Sharon (Hebrew: שָׁרוֹן‎‎, Tiberian Hebrew: Šārôn) can be a female name which can be spelled with one "r" or two (Sharron).^{[citation needed]} It also refers to several places in the world.

It derives from a Israelite place name meaning "forest" in Hebrew, referring to a fertile plain near the coast of Israel. This gives its name to a type of flowering shrub, the rose of Sharon. Various nicknames of Sharon include Sha, Sharai, Sharona, Sharonald, Sharry, Sherri, Sherrie, Sherye, Share Bear, Sharonstein Bear, Sharoo, Shazz, Shazzy, Sharoon and Shazam.

Sharon is one of many names that could formerly be applied to males (as in the 19th-century historian Sharon Turner), but is now nearly always used of females (cf. Vivian, Ashley, Beverly, etc.).

In the United Kingdom its popularity peaked during the 1960s. It was the 10th most popular female name by 1964 and was still as high as 17th in 1974, but a sharp decline in popularity followed and since the 1980s it has not even featured in the top 100.^[1]

People[link]

• Sharon Bruneau, Canadian female bodybuilder and fitness competitor
• Sharon Chan, Hong Kong actress
• Sharon Cohen, more commonly known as Dana International, an Israeli pop singer
• Sharon Corr, Irish musician and member of The Corrs
• Sharon Sharonna Yosef, Jemen model
• Sharon Creech, author of children's books Walk Two Moons and Ruby Holler
• Sharon Cuneta, Filipina actress and talk show host
  • Sharon (talk show), the television show hosted by Sharon Cuneta
• Sharon Dahlonega Raiford Bush, American TV personality
• Sharron Davies (born 1962), British swimmer
• Sharon den Adel, co-founder of and singer for Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation
• Sharon Dijksma (born 1971), Dutch politician
• Sharon Epperson, CNBC Personal Finance Correspondent
• Sharon Gibson, English javelin thrower
• Sharon Hanson, American heptathlete
• Sharon Jaklofsky, Australian-Dutch athlete
• Sharon Jordan, American film and television actress
• Sharon Kips, Dutch female singer
• Sharon Lawrence, American television actress
• Sharon Leal, American actress and director
• Sharon Lee (writer), American novelist
• Sharon Maguire, British film director
• Sharon Mann, American voice actress working in Paris, France
• Sharron McClellan, American action-adventure author
• Sharon Osbourne, music promoter and TV personality, wife and manager of Ozzy Osbourne
• Sharon Plywood ,Chennai Based India's No'1 Plywood Manufacturing company...
• Sharon Rendle, British judoka
• Sharon Shannon, Irish musician
• Sharon Stone, American actress, model and producer
• Sharon Tate, American actress and murder victim
• Sharon Vaknin, CNET.com Editor/Host
• Sharon Fernz, PR Manager (India)
• Sharon Stanly, Civil Engineer,Kerala,India

As a family name[link]

• Arieh Sharon, Israeli architect
• Ariel Sharon, former Israeli Prime Minister
• Gilad Sharon, Israeli son of the former Prime Minister
• Omri Sharon, Israeli son of the former Prime Minister
• Deke Sharon, singer, musician, producer

Places[link]

Places in Canada[link]

• Sharon, Ontario
  • Sharon Peak

Places in France[link]

• Sharon, Saint-Plantes

Places in Israel[link]

• Sharon plain

Places in the United Kingdom[link]

• Sharon, Hampshire
• Sharon, Nottinghamshire

Places in the United States of America[link]

• Sharon, California
• Sharon, Connecticut
• Sharon, Georgia
• Sharon, Kansas
• Sharon, Massachusetts
  • Sharon (MBTA station)
• Sharon, New Hampshire
• Sharon, New York
  • Sharon Springs, New York
• Sharon Township, North Carolina (now part of the city of Charlotte, North Carolina)
• Sharon, North Dakota
• Sharon, Oklahoma
• Sharon, Pennsylvania
• Sharon, South Carolina
• Sharon, Vermont
• Sharon, West Virginia
• Sharon, Wisconsin, a village
• Sharon, Walworth County, Wisconsin, a town
• Sharon, Portage County, Wisconsin, a town
• New Sharon, Maine
• Sharon Springs, Kansas
• Sharonville, Ohio
• Sharon Township (disambiguation) (several places)

Fictional characters[link]

• Sharon (Doctor Who), a Doctor Who magazine character
• Sharon (シャロン), a character from the Street Fighter EX series
• Sharon Collins Newman, a character in the daytime soap opera The Young and The Restless
• Sharon Carter, a Marvel Comics character
• Sharon Marsh, a character on South Park
• Sharon Rainworth, a character in the manga and anime series Pandora Hearts
• Sharon Rickman, a character from the popular British soap opera EastEnders
• Sharon Strzelecki, a character from Kath & Kim
• Sharon Valerii, a character from Battlestar Galactica

Other[link]

• The SS Sharon, a nineteenth century whaling ship whose story is detailed in In the Wake of Madness by historian Joan Druett
• The Rose of Sharon, a flower of uncertain identity mentioned in English language translations of the Bible
• Sharon fruit, a name for one type of Japanese persimmon developed in Israel
• The Sharon School, a Jewish school in Harare, Zimbabwe
• SHARON Wastewater Treatment Process
• The Sharon Statement, the founding statement of principles of the Young Americans for Freedom

References[link]

1. ^ [1]

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

Armin van Buuren
Van Buuren performing on Queensday in Amsterdam, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Armin van Buuren
Also known as	Gaia, AVB
Born	(1976-12-25) 25 December 1976 (age 35) Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands[1]
Origin	Koudekerk aan den Rijn, South Holland, Netherlands
Genres	Trance Progressive Trance Uplifting Trance Neo-trance
Occupations	Remixer, Producer, DJ, Composer, Musician, Pianist, Songwriter
Instruments	Synthesizer, drum machine, equalizer, personal computer
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Armada Music (2003–present), Vandit (Co-Joined), Ministry of Sound Australia
Associated acts	Alibi, Dark Matter, Electrix, Lilmotion, Major League, Monsieur Basculant, Red & White, Technology, Triple A, Wodka Wasters, Nadia Ali,[2] Christian Burns,[2] Ferry Corsten,[2] Adam Young,[2] BT,[2] Sophie Ellis-Bextor,[2] Guy Chambers[2]
Website	arminvanbuuren.com

Armin van Buuren (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑr.mɪn vɑn ˈby.rə(n)]), OON (born 25 December 1976 in Leiden, Netherlands)^[1] is a Dutch trance producer and DJ. Between 2007 and 2010, he was voted number one in DJ Magazine's annual top 100 list of the most popular DJs.^[1] In the 2011 list, he ranked in second place. Since 2001, Van Buuren has hosted a weekly radio show called A State of Trance, which claims to have around 15 million weekly listeners in 26 countries,^[3] which would make it one of the most listened-to radio shows in the world. His 2008 studio album, Imagine, entered the Dutch album chart at #1, a first for a dance music artist in Dutch music history.^[4]

Personal life[link]

Armin van Buuren was born in Leiden, Netherlands on 25 December 1976,^[1] but grew up in Koudekerk aan den Rijn. Van Buuren started making music when he was 14.^{[citation needed]} He was inspired by French electronic music composer, Jean Michel Jarre, and wished to become a great electronic music composer like Jarre.^{[citation needed]}

He finished high school at the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden in 1995, and left for college to study law at Leiden University. While studying law, Van Buuren's interest for making music blossomed, and he began working as a DJ in a local club called Nexus. As his musical career began to take off, he put his law degree on hold, although he did return to finish law school in 2003.

On 18 September 2009, Van Buuren married Erika van Thiel in Wassenaar, Netherlands. They met during a vacation on Crete, and had been together for nine years prior to the marriage.^[5][6]

On 12 January 2011, Van Buuren announced the pregnancy of his wife Erika on Twitter.^[7] He hoped the baby, due that summer, would be his "best production ever."^[7] Their daughter, Fenna, was born on 24 July 2011.^[8]

Career[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012)

1995–1999: Early career and success[link]

In 1995, Van Buuren had his first major success with a track called "Blue Fear", which was released under the Cyber Records label; he was 19 years old at the time. This track, which was produced in the "Euro Trance" mold, made it onto the UK Chart. Another successful track, "Communication" was released under the same label, and became popular in Ibiza, Spain in the summer of 1999. After being signed to AM PM Records, this track entered the UK Chart at No. 18 in 2000.

Armin van Buuren at Lizard Lounge, Dallas, Texas, 9 August 2008

Van Buuren began his DJ career at club Nexus in Leiden, where he learned to play long DJ sets, which were regularly six to seven hours per set.^[9] During school holidays he played more than four times a week. In 1999, he met Dave Lewis who introduced him as a DJ in England and the United States.^[9] His career accelerated, entering the DJ magazine Top-100 in November 2001 at Number 27.^[9] He has played in more than 25 different countries and can often be found on the main stage at big summer festivals. Van Buuren played a record-breaking twelve and a half hour set for Dancetheater in The Hague (the Netherlands).^[10][11] In the United Kingdom he performs regularly at Passion (resident 2002), Godskitchen, Gatecrasher, Slinky, Ministry of Sound, Peach and Golden.

In the beginning of 1999, Van Buuren started his label Armind together with United Recordings. The first release, Gig – "One," was well received. The second release "Touch Me," under the name Rising Star was signed to Ministry of Sound in the UK, before the record was released.

By the time of his third release, Gimmick – "Free" was signed to R&S Records, Van Buuren had managed to make his label popular very quickly. Under the surname Gaia he released "4 Elements" on Captivating Sounds, a sub-label of Warner Brothers. Teaming up with Tiësto, two new projects were born: Major League – "Wonder Where You Are?" was released on Black Hole Recordings and Alibi – "Eternity" was released on Armind. "Eternity" received club and chart success and was signed to Paul van Dyk's imprint Vandit Records. Another major collaboration followed this. Together with Ferry Corsten, Van Buuren recorded a riff-classic titled "Exhale" for the System F. album. Released as a single, this track reached gold status in less than a month.

[edit] 2000–2004: A State of Trance and 76

In 2000, Van Buuren started his own Armin van Buuren compilation series. He managed to find a balance between progressive house,and vocal trance music styles. His first compilation album, A State of Trance (not to be confused with his weekly A State of Trance radio shows), sold more than 10,000 copies and contains Van Buuren's well known remix of Moogwai, "Viola." His second album, Basic Instinct featured a new track: "Perpetuous Dreamer" – "The Sound of Goodbye." This track entered the Dutch charts in June 2001 at number 26. Later in the year, the track hit No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The third album, In Motion was released 6 August 2001. This album contained the real trance sound and was very popular in the United States. A fourth album, Transparence, followed in 2002. In 2003, he worked with such artists such as DJ Seth Alan Fannin throughout a global tour on Dance Revolution in Europe, selling out to crowds of 20,000 people in Armin's home country of the Netherlands.

In March 2001, Van Buuren started his own radio show on ID&T Radio (traditionally broadcast in Dutch and later English since ASOT 183). In this weekly two-hour show, entitled A State of Trance, he plays the latest popular trance music tracks. His show and the artists he features are popularized by publishing the artists and track titles on his website. This radio-show/website combination has proven popular internationally. When ID&T Radio changed genres in 2004, Van Buuren left and took A State of Trance with him. The show then moved to Fresh FM, a Dutch radio station. It is now a weekly feature on SLAM!FM, another Dutch radio station, DI.FM, an online radio station, and on XM Satellite Radio, channel 80 in the United States and Canada. A complete list of stations that broadcast A State of Trance can be found at the ASOT section of Armin's website. Also in 2004, Van Buuren remixed the 24 theme song into a trance hit. In June 2005, the 200th episode was celebrated in Amsterdam and subsequently aired on radio. The 250th (eight hour) anniversary episode was celebrated in Club Asta in The Hague, Netherlands, featuring Van Buuren, Jonas Steur, M.I.K.E., John Askew, Rank 1 and Menno de Jong.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, he had a residency at Glow in Washington D.C.,^[9] and he has played all across North America in San Francisco, Vancouver, Houston, Toronto, Boston, Calgary, Charlotte, Chicago, Montreal, Detroit, Edmonton, Atlanta, Austin, Denver, New York City, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Seattle and at The Necto (nightclub). He has also regularly appeared at Amnesia on the island of Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain. In October that year, Van Buuren was voted Number 5 in the DJ Magazine 100 top DJ's. The following year, he jumped up to the No. 3 spot, and held 3rd place for the next three years. His work left him at the No. 2 spot, just below Paul van Dyk in the 2006 polls, and, in 2007, Armin reached #1, heading the 2007 DJ Mag Top 100. He was voted No. 1 again in 2008, 2009 and again in 2010.^{[citation needed]}

In June 2003, Van Buuren released his debut studio album, 76, a 76-minute album divided into 13 tracks.^[12]

Armin Van Buuren performing at Avalon, Boston, Massachusetts 2007

[edit] 2005–present: Shivers, Imagine and Mirage

On 8 August 2005, Van Buuren released his second studio album, Shivers. On the album Van Buuren worked with artists such as Pakistani-American singer Nadia Ali, English singer Justine Suissa and American trance duo Gabriel & Dresden.

On 11 November 2006, he had a live performance called Armin Only in Ahoy Rotterdam for the second time (after 12 November 2005) with a nine hour solo set, where he performed to over 11,000 fans.

In the summer of 2007, Van Buuren recorded and released a live set at Amnesia, Ibiza. Universal Religion Chapter 3, Live from Amnesia at Ibiza was released on 28 September 2007 as a mix compilation on Armada Records and in the US as "Universal Religion 2008" on Ultra Records on 4 December 2007.

On 17 April 2008, Van Buuren released his third studio album, Imagine. It features collaboration with singers such as Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation and Jacqueline Govaert of Krezip. The album debuted at number one on the Dutch Albums Chart. Since the release of Imagine, Van Buuren has been working with Benno de Goeij and DJ-RA of Rank 1 on solo productions and remixes.^{[citation needed]}

19 April 2008 saw the 3rd edition of Armin Only, this time in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, Netherlands. The event was attended by 16,000 fans and (partly) broadcast live on Dutch National TV. During the second half of 2008, Van Buuren took this show abroad, with visits to Australia, Romania, Poland, Belgium, and a special New Years Eve 2008 show at Together As One in Los Angeles, U.S.

On 29 September 2008, Armin won the DJ Award for "Best Trance DJ" at Ibiza along with other nominees, that of Tiësto, Ferry Corsten and Paul van Dyk.

On 12 January 2008, Van Buuren was given the "Buma Cultuur Pop Award," the most prestigious Dutch music award.

In 2009, Foreign Media Games announced the production of In The Mix: Featuring Armin van Buuren, a music game being produced in collaboration with Cloud 9 Music and Van Buuren's Armada Music label. The title is scheduled to be released sometime in 2010 exclusively for the Wii console.^[13]

He has collaborated with his brother, guitarist Eller van Buuren, in such venues as Together As One in Los Angeles, U.S., on New Year's Eve 2009, as well as on Armin's 2008 album Imagine.

On 3 March 2010, Van Buuren was awarded with the prestigious Golden Harp, for his musical work and contribution to Dutch music, by the music collecting society BUMA/STEMRA at the 2010 Buma Harpen Gala in Hilversum, the Netherlands.^[14][15]

On 23 June 2010, it was announced that Van Buuren's fourth studio album, Mirage was due to be released on 10 September.^[16] The first single "Full Focus", was released through iTunes Store on 24 June at midnight.^[17] The song peaked at number sixty in the Netherlands. One of the confirmed tracks from the album is a collaboration with English singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor called Not Giving Up On Love, which was released as a single from Bextor's fourth studio album, Make a Scene.^[18][19] Armin also wrote a song for English singer Seal, but due to the release of his greatest hits album, Hits, the collaboration never came together.^[20]

On 12 September 2010, Van Buuren launched "A State of Sundays", a new weekly 24-hour radio show aired on Sirius XM Radio ^[21]

On 20 October 2010, Van Buuren won the award for Most Popular International DJ presented by The Golden Gnomes.^[22]

On 27 October 2010, Van Buuren was announced, for the 4th year running, as the number 1 DJ, and thus prolonging his title as 'Most Popular DJ in the World'.^[23]

The 2010 edition of Armin Only: Mirage kicked off on 13 November 2010, in Utrecht, Netherlands, with more shows coming in Saint-Petersburg, Kiev, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Beirut, Poznań, Moscow and Bratislava .^[24]

On 27 November 2010, Van Buuren made his third appearance in Shanghai, China.

On 2 February 2012, Van Buuren mentioned a new studio album in the works on episode #546 of his radio show, "A State Of Trance".

A State of Trance 500 (ASOT 500)[link]

To mark the 10 year anniversary and 500th episode of his weekly radio show A State of Trance, Van Buuren performed at five shows across five continents over five consecutive weeks along with various artists.

The first show was held on 19 March 2011 in Johannesburg, South Africa at the MTN Expo Center. In addition to Armin, Blake Jarrell, Protoculture, Lange, Leon Bolier, and Jorn van Deynhoven were performers. Super8 & Tab were to be part of the South African show, however a flight cancellation caused them to be absent for the event. The event was attended by over 20,000 people.

Miami's show was performed at the Ultra Music Festival on 27 March, and part of the show were Marcus Schossow, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Cosmic Gate, Gareth Emery, Ferry Corsten, ATB, and Sander van Doorn.

Argentina held the third celebration of ASOT 500 in club G.E.B.A Buenos Aires, with Heatbeat, Jochen Miller, Dash Berlin, Markus Schulz, John O'Callaghan and W & W. It was the only of the five ASOT 500 celebrations that was held outdoors. Van Buuren recorded a live video with his cell phone and uploaded it to Twitter while playing his live set.

ASOT 500 was celebrated in the Netherlands in Den Bosch. Accompanied by more than 30 DJs from countries all over the world, the event was attended by over 30,000 people. DJs present included Markus Schulz, Gareth Emery, Above & Beyond, Paul Oakenfold and Sean Tyas. The event was radio broadcast live to over 30 countries.^{[25][dated info]}

The final show was held in Sydney, Australia on 16 April at Acer Arena in Olympic Park. It was a sold out event weeks before the night. Artists present included Shogun, tyDi, Menno de Jong, Aly & Fila, and Alex M.O.R.P.H. Van Buuren played for three hours.

A State of Trance 550 (ASOT 550)[link]

In March 2012, Van Buuren performed in six shows across three continents as part of ASOT 550. He began his tour on March 1 in London, continued on to Moscow on March 7, and to Kiev, Ukraine on March 10. Then, he traveled to the United States to host his show at the Beyond Wonderland festival in Southern California. A week later on March 25, he closed out Ultra Music Festival 2012 for the 5th edition. This was followed by the final show in the Brabanthallen of Den Bosch, the Netherlands.

A State of Trance sponsored a tent at the Electric Daisy Carnival at Met Life stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on May 19, 2012, which by all accounts could be considered an unofficial extension of ASOT 550. ^[26]

Discography[link]

• 76 (2003)
• Shivers (2005)
• Imagine (2008)
• Mirage (2010)

Year Mixes[link]

Van Buuren is well known for his annual "Year Mix" which incorporates clips and custom mashups from the year's most popular trance tracks. Each year-mix consists of about 85 individual releases, edited into a two hour mix which is released on double CD as well as aired on his weekly radio show at the end of each year. According to Van Buuren, each year-mix takes several months to make, including thousands of digital audio edits and hundreds of audio plugins.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Armin van Buuren

• Official website
• Artist Page on ArmadaMusic.com
• Armin van Buuren on Myspace
• Armin van Buuren at Allmusic
• Armin van Buuren discography at Discogs
• Armin van Buuren discography at MusicBrainz
• Armin van Buuren at the Internet Movie Database
• Armin van Buuren's profile on Trancepedia
• Armada Music – the record label of Armin van Buuren
• Armin van Buuren – A State of Trance episodes
• *Flowd - artist channel on *Flowd network.

Sharon Cuneta-Pangilinan, better known as Sharon Cuneta, is a multi-awarded Filipino singer, actress and TV host dubbed the Megastar of Philippine Entertainment, and fondly called "Mega" by fans.^{[1] [2][3]} Her success in the movies (53 starring roles), television (9 shows) and recording (40 albums ) made her very popular during 1980's.^[4][5]

On 22 November 2011, following months of speculations, Sharon’s big move to TV5 was made official by signing a 1 billion^{[clarification needed]} contract with the Kapatid Network – the highest ever paid to a Filipino artist. She parted ways with ABS-CBN, her home network of 24 years, on a cordial note.^{[6] [7] [8]}

Early life[link]

(born January 6, 1966) Her mother, Elaine Gamboa, hails from Santa Ana, Pampanga while her father, Pablo Cuneta (1910–2000), was mayor of Pasay City for four decades. She is half-Tagalog on her paternal side and one-fourth Kapampangan and one-fourth Spanish-American on her maternal side.^[9]

Cuneta grew up surrounded by music, listening to her dad's collection of 45s, 78s and 33¹⁄₃s. Her aunt is '60s Shingaling Sweetheart Helen Gamboa. Cuneta during her early years made her first TV appearance in Kuya Ike Lozada's show, in the Bulilit portion, where she mimicked her Tita Helen's songs. Cuneta was just as young when she appeared in her first movie, the Rosanna Ortiz-George Estregan starrer Lovers for Hire. She played one of Roderick Paulate's playmates.

She attended International School Manila (Makati Campus), Boston University (USA) and the University of the Philippines Open University.

1978–1983: Rise to Fame[link]

Cuneta first appeared on Philippine pop charts in 1978 as a 12-year-old, singing "Mr. D.J." which was very popular and earned her the title of "D.J.'s Pet" (which was also the title of her first album).^{[10][unreliable source?]} "Mr. D.J.", together with other hit singles including "Kahit Maputi Na Ang Buhok Ko" and "High School Life" were released during the Manila Sound era. Other hit albums followed, and Cuneta was asked to sing on many movie soundtracks of the time - becoming the first "movie soundtrack star" in the country.

She starred in projects from Viva Films. At age 15, her first feature film, 1981's Dear Heart paired her with fellow teeny-bopper Gabby Concepcion. The movie was a huge success thus crowning her as the Popular Teenage Queen of RP movies by Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation, Inc. (GMMSF).

Her early movie roles launched her as a "poor little rich girl". Although raised in an influential rich political family, she appealed to the sosyal (socially rich) and masa (poor masses) crowd of Philippine society, with her intelligence, humor and down-to-earth personality.

She started hosting with other teenage prodigies on GMA Supershow, later called Germspesyal, with German Moreno and C.U.T.E. (Call Us Two For Entertainment) with her aunt from Pampanga, former actress Helen Gamboa, via GMA 7.

She paved her way to fame in the early 1980s as a young recording artist and eventually made it successful as a teen actress. Sharon was one of the top stars amongst her contemporaries together with Maricel Soriano and Julie Vega. Cuneta earned acting awards in her early years in the business. Bukas Luluhod Ang Mga Tala ^{[11][unreliable source?]} was her history-breaking movie in 1984 and followed by another certified blockbuster Bituing Walang Ningning ^[12] in 1985, and was tagged as The Philippines' Megastar. On 1986 Sharon Cuenta was meant to duet with Shirley Jeffrey from being signed to Viva Records but was never seen on the recording studio.

1984–Present: Mega Stardom[link]

Cuneta's success was witnessed by many of the Filipino people. Her movies were all box-office hits, crowning her the Box-Office Queen for many years from 1984 where she wore her first crown. Her recordings were chart-toppers and her television shows were loved by many Filipinos. Her acting abilities were also recognized by the critics and various award-giving bodies granting her the Grandslam Best Actress in 1996 for the movie Madrasta.^{[13][14][unreliable source?]} She became a household name in the Philippines resulting in her face being seen everywhere: on big billboards, on TV commercials and in product endorsements.^{[15][unreliable source?][16][unreliable source?][17][verification needed][2][verification needed]} Her popularity made her one of the most admired Filipinos.^{[18][verification needed]}

Her musical-variety show, The Sharon Cuneta Show was one of the longest-running television shows in Philippine show business from 1986 through 1997.

She achieved consistent recognition both in her recording^{[19][verification needed]} and acting career. Cuneta's movie projects were mostly certified blockbusters and history-breaking.

Cuneta achieved mega stardom since then and considered as one of the Philippine cinema's greatest box-office queens.

1980s: The New Philippine Movie Queen[link]

1984 was the year when Cuneta's producers at Viva Films planned to change her image from poor-little-rich-girl image into from rags to riches type of movies. She made three movies that year including the movie Bukas Luluhod ang Mga Tala which broke all box-office records and made her the new Box-office Queen. She continued to make movies following the rags to riches formula and most of those successful movies came from popular comic novels like Bukas Luluhod Ang Mga Tala, Dapat Ka Bang Mahalin, Bituing Walang Ningning and Babangon Ako't Dudurugin Kita to name a few. She also won the Best Actress Award for the movies Dapat Ka Bang Mahalin? from FAMAS Awards and Sa Hirap at Ginhawa from Film Academy of the Philippines.

Because of her popularity, and her movies were acknowledged as having established a consistency at the box office, the Philippine press began to refer to her as 'Megastar' in their write-ups.

Aside from doing blockbuster movies, Cuneta also had a weekly musical variety show The Sharon Cuneta Show every Sunday night, featuring guests such as popular singer-songwriter Clair Marlo.

She married her love-team partner Gabby Concepcion and bore their first child named Maria Kristina Cassandra in 1985, but her popularity was not affected and made even stronger.

She continued to make blockbuster movies with her mother studio Viva Films and eventually elevated to a Hall of Fame as Box Office Queen in the later part of the 1980s.

1990s: Grandslam Best Actress Era[link]

Cuneta's reign as box-office queen even made stronger when she did movies with the popular action stars like Fernando Poe Jr. (Kahit Konting Pagtingin-1990) Robin Padilla ,(Maging Sino Ka Man-1991), Ramon 'Bong' Revilla Jr. (Pangako Sa 'Yo-1992), Rudy Fernandez (Kung Kailangan Mo Ako-1993) to name a few. All those movies were certified blockbusters, that though she was already elevated to Hall of Fame as Box-Office Queen in 1990, she was crowned again in 1991 through 1993 because of the success of her movies.

For the first time, in 1996, Cuneta made a movie outside her mother studio Viva Films via the movie Madrasta from Star Cinema. This movie garnered her the Best Actress Award from all major award-giving bodies in the Philippines, hence a Grandslam win for her outstanding performance in the movie. Cuneta became one of the few actresses (along with Nora Aunor, Vilma Santos, and Lorna Tolentino) to be given a grand slam best actress award in Philippine Cinema.^{[20][verification needed]} In this era, she achieved continuous recognition in her recording, hosting and acting career.

On April 28, 1996, Sharon Cuneta walked down the aisle for the second time, to marry Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan. She left the country for a while to be with her husband in Boston who was studying at Harvard University. Even though Cuneta was not in the country, she remained in the limelight because of her many TV commercials that Filipinos were able to view everyday. She did two movies before she left for the States. When she arrived in 1998, ABS-CBN produced a talk show for her entitled Sharon.

2000s: Mega30, Three Decades of Megastardom[link]

Year 2000, Cuneta managed to maintain her status as the Queen of Philippine movies by filming another blockbuster movie from StarCinema entitled Minsan Minahal Kita. Cuneta's late father, Pablo Cuneta, was mayor of Pasay City for four decades. He died at the age of 90 in September 2000.

She gave birth to her second child Simone Francesca Emmanuelle (Frankie) in December 2000 and her third daughter was born, Mariel Daniella Sophia (Miel), in September 2004, and decided to leave her television show.

In 2002, at age 36, Cuneta was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Board of Directors of the Phil. Association of Recording Industry via the Dangal ng Musikang Plilipino Award on her 25th years in music industry.^[19]

In 2003 she made a film with independent producer Unitel Pictures entitled Crying Ladies. With this film, she won a Best Actress award from The Brussels International Independent Film Festival held in 2004. Prior to that, she was awarded Best Actress locally by PASADO Awards and People's Choice in the 2003 Metro Manila Film Festival.

She did not make any movies from 2004 through 2007 while she concentrated her career in television and music. Her album Isn't it Romantic was successful enough to warrant the making of Isn't it Romantic II.

On January 6, 2006, The Megastar returned to television from her maternity leave with a 40th birthday celebration on ABS-CBN's Ang Pagbabalik Ng Bituin ("The Return of the Star"). The following month, a new talk show entitled Sharon aired, which she is still currently hosting.

After a long rest from filmmaking, she made another movie entitled Caregiver in 2008 which, according to ABS-CBN, is their most expensive film. In this film, Cuneta played the role of a school teacher working abroad as a caregiver. The movie was a certified blockbuster making it one of the highest grossing films of 2008.^[21]

Her long-time nanny/yaya Loreta Benitez aka "Yaya Luring" passed away last December 19, 2009 at the age of 83 due to cardiac arrest.

On January 12, 2010, coinciding with her annual birthday show, her self-titled magazine Sharon at Home^[22] was launched and has since become one of the best-selling titles of ABS-CBN Publishing.

She is now hosting a talent show for young women entitled "Star Power" and has singers Christian Bautista & Erik Santos as her co-hosts. Her panel of judges are Edgar Mortiz, Mitch Valdez, & Billy Crawford.

On November 22, 2011, She signed a 5 years contract with TV5 for 1 billion Pesos according to celebrity tweets in microblogging site Twitter, the biggest talent fee ever in any local artist in the Philippine Showbiz History, the biggest network deal, ever, for a local celebrity.^{[citation needed]}

International Success[link]

Cuneta is the first Filipina artist to sell out at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium first in 1988 and her latest June 11, 2005 concert. Her poster is included in The Shrine's Hall of Fame next to stars Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand and the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico. She created a traffic jam in the 1990s and puzzled the former Mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley. After hearing of her success, the mayor attended the concert and awarded Cuneta with an Honorary Key to the City of Los Angeles.

She sang a duet in the 2001 with Hong Kong star Andy Lau, with whom she sang "In Your Eyes" composed by Jim Brickman.

Personal life[link]

Sharon Cuneta publicly married Gabby Concepcion in 1984, which was later annulled due to irreconcilable differences. Their wedding ceremony became the most attended nuptial in Philippine history, which was held at the Manila Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, and was personally sponsored by Ferdinand Marcos and various high-ranking Roman Catholic prelates of the Republic of the Philippines. Together, they have a daughter, Kristina Cassandra Concepcion . Cuneta is currently married to Kiko Pangilinan and have two daughters together.

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Movies[link]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Awards & Special Citations[link]

Acting Awards[link]

• 1984. Best Actress - Sa Hirap at Ginhawa. FAP ^[25][26]
• 1984, Best Actress - Dapat Ka Bang Mahalin. FAMAS.^[26]
• 1984, Best Actress- Dapat Ka Bang Mahalin. KOMOPEB (Komiks Operation Brotherhood Inc).^[26]
• 1992, Best Actress- Tayong Dalawa. Movie Magazine Television Awards.Famas Awards 1985</ref>
• 1997, Movie Actress of the Year - Madrasta. PMPC Star Awards for Movies.^[26][27]
• 1997, Best Actress - Madrasta. FAP.^[26][27]
• 1997, Best Actress - Madrasta. People’s Choice Awards ^[26]
• 1997, Best Actress - Madrasta. FAMAS.^[26][27]
• 1997, Best Actress (Pinakamahusay na Pangunahing Aktres) - Madrasta. Gawad Urian.^[26][27]
• 2002, Best Actress - Magkapatid. MFF Manila Film Festival^[26][28]
• 2003, People's Choice Best Actress- Crying Ladies. Metro Manila Film Festival 2003
• 2004, Pinakapasadong Aktres - Crying Ladies. Pasado Awards.
• 2004, Best Actress - Crying Ladies. Brussels International Independent Film Festival.^{[29][verification needed]}
• 2004, DEKADA Best Actress Honoree . PMPC Star Awards for Movies
• 2008, Film Actress of the Year - Caregiver. 40th Box Office Entertainment Awards.^{[citation needed]}
• 2008, Pinakapasadong Aktres - Caregiver. Pasado Awards^[30]
• 2008, Movie Actress of the Year - Caregiver. PMPC Star Awards for Movies.^[31]
• 2008, Legendary Award for acting ( 1st visionary awards )
• 2009, Best Actress - Mano Po 6. Metro Manila Film Festival 2009
• 2009, Best Actress - Caregiver. 3rd Gawad Genio Awards
• 2010, Golden Artist Awardee for cinematic excellence from FAMAS.

Box-Office Awards[link]

• 1981–1982, Popular Teenage Queen of RP Movies. Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation, Inc.(GMMSF) ^[32]
• 1982–1983, Miss RP Movies. GMMSF.^[32]
• 1983–1984, Miss RP Movies. GMMSF.^[32]
• 1984, Box Office Queen of RP Movies. GMMSF.^[32]
• 1985, Box Office Queen of RP Movies. GMMSF.^[32]
• 1986, Top Female Box Office Star of 1985. "Bida sa Takilya" given during the FAMAS Awards
• 1986, Box Office Queen of RP Movies. GMMSF.^[32]
• 1987, Box Office Queen of RP Movies. GMMSF.^[32]
• 1989, Box Office Queen of RP Movies. GMMSF.^[32]
• 1990, Elevated to the Box Office Hall of Fame. GMMSF.
• 1991, Maging Sino Ka Man, Box Office Queen of RP Movies. GMMSF.^[32]
• 1991, Box Office Record Award for "Maging Sino Ka Man" (with Robin Padilla as co-awardee) given by the Greater Metro Manila Theater Association.
• 1992, Pangako Sa ‘Yo, Box Office Queen of RP Movies. GMMSF.^[32]
• 1993, Kung kailangan Mo ako, Box Office Queen of RP Movies. GMMSF.^[32]
• 1996, Madrasta, Box Office Queen of RP Movies. GMMSF.^[32]
• 2008, Caregiver, Mother's Day Box Office Queen. GMMSF.

Concerts/Music Awards[link]

• 1980, Jukebox Princess. BAMCI Promotions Awards, 1981.
• 1985, Most Outstanding Female Concert Hall Act for “Sharon Solo With The Boys 1984 Concert. Aliw Awards
• 1991, One of 10 Most Outstanding Recording Artists. 7th Annual Tining Awards. (NPCP)
• 1991, Best Female Vocal Performance (Kung Tayo’y Magkakalayo). DZMB
• 1992, Best Performance by a Female Recording Artist (Ngayon at Kailanman). 1993 Awit Awards
• 1998, Gintong Tining Awardee. Metro Star Search.
• 2002, Dangal ng Musikang Plilipino Award (Lifetime Achievement Award). Board of Directors of the Phil. Association of Recording Industry. November 2002.^{[19][verification needed]}
• 2006, Lifetime Achievement Awardee . MYX
• 2006, Best Female Major Concert. Awit Awards
• 2006, Platinum Circle Awardee. ASAP 06
• 2006, Elite Platinum Circle Awardee . ASAP 06
• 2007, Outstanding Achievement by a Female Recording Artist (GMMSF 2007)
• 2007, Platinum Circle Awardee. ASAP 07
• 2008, Platinum Circle Awardee. ASAP 08
• 2010, Diamond Record award for Isn't It Romantic? Vol.1

TV Hosting Awards[link]

• 1989, Best Female TV Host. The Sharon Cuneta show, PMPC Star Awards For Television.
• 1990, Best Female TV Host. The Sharon Cuneta Show, PMPC Star Awards for Television ^[33]
• 1993, Best Female TV Host. The Sharon Cuneta Show, PMPC Star Awards for Television ^[33]
• 1994, Best Female TV Host. The Sharon Cuneta Show, PMPC Star Awards for Television ^[33]
• 1995, Best Female TV Host. The Sharon Cuneta Show, PMPC Star Awards for Television
• 1996, Best Female TV Host. The Sharon Cuneta Show, PMPC Star Awards for Television
• 2000, Best Talk Show Host. Sharon, KBP Golden Dove Awards
• 2006, Sharon, Highly Commended Best Entertainment Presenter, 2006 Asian Television Awards.^[34]
• 2011, Best Lifestyle Show Host. Sharon at Home Golden Screen Awards for Television(Lifestyle Channel).

Magazine Awards[link]

• 1998, One of Istudyante’s (the first national newspaper for students) “ Idols of our Time”. With Robert Jaworski & Lean Alejandro. 1988.
• 1999, No.1 in The 15 Brightest Stars in Philippine Showbiz - Moviestar Magazine, October 13, 1999 Issue^{[35][verification needed]}
• 2001, One of the 10 Most Beautiful Women of Mega Magazine. 2001
• 2001, Reader’s Choice Awards- Female Star Quality. YES! Magazine
• 2002, Reader’s Choice Awards- Female Star Quality. YES! Magazine
• 2003, No.31 in BizNewsAsia's list of Top 100 Most Powerful Filipinos for 2002.
• 2003, One of Yes Magazine 15 best dressed celebrities.
• 2004, No.20 in BizNewsAsia’s list of Top 100 Most Powerful Filipinos for 2003.
• 2004, One of Asia’s (Under-50) Movers and Shakers. (One of four Filipinos listed) Asia Inc. Magazine. February 2004.^[2]
• 2005, One of 15 Greatest Actresses Of Phil.Cinema ( YES! Magazine )
• 2006, One of 15 Greatest Actresses Of Phil.Cinema ( S-Magazine )
• 2007, One of YES! 100 Most Beautiful Stars
• 2008, One of YES! 100 Most Beautiful Stars
• 2008, People Of The Year Awardee.People Asia Magazine.^{[36][unreliable source?]}
• 2008, No.2 Yes Magazine Top 20 celebrity endorsers of 2008.
• 2009, One of YES! 100 Most Beautiful Stars ( Beautiful at any age category )^{[37][unreliable source?]}
• 2009, Newsmaker Of The Year.Celebrity Chronicle. (FIL-AM Publications ).
• 2010, One Of Reader's Digest Philippines' Most Trusted 2010

Individuals

• 2010, No.7 Yes Mag Top 20 Celebrity Stars who ruled the decade.
• 2010, One of YES! 100 Most Beautiful Stars ( Charisma Category ).
• 2011, One of the Faces Of The Decades.A fusion of beauty and talent.S-Magazine April 2011 issue.
• 2011, One of S-MAG 10 Most outstanding moms in showbiz.
• 2011, No.3 Yes Mag TOp 20 Endorsers.
• 2011, 1 of Manila Bulletin's TOP 25 greatest female stars by Mario Hernando.

Special Awards[link]

• 2001, Ulirang Ina Awardee^{[38][verification needed]}
• 2001, Hallmark Channel Awardee^{[39][verification needed]}
• 2002, Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Medal For Cinema from the city of Manila in 2002.
• 2004, A.C. Nielsen cited her as The Most effective product endorser.
• 2004, Recipient The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) ^{[40][verification needed]}
• 2005, PASADO's Natatanging Artista ng 2004^{[41][verification needed]}

• 2006, Recipient Top 5 Most Admired Female TV Personalities^{[42][verification needed]}
• 2007, Recipient Top 10 Most Admired Female TV Personalities^{[43][unreliable source?]}
• 2008, Recipient Top 10 Most Admired Female TV Personalities^{[citation needed]}
• 2008, No.1 Pinakamabentang Celebrity Endorser ( QTV Channel ) "ANG PINAKA".
• 2009, One of Cinema One 15 Legends.
• 2009, Recipient Top 10 Most Admired Female TV Personalities.
• 2009, No.1 Top 10 Celebrity Endorsers of 2009 according to Manila Standard.
• 2010, Recipient Most Admired Female TV Personality
• 2011, Icon award from ENPRESS.
• 2012, Pinaka Eksenadorang aktres ng taon.(paparazzi show tv 5)

See also[link]

• Kuh Ledesma
• Rico J. Puno
• Martin Nievera
• Pops Fernandez
• Gary Valenciano
• Amapola (Amapola Cabase)

References[link]

Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell performing in 1983
Background information
Birth name	Roberta Joan Anderson
Born	(1943-11-07) November 7, 1943 (age 68) Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada
Genres	Folk-rock, folk-jazz/jazz, pop
Occupations	Musician, singer songwriter, painter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, dulcimer, ukulele, auto-harp
Labels	Reprise (1968–1972, 1994–2001) Asylum (1972–1981) Geffen (1982–1993) Nonesuch (2002) Hear Music (2007)
Associated acts	Buffy Sainte-Marie, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, James Taylor, L.A. Express, Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Charles Mingus, Larry Klein, Thomas Dolby, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Neil Young, Glenn Frey
Website	www.jonimitchell.com

Joni Mitchell, CC (born Roberta Joan Anderson; November 7, 1943) is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter.^[1] Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto. In 1965 she moved to the United States and, touring constantly, began to be recognized when her original songs ("Urge for Going," "Chelsea Morning," "Both Sides, Now," "The Circle Game") were covered by notable folk singers, allowing her to sign with Reprise Records and record her own debut album in 1968.^[2] Settling in Southern California, Mitchell and her popular songs like "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Woodstock" helped define an era and a generation. Her more starkly personal 1971 recording Blue has been called one of the best albums ever made.^[3] Musically restless, Mitchell switched labels and began moving toward jazz rhythms by way of lush pop textures on 1974's Court and Spark, her best-selling LP, featuring her radio hits "Help Me" and "Free Man in Paris."^[4]