

Louis Say (1774–1840) was a French economist. Brother of Jean-Baptiste Say, he issued a number of economic pamphlets criticizing the latter's opinions.

This biography about a French economist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Seongha Jeong (정성하) (colloquially: Sungha Jung) (born 2 September 1996) is a South Korean professional acoustic finger-style guitarist who has risen to fame on YouTube and other sites. As of 2012, his channel had over 17 million views, with his videos getting a total of over 454 million views, and also over 726,000 subscribers.^[1]

Seongha typically takes three days to learn and practice a new piece, and video-record it for upload onto YouTube.^[2] His genre selection is rather broad, as he learns and plays many pieces that are playable on guitar, therefore consequently spread across numerous genres.

Seongha has won 13 awards on YouTube, including 6 "#1" awards. Also on YouTube, Seongha has 523 videos with over one million views. Seongha's video with the most views is the one which shows him playing the theme from "Pirates Of The Caribbean".

In 2010, he was featured on Narsha's solo album "Narsha" for the song "I'm in Love" Seongha has composed 18 pieces as of February 2011, two of which are featured in his debut album, "Perfect Blue". He released his second album, "Irony", on 21 September 2011.

In 2011, he performed in the US with Trace Bundy, as well as touring in Scandinavia and Japan.^[1]

See also[link]

• Yuto Miyazawa, Seongha's Japanese electric guitar-playing counterpart
• Trace Bundy, Fellow acoustic guitarist with whom Seongha collaborates
• Ulli Bögershausen, Fellow acoustic guitarist who helped him get his sponsorship with Lakewood Guitars

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Flo Rida
Flo Rida on the set of "Sugar" in 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Tramar Dillard
Born	(1979-12-16) December 16, 1979 (age 32) Carol City, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, songwriter, actor
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Atlantic, Poe Boy, International Music Group, Strong Arm
Associated acts	Akon, Brisco, Lady Gaga, Timbaland, David Guetta, Kesha, T-Pain, Nicki Minaj , Taio Cruz, Sia Furler, Ne-Yo, Avicii
Website	officialflo.com

Tramar Dillard (born December 16, 1979) better known by his stage name Flo Rida (pronounced  /floʊ ˈraɪdə/), is an American rapper. He released his debut album, Mail on Sunday, in March 2008. His debut single "Low", featuring T-Pain, was a No. 1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from Mail on Sunday: "Elevator" and "In the Ayer". In 2009, his second album R.O.O.T.S. was released; its most successful single "Right Round" was at the top of the Hot 100 for six weeks. Since then, he has released his third studio album titled Only One Flo (Part 1), which will see a sequel titled Wild Ones.

Biography[link]

Early life and career beginnings[link]

Tramar Dillard was born in the 187th Street projects of Carol City, Florida.^[1] His mother raised him and his seven sisters, some of whom sang in a local gospel group.^[2] Dillard's brother-in-law was a hypeman for local rap group 2 Live Crew, and while in ninth grade, Dillard formed his own amateur group with some friends called the GroundHoggz.^[3] Born and raised in Miami, the GroundHoggz formed in the 187 apartments in Carol City. Similar to Goodie Mob, they were making music for the love of the art and to feed their souls. With only three members, 1Bred, Key Lime, and Fist, they found their missing link when Flo Rida, who lived in the same apartments, spit a verse for them. They were instantly impressed. Together for eight years, they started recording at underground studios in Carver Ranches.^[4] His work with 2 Live Crew member Fresh Kid Ice attracted the attention of DeVante Swing, a member of the band Jodeci. However, he was rejected by several of the major labels, so he sought many other jobs outside of music.^[5] After graduating from high school in 1998, he studied international business management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for two years and attended Barry University for two months.^[5][6] He returned to Florida to continue pursuing his music career after receiving a phone call from a representative of the independent label Poe Boy Entertainment.^[5] Dillard signed with Poe Boy in 2006, and as Flo Rida he began affiliating with other artists, such as Rick Ross, Trina, T-Pain, and Trick Daddy. A promotional street single entitled "Birthday", featuring Rick Ross, was his first significant release. He made his debut guest appearance with the song "Bitch I'm from Dade County" on DJ Khaled's album We the Best, which featured Trick Daddy, Trina, Rick Ross, Brisco, C-Ride, and Dre.^[7]

[edit] 2007–08: Mail on Sunday

Rehearsing for the 2008 MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto.

Flo Rida's first single was "Low", featuring T-Pain. It was his first official single from his debut album Mail On Sunday and the soundtrack to the movie Step Up 2: The Streets. "Low" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[7] "Elevator", featuring Timbaland, "In the Ayer" featuring will.i.am, and "Roll" featuring Sean Kingston followed and all charted on the Hot 100 and other charts.^[8]

T-Pain, who laced the first single, is only one of the many featured guests throughout the album. Timbaland, who produced the second single "Elevator", is also featured on the track. Rick Ross, and Trey Songz made appearances as well.^[9] Lil Wayne has also been added to the list^[9] with assistance on the "American Superstar" track while Sean Kingston appears on the J. R. Rotem-produced "Roll" the concept was created, and co-written by Compton rapper Spitfiya, from The Bullets Production Team, Various other guests include Birdman, Brisco, and Yung Joc. The third single is "In the Ayer" featuring Will.i.am. The fourth single was scheduled to be "Money Right" featuring Brisco, and Rick Ross, but was canceled due to the release of his upcoming second studio album R.O.O.T.S. His second collaboration with T-Pain, "I Bet", as well as his collaboration with Trina, named "Bout It", both didn't make the final tracklist, but were recorded. As for production, J. R. Rotem, DJ Montay, and Timbaland all provided tracks for Mail on Sunday, among others.

After the success of Mail on Sunday, Flo Rida made guest performances on other R&B, rap, and pop singles, including "Move Shake Drop" by DJ Laz, "We Break the Dawn" by Michelle Williams, the remix of "4 Minutes" by Madonna, "Running Back" by Australian R&B singer Jessica Mauboy, "Feel It" by DJ Felli Fel, and the remix of "Speedin'" by Rick Ross. During the summer of 2008, he did live performances on the Fox dance competition program So You Think You Can Dance in the US^[10] and 2008 MuchMusic Video Awards in Canada.^[11] He appeared on the albums We Global by DJ Khaled, Gutta by Ace Hood, and The Fame by Lady Gaga, among others.

[edit] 2009–10: R.O.O.T.S.

Flo Rida performing "Right Round" at the Circus Club in Finland on July 9, 2009.

According to Billboard magazine, Flo Rida began recording his sophomore nine months after Mail On Sunday. The album is titled R.O.O.T.S. and was released on March 31, 2009.^[12] The first single "Right Round" featured Ke$ha and was released for airplay in January 2009. "Right Round" jumped from number 58 to the top spot in one week in late February. The song broke a record for the most digital one week sales in the U.S., with 636,000, beating the previous record he had set himself with "Low".^[13] "Right Round" sampled "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", a 1985 hit by Dead or Alive.^[14] The second official single was "Sugar", which featured R&B singer Wynter Gordon. The song reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Jump" is the third official single and was released on July 27, 2009 in the UK, and July 28, 2009 worldwide.^[15] The song features Canadian singer Nelly Furtado. As of August 13, 2009 it has peaked at number fifty-four in the US, number twenty-seven in Canada, number twenty-one in the UK, and number eighteen in Australia. "Be on You" has been confirmed as the album's fourth official single for a release on October 6, 2009. The song features American singer Ne-Yo. When the album was released the single debuted at number ninety in the US. The song has received airplay since the albums release, and has since peaked at number nineteen in the US, and number fifty-one in the UK. "Available" was going to be released on iTunes but was cancelled. It charted at number 120 in Ireland. The song features Akon. A music video was also shot in mid-2009.^[16] R.O.O.T.S. debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 55,000 copies in its first week.^[17] As of August, 2009, the album has sold 223,000 copies in the United States, and 536,000 worldwide. By the end of 2009, the album sold 247,000 copies becoming the eighth best selling rap album of 2009.^[18]

Flo Rida made guest performances on "Feel It" by DJ Felli Fel, "Starstruck" by Lady Gaga, and "Feel It" by Three 6 Mafia. "Bad Boys", the first single by winner of British reality show The X Factor Alexandra Burke that featured Flo Rida, debuted at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in October.^[19]

[edit] 2010–11: Only One Flo (Part 1)

Flo Rida's third album Only One Flo (Part 1) was released on November 24, 2010. In March 2010, Flo Rida announced on Twitter that the album would be titled The Only One.^[20] Billboard reported that The Only One was to be a double album.^[21] A promo single, titled "Zoosk Girl", which features T-Pain, was released on the internet, though the song is not featured on the album, the single does have its own music video. On June 28, 2010, Flo Rida released the song "Club Can't Handle Me" featuring David Guetta, which was stated to be the official first single for the album. The song was also featured in the Step Up 3D soundtrack.^[22] On November 2, 2010, "Come with Me" was released as the first promo single for the album, along with "Puzzle", produced, and featuring by Electrixx, which isn't featured on the album. On November 16, 2010, "Turn Around (5, 4, 3, 2, 1)" was released as the second official promo single for the album via the iTunes Store.^[23] It debuted on the Australian Singles Chart at number thirty-four on November 29, 2010.^[24] After the release of the album in the UK, "Who Dat Girl" started to receive a strong amount of downloads, thus causing it to debut at number 136^[25] on the UK Singles Chart and chart at a current peak of number thirty-one on the UK R&B Chart.^[26] "Why You Up In Here" was released as the fourth single, and third promo single, on May 11, 2011. The song features Ludacris, Gucci Mane, and Git Fresh.

Flo Rida also made guest appearances on "iYiYi", a song by Australian teen singer Cody Simpson, and on the song "Out My Video" by Bulgarian singer LiLana. Flo Rida collaborated with UK girl group The Saturdays, recording a new version of the girl's single, "Higher".^[27] In December 2010, the Associated Press reported that Flo Rida had created his own label, International Music Group, inspired by Nicki Minaj's signing with Lil Wayne's. He has signed an 18 year-old rapper, Brianna^[28] and Git Fresh^[29] to International. Lately, Flo Rida has teamed up with the Malaysian singer, Mizz Nina, on a song called Take Over.

Driving issues[link]

On June 9, 2011, Flo Rida was arrested in Miami Beach, Florida for DUI and driving with a suspended license.^[30][31] Flo Rida was released from jail after he posted $2,000 bail and obtained a signed court order allowing him to travel to Asia for a series of previously scheduled concerts in Bangkok over the weekend.^[32]

[edit] 2011–present: Wild Ones

Flo Rida performing live in 2012.

The first single from Rida's upcoming album, Wild Ones, originally Only One Rida (Part 2), is "Good Feeling", released on August 29, 2011.^[33] The songs samples "Levels" by Avicii, which samples Etta James' 1962 song, "Something's Got a Hold on Me". Following the death of Etta James on January 20, 2012, Flo Rida dedicated the song in her memory.^[34] The song has peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100,^[35] topped the charts in Austria,^[36] Germany,^[37] Scotland,^[38] and the UK. It has also reached the top five in nine different countries worldwide.

On April 1, Flo Rida made an appearance at WrestleMania XXVIII and have a segment with Heath Slater, Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks where Heath calls Flo Rida "Florida" and Flo Rida shoves him into a wall; making Tyler and Curt come out laughing at Heath. Later that night Flo Rida performed "Wild Ones" and "Good Feeling" before Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson came out to battle John Cena. On April 6, 2012 and exclusive Australian EP entitled Good Feeling was released in Australia which contains six of his biggest hits and two remixes.^[39] It debuted at No. 21 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart^[40] On May 22, 2012, Flo Rida performed and closed the show at the first Q102 Springle Ball Concert, the following day he performed "Goin' In" with Jennifer Lopez on the America Idol finale.

Discography[link]

• Mail on Sunday (2008)
• R.O.O.T.S. (2009)
• Only One Flo (Part 1) (2010)
• Wild Ones (2012)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website