Starbucks' second Hear Music Coffeehouse at the South Bank development adjacent to the River Walk in downtown San Antonio, Texas.

Hear Music is the brand name of Starbucks' retail music concept and record label. Hear Music began as a catalog company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1990 before being purchased by Starbucks in 1999.

Concept[link]

The Hear Music brand has four components: the music that each location plays; in-store CD sales, including Starbucks exclusives; branded retail stores (which opened shortly after the catalog was formed) and a label distributing their recordings.

As of December 2006, there are four Starbucks Hear Music Coffeehouses: Santa Monica, California, on the Third Street Promenade; San Antonio, Texas, on the River Walk; Miami, Florida, on the Lincoln Road shopping promenade; and Bellevue, Washington, in Bellevue Square.^[1] The original, now-defunct Hear Music Store was located in Berkeley, California. Ten Starbucks locations also have Hear Music "media bars," a service which uses tablet-based PCs to allow customers to create their own mix CDs. The media bars are currently located in Seattle and in Austin, Texas. Additionally, the music section in Canadian bookstore chain Chapters was at one time licensed version of the Hear Music concept; however, the company no longer uses the brand name.

Starbucks is one of the top 40 music-oriented retailers. Its biggest seller was Ray Charles' Grammy-winning Genius Loves Company, with total sales of 2.86 million records; 25% of those were sold at Starbucks locations.

In 2005, Starbucks announced a partnership with singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette. In a six-week deal, Morissette sold an acoustic version of Jagged Little Pill in Starbucks stores only. The acoustic version was released on June 13, 2005 in order to mark the album's tenth anniversary. This limited availability led to a dispute between Maverick Records and HMV Canada, who retaliated by removing Morissette's other albums from store shelves for the duration of Starbucks' exclusive sale.

In April 2008, Starbucks announced that it was refining its entertainment strategy and turning over the day-to-day management of Hear Music to Concord.^[2]

At the same time that Starbucks closed 600 coffeehouses in July 2008, it was announced that the Hear Music label would be shutting down.^[2] One of the four Hear Music stores, in Santa Monica, California, has indicated that its music operation will be permanently closed approximately September 20, 2008. Another Hear Music store in Bellevue, Washington has been converted to a regular Starbucks. The Lincoln Road Miami Beach location has since been downgraded as well, since November 2008.

Creation as a record label[link]

On March 12, 2007 Starbucks and Concord Music Group launched the Hear Music record label.^[3] The company's first artist signing was considered a huge coup, with former Beatle Paul McCartney defecting from his long-time label EMI on March 21, 2007.^[4]

In July 2007, the label signed Canadian musician Joni Mitchell and announced that her first album of new material in nearly ten years, Shine, would be released on September 25, 2007.^[5]

In March 2008, it was announced that Carly Simon had signed with the label, and would be releasing a new album entitled This Kind of Love in late April 2008, her first collection of original songs since 2000's The Bedroom Tapes.^[6] In October 2009, Simon sued Starbucks for poor promotion of her album resulting in poor sales and for not paying her all of the agreed advance.^[7]

Current artists[link]

• Anjulie
• Paul McCartney
  • Memory Almost Full (2007)
  • Amoeba's Secret (2007)
  • Good Evening New York City (2009)
  • Kisses on the Bottom (2012)
• Joni Mitchell
  • Shine (2007)
• Sia
  • Some People Have Real Problems (2008)
• James Taylor
  • One Man Band (2007)
  • Covers (2008)
  • Other Covers (2009)
  • Live at the Troubadour (with Carole King) (2010)
• Hilary McRae
• Elvis Costello
  • Secret, Profane & Sugarcane (2009)
  • National Ransom (2010)
  • National Ransack (2010)
• Carly Simon
  • This Kind of Love (2008)
• John Mellencamp
  • Life, Death, Love and Freedom (2008)
• Antigone Rising
• The Cars
  • Move Like This (2011)

References[link]

• "Starbucks Buys Music Retailer for $10 Million", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 1999-11-20. Retrieved on April 11, 2007.

External links[link]

• Hear Music|The Sound of Starbucks

v t e Starbucks Corporation Corporate Directors: Barbara Bass · Bill Bradley · Mellody Hobson · Kevin Johnson · Olden Lee · Sheryl Sandberg · Howard Schultz · James Shennan · Javier Teruel · Myron Ullman · Craig Weatherup Assets & Products: 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea · Ethos Water · Hear Music · Pasqua Coffee · Seattle's Best Coffee · Tazo Tea Company · Torrefazione Italia Annual Revenue: US$10.71 billion (2010) · Employees: 137,000 (2010) · Stock Symbols: NASDAQ: SBUX SEHK: 4337 · Website: starbucks.com

Deborah Claire Wesoff - Kowalski, better known as Debbie Deb, is an American dance-pop singer, best known for 1980s freestyle dance songs such as "Lookout Weekend" and "When I Hear Music".

Biography[link]

Deb was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in North Miami Beach, Florida. A music aficionado from a young age, she was "discovered" at the age of 16 by producer Pretty Tony at a Miami record store where she was working. While Debbie had no formal training in singing, she had been singing most of her life. Pretty Tony told her that he liked the way she spoke and asked if she could sing, and she answered yes. They recorded "When I Hear Music," which she co-wrote with Pretty Tony in his studio the very next day. Released on the Jam Packed record label in 1984, the song has since become a staple in clubs and on dance and urban radio stations and mixshows. Other hits followed, including "Lookout Weekend", "I Wanna Work It Out", "There's A Party Going On", "I Wanna Dance," and a remake of Connie's 1980s Latin freestyle classic "Funky Little Beat". ^[1]

However, Deb was overweight and suffered from low self-esteem, and found her sudden fame difficult to cope with. She was crushed when her record company decided not to put her picture on the sleeves of her records and, in a Milli Vanilli-esque move, even hired an "impostor" to perform and pose as "Debbie Deb". As a result, she made little, if any, money from her hit singles, and was so hurt by the experience that she stopped singing for years, relying on her work as a hairdresser to make ends meet.^[2]

Deb finally resurfaced on the recording scene in 1995 with the album She's Back. Now living near Philadelphia, she continues to work as a hair stylist and also keeps busy performing frequent concerts around the United States, especially "freestyle revival" shows with other artists like Lisa Lisa, Stevie B, Exposé, The Cover Girls, and Shannon. Gwen Stefani and Jonathan Davis of Korn have cited Deb as an influence, and in the summer of 2006, Janet Jackson featured a cover version of "Lookout Weekend" on her Web site.

In early 2009, Debbie debuted a new single, "Everytime You Come Around," on her Myspace page (on which she bills herself as "The Real Debbie Deb").

Discography[link]

• Lookout Weekend (1986)
• She's Back (1995)
• There's a Party Goin' On(1995)

Sampled[link]

• Debbie Deb's song "When I Hear Music" has been sampled by many artists of today, such as: Pitbull "Fuego", Xscape "Wassup", Shauna K "Dance," Big DelphVoltio "Ponmela", "VIP" (notable for its frequent plays on BET: Uncut) and Melissa Lujan who actually did her own cover version of "When I Hear Music"

Cover versions[link]

• Kid Sister recorded a hip-hop cover version of "Lookout Weekend" featuring Nina Sky for the soundtrack of the MTV reality show Jersey Shore.
• Janet Jackson released a cover version of "Lookout Weekend" as a free digital download on her website as a gift to her fans prior to the release of her album 20 Y.O..
• Daron Malakian from System of a Down has sung a part of "Lookout Weekend" live
• The Black Eyed Peas covered "Lookout Weekend" with Esthero for their album Bridging The Gap, simply titled "Weekends"
• Kelis sampled the same melody from "Lookout Weekend" & "When I Hear Music" in her 2006 Album Kelis Was Here on the track "Weekend".
• Buzz Fuzz used the melody from "When I Hear Music" on the track "King Of The Beats", combined with a sample from "Get Busy" by Disco Four
• Pitbull sampled "When I Hear Music" in his 2006 Album El Mariel on the song "Fuego".
• Voltio sampled "When I Hear Music" in his Video for Ponmela".
• Dan Bryk recorded a medley of "Lookout Weekend" and Graham Parker's "The Weekend's Too Short" on his 2003 covers album "If I Were You".
• Randy Ramirez recorded a hard rock version of "When I Hear Music" that is featured on his myspace.
• Jason Mraz has sung a part of "Lookout Weekend" in the middle of one of his songs, live.
• Lady Tigra of L'Trimm covered "When I Hear Music" in the episode "Band" of the children's television show "Yo, Gabba Gabba!", which first aired on October 15, 2009.

References[link]

1. ^ http://www.coldcrush.com.au/electro_sydney/electro_funk/miami-bass-electro-bass-techno-bass/debbie-deb-lookout-weekend-when-i-hear-music/
2. ^ http://www.metroactive.com/metro/06.07.06/debbie-deb-0623.html Metroactive.com Retrieved on 06-06-07

External links[link]

• Debbie Deb's Facebook page
• Interview with Debbie Deb detailing her career

Joshua Bell
Joshua Bell, after a performance with the San Francisco Symphony in California
Background information
Born	(1967-12-09) December 9, 1967 (age 44)
Origin	Bloomington, Indiana, United States
Genres	Classical music
Occupations	Violinist
Instruments	Violin
Years active	1980s–present
Website	www.joshuabell.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Stradivarius

Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American Grammy Award-winning violinist.

Childhood[link]

Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, the son of a psychologist and a therapist.^[1] Bell's parents were Shirley and Alan P. Bell, Professor Emeritus of Indiana University, in Bloomington, and a former Kinsey researcher.^[2] His father is of Scottish descent, and his mother is Jewish (his maternal grandfather was born in Israel and his maternal grandmother was from Minsk). Bell told The Jewish Journal, "I identify myself as being Jewish".^[1][3][4]

Bell began taking violin lessons at the age of four after his mother discovered that her son had taken rubber bands from around the house and stretched them across the handles of his dresser drawer to pluck out music he had heard her play on the piano. His parents got a scaled-to-size violin for their then five-year-old son and started giving him lessons. A bright student, Bell took to the instrument but lived an otherwise normal midwest Indiana life playing video games and excelling at sports, namely tennis and bowling, even placing in a national tennis tournament at the age of ten.^[5]

Bell studied as a boy first under Donna Bricht, widow of Indiana University music faculty member Walter Bricht.^[6] His second teacher was Mimi Zweig, and then he switched to the violinist and pedagogue Josef Gingold after Bell's parents assured Gingold that they were not interested in pushing their son in the study of the violin but simply wanted him to have the best teacher for his abilities. Satisfied that the boy was living a normal life, Gingold took Bell on as his student. By age 12, Bell was serious about the instrument, thanks in large part to Gingold's inspiration.

At the age of 14, Bell appeared as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti. He studied the violin at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and graduated from Bloomington High School North in 1984,^[7] In 1989, Bell received an Artist Diploma in Violin Performance from Indiana University. His alma mater also honored him with a Distinguished Alumni Service Award only two years after his graduation. He has been named an "Indiana Living Legend" and received the Indiana Governor's Arts Award.

Career[link]

Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 – 4. Finale: Allegro assai appassionato Bell, Awadagin Pratt, and Alisa Weilerstein perform Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 – 4. Finale: Allegro assai appassionato, at the White House Evening of Classical Music on November 4, 2009. Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 – 4. Finale: Allegro assai appassionato Audio only version Cantabile (Paganini) Bell, Sharon Isbin perform Niccolò Paganini's Cantabile at the White House Evening of Classical Music on November 4, 2009. Cantabile (Paganini) Audio only version

Problems listening to these files? See media help.

Bell made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1985 with the St. Louis Symphony. He has since performed with many of the world's major orchestras and conductors.^{[citation needed]} As well as the standard concerto repertoire, Bell has performed new works. Nicholas Maw's violin concerto is dedicated to Bell, who premiered it in 1993 and won a Grammy Award for his recording of the piece. He performed the solo part on John Corigliano's Oscar-winning soundtrack for the film The Red Violin and was also featured in Ladies in Lavender. Bell made an appearance in the movie Music of the Heart, a story about the power of music, with other notable violinists.^{[citation needed]}

Bell's instrument is a 300-year-old Stradivarius violin called the Gibson ex Huberman, which was made in 1713 during what is known as Antonio Stradivari's "Golden Era." This violin had been stolen twice from the previous owner, Bronisław Huberman; the last time the thief confessed to the act on his deathbed.^[8] Bell had held and played the violin, and its owner at the time jokingly told Bell that the violin could be his for four million dollars. Shortly thereafter, by chance, Bell came across the violin again and discovered it was about to be sold to a German industrialist to become part of a collection. According to Bell's website, Bell "was practically in tears."^[9] Bell then sold his previous violin, the Tom Tyler Stradivarius, for a little more than two million dollars and made the purchase of the Gibson ex Huberman for a little under the four million dollar asking price. As with his previous Stradivarius violin, Bell entrusts the upkeep of the Gibson ex Huberman to expert luthier Emmanuel Gradoux-Matt.^{[citation needed]} His first recording made with the Gibson ex Huberman was Romance of the Violin (for Sony Classical Records) in 2003. Bell's most recent CD is called At Home With Friends and was released September 29, 2009. It features Bell playing with artists of varied musical backgrounds, such as Chris Botti, Kristin Chenoweth, Regina Spektor, and Sting.

Bell is an artistic partner for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (starting in the 2004–2005 season) and a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He also serves on the artists selection committee for the Kennedy Center Honors and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[10]

Bell was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize on April 10, 2007, at Lincoln Center in New York City. The prize is given once every few years to classical instrumentalists for outstanding achievement.^[11] On May 3, 2007, the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music announced that Bell had joined the faculty as a senior lecturer.^[12]

Bell collaborated with film composer Hans Zimmer by providing violin solos for the soundtrack of the 2009 film Angels & Demons, based on Dan Brown's 2000 novel of the same name.

On May 26, 2011, Bell was named Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.^[13][14]

Washington Post experiment[link]

In an experiment initiated by The Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten, Bell donned a baseball cap and played as an incognito busker at the Metro subway station L'Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C. on January 12, 2007. The experiment was videotaped on hidden camera; of the 1,097 people who passed by, only seven stopped to listen to him, and only one recognized him. For his nearly 45-minute performance, Bell collected $32.17 from 27 passersby (excluding $20 from the passerby who recognized him).^[8] The night before, he earned considerably more playing the same repertoire at a concert. Weingarten won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for his article on the experiment.^[15][16] The Washington Post posted the video on YouTube.^[17]

Personal life[link]

Bell resides in Gramercy Park, Manhattan.

Selected discography[link]

Soundtrack Albums[link]

• Flowers of War Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2012: Joshua Bell, solo violin
• Angels & Demons Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2009

  Joshua Bell, solo violin

  Music composed by Hans Zimmer

• Defiance Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2008
• Ladies in Lavender Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2005: Joshua Bell, solo violin
• Iris Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2001: Joshua Bell, solo violin
• The Red Violin Joshua Bell, solo Violin

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joshua Bell

• Official website
• Joshua Bell at Allmusic
• "Bell Man", by Mandy Katz; in-depth profile in moment magazine
• Interview on The Diane Rehm Show radio program
• Recording of Bell's performance in L'Enfant Plaza.
• Bach & friends Documentary
• Classical Archives Interview

Tyler Perry
at the 82nd Academy Awards (March 7, 2010)
Born	Emmitt Perry, Jr. (1969-09-14) September 14, 1969 (age 42) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, author, screen and playwright, producer, director, songwriter
Years active	1992–present
Website
Official website

Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry, Jr.; September 14, 1969) is an American actor, director, screen and playwright, producer, author,^[1] and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman.^[2] In 2011, Forbes named him the highest paid man in entertainment, earning $130 million between May 2010 and 2011.^[3]

Early life[link]

Perry was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, as Emmitt Perry, Jr. His family consisted of three siblings, his mother, Willie Maxine Perry (née Campbell), and his father, Emmitt Perry, Sr., a carpenter.^[4] Perry once said his father's "only answer to everything was to beat it out of you".^[5] As a child, Perry once went so far as to attempt suicide in an effort to escape his father's beatings. In contrast to his father, his mother took him to church each week, where he sensed a certain refuge and contentment.^[5] At age 16, he had his first name legally changed from Emmitt to Tyler in an effort to distance himself from his father.^[6]

Many years later, after seeing the film Precious, he was moved to relate for the first time^[7] accounts of being molested by a friend's mother at age 10; he was also molested by three men previous to this, and later found out his own father had molested his friend.^[8]

While Perry did not complete high school, he earned a GED.^[9] In his early 20s, watching an Oprah Winfrey talk show, he heard someone describe the sometimes therapeutic effect the act of writing can have, enabling the author to work out his or her own problems. This comment inspired him to apply himself to a career in writing. He soon started writing a series of letters to himself, which became the basis for the musical, I Know I've Been Changed.

Stage[link]

Around 1990, he moved to Atlanta, where two years later I Know I've Been Changed was first performed at a community theater, financed by the $12,000 life savings of the 22-year-old Perry.^[10] It included Christian themes of forgiveness, dignity and self-worth, while addressing issues such as child abuse and dysfunctional families. The musical initially received a "less than stellar" reception and was a financial failure.^[11] Perry persisted, and over the next six years he rewrote the musical repeatedly, though lackluster reviews continued. In 1998, at age 28, he succeeded in retooling of the play in Atlanta first at the House of Blues, then at the Fox Theatre. Perry continued to create new stage productions, touring with them on the so-called "chitlin' circuit" (now also known as the "urban theater circuit")^[6][12] and developing a large, devoted following among African-American audiences. In 2005, Forbes reported that he had sold "more than $100 million in tickets, $30 million in of his shows and an estimated $20 million in merchandise" and that "the 300 live shows he produces each year are attended by an average of 35,000 people a week."^[10]

Film[link]

Perry received a $5.5 million budget to fund his first movie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which went on to gross $50.6 million domestically, while scoring a 16 percent approval rating at the film review web site, Rotten Tomatoes.^[13] On its opening weekend, February 24–26, 2006, Perry's film version of Madea's Family Reunion opened at "Number 1" at the box office with $30.3 million. The film eventually grossed $65 million. Perry and his co-stars promoted the film on The Oprah Winfrey Show. As with Diary, almost all of the Madeas' earnings have been generated in the United States.^[14]

Perry's next Lionsgate project, Daddy's Little Girls, starred Gabrielle Union and Idris Elba and was released in the U.S. on February 14, 2007. It grossed over $31 million.^[15] Perry wrote, directed, produced and starred in his next film, Why Did I Get Married?, released on October 12, 2007. It opened at number one, grossing $21.4 million that weekend. It is loosely based on his play of the same name. Filming began March 5, 2007, in Whistler, British Columbia, Vancouver, then moved to Atlanta, where Perry had opened his own studio. Janet Jackson, Sharon Leal, Jill Scott and Tasha Smith appeared in the film. Perry's 2008 film, Meet the Browns, released on March 21, opened at "Number 2" with a $20,082,809 weekend gross.^[16] The Family That Preys opened on September 12, 2008, and grossed over $37.1 million.

Madea Goes to Jail opened at number one on February 20, 2009, grossing $41 million and becoming his largest opening to date. This was Perry's seventh film with Lionsgate Entertainment. At the request of director J. J. Abrams,^[17] Perry had a cameo appearance in Star Trek as the Starfleet Academy commandant Admiral Barnett, which opened on May 8, 2009. This was his first film appearance outside of his own projects.

Perry next wrote, directed, and starred in I Can Do Bad All By Myself, a film structured around his Madea character. This was Perry's eighth film and also made number one at the box office.^[18] In 2009, Perry teamed with Oprah Winfrey to present Precious, a film based on the novel Push by Sapphire.^[19]

Why Did I Get Married Too?, the sequel to Why Did I Get Married?, opened in theaters on April 2, 2010. It featured Janet Jackson, Cicely Tyson, Louis Gossett, Jr., Jill Scott and Malik Yoba. As of April 18, the film has grossed over $54 million domestically, with $29 million made the opening weekend.

Perry directed a film adaptation of Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. It was released November 5, 2010.^[20] He appeared in the stage show Madea's Big Happy Family, which toured the U.S. and was a movie in 2011, written, directed by, and starring Perry. Madea's Big Happy Family raked in $25.8 million at the box office, taking 2nd place.

Perry is also slated to take over the role of James Patterson's Alex Cross from Morgan Freeman in the pending film adaptation of I, Alex Cross.

Perry's films are co-produced and distributed by Lionsgate Entertainment; he retains full copyright ownership under the corporate name Very Perry Films, and places his name in front of all titles.^[21] Perry's movies have seen very limited release outside North America, but in May 2010 Lionsgate announced plans to begin releasing his films in the United Kingdom.^[22]

Perry's next film with Lionsgate is set to be Good Deeds, as he again will work behind and in front of the camera. Perry will be playing lead character, Wesley Deeds. Good Deeds is a romantic drama film written, directed by and starring Tyler Perry. The film was released on February 24, 2012. It is the tenth out of eleven films directed by Perry that he appears in .Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 29% rating out of 25 reviews and 82% of 8,563 users said they liked the film. The film opened with a box office $16,000,000.^[23] The movie is also set to star Thandie Newton, Rebecca Romijn, Gabrielle Union, Eddie Cibrian, Jamie Kennedy, Phylicia Rashad and others.^[24]

As of June 2011^[update], Perry's films had grossed over $500 million worldwide.^[25]

Television[link]

Perry produces a television show entitled Tyler Perry's House of Payne, which follows an African-American household of three generations. The show demonstrates the family members' struggles with faith and love, as well as living with different generations. The show ran in the spring of 2006 as a 10-show pilot. After the successful pilot run, Perry signed a $200 million, 100-episode deal with TBS. On June 6, 2007, the first two episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne ran on TBS. After receiving high ratings, House of Payne entered broadcast syndication. Reruns were played through December 2007 before the second season began. The third season began on March 5, 2008 and the fourth season on June 4, 2008. House of Payne airs on TBS.

The Writers Guild of America, West has filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging that Perry's production company, House of Payne, unlawfully fired four writers in October 2008 in retaliation for their trying to get a union contract.^[26] The dispute was settled a month later, when Tyler Perry Studios agreed to be a WGA signatory.^[27]

Perry wrote, directed and produced the sitcom Meet the Browns, which premiered on TBS on January 7, 2009. Another show, Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse, based on his films Why Did I Get Married? and Why Did I Get Married Too?, premiered on TBS November 25, 2011.

Perry has said he may produce another sitcom entitled Floyd's Family, a spin off of House of Payne featuring the character Floyd.

In early 2009, Perry threatened legal action against Mo' Money Taxes, a tax preparation company based in Memphis, for running a TV spot that he felt offensively parodied his work, in particular Madea Goes to Jail. The ad features a large Caucasian male (John Cowan) in drag, named "Ma'Madea". The offending ad was dropped from circulation.^[28]

Books[link]

Tyler Perry's first novel, Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea's Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life, appeared on April 11, 2006. The book sold fewer than 30,000 copies.^[29] The hardcover reached number one on the New York Times Best Seller list and stayed on the list for 12 weeks. It was voted Book of the Year, Best Humor Book at the 2006 Quill Awards.

Stylistic trademarks[link]

Perry always uses possessory credit in his works' titles (e.g., Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?). Several recurring narrative themes surface in Perry's work and his films and plays feature predominantly black casts.

Criticism[link]

Criticism of Perry’s work focuses mainly on a perception that it perpetuates negative racial stereotypes.

Despite praising Perry in 2006, in 2009 director Spike Lee criticized his work when interviewed by Ed Gordon on Our World with Black Enterprise, saying, "Each artist should be allowed to pursue their artistic endeavors but I still think there is a lot of stuff out today that is 'coonery' and buffoonery. I know it's making a lot of money and breaking records, but we can do better … I see these two ads for these two shows [Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns and House of Payne] and I am scratching my head ... We got a black president and we going back to Mantan Moreland and Sleep 'n' Eat?"^[30] When Gordon cited Perry’s success among black audiences and asked Spike if Perry wasn’t just giving black America what they wanted, he responded, "We've had this discussion back and forth. When John Singleton [created his films], people came out to see Boyz n the Hood, but when he did Rosewood, nobody showed up. So a lot of this is on us. You vote with your pocketbook, your wallet. You vote with your time sitting in front of the idiot box, and the man has a huge audience, Tyler's very smart. …We shouldn’t think that Tyler Perry is going to make the same film that I am going to make, or that John Singleton or my cousin Malcolm Lee [would make]. As African Americans, we're not one monolithic group so there is room for all of that, but at the same time, for me, the imaging is troubling and it harkens back to Amos 'n' Andy."^[30]

In September 2009, Jamilah Lemieux made similar remarks on National Public Radio. While thanking Perry for employing blacks in front of and behind the camera and for making work with humor and "positive messages about self-worth, love and respect", she criticized him for making television shows "marked by old stereotypes of buffoonish, emasculated black men and crass, sassy black women." She took him to task for his Madea character saying that through this, "the country has laughed at one of the most important members of the black community: Mother Dear, the beloved matriarch. […] Our mothers and grandmothers deserve much more than that." She stated that she appreciated that he was dismissive of critics' comments concerning his work, "but many black folks have expressed some of the very same attitudes about your work that white critics have." She stated that blacks "have been fed the same images of ourselves over and over and over because they sell." She felt that his success had been "mired with the worst black pathologies and stereotypes" and called on him to "stop dismissing the critics as haters and realize that black people need new stories and new storytellers."^[31]

Lemieux’s criticism of Perry was cited and expanded upon by the author Tom Burrell in his 2010 book Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority. Burrell cited Perry’s 2008 film Meet the Browns as an example of when "we black people pull the trigger for our own image assassination."^[32] Burrell also stated, "…it's not entirely fair to expect Perry to chart a new course alone. His movies and TV shows would not be so successful if blacks didn't have a raging appetite for messages and images that project us as dysfunctional or incompetent. Nothing that occurred during Amos 'n' Andy’s radio and television reign could match the words and actions of black comedies like Madea and The Browns. Our attraction to self-demeaning images came way before, and goes far beyond, Tyler Perry."^[32] Burrell called for new images of blacks in entertainment and a new vision of black self-image.

Perry (and Madea) were satirized in a June 2010 episode of the Adult Swim animated series The Boondocks; the Los Angeles Times called this episode "one of the sharpest public criticisms of Perry".^[33]

In February 2011, actor Idris Elba caused controversy when he criticised Perry. Elba, who has previously starred in one of Perry's romantic comedies (Daddy's Little Girls), lamented the trend for cross-dressing caricatures of black characters – a phenomenon many would recognize from films such as the The Klumps and Big Momma's House series – describing it as "buffoonish". Elba maintains the view that change should occur in Hollywood to address the recent under-representation of black actors in Hollywood and the controversy it has caused.^[34] Elba said: "Imagine a film such as Inception with an entire cast of black people – do you think it would be successful?" Elba asks. "Would people watch it? But no one questions the fact that everyone's white. That's what we have to change."^[35]

Cultural critic Touré stated in an April 21, 2011 NPR All Things Considered interview that "Tyler Perry is perhaps the worst filmmaker in Hollywood" and was quoted as saying earlier that Perry is the "KFC of black cinema".^[36]

On May 4, 2011, Perry was satirized by South Park in the episode "Funnybot". At the South Park Elementary Special Education Department Comedy Awards, Perry was presented the Kathy Griffin Award, "given to the celebrity most likely to show up". Following the awards presentation, Perry annoyingly remained in South Park, now dressed as Madea, cracking wise and uttering non sequiturs while constantly being given money by Token, the only black student; Token explains that "I can’t help myself". The South Park writers further satirized Perry by showing President Obama addressing the nation, stating he was going to watch "a Tyler Perry movie. I know, it’s embarrassing. But I simply can’t help myself." Finally, in a surprise twist, Perry is forever buried, encased in steel, because, as President Obama puts it, "I am pleased to announce that the greatest threat to mankind has now gone forever. Justice has been done."^[37]

In an article for The Boulevardier, the magazine’s editor-in-chief Alexander T. MacGregor, Jr. heavily rebuked the works of Tyler Perry in his article entitled “Mental Slavery of the Modern African-American”, stating “I would argue that he is one of the most dangerous men in America, as his machinations have only worked to feed African-American stereotypes, and validate the ignorant behaviour of some African Americans in society by giving their actions credence.” ^[38]

Responses[link]

In October 2009, during a 60 Minutes interview, Perry was read a quote of Spike Lee's comments about his work and responded, "I would love to read that [criticism] to my fan base. …That pisses me off. It is so insulting. It's attitudes like that, that make Hollywood think that these people do not exist, and that is why there is no material speaking to them, speaking to us." Perry also stated that "all these characters are bait – disarming, charming, make-you-laugh bait. I can slap Madea on something and talk about God, love, faith, forgiveness, family, any of those."^[39]

Perry’s work has also been defended by Oprah Winfrey, who joined Perry in promoting Lee Daniels' film Precious. She told an interviewer, "I think [Perry] grew up being raised by strong, black women. And so much of what he does is really in celebration of that. I think that's what Madea really is: a compilation of all those strong black women that I know and maybe you do too? And so the reason it works is because people see themselves."^[40]

Goldie Taylor, of The Grio and MSNBC, stated in an April 21, 2011 NPR All Things Considered interview regarding Perry's target audience: "I don't think Tyler Perry is talking to Touré. I don't think he's talking to me, but I know that he's speaking directly to my mother, my sister, my cousins and meeting them at their point of need, and that's what art and filmmaking is about." In the same interview, NPR's Michele Norris reported Tyler Perry had said a week earlier that "Spike Lee can, quote, 'go straight to hell.'"^[36]

Personal life[link]

Perry identifies as a devout Christian.^[41] He has become good friends with Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith and Janet Jackson.^[42] Many of the themes in Perry's work reflect theology and social behaviour indicative of the predominantly African American church culture. Many scenes in both Perry's stage and screen work include church settings and worship styles commonly found in predominantly African American churches, including showcasing gospel music and artists.

In 2007 Perry bought a 17-acre (6.9 ha)-estate^[43] in the Paces neighborhood of Buckhead, Atlanta.^[44][45]

On July 20, 2009, Perry sponsored 65 children from a Philadelphia day camp to go to Walt Disney World, after reading that a suburban swim club (Valley Swim Club, Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania) had shunned them.^[46] Perry wrote on his website, "I want them to know that for every act of evil that a few people will throw at you, there are millions more who will do something kind for them."^[47]

On December 8, 2009, Tyler's mother, Willie Maxine Perry, died at the age of 64, following an illness.^[48] As of 2011, Perry remains unmarried.^[49] He lives and works in Southwest Atlanta where he operates the Tyler Perry movies and TV studios.^[50] In August 2010, it was reported that Perry had purchased Dean Gardens, a 58-acre (230,000 m²) estate in the Atlanta suburb of Johns Creek. Perry was reportedly planning to tear down the existing 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m²) mansion and build a new, environmentally friendly home on the property.^[51][52]

Filmography[link]

Film work[link]

Play work[link]

Television work[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Awards won are in bold

• BET Comedy Awards
  • 2005, Outstanding Actor in a Theatrical Film (Diary of a Mad Black Woman)
  • 2005, Outstanding Writing for Theatrical Film (Diary of a Mad Black Woman)

• Black Movie Awards
  • 2006, Outstanding Achievement in Screenwriting (Madea's Family Reunion)
  • 2006, Outstanding Motion Picture (Madea's Family Reunion)
  • 2005, Outstanding Achievement in Screenwriting (Diary of a Mad Black Woman)
  • 2005, Outstanding Motion Picture (Diary of a Mad Black Woman)

• Black Reel Awards
  • 2008, Best Screenplay Original or Adapted (Meet the Browns)
  • 2008, Best Screenplay Original or Adapted (The Family That Preys)
  • 2007, Best Screenplay Original or Adapted (Madea's Family Reunion)
  • 2005, Best Breakthrough Performance (Diary of a Mad Black Woman)
  • 2005, Best Screenplay Original or Adapted: (Diary of a Mad Black Woman)

• Image Awards
  • 2009, Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture or Television Movie (The Family That Preys)
  • 2008, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Why Did I Get Married?)
  • 2007, Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture or Television Movie (Madea's Family Reunion)
  • 2007, Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture or Television Movie (Madea's Family Reunion)

• Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards
  • 2010, Best Actor (Madea Goes To Jail)

• MTV Movie Awards
  • 2006, Best Comedic Performance (Madea's Family Reunion)
  • 2006, Breakthrough Male Performance (Diary of a Mad Black Woman)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tyler Perry Official website
• Tyler Perry's 34th Street Films Official website
• Tyler Perry at the Internet Movie Database
• Tyler Perry at AllRovi
• Tyler Perry at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• Interview with Tyler Perry on beliefnet.com

Regina Spektor
Regina Spektor playing an electronic piano in 2006
Background information
Native name	Реги́нa Ильи́нична Спе́ктор
Born	(1980-02-18) February 18, 1980 (age 32) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Origin	New York, U.S.
Genres	Anti-folk, indie rock, baroque pop, blues, pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Piano, vocals, guitar, bass guitar
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Sire/Warner Bros. Records
Associated acts	Sondre Lerche, Ben Folds, Kill Kenada, the Strokes, Dufus
Website	http://www.reginaspektor.com
Notable instruments
Steinway & Sons piano Epiphone Wildkat guitar Regina Spektor's Autograph

Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (Russian: Реги́нa Ильи́нична Спе́ктор, IPA: [rʲɪˈɡʲinə ˈspʲɛktər], English: /rɨˈdʒiːnə ˈspɛktər/; born February 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City's East Village.

Early life[link]

Spektor was born in Moscow, Soviet Union in 1980 to a musical Russian Jewish family. Her father, Ilya Spektor, is a photographer and amateur violinist. Her mother, Bella Spektor, was a music professor in a Soviet college of music and now teaches at a public elementary school in Mount Vernon, New York.^[1] She has a brother Barry (Bear), who was featured in track 7, "* * *", or "Whisper", of her 2004 album, Soviet Kitsch.

She learned how to play piano by practising on a Petrof upright that was given to her mother by her grandfather.^[2] She was also exposed to the music of rock and roll bands such as The Beatles, Queen, and The Moody Blues by her father, who obtained such recordings in Eastern Europe and traded cassettes with friends in the Soviet Union.^[1] The family left the Soviet Union in 1989, when Regina was nine and a half, during the period of Perestroika, when Soviet citizens were permitted to emigrate. Regina had to leave her piano behind.^[3] The seriousness of her piano studies led her parents to consider not leaving the USSR, but they finally decided to emigrate, due to the ethnic and political discrimination that Jews faced.^[4] Spektor is fluent in Russian and reads Hebrew, and has since paid tribute to her Russian heritage, quoting the poem February by the Russian poet Boris Pasternak in her song Après Moi, and stating “I’m very connected to the language and the culture.”^[5]

Traveling first to Austria and then Italy, the family was admitted to the United States as refugees with the assistance of HIAS (the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) and settled in The Bronx, where Spektor graduated from the SAR Academy, a Jewish day middle school in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. She then attended high school for two years at the Frisch School, a yeshiva in Paramus, New Jersey, but transferred to a public school, Fair Lawn High School, in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, where she finished the last two years of her high school education.^[6]

Career[link]

In New York, Spektor studied classical piano with Sonia Vargas, a professor at the Manhattan School of Music, until she was 17; Spektor's father had met Vargas through her husband, violinist Samuel Marder.^[7] Although the family had been unable to bring their piano from Russia, Spektor found a piano on which to play in the basement of her synagogue, and also practiced on tabletops and other hard surfaces.

Spektor was originally interested only in classical music, but later became interested in hip hop, rock and punk as well.^[1] Although she had always made up songs around the house, Spektor first became interested in more formal songwriting during a visit to Israel with the Nesiya Institute in her teenage years when she attracted attention from the other children on the trip for the songs she made up while hiking and realized she had an aptitude for songwriting.^[4]

Following this trip, she was exposed to the work of Joni Mitchell, Ani DiFranco, and other singer-songwriters, which encouraged her belief that she could create her own songs.^[4] She wrote her first a cappella songs around the age of 16 and her first songs for voice and piano when she was nearly 18.^[1]

Spektor completed the four-year studio composition program of the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College within three years, graduating with honors in 2001. Around this time, she also worked briefly at a butterfly farm in Luck, Wisconsin,^[8] and studied in Tottenham, ( a suburb of London) for one semester ^[9].

She gradually achieved recognition through performances in the anti-folk scene in downtown New York City, often as a duo with drummer Anders Griffen, and most importantly at the East Village's Sidewalk Cafe, but also at the Living Room, Tonic, Fez, the Knitting Factory, and CB's Gallery.^{[citation needed]} She also performed at local colleges (such as Sarah Lawrence College) with other musicians, including the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. She sold self-published CDs at her performances during this period: 11:11 (2001) and Songs (2002). In 2004, she signed a contract with Warner Brothers' record label Sire Records to publish and distribute her third album Soviet Kitsch, originally self-released in 2003.

Spektor is married to Jack Dishel, guitarist with the band The Moldy Peaches.^[9]

Style[link]

Regina Spektor in concert, April 2007.

Spektor has said that she has created a great number of songs,^[10] but that she rarely writes any of them down. She has also stated that she never aspired to write songs herself, but songs seem to just flow to her.^[11] Spektor's songs are not usually autobiographical, but rather are based on scenarios and characters drawn from her imagination.^[4][12] Her songs show influences from folk,^[13][14] punk, rock, Jewish,^[12][15] Russian,^[12] hip hop,^[13][16][17] jazz,^[13][16] and classical music.^[12][16] Spektor has said that she works hard to ensure that each of her songs has its own musical style, rather than trying to develop a distinctive style for her music as a whole.^[11]

It doesn't feel natural for me to write some diary type song. I want to write a classic like Yesterday but weird songs about meatballs in refrigerators come into my head - I can't help it.^[18]

Spektor has a broad vocal range and uses the full extent of it. She also explores a variety of different and somewhat unorthodox vocal techniques, such as verses composed entirely of buzzing noises made with the lips and beatbox-style flourishes in the middle of ballads, and also makes use of such unusual musical techniques as using a drum stick to tap rhythms on the body of the piano or chair.^[4][19] Part of her style also results from the exaggeration of certain aspects of vocalization, most notably the glottal stop, which is prominent in the single "Fidelity". She also uses a strong New York accent on some words, which she has said is due to her love of New York and its culture.^[1]

Her lyrics are equally eclectic, often taking the form of abstract narratives or first-person character studies, similar to short stories or vignettes put to song.^[1][19] Spektor usually sings in English, though she sometimes includes a few words or verses of Latin, Russian, French, and other languages in her songs. She also plays with pronunciations, which she said on a NPR interview to be a remnant of her early years when she listened to pop in English without understanding the lyrics. Some of Spektor's lyrics include literary allusions,^[4] such as to F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway in "Poor Little Rich Boy", The Little Prince in "Baobabs", Virginia Woolf and Margaret Atwood in "Paris", Ezra Pound and William Shakespeare in "Pound of Flesh", Shakespeare's Hamlet in "The Virgin Queen", Boris Pasternak in "Après Moi", Samson and Delilah in "Samson", and Oedipus the King in "Oedipus", Billie Holiday in "Lady" and Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome in "2.99 cent blues". She alludes to The Beatles and Paul McCartney in the song "Edit". She also used a line from Joni Mitchell's California in her song "The Devil Came to Bethlehem". Recurring themes and topics in Spektor's lyrics include love, death, religion (particularly Biblical and Jewish references), city life (particularly New York references), and certain key phrases have been known to recur in different songs by Spektor, such as references to gravediggers, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the name "Mary Ann". Spektor's use of satire is evident in "Wasteside," which refers to The Twelve Chairs, the classic satirical novel by the Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov, and describes the town in which people are born, get their hair cut, and then are sent to the cemetery.

In Spektor's early albums, many of her tracks had a very dry vocal production, with very little reverb or delay added. However, Spektor's more recent albums, particularly Begin to Hope, have put more emphasis into song production and have relied more on traditional pop and rock instruments.^[3] Spektor says the records that most impact her are those of "bands whose music is really involved",^[20] specifically naming The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Radiohead, Tom Waits, and Frédéric Chopin as primary influences.^[20][21]

In her songs, "Eet", "Us" and "Après Moi" the titular sounds are used as the focal point throughout. (In "Dance Anthem of the 80's", the sound "eet" is also used often, on words such as "meat", "street", and "eat").

Performances[link]

Regina Spektor at her first performance in Tel Aviv, Israel on March 3, 2007

Spektor's first nationwide tour was accompanying The Strokes as the opening act on their 2003–2004 Room on Fire tour, during which she and the band performed and recorded "Modern Girls & Old Fashion Men". Kings of Leon were the second opening act on that tour, and they invited Regina to open for them on their own European tour right after The Strokes tour. In June 2005, Spektor was the opening act for the English piano rock band Keane on their North American tour, during which she performed at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2005.^[22] During her 2006 headlining tour in support of the Begin to Hope album, Spektor sold out a performance at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, and two shows at Town Hall Theater in New York City on September 27 and September 28, 2006.^[23]

Spektor has appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (once), Late Night with Conan O'Brien (three times), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (twice), Jimmy Kimmel Live (twice), Last Call with Carson Daly (five times), Late Show with David Letterman (twice), Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (twice), CBS News Sunday Morning, Good Morning America (twice), Australia's Rove Live, and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (twice).^[24] On October 10, 2009 she performed on Saturday Night Live.

Since January 2005, Spektor has performed on a bright red Baldwin baby grand piano.^[25] At the present time she uses exclusively Steinway & Sons pianos. She plays a seafoam Epiphone Wildkat archtop hollow-body electric guitar.^[26]

Although she generally only performs original material, Spektor occasionally performs covers. Most famous of these covers were her performances of songs by Leonard Cohen and Madonna, for the 2nd Annual Jewish Music & Heritage Festival at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.^[4] In 2006 and 2007, Spektor embarked on a headlining tour of the U.S. and Europe, selling out numerous clubs and theaters. She covered John Lennon's "Real Love" at the performance arts center of her alma mater, State University of New York at Purchase, on March 28, 2007, at a benefit concert for the Conservatory of Music.^[27] In 2007, Spektor recorded "Real Love" for the Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur CD, which was released in June of that year. She recorded a version of the song for Triple J's Like a Version radio segment which was shown on jTV.

Regina Spektor performing in Brighton on October 26, 2006.

On March 8, 2007, Spektor appeared on the British ITV network's Loose Women, promoting and performing "Fidelity" live, and on April 20, 2007, she performed on the Late Show with David Letterman. On Saturday, April 28, 2007, she appeared at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. On Friday, May 18, 2007, she appeared on BBC1's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. On June 16, 2007, she performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival and later performed at the 2007 Lollapalooza on August 4, 2007 and Virgin Festival on August 5, 2007 in Baltimore, Maryland. On September 16, 2007, she performed at the Austin City Limits Music Festival and recorded a set for the Austin City Limits TV show the following day. She performed acoustic at the Bridge School Benefit at Shoreline Amphitheatre on October 27 and October 28, 2007.

On November 14, 2007, at her concert at Ryman Auditorium, in Nashville, it was announced that Spektor collapsed during the sound check and was taken to a local emergency room. According to the statement given to the audience, Spektor was fine, but doctors said that she could not perform that night. It was later reported that the cause of the collapse was an inner ear infection which caused intense vertigo. The show was initially rescheduled for December 6, 2007,^[28] but the date was once again rescheduled, and the concert finally occurred on February 29, 2008.^[29] After her initial collapse in Nashville, she was able to perform in concerts at Mountain Stage on November 18, 2007,^{[30][citation needed]} and at Duke University on November 19, 2007.^[31]

In conjunction with the release of her 2009 album Far, Spektor was headlining at Serpentine Sessions, a series of concerts London's Hyde Park on June 29, 2009. Other European performances in 2009 include Glastonbury Festival, Hultsfred Festival, Oxegen 2009, T in the Park, Paradiso (Amsterdam), Latitude Festival, and Rock Werchter. Spektor has invited Brooklyn-based rock band Jupiter One to open concerts on her 2009 North American tour. As a part of that tour, on October 14, 2009 Spektor headlined a concert at the Radio City Music Hall in NYC.

On July 7, 2010, Regina performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland.^[32] Her cellist, Dan Cho, drowned the day before while swimming in Lake Geneva near the Chillon Castle.^[33][34] She was described as distraught, shaken, and in tears and took several breaks to regain her composure.^[35]