The Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra

Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra

An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus.^[1] The orchestra grew by accretion throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, but changed very little in composition during the course of the 20th century.

A smaller-sized orchestra for this time period (of about fifty players or fewer) is called a chamber orchestra. A full-size orchestra (about 100 players) may sometimes be called a "symphony orchestra" or "philharmonic orchestra"; these modifiers do not necessarily indicate any strict difference in either the instrumental constitution or role of the orchestra, but can be useful to distinguish different ensembles based in the same city (for instance, the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra). A symphony orchestra will usually have over eighty musicians on its roster, in some cases over a hundred, but the actual number of musicians employed in a particular performance may vary according to the work being played and the size of the venue. A leading chamber orchestra might employ as many as fifty musicians; some are much smaller than that. Orchestras can also be found in schools. The term concert orchestra may sometimes be used (e.g., BBC Concert Orchestra; RTÉ Concert Orchestra)—no distinction is made on size of orchestra by use of this term, although their use is generally distinguished as for live concert. As such they are commonly chamber orchestras.

Instrumentation[link]

Viotti Chamber Orchestra performing the 3rd movement of Mozart's Divertimento in D Major (K136)

The typical symphony orchestra consists of four proportionate groups of similar musical instruments called the woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings, and also the fifth proportionate group of similar musical instruments like the rhythm section in modern times. The orchestra, depending on the size, contains almost all of the standard instruments in each group. In the history of the orchestra, its instrumentation has been expanded over time, often agreed to have been standardized by the classical period^[2] and Beethoven's influence on the classical model.^[3]

Beethoven's influence[link]

The so-called "standard complement" of double winds and brass in the orchestra from the first half of the 19th century is generally attributed to the forces called for by Ludwig van Beethoven. The exceptions to this are his Symphony No. 4, Violin Concerto, and Piano Concerto No. 4, which each specify a single flute. The composer's instrumentation almost always included paired flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns and trumpets. Beethoven carefully calculated the expansion of this particular timbral "palette" in Symphonies 3, 5, 6, and 9 for an innovative effect. The third horn in the "Eroica" Symphony arrives to provide not only some harmonic flexibility, but also the effect of "choral" brass in the Trio. Piccolo, contrabassoon, and trombones add to the triumphal finale of his Symphony No. 5. A piccolo and a pair of trombones help deliver storm and sunshine in the Sixth. The Ninth asks for a second pair of horns, for reasons similar to the "Eroica" (four horns has since become standard); Beethoven's use of piccolo, contrabassoon, trombones, and untuned percussion—plus chorus and vocal soloists—in his finale, are his earliest suggestion that the timbral boundaries of "symphony" might be expanded for good. But for several decades after his departure, symphonic instrumentation was faithful to Beethoven's well-established model, with few exceptions.

Expanded instrumentation[link]

Apart from the core orchestral complement, various other instruments are called for occasionally.^[4] These include the classical guitar, heckelphone, flugelhorn, cornet, harpsichord, and organ. Saxophones, for example, appear in a limited range of 19th and 20th century scores. While appearing only as featured solo instruments in some works, for example Maurice Ravel's orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances, the saxophone is included in other works, such as Ravel's Boléro, Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Suites 1 and 2, Vaughan Williams Symphony No.6 and Symphony No.9 and William Walton's Belshazzar's Feast, and many other works as a member of the orchestral ensemble. The euphonium is featured in a few late Romantic and 20th century works, usually playing parts marked "tenor tuba", including Gustav Holst's The Planets, and Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben. The Wagner tuba, a modified member of the horn family, appears in Richard Wagner's cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and several other works by Richard Strauss, Béla Bartók, and others; it has a prominent role in Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 in E Major.^[5] Cornets appear in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake, Claude Debussy's La Mer, and several orchestral works by Hector Berlioz. Unless these instruments are played by members doubling on another instrument (for example, a trombone player changing to euphonium for a certain passage), orchestras will use freelance musicians to augment their regular rosters.

The 20th century orchestra was far more flexible than its predecessors.^[6] During composers Beethoven and Felix Mendelssohn's time, the orchestra was composed of a fairly standard core of instruments which was very rarely modified. As time progressed, and as the Romantic period saw changes in accepted modification with composers such as Berlioz, followed by Johannes Brahms and eventually Gustav Mahler, the 20th century saw that instrumentation could practically be hand-picked by the composer. Today, however, the modern orchestra has generally been considered standardized with the modern instrumentation listed below.

With this history in mind, the orchestra can be seen to have a general evolution as outlined below. The first is a typical classical orchestra (i.e. Beethoven/Haydn), the second is typical of an early/mid-romantic (i.e. Brahms/Dvořák/Tchaikovsky), late romantic/early 20th century (i.e. Wagner/Mahler/Stravinsky), to the common complement of a present day modern orchestras (i.e. Adams/Barber/Copland/Glass).

Organization[link]

Conducting an orchestra

Among the instrument groups and within each group of instruments, there is a generally accepted hierarchy. Every instrumental group (or section) has a principal who is generally responsible for leading the group and playing orchestral solos. The violins are divided into two groups, first violin and second violin, each with its principal. The principal first violin is called the concertmaster (or "leader" in the UK) and is considered the leader of not only the string section, but of the entire orchestra, subordinate only to the conductor.

The principal trombone is considered the leader of the low brass section, while the principal trumpet is generally considered the leader of the entire brass section. Similarly, the principal oboe is considered the leader of the woodwind section, and is the player to whom all others tune. The horn, while technically a brass instrument, often acts in the role of both woodwind and brass. Most sections also have an assistant principal (or co-principal or associate principal), or in the case of the first violins, an assistant concertmaster, who often plays a tutti part in addition to replacing the principal in his or her absence.

A section string player plays unison with the rest of the section, except in the case of divided (divisi) parts, where upper and lower parts in the music are often assigned to "outside" (nearer the audience) and "inside" seated players. Where a solo part is called for in a string section, the section leader invariably plays that part. Tutti wind and brass players generally play a unique but non-solo part. Section percussionists play parts assigned to them by the principal percussionist.

In modern times, the musicians are usually directed by a conductor, although early orchestras did not have one, giving this role instead to the concertmaster or the harpsichordist playing the continuo. Some modern orchestras also do without conductors, particularly smaller orchestras and those specializing in historically accurate (so-called "period") performances of baroque and earlier music.

The most frequently performed repertoire for a symphony orchestra is Western classical music or opera. However, orchestras are used sometimes in popular music, extensively in film music, and more and more often in video game music. The term "orchestra" can also be applied to a jazz ensemble, for example in performance of big band music.

History of the orchestra[link]

Early history[link]

Image of an Assyrian Orchestra, from a slab in the British Museum, dating from 7th century BC. There are 7 portable harps, a dulcimer, two double reed-pipes (aulos), and a drum.

The modern orchestra has its historical roots in Ancient Egypt. The first orchestras were made up of small groups of musicians that gathered for festivals, holidays or funerals. During the time of the Roman Empire, the government suppressed the musicians and informal ensembles were banned^[why?], but they reappeared after the collapse of the Empire. It was not until the 11th century that families of instruments started to appear with differences in tones and octaves. True modern orchestras started in the late 16th century when composers started writing music for instrumental groups. In the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy the households of nobles had musicians to provide music for dancing and the court, however with the emergence of the theatre, particularly opera, in the early 17th century, music was increasingly written for groups of players in combination, which is the origin of orchestral playing. Opera originated in Italy, and Germany eagerly followed. Dresden, Munich and Hamburg successively built opera houses. At the end of the 17th century opera flourished in England under Henry Purcell, and in France under Lully, who with the collaboration of Molière also greatly raised the status of the entertainments known as ballets, interspersed with instrumental and vocal music.

In the 17th century and early 18th century, instrumental groups were taken from all of the available talent. A composer such as Johann Sebastian Bach had control over almost all of the musical resources of a town, whereas Handel would hire the best musicians available. This placed a premium on being able to rewrite music for whichever singers or musicians were best suited for a performance—Handel produced different versions of the Messiah oratorio almost every year.

As nobility began to build retreats away from towns, they began to hire musicians to form permanent ensembles. Composers such as the young Joseph Haydn would then have a fixed body of instrumentalists to work with. At the same time, travelling virtuoso performers such as the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would write concerti that showed off their skills, and they would travel from town to town, arranging concerts along the way. The aristocratic orchestras worked together over long periods, making it possible for ensemble playing to improve with practice.

Mannheim school[link]

This change, from civic music making where the composer had some degree of time or control, to smaller court music making and one-off performance, placed a premium on music that was easy to learn, often with little or no rehearsal. The results were changes in musical style and emphasis on new techniques. Mannheim had one of the most famous orchestras of that time, where notated dynamics and phrasing, previously quite rare, became standard (see Mannheim school). It also attended a change in musical style from the complex counterpoint of the baroque period, to an emphasis on clear melody, homophonic textures, short phrases, and frequent cadences: a style that would later be defined as classical.

Throughout the late 18th century composers would continue to have to assemble musicians for a performance, often called an "Academy", which would, naturally, feature their own compositions. In 1781, however, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra was organized from the merchants concert society, and it began a trend towards the formation of civic orchestras that would accelerate into the 19th century. In 1815, Boston's Handel and Haydn Society was founded, in 1842 the New York Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic were formed, and in 1858, the Hallé Orchestra was formed in Manchester. There had long been standing bodies of musicians around operas, but not for concert music: this situation changed in the early 19th century as part of the increasing emphasis in the composition of symphonies and other purely instrumental forms. This was encouraged by composer critics such as E. T. A. Hoffmann who declared that instrumental music was the "purest form" of music. The creation of standing orchestras also resulted in a professional framework where musicians could rehearse and perform the same works repeatedly, leading to the concept of a repertoire in instrumental music.

Performance standards[link]

In the 1830s, conductor François Antoine Habeneck, began rehearsing a selected group of musicians in order to perform the symphonies of Beethoven, which had not been heard of in their entirety in Paris. He developed techniques of rehearsing the strings separately, notating specifics of performance, and other techniques of cuing entrances that were spread across Europe. His rival and friend Hector Berlioz would adopt many of these innovations in his touring of Europe.

Instrumental craftsmanship[link]

The invention of the piston and rotary valve by Heinrich Stölzel and Friedrich Blühmel, both Silesians, in 1815, was the first in a series of innovations, including the development of modern keywork for the flute by Theobald Boehm and the innovations of Adolphe Sax in the woodwinds. These advances would lead Hector Berlioz to write a landmark book on instrumentation, which was the first systematic treatise on the use of instrumental sound as an expressive element of music.^[7]

The effect of the invention of valves for the brass was felt almost immediately: instrument-makers throughout Europe strove together to foster the use of these newly refined instruments and continuing their perfection; and the orchestra was before long enriched by a new family of valved instruments, variously known as tubas, or euphoniums and bombardons, having a chromatic scale and a full sonorous tone of great beauty and immense volume, forming a magnificent bass. This also made possible a more uniform playing of notes or intonation, which would lead to a more and more "smooth" orchestral sound that would peak in the 1950s with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra and the conducting of Herbert von Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic.

During this transition period, which gradually eased the performance of more demanding "natural" brass writing, many composers (notably Wagner and Berlioz) still notated brass parts for the older "natural" instruments. This practice made it possible for players still using natural horns, for instance, to perform from the same parts as those now playing valved instruments. However, over time, use of the valved instruments became standard, indeed universal, until the revival of older instruments in the contemporary movement towards authentic performance (sometimes known as "historically informed performance").

At the time of the invention of the valved brass, the pit orchestra of most operetta composers seems to have been modest. An example is Sullivan's use of two flutes, one oboe, two clarinets, one bassoon, two horns, two cornets (a piston), two trombones, drums and strings.

During this time of invention, winds and brass were expanded, and had an increasingly easy time playing in tune with each other: particularly the ability for composers to score for large masses of wind and brass that previously had been impractical. Works such as the Requiem of Hector Berlioz would have been impossible to perform just a few decades earlier, with its demanding writing for twenty woodwinds, as well as four gigantic brass ensembles each including around four trumpets, four trombones, and two tubas.

Wagner's influence[link]

The next major expansion of symphonic practice came from Richard Wagner's Bayreuth orchestra, founded to accompany his musical dramas. Wagner's works for the stage were scored with unprecedented scope and complexity: indeed, his score to Das Rheingold calls for six harps. Thus, Wagner envisioned an ever-more-demanding role for the conductor of the theater orchestra, as he elaborated in his influential work "On Conducting".^[8] This brought about a revolution in orchestral composition, and set the style for orchestral performance for the next eighty years. Wagner's theories re-examined the importance of tempo, dynamics, bowing of string instruments and the role of principals in the orchestra. Conductors who studied his methods would go on to be influential themselves.

20th-century orchestra[link]

As the early 20th century dawned, symphony orchestras were larger, better funded, and better trained than ever before; consequently, composers could compose larger and more ambitious works. The influence of Gustav Mahler was particularly innovational; in his later symphonies, such as the mammoth Symphony No. 8, Mahler pushes the furthest boundaries of orchestral size, employing huge forces. By the peak years of Shostakovich, orchestras could support the most enormous forms of symphonic expression. With the recording era beginning, the standard of performance reached a pinnacle. In recordings, small errors in a performance could be "fixed", but many older conductors and composers could remember a time when simply "getting through" the music as best as possible was the standard. Combined with the wider audience made possible by recording, this led to a renewed focus on particular conductors and on a high standard of orchestral execution.^[9] As sound was added to silent film, the virtuoso orchestra became a key component of the establishment of motion pictures as mass-market entertainment.

Counter-revolution[link]

In the 1920s and 1930s, economic as well as artistic considerations led to the formation of smaller concert societies, particularly those dedicated to the performance of music of the avant-garde, including Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg. This tendency to start festival orchestras or dedicated groups would also be pursued in the creation of summer musical festivals, and orchestras for the performance of smaller works. Among the most influential of these was the Academy of St Martin in the Fields under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner.

With the advent of the early music movement, smaller orchestras where players worked on execution of works in styles derived from the study of older treatises on playing became common. These include the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the London Classical Players under the direction of Sir Roger Norrington and the Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood, among others.

Recent trends in the United States[link]

In the United States, the late 20th century saw a crisis of funding and support for orchestras.cite needed The size and cost of a symphony orchestra, compared to the size of the base of supporters, became an issue that struck at the core of the institution. Few orchestras could fill auditoriums, and the time-honored season-subscription system became increasingly anachronistic, as more and more listeners would buy tickets on an ad hoc basis for individual events. Orchestral endowments and—more centrally to the daily operation of American orchestras—orchestral donors have seen investment portfolios shrink or produce lower yields, reducing the ability of donors to contribute; further, there has been a trend toward donors finding other social causes more compelling. Also, while government funding is less central to American than European orchestras, cuts in such funding are still significant for American ensembles. Finally, the drastic falling-off of revenues from recording, tied to no small extent to changes in the recording industry itself, began a period of change that has yet to reach its conclusion.

U.S. orchestras that have gone into Chapter 11 bankruptcy includes the Philadelphia Orchestra (in April 2011), and the Louisville Orchestra, in December 2010; orchestras that have gone into Chapter 7 bankruptcy and have ceased operations include the Northwest Chamber Orchestra in 2006, the Honolulu Orchestra in March 2011, the New Mexico Symphony in April 2011, and the Syracuse Symphony in June 2011. The Festival of Orchestras in Orlando, Florida ceased operations at the end of March, 2011.

Critics such as Norman Lebrecht were vocal in their diagnosis of the problem as the "jet set conductor" (whose salaries were presumably bleeding the orchestras dry); and several high-profile conductors have taken pay cuts in recent years; but the amounts of revenue involved are too small to account for the crisis. Music administrators such as Michael Tilson Thomas and Esa-Pekka Salonen argued that new music, new means of presenting it, and a renewed relationship with the community could revitalize the symphony orchestra. The influential critic Greg Sandow has argued in detail that orchestras must revise their approach to music, performance, the concert experience, marketing, public relations, community involvement, and presentation to bring them in line with the expectations of 21st century audiences immersed in popular culture.^[10]

It is not uncommon for contemporary composers to use unconventional instruments, including various synthesizers, to achieve desired effects. Many, however, find more conventional orchestral configuration to provide better possibilities for color and depth. Composers like John Adams often employ Romantic-size orchestras, as in Adams' opera Nixon in China; Philip Glass and others may be more free, yet still identify size-boundaries. Glass in particular has recently turned to conventional orchestras in works like the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra and the Violin Concerto No. 2.

Conductorless orchestras[link]

The post-revolutionary symphony orchestra Persimfans was formed in the Soviet Union in 1922. The unusual aspect of the orchestra was that, believing that in the ideal Marxist state all people are equal, its members felt that there was no need to be led by the dictatorial baton of a conductor; instead they were led by a committee. Although it was a partial success, the principal difficulty with the concept was in changing tempo. The orchestra survived for ten years before Stalin's cultural politics effectively forced it into disbandment by draining away its funding.^[11]

Some ensembles, such as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, based in New York City, have had more success, although decisions are likely to be deferred to some sense of leadership within the ensemble (for example, the principal wind and string players).

Others have returned to the tradition of a principal player, usually a violinist, being the artistic director and running rehearsals (such as the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the New Century Chamber Orchestra).

Multiple conductors[link]

The techniques of polystylism and polytempo^[12] music have recently led a few composers to write music where multiple orchestras perform simultaneously. These trends have brought about the phenomenon of polyconductor music, wherein separate sub-conductors conduct each group of musicians. Usually, one principal conductor conducts the sub-conductors, thereby shaping the overall performance. Some pieces are enormously complex in this regard, such as Evgeni Kostitsyn's Third Symphony, which calls for nine conductors.

Charles Ives often used two conductors, one for example to simulate a marching band coming through his piece. Realizations for Symphonic Band includes one example from Ives.

One of the best examples in the late century orchestral music is Karlheinz Stockhausen's Gruppen, for three orchestras placed around the audience. This way, the sound masses could be spacialized, as in an electroacoustic work. Gruppen was premiered in Cologne, in 1958, conducted by Stockhausen, Bruno Maderna and Pierre Boulez. Recently, it was performed by Simon Rattle, John Carewe and Daniel Harding.

[edit] Other meanings of orchestra

In Ancient Greece, the orchestra was the space between the auditorium and the proscenium (or stage), in which were stationed the chorus and the instrumentalists. The word orchestra literally means "a dancing place".

In some theaters, the orchestra is the area of seats directly in front of the stage (called primafila or platea); the term more properly applies to the place in a theatre, or concert hall reserved for the musicians.

See also[link]

• Classical music
• List of symphony orchestra concert halls
• List of symphony orchestras
  • List of symphony orchestras in Europe
  • List of symphony orchestras in the United States
• List of youth orchestras in the United States
• Orchestral enhancement
• Orchestration
• Radio orchestra
• Shorthand for orchestra instrumentation
• Conductorless orchestra
• String orchestra
• Jazz ensemble
• Rhythm section
• World music
• Film score

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Raynor, Henry (1978). The Orchestra: a history. Scribner. ISBN 0-684-15535-4. 
• Sptizer, John, and Neil Zaslaw (2004). The Birth of the Orchestra: History of an Institution, 1650-1815. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-816434-3. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Orchestras

• The Orchestra: A User's Manual—A fairly concise overview, including detailed video interviews with players of each instrument and various resources
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Orchestra". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Please discuss further on the talk page. (December 2010)

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Walt Ribeiro, a New Jersey native, is a composer of classical music. His work has been primarily distributed via the internet. His symphony I.I was written for an 80-piece orchestra, but produced using orchestral sampling software.^[1] Ribeiro is also notable for his music tutorials available via web sites such as YouTube,^[2] which he ended in October 2009. That same year he launched For Orchestra^[3] where he arranged pop songs for orchestra. His arrangements have covered songs by Lady Gaga, Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Rimsky Korsakov, and MGMT to name a few. It has since been featured on Comedy Central Tosh.O,^[4] Perez Hilton,^[5] Green Plastic for his Radiohead arrangement^[6] and more.

Ribeiro was born January 25, 1984.^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Official Walt Ribeiro Site
• http://www.fororchestra.com ForOrchestra.com

Rebecca Black
Rebecca Black in November 2011
Background information
Birth name	Rebecca Renee Black
Born	(1997-06-21) June 21, 1997 (age 15) Irvine, California, U.S.[1]
Genres	Pop
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2011–present
Labels	RB Records
Website	www.rebeccablackonline.com

Rebecca Renee Black^[2] (born June 21, 1997) is an American pop singer and dancer who gained extensive media attention with the 2011 single "Friday". Her mother paid $4,000 to have the single and an accompanying music video put out as a vanity release^[3] through the record label ARK Music Factory.^[4] The song was co-written and produced by Clarence Jey and Patrice Wilson of Ark Music Factory. After the video went viral on YouTube and other social media sites, "Friday" was derided by many music critics and viewers, who dubbed it "the worst song ever."^[5][6][7] The music video received around 167 million views, causing Black to gain international attention as a "viral star", before being removed from the site on June 16. Black re-uploaded it in her own channel three months later.

Biography[link]

Personal life[link]

Rebecca Black was born on June 21, 1997,^[8] in Irvine, California.^[1] She is the daughter of John Jeffery Black and Georgina Marquez Kelly, both veterinarians.^[4][9] She is of Mexican, Spanish, Italian, English, and Polish descent.^[10][11] An honor student, Black studied dance, auditioned for school shows, attended music summer camps, and began singing publicly in 2008 after joining the patriotic group Celebration USA.^{[citation needed]} In 2011 Black left public school in favor of homeschooling, both in response to constant verbal bullying at school and in order to focus more of her time on her career.^[12] Black later said that her main reason for the move to homeschooling was more for career reasons rather than the bullying.^[13]

Career[link]

Ark Music Factory and "Friday" (2010–2011)[link]

In late 2010, a classmate of Black and music-video client of ARK Music Factory, a Los Angeles label, told her about the company.^[14] Black's mother paid $4,000 for Ark Music to produce the music video while the Blacks retained ownership of both the master and the video.^[4][15] The single, "Friday", written entirely by Ark, was released on YouTube and iTunes. The song's video was uploaded to YouTube on February 10, 2011, and received approximately 1,000 views in the first month. The video went viral on March 11, 2011, acquiring millions of views on YouTube in a matter of days, becoming the most-talked-about topic on social networking site Twitter,^[16] and garnering mostly negative media coverage.^[17] As of June 14, 2011, the video had received more than 3,190,000 "dislikes" on YouTube compared to more than 451,000 "likes".^[18] As of March 22, 2011, first-week sales of her digital single were estimated to be around 40,000 by Billboard.^[19] On March 22, 2011, Black appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, during which she performed the single and discussed the negative reaction to it.^[20] The song has peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 and the New Zealand Singles Chart at number 58 and 33, respectively.^[21][22] In the UK, the song debuted at number 61 on the UK Singles Chart.^[23]

Black teamed up with Funny or Die on April Fool's Day (the site was renamed Friday or Die) for a series of videos, including one which addresses the controversy about the driving kids in her music video, stating "We so excited about safety."^[24]

She has stated that she is a fan of Justin Bieber, and expressed interest in performing a duet with him.^[25]

In response to the YouTube video of "Friday", Black began to receive death threats in late February 2011, specifically by phone and email.^[26] These threats are being investigated by the Anaheim Police Department.^[27]

In March 2011, Ryan Seacrest reportedly helped sign Rebecca to manager Debra Baum's DB Entertainment.^[28]

MTV selected Rebecca to host its first online awards show, the O Music Awards Fan Army Party in April 2011.^[29] As an homage to "Friday", Black appears in the music video for Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)",^[30] in which Black plays alongside Perry as the hostess of a party Perry attends. "Friday" was also performed on the second season of Glee in the episode, "Prom Queen", which originally aired May 10, 2011. When asked about why the song was covered on Glee, show creator Ryan Murphy replied, "The show pays tribute to pop culture and, love it or hate it, that song is pop culture."^[31]

RB Records and upcoming album (2011–present)[link]

After the fallout with Ark Music Factory, Black announced she would start an independent record label named RB Records. Black released a self-produced single titled "My Moment" on July 18 by her own label RB Records, with an accompanying music video, publishing it to her YouTube channel; the video as of November 27 has received, approximately, 590,000 "dislikes" against 340,000 "likes."^[32] In the "My Moment" music video, director Morgan Lawley features real life video of Black's life from both before and after her fame.^[33]

Black is planning to release her official debut album around 2012, which she said will include "a bunch of different kinds of stuff."^[34] It is being recorded at a studio belonging to music producer Charlton Pettus.^[35] In an interview with The Sun, Black said that the songs will be "appropriate and clean".

Black appears as herself in the music video of Katy Perry's single "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)". She appears as the host of a party in the house next door to that of "Kathy Beth Terry". At the end of the video Perry attempts to blame the excesses of the party (which had subsequently moved to her own house) on Black, only for her parents (Corey Feldman and Debbie Gibson) to disbelieve her.^[36] Later on, Perry (in character as Kathy Beth Terry) and Black hosted a livestream on Tinychat.com after weeks of Black being mentioned on Terry's Twitter.^[37] Perry, who performs Friday routinely on stage as part of California Dreams Tour, also brought Black on stage to perform the song as a duet during her show at the Nokia Theater on August 5, 2011.^[38]

On August 10, 2011, Black was featured in an ABC Primetime Nightline: Celebrity Secrets special entitled Underage and Famous: Inside Child Stars' Lives.^[39]

On Friday, September 16, Black re-uploaded "Friday" on YouTube.^[40] In late September 2011, she was brought to Australia by Telstra to promote the launch of their 4G service.^[41]

On October 25, Black announced she started filming her upcoming music video which she first identified as 'POI' and later identified as "Person of Interest".^[42] Black said, "The basis of it is that it's a love song but it's not a love song. It's about almost teenage crushes — when you're not in love yet but you really like a guy — which I'm really excited about because I don't think there are too many out like that. It's very much a dance type song. It will make you get up and dance and sing along in your car."^[43] A teaser of the official music video was posted on November 3, 2011.^[44] Black released another teaser including a snippet of the song on November 10, 2011 on her YouTube channel. The single and its accompanying music video were released on November 15, 2011.^[45]

On December 20, 2011, "Friday" was revealed as the #1 video of the year by YouTube and Black hosted a short video called "YouTube Rewind".^[46]

Zeitgeist sorted billions of Google searches to capture the year's 10 fastest-rising global queries and the rest of the spirit of 2011. Rebecca Black #1 Most Searched Google. The searches for the teen singer topped even those of pop icon Lady Gaga and Adele.^[47]

On May 8, 2012, Black released her fourth official single, "Sing It".^[48] The music video premiered on Black's YouTube the same day.

Philanthropy[link]

Black features NOH8 Campaign a silent protest photo project against California Proposition 8. It features photographs portraying people in front of a white backdrop wearing white t-shirts, their mouths taped shut and "NOH8" painted on their cheek.

Rebecca has pledged to donate profits from the sales of her song "Friday" towards her school, El Rancho Charter, and shortly after the 2011 Japan Earthquake, to emergency relief in the country.^[49]

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

Music videos[link]

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

• In April 2011, the MTV O Music Awards, one of the annual awards established by MTV to honor the art, creativity, personality and technology of music into the digital space nominated "Which Seat Can I Take?" for "Favorite Animated GIF" that included footage by Rebecca Black featuring 50 Cent and Bert.^[55]
• Black was named "Choice Web Star" at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards in August 2011.^[56]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Official YouTube Channel
• Rebecca Black at the Internet Movie Database

Carly Rae Jepsen
Jepsen performing on Canada Day in 2010
Background information
Born	(1985-11-21) November 21, 1985 (age 26) Mission, British Columbia, Canada
Genres	Pop, pop rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Years active	2007–present
Labels	604 (2008–present) Schoolboy/Interscope (2012–present)
Website	carlyraemusic.com

Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian recording artist and singer-songwriter from Mission, British Columbia. In 2007, she placed third in the fifth season of Canadian Idol, and was a part of the Canadian Idol Top 3 concert tour.^[1]

Shortly after competing on Idol, she signed to Fontana and MapleMusic, and released her debut album, Tug of War, on September 30, 2008. Three years later, she released a new single, entitled "Call Me Maybe", which was released by 604 Records, and was followed by the release of her debut extended play, Curiosity, on February 14, 2012. "Call Me Maybe" was met with much success, reaching the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching the number 1 spot on the Canadian Hot 100. The single also went to number 1 in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Jepsen signed with Interscope Records in 2012.

Life and career[link]

Jepsen attended Heritage Park Secondary School in Mission, British Columbia and has since performed there post-graduation. She later attended the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria, BC before auditioning for Canadian Idol. After completing the Canadian Idol tour, Jepsen retreated to B.C. to focus on writing, recording and completing her band. Her demos attracted attention and she was eventually signed a joint management deal with Simkin Artist Management and Dexter Entertainment. A deal with Fontana/Maple Music quickly followed, leading Jepsen into the studio with producer/writer Ryan Stewart.^[2]

[edit] 2008–11: Tug of War

On June 16, 2008, Jepsen released her debut single and another single, a cover of John Denver's song "Sunshine On My Shoulders". It is the only cover song on her debut album.^[3] On July 21, 2008, Jepsen added two new songs from the album to her MySpace page: "Bucket" and "Heavy Lifting". In August 2008, Jepsen's MySpace page announced that the album's title would be Tug of War, and it was released on September 30, 2008. The page also mentioned two more songs that were included on the album: "Tug of War" and "Sweet Talker". The former was released as a single on iTunes on September 16, 2008, and has been receiving radio airplay on various stations across Canada. She performed the latter as her Canadian Idol audition.^[4]
A music video for "Tug of War" was released in January 2009. "Bucket", her second single, was released in May 2009, and the video for "Sour Candy", a duet with Josh Ramsay of Marianas Trench who has also help produce some of her songs including Call Me Maybe, has also been released. All of Jepsen's music videos have been directed by Ben Knechtel. In spring 2009, she toured western Canada with Marianas Trench and Shiloh.^[5] She then went on a cross-Canada tour with Marianas Trench, The New Cities and Mission District.

[edit] 2012–present: Curiosity

Jepsen's second album Curiosity was released on February 14, 2012. It was produced by Ryan Stewart and Kevin James Maher produced the track "Dear Julien". On the same day as the release, Justin Bieber made the announcement on the MuchMusic program New Music Live that Jepsen has been signed to Schoolboy Records, the label run by Justin Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun.^[6] The lead single, "Call Me Maybe" (which gained notoriety after "Primetime" Sam Roberts played the track during "After Opie and Anthony Live" on SiriusXM Satellite Radio) is from her second studio album Curiosity was released on September 21, 2011 and was produced by Josh Ramsay of Marianas Trench and co-written by Jepsen, Ramsay and Tavish Crowe. "Call Me Maybe" is the first song by a Canadian artist to reach the top of the digital chart since Justin Bieber's “Baby” in January 2010. It is also only the 11th song by a Canadian artist to reach No. 1 on the Digital Songs chart since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking digital download sales in 2005. The song has also peaked at #1 on Billboard's Canadian Hot 100, being the 4th Canadian artist to do so, after Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend", Nikki Yanofsky's "I Believe", and the Young Artists for Haiti version of "Wavin' Flag", originally by Canadian rapper K'naan.^[7] Jepsen is currently touring on the Shout it Out World Tour. She is the opening act for the pop-rock trio Hanson. In February 2012, Jepsen visited Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun in Los Angeles, California, where she subsequently signed to Schoolboy Records and Interscope. Her music will still be distributed by 604 Records in Canada. On March 23, 2012, Jepsen made her first American television debut on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, performing "Call Me Maybe" (with Jared Manierka on keys), later joined by Justin Bieber. Carly was also the first Canadian Idol contestant to enter the UK charts, when Call Me Maybe debuted at #1. Carly played at Citywalk at Universal Studios on April 14 2012. 400 people who paid $5 were allowed to meet with the singer and get CDs autographed by her.

Jepsen, 26, has been criticized in the press for dressing "too young" for her age in an effort to appeal to the pre-teen demographic.^[8][9]

On May 20th, 2012 Jepsen performed "Call Me Maybe" at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards. On May 22th, 2012 she performed "Tug of War", "Curiosity", and "Call Me Maybe" at the first Q102 Springle Ball concert.

[edit] Canadian Idol performances

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Tug of War (2008)

Extended plays[link]

• Curiosity (2012)

Tours[link]

Opening act

• Justin Bieber – Believe Tour (North American dates) (2012)

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Carly Rae Jepsen on Twitter
• Carly Rae Jepsen on Myspace
• "Primetime" Sam Roberts