A 16:9 rectangle in which rectangles visualize the ratio. Note that the groupings are not square.

An LCD television set with a 16:9 image ratio.

16:9 (1.77:1) (16:9 = 4²:3²) is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television (EDTV) PALplus.

Generally 16:9 is pronounced "Sixteen-Nine", "Sixteen-by-Nine," or "Sixteen-to-Nine."

History[link]

Equal area comparison of the aspect ratios used by Dr. Powers to derive the SMPTE 16:9 standard.^[1] TV 4:3/1.33 in red, 5:3/1.66 in orange, 16:9/1.77 in blue, 1.85 in yellow, Panavision 11:5/2.2 in mauve and CinemaScope/2.35 in purple.

When the 16:9 (1.77:1) aspect ratio was proposed by Kerns H. Powers, a member of the SMPTE Working Group On High-Definition Electronic Production, nobody was creating 16:9 videos. The popular choices in 1980 were: 1.33:1 (based on television standard's ratio at the time), 1.66:1 (the European "flat" ratio), 1.85:1 (the American "flat" ratio), 2.20:1 (the ratio of 70 mm films and Panavision) and 2.35:1 (the CinemaScope ratio for anamorphic widescreen films).

Powers cut out rectangles with equal areas, shaped to match each of the popular aspect ratios. When overlapped with their center points aligned, he found that all of those aspect ratio rectangles fit within an outer rectangle with an aspect ratio of 1.77:1 and all of them also covered a smaller common inner rectangle with the same aspect ratio 1.77:1.^[1] The value found by Powers is exactly the geometric mean of the extreme aspect ratios, 4:3 (1.33:1) and 2.35:1, which is coincidentally close to 16:9 (1.77:1). Applying the same geometric mean technique to 16:9 and 4:3 yields the 14:9 aspect ratio, which is likewise used as a compromise between these ratios.^[2]

While 16:9 (1.77:1) was initially selected as a compromise format, the subsequent popularity of HDTV broadcast has solidified 16:9 as perhaps the most important video aspect ratio in use.^{[citation needed]} Most 4:3 (1.33:1) and 2.39:1 video is now recorded using a "shoot and protect" technique^[3] that keeps the main action within a 16:9 (1.77:1) inner rectangle to facilitate HD broadcast.^{[citation needed]}. Conversely it is quite common to use a technique known as center-cutting, to approach the challenge of presenting material shot (typically 16:9) to both a HD and legacy 4:3 audience simultaneously without having to compromise image size for either audience. Content creators frame critical content or graphics to fit within the 1.33 raster space.^{[citation needed]} This has similarities to a filming technique called Open matte.

After the original 16:9 Action Plan of the early 1990s, the European Union has instituted the 16:9 Action Plan,^[4] just to accelerate the development of the advanced television services in 16:9 aspect ratio, both in PAL and also in HDTV. The Community fund for the 16:9 Action Plan amounted to €228 million.

In 2008 the computer industry started to use 16:9 as standard aspect ratio for monitors and laptops. According to a report by displaysearch the reasons for this were/are:^[5][6]

• Innovative product concepts drives a new product cycle and stimulating the growth of the notebook PC and LCD monitor market.
• 16:9 provides better economic cut (panelization) in existing TFT LCD fabs.
• 16:9 products provide higher resolution and wider aspect ratio.^[7]
• The widespread adoption of High Definition in the consumer entertainment sector will help end users readily adopt the new products with the wider aspect ratio.
• The 16:9 panels provide an opportunity for PC brands to further diversify their products.^[5][6]

In 2011 Bennie Budler, product manager of IT products at Samsung South Africa, confirmed that monitors capable of 1920x1200 resolutions aren't being manufactured anymore. “It is all about reducing manufacturing costs. The new 16:9 aspect ratio panels are more cost effective to manufacture locally than the previous 16:10 panels”.^[8] Since computer displays are advertised by their diagonal measure, for monitors with the same display area, a wide screen monitor will have a larger diagonal measure, thus sounding more impressive. Within limits, the amount of information that can be displayed, and the cost of the monitor depend more on area than on diagonal measure.

In March 2011 the 16:9 resolution 1920x1080 became the most common used resolution among Steam's users. The earlier most common resolution was 1680x1050 (16:10).^[9]

Properties[link]

16:9 is the only widescreen aspect ratio natively supported by the DVD format. Anamorphic DVD transfers store the information as 5:4 (PAL) or 6:4 (NTSC), which is set to expand to either 16:9 or 4:3, which the television or video player handles. For instance, a PAL DVD with a full frame image may contain a video resolution of 720x576, but a video player will stretch this to 1024x576 with a 16:9 flag in order to maintain the correct aspect ratio.

DVD producers can also choose to show even wider ratios such as 1.85:1 and 2.39:1^[10] within the 16:9 DVD frame by hard matting or adding black bars within the image itself. Some films which were made in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, such as the U.S.-Italian co-production Man of La Mancha and Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing, fit quite comfortably onto a 1.77:1 HDTV screen and have been issued anamorphically enhanced on DVD without the black bars. Many digital video cameras have the capability to record in 16:9.

Super 16 mm film is frequently used for television production due to its lower cost, lack of need for soundtrack space on the film itself, and aspect ratio similar to 16:9.^{[citation needed]}

Common resolutions[link]

Common resolutions for 16:9 are 640x360, 854x480, 960x540, 1024×576, 1280×720, 1366×768, 1600×900, 1920×1080, 2048x1152, 2560×1440, 3840×2160 and 4096x2304.

1080p (Full HD) is 1920×1080, while 720p (HD) is 1280×720.

In Europe[link]

In Europe, 16:9 is being adopted as the standard broadcast format for digital and HDTV. Some countries have even adopted the format for analog television by means of the PALplus standard.

Country	Channel
Albania	TV Klan, Klan HD, Digi Gold, DigitALB HD (1,2,3,4,5,6), SuperSport (1,2,3,4,5)*, Top Channel**, Digi Plus**, Film Autor**, Film Hits**, Film Thriller**, Film Drame**, Film Aksion**, Film Komedi** * Do not set the aspect ratio correctly when broadcasting in 16:9 and the image appears squashed on 4:3 TV sets. ** These channels do broadcast in 16:9 and 4:3 but the aspect ratio is always kept 4:3 so 16:9 programs appear squashed.
Austria	ORF1, ORF2, ORF Sport Plus, ORF1 HD, ATV, Puls 4, Servus TV, and others (all main channels)
Belarus	Belsat
Belgium	All channels
Bosnia and Herzegovina	BHT 1, Kanal 1, TV1, Hayat music, BDC TV,
Bulgaria	BNT 1*, The Voice, TV+, FILM+/SPORT+, TV7*, RING.BG, bTV Action* * These stations do not set the aspect ratio correctly when broadcasting in 16:9 and the image appears stretched on 4:3 TV sets. Such stations use mostly 4:3 programming.
Cyprus	ANT1 Cyprus RIK HD Sigma TV
Croatia	RTL Televizija*, RTL 2*, Doma TV**, Sportska televizija**, Kapital Network** Older programmes filmed in 4:3 are: * cropped. ** transmitted in their original format.
Czech Republic	TV Nova, Česká televize, TV Nova HD, TV Prima, TV Barrandov
Denmark	Almost all main channels as 16:9 is the national standard for television.
Estonia	All main digital channels (ETV, Kanal 2 and TV3) and their sister channels are 16:9.
Finland	Almost all main channels as 16:9 is the national standard for television, including but not limited to Yle TV1, Yle TV2, MTV3, Nelonen, TV5, Liv, Jim, Sub, Yle Fem, Yle Teema, The Voice, Fox, AVA
France	All nationwide channels on the French DVB-T (TNT) And almost all pay channel via TNT, ADSL, DVB-C and DVB-S; Canal+ Décalé, Canal+ Family, Poker Channel, CinePlay, Ciné Cinéma Premier, OL TV, Motors TV, Disney Cinemagic, Disney Cinemagic + 1, NRJ Hits, Ciné Cinéma Premier HD and SD, National Geographic HD and SD, Ushuaia TV HD and SD, Disney Cinemagic HD and SD, MTV HD, NRJ 12 HD and SD, iConcert HD, HD1, Melody Zen HD, Sci Fi Channel HD and SD, 13ème Rue HD and SD, Orange cinemax HD...
Germany	ARD (Das Erste, EinsExtra, EinsFestival, EinsPlus; BR and BR-alpha, HR, WDR, SWR, RBB, RB), ZDF, 3sat, Arte, DW-TV, Phoenix; kabel eins, ProSieben, Sat.1; RTL, RTL II, Super RTL, VOX; and others (all main channels)
Greece	Exclusively in 16:9 aspect ratio: Skai TV, Star Channel, Prisma+, Cine+, Sport+, MTV Greece, NovaCinema1, NovaCinema2, NovaCinema3, NovaCinema4, NovaCinema HD, NovaSports1, NovaSports2, NovaSports3, NovaSports4, NovaSports Highlights, NovaSports6, NovaSports7, NovaSports HD, Nickelodeon (Greece), KONTRA Channel, ERT HD Occasional in 16:9 aspect ratio: ET1, NET, ET3, Mega Channel, Alpha TV, ANT1
Hungary	All main channels (RTL Klub,[11] TV2,[12] Magyar Televízió (m1, m2), Duna TV (both standard and HD),[13] Duna 2) FEM3, PRO4, Story4*, Sport Klub , Sport 1, Sport 2, Sport M, Life Network, Ozone Network, Viasat3*, TV6*, ATV, Spektrum, DigiSport, 1 Music Channel, MusicMix, Discovery Channel * Do not set the aspect ratio correctly when broadcasting in 16:9 and the image appears stretched on 4:3 TV sets. Such stations use mostly 4:3 programming.
Iceland	All three national stations broadcast in 16:9 with occasional 4:3 programs. Some smaller local stations still use 4:3.
Ireland	RTÉ One, RTÉ Two, TV3, TG4, and Setanta Ireland
Italy	All the 10 SKY Cinema channels, all the 6 SKY Sport channels, all the 15 SKY Calcio channels, all the 30 SKY Prima Fila channels, Cult, Sky TG24, Sky Meteo24, Sky Uno, MGM (localized version), Discovery Channel Italy, Discovery Science Italy, Discovery Travel & Living Italy, National Geographic Channel Italy, National Geographic Adventure(Italy), National Geographic Wild (Italy), History Channel Italy, AXN Italy, AXN Sci Fi, Comedy Central Italy, E! (localized version), all the 6 dahlia TV channels, all the 6 Premium Calcio, all the 3 Premium Cinema channels, Studio Universal, Rai Sport 1/2, QVC Italy. Most of the actual broadcast of RAI public service and of few major local television stations and almost all of the broadcast of Mediaset and La7 networks (except some rerun, a handful of minor programs and the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful on Canale 5) is shown in the 16:9 ratio. Many television networks do not set correctly the aspect ratio when broadcasting.
Latvia	TV3 Latvia, TV6, LTV7
Lithuania	Lietuvos rytas TV, LNK, TV3 Lithuania, TV6, TV8, TV1, Info TV.
Luxembourg	RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg, Luxe.tv
Macedonia	Alfa tv, MTV1 HD
Malta
Montenegro	RTV Panorama
Netherlands	All nationwide channels (Netherlands Public Broadcasting, RTL, SBS), BravaHDTV. Only older programmes filmed in 4:3 are usually transmitted in their original format, as cropping a 4:3 picture for 16:9 TVs has proved unpopular.
Norway	16:9 is the national standard for television — almost all channels conform to this format.
Poland	TVP1, TVP2, TVP Info (except some regional opt-outs), TVP Polonia, TVP HD, TVP Sport, TVP Kultura, TVP Historia, TVP Seriale, Polsat, Polsat 2, Polsat News, Polsat Sport, Polsat Sport Extra, Polsat Café, Polsat Film, Polsat Play, Canal+, Canal+ Film, Canal+ Sport, Ale Kino!, TVS, TVN, TVN +1, TVN Siedem, Religia TV, TVN 24, TVN Meteo, TVN CNBC, TVN Style, TVN Turbo, TVN Warszawa, nSport, Mango 24, nFilm HD, nFilm HD 2, 4fun.tv, Eska TV, TV4, TV6, Orange Sport Info, Domo, Kuchnia.tv, MiniMini, TV Biznes, AXN, National Geographic Channel, NatGeo Wild HD, Fox, FOX Life HD, MGM HD, Wojna i pokój, BBC Knowledge HD, Animal Planet HD, TLC, Radio na wizji
Portugal	RTP2, TVCine, Canal Q, Eurosport, AXN, AXN Black, AXN White, National Geographic Channel, SportTV, Syfy Universal, Económico TV, História, Odisseia, Fuel TV
Romania	Occasional 16:9 widescreen programming shown on The Romanian Public Broadcaster's channels (TVR 1, TVR 2, TVR Cultural), Sport.ro, B1 TV and DigiSport. SD version aired in 16:9-in-4:3 letterbox on PRO Cinema and MTV Romania. Full 16:9 widescreen programming aired on all HD channels: TVR HD, PRO TV HD and Sport.ro HD.
Russian Federation	Channel 1, Sport 1 HD, Dozhd Optimistic Channel, Expert TV HD, Fox Life HD, NTV+, Eurosport, HDMedia, RT
Serbia	RTS HD, RTS Digital, Arena Sport 1, 2, 3 & 4 HD, Prva, Sport Klub, Sport Klub+, SK Prime
Slovakia	Markíza, Slovenská televízia (STV1, STV2, STV3 HD), JOJ, TV Doma
Slovenia	All main channels (RTV Slovenija (TVS 1, TVS 2, TVS 3, TV KP), Info TV, POP TV, POP BRIO, Kanal A, Sport TV 1, Sport TV 2, Sportklub+, Golfklub, HBO Slovenija, TV3 Slovenia, RTS Maribor) and all HD channels (Televizija Slovenija HD, Info TV HD, RTS Maribor HD)
Spain	Always on 16:9: Antena 3, Cuatro, laSexta, Telecinco, Veo7, MTV Spain, Neox, Nova, Nitro, Teledeporte, Marca TV, Intereconomia, AXN (PPV), FOX Spain (PPV), Discovery Channel Spain (PPV), Calle 13 (PPV), Canal+ Spain (PPV), Eurosport (PPV), Gol Televisión (PPV), ETB (Euskadi), Canal Sur (Andalusia), TV3 (Catalonia), Telemadrid (Madrid), and Aragon TV (Aragón). All HD channels like TVE HD, Antena 3 HD, TV3 HD, Telemadrid HD, FOX HD (PPV), MTVnHD (PPV) or Disney Cinemagic Spain (PPV). Older programmes filmed in 4:3 are transmitted in their original format or zooming to 14:9 Pillarbox, stretched programs are not common. Advertisements filmed in 4:3 often are zoomed to 16:9, only some of them are transmitted with 4:3 Pillarbox. Never stretching. Often on 16:9: La 1, La 2, Disney Channel Spain, La 10, La Siete, FDF, laSexta 2, laSexta 3 and practically all of the regional tv channels like Cyl TV, CMT or TVG. Sometimes on 16:9: Canal 24 Horas, Clan, Intereconomia (stretches most of its programming to 16:9) and practically all of the local tv channels. Always on 4:3: Practically all PPV Channels like The History Channel, Cartoon Network, Canal de las Estrellas or CNN+. Shop channels.
Sweden	Almost all main channels as 16:9 is the national standard for television.
Switzerland	All SRG SSR channels
Turkey	TRT 1, TRT Türk, CNBC-e, e2, a Haber, World Travel Channel, Semerkand TV, Altaş TV, HTV, TarımTürk TV, TürkMax, Lig TV, Moviemax, Sinema TV
Ukraine	English Club TV
United Kingdom	In 1997, BBC, ITV and Channel 4 began producing 16:9 idents and switched some television shows to 16:9. In 1998, with the introduction of digital television, digital versions of BBC One, BBC Two, ITV 1 and Channel 4 were created. An On Digital set top box or a subscription to Sky Digital was required to view the digital versions. On 1 July 2000, "C-Day", most of the UK broadcast industry began requiring commercials to be delivered in 16:9 full-height format (with a 14:9 safe area for those channels still broadcasting in 4:3). ITV and C4 upgraded their continuity suites to be 16:9 capable at the same time, allowing idents to be broadcast in widescreen format on digital. In 2001, the UK's fourth broadcaster Channel 5 switched to 16:9. In 2002, On Digital became defunct and free-to-air digital television services began to operate under the name of Freeview. In 2003, Sky branded channels were re-branded which included the switch to 16:9. In 2006, BBC HD began broadcasting in 1080i which became the standard for all HD channels. Similar to the switch to Digital in 1998, viewers required an additional set-top-box which was HD capable, one that could be provided from either Sky or Virgin Media. In 2007, Channel 4 HD was launched on Sky. It was later added to Virgin Media in 2009 and then to Freeview HD in 2011. In 2008, ITV 1 HD was launched on Sky and was later added to Virgin Media and Freeview HD in 2010. In 2009, Freeview HD launched allowing viewers to watch BBC HD and ITV 1 HD without a subscription to either Sky or Virgin Media, a Freeview HD set-top box was required. In 2010, Channel 5 HD and BBC One HD were launched on Sky and Virgin Media. BBC One HD was later added to Freeview HD in 2011. As of 2012; All Freeview channels broadcast in 16:9 Almost all cable/satellite channels broadcast in 16:9 with the rest expected to switch by the end of 2012.

In Oceania[link]

Country	Channel
Australia	All major channels since the introduction of DVB-T in 2001
New Zealand	Almost all channels

In Asia[link]

Japan's Hi-Vision originally started with a 5:3 ratio but converted when the international standards group introduced a wider ratio of 5¹⁄₃ to 3 (=16:9).

Country	Channel
Hong Kong	All major channels since the digital television broadcasting in 2007.
India	HD channels were added by most DTH operators.
Israel	All main channels, including but not limited to Hot, Yes.
Japan	Japan pioneered in its analogue HDTV system (MUSE) in 16:9 format, started in 1980s. Currently all main channels have Digital terrestrial television channels in 16:9 while being simulcast in analogue 4:3 format. Many satellite broadcast channels are being broadcast in 16:9 as well.
South Korea	All major channels currently feature 16:9 aspect.
Qatar	All Al Jazeera Sports channels, ESPN channels and NBA TV.
Thailand	Thai PBS, Spring News TV and Voice TV
United Arab Emirates	Alarabiya (Since 06.14.2011).
Vietnam	All of VTC HD's channel, K+'s channel (selected programme)

In America[link]

Country	Channel
Brazil	Telecine Premium, Telecine Action, Telecine Fun, Telecine Touch, Telecine Pipoca, HBO, Max HD, Megapix, TBS, FOX Sports, FOX News, BBC World News, Deutsche Welle, NHK, SporTV, Sky Sports+

See also[link]

• High-definition television
• Display resolution
• 1080p / 1080i
• 720p
• 4:3
• 14:9
• 16:10

References[link]

Cited references

General references

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 16:9

Las Ketchup is a Spanish pop group, founded by flamenco producer, Manuel Ruiz. The group is best known for the 2002 song, "The Ketchup Song" (Aserejé), which sold over 7 million singles.

Career[link]

Las Ketchup was originally discovered by the flamenco producer Manuel “Queco” Ruiz, who signed them to his newly formed independent Córdoba-based label Shaketown Music, which he ran together with Manuel Illán.^[1] They recorded the songs “Asereje” and “Kusha Las Payas" with Ruiz producing, and shopped the demo to a number of large record companies with the intention of securing a distribution deal.^[1] The demo was received by Columbia/Sony A&R Javier Portugués and director Raúl López who, on listening the recordings, stared at each other in delight exclaiming, "Wow, this is fantastic!".^[1] At first the intention was to arrange a distribution deal with Shaketown Music but on hearing the song they realised its international potential and so negotiated for Las Ketchup to sign with Sony.^[1]

In the summer of 2002 they had a major flamenco Europop fusion hit with "Aserejé" (released as "The Ketchup Song" in the UK and other countries), which reached the top of the charts in many countries including Spain, Portugal, Colombia, UK, Italy, Greece, France, Finland, Turkey, Syria, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, Philippines, Switzerland, Germany, Romania, and Australia. However, it failed to hit the Top 40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Still worldwide, the trio became instant rivals to another Spanish female trio, Lunae, who released their debut single in Europe at the same time in 2003. The title and part of the lyrics were in Spanish. The hit also had an accompanying dance.

The group re-released the Ketchup Song later in the same year, with a new video, as a Christmas song.

The name of the group is a reference to their father Juan Muñoz, a flamenco guitarist known as El Tomate (The Tomato). This also explains why their debut album carried the title Las hijas del Tomate (Daughters of Tomato).

In 2006 they were joined by Rocío, their fourth sister, to represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The girls have said themselves that Rocío has always been a member of Las Ketchup, but she wasn't in the photographs, videos or performances because she was pregnant.

The group sold over 12 million copies with the first album, but the second did not achieve the same success.

Recent events[link]

Las Ketchup came back as a 4-girl group, with a new album titled Un Blodymary (Bloody Mary). Their long absence was due to their writing songs for the album and Pilar's pregnancy. The album release was delayed until the beginning of 2006. They planned to release 1 million copies and their producer "Queco", who also produced and wrote their worldwide single "Asereje", indicated that this album retains their original sound.^{[citation needed]} Their first single from the CD was also titled "Un Blodymary". This song was the Spanish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The song did not perform as well as expected, ending 21st with only 18 points.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Hijas del Tomate (2002)
• Un Blodymary (2006)

Singles[link]

Awards[link]

• 2002 'Ondas awards'

– Best New Artist/group

• 2004 Billboard Latinos awards

– Best pop album from new generation ("Las hijas del Tomate")

– Most tropical-salsa song played by Duo or Group ("The Ketchup Song" (Aserejé)

• 2003 Latin Grammy Award

– Best Pop Album By a Duo or Group with Vocals Las hijas del Tomate (Nominated, lost to Bacilos Caraluna.)

• 2003 Record Fair MIDEM (Cannes)

– Best New Artist/group

• 2003 Amigo Awards

– Best New Group

– Best New Artist

• 2004 Record fair MIDEM (Cannes)

– Breakers of borders (Best-selling Album out of its country and inside of Europe with "Las hijas del Tomate") Song)

Parody[link]

In 2002, the German comedian Elmar Brandt wrote (using the tune of Aserejé) a Gerhard Schröder parody called "Der Steuersong" (The Tax Song)^[18] for the radio program The Gerd Show.

In 2002, a satirical version to the tune of Aserejé by El Groupo Mayonessa circulated in Gibraltar prior to the referendum on a proposal of joint sovereignty, entitled 'Vota Que No, Que No, Que No No No'^[19]

See also[link]

• Son de Sol

References[link]

External links[link]

• Unofficial Las Ketchup Site
• Las Ketchup at AskMen.com
• Las Ketchup at Answers.com

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2009)

Natalie Merchant
In concert in Maryhill, Washington in 2010
Background information
Birth name	Natalie Anne Merchant
Born	(1963-10-26) October 26, 1963 (age 48) Jamestown, New York, USA
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, keyboard, piano
Years active	1981–present
Labels	Elektra Records Myth America Records Nonesuch/Elektra Records
Associated acts	10,000 Maniacs Michael Stipe
Website	NatalieMerchant.com

Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.

Early life[link]

Natalie Merchant was born October 26, 1963, in Jamestown, New York, the third of four children of Anthony and Ann Merchant. Her paternal grandfather, who played the accordion, mandolin and guitar, emigrated to the United States from Sicily; his surname was "Mercante" before it was Anglicized.^[1] Her maternal grandfather, a cartoonist, piano tuner and member of a barbershop quartet, was Irish.^[1] Her parents divorced when she was eight years old, and her mother later remarried.^[2]

When Merchant was a child, her mother listened to music (The Beatles, Al Green, Aretha Franklin)^[3] and encouraged her children to study music, but she wouldn't allow TV after Natalie was 12. "I was taken to the symphony a lot because my mother loved classical music. But I was dragged to see Styx when I was 12. We had to drive 100 miles to Buffalo, New York. Someone threw up next to me and people were smoking pot. It was terrifying. I remember Styx had a white piano which rose out of the stage. It was awe-inspiring and inspirational."^[4] "She [her mother] had show tunes, she had the soundtrack from West Side Story and South Pacific. And then eventually... she'd always liked classical music and then she married a jazz musician, so that's the kind of music I was into. I never really had friends who sat around and listened to the stereo and said 'hey, listen to this one', so I'd never even heard of who Bob Dylan was until I was 18."^[5] During 1988–1989, Natalie claimed she still didn't have a TV: "I grew up in a house where no one watched the news on television and no one read the paper. I've been discovering these things as I get older, and the news has affected me more than it ever has before."^[6]

"A suicidal high school dropout", Merchant started working in a health food store at 16.^[2] She considered a career in special education following her taking part in a handicapped children's summer program. But eventually in 1981 she started singing for a band called Still Life, which was to become 10,000 Maniacs.^[2]

Career[link]

10,000 Maniacs[link]

The period featuring Merchant was the most critically and commercially successful for 10,000 Maniacs. She is seen here with Rob Buck and the band during that time.

Merchant was lead singer and primary lyricist for 10,000 Maniacs, joining in its infancy in 1981 while she was a student at Jamestown Community College. The group recorded their album Human Conflict Number Five and performed a corresponding Music video at The Hotel Franklin and at Group W Westinghouse studios (Jamestown, New York) in 1982. Merchant sang lead vocals, and later played the piano as well, for 10,000 Maniacs for seven studio albums. In 1993 she announced that she was leaving the group.^[7]

[edit] Tigerlily (1995)

Merchant has said in interviews that after her split with 10,000 Maniacs she was so eager to begin writing her own material that she went home that very day and composed the song "I May Know the Word", which was originally meant to appear on the soundtrack to the Tom Hanks movie Philadelphia. The song was eventually cut from the soundtrack, but it would go on to appear on Merchant's debut solo album, Tigerlily, which was released on the Elektra label in 1995. Merchant chose to name the album Tigerlily as she felt it captured the feel of the album, which she described as both "fierce" and "delicate".

The third song on the album, "Beloved Wife", was featured as the first song in the trailer for the movie Message in a Bottle.

Seeking creative control, Merchant chose to fund Tigerlily herself, refusing the advance from the record company. She also wanted to work with a core-group of young musicians who she felt would be enthusiastic about the music. The group would consist of guitarist Jennifer Turner, bassist Barrie Maguire, and former-Wallflower and eventual boyfriend to Merchant, Peter Yanowitz, who played drums on the album and who continued to do so with Merchant until their abrupt split in 2000.

Tigerlily was a critical and commercial success, spawning her first top-ten hit in the single "Carnival", and achieving top-40 success with subsequent singles "Wonder" and "Jealousy". The album would go on to sell over 5 million copies, and continues to be Merchant’s most successful album to date. Merchant did extensive touring for the album and made numerous television appearances, including performances on SNL, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and all late-night talk shows. The media's immediate and critical impact on culture and cultural icons was of particular interest to Merchant. In "River", a song from Tigerlily, Merchant defends River Phoenix as she castigates the media for systematically dissecting the child actor after his death. Much of their emphasis was on Phoenix' suspected drug-using lifestyle. In "River," Merchant asks, "Why don't you let him be / Give his mother and father peace." Merchant's anger is later replaced with quiet reflection, asking, "It was such a nightmare raving, 'How could we save him from himself?'"^[8]

[edit] Ophelia (1998–1999)

Three years passed before Merchant would release her second solo effort, Ophelia. While Tigerlily contained a lot of sparse instrumentation, the music on Ophelia featured plenty of lush symphonic arrangements composed and conducted by British composer Gavin Bryars. Merchant treated the recording of Ophelia as a series of workshops, where she would invite various musicians she had met over the years into her home studio to collaborate and record. In the end, 30 different musicians featured on the album, among them Brand New Heavies frontwoman N'Dea Davenport (with whom she duets on the song Break Your Heart), famed trumpet player Chris Botti, and the husband and wife duo, Don and Karen Peris, from the band The Innocence Mission.

While Ophelia is not a concept record in the traditional sense, the album-cycle saw Merchant flexing her creative muscles in surprising ways. The name of the album and the title track are a literary reference to Shakespeare's Ophelia, who in the play Hamlet becomes mad and eventually commits suicide when Hamlet remains non-committal and lost in himself. Merchant's Ophelia describes a series of women throughout time—women who dared question the patriarchal status quo and who were often castigated for doing so—and is a cry for women's rights and for more understanding of female archetypes beyond the scope of the "mother" and the "whore", both of which severely limit women and attempt to turn them into little more than chattel. The portrayal of the women in the song is a tribute to the non-traditional, the "too smart for her own good" type of woman who is often misunderstood by society. As a lyric to the title song cries: "Your common sense, your best defense, was wasted and in vain!" A reflection of women driven mad by social limitations, Natalie's tribute described Ophelia as being at once a "novice carmelite," a "suffragette," a "circus queen," a "demigoddess" and a "mafia courtesan." The album sleeve saw Merchant pictured in colorful and ornate costumes as each of these different characters. As a companion to the album, she also released a film where she portrays each of these different characters, with voice-overs used for the "novice carmelite," the "sweetheart" and the "courtesan" as they are Spanish, German and Italian, respectively.

The first single off the album was a happy and uncharacteristically simple song called "Kind and Generous", which received massive airplay on VH1 and which solidified Merchant's role as a bona fide solo artist. That summer, Sarah McLachlan invited Merchant to co-headline the year's biggest music festival with her, Lilith Fair. The exposure from the tour helped the album reach Platinum status in just under a year, with subsequent singles "Break Your Heart" and "Life Is Sweet" receiving moderate airplay on adult contemporary stations. No video was filmed for the latter, however, with a clip from Merchant's appearance on VH1's Storytellers being used instead. She would also go on to appear on PBS' Sessions at West 54th and VH1's Hard Rock Live before the year's end. In 1998, Merchant also recorded George Gershwin's "But Not for Me" for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot + Rhapsody, a tribute to George Gershwin, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease.

The Ophelia tour ended in 1999 with the final few shows being performed and recorded on Broadway. The performance would be released as the album Natalie Merchant: Live in Concert with a companion video of the same name. The performance was notable in that it featured numerous covers including songs by David Bowie, Neil Young, and the Breton-Welsh singer-songwriter Katell Keineg.

[edit] American Folk Music Tour (2000) and Motherland (2001)

In 2000, Merchant embarked on a folk tour in the United States with many shows being supported by alt-country band Wilco.

Merchant's next studio album on the Elektra label was Motherland, released in 2001. Motherland saw Merchant at her most experimental musically. Motherland achieved Gold on the Billboard charts after debuting at No. 30 on the Billboard 200 and No. 13 on the Top Internet Albums of 2001, respectively. Rolling Stone favored this album with 3½ stars, and also noticed a difference in Merchant's voice, which was more deep and gritty than her previous albums. Singles that were released from Motherland were "Just Can't Last", "Build a Levee" and "Tell Yourself".

Merchant embarked on a year and a half world tour to promote Motherland. The first leg of the tour started in Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 17, 2001, trekking all over the United States, and then heading to Europe with some special acoustic shows in Europe. Merchant also participated in the Rock am Ring Festival and Rock im Park in 2002. In the summer of 2002, she was paired with Chris Isaak and both played at stadiums and arenas.

[edit] The House Carpenter's Daughter (2003)

Merchant at the piano in 2005

After her contract with Elektra expired in August 2002, Merchant decided not to sign with them again, or any other major label.^[9] Her next studio album, The House Carpenter's Daughter, was released in September 2003 on her own label, Myth America Records. To date this has been the only release on Myth America.

[edit] Leave Your Sleep (2010)

In October 2009, the official websites of Nonesuch Records and Natalie Merchant announced that she had signed with the label. Leave Your Sleep was released on April 13, 2010 ^[10] and is a compilation of five years of inspiration from a "conversation" with her daughter over the "first 6 years of her life." The album debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at No. 17, Billboard Folk Albums at No. 1, Amazon.com at No.1, and ITunes, No. 3. The album was co-produced by Grammy winning Andres Levin.

Merchant contributed a cover of Buddy Holly's "Learning the Game" to the tribute album Listen to Me: Buddy Holly, released September 6, 2011.

Personal life[link]

Merchant became known for her swirling style of dancing and her simple dress while performing with 10,000 Maniacs

In 2003, Merchant married Daniel de la Calle and had a daughter with him named Lucia. However, in an interview in 2012, she indicated that she is now divorced.^{[11] [12]} She likes gardening and painting.^[13] Some paintings can be seen at her official website.

She has been a vegetarian since 1980,^[14] save for the duration of her pregnancy when she temporarily resumed eating meat.^[11] In 1997, she said:

"The '60s aesthetic has never really appealed to me, the tie-dyed Deadhead running barefoot through the forest on LSD. I don't think that's really me. But I've been a vegetarian for 17 years and I consider myself an environmentalist in as much as I can be, considering the job that I have. I prefer living in the countryside rather than the city; I find it more sane and sustaining for myself..."^[15]

Discography[link]

With 10,000 Maniacs[link]

• Human Conflict Number Five (EP) (1982)
• Secrets of the I Ching (1983)
• The Wishing Chair (1985)
• In My Tribe (1987)
• Blind Man's Zoo (1989)
• Hope Chest: The Fredonia Recordings 1982-1983 (1990)
• Our Time in Eden (1992)
• MTV Unplugged (1993)
• Campfire Songs: The Popular, Obscure and Unknown Recordings (2004)

Solo[link]

• 1995: Tigerlily
• 1998: Ophelia
• 2001: Motherland
• 2003: The House Carpenter's Daughter
• 2005: Retrospective (1990 - 2005)
• 2010: Leave Your Sleep

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

Television[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Natalie Merchant

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Natalie Merchant

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (May 2012)

• Official website
• Natalie Merchant at the Open Directory Project
• Natalie Merchant at the Ectophile's Guide to Good Music
• Natalie Merchant at the Internet Movie Database
• Natalie Merchant discography at MusicBrainz
• Launch's page on Merchant
• Natalie Merchant interview at musicOMH